AIBP Not For Us

[GRAYTech]

4 of us on a 8 day cruise which turned out to have 3 port days.

 

AIBP 59.80 PP * 8 Days * 4 people = $1913

 

We didn't do any specialty coffee, water bottles etc. We took advantage of the afternoon 3-4PM $1 BOGO, suite/elite discounts in the lounge 5-7PM, the 5 for 4 bucket of beer and Sabatinis morning Mimosa's. (Tip a $10 the first day and the champagne will keep flowing. The younger Maitre D was a hoot)

 

Princess did not give paper tickets as they did in the past, just swiped your card. This made it impossible for me calculate a total for each one of us so I can only can compare the grand totals.

 

Pay as you go for 4 people = $1640 still a hefty bar bill but about $275 less than the AIBP in total.

 

I'd say all 4 of us were on the upper end of consumption, we had one more sea day than what was scheduled and we still would have not broken even with the AIBP.

 

Of course we likely would have consumed even more on the AIBP (bad Idea) or done some water/coffee from time to time and the totals probably would have very been close. So as other threads have noted, not having to worry about price, trying different drinks, coffee/juice/water bottles are all advantages but I was surprised that's it's not worth it for us. YMMV

[easyboy]

Did you just have beer and not liquor?

[GRAYTech]

Did you just have beer and not liquor?

 

Lots of liquor, "Chairman of the Board" and the Bressie Marinas were quite good. I even had a Remy XO one night and I think it was $18 but I didn't have my glasses. One in our party decided to work his way down the suite/elite drink menu and tried everything on the menu. (Not on the same night though)

 

I am very surprised after what we consumed the AIBP would not have made sense.

[Murphey]

We had it on the Ruby.....no way would I ever pay for it. There was a waste element too. Plus, "one more for the road" was tempting when you didn't have to pay for it. After the first 2 days, the novelty wore off.

[Thrak]

I could definitely "get my money's worth" without being a drunk. :D

 

However, I simply won't spend that much. We have it as a perk on our next two cruises and I fell sure it will be very nice to have but simply won't budget that kind of money for drinks otherwise. A coffee card and the BOGO (along with occasional other drinks) works well for us. :)

[fishywood]

 

Princess did not give paper tickets as they did in the past, just swiped your card. This made it impossible for me calculate a total for each one of us so I can only can compare the grand totals.

 

Even if all four shipboard accounts were using the same credit card, didn't each passenger receive a separate folio on disembarkation morning? Or couldn't you have asked for individual ones from the Purser's desk?

 

Anyway, it seems that the value of the beverages included with your suite breakfast may have made up the difference (or more) in your calculations. Plus if you consumed anything from your mini-bar. A good argument for offering a discount on the AIBP to full suite passengers as some other lines do.

[GUT2407]

It doesn't suit everyone. Each person has to do what's best for them.

 

How would it have worked if say the two heaviest drinkers got it, but not the other two.

[GRAYTech]

Even if all four shipboard accounts were using the same credit card, didn't each passenger receive a separate folio on disembarkation morning? Or couldn't you have asked for individual ones from the Purser's desk?

 

Anyway, it seems that the value of the beverages included with your suite breakfast may have made up the difference (or more) in your calculations. Plus if you consumed anything from your mini-bar. A good argument for offering a discount on the AIBP to full suite passengers as some other lines do.

 

 

We did finish the minibar setup included with the suite. Yes, the Sabatinis breakfast could probably account for at least one bottle of champagne between the 4 of us, perhaps more per day. As well as coffees/juices/water that we didn't do. The ship's water was fine to refill a water bottle and the MDR/Sabatinis coffee was quite good.

 

We did get separate folios but I paid for 99% of the drinks on my card and none of it was itemized. It was in the app while on the ship but not the final printout. Not sure it would have been worth the effort anyway.

 

At the very least the AIBP would not have been "a great deal" for us.

[GRAYTech]

How would it have worked if say the two heaviest drinkers got it, but not the other two.

 

This may have some truth as my daughter likely didn't keep up one-for-one with the rest of us. Still I'm surprised with what we consumed that it didn't come out dollar wise. At the very least the AIBP would not have been a "great deal" for us. Taking advantage of the other "deals" on board and the breakfast champagne likely made the difference.

 

I'm with Thrak - I'll take it as a perk but likely won't pay for it based on these results.

[floridalover5623]

This may have some truth as my daughter likely didn't keep up one-for-one with the rest of us. Still I'm surprised with what we consumed that it didn't come out dollar wise. At the very least the AIBP would not have been a "great deal" for us. Taking advantage of the other "deals" on board and the breakfast champagne likely made the difference.

 

I'm with Thrak - I'll take it as a perk but likely won't pay for it based on these results.

 

I've always found that even the times they give it as a perk the price is increased accordingly.

I'll just as soon buy what I want & go with a cheaper price rather than try to consume unwanted drinks to get my money's worth.

[Thrak]

I've always found that even the times they give it as a perk the price is increased accordingly.

I'll just as soon buy what I want & go with a cheaper price rather than try to consume unwanted drinks to get my money's worth.

 

We booked a 28 day Hawaii and South Pacific cruise for 2017 under the Sip and Sail. Before booking I checked the price of the cruise for 2016 and it was the same. Booking for 2017 with the Sip and Sail was actually the exact same price. I was totally blown away and booked immediately before they changed their mind. :)

 

I just now checked the cruise and it is actually listed at $100 more per person than we paid and it no longer has the Sip and Sail. That's a perk "worth" $3,156.60 for the two of us. On a 28 day cruise with 18 sea days I'm glad to have it. :D

Edited January 24, 2017 by Thrak

[floridalover5623]

We booked a 28 day Hawaii and South Pacific cruise for 2017 under the Sip and Sail. Before booking I checked the price of the cruise for 2016 and it was the same. Booking for 2017 with the Sip and Sail was actually the exact same price. I was totally blown away and booked immediately before they changed their mind. :)

 

I just now checked the cruise and it is actually listed at $100 more per person than we paid and it no longer has the Sip and Sail. That's a perk "worth" $3,156.60 for the two of us. On a 28 day cruise with 18 sea days I'm glad to have it. :D

 

I suppose at time they do give away the package as a perk. I'll have to keep check on the packages being offered in the future.

[easyboy]

Lots of liquor, "Chairman of the Board" and the Bressie Marinas were quite good. I even had a Remy XO one night and I think it was $18 but I didn't have my glasses. One in our party decided to work his way down the suite/elite drink menu and tried everything on the menu. (Not on the same night though)

 

I am very surprised after what we consumed the AIBP would not have made sense.

If you drank as much as if you had AIBP, and spent less than the cost of the package, AIBP is really not for you.

[argenta01]

Do they give you a plastic soda cup or thermal mug with the AIBP?

[Thrak]

Do they give you a plastic soda cup or thermal mug with the AIBP?

 

No. That was with the Soda and More package and some have said they aren't getting the cup with that these days.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Thrak

[cruzsnooze]

If you book with a promo for the aibp you can ask for an OBC in it's place as we did and then buy a few drinks as you go along.

[IECalCruiser]

We didn't do any specialty coffee, water bottles etc. We took advantage of the afternoon 3-4PM $1 BOGO, suite/elite discounts in the lounge 5-7PM, the 5 for 4 bucket of beer and Sabatinis morning Mimosa's. (Tip a $10 the first day and the champagne will keep flowing. The younger Maitre D was a hoot)

We've sailed in a full suite 6 times and we never needed a first day tip to keep the champagne flowing at breakfast in Sabatini's [emoji848] We usually left a much better tip at the end of the cruise. I agree that the AIBP is not for us. Of course we are Elite and exchange our mini-bar for 10 beers and 10 waters. We bring our own wine on board or buy the silver wine package on longer cruises. We add a coffee card for DW's coffee fix and I am fine with brewed tea from the complementary bags in the HC. Add a few stops at happy hour and/or the Elite/Suite event and we are good. On our November 12 day Med Cruise, including the 12 bottle silver wine package, one Stammtisch Table, and one coffee card, our total drink bill was about $500 for the two of us or less than $21/person/day. Add the value of the mini-bar beer and water and our equivalent cost was still less than $24/person/day. The AIBP would have cost us more than an additional $800 [emoji6]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited January 25, 2017 by IECalCruiser

[tonit964]

Lots of liquor, "Chairman of the Board" and the Bressie Marinas were quite good. I even had a Remy XO one night and I think it was $18 but I didn't have my glasses. One in our party decided to work his way down the suite/elite drink menu and tried everything on the menu. (Not on the same night though)

 

I am very surprised after what we consumed the AIBP would not have made sense.

 

Can you please tell me what this drink is? I've never heard of it before.

Thank you.

[chet the jet]

I am sure glad that on our 15 day cruise I was able to get the AIBP free. I would have not paid for it at all seeing I may have about 2 drinks a day. But the other drinks you can get will help out during the day. :rolleyes:

[caribill]

AIBP:

 

A bet by Princess that you will drink less than the package cost and a bet by you that you will drink more than the package cost.

 

It's like the casino. Sometimes you will win, but most of the time the house will win.

[Kingofcool1947]

AIBP:

 

A bet by Princess that you will drink less than the package cost and a bet by you that you will drink more than the package cost.

 

It's like the casino. Sometimes you will win, but most of the time the house will win.

 

And you'll get this bonus thrown in at no charge. :D

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrhosis

 

Enjoy your cruise and good health in 2017, if the Lord wills.

[Pushka]

We got our value. Coffee or hot chocolate or chai in the morning. Bottle of water every day. Mid morning soft drink. Lunch time wine or soft drink. Mid afternoon soft drink. Pre dinner cocktails x 2. Dinner wine x2. Post dinner Irish creme or limoncello (keep glass). Post dinner chai or specialty tea. Easy.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Pushka

[satxdiver]

AIBP:

 

A bet by Princess that you will drink less than the package cost and a bet by you that you will drink more than the package cost.

 

It's like the casino. Sometimes you will win, but most of the time the house will win.

 

We have had the S&S twice last year and while very nice, we certainly did not consume enough to pay for it. We have it on several of our upcoming cruises however. One change for us was to not go to the BOGO/$1 afternoon or late night happy hours since we were not paying for drinks anyway. We did go to the platinum/elite lounge in the evening.

 

We always book early so catching the S&S was easy. We watch the prices though and can easily move to a cheaper price sans the S&S if it appears but so far we have not found a better deal. As one pointed out you can get an OBC instead of the AIBP when taking advantage of a S&S sale.

[GRAYTech]

Can you please tell me what this drink is? I've never heard of it before.

Thank you.

 

A Brassie Marina was on the elite/suite drink menu. It's basically a vodka gimlet. Vodka with lime concentrate. It was actually very good but a bit too sour for me, the Mrs. enjoyed them though. I stuck with the jet-fuel "Chairman of the Board" straight up with olives.

 

Taking OBC instead of the AIBP is probably the way we will go if we get it as a perk. It would be nice though, not starting to cocktail at 3PM to get the BOGO. The late seating was well, late.

[tonit964]

A Brassie Marina was on the elite/suite drink menu. It's basically a vodka gimlet. Vodka with lime concentrate. It was actually very good but a bit too sour for me, the Mrs. enjoyed them though. I stuck with the jet-fuel "Chairman of the Board" straight up with olives.

 

Taking OBC instead of the AIBP is probably the way we will go if we get it as a perk. It would be nice though, not starting to cocktail at 3PM to get the BOGO. The late seating was well, late.

 

Thank you! I think I'll pass but I will try a Chairman of the Board.:D