Antarctica Cruise - Beverage Package? Beverage Menu

[CDNPolar]

We are in the process of booking our first experience on Hurtigruten and it is an Antarctica cruise.

 

Does anyone recommend the optional liquor package?

 

Does anyone have pictures of the beverage menu and prices if we opt not to take the liquor package?

 

Thank you.

[AlanCruise]

The Antarctic Expedition Cruises include House Beer, wine and sodas with meals as standard, I have not found any reference to an optional drinks package in addition to this.

 

A posting in one of the Forums shows bar prices from Jan 2018 (For the Norwegian coastal trips) with beer at about 75NKR and wine from about 100NKR a glass.  Currently about 7NKR to Canadian Dollar or 12 to GBP.  Norwegian prices are high!

[Paul S]

We have just booked an expedition on Roald Amundsen for January 2023, and have been offered a drinks upgrade package  for £653 per person on a 16 night sailing. This will give access to an enhanced wine package plus drinks from the bar. I can't find a bar price list from our February 2020 expedition, but have been advised that a bottle of beer would be around 6-7 euros (I guess that will depend on which beer).

[Sammy Miami]

Geez, how much does a bottle of wine cost? I'd expect some pretty grand wine for that price.

[CDNPolar]

We took the cruise, we were never offered a drinks package, we only consumed the wine offered at the meals.  The amount quoted above could only be worth it if you wanted to be drunk the entire sailing.

[mlgb]

No reason to buy the package. You can always buy an individual bottle if you don't like the included wine offered at lunch and dinner (one red and one white).

[AlanCruise]

If you are talking about the Expedition cruises to Antarctica, then the drink  prices are not the same as the Norwegian coastal cruises as Norwegian taxes don't apply.
Last year typical prices for a glass of wine, beer or spirits were 7 Euro.

[grayjay]

As drinks during meals are included and the wine offerings, for example are quite decent and are changed every few days to explore a new taste I wouldn't include a beverage package.

[Sammy Miami]

Thanks 😊 

[CDNPolar]

I am not blaming the cruise lines for this, because costs are up everywhere, but I am finding now that where beverage packages are available, they are incredibly expensive.

 

The one thing that seems to be a misconception - with some, not all - is that if you do not take the beverage package you don't have access to certain brands or wines.  Not true.  You still have access, you just pay per drink.

 

We have reconsidered our use of liquor/wine packages overall.  We are not even considering them now.  

 

On our favourite cruise line the nightly rate for the beverage package is $34CDN per person.  We would never drink $68 worth of wine or liquor in a day, especially when the lines we tend to sail include wine and beer with lunch and dinner - as Hurtigruten does.