Drinks package and Diamond Member

[Jenferdog]

Hello, we are soon to reach Diamond status and have a question that I hope someone can answer. Diamond members now have 4 free drinks pre-loaded to their cards. Hubby would also like the drinks package, I am happy with just the four drinks, but on the odd occasion when I might fancy an extra cocktail or two, would he be able to use his free Diamond drinks to buy them?

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, Jenferdog said:

Hubby would also like the drinks package, I am happy with just the four drinks, but on the odd occasion when I might fancy an extra cocktail or two, would he be able to use his free Diamond drinks to buy them?

Yes, the D drinks are shareable but realize that if one buys a drink package the other person must buy at least the refreshment package - you have to call to do that. The D drinks get the same drinks as the drink package and usually the drink package only makes sense financially if you'll have at least 5 drinks per days - so with the D drinks, you need to drink at least 9 drinks per day to make sense.

Edited May 21, 2022 by Biker19

[island lady]

Your drink vouchers have a 13.00 limit on any drink you wish to order.   If you want something more pricey...just pay the extra, over and above the 13.00.   

 

We do that all the time.  DH loves the Oberon Cab for dinner.  It is 15.00 per glass...and they add grats (though we always tip in cash on top of that)...so we have charges of 2.39 come through on sea pass card.  Easy Peasy.  

 

And on the question you had...if you want more than the 4 drinks.....(ummm...we ended up going over our limit one night 😉) simply was charged for that one  drink.    

 

If it were me...just pay for the occasional overage...ask yourself if it is worth it to buy the whole package?  Unless you plan on going well above the 4 drinks per person per day.  

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by island lady

[c-leg5]

Also take into account port days and whether you will be drinking off the ship.

[leaveitallbehind]

Just our perspective.  My wife and I are D+, so we each have 5 vouchers per day.  As they are combinable (she can order drinks for me with hers and visa versa), the 10 total is typically enough for our daily consumption.  Given the cost per day per person for the drink packages, there has never been an instance when we could justify adding that.  It is far less costly to buy whatever extra drinks in addition to the vouchers you may need a la carte than it would be to purchase the package, IMO.

 

And with the $13 voucher value, there are very few drinks (at lease on our dance card) that we would get that would require any upcharge.  But even so, that cost would be nominal compared to a drink package with the vouchers.

 

Also note that the vouchers expire daily and are refreshed daily - they do not carry over.  We typically cash out any remaining vouchers at the end of the day at a bar and take those drinks in the form of canned beverages (beer, Truly's, etc.) unopened back to our stateroom cooler for another day.

[island lady]

38 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Just our perspective.  My wife and I are D+, so we each have 5 vouchers per day.  As they are combinable (she can order drinks for me with hers and visa versa), the 10 total is typically enough for our daily consumption.  Given the cost per day per person for the drink packages, there has never been an instance when we could justify adding that.  It is far less costly to buy whatever extra drinks in addition to the vouchers you may need a la carte than it would be to purchase the package, IMO.

 

And with the $13 voucher value, there are very few drinks (at lease on our dance card) that we would get that would require any upcharge.  But even so, that cost would be nominal compared to a drink package with the vouchers.

 

Also note that the vouchers expire daily and are refreshed daily - they do not carry over.  We typically cash out any remaining vouchers at the end of the day at a bar and take those drinks in the form of canned beverages (beer, Truly's, etc.) unopened back to our stateroom cooler for another day.

 

Yup, totally agree.  See my post #3.  😉 🙂 

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Also take into account port days and whether you will be drinking off the ship.

I always have a couple (they are small, 😉) of local beers while wandering around aimlessly in port.

[island lady]

33 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I always have a couple (they are small, 😉) of local beers while wandering around aimlessly in port.

 

Dave on autodrive.  😄 😄 

[leaveitallbehind]

54 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I always have a couple (they are small, 😉) of local beers while wandering around aimlessly in port.

To me that is purposeful "wandering".....

Edited May 21, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[Pandamonia]

Id never considered not getting the drinks package until I saw that its now £67 per day with grats $84 Per day *****

 

RCCL live in their own world. 

 

I got B2B coming and I hit diamond mid way through. Might have to consider the 4 drinks for the second week.

[RFerrington]

1 minute ago, Pandamonia said:

Id never considered not getting the drinks package until I saw that its now £67 per day with grats $84 Per day *****

Yep.  Completely agree

[leaveitallbehind]

49 minutes ago, Pandamonia said:

Id never considered not getting the drinks package until I saw that its now £67 per day with grats $84 Per day *****

 

RCCL live in their own world. 

 

I got B2B coming and I hit diamond mid way through. Might have to consider the 4 drinks for the second week.

If you are reaching diamond on the first leg be sure to talk to the LA on board so they can update your records to provide the diamond benefits on the second leg.  It won't necessarily happen automatically as the tally process typically takes a few days after the first leg. The LA will be able to do it on board for you.

 

As to them living in their own world, they price the packages based on market and until they stop selling, the prices may continue to rise.  Seems there are always enough people buying them regardless of price. 🙂

[sailor05]

The cost of the drink packages is what's making NCL look and MSC look more desirable. I have an Alaskan cruise in 3 weeks and will be my last on Royal for the foreseeable future. I've tried NCL and  can't tell any noticeable difference between the two except I don't have to spend $1200 on freakin drink packages. 

[Pandamonia]

27 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

If you are reaching diamond on the first leg be sure to talk to the LA on board so they can update your records to provide the diamond benefits on the second leg.  It won't necessarily happen automatically as the tally process typically takes a few days after the first leg. The LA will be able to do it on board for you.

 

As to them living in their own world, they price the packages based on market and until they stop selling, the prices may continue to rise.  Seems there are always enough people buying them regardless of price. 🙂

 

Yes I will get it updated.

 

In terms of pricing, RCCL recently said people have money to spend and they basically plan to part it from them. Totally ignoring the crashing Stockmarket, economy and inflation that is hitting the US and EU right now. 

 

My cruise is from 2020 and priced as such so its not a big deal this time but next year I wont be paying their prices because the price is almost double now and the quality has only got worse over the years. I expect prices might fall when interest rates shoot up and everyone has less disposable income. 

 

Im one of those people that can easily afford it but if the value isnt there I dont pay it. For example £57 to eat in chops now is more than id expect to pay in a Michelin star restaurant per person. Few years ago I got 5x dining deal for £90. The menu is literally the same.

[tennislvr8]

We are diamond and I still get the drink package and my husband gets the refreshment package. I share my diamond drinks with him. Most times he never uses them all in one day, he mostly drinks his four and that’s it. We usually lose my four each day due to non use. 

[leaveitallbehind]

37 minutes ago, tennislvr8 said:

We are diamond and I still get the drink package and my husband gets the refreshment package. I share my diamond drinks with him. Most times he never uses them all in one day, he mostly drinks his four and that’s it. We usually lose my four each day due to non use. 

Well, just to add perspective to this, by losing your four each day you are losing $52 per day in drink value as that is what the vouchers at $13 each would be worth.  Compare that to what you are paying for the drink package.

[seeyakids]

We are D+ and just got off IOS. We both used our 5 vouchers each day. I recommend looking at your account on the RCI App to make sure you were not charged. There were 2 $13 charges showing up one day and I had guest services remove them. No problem.

[Pandamonia]

I spoke to soon its now gone up even more lol. £71 a day now

 

The drinks package now costs more per week than the cruise.

Edited May 23, 2022 by Pandamonia

[Cruise a holic]

Prices insane- we are not taking a drink package and will live with the four free  diamond drinks- and a coffee card for me.  If we want a soft drink cola, how can we be sure it isn't credited to our free drinks?  If we want soda, we want it charged to our account, and only alcohol charged to our "free drinks" 

[OCSC Mike]

7 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Prices insane- we are not taking a drink package and will live with the four free  diamond drinks- and a coffee card for me.  If we want a soft drink cola, how can we be sure it isn't credited to our free drinks?  If we want soda, we want it charged to our account, and only alcohol charged to our "free drinks" 

 

You know there's a free coffee machine in the Diamond Lounge for cappuccino, espresso, latte, etc., right?

[Biker19]

30 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

If we want a soft drink cola, how can we be sure it isn't credited to our free drinks?

Tell the servant that you want it charged and not use your C&A drink perk.

[topnole]

On 5/21/2022 at 7:17 AM, Jenferdog said:

Hello, we are soon to reach Diamond status and have a question that I hope someone can answer. Diamond members now have 4 free drinks pre-loaded to their cards. Hubby would also like the drinks package, I am happy with just the four drinks, but on the odd occasion when I might fancy an extra cocktail or two, would he be able to use his free Diamond drinks to buy them?

Be aware, assuming you are in the same cabin, if he buys the package you will have to at least buy the refreshment package.  That alone is now around 20+ per day.  So add yet another 150-160+ into the equation.  On a week long cruise that is an extra 2+ drinks you could buy per day and still be at break even before you even factor in the cost of his drink package.  So you would probably need to drink 16 drinks per day combined to break even if you bought the package.  

[Cruise a holic]

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

You know there's a free coffee machine in the Diamond Lounge for cappuccino, espresso, latte, etc., right?

Yes.  But I like it fresh not from the machine.  

[Tree_skier]

With Memorial Day pricing that started yesterday, my next 3 cruises are coming in at $66.99, $72.99, $72.99.  With the diamond drink perk factored in there is no way I would break even over the length of the cruise at those prices.  I would do a little better than breaking even on sea days but on any port day I would definitely end up falling behind by quite a bit.  

 

I'm buying a soda package and buying a 24 pack of water to cover the non alcoholic beverages and will live with paying $7.50 for a few beers or ciders each day.  I'll reserve the diamond drinks for the $13 cocktails and when I total up the bill at the end of the cruise I'm sure I'll be ahead of having bought the package.  I'm thinking that this is going to be the most affordable way to go.

[zebra36]

52 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Yes.  But I like it fresh not from the machine.  

The machines in the Diamond lounge make each cup individually, can't get any fresher than that!