Paying the difference on drinks

[Julescroose]

Am I correct that if I had a Select package but wanted a posher wine, I could order it and pay the difference? Have seen this alluded to a lot on here but never found it on a RC webpage.

 

Also, say I paid 4$ extra, do they then charge me the 18% tip on that 4$?

 

Thirdly, vaguely related to the question, I'm just realising I need dollars onboard, ie need to change some cash! Plus Euros for our port days in the Med.

[Amtrac]

If you have a debit card you can get Euros from a bank ATM. My BoA card charged me the prevailing euro to USA bank rate with no extra fees[emoji12][emoji12]

 

 

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[Clarea]

Am I correct that if I had a Select package but wanted a posher wine, I could order it and pay the difference? Have seen this alluded to a lot on here but never found it on a RC webpage.

 

Also, say I paid 4$ extra, do they then charge me the 18% tip on that 4$?....

Yes to both questions.

 

One caveat. If you are sailing out of a port (UK comes to mind) where the drink prices already include the gratuity, then you would not have to pay an extra 18% on the difference.

Edited June 17, 2016 by clarea

[Amtrac]

You can get USA cash on your sea pass card and pay via the credit card on file. It's cheaper than a cash advance from a bank. You just go to the casino and pay 5% fee. Still cheaper than the bank charges for a cash advance[emoji12][emoji12]

 

 

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[Julescroose]

But given I'm from the UK and would probably get a better exchange rate before boarding, I'd be better with a fistful ;) of paper dollars, right?!

 

Thanks Bob for your answer (I think you've almost single-handedly got me through the past few months of research) - odd that they don't state this as a fact anywhere. We may well stick with Select and add on when necessary,....though I am still weighing this up versus Premium.

[Clarea]

But given I'm from the UK and would probably get a better exchange rate before boarding, I'd be better with a fistful ;) of paper dollars, right?!

 

Thanks Bob for your answer (I think you've almost single-handedly got me through the past few months of research) - odd that they don't state this as a fact anywhere. We may well stick with Select and add on when necessary,....though I am still weighing this up versus Premium.

This is Royal's way, they keep as little in writing as possible so they can change as much as possible whenever they want. They removed the prices from the drink package literature a while back, and shortly after they instituted dynamic pricing on the drink packages.

[Julescroose]

So can I trust that it'll be OK if I want to pay the difference or are they likely to deny all knowledge of such a thing?!

[Mrs-M]

Just to confirm, I'm on a med cruise sailing from Southampton at the mo and was charged the difference plus 18% gratuity of that difference. I have the premium package so cocktails up to $12, I had an espresso martini ($13) and was charged 1.18 for it. Currently watching the last of the sunset from the balcony on our last night :( that's my only problem with cruising, that they have to end :(

[MsPoppadom]

We're just back from Vision (Eastern Med) and upgraded the 'free' select package to the next one up for extra 10usd per day plus the gratuity..so about 12usd per day. Considering the wider selection of wines and cocktails (which you can't get with select) it was a no brainer really. Well worth it. And gratuity was paid on the 10 dollar upgrade, not on each individual drink.. which after a few price differences (if possible buy just pay the difference) may end up costing you the same. Never known it to be possible just to pay the difference on a RC ship, like Mrs M above says. Good to know.

 

We took USD notes with us to clear the SetSail account on the final night and some Euros for the ports of call. No point taking GBP onboard - saw some UK passengers exchanging pounds to dollars and then dollars to euros, each time losing out as the ship exchange rate is poor.

 

There is a cashline onboard but can't imagine their rate being as good as buying currency in the UK.

Edited June 17, 2016 by MsPoppadom

[cb at sea]

Wine is the WORST value on a ship... If you're looking for a buzz,,,drink beer or cocktails.

[darrencolne]

We're just back from Vision (Eastern Med) and upgraded the 'free' select package to the next one up for extra 10usd per day plus the gratuity..so about 12usd per day. Considering the wider selection of wines and cocktails (which you can't get with select) it was a no brainer really. Well worth it. And gratuity was paid on the 10 dollar upgrade, not on each individual drink.. which after a few price differences (if possible buy just pay the difference) may end up costing you the same. Never known it to be possible just to pay the difference on a RC ship, like Mrs M above says. Good to know.

 

We took USD notes with us to clear the SetSail account on the final night and some Euros for the ports of call. No point taking GBP onboard - saw some UK passengers exchanging pounds to dollars and then dollars to euros, each time losing out as the ship exchange rate is poor.

 

There is a cashline onboard but can't imagine their rate being as good as buying currency in the UK.

 

Hi did you upgrade to premium?

We have the free select and want to upgrade on the ship too.

Thanks

[Clarea]

Hi did you upgrade to premium?

We have the free select and want to upgrade on the ship too.

Thanks

You can upgrade at any bar.

[MsPoppadom]

Hi did you upgrade to premium?

We have the free select and want to upgrade on the ship too.

Thanks

 

Yes, from Select to Premium. We were charged 10USD plus gratuity per day. Think we upgraded on day 4, which was the last day to upgrade (as you have to pay for minimum 4 days of package).

 

Made sense to us as a single cocktail (as extra while keeping Select) would've cost us the 12usd the upgrade per day was worth. Plus much better range of wines on offer.

 

Happy cruising!

[wee lass]

Can we upgrade drinks package before cruise or must we until we board thanks in advance

[Oscarsgrandad]

We did the upgrade from the 'free' drinks package in January in the Caribbean, certainly made it worth our while to do so as I drink more spirits that weren't included in the free package, my wife prefers the more expensive wines and I did try more cocktails this time round to boot.

On one occasion my wife wanted to try an even more expensive wine and they informed us we would have to pay only the difference between the included and non included wines.

(We shall upgrade again in a fortnight when we're aboard Vision.....oh yes!)

 

It worked out even better for us in January as then there was three of us on our account ( son in seperate cabin) but he got his upgrade free...

 

As regards the currency on board, if sailing in the Med, we tip individuals in Euros rather than US dollars (they can spend it on shore leave without having to exchange dollars for euros) but clear our ships account using our credit card in dollars and let the card company do the currency exchange, always better rates for us so far.

Edited June 18, 2016 by Oscarsgrandad