Diamond Drinks... How is the new setup working...

[actuarian]

4 hours ago, 24-105L said:

13 days until cruise #1...23 days until Cruise #2... We have a drinks package on cruise #1 as only in port 50% of time...and wife's 60th Birthday...

We are Diamond...so with the post Covid changes...anyone got experiences on the new 4 Drink limit use n your Sea Pass...

The Diamond Lounge was great on ships for a wee pre-meal drink and chat with others...as well as nice coffee's etc all the time...and if throws g a tip the drinks flowed well all cruise...

I wondered how the new setup is working...

 

STEVIER

One thing about the new setup combined with recent price hikes for drink packages is that, unless you consume more than 10 adult beverages per day, it no longer makes sense for diamond and above members to purchase the deluxe beverage package. For example, if you are diamond plus and consume 10 adult drinks per day (far more than I ever consume), you would only have to pay for five of them. That means that, if you skip the drink package and purchase drinks that cost $13 or less (most drinks), you would have to pay no more than $65 for five of them.  By comparison, the deluxe package usually costs $83.99 per person per day (with the 20% pre-cruise discount). The refreshment package ($29.99 pppd with the discount) or the classic soda package ($8.99 pppd)may still be useful so that the diamond/diamond plus vouchers do not get wasted on non-adult beverages.

[24-105L]

4 minutes ago, actuarian said:

One thing about the new setup combined with recent price hikes for drink packages is that, unless you consume more than 10 adult beverages per day, it no longer makes sense for diamond and above members to purchase the deluxe beverage package. For example, if you are diamond plus and consume 10 adult drinks per day (far more than I ever consume), you would only have to pay for five of them. That means that, if you skip the drink package and purchase drinks that cost $13 or less (most drinks), you would have to pay no more than $65 for five of them.  By comparison, the deluxe package usually costs $83.99 per person per day (with the 20% pre-cruise discount). The refreshment package ($29.99 pppd with the discount) or the classic soda package ($8.99 pppd)may still be useful so that the diamond/diamond plus vouchers do not get wasted on non-adult beverages.

Mmmmm...our first week will be a little more...well 'drinky'...family joining us from Oz...and we are from Glasgow after all...lol

Safe to say no probs burning our package price away inc Diamond (4)...morning sun & beer...afternoon vino/cocktails...night time rum/gin/vodks...just to be sociable...plus Coffees etc...cant beat a wee Baileys Coffee at end of night...

Second cruise is busier...so will be chilling more with my Diamond Drinks at night...

[mrpayroll]

Just returned from Independence and loved the new way. 

[Starry Eyes]

5 hours ago, 24-105L said:

Mmmmm...our first week will be a little more...well 'drinky'...family joining us from Oz...and we are from Glasgow after all...lol

Safe to say no probs burning our package price away inc Diamond (4)...morning sun & beer...afternoon vino/cocktails...night time rum/gin/vodks...just to be sociable...plus Coffees etc...cant beat a wee Baileys Coffee at end of night...

Second cruise is busier...so will be chilling more with my Diamond Drinks at night...

I’m assuming these are b2b cruises, so perhaps you’ll have a stocked fridge (beer, water, soda) from vouchers by the start of cruise two.  

[sellwingri]

7 hours ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

 

One change I do not like is the change to canned water.  In March/April we had bottles.  On a cruise earlier this month we had cans.  The water tastes fine if you pour it into a glass.  However, if you drink it from the can it has a metallic taste. [JMHO] The cans are also smaller than the bottles. 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve only been on one ship out of 8 since Covid that only had canned water. They usually have bottles and may have a can thrown in occasionally.

 

[Norwich Cruiser]

We prefer the new set up.

[Tree_skier]

I’m on ovation right now and I can tell you the system works great. 

[BND]

We're D+ so we get 5.  We get a specialty coffee in the morning. I then sometimes get an afternoon drink and then we have a few in the evening.  Between DH and I we have never gone over our 10 total drinks.  We love it as we aren't restricted to a couple of hours in the evening.  We've done 2 b2b's and one single cruise since Nov. I think we've only used all ten one day.   It's worked great.

 

 

[Aquahound]

I returned to RCI last year after hiatus of several years.  I didn't even know about the new system so I learned about it on board.  I love it, and I think it's a huge improvement.  DW and I don't drink a whole lot so the combined 10 drinks is like have a free drinks package.  🙂

[cruisegirl1]

12 hours ago, dodgestang said:

Works fine, you just need to pay close attention.  Got home from Alaska earlier this week and discover the one night in the MDR that I didn't buy a bottle of wine, I was charged for drinks (when they should have used my diamond vouchers).....not going to quivel over $45 but if I had been paying closer attention I could have had the concierge fix it prior to the end of the cruise.

 I check the account every day. So easy with the app.   No way am I willing to pay $45 for drinks that should be complementary.  I'll gladly pay the portion over the $13 allotment. 

 

M

[TRadle]

Our Diamond status is from Celebrity cruises, so when I booked this cruise I purchased the non-acholic drink package for the water and coffee drinks.  I thought we got 4 drinks per cruise for each of us.  Silly me.

 

How will the bartenders know not to use a voucher for a mocktail or coffee?

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, TRadle said:

How will the bartenders know not to use a voucher for a mocktail or coffee?

 

I'd mention it when you order. "Could I have an XYZ, refreshment package, not Diamond drink, thanks."

[cruisegirl1]

1 hour ago, TRadle said:

Our Diamond status is from Celebrity cruises, so when I booked this cruise I purchased the non-acholic drink package for the water and coffee drinks.  I thought we got 4 drinks per cruise for each of us.  Silly me.

 

How will the bartenders know not to use a voucher for a mocktail or coffee?

Regardless of how you received your D status, (reciprocal,  parents to child/married in etc.) get the D beverages. ( Of course underage children  get 4 drinks, just not alcohol!) 

 

Simply tell them you are NOT using a voucher and want to use the beverage package.    If you think you will not need the packages, you can cancel them.

 

Enjoy

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, TRadle said:

Our Diamond status is from Celebrity cruises, so when I booked this cruise I purchased the non-acholic drink package for the water and coffee drinks.  I thought we got 4 drinks per cruise for each of us.  Silly me.

 

How will the bartenders know not to use a voucher for a mocktail or coffee?

Silly you. You do get the diamond tier level drinks (4) every day. Each day your SeaPass card will be reloaded. The drinks do not carry over. Use them or lose them. 

[Jay Bee]

To confirm...there is no problem using the vouchers in the main dining room or specialty restaurants?

[robmtx]

2 minutes ago, Jay Bee said:

To confirm...there is no problem using the vouchers in the main dining room or specialty restaurants?

Confirmed

[Jay Bee]

3 minutes ago, robmtx said:

Confirmed

😁

[Airbear232]

On 8/27/2022 at 5:41 AM, 24-105L said:

13 days until cruise #1...23 days until Cruise #2... We have a drinks package on cruise #1 as only in port 50% of time...and wife's 60th Birthday...

We are Diamond...so with the post Covid changes...anyone got experiences on the new 4 Drink limit use n your Sea Pass...

The Diamond Lounge was great on ships for a wee pre-meal drink and chat with others...as well as nice coffee's etc all the time...and if throws g a tip the drinks flowed well all cruise...

I wondered how the new setup is working...

 

STEVIER

New system is great, use your vouchers when and where you want. 

[island lady]

Happy Hour is now any hour...any bar...any place.  😉 

[brillohead]

57 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Silly you. You do get the diamond tier level drinks (4) every day. Each day your SeaPass card will be reloaded. The drinks do not carry over. Use them or lose them. 

You misread that person's post. 

They thought they got four drinks PER CRUISE, not four drinks PER DAY.  

[davekathy]

7 minutes ago, brillohead said:

You misread that person's post. 

They thought they got four drinks PER CRUISE, not four drinks PER DAY.  

Silly you. You misread my replay. 

[CTSandy]

Just back from Explorer and used my Diamond vouchers for dinner each night - cruising with niece, her son and his wife.  Worked out great as I am not really much of a drinker - we had a cocktail each night using my vouchers for the four of us.  I really like this system !

[brillohead]

35 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Silly you. You misread my replay. 

I don't think either one of us is understanding what the other one is saying.  

[neverbeenhere]

Loved the old system... Watching people order a dozen or more extra beers and filling their backpacks/purses was always quite fun. And the fight for seating was another interesting scene.

 

Miss the action in the Diamond lounge as they now are mostly quiet, so we had to start booking suites.

[24-105L]

You know I never did that…pack drinks in bags…I’d take a wee double out when leaving…and always tipped the staff…they were great at serving fast…what you got was a kind of party atmosphere where a couple of hours pre-dinner everyone had a few drinks and were chatty…made a few acquaintances / friends from in there over the years…I’m sure we’ll still go in…even if just for the nostalgia…