chubby67 Posted August 3, 2017 #1 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Planning to cruise the Mississippi on the Duchess next year. Considering the drink package. Does anyone know the approximate cost for wine and other alcoholic beverages when purchased individually? Also what is the policy on bringing your own wine aboard. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted August 3, 2017 #2 Share Posted August 3, 2017 I just reserved a 7-day Nashville-Nashville trip, and asked the agent what the drink package would cost. Unless I heard him wrong, he quoted $399! That would be upwards of $70 A DAY for drinks above and beyond those normally provided for dinner/happy hour. Who could drink that much?? I'd be curious to know what their drink package costs for longer Mississippi trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare electro Posted August 8, 2017 #3 Share Posted August 8, 2017 I just reserved a 7-day Nashville-Nashville trip, and asked the agent what the drink package would cost. Unless I heard him wrong, he quoted $399! That would be upwards of $70 A DAY for drinks above and beyond those normally provided for dinner/happy hour. Who could drink that much?? I'd be curious to know what their drink package costs for longer Mississippi trips. I think your math is off. $399 for a 7 day cruise is $57 a day. Lois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted August 10, 2017 #4 Share Posted August 10, 2017 I think your math is off. $399 for a 7 day cruise is $57 a day.Lois Basically, it's a 6-day trip for drinking purposes. Day #7 is simply eat a quick breakfast and get off the ship. $399/6 = $66.50, which is what I meant by "upwards of $70." Of course, if you have to start drinking really early, I guess your math is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuild Posted September 14, 2017 #5 Share Posted September 14, 2017 On the American Queen Beer was $6.00 and wine about $8.00 per glass and cocktails listed at $7 -10. With wine & beer at dinner You can drink for the complete meal and have a full glass or bottle to take with You that You did not finish with meal that is all comp. Did not see any heavy drinking on Red Wing to NOLA cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted September 14, 2017 #6 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Basically, it's a 6-day trip for drinking purposes. Day #7 is simply eat a quick breakfast and get off the ship. $399/6 = $66.50, which is what I meant by "upwards of $70." Of course, if you have to start drinking really early, I guess your math is correct. I assume it´s a 7 night cruise which totals 8 days. Then it´s 57 USD/night. And you forget the first day in your maths ;). It´s not about day 8 when you leave early. It´s about day 1 when you arrive by noon or in the afternoon and have your first dinner onboard too. BTW that´s the same on ocean going vessels. For a 7 night cruise you pay the package for 7 nights and not just for the 6 full days you´re onboard. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted September 14, 2017 #7 Share Posted September 14, 2017 I assume it´s a 7 night cruise which totals 8 days. Then it´s 57 USD/night. And you forget the first day in your maths ;). It´s not about day 8 when you leave early. It´s about day 1 when you arrive by noon or in the afternoon and have your first dinner onboard too. steamboats Well, steamboats, you assume wrong. It's a SIX night cruise. The cruise starts Dec 4 and we get off the boat the morning of Dec 10. And so $399/6 = $66.50/day. But thanks for pointing out the first day (Dec 4) which I DID include in my "maths" as a full day. ;) But in fact we don't board until LATE afternoon, so I should really count that as a HALF day. $399/5.5=$72.54/day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted September 15, 2017 #8 Share Posted September 15, 2017 O.k., with a 6 night cruise it´s higher (66.50$/night). You can´t blame them for the half day. Even when you board late afternoon you still have dinner and the night to drink ;p! steamboats who BTW never buys such AI drink packages as I would never drink that much to come equal. But I compare the price to those on ocean going vessels ... you pay 65$ plus 18% for the unlimited package with RCI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted September 15, 2017 #9 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Even when you board late afternoon you still have dinner and the night to drink ;p! But bear in mind the first thing after our late afternoon boarding is a complimentary cocktail party, followed by dinner where all drinks are also complimentary. So how much more can one drink after all that? That's why I count the boarding day as a half-day of purchased drinks, if that.;);) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted September 16, 2017 #10 Share Posted September 16, 2017 DaveinCharlotte, And that´s exactly why I never buy an AI drink package on any cruise line ;)! A glass of wine for dinner and a cocktail that´s more than enough for me. Paying single prices is always better for me than a package. I just wanted to point out that the price is within the range of what´s charged in the cruise business. And again, it´s not the cruise line´s fault when you arrive late. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted September 18, 2017 #11 Share Posted September 18, 2017 And again, it´s not the cruise line´s fault when you arrive late.steamboats I was quoting the length of the trip, starting from late afternoon Dec 4, when general boarding begins (not me "arriving late," which I'm not) and ending the morning we disembark Dec 10. Hence my observation that AQSC asking $399 for less than 5 and a half drinking days (72$/day) seems really steep. You say that's normal, and I defer to your experience on other cruise lines. This is my first experience with drink package costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted September 18, 2017 #12 Share Posted September 18, 2017 Just discovered Cruise Critic has an extensive article on drink package costs: https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1470 Some were as low as $20/day; Norwegian as high as $93/day! I did a quick averaging of the packages across the article's 12 cruise lines, and came up with $47.42. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare steamboats Posted September 18, 2017 #13 Share Posted September 18, 2017 As said before it´s within the range of the cruise business and IMHO those AI packages are for heavy drinkers only and no one forces you to buy one. steamboats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted September 19, 2017 #14 Share Posted September 19, 2017 As said before it´s within the range of the cruise businesssteamboats But just barely. Of the 12 cruise lines quoted, it appears that only one is more expensive than what AQSC is charging (for the cruise I'm taking in December, that is -- don't know if AQSC charges this rate for all cruises on all ships). I agree with your contention that drink packages are suited only for heavy drinkers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surmy555 Posted September 19, 2017 #15 Share Posted September 19, 2017 When I contacted them a few months ago they indicated the drink package was $399 per stateroom not per person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveinCharlotte Posted September 20, 2017 #16 Share Posted September 20, 2017 When I contacted them a few months ago they indicated the drink package was $399 per stateroom not per person I'm pretty sure the rep told me $399/pp, but maybe I misunderstood. If so, their price would be very much in line with the other cruise lines, as steamboats has been saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surmy555 Posted October 24, 2017 #17 Share Posted October 24, 2017 I just added the drink package to my September Empress cruise and it was $399 for the cabin not per person.Covers drinks up to $12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9pal Posted November 2, 2017 #18 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Unlike ocean cruises, soft drinks are complementary with meals. Wine and beer only are included at dinner only, and you are limited in your choices although we found them to be very good (they changed nightly depending on what region we were in). Wine was typically $8/glass in the bar, beer was $6, and cocktails could be $10-12 or so. 15% bar gratuity is automatically added to each bill. There was a Happy Hour each day from 2-4, beer was $1 off and wine was $2 off. You could bring wine on board also. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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