Does Princess ever Discount the Drink Package?

[armymom101]

Sailing on Emerald Princess 15 days to Hawaii.  I am wondering does Princess ever have a sale on the Ultimate Beverage Package as the sail date gets closer?  I did not get a Sip and Sail on this cruise when I booked, but great on board credits and gratuities.  I want to get the UBP but am wondering if I should wait to see if they offer a reduction in price

[jennybenny]

No.  We've been doing it for years.  It's always the same price before cruise, and on the cruise.  Plus it's for the entire cruise, so it would be for 15 days for you.  No discount if you get it on day 2 of the cruise.  You still pay full price

[Colo Cruiser]

No and you have to purchase for the entire cruise. Not proratable.

[paul929207]

Other than the Sip & Sail, no discounts on the drink package.

[oskidunker]

You need to be a heavy drinker for this to be worthwhile would not make sense for me. 

[mcrcruiser]

Buying wine by the bottle or a package if available is for us

[jennybenny]

31 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Buying wine by the bottle or a package if available is for us

I am converting to bringing my own wine on our next cruise. It will be the first cruise in years since we have not purchased the drink package.  We had been doing it for convenience, prepay all drinks and not incur additional charges on board, but I'd rather bring my preferred wine and pay corkage.  Still cheaper than buying something similar on board

 

36 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

You need to be a heavy drinker for this to be worthwhile would not make sense for me. 

 

The previous package to us felt like a worthwhile deal. 

Large bottles of water used to be included (the small ones are worse for the environment), and now they are not. Just the small bottles

Used to have 40% discount on bottles of wine, now it's only 25% and the prices have gone up

Specialty coffee included, okay, it still is.

 

Overall, the price increase and the decreased benefits have made us not want to pay for the package again. 

It really only takes 6 drinks a day to make the package worthwhile.  Include the bottled water, coffee, soda, and it's not terribly priced. Nor do I think that it's way too much drinking. On a port intensive cruise I agree, it's not worthwhile, but on a lot of sea days, well, it's doable.  It's funny how that extra $10 a day keeps us from paying for it again.  In the end, we will drink just as much, and spend less overall money but now I will have a balance at the end of my cruise, which I hate.

 

[Astro Flyer]

35 minutes ago, jennybenny said:

I am converting to bringing my own wine on our next cruise. It will be the first cruise in years since we have not purchased the drink package.  We had been doing it for convenience, prepay all drinks and not incur additional charges on board, but I'd rather bring my preferred wine and pay corkage.  Still cheaper than buying something similar on board.

A recent post said that as the new wine list is being implemented fleetwide this Fall that wine packages are being discontinued. 😟

 

I’m keeping packing material from wine shipped to my house to now pack my own bottles for cruises where we can drive to the port.

[GUT2407]

Nope, never seen any discounts.

[c-boy]

3 hours ago, jennybenny said:

I am converting to bringing my own wine on our next cruise. It will be the first cruise in years since we have not purchased the drink package.  We had been doing it for convenience, prepay all drinks and not incur additional charges on board, but I'd rather bring my preferred wine and pay corkage.  Still cheaper than buying something similar on board

 

 

The previous package to us felt like a worthwhile deal. 

Large bottles of water used to be included (the small ones are worse for the environment), and now they are not. Just the small bottles

Used to have 40% discount on bottles of wine, now it's only 25% and the prices have gone up

Specialty coffee included, okay, it still is.

 

Overall, the price increase and the decreased benefits have made us not want to pay for the package again. 

It really only takes 6 drinks a day to make the package worthwhile.  Include the bottled water, coffee, soda, and it's not terribly priced. Nor do I think that it's way too much drinking. On a port intensive cruise I agree, it's not worthwhile, but on a lot of sea days, well, it's doable.  It's funny how that extra $10 a day keeps us from paying for it again.  In the end, we will drink just as much, and spend less overall money but now I will have a balance at the end of my cruise, which I hate.

 

so uh ... is that 15 dollars per bottle corkage fee when bringing your own wine?

Edited November 21, 2018 by c-boy

[jennybenny]

24 minutes ago, c-boy said:

so uh ... is that 15 dollars per bottle corkage fee when bringing your own wine?

Yes.  If I'm driving to port then I'm going to bring my own wine.  If I buy Caymus, it's $75 plus $15... on Princess way more, Stags leap Artemis is nice ($45 plus $15 corkage), heck even Conundrum red blend ($20 plus $15 corkage) still a steal. I belong to wine clubs (already paid for), bring a few of those bottles as well and they are better wine than what I can get on Princess for a cheaper price. 

Don't get me wrong, I like the cheap stuff too, Spellbound is nice, and it has been a nightly wine when cruising, but I'm so frustrated with Princess current wine pricing and drink package elimination of benefits that I'm OK with paying the $15 for stuff I want.  I'm doing at least a case.  It's a bummer that cabins are no longer available until 1.  I'll be lugging my case o' wine with me on our next cruise, but 15 days is an expensive drink package (which we've paid for in the past).  I'm just over it.  We did it for convenience, but I don't like the way pricing is going.  

Did you like my rant?  Sorry, but I'm very passionate about this. 

[skynight]

12 hours ago, armymom101 said:

Sailing on Emerald Princess 15 days to Hawaii.  I am wondering does Princess ever have a sale on the Ultimate Beverage Package as the sail date gets closer?  I did not get a Sip and Sail on this cruise when I booked, but great on board credits and gratuities.  I want to get the UBP but am wondering if I should wait to see if they offer a reduction in price

No discounts.

• The Premier Beverage Package must be purchased for every day a passenger is sailing. Partial / pro-rated packages or purchase for segments of a guest’s voyage are NOT accepted.
• The package may be pre-purchased up to four days prior to boarding the vessel.
• The package is offered onboard on embarkation day, and is NOT sold after embarkation day.
• The package is NOT available for pre-purchase within three days of sailing.
• The package is NOT available for voyages under seven nights for Australian-based itineraries, or voyages two nights or under for all other itineraries.
• The package is NOT refundable or transferable once purchased onboard, and for advance purchased packages, NOT refundable or transferable within three days of sailing.

 

[qqwer123]

We always look for the sip,and sail promo and try to get it on our future cruises.