Drink Package Confusion

[davecttr]

How much is a bottle of beer, say Old Speckled Hen?. I am used to 'free' drinks packages but my booze consumption has dropped dramatically so nearly £40 per day is far too much.

 

Edit - apologies just found it, £4.30 for Doom Bar, a couple a day so no drinks package for me

 

Edit - It is £3.87, I forgot I am caribbean tier

Edited January 5, 2020 by davecttr

[GaznPaula]

15 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

I am sure peteukmcr is not missing the point he is not a solo cruiser so obviously he knows as he said that the cost would be £39-95pppd so as long as he and whoever he is cruising with can get the benefit at that price then it would be cost effective. Some it will be good value others not it all depends how much and what you drink.

 

Why quote a price per person per day ?

If you are a solo traveller then that is the price.

If you want the drinks package and you are not a solo traveller then approx £560 or £1120 will be added to you on board account if you are on a 7 or 14 day cruise. I use the word approx.

So can you drink that much ? 

Its a harsh but cold figure. And an expensive one lol

 

[majortom10]

1 minute ago, GaznPaula said:

Why quote a price per person per day ?

If you are a solo traveller then that is the price.

If you want the drinks package and you are not a solo traveller then approx £560 or £1120 will be added to you on board account if you are on a 7 or 14 day cruise. I use the word approx.

So can you drink that much ? 

Its a harsh but cold figure. And an expensive one lol

 

Because that is what P&O advertise it at they cannot advertise it as a price per cabin because numbers of people in cabin varies. Think everybody knows that £39-95 x no of days of cruise will be the price added to your onboard account and after all OBC is used then appropriate Peninsular Club discount will be applied if applicable.

[peteukmcr]

36 minutes ago, GaznPaula said:

No i just think you are missing the point .

Its a total cabin cost of £80 a day.

So can YOUR cabin consume £80 of booze a day over a 6 or 7 or 13 or 14 night period ?

Yes, but if you re-read my example, the £80 is not just alcohol which all the negative comments seem to concentrate on. There are soft drinks, coffees, and bottles of waters to consider.

Edited January 5, 2020 by peteukmcr

[GaznPaula]

Just now, majortom10 said:

Because that is what P&O advertise it at they cannot advertise it as a price per cabin because numbers of people in cabin varies. Think everybody knows that £39-95 x no of days of cruise will be the price added to your onboard account and after all OBC is used then appropriate Peninsular Club discount will be applied if applicable.

The cold hard lump sum price normally is the figure people want to see.

Bit like a supermarket selling items based on £/100g...

Thing is, if you are a boozer, it will be worth it. 

Given that the average person would struggle to drink 3 liters of water a day, and tes there is tea and coffee..

The package offered DOES NOT compare to that of the parent company Carnival.

Carnival is an average of 6 alcoholic drinks to break even.

P&O is 8.

 

[Jennizor]

We have never had a problem getting wine in the main dining room. We have always ordered a wine package and soon as we sat down the wine waiter came for our order and coupon. We have decided, however, to try the drinks package on our Caribbean cruise in Feb for a couple of reasons. My husband has a walking problem at the moment so we will be spending more time than usual on board. We have quite a lot of obc and combined with the loyalty discount it appears good value. We like a coffee or two, lots of water as well as wine, G&Ts etc. I don’t do much shopping on board (I do enough of that before the holiday).  We will do a review after and decide whether we would do it again. 

[GaznPaula]

1 minute ago, peteukmcr said:

Yes

Well i would not declare that on any future insurance form lol

[majortom10]

10 minutes ago, GaznPaula said:

The cold hard lump sum price normally is the figure people want to see.

Bit like a supermarket selling items based on £/100g...

Thing is, if you are a boozer, it will be worth it. 

Given that the average person would struggle to drink 3 liters of water a day, and tes there is tea and coffee..

The package offered DOES NOT compare to that of the parent company Carnival.

Carnival is an average of 6 alcoholic drinks to break even.

P&O is 8.

 

Cunard is even dearer and less value for money. Princess used to be also dearer than P&O but they currently have an offer of gratuities, wi-fi and full drinks package for $35 per person a day. Like all companies they advertise things that might look better value than actually is and I can never see P&O or any other cruise line ever changing pppd price i.e P&O £39-95 and instead advertise it as for 14nt cruise £560pp.

Edited January 5, 2020 by majortom10

[davemorton]

So, an average day perhaps.  Couple of coffees in the morning, unsure of price but lets say £6, 2 bottles of water to take ashore, £4? a glass of fizz or a couple of cocktails when back on board £14?  couple of G&T's before dinner, £10?, a glass of wine with dinner, £6, then a nightcap before bed, £6. 

Prices are guesses as I cant remember, but about £46? 

Yes, perhaps excessive at home, but on holiday? 

[peteukmcr]

1 hour ago, GaznPaula said:

Well i would not declare that on any future insurance form lol

Please re read my post, it is not just alcohol which you appear to be fixated on that can make £39.95 good value. What people consider expensive is a personal perception. You have yours and we have ours. But I don’t consider your remark about what I should, or should not declare on any future insurance form amusing, I find it insulting. Oh and by the way, we don’t have any issue rehydrating by consuming 2 litres of water a day. 
 

However, I’m over having to validate our decision to take a package, I don’t need to explain our reasoning, it’s our decision, but I do object to the inference that we are ‘boozers’ to use your terminology, no doubt you perceive us as alcoholics. 
 

Edited January 5, 2020 by peteukmcr

[davemorton]

1 hour ago, GaznPaula said:

The cold hard lump sum price normally is the figure people want to see.

Bit like a supermarket selling items based on £/100g...

Thing is, if you are a boozer, it will be worth it. 

Given that the average person would struggle to drink 3 liters of water a day, and tes there is tea and coffee..

The package offered DOES NOT compare to that of the parent company Carnival.

Carnival is an average of 6 alcoholic drinks to break even.

P&O is 8.

 

Guidelines for a country like Spain is an average through the year of 2.2l a day, so if you want to be healthy, then yes, in hotter climates you should be drinking 3 litres a day. 

[terrierjohn]

11 hours ago, GaznPaula said:

The cold hard lump sum price normally is the figure people want to see.

Bit like a supermarket selling items based on £/100g...

Thing is, if you are a boozer, it will be worth it. 

Given that the average person would struggle to drink 3 liters of water a day, and tes there is tea and coffee..

The package offered DOES NOT compare to that of the parent company Carnival.

Carnival is an average of 6 alcoholic drinks to break even.

P&O is 8.

 

But Carnival prices are much more than P&O, so you need to factor that in as well.  

My concern, as someone who drinks well below the level to make a drink package worthwhile, is that very much like RCI and Celebrity basic drink prices on P&O will escalate now they have a drinks package.

Back when the exchange rate was $1.60 drink prices on Celebrity were only marginally higher than P&O, on our last cruise 3 years ago they were 50% higher.  I accept that Sterling's devaluation has played a part, but the major factor was higher dollar prices.

I just hope I am wrong.

[GaznPaula]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

But Carnival prices are much more than P&O, so you need to factor that in as well.  

My concern, as someone who drinks well below the level to make a drink package worthwhile, is that very much like RCI and Celebrity basic drink prices on P&O will escalate now they have a drinks package.

Back when the exchange rate was $1.60 drink prices on Celebrity were only marginally higher than P&O, on our last cruise 3 years ago they were 50% higher.  I accept that Sterling's devaluation has played a part, but the major factor was higher dollar prices.

I just hope I am wrong.

It a ratio .

I have compared drink prices on each company.

The package price is what it is.

You need to drink more on P&O to break even

[leesam]

We just tried the full drinks package for the first time on the New year cruise and thought it worked out great for us, plenty of coffees during the day, water throughout the day, cocktails when we wanted one and wine with our meals (No problem getting glasses of wine in the MDR whenever required, service was very efficient)

My Wife had the toughest job, trying to remember to get her cruise card out when we ordered drinks!!!!!!😂😂

[crompton21]

There is an elephant in the room here, or children in the room to be more exact.  If adults buy the drinks package, child drinks packages at £7.95 each can then be purchased.  So, a family of four get a drinks package for a daily cost of £23.95 each.  I imagine this would be appealing and help with budgeting when holidaying with children and not wanting to have to budget on what your children are drinking.

Maybe these earnest discussions on value are missing the real target audience?

Edited January 6, 2020 by crompton21

[GaznPaula]

9 hours ago, crompton21 said:

There is an elephant in the room here, or children in the room to be more exact.  If adults buy the drinks package, child drinks packages at £7.95 each can then be purchased.  So, a family of four get a drinks package for a daily cost of £23.95 each.  I imagine this would be appealing and help with budgeting when holidaying with children and not wanting to have to budget on what your children are drinking.

Maybe these earnest discussions on value are missing the real target audience?

A cost of £95.80 per cabin per day

[davemorton]

1 hour ago, GaznPaula said:

A cost of £95.80 per cabin per day

Not correct. Kids drink free if adults buy a drinks package.

So, to break it down, £19.98 each a day, or a total of £79.90 a day. 

Edited January 6, 2020 by davemorton

[crompton21]

12 hours ago, davemorton said:

Not correct. Kids drink free if adults buy a drinks package.

So, to break it down, £19.98 each a day, or a total of £79.90 a day. 

Apologies, you are correct.  I thought it looked like a good idea at the price I said!

[crompton21]

13 hours ago, GaznPaula said:

A cost of £95.80 per cabin per day

It is even cheaper if you stay at home....

[beachmad123]

On 1/6/2020 at 12:13 AM, peteukmcr said:

Please re read my post, it is not just alcohol which you appear to be fixated on that can make £39.95 good value. What people consider expensive is a personal perception. You have yours and we have ours. But I don’t consider your remark about what I should, or should not declare on any future insurance form amusing, I find it insulting. Oh and by the way, we don’t have any issue rehydrating by consuming 2 litres of water a day. 
 

However, I’m over having to validate our decision to take a package, I don’t need to explain our reasoning, it’s our decision, but I do object to the inference that we are ‘boozers’ to use your terminology, no doubt you perceive us as alcoholics. 
 

Actually looking at Pete's post its true many are fixated by the alcohol but if you are like him and drink water , soft drinks, and coffee in addition to alcohol its probably worth your while looking in to it. Myself I only drink water,  tea, and average 2 alcoholic drinks per day not including my 1 litre of spirits. If I was to drink more I would feel to full so prefer to eat. 

[shopaholic6]

On 1/5/2020 at 11:13 PM, peteukmcr said:

Please re read my post, it is not just alcohol which you appear to be fixated on that can make £39.95 good value. What people consider expensive is a personal perception. You have yours and we have ours. But I don’t consider your remark about what I should, or should not declare on any future insurance form amusing, I find it insulting. Oh and by the way, we don’t have any issue rehydrating by consuming 2 litres of water a day. 
 

However, I’m over having to validate our decision to take a package, I don’t need to explain our reasoning, it’s our decision, but I do object to the inference that we are ‘boozers’ to use your terminology, no doubt you perceive us as alcoholics. 
 

 I completely agree with you Pete - I haven’t sailed P&O yet, only Costa and Royal Caribbean so far, however have had the drinks package on all previous cruises (whether included ‘free’ (we all know it’s not free(!)) at time of booking or by adding on before sailing) and it has always been worthwhile. I am aware drinks are cheaper on P&O than on, say, Royal Caribbean, and am currently debating myself whether to buy the drinks package for our upcoming Iona cruise, however when you add in coffee, fruit juice, bottled water to take on shore, a couple of wines with dinner etc. etc., it’s really not hard to make it pay! In fact, I think I’ve convinced myself to get it now ...! 😊 Enjoy your cruise!

[jeanlyon]

On 1/5/2020 at 9:38 PM, davemorton said:

So, an average day perhaps.  Couple of coffees in the morning, unsure of price but lets say £6, 2 bottles of water to take ashore, £4? a glass of fizz or a couple of cocktails when back on board £14?  couple of G&T's before dinner, £10?, a glass of wine with dinner, £6, then a nightcap before bed, £6. 

Prices are guesses as I cant remember, but about £46? 

Yes, perhaps excessive at home, but on holiday? 

£46.00 yes - but it's £80, because you both have to take the package!

[jeanlyon]

Also, and I cannot understand why, it does not include bottles of wine at dinner.  You have to order it by the glass.  Couldn't be doing with that.  We like our bottle on the table so that we can help ourselves.

[davemorton]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

£46.00 yes - but it's £80, because you both have to take the package!

Yes, and that is drinks per person.

Edited January 7, 2020 by davemorton

[davemorton]

3 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Also, and I cannot understand why, it does not include bottles of wine at dinner.  You have to order it by the glass.  Couldn't be doing with that.  We like our bottle on the table so that we can help ourselves.

Do any of the drinks packages on other lines include a bottle of wine?  You like a bottle of wine, great, so dont order the package, I am quite happy with a couple of glasses of wine out of the bottle.

I really dont get all this over the drinks package, it really is like the new tipping conversation piece.  It isn't that hard (for most) to work out if it is worth it for them or not, once they establish that soft drinks/coffee/children's drinks are included.  If it is worth it, buy it, if it isnt, dont, simples 🙂 

Edited January 7, 2020 by davemorton