Outrageous Cost of Alcohol Package

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, PMGS247 said:

 

It's just middle school math.  X drinks per day at $Y Price = total cost of paying out of pocket.  Take this cost and compare it to the cost of the package.  If it is greater than the cost of the package, it is savings.

 

My personal math: 6-8 vodka/tonics per day, 1-2 sodas, 2-3 bottles of water, 1 premium coffee.

Out of pocket this is $750-950 for the week.  My package cost me $591.

This is a savings of $160 to $360.

 

Some might find this amount of alcohol too much for themselves.  Fair enough.  Those people should not get the package.  For me, on vacation, the drinks start at lunch.  If you consider that noon to midnight, 6-8 alcoholic beverages is one every ~2 hours.  This is not a lot for me.

 

I always recommend it to anyone who's going to be close with their out of pocket.  It's nice to not have to worry about it and not get a big bill at the end, but it's not that hard to calculate whether you're going to be egregiously overpaying with the package, in which case you should stay away. 

 

Basic Math.  Really easy.  It does work for some people.  It doesn't for others.

I’m in this boat..

[vjmatty]

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

 2 Bigger glasses will fill up with wine from one wine bottle no problem,  no need to carry the bottle around with you. No need at all for over priced DBP. 🙂

Careful, your post putting down the DBP or minimizing its value has been known to upset people 

[baelor]

8 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Because you’re making inaccurate assumptions.

No, I'm not.  Posters on these very pages have expressly not limited their advice to themselves and have made express statements about others.  For example:
"I find it fun to pour a glass to start enjoying as soon as I get out of the shower. Nothing wrong with either approach. But let's admit what you are really buying. It isn't some savings. It is a service that you can order a drink when you want it. It is fine to perceive value in that."

 

You seem to be suggesting that I think that anyone saying the DBP is not "worth it" is attacking me.  If so, you are way off base--my very first post was discussing how the DBP may not be worth it for the OP.  And my most recent post said the same with regard to another user.  

 

The only thing I have a problem with is people making unsubstantiated assumptions about others and what works for them, regardless of what the actual assumption is.  It just so happens that in this thread, those assumptions have all run in one direction.  Maybe it's the current high prices of the DBP.  Maybe it's the fact that this thread's posters tend not to drink very much because of age, illness, or personal preference.

 

The reasons do not really matter.  What matters is that people should not be telling other people what works best for them in some definitive manner without any actual knowledge of what works best for them.

 

 

You seem to want to make this about my and others' self-consciousness about our drinking habits or something.  It's really, really not about that at all.  It is about one thing:  whether there are people for whom the DBP provides financial savings.  

 

Oh, and I have plenty of vegetarian and/or nondrinker friends and do not feel defensive about my choices at all lol.

Edited June 3, 2022 by baelor

[parrotfeathers]

Good memories of the error when it was so cheap.  Was it $50 or what?  

I got the drink package last time even though I always get a suite.  Part of the pleasure of cruising for me and my sis in law is visiting the Schooner in the afternoons trying new stuff and talking to the bartender. It was worth it for me.  Sometimes (most of the time) it's rather boring in the suite lounge.  Plus the alcohol isn't really that good.  

Edited June 3, 2022 by parrotfeathers

[vjmatty]

1 minute ago, baelor said:

No, I'm not.  Posters on these very pages have expressly not limited their advice to themselves and have made express statements about others.  For example:
" I find it fun to pour a glass to start enjoying as soon as I get out of the shower. Nothing wrong with either approach. But let's admit what you are really buying. It isn't some savings. It is a service that you can order a drink when you want it. It is fine to perceive value in that."

*sigh* That’s a general collective “you”, not a personal “you”. I’m pretty sure based on your prior posts that you’re intelligent enough to know the difference. (That however, was a specific “you”).

 

But your attacks aren’t limited to the posters suggesting alcoholism, which although you conveniently didn’t bother quoting, I acknowledged in my post as being uncalled for. You seem to think that every post saying it’s not worth it must have a qualifier that it’s not worth it “for me”. I think we are all adults here and know it means for themselves, because how the XXXX would anyone know what is worth it to someone else. Stop internalizing, it’s not about you. 

[vjmatty]

9 minutes ago, baelor said:

 

 

 

You seem to want to make this about my and others' self-consciousness about our drinking habits or something.  It's really, really not about that at all.  It is about one thing:  whether there are people for whom the DBP provides financial savings.  

 

Ok now you’re reading things that are the exact opposite of what I’m saying. I specifically said making it about alcoholism or drinking habits was off the mark. You yourself said the same thing over the weekend so I’m now at a loss as to how communicate with you because you seem to be deliberately misunderstanding my posts. 

[Jimbo]

12 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Careful, your post putting down the DBP or minimizing its value has been known to upset people 

No  one on here scares me. It's just opinions on here, no one should take this forum that serious.

[vjmatty]

4 hours ago, The Scurvy Pirate said:

You can always try this drink calculator to see the where the "break even" point is.

 

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

Here we go everyone, the post that should put this thread to bed. Try arguing with the calculator, whichever “side” you’ve been labeled to be on. 

[baelor]

5 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

*sigh* That’s a general collective “you”, not a personal “you”. I’m pretty sure based on your prior posts that you’re intelligent enough to know the difference. (That however, was a specific “you”).

And collective "you"s still apply to others.  The poster is quite literally saying that a generic "you" is not getting value from the package.  That same user posted numerous other comments to the same effect.

The fact that not only I but also others have all noted the same thing should at least give you pause.

 

7 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

You seem to think that every post saying it’s not worth it must have a qualifier that it’s not worth it “for me”. I think we are all adults here and know it means for themselves, because how the XXXX would anyone know what is worth it to someone else.

Except some people expressly do not mean it for themselves, and the last clause is exactly the problem that several users, including me, have noted in some of the posts.

 

You appeal to reason, intelligence, and mature perspective as adults.  I have often found those in short supply and therefore just go by what people say instead of trying to contort rather clear statements into ones that conform to some ideal of what I think they should say.

[RD64]

Then there are always the people that adamantly claim they never drink - but if all of a sudden there is an open bar or free drinks, people change their tune quickly.

[taglovestocruise]

7 nights on Ovation followed by 10 nights on Quantum. 10 voucher cocktails per day for my wife and myself. 170 cocktails over 17 nights.  Will we possibly consume 170 drinks. Based on the last 5 transatlantic cruises..... Absolutely.  3 or 4 for my wife and 6 or 7 for me per day... no problem. Cocktails glasses are 90% ice, only worthwhile drinks are Martinis, over the rocks or a nice double pour wine with dinner. . 

Edited June 4, 2022 by taglovestocruise

[Joebucks]

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Thanks, I haven't sailed them before so don't know their towels. 🙂 

 

I think the person who says you can buy a bottle at a bar and bring it back to your cabin is talking about a different cruise line too, because that is not something you can do on Royal Caribbean.

 

You can do it on Royal, but the choices are slim. For around $50 you can get a 375 of rum, gin, or vodka and a few sodas. In a 375 ml, that is over 12 ounces of alcohol, which is a LOT more than you get in $50 of drinks at the bar. It's at least 8 drinks worth. Also nice if you want to pour yourself a heavy drink, that'll last you a bit, and actually create a buzz. Out of all of the health concerns in this thread about overconsumption of alcohol, I actually disagree. I think the primary overconsumption concern is in sugar/carbs. These mixed drinks are heavy in fillers, lighter in alcohol. 

 

The bottles aren't for everyone, but it's an option. I think Royal has the best loyalty program. 3-5 drink vouchers a day is HUGE. A good number of experience cruisers have acknowledged that this and a few out of pocket is sufficient. However, their other options are weak. Carnival has tons of 1 liter bottles for roughly $110. For someone like me, who will drink bourbon neat or on the rocks, the Carnival bottle wins, hands-down. Filling a glass or tumbler with bourbon that lasts me for a while isn't inconvenient or "lugging". Then buying a few out of pocket, is painless.

 

I think part of the problem here is Royal's approach of feast or famine. Where $1200 is a good deal because of the lack of options in-between, you CAN fill up in expensive drinks. There's a lot of examples of "math" in this thread. I think the people on the other side can add. That still doesn't mean they agree that $1200 is a "no-brainer," no matter what you put in a list or in a glass.

Edited June 4, 2022 by Joebucks

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

You can do it on Royal,

 

Read my post again.  I am aware that you can buy small bottles from gift and gear, I said you can not by a bottle at a bar as someone claims.