How free is your drink package, really?

[Tapi]

3 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Even MSC charges the cabins different for the Easy Drink Package, or not.... 

I guess each cruise line figures out a way to upsell. With MSC, at first I found all the different “classes of service” (Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, Wellness, Yacht Club) VERY confusing, but after getting myself familiarized with what each one includes, I now consider MSC to offer the biggest bank for your buck. For our last cruise, we booked an Aurea experience cabin which came with the free drink package, unlimited access to the thermal suite, 2 free massages, access to a private solarium deck, priority embarkation, and special Aurea room service menu. 

 

It was hard to determine though how much extra MSC was charging for all the extras since my type of stateroom was only offered with the Aurea experience, but at least I didn’t see a separate line in my price summary for gratuities (for neither the drink package or the spa treatments). I was actually pleasantly surprised when we went for our massages and they told us that the gratuity had already been covered. 

[fshagan]

3 hours ago, wilsonhold@gmail.com said:

We are over 21, and light drinkers. I been wondering if you have the option to chose the soda package  instead of the beverage package as one of the free at sea promotions. There does not seem to be method to do it online, but instead if maybe it could be changed if you called ncl directly. The service charge on soft drinks currently is under 2 dollars a day. It seems to be an option if passengers are under 21.  Does anyone know? 

 

We always choose other perks because the drink package costs us more in gratuities than we normally drink! I can't imagine having three or four drinks a day, but plenty of people have more than that while on a cruise (they have a very professional designated driver at the helm, after all). So I totally get why it's a great perk for them. Just not for me. I think it would burn a hole in my stomach and I'd bleed out because of the blood thinners I'm on.

 

Usually, with our typical balcony cabin we have the choice of 2 or 3 out of 4 or 5 perks. We choose other perks. We do take the dining perk because the "fancy" food is worth the extra $14 or whatever it is for a week (we would normally not pay the cover charge for the specialties unless we had OBC to use up).

[Fragile-Beauty]

Just booked 21 day Jade and drink package was almost $500 paid in advance as 20%fee.  We declined. 

[senseib]

2 hours ago, Fragile-Beauty said:

Just booked 21 day Jade and drink package was almost $500 paid in advance as 20%fee.  We declined. 

 

21 days would be $415.80, so not almost $500.  If you’re not going to average 2 adult beverages a day on a 21 day cruise then you should take a different offer.  NCL will be more than happy to accomodate you.

[tallnthensome]

2 hours ago, senseib said:

 

21 days would be $415.80, so not almost $500.  If you’re not going to average 2 adult beverages a day on a 21 day cruise then you should take a different offer.  NCL will be more than happy to accomodate you.

I agree, for 21 days I don't know how you could NOT take advantage of a drink package for two for less than $500. That would be $2400 for Cheers on Carnival or $2100 on Royal ......... If you drink zero cocktails, wine or beer then I get it otherwise you're crazy to pass that up. 

[newmexicoNita]

12 hours ago, cheersforbeers said:

A lot of the statements on this thread are total BS........

As a perk the Drink Package is F

and why do you say that? I think a statement of opinion is fine if it is backed up by some reasoning. Now I have read your other posts: understand how you feel but still say you are wrong. Of course there are extra charges but still the booze itself is free. As for gratuities you are going to pay them whether you take the perk or buy drinks as you go along or you should anyway. 

so tell us: if you have say 3 perks with your booking and you do enjoy a few drinks each day what 3 perks would you take if not the free drinks?. 

[ray98]

22 hours ago, cementhands said:

Friends of ours always cruise NCL for the drinks package. Recently, New Year’s Eve, I made the mistake of trying to explain the true cost of the drinks package. You have to pay extra for the room. You have to pay the extra service fee. This can be as much as an extra $1,000.00 for a 11 or 14 nights cruise.

My point is that it’s not free. It might not even be worth it even if you drink a lot. If you’re going to be on a cruise with 5 island stops you are going to be ashore for a good portion of time.

 I also found it funny that they never saw Second City comedy onboard. They’ve been on like 6 Ncl cruises with second city. Must of been drunk and missed it. Second city comedy is no longer available.

Needless to say Ncl and Celebrity are competing with the land based all inclusive vacation.

I personally long for the days of yesteryear when passengers got drunk the first few days. When you paid for your drinks.

Got a copy of their bar tab.

And sobered up!

You think you have it all figured out but you don't.  You are trying to make something overly simple that if full of variables.

 

So yes, I have to pay the 'service fee'.  However I am also paying tips when I purchase by the drink so I am not escaping it.

 

If I am on a cruise with 5 stops I will go ashore but certainly not for the entire day, many times we are back way early.  Some days we may not even leave the ship.  Even if I stay until the normal 4pm departure I still have a solid 8 hours to enjoy myself.

 

So, maybe you should let other people spend their money as they see fit depending on the value it bring to them instead of your skewed sliding scale.

Edited January 15, 2019 by ray98

[cheersforbeers]

24 minutes ago, ray98 said:

You think you have it all figured out but you don't.  You are trying to make something overly simple that if full of variables.

 

So yes, I have to pay the 'service fee'.  However I am also paying tips when I purchase by the drink so I am not escaping it.

 

If I am on a cruise with 5 stops I will go ashore but certainly not for the entire day, many times we are back way early.  Some days we may not even leave the ship.  Even if I stay until the normal 4pm departure I still have a solid 8 hours to enjoy myself.

 

So, maybe you should let other people spend their money as they see fit depending on the value it bring to them instead of your skewed sliding scale.

I’ll drink to that.  

[cheersforbeers]

2 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

and why do you say that? I think a statement of opinion is fine if it is backed up by some reasoning. Now I have read your other posts: understand how you feel but still say you are wrong. Of course there are extra charges but still the booze itself is free. As for gratuities you are going to pay them whether you take the perk or buy drinks as you go along or you should anyway. 

so tell us: if you have say 3 perks with your booking and you do enjoy a few drinks each day what 3 perks would you take if not the free drinks?. 

NONE, I stated my opinion just as others did and gave very sound reasoning but you stated I was wrong. Who made you decider of who is right or wrong.  IMHO

[graphicguy]

Still try to wrap my arms around why some get their skivvies all in a bunch over the drinks perk.

 

Yes, they consider the drinks “free”.  Paying for the tips, service charge....whatever you want to call it, is part of the package.  If you figure you’re not going to drink much, go a la carte on drinks.  I think beers run $6-$8ea for most.....wines run about $9ea.....mixed drinks run about $10-$15ea.  Plus, you offer a tip for those, so add in a little extra.  If you don’t figure to cover the cost of the service charges for the drink package, don’t include it.

 

It’s pretty simple, really!

 

I know I’ve bought drink packages on Celebrity and Royal, and they’re a whole lot more expensive than taking the drink package perk on NCL.

 

I think I did “per drink” on Carnival and was shocked how much I spent on a 7 day cruise.....over $1,200.

 

Again, do what makes most sense to you.  This topic has been beat every which way including sideways.  Not sure where the confusion is.

[cheersforbeers]

Y

3 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Still try to wrap my arms around why some get their skivvies all in a bunch over the drinks perk.

 

Yes, they consider the drinks “free”.  Paying for the tips, service charge....whatever you want to call it, is part of the package.  If you figure you’re not going to drink much, go a la carte on drinks.  I think beers run $6-$8ea for most.....wines run about $9ea.....mixed drinks run about $10-$15ea.  Plus, you offer a tip for those, so add in a little extra.  If you don’t figure to cover the cost of the service charges for the drink package, don’t include it.

 

It’s pretty simple, really!

 

I know I’ve bought drink packages on Celebrity and Royal, and they’re a whole lot more expensive than taking the drink package perk on NCL.

 

I think I did “per drink” on Carnival and was shocked how much I spent on a 7 day cruise.....over $1,200.

 

Again, do what makes most sense to you.  This topic has been beat every which way including sideways.  Not sure where the confusion is.

Another OPONION I’ll drink to. I also had a 4 figure bar tab my first cruise before buckets and figuring grat was already added to my beer. I kept giving a tip with each beer but I never waited on getting another. 

[TFLG]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Still try to wrap my arms around why some get their skivvies all in a bunch over the drinks perk.

 

 

Because it's cuise critic and panty bunching is what they do here

And lots of people are still shocked when they find out there really aren't any free lunches......

 

take the bevvy package and drink enough to forget all this nonsense

[farmecologist]

On 1/15/2019 at 10:15 AM, TFLG said:

 

Because it's cuise critic and panty bunching is what they do here

And lots of people are still shocked when they find out there really aren't any free lunches......

 

take the bevvy package and drink enough to forget all this nonsense

 

I somewhat agree.  But many like to 'do the math' around here...but 'the math' seems to differ for everyone! 

 

The funny thing is...NONE of the high value perks are 'free'.   The dining perk includes a similar  'gratuity fee' that you see with the drink package perk.  The 'free or reduced airfare' perk is often not free at all, etc...

 

For our upcoming sailing on the Jade we chose the drink package perk, dining perk, free airfare perk (it was $99 pp), and they threw in the 'unlimited internet' plan.   Taken together, it is a tremendous value.  And yes, I did price it out with and without the perks.  

 

I think each of us has a different opinion on what a 'good value' is though....hence the debate here.  👍

 

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by farmecologist

[TFLG]

2 hours ago, farmecologist said:

 

I somewhat agree.  But many like to 'do the math' around here...but 'the math' seems to differ for everyone! 

 

The funny thing is...NONE of the high value perks are 'free'.   The dining perk includes a similar  'gratuity fee' that you see with the drink package perk.  The 'free or reduced airfare' perk is often not free at all, etc...

 

For our upcoming sailing on the Jade we chose the drink package perk, dining perk, free airfare perk (it was $99 pp), and they threw in the 'unlimited internet' plan.   Taken together, it is a tremendous value.  And yes, I did price it out with and without the perks.  

 

I think each of us has a different opinion on what a 'good value' is though....hence the debate here.  👍

 

 

You gotta do the math but even then it's fuzzy math (like fake news but with more whiskey).  My upcoming Bliss cruise with all the freebies is running about $3300.  Before they started the freebies, that cruise would have been about $1800-$2000k (and sometimes way less). But after paying my onboard bill the total would probably have been $3500 +/- a few benjamins.  It's so hard to compare apples to apples but these deals are no where near as good as they seem.  I do luv the beverage packages tho!

[umpire56]

On 1/14/2019 at 10:42 AM, KeithJenner said:

As with everything, it depends on individual circumstances.

 

If you are the sort of person who is happy to just book a guarantee cabin, and doesn't mind where they are located, then the cost of the Free at Sea perks can be considerable when you take into account the additional cost of a cabin which qualifies for it compared to a sailaway.

 

If you would be happy to pay some extra for a specific cabin then you should take into account how much extra you would be willing to pay for that. For example, we always used to pay the extra to pick our room even before Free at Sea came along. I'm sure that the difference between the two has increased, but the fact that we were willing to pay more just for the room selection is relevant.

 

Alternatively, we almost always pick specific rooms, where guarantees aren't even an option. Most of our recent cruises have been in aft rooms, large balconies or on some ships particular rooms which we know have specific advantages to us. In those cases, sailaway rooms aren't even an option, and we are happy with the price we pay for that room. Therefore, the beverage package costs us nothing extra.

 

There is no one answer to questions like this.

Booking a guarantee cabin, if available, does get you the perks you're entitled to for the category you book .  A Sailaway category does not give you perks.  

[pspercy]

On 1/14/2019 at 9:42 AM, KeithJenner said:

As with everything, it depends on individual circumstances.

 

If you are the sort of person who is happy to just book a guarantee cabin, and doesn't mind where they are located, then the cost of the Free at Sea perks can be considerable when you take into account the additional cost of a cabin which qualifies for it compared to a sailaway.

 

If you would be happy to pay some extra for a specific cabin then you should take into account how much extra you would be willing to pay for that. For example, we always used to pay the extra to pick our room even before Free at Sea came along. I'm sure that the difference between the two has increased, but the fact that we were willing to pay more just for the room selection is relevant.

 

Alternatively, we almost always pick specific rooms, where guarantees aren't even an option. Most of our recent cruises have been in aft rooms, large balconies or on some ships particular rooms which we know have specific advantages to us. In those cases, sailaway rooms aren't even an option, and we are happy with the price we pay for that room. Therefore, the beverage package costs us nothing extra.

 

There is no one answer to questions like this.

 

We booked a 14dy oceanview  with package and so on a while back,  yesterday I did a (intended to be) mock booking using Sailaway rate for oceanview (OX).

 

It was $2,000 cheaper overall ($1000/pp) and showed a cabin assignment as well !! So I booked it too  and will likely cancel the first one.

Edited January 18, 2019 by pspercy

[senseib]

7 hours ago, pspercy said:

 

We booked a 14dy oceanview  with package and so on a while back,  yesterday I did a (intended to be) mock booking using Sailaway rate for oceanview (OX).

 

It was $2,000 cheaper overall ($1000/pp) and showed a cabin assignment as well !! So I booked it too  and will likely cancel the first one.

Which cruise is that?

[Takoyaki]

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 11:08 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

I posted this on a similar thread a few days ago, but it is worth repeating:

 

So many people overlook the VALUE of not having to stress about how much you are spending on drinks. It is sooooooo much nicer to just swipe your card and go and not worry about it at all. Having to sign receipts, constantly keeping a running tally of how much your are spending, feeling like you HAVE to finish a drink to get your "money's worth", not being willing to try something new in case you end up not liking it.... All of that could seriously detract from the QUALITY of your vacation. Might you save a few bucks buying drinks individually and not getting the drink package? Maybe, but think long and hard what the additional stress will "cost" you in terms of enjoyment.

 

I agree 1000% sometimes its best to spend a bit more and avoid worry.

 

As someone who travels on cruises but also on road trips and more freeform adventures this is personally a big appeal of cruising to me. Cruises tend to be our relaxation time. I don't want to be thinking about the bank and all of that stress when I am there. we can just shut the outside world off for a few days. All inclusive all the way.

 

PS. Like everyone before me said. Why judge how they want to spend their time. If they pay for it, enjoy it, and don't cause any trouble why do you care if they get a bit wasted? I am sure plenty of us here would think some things you spend money on is stupid, and you would likely think the same of some of our choices, but in the end my money is mine and theirs is theirs.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 1/14/2019 at 10:08 AM, rbschultz said:

Costs me $100-some-odd for a week of drinking. Even if I drink a really light amount it is still worth it to me. To each their own. If I consume 2 $10 drinks per day (for example a glass of wine at dinner and a drink by the pool during the day) I still come out ahead. This doesn't take into account drinking at the casino, during the evening dance parties, etc. 

the point is that besides the "free drink" cost, the initial cost of the cabin is higher compared to a Sailaway guarantee cabin without the perks. That should also be added to the final cost comparison.

Edited January 18, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[farmecologist]

11 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

the point is that besides the "free drink" cost, the initial cost of the cabin is higher compared to a Sailaway guarantee cabin without the perks. That should also be added to the final cost comparison.

 

Yes..every sailing is different.  While researching, the best idea is to calculate the cost with and without the perks.   

 

Like I said above, the difference with perks vs. no perks for our sailing on the Jade was around $800.  So the $800 got us the drink package perk, dining perk, free airfare, and the 'unlimited internet' plan.   Taken together, it was a tremendous value...the airfare perk was the kicker.  Nonstop flights to Miami don't come cheap around here.  I don't agree that 'the initial cost of the cabin was higher'...at least in our case.  However, that could certainly be the case depending on the sailing.

 

Unfortunately, the answer here is that the cruise lines don't want to make it easy for us.    To be completely thorough one must always do a perk vs. no perk comparison to get the 'true value'.  However, this obviously takes more time and effort.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2019 by farmecologist

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 minute ago, farmecologist said:

 

Yes..every sailing is different.  While researching, the best idea is to calculate the cost with and without the perks.   

 

Like I said above, the difference with perks vs. no perks for our sailing on the Jade was around $800.  So the $800 got us the drink package perk, dining perk, free airfare, and the 'unlimited internet' plan.   Taken together, it was a tremendous value...the airfare perk was the kicker.  Nonstop flights to Miami don't come cheap around here.  I don't agree that 'the initial cost of the cabin was higher'...at least in our case.  However, that could certainly be the case depending on the sailing.

 

Unfortunately, the answer here is that the cruise lines don't want to make it easy for us.    To be completely thorough one must always do a perk vs. no perk comparison to get the 'true value'.  However, this obviously takes more time and effort.

 

 

depends on the sailing. When we were on Jade (nov 2018), we could only have 1 perk added to the inside room or 2 to a balcony. I priced "the 3rd person free" perk against the sailaway rate. Well, what do you know - the final price with the 3rd person free was actually higher than the sailaway cabin with 3 paid for people.

There was no free airfare anyway. The only choices were drink package, specialty food, 250 minute internet or 3 and 4 persons free.

[farmecologist]

8 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

depends on the sailing. When we were on Jade (nov 2018), we could only have 1 perk added to the inside room or 2 to a balcony. I priced "the 3rd person free" perk against the sailaway rate. Well, what do you know - the final price with the 3rd person free was actually higher than the sailaway cabin with 3 paid for people.

There was no free airfare anyway. The only choices were drink package, specialty food, 250 minute internet or 3 and 4 persons free.

 

Yes...I said 'every sailing is different' in the very first sentence of my reply above....You must not have missed that? lol

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

59 minutes ago, farmecologist said:

 

Yes...I said 'every sailing is different' in the very first sentence of my reply above....You must not have missed that? lol

 

that was me agreeing with you. Probably, would have helped if I'd said "yeap, depends on the sailing". :)

Edited January 18, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[citygirl62]

"Free Drinks Package" is better than sticker shock at the end of the cruise.  Plus you'd be surprised at how many people try to avoid giving tips for service.  Even at all inclusive resorts we tip wait and service staff generously.

 

The worst thing I remember on a cruise was when I was waiting in line at Guest Services for a replacement ID card I'd lost and the couple in front of me were trying to reverse out the tips charges for the WHOLE trip because they bought an extra set of sheets, made their own bed and tidied up!  I was flabbergasted.

[Joebucks]

It's amazing how effective marketing is. People will pay $3000 for something and see it as a better deal than $2500 for the same thing that had the dreaded..... nickel and dimes! (gasp) People will pay more so it doesn't "feel" like they are paying more. In the glorious world of vacationing, there is no more annoying topic than the complaining about fees and charges. Hands-down.

 

These promos can absolutely offer some great value. Sometimes they don't. It's really not all that complicated though. Figure what is important to you. Price it out the total packages. Don't concern yourself with all of the nonsense in the middle. Your whole life, people are going to tell you how you are "saving money" when you aren't. 

 

I let that topic bother me more than it should. It's great to see people doing things that make them happy. I just can't even count how many people have told me how amazing X trip was, and how everything was "free". "You should do it! It's better than your vacation!" All for the low price of ridiculously expensive, and they couldn't afford it. But hey, at least they "broke even" on large upsells by having a drinking schedule and gorging themselves on everything.