Gin & Tonic: Premium vs Premium Plus

[Jorg_]

We like to have a Gin & Tonic and I see that there’s a difference in what sort of gin you can have, depending on what drink package you have.

We have the Premium so could have a G&T with Bombay Sapphire. With Premium Plus we could get Hendrick’s.

But to make some calculation if it will feel like it’s worth it to upgrade to Premium Plus: what is the actual price difference between the two sorts of gin mentioned?

(No, we will not only drink g&t but you have to start somewhere).

Any insights in drinks process for Premium and Premium Plus would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

[scooter6139]

Sorry, unsure how old this is but found this:

 

[PapaGoose]

And if these prices are close to accurate that would mean someone with the Premium package would have to pay the $5 difference (Premium covers all drinks up to $15) plus the gratuity on that $5 on each G & T, with Hendricks gin, consumed. Something to consider if you don’t want to upgrade to Plus…

Edited August 30, 2022 by PapaGoose

[JandC_Cruising]

Here is a link to some pricing from the Breakaway courtesy of @BirdTravels which is only a couple of weeks old.

 

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

You had me at Hendricks. 🙂

[dandelpino]

I found other menus online that also have Hendriks for $20. The premium package credits you $15 per drink, so you would pay the difference ($5) plus a 20% gratuity, or $6 total.  

 

The upgrade from the premium to the premium plus is $34.80 per person per day inclusive of service charge. You must upgrade all adults in your cabin. So each person in your cabin would need to drink at least 5 Hendriks G&Ts per day in order for the upgrade to be worth it if only considering $20 cocktails. The premium plus package does entitle you to have glasses or bottles of very nice wines that would cost ~$100 a bottle if purchased a la carte and specialty coffees if that's your thing.  

Edited August 30, 2022 by dandelpino

[Trimone]

Can anyone taste the difference between the Gins with that carbonated tonic and ice in it? You can drink it all night with no effect, I personally like a aviation you can taste the gin in that…

[MNcruisingcouple]

For us personally it wouldn't be worth it to upgrade just for the better gin.  But we also take advantage of specialty coffees, higher end wine, champagne & Scotch, so then it becomes more "worth it".  Maybe not on every cruise, but it's definitely a consideration.

[scooter6139]

50 minutes ago, Trimone said:

Can anyone taste the difference between the Gins with that carbonated tonic and ice in it? You can drink it all night with no effect, I personally like a aviation you can taste the gin in that…

 

A little.  Personally I think it has as much to do with what tonic you use (Fever-Tree for us)

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

7 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

 

A little.  Personally I think it has as much to do with what tonic you use (Fever-Tree for us)

Yep, definitely better G&T with Fever Tree and Hendrix!  Haven't tried Aviation yet, though.

[Trimone]

Does one get Fever tree on NCL

[rbxlady]

20 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

You had me at Hendricks. 🙂

Seriously.

 

If you are a Costco member, they have Hendrick's Neptunia, which I've been enjoying lately. Not sure if that's regional, but I can't imagine why we would have it here vs any other place in the US.

[phillygwm]

20 hours ago, dandelpino said:

The upgrade from the premium to the premium plus is $34.80 per person per day inclusive of service charge. You must upgrade all adults in your cabin. So each person in your cabin would need to drink at least 5 Hendriks G&Ts per day in order for the upgrade to be worth it if only considering $20 cocktails.

There will be some on here who accept that challenge 🙂

 

If you're ONLY doing the upgrade for hard liquors, the incremental cost will be similar.  P+ makes sense if you also enjoy Starbucks, or bottled waters, or "real" Champagne.  The bottles of wine are nice too but, as a solo, I usually just order by the glass rather than waste half a bottle.  

 

I find it a nice splurge.  I don't generally pop open a bottle of Veuve while watching a football game at home but hey, I'm on vacation.  Of course there's the slippery slope:  If you're doing P+ you may as well do FAS+ instead. 

Edited August 31, 2022 by phillygwm

[scooter6139]

23 minutes ago, rbxlady said:

Seriously.

 

If you are a Costco member, they have Hendrick's Neptunia, which I've been enjoying lately. Not sure if that's regional, but I can't imagine why we would have it here vs any other place in the US.

Costco will carry whatever seasonal/limited edition Hendrick has out at the time.   We've enjoyed a few of them.

[PTC DAWG]

21 hours ago, dandelpino said:

I found other menus online that also have Hendriks for $20. The premium package credits you $15 per drink, so you would pay the difference ($5) plus a 20% gratuity, or $6 total.  

 

The upgrade from the premium to the premium plus is $34.80 per person per day inclusive of service charge. You must upgrade all adults in your cabin. So each person in your cabin would need to drink at least 5 Hendriks G&Ts per day in order for the upgrade to be worth it if only considering $20 cocktails. The premium plus package does entitle you to have glasses or bottles of very nice wines that would cost ~$100 a bottle if purchased a la carte and specialty coffees if that's your thing.  

Not necessarily, bottled water and specialty coffee could easily make the package upgrade worthwhile to many. 

[PTC DAWG]

30 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

There will be some on here who accept that challenge 🙂

 

If you're ONLY doing the upgrade for hard liquors, the incremental cost will be similar.  P+ makes sense if you also enjoy Starbucks, or bottled waters, or "real" Champagne.  The bottles of wine are nice too but, as a solo, I usually just order by the glass rather than waste half a bottle.  

 

I find it a nice splurge.  I don't generally pop open a bottle of Veuve while watching a football game at home but hey, I'm on vacation.  Of course there's the slippery slope:  If you're doing P+ you may as well do FAS+ instead. 

Well said,  I commented before I saw this..

[weltek]

@TrimoneAs someone who used to hate gin because Bombay Sapphire was my husband's preferred brand, heck yeah I can taste the difference in a G&T with Sapphire vs. Hendrinks. Hendricks is FAR less evergreen and bitey, IMO. Even with cheap tonic, I can taste it. I think it's just one of those flavors I'm more sensitive to.

When I figured out G&Ts didn't need to be cheap tonic and Bombay Sapphire, then I actually started to enjoy the drink. 🙂 My favorite way to enjoy tonic is to get a tonic syrup and make my own. It helped me baby-step into liking it. Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. has a great one. It's still pretty low on my list of favorite drinks (yeah, I'll take an aviation over a G&T every day of the week and twice on Saturday).
 

[Jldevlin]

As a newbie to the Gin and Tonic drinkers is there a huge taste difference in the higher end gins??  In the 70s in Canada it was Lemon gin that we drank and it pretty much turned me off gins for all my adult life lol. A few years ago I had a Bombay Sapphire and loved it.   I have a bottle of Bombay Bramble that I like and would like to branch out a bit.

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

21 minutes ago, Jldevlin said:

As a newbie to the Gin and Tonic drinkers is there a huge taste difference in the higher end gins??  In the 70s in Canada it was Lemon gin that we drank and it pretty much turned me off gins for all my adult life lol. A few years ago I had a Bombay Sapphire and loved it.   I have a bottle of Bombay Bramble that I like and would like to branch out a bit.

I was recently introduced to Hendricks.  Used to do Bombay Sapphire.  Hendricks MUCH smoother, IMO.  Now, based upon comments here, looks like I should try Aviator....Isn't that what's great about the world.....constantly discovering new and delectable things??!!!

[WorkingForOBC]

@Trimone is going to have to get back on here to clarify if they meant Aviation Gin (ryan reynolds' gin), or an aviation (a cocktail made with gin).🍸

[Mandalay5]

12 minutes ago, Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin said:

I was recently introduced to Hendricks.  Used to do Bombay Sapphire.  Hendricks MUCH smoother, IMO.  Now, based upon comments here, looks like I should try Aviator....Isn't that what's great about the world.....constantly discovering new and delectable things??!!!

Hendricks is my normal go to for G&T, but Monkey 47 is probably my favorite, although a little pricy.

[scooter6139]

54 minutes ago, Jldevlin said:

As a newbie to the Gin and Tonic drinkers is there a huge taste difference in the higher end gins??  In the 70s in Canada it was Lemon gin that we drank and it pretty much turned me off gins for all my adult life lol. A few years ago I had a Bombay Sapphire and loved it.   I have a bottle of Bombay Bramble that I like and would like to branch out a bit.

 

Hendricks is nice but a bit overpriced IMHO.  I bounce around Botanist, Tanqueray 10 and Sipsmith lately for a good G&T..  Loved Uncle Val's too, I but I ran out and wifey won't let me get another bottle until we reduce our current inventory a bit.  

[PTC DAWG]

28 minutes ago, WorkingForOBC said:

@Trimone is going to have to get back on here to clarify if they meant Aviation Gin (ryan reynolds' gin), or an aviation (a cocktail made with gin).🍸

I really like the Aviation gin too...different taste than Hendricks for sure.  Both are excellent in their own way.  Saw the Botanist comment just above, also a nice gin.  

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[The Shrike]

If any of you gin fans live around Franklin, TN or are passing through there, take a detour to H. Clark Distilling and grab a bottle of their Tennessee Dry Gin.  You won't be disappointed.

[gatorchinsky]

11 minutes ago, The Shrike said:

If any of you gin fans live around Franklin, TN or are passing through there, take a detour to H. Clark Distilling and grab a bottle of their Tennessee Dry Gin.  You won't be disappointed.

My DH will be in Franklin for a meeting (and to visit our son) so I’ll tell him about it.  We have gone to many distillery’s and he always enjoys them