Drinks

[majortom10]

The simple answer to why do they charge it is "because they can."

 

Personally, they are in line with what I would expect. About what a nice bar would charge and less than hotels in NY and major cities. Also, I find that the prices similar to the US where liquor and beer are more in line with each other than in Europe and countries where hard liquor is much more heavily taxed than beer. You may think that the QM2 beer is expensive and I'll tell you that the cost of a decent (double in the UK) whisky at a London pub is outrageous. From each of our perspectives, we're both right.

 

Also, as mentioned, the shots are US-sized and almost twice the size of a UK drink.

 

And Cunard is in the distinct minority which allow you to take alcohol aboard.

 

Yes prices in London pubs are extortionate but is not what is paid in many pubs in the UK and thankfully we all dont live in London. Likewise in the US I am sure drinks are much more expensive in New York and the larger cities than in the rest of the US. Whatever spin is put on it I can only compare prices of what I pay in the UK for beer/spirits and yes alcohol is highly taxed by the government but in general is still cheaper than what you pay on Cunard which is not taxed by the government and is purchase duty free.

[ToadOfToadHall]

dont forget the 15% so that makes it £7 sorry but that is a rip off.

 

No.

 

I've already added 15%.

 

$6.50 + 15% / 1.24 = £6.02.

[ToadOfToadHall]

Yes prices in London pubs are extortionate but is not what is paid in many pubs in the UK and thankfully we all dont live in London. Likewise in the US I am sure drinks are much more expensive in New York and the larger cities than in the rest of the US. Whatever spin is put on it I can only compare prices of what I pay in the UK for beer/spirits and yes alcohol is highly taxed by the government but in general is still cheaper than what you pay on Cunard which is not taxed by the government and is purchase duty free.

 

It's not just London pubs. City centres like Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle are pretty much the same; there are plenty of places in city centres you can pay £5 a pint (or more).

 

You can't compare your local village pub to the centre of Manchester or London or New York or Cunard.

 

BTW - What do you think the duty on a pint of 5% lager is ?

[MarkBearSF]

Yes prices in London pubs are extortionate but is not what is paid in many pubs in the UK and thankfully we all dont live in London. Likewise in the US I am sure drinks are much more expensive in New York and the larger cities than in the rest of the US.

 

True. I live in San Francisco. One unfortunate benefit of prices here is that when we travel, most cities seem at least reasonable (NY, Paris, London) if not downright cheap! (most others)

Edited December 27, 2016 by MarkBearSF

[majortom10]

True. I live in San Francisco. One unfortunate benefit of prices here is that when we travel, most cities seem at least reasonable (NY, Paris, London) if not downright cheap! (most others)

 

I can assure you London aint cheap or reasonable and is considerably more expensive than most parts of the UK.

Edited December 28, 2016 by majortom10

[silver service]

Thanks major tom for being my champion!

There are few people of our mind set. Regards, mike.

The peroni that i mentioned was 300mil. More like £5.50

[Underwatr]

Your issue is with the Pound at $1.22. At the current exchange rate a Peroni with 15% gratuity is £5.42. In normal days when the Pound was around $1.60 it would only have been £4.13.

[majortom10]

Your issue is with the Pound at $1.22. At the current exchange rate a Peroni with 15% gratuity is £5.42. In normal days when the Pound was around $1.60 it would only have been £4.13.

 

When was the £ worth $1.60 because I cannot remember normal days like that for a long time.

[Host Hattie]

When was the £ worth $1.60 because I cannot remember normal days like that for a long time.

 

2014, it's been falling since early 2015 and took a nose dive at the end of June this year.

[Underwatr]

$1.60 is what I consider "normal" over 25+ years of travel from the US to the UK. When it's lower prirlces in the UK seem reasonable and when it's higher it feels "expensive."

[majortom10]

$1.60 is what I consider "normal" over 25+ years of travel from the US to the UK. When it's lower prirlces in the UK seem reasonable and when it's higher it feels "expensive."

 

The rates that you get obviously differ in the US than UK and we havent had a tourist exchange rate in the UK for $1-60 for a £ for at leat 12months and we get currently in the UK $1.20 approx for a £ that is what makes drinks and gratuities very very expensive for UK cruisers. If my memory serves me right the highest we got in the UK in 2015 is $1.45 for £ and you certainly cannot comment about currency using a "normal" over 25 yrs when exchange rate varies daily.

[Underwatr]

Surely you can agree that it's unusual in any recent history for the Pound to be around $1.20 and if you're going to cruise on a line where drinks, etc. are priced in US Dollars the currently weak pound is going to affect your purchasing power.

 

With regard to what I consider to be the "normal" exchange rate (somewhat presumptuous of someone to criticize my opinion on such things, but I guess one does what one must do) let's take a look at the historical rate of the Pound vs. the Dollar:

 

 

It certainly looks to me that the exchange rate has been close to $1.60 over the long term more than it hasn't.

[ToadOfToadHall]

The rates that you get obviously differ in the US than UK

Of course they don't. They are the same - just obviously the inverse of each other.

 

and we havent had a tourist exchange rate in the UK for $1-60 for a £ for at leat 12months and we get currently in the UK $1.20 approx

 

That's true. But unless you go on a cruise/to the USA once a week, you are not going to notice the daily fluctuations.

 

So as most people have a holiday once a year or every couple of years, the change over the last 1 or 2 years is obviously quite a lot. But over the last say 10 years it's true to say that the exchange rate has been around $1.60/£ for the majority of that 10 year period.

 

And 10 years ago it was $2.00/£. And now it's $1.20/£.

 

And from that you can draw one of two conclusions;

 

a) 10 years ago it was normal and now for us in the UK it's very expensive

or

b) 10 years ago it was very cheap for us in the UK and now and now it's normal

 

It depends which way you want to look at it.