Royal Caribbean drink package - to buy or not to buy?

[pamwigs]

On 7/26/2021 at 3:32 PM, rtazz17 said:

Nothings cheap drink wise. My wife got the refreshment package. I believe it was 21.00 a day when she got it for our upcoming cruise. No brainer. 3 drinks,whether its a specialty coffee,bottle of water,or orange juice you are over 21.00 dollars for the day. Non alcohol frozen drinks arent much cheaper then with alcohol. Wanna say about 10.00 if I remember right. Plus you can just try things you have never had. If you dont like it,toss it. Imo worth it if its around 20ish a day.

 

The specialty coffee is a separate coffee package

[chiguy67]

18 minutes ago, pamwigs said:

 

The specialty coffee is a separate coffee package

Specialty coffee is included in the refreshment package.

[JOHN 57]

we never buy a drink package, probably because weneverdrink that much.

[baelor]

16 hours ago, BubbaBoat said:

Unless it's one of the big motivations for your journey, I really, REALLY don't see how things add up.

Pretty easily.  One alcoholic beverage for breakfast, two or three during the day, two or three at night, and the package is now cheaper than paying as you go.  That does not include anything non-alcohol related you get during the day.

[nferr]

5 minutes ago, baelor said:

Pretty easily.  One alcoholic beverage for breakfast, two or three during the day, two or three at night, and the package is now cheaper than paying as you go.  That does not include anything non-alcohol related you get during the day.

 

Agreed. Really easy to go over the drink package cost if you're paying as you go. I paid $50 a day for the package on my February Anthem cruise and quick figuring in my head on a daily basis I was easily over $100. 

[gizbug]

On 7/25/2022 at 12:32 PM, nferr said:

 

Agreed. Really easy to go over the drink package cost if you're paying as you go. I paid $50 a day for the package on my February Anthem cruise and quick figuring in my head on a daily basis I was easily over $100. 

That's a good price, a lot better than what they are offering for my Nov 20 sailing (Buy 1 Unlimited Beverage package, get 1 half off which comes out to 72.99 per person.....)

[nferr]

6 hours ago, gizbug said:

That's a good price, a lot better than what they are offering for my Nov 20 sailing (Buy 1 Unlimited Beverage package, get 1 half off which comes out to 72.99 per person.....)

 My upcoming Nov.27 saling it's $68 on the sale and $73 normally, so yeah they've increased the prices substantially from the $50 I paid in February.

[grandgeezer]

If you would actually pay for multiple drinks a day, maybe the package is for you. If you plan on drinking enough to get your moneys worth, you’re the people they are looking 

for. My self, the free drinks I get from their loyalty program is more than I care to drink so no extra money from me.

[Surfguyxxx]

Bit off topic but a couple is joining us on an upcoming cruise.  She said that she's going to take on a 12 pack of 16.9 oz bottles of water and put in her checked luggage.  I told her that she'd probably have to carry it on and she said she's done it before ( last time she cruised was pre-covid).  Will this be confiscated or perhaps will she be sent to the naughty room?  Thanks.

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, Surfguyxxx said:

Bit off topic but a couple is joining us on an upcoming cruise.  She said that she's going to take on a 12 pack of 16.9 oz bottles of water and put in her checked luggage.  I told her that she'd probably have to carry it on and she said she's done it before ( last time she cruised was pre-covid).  Will this be confiscated or perhaps will she be sent to the naughty room?  Thanks.

It may be sent to The Naughty Room to show them what it is, then she'll have to drag her suitcase to her room herself later that night. 

[Surfguyxxx]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

It may be sent to The Naughty Room to show them what it is, then she'll have to drag her suitcase to her room herself later that night. 

That's what I told her.  Thanks for verifying.  

[renza]

You have to drink at least 4 alcohol drinks per day to be of value. 
you can get refreshment package on sale every other week at $22 a day pp. this includes water, soda, smoothies, mock tails, specialty coffees. So you have to drink $50 a day worth of alcohol on top of all these to be worth it. Some things like beer is $7. You can purchase this refreshment package and buy the alcohol as you go. 

[angelhelly]

Sometimes, it's not about money...

 

We booked the deluxe package for my husband and refreshment for myself (I can't take alcohol). Will my husband drink 3 alcoholic drinks per day making up the difference between refreshment and deluxe? I don't know. But, I have a tendency, even if I really don't want too, to do a tab in my head.  With the packages, I don't do that, he can enjoy whatever he wants without me giving starting the count and I have piece of mind knowing that whatever he does, this is already paid for and wont go over what we budgeted.

 

Sometimes, peace of mind has a price...

Edited August 1, 2022 by angelhelly

[aubreyc1988]

On 7/29/2021 at 12:21 AM, smplybcause said:

 

I did that on the one cruise I was like do I really need the drink package? I was constantly checking my account and weighing whether I wanted to get a drink. Not fun worrying about that. I'll be getting the drink package until I hit diamond on royal - then it's an evaluation.

I did this once. Same thing, always second guessing and going wow I spent 50-60.00 on drinks yesterday etc...I prefer to just get the package. But if I can hit Prime in the casino or whenever I become Diamond, I probably won't get it because the package IS so expensive...having a few free drinks in the day makes ala carte a better option...but as of right now, I am Emerald and do not have Prime casino status so I'll be buying the package. Plus I am notorious for ordering a drink, then hating it so the package is best for that lol

Edited August 1, 2022 by aubreyc1988

[teddybear231]

I remember when they first rolled out the drink packages, I said "I'll never spend that much on alcohol/drinks in a week"...well sure enough I spent nearly $800 for the week on booze and other specialty drinks like shakes/cappuccinos/etc. I learned my lesson, and now I always get the package.

 

I guess it's up to the individual person, just because I get my money's worth out of it, doesn't mean everybody will. I also like it because this way once the trip comes, it really is an "all-inclusive" trip. The only money I bring is for tips and the casino, I try to pay for as much as possible in advance. 

[brillohead]

3 hours ago, teddybear231 said:

I guess it's up to the individual person, just because I get my money's worth out of it, doesn't mean everybody will.

I wish more people would just take this attitude... live and let live, people!

Some people get their money's worth out of it, some don't.  
Some people only drink that heavily on vacation and not at home -- getting the drink package doesn't mean you're an alcoholic.
Some people lose money on the drink package, but they like knowing it's all paid for -- it's their money, so don't stick your nose into their business and go live your own life.

Then again, what would people have to talk about here on CC if not for judging other people's life choices?  LOL

[gizbug]

What is the range of prices people have seen (and how far out from their cruise date) on the Alcohol beverage package?

Again, $72 a person per day seems high (current rate for me)

 

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, gizbug said:

What is the range of prices people have seen (and how far out from their cruise date) on the Alcohol beverage package?

Again, $72 a person per day seems high (current rate for me)

 

That's pretty standard for what I've been seeing for the past several months on my upcoming sailings.

[nferr]

On 7/30/2022 at 5:03 PM, grandgeezer said:

If you would actually pay for multiple drinks a day, maybe the package is for you. If you plan on drinking enough to get your moneys worth, you’re the people they are looking 

for. My self, the free drinks I get from their loyalty program is more than I care to drink so no extra money from me.

 

I hit Diamond after my last cruise so it definitely changes the formula. Especially with the increase in cost of the drink package. I paid $50 last February and now it's $67 on sale for my November cruise, same ship. So now with my four free drinks I would have to average another $67 on top of that to make it worthwhile. I'm passing on it and bringing two bottles of wine onboard. So four free drinks a day, two bottles of wine for a seven night cruise and I'm going solo. I think I'll spend a lot less than $67 a day on drinks. Tip is to pay for beer or bottled water etc. and use the four free drinks for cocktails. Bring my own wine for dinner or lunch if desired.

[Bobblehat71]

9 hours ago, gizbug said:

What is the range of prices people have seen (and how far out from their cruise date) on the Alcohol beverage package?

Again, $72 a person per day seems high (current rate for me)

 

 

I'm interested in this to. I've not sailed with RC for a few years. Do they still have regular sales on the Deluxe package?  I'm trying to do a cost comparison with an NCL cruise with an almost identical itinerary. Its likely to be a boozy affair so a drinks package will be essential 😅

[rob6465]

On 7/27/2021 at 7:53 AM, ray985 said:

This calculator helps determine if it's worth it. It has the average drink costs based on the recent sailings. 

https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator

I did calculator. 

Cost paying per drink: $776
Cost of drink package: $405

Buying a drink package would save you $371 compared to buying drinks individually.

[the penguins]

On 7/30/2022 at 10:03 PM, grandgeezer said:

If you would actually pay for multiple drinks a day, maybe the package is for you. If you plan on drinking enough to get your moneys worth, you’re the people they are looking 

for. My self, the free drinks I get from their loyalty program is more than I care to drink so no extra money from me.

No, you are exactly the person they are not looking for. The people who Royal really want are those who buy the package and then drink very little. In reality the majority do not drink enough to cover the cost because if they did Royal would put up the price.

[Ocean Boy]

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

No, you are exactly the person they are not looking for. The people who Royal really want are those who buy the package and then drink very little. In reality the majority do not drink enough to cover the cost because if they did Royal would put up the price.

Royal has been raising the price and they will do so until they find the point where sales drop off.

[Wivian]

On 8/5/2022 at 3:12 AM, gizbug said:

What is the range of prices people have seen (and how far out from their cruise date) on the Alcohol beverage package?

Again, $72 a person per day seems high (current rate for me)

 

Oasis September 2023

113€/pp. 

Won’t buy that!

[teaysvalley]

On 8/4/2022 at 8:12 PM, gizbug said:

What is the range of prices people have seen (and how far out from their cruise date) on the Alcohol beverage package?

Again, $72 a person per day seems high (current rate for me)

 

For our October cruise it went back up to 78 at the end of this past this week, it was 72 for their "sale". I saw it at 67 early one morning and went to buy it, but the price charged when I put it in my cart. I think it was a glitch on their web page as they updated pricing for the sale. We won't buy it until it goes into the 60's range. If not, we'll go a la carte.