Drink or Drunk Package

[Stags14]

A drink with breakfast? :eek:

 

Drink packages must cause some awful headaches for cruise ships at times. One thing I noticed on our last cruise on the NCL Getaway was that there were a lot more drunks around on that ship than I have ever seen on any ship. By 4PM on departure day from Miami, the pool area (terribly small and crowded anyway - RCL knows how to do pool decks baby) resembled a college pool party - loud music banging out and people already half in the bag and we hadn't even left Miami yet!

 

I have a few drinks each week on a ship but I never have enough to buy a package but as more and more people do buy packages the problems are bound to intensify.

 

Bought the package and didn't drink any more, or less than usual. They're just giving you options, if it isn't worth it for you then fine but that doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to enjoy it.

 

Sounds like a great sail away pool party, sorry I missed it! Those people sound like they were on vacation!

 

That's the great thing about a cruise ship, if it's not an environment for you there are plenty of spots on the ship. You could go to the front or back and sail away, you could go to the schooner bar and listen to light piano, get a balcony room and enjoy it in your own privacy, etc...

[Paul65]

Ignore those who say your liver won't survive. They forget these packages include water, soda etc so just because you have a package that includes alcoholic beverages, doesn't mean you're drinking alcohol all day long.

 

I think I was the only one who mentioned liver function, and it was a semi-joking reply to someone who was talking about having alcoholic drinks at a rate of 2 per hour for ten straight hours. So, I wasn't "forgetting" about water and soda, because the person to whom I responded was specifically talking about drinking alcohol all day long. :cool:

[Slugsta]

We are on Ovation next week :) The Select package was included but I realised that it won't be much good for me (apart from the soda, I drink a lot of cola) as I don't drink beer and have gone off wine recently.

 

RCI say I can upgrade to the Premium when we are on board, for a cost of aprox £10, so I am going to do this while hubby will settle for the Select. I only need to have 2 drinks a day and it will be worth my while. A cocktail or G+T before dinner and a rum+coke afterwards will do me nicely :D

[crackity jones]

We are on Ovation next week :) The Select package was included but I realised that it won't be much good for me (apart from the soda, I drink a lot of cola) as I don't drink beer and have gone off wine recently.

 

RCI say I can upgrade to the Premium when we are on board, for a cost of aprox £10, so I am going to do this while hubby will settle for the Select. I only need to have 2 drinks a day and it will be worth my while. A cocktail or G+T before dinner and a rum+coke afterwards will do me nicely :D

 

yep same here (although I still like beer and wine!) makes sense to upgrade to premium when select was already included.

[2hearted]

The package on offer is $39 per day plus 18%, I would like to know the upto date drink prices

 

That is great price since you only have to buy one per room. Which I'm sure most people do and then just get the other person drinks when they can.

[marci22]

That is great price since you only have to buy one per room. Which I'm sure most people do and then just get the other person drinks when they can.

 

You had to go there.

[newtothisCCthing]

We have decided to get the Premium for myself and the Ultimate for my wife.

 

We could have booked this cruise in the UK last April and received the Premium package and free Tips, But because we have access to the CL we decided against it and went and used my USA TA to make the booking excluding the package which was a good bit cheaper. But now that we have added the packages the UK booking would have been a better deal I will not make that mistake again LOL

[GUT2407]

Only you can determine whether or not you'll get the benefit from it.

 

It's not difficult to do when you figure perhaps a drink with breakfast, a few beers and/or frozen cocktails with lunch, pre-dinner drinks, wine with dinner, drinks at the show, drinks after dinner.

 

Easy as.

[Cruising Forever!]

We are new to CC but have cruised a bit, we have never paid for the drink/drunk package but we have had it included in our cruise fare before.

 

We are sailing on the IOS transatlantic this May and we are thinking should buy the package, We can access the CL along with the 3 x FOC drinks each night at many of the bars BUT I like Coors Lite and the good lady likes Grey Goose Vodka.

 

Should we go for the drinks package which has 20% off for our cruise?

 

I was all prepared to take the Premium drinks package for my next cruise. As best as I could tell, the only difference between this and the Ultimate package was that the latter includes sparkling water and fresh squeezed orange juice. Since neither of these appeal to me, the Premium package would've save me some money.

 

Ultimately I passed on the package over a disagreement I had with Royal Caribbean over the way they advertised their package on the website and the reality of the package price at "checkout"... that is, you see no mention of the 18% service fee, which is considerable, until you are ready to pay. Others found this infinitely fair, and disagreed with my position. To each his/her own. I would point out that many said the discount isn't always offered on every cruise... and I think you DEFINITELY get more booze -er- bang for your buck on a transatlantic itinerary!

 

I did try to convince myself that I could really save big bucks by getting the Select package... that is $8 glasses of beer or wine (I'm no wine authority) but I know I'd pine for at least one brain freezing pina colada... and Miami Vice... and, well you get the picture. So it's just the soda package for me (as usual).

 

Cheers,

Paul

[loverofmilfs]

I love TA's! I'm not a port person, but I love my Sea Days! I normally buy a drink package because you know your costs before you cruise! RCI does not offer free drink

packages on TA's, so buy and enjoy!

 

How wrong you are, we have free premium drinks package for IOS Transatlantic on 1st May.

[BekkaW]

I was all prepared to take the Premium drinks package for my next cruise. As best as I could tell' date=' the [i']only[/i] difference between this and the Ultimate package was that the latter includes sparkling water and fresh squeezed orange juice. Since neither of these appeal to me, the Premium package would've save me some money.

 

Ultimately I passed on the package over a disagreement I had with Royal Caribbean over the way they advertised their package on the website and the reality of the package price at "checkout"... that is, you see no mention of the 18% service fee, which is considerable, until you are ready to pay. Others found this infinitely fair, and disagreed with my position

 

The other difference is that ultimate includes specialty coffee such as latte, cappuccino, frappuccinos etc

 

Every time I have bought a package it's been clear that the price either includes gratuity or will have 18% added to it, so I'm not sure why it didn't display that way for you

[Stags14]

I was all prepared to take the Premium drinks package for my next cruise. As best as I could tell' date=' the [i']only[/i] difference between this and the Ultimate package was that the latter includes sparkling water and fresh squeezed orange juice. Since neither of these appeal to me, the Premium package would've save me some money.

 

Ultimately I passed on the package over a disagreement I had with Royal Caribbean over the way they advertised their package on the website and the reality of the package price at "checkout"... that is, you see no mention of the 18% service fee, which is considerable, until you are ready to pay. Others found this infinitely fair, and disagreed with my position. To each his/her own. I would point out that many said the discount isn't always offered on every cruise... and I think you DEFINITELY get more booze -er- bang for your buck on a transatlantic itinerary!

 

I did try to convince myself that I could really save big bucks by getting the Select package... that is $8 glasses of beer or wine (I'm no wine authority) but I know I'd pine for at least one brain freezing pina colada... and Miami Vice... and, well you get the picture. So it's just the soda package for me (as usual).

 

Cheers,

Paul

 

Gratuity is huge for the employees, I'm surprised that wasn't communicated well. Not everyone tips voluntarily so in order for them to make money they include it.

[sammee]

Gratuity is huge for the employees, I'm surprised that wasn't communicated well. Not everyone tips voluntarily so in order for them to make money they include it.

 

I tried it myself, it doesn't show up anywhere on the description page. I didn't add it to my shopping cart yet. I'm sure it will show up than. They really should show the gratuity. I know there is one because I've cruised before and come here often. But not everybody is in that situation.

 

I'm still on the fence about the premium myself. I do like my frozen drinks. And like above poster, it doesn't show the gratuity on the price page. I didn't add it to my cart yet. I assumed it was either 15 or 18 on top from previous cruises. But they really should put some sort of disclaimer about it. Not everybody searches cruising forums, they should have to for something like this.

 

Going through the pros/cons on this one. I will probably get it at least for the hubby.If anything, I less to keep track of.

Edited April 16, 2016 by sammee
half of post disppappeared when I hit the post button

[slg1979]

I purchased the premium package for myself. I had printed off my shopping cart in the cruise planner prior to the packages going on sale for our upcoming Jewel TA this month. The cost of the premium was exactly $0.54 more than the select is priced regularly. I feel that on a TA this will be an excellent value. I went ahead with the premium for the frozen drinks, bottled water, top shelf vodka and of course, Fireball :D:D.

We booked our Liberty TA in 2013 when it first opened for booking. By the time the 'free drinks' promo came out, the price had increased for our cabin category more than enough to pay for drink packages and keep our great rate :rolleyes:. LOL!

[Stags14]

I tried it myself, it doesn't show up anywhere on the description page. I didn't add it to my shopping cart yet. I'm sure it will show up than. They really should show the gratuity. I know there is one because I've cruised before and come here often. But not everybody is in that situation.

 

I'm still on the fence about the premium myself. I do like my frozen drinks. And like above poster, it doesn't show the gratuity on the price page. I didn't add it to my cart yet. I assumed it was either 15 or 18 on top from previous cruises. But they really should put some sort of disclaimer about it. Not everybody searches cruising forums, they should have to for something like this.

 

Going through the pros/cons on this one. I will probably get it at least for the hubby.If anything, I less to keep track of.

 

It's really convenient and you don't have to worry about anything at the end of the week, like you're saying. I wouldn't let the gratuity direct your decision, the gratuity will be there whether you purchase the package or do point of sale. Either way - it's a good problem. :D

[sammee]

It's really convenient and you don't have to worry about anything at the end of the week, like you're saying. I wouldn't let the gratuity direct your decision, the gratuity will be there whether you purchase the package or do point of sale. Either way - it's a good problem. :D

 

Thats pretty much how I'm leaning. I'm a little gun shy because one of my drink plans was a waste a couple years ago and not for lack of trying. My hubby will get his at the very least. It's only a 5 dayer, so it woulnd't be as bad as a 7 dayer if things don't work out.

[minn0315]

This is my standard reply to drink package questions: We were on Navigator in December and Adventure in March. On both cruises I purchased the Premium Package. $49 per day plus the 18% gratuities.

 

If you have two glasses of a decent wine at lunch, $12 each, then two glasses of wine at dinner, that equals $48. So for only four glasses of wine in a day, you have basically broken even. Hardly a drunk package.

 

Also any drinks before lunch, after lunch, after dinner would be gravy. I have also noticed that the alcohol per mixed drink has decreased, with many bartenders measuring to the drop. So while you could have 6 mixed drinks in a day, the alcohol content has seemed to me like 3 on land.

[jamesr3939]

We noticed on our last Carnival cruise in January the cocktail service in the shows was becoming scarce. We didn't have a package on that trip so no biggie. However, if had a package and couldn't even get a server to come to my table to take a drink order I would be a little upset.

 

Seems to me it's a sly way to keep the expenses down.

[mollyeilis]

If you have two glasses of a decent wine at lunch, $12 each, then two glasses of wine at dinner, that equals $48. So for only four glasses of wine in a day, you have basically broken even. Hardly a drunk package.

 

4 glasses of wine a day, for me, would make the day fuzzy and the next day not as fun. Continued day after day, that becomes an icky cruise.

 

And I would never order a $12 glass of wine 4 times a day.

 

So those are definite "if" situations to think about!

 

It included starbucks, and it was on the Liberty - they had a starbucks station. Something to look into for the OP if they'd like depending on their trip and availability, that's all.

 

They have an UNbranded, not-a-Starbucks, but might very well serve Starbucks espresso, espresso stand. They don't have "a Starbucks".

 

Oasis and Allure (and Quantum?) have proper, branded Starbucks "stores" onboard AS WELL AS the Unbranded, not-a-Starbucks, but might very well serve Starbucks espresso, espresso stands. :) The packages cover the non-Starbucks espresso stand.

 

It's an important distinction for message board discussions (you call it whatever you like at home LOL) when people want to know EXACTLY what they are getting. They could easily change to Illy espresso next week, so if you were expecting Starbucks you wouldn't be getting that.

 

 

That is great price since you only have to buy one per room. Which I'm sure most people do and then just get the other person drinks when they can.

 

I sure hope not.

 

Ultimately I passed on the package over a disagreement I had with Royal Caribbean over the way they advertised their package on the website and the reality of the package price at "checkout"... that is' date=' you see no mention of the 18% service fee, which is considerable, until you are ready to pay. [/quote']

 

At least on the US site, you click add to cart but it doesn't actually add to cart. You still have to click to do that. And on that interim page it has "A 18% gratuity charge will be added to each package price listed above."

 

So it's before you actually pay, FWIW. And all of the packages say "from" a certain price even before then.

Edited April 17, 2016 by mollyeilis

[Stags14]

4 glasses of wine a day, for me, would make the day fuzzy and the next day not as fun. Continued day after day, that becomes an icky cruise.

 

And I would never order a $12 glass of wine 4 times a day.

 

So those are definite "if" situations to think about!

 

 

 

They have an UNbranded, not-a-Starbucks, but might very well serve Starbucks espresso, espresso stand. They don't have "a Starbucks".

 

Oasis and Allure (and Quantum?) have proper, branded Starbucks "stores" onboard AS WELL AS the Unbranded, not-a-Starbucks, but might very well serve Starbucks espresso, espresso stands. :) The packages cover the non-Starbucks espresso stand.

 

It's an important distinction for message board discussions (you call it whatever you like at home LOL) when people want to know EXACTLY what they are getting. They could easily change to Illy espresso next week, so if you were expecting Starbucks you wouldn't be getting that.

 

 

 

 

I sure hope not.

 

 

 

At least on the US site, you click add to cart but it doesn't actually add to cart. You still have to click to do that. And on that interim page it has "A 18% gratuity charge will be added to each package price listed above."

 

So it's before you actually pay, FWIW. And all of the packages say "from" a certain price even before then.

 

They serve starbucks coffee. No, it's not literally a starbucks store but it's incorporated into the coffee shop. The package included this on liberty and if you did not have the package you had to pay.

[BekkaW]

They serve starbucks coffee. No, it's not literally a starbucks store but it's incorporated into the coffee shop. The package included this on liberty and if you did not have the package you had to pay.

 

That's why it's important to be particular with the accuracy of this, because some ships do have literally a Starbucks store. If you keep saying "Starbucks is included" people will go there expecting they can use the package, because they read on cruise critic that Starbucks is included.

 

Starbucks is never included. Coffee from cafe promenade or cafe lattetudes is, and may be made with Starbucks beans.

[Wriggler]

We are sailing on the IOS transatlantic this May...

 

...we have free premium drinks package for IOS Transatlantic on 1st May.

 

Come over and join us on our roll call - we're planning lots of activities for the trip

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49778805#post49778805

 

Carol

[Stags14]

That's why it's important to be particular with the accuracy of this, because some ships do have literally a Starbucks store. If you keep saying "Starbucks is included" people will go there expecting they can use the package, because they read on cruise critic that Starbucks is included.

 

Starbucks is never included. Coffee from cafe promenade or cafe lattetudes is, and may be made with Starbucks beans.

 

It's starbucks coffee. My goodness.

Specialty coffee that you would otherwise have to pay for is included, and the specialty coffee is made of the starbucks brand.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Stags14

[Paul65]

It's starbucks coffee. My goodness.

Specialty coffee that you would otherwise have to pay for is included, and the specialty coffee is made of the starbucks brand.

 

You are correct, and they are correct. There are some ships that have a branded Starbucks kiosk (Oasis class), and that Starbucks kiosk is not included in any of the drinks packages. You were not wrong about your experience on Liberty, but others were trying to clarify that "Starbucks" is not always included with the packages that include specialty coffees.