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Refreshment package

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Staying Focused

Staying Focused

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We were thinking if getting the soda package for my sister who will cruising with us, but I've been looking harder at the refreshment package. I'm trying to decide if we would drink enough to make it worth it. We've only been on one other cruise (4 day) and did not purchase any packages, just brought and refilled our own bottles and used the crystal light additive.

Having said that, this cruise is a 7 day (Oasis in May), and since we don't drink alcohol the refreshment package would be the one to get. Since I don't have experience with drink prices on board, what would I be looking at to break even?

If say, I got a coffee, 2-3 bottles of water and 1-2 NA cocktails a day, is that "enough"? Isn't there coffee of some sort available that is included already?

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Forums mobile app

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zdad59

zdad59

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Coffee....$3-$4

Water.....$2.50 per bottle

NA Drinks......$5 ??

 

$4 + $7.50+ $10 = $21.50

 

Pretty close to the daily price of the refreshment package. The kicker for me though is that it's close enough that when you get it, you don't have to worry or think about cost for the whole trip. And what might you be saving?? $20 over a weeks time. For me its a no brainer. I don't want to have to think while I'm cruising.

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payitforward

payitforward

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The Freestyle Coke machines on Oasis class ships add a ton of value to the soda package. In addition to soda pop, they also have flavored water, sparkling flavored water, Powerade and Powerade Zero, Lemonade, and some other juices.

 

Regular coffee and tea are free, but you would pay extra for specialty coffees.

 

I've attached a summary of what each package includes. Ignore the "current prices" as those were for a specific group on a specific cruise.

Drink Packages.docx

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Clarea

Clarea

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Coffee....$3-$4

Water.....$2.50 per bottle

NA Drinks......$5 ??

 

$4 + $7.50+ $10 = $21.50

 

Pretty close to the daily price of the refreshment package. The kicker for me though is that it's close enough that when you get it, you don't have to worry or think about cost for the whole trip. And what might you be saving?? $20 over a weeks time. For me its a no brainer. I don't want to have to think while I'm cruising.

Add a fresh squeezed OJ in the morning, and it's break even. Even better if the package goes on sale for $18.

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brklyn78

brklyn78

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I wasn't thinking of the flavored water option of the freestyle. Gives me some options.

What about Labadee? Any freestyle there or pretty much just cocktails?

 

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No freestyle machine on Labadee, but they have soda in cans. The more fun option there (I don’t drink either) is the non-alcoholic Labadooze. It’s this frozen slushy fruit punch type thing that is delicious. The NA version is included in the package as long as you ask for it in a regular cup and not the souvenir one.

 

In addition to what everyone else has mentioned, I like being able to get tea lattes on board with the Refreshment package.

 

At night before bed, on Allure, my favorite thing was going to cafe promenade and grabbing one of the free decaf black tea bags (I can’t drink camomile and they didn’t have a decaf black tea in the specialty section behind the counter) and having the baristas turn it into a decaf black tea latte (specifically, a decaf London Fog). Without the package this would be completely stupid because I’d be paying for what is essentially a free tea with extras added in (steam milk and sf vanilla syrup), but because I had the package it didn’t matter. I could get exactly what I wanted and not worry about it.

 

 

Brooke sent this from her iPad using Tapatalk

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brklyn78

brklyn78

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It's showing it at $18 right now on my cruise planner. Hopefully it's still there tomorrow when I have a chance to discuss with DH.

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

That $18 sale seems pretty common, but to be safe you could always buy it now, then cancel it if he talks you out of it. [emoji6]

 

 

Brooke sent this from her iPad using Tapatalk

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payitforward

payitforward

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Also you can get the Gatorade/Powerade with the refreshment package. We had this package on Serenade sailing 5-15 Jan18. It was nice to grab water on the way out to shore excursions and when we got back on the ship.

 

On the ships with the Freestyle machines, you can get the Powerade with just the soda package. I always take empty water bottles, and will dump from my Coke cup into the bottle to take water or Powerade along with me on excursions.

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timf2001

timf2001

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DH was under the impression that with the soda only package there is some code on the cup that literally only allows you to get soda from the machine. But, anything that the freestyle machine offers is fair game right?

The cups are coded in that you need the cup to get any drink from the Freestyle machine. In addition, there is a cool down period of 30-60 minutes between uses. The cup is the same no matter what package you have, and gives you access to all drinks in the machine.

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reallyitsmema

reallyitsmema

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The cups are coded in that you need the cup to get any drink from the Freestyle machine. In addition, there is a cool down period of 30-60 minutes between uses. The cup is the same no matter what package you have, and gives you access to all drinks in the machine.

 

There is an RFID chip in the base of the cup that activates the machine. Some ships have a waiting period between drinks so that you don't fill your cup, dump it into a cup for someone else and fill it again. We have gotten the cups on all of our cruises for years and have never seen a waiting period longer than 15 minutes. Recently, we haven't even seen a waiting period.

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payitforward

payitforward

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For a person that is not a soda drinker or coffee the package is not worth it at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

But, if you like flavored or sparkling water (or flavored sparkling water), Powerade, lemonade and more, the soda package on any ship with the Freestyle machineswill get you all of these things for just 8.50 per day.

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MsOne

MsOne

Posted
Posted
Coffee....$3-$4

Water.....$2.50 per bottle

NA Drinks......$5 ??

 

$4 + $7.50+ $10 = $21.50

 

Pretty close to the daily price of the refreshment package. The kicker for me though is that it's close enough that when you get it, you don't have to worry or think about cost for the whole trip. And what might you be saving?? $20 over a weeks time. For me its a no brainer. I don't want to have to think while I'm cruising.

 

We were thinking if getting the soda package for my sister who will cruising with us, but I've been looking harder at the refreshment package. I'm trying to decide if we would drink enough to make it worth it. We've only been on one other cruise (4 day) and did not purchase any packages, just brought and refilled our own bottles and used the crystal light additive.

Having said that, this cruise is a 7 day (Oasis in May), and since we don't drink alcohol the refreshment package would be the one to get. Since I don't have experience with drink prices on board, what would I be looking at to break even?

If say, I got a coffee, 2-3 bottles of water and 1-2 NA cocktails a day, is that "enough"? Isn't there coffee of some sort available that is included already?

 

Sent from my XT1585 using Forums mobile app

 

The above scenario only applies if you are getting specialty coffee. Regular coffee (caff and decaf) are included for all passengers. So unless you want lattes, frappuccinos, etc., then just purchase by the drink.

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SailorTodd

SailorTodd

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I got a medium latte every morning with my refreshment package. The frozen coffee and tea drinks were also available. I read somewhere that smoothies were included. I really enjoyed the package.

 

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On the topic of beverage packages and coffee, will they throw in an extra shot or two of espresso if you ask for it with a latte? Or if you're drinking espresso straight, is there a maximum number of espresso shots they'll give you at once? I typically get a quad espresso if I'm drinking espresso. Borrowing this thread so I don't have to start a new thread for related topic...

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cruisefan0110

cruisefan0110

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On our last cruise my wife and I "upgraded" to the refreshment package. For us, it was most certainly worth it. The coffee and fresh OJ were well used. But the real kicker for us was the virgin frozen daiquiris we had during entertainment. The mango, strawberry, and others were widely used. You can also get the drink of the day as a virgin drink, The Lava Blast(???) was fantastic. I only hope we can get that nice 30% discount for our next cruise.

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