Deluxe Drinks Package - BIG Jump In Price Last 24hrs

[davehurd]

Hi all,

 

My wife and I will be cruising on Jewel in 11 days time.

 

We have been considering purchasing the Deluxe drink package pre cruise, the total price yesterday

was £640 for us both.....today when I look it's £690!

 

Is it normal for RC to "up" the price as a cruise gets closer in a bid to "cash in" on people who are looking

to purchase in the run up to the cruise?

 

We wont be purchasing at that price.

 

Happy Cruising All!

 

[Merion_Mom]

The prices go up and down all the time. 

 

Most of us us think about the prices as a per day charge, since this is the only way to compare, cruise to cruise. 

 

How many days is your cruise?

[davehurd]

7 Days.... So £91 per day for the 2 of us yesterday & £98 per day today. 

 

Not a massive increase admittedly but large enough to raise some concerns.

[DCL2RCI]

A sale just ended today, new one will probably start tomorrow.

Oddly the price for my cruise didn't change. They took away the sale banner, but the price stayed the same.

[Tree_skier]

Edited cause I cant do math LOL

Edited January 16, 2020 by Tree_skier

[stevea36]

13 minutes ago, davehurd said:

Hi all,

 

My wife and I will be cruising on Jewel in 11 days time.

 

We have been considering purchasing the Deluxe drink package pre cruise, the total price yesterday

was £640 for us both.....today when I look it's £690!

 

Is it normal for RC to "up" the price as a cruise gets closer in a bid to "cash in" on people who are looking

to purchase in the run up to the cruise?

 

We wont be purchasing at that price.

 

Happy Cruising All!

 

it's supposed to be a total supply and demand thing, but, who really knows.   I do know that here in the US you can purchase anything on the cruise planner and then cancel and repurchase (if the price goes down) for no penalty.   I believe this may also be the case in Britain, so you may want to purchase it when you think it is reasonable priced and then keep an eye on pricing.

 

[awestover89]

Yeah, the prices fluctuate pretty wildly all the time with no rhyme or reason. Honestly, 50 pounds for two people for seven days is a pretty small jump. That would be like $4 per person per day in USD. In US dollars, I've seen the prices for a given cruise range from $38 per person per day to $65 per person per day, Google conversion tells me that's from £29 to £50 per person, per day, or a jump from £480 to £822 for 2 people/7 days.

 

Less than $53 per person per day is pretty rare for me to see, your £98 per day for two is about $63 USD per person per day, which is a fairly common price point I've seen a lot.

[Merion_Mom]

10 minutes ago, stevea36 said:

it's supposed to be a total supply and demand thing, but, who really knows.   I do know that here in the US you can purchase anything on the cruise planner and then cancel and repurchase (if the price goes down) for no penalty.   I believe this may also be the case in Britain, so you may want to purchase it when you think it is reasonable priced and then keep an eye on pricing.

 

 

Yes, anyone can do that, not just U.S. 

[ckbklyn]

There is probably the 18% gratuity added too.  We are on the Empress of the Seas 5/18 and paid $792.96 for the 2 of us. It was $48 per day, plus the 18% making it $56.64.

[ginadcnj]

Yeah, the price for ours went up from $61/day to $65/day between yesterday and today when that sale they were pushing expired. I'm assuming there will be at least one more "sale" that will lower the price a bit between now and April, or at least i hope so. 

[snaefell]

16 hours ago, davehurd said:

7 Days.... So £91 per day for the 2 of us yesterday & £98 per day today. 

 

Not a massive increase admittedly but large enough to raise some concerns.

Nearly £50 each a day sounds a lot IMO,our recent 12 night cruise had a total price over £1100 in total which we thought way too much,we did hope that the price would drop during the last couple of weeks but it didn't happen,in the end we bought drinks as & when we wanted & ended up with bills of around $200 each so it worked out well,having a shore day every other day helped!

[twangster]

9 minutes ago, snaefell said:

Nearly £50 each a day sounds a lot IMO,our recent 12 night cruise had a total price over £1100 in total which we thought way too much,we did hope that the price would drop during the last couple of weeks but it didn't happen,in the end we bought drinks as & when we wanted & ended up with bills of around $200 each so it worked out well,having a shore day every other day helped!

I find the drink package on longer voyages rarely is a good idea.  Maybe some people can sustain  consumption and break even but time and again I save money on longer cruises by buying drinks as I go.  
 

Once you make Diamond this becomes even easier as you can use evening Diamond drinks to further reduce your daily pay as you go drinks.  

[Balsam12]

Prices on most things (at least the ones I'm interested in) went up in the last 24 hours for our March sailing on Radiance.

Some of them hit the highest they have been since I started tracking in April last year.

Personally, it doesn't worry me, as everything we've purchased was at the lowest point in the price fluctuations. I have cancelled and repurchased the beverage package four times.

It just leads me to think that (as suggested by DCL2RCI), there will be another "sale" in the near future. Prices may not hit a new low, but people will see a drop in pricing and jump on the "good deal".

Another thought that I've had.... RCI have plenty of stats on how far out from a cruise people normally start buying things like beverage packages. Let's say sales of these go up dramatically at about 2 months before sailing. They then put the prices up by a lot at that time or just before, then a week or so later, have a "sale" that drops the price significantly. People see the "sale" and jump in to purchase.

Passengers think they've got a bargain, RCI makes more money.

Except if you'e a spreadsheet nerd like myself (and many people on these boards) and actually know what is a good price for the package.

Here's the fluctuations for the beverage package on our next cruise...
 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Balsam12

[Balsam12]

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

Once you make Diamond this becomes even easier as you can use evening Diamond drinks to further reduce your daily pay as you go drinks.  

As always, this depends on the individual.

I say to start by looking at the non-alcoholic drinks you would buy on board before looking at the alcohol.

If you have a couple of barista made coffees per day, a freshly squeezed juice with breakfast, one soft drink and three bottles of water each day, you've already spent about $25 when you add in the 18% gratuity.

If you can get the deluxe package for say $50 per day, you really only have to average three alcoholic drinks per day to break even.... a pre-dinner drink, one glass of wine with dinner, and an evening cocktail sorts that out.

Again, each to their own, and if you're happy with ship coffee and included soft drinks, and only have one glass of wine per day, then the package is not for you.

I'm nowhere near Diamond, so not sure about that, but my initial thought is that I like to drink a different times, not just in the Diamond free drink period. I also think I would have more than three drinks outside those times, so would still get the package. 
 

[twangster]

21 minutes ago, Balsam12 said:

I'm nowhere near Diamond, so not sure about that, but my initial thought is that I like to drink a different times, not just in the Diamond free drink period. I also think I would have more than three drinks outside those times, so would still get the package

Diamond lounges have coffee machines that can make certain specialty coffee.  I’m okay drinking ship water and I’m trying to reduce my reliance on bottled water.  I still buy drinks as I feel like it outside of Diamond hours.  My bar bill coming off 11 nights on Anthem this week was $152 USD.  That’s a big difference from the $650 they wanted for the DX.  For two people that would be $1,300 USD.  I never felt like I missing out or needed another drink.  I even purchased better wine during dinner compared to the free Diamond wine.  
 

I’ve done the DX maybe 15 or 16 times.  Shorter cruisers with friends for sure.  Anything over 8 nights and the DX rarely works out for me.  

[Balsam12]

1 minute ago, twangster said:

 Anything over 8 nights and the DX rarely works out for me.  

As I suggest to everyone, you've obviously done the maths and worked it out for your own circumstances.

I also like to add a couple of "intangibles"... no need to even think about the bill at the end of the cruise, and if you order a drink and don't like it, just put it down and order a different drink. 

I do guess that after many cruises with RCI, you have both of these covered when you make your decision, but most of the people asking about beverage packages are first time cruisers, so I like to give them an educated view. I also say that if you think you're borderline on breaking even on cost, just go for the package on your first cruise... you'll have one less thing to worry about when you're on board, and that can only help you to enjoy the cruise. Do the maths later and then you'll have a better idea for your next cruise 🙂

 

[Caravan 37]

1 hour ago, Balsam12 said:

As always, this depends on the individual.

I say to start by looking at the non-alcoholic drinks you would buy on board before looking at the alcohol.

If you have a couple of barista made coffees per day, a freshly squeezed juice with breakfast, one soft drink and three bottles of water each day, you've already spent about $25 when you add in the 18% gratuity.

If you can get the deluxe package for say $50 per day, you really only have to average three alcoholic drinks per day to break even.... a pre-dinner drink, one glass of wine with dinner, and an evening cocktail sorts that out.

Again, each to their own, and if you're happy with ship coffee and included soft drinks, and only have one glass of wine per day, then the package is not for you.

I'm nowhere near Diamond, so not sure about that, but my initial thought is that I like to drink a different times, not just in the Diamond free drink period. I also think I would have more than three drinks outside those times, so would still get the package. 
 

I agree - with medium range wine at $11+tax it doesn’t take much to reach the cost per day when you include cocktails at the pool/water/coffee etc

 

I guess because you’re paying for the package in a lump sum prior to sailing it’s a bit harder to stomach but the reality, for us, is that we would probably reach near the same bill if we ‘paid as you go’ which would really annoy me because we could have had so much more on the package! Greed 🤪 

[little britain]

19 hours ago, davehurd said:

Hi all,

 

My wife and I will be cruising on Jewel in 11 days time.

 

We have been considering purchasing the Deluxe drink package pre cruise, the total price yesterday

was £640 for us both.....today when I look it's £690!

 

Is it normal for RC to "up" the price as a cruise gets closer in a bid to "cash in" on people who are looking

to purchase in the run up to the cruise?

 

We wont be purchasing at that price.

 

Happy Cruising All!

 

On the Jewel Dubai posts it is reported day one boarding “special” BOGO $111 for 2 + 18% = $916.86 = £705.27