Delux beverage pkg

[newfiegirl4]

Hey, Can anyone advise on the purchase of the booze pkg before cruising in November on the Harmony? When is the best time to book? If there is a best time…lol. I know it’s a choice but would like to know opinions on the best time. 
Coming from Canada and right now the cost is $102 per day! 
thank you 

[PQI]

There isn't a best time, you need to keep looking at prices and buy it when it reaches the price you want. There was recently a Labor Day sale where the DBP for my cruise dropped from 77.99 USD pppd to 72.99 USD pppd with a BOGO 50% offer. Now it is back at 77.99 USD pppd with a 20% off "sale". 

 

Just keep track of the price and purchase it when you see one you think matches what you are willing to pay. And after that, keep tracking the price and if it ever goes down cancel and repurchase. And  don't look at the "sale" tag but rather the final price you're paying, Royal can get quite creative with their math.

 

Next big sale should be for Black Friday, but since you're cruising in November depending on the sail date you may not get that one in time. 

[Ilandguy]

59 minutes ago, PQI said:

There isn't a best time, you need to keep looking at prices and buy it when it reaches the price you want. There was recently a Labor Day sale where the DBP for my cruise dropped from 77.99 USD pppd to 72.99 USD pppd with a BOGO 50% offer. Now it is back at 77.99 USD pppd with a 20% off "sale". 

 

Just keep track of the price and purchase it when you see one you think matches what you are willing to pay. And after that, keep tracking the price and if it ever goes down cancel and repurchase. And  don't look at the "sale" tag but rather the final price you're paying, Royal can get quite creative with their math.

 

Next big sale should be for Black Friday, but since you're cruising in November depending on the sail date you may not get that one in time. 

I totally agree, Royal will raise today's price & call it a "SALE"

I managed to only cancel once to get $75.60 Cad per day + 18% gats for a Sept Alaska Cruise😁 

Do you feel lucky? Good LUCK🍀

[klfhngr]

'FAKE' sales!

[jcc1025]

3 hours ago, newfiegirl4 said:

Hey, Can anyone advise on the purchase of the booze pkg before cruising in November on the Harmony? When is the best time to book? If there is a best time…lol. I know it’s a choice but would like to know opinions on the best time. 
Coming from Canada and right now the cost is $102 per day! Another 
thank you 

Another options that we have used before is to book the package. Watch the prices and if it dropes cancel the original booking and repurchase. Their is not going to be some massive savings they move it a couple of percentage points but sometimes if the ship is not full they will drop it some prior to sailing to try and intice people to sign up. 

[Mum2Mercury]

2 hours ago, PQI said:

And  don't look at the "sale" tag but rather the final price you're paying, Royal can get quite creative with their math.

So true -- and don't forget to add 18% to the price.  That's the automatic gratuity.  

[Johnny60]

Are there ever any deals on ship?   Believe some one posted about buy one get one 50% off?

[PhillyFan33579]

3 minutes ago, Johnny60 said:

Are there ever any deals on ship?   Believe some one posted about buy one get one 50% off?

The price on the ship is almost always higher (usually significantly) then buying it in advance. Don’t fall into looking at buy one get one 50% off, 30% off for everyone, etc. The key is to check the current price of the package. RCI is always changing the price of the deluxe package so looking at percentages is more or less worthless. 

[PQI]

9 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

The price on the ship is almost always higher (usually significantly) then buying it in advance. Don’t fall into looking at buy one get one 50% off, 30% off for everyone, etc. The key is to check the current price of the package. RCI is always changing the price of the deluxe package so looking at percentages is more or less worthless. 

 

+1

 

I believe waiting to buy once onboard is the worst possible scenario, considering you can always cancel and repurchase before the cruise. First, you'd have to try your luck at sale happening onboard or not. Second, it is way more likely for them to jack up the prices during the cruise, and maybe present it with a fake "sale" tag, than it is for you to find a better price at anytime prior to cruise.

 

I'd say to only wait to buy onboard if you really don't want/need the DBP, so if by any chance a real sale happens to be going on you can take advantage of it. If it is a must-have, your chances of scoring a good price are way higher by purchasing in advance and cancelling and repurchasing if it goes lower anytime before the cruise.

[PQI]

By the way, taking the opportunity to ask a question to those with more expertise in this forum: I have a cruise departing on November 26. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Cruise Planner sales usually go live on Wednesdays or Thursdays, right?

 

Considering the sail date is on a Saturday the day after Black Friday and that purchases must be made 48h before sailing, how likely am I to be able to score a possible Black Friday deal on this cruise?

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, PQI said:

By the way, taking the opportunity to ask a question to those with more expertise in this forum: I have a cruise departing on November 26. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Cruise Planner sales usually go live on Wednesdays or Thursdays, right?

 

Considering the sail date is on a Saturday the day after Black Friday and that purchases must be made 48h before sailing, how likely am I to be able to score a possible Black Friday deal on this cruise?

Black Friday sales, the last several years open on Monday or Friday. 
Whether or not your itinerary is included is a coin flip 

[not-enough-cruising]

11 hours ago, Johnny60 said:

Are there ever any deals on ship?   Believe some one posted about buy one get one 50% off?

Boarding day almost always includes a BOGO half off deal; but the list price is likely to be in the $90 plus range. 
Not much of a deal 

[PhillyFan33579]

28 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Boarding day almost always includes a BOGO half off deal; but the list price is likely to be in the $90 plus range. 
Not much of a deal 

Lately the list price has been around $110 on the ship. We have gotten into the habit of asking bartenders what is the current price of the deluxe beverage package on the first day of the cruise. As recently as last Fall I was still paying in the $50 range for the package. On more recent cruises I am now paying in the high $60s to low $70s. Even with the free drinks we get as Diamonds and Diamond Plus, the deluxe beverage package is still worth it. At some point in the future that might change, especially if you get free drinks while in the casino and they let you order drinks from the casino bar as opposed to only getting drinks while actively playing. 

[nasa1974]

Since I only drink beer and not liquor the $77.99 + 18% gratuity seems a bit steep. I would have to drink at least 8 beers a day and maybe a few soft drinks to make it pay for itself. That's if the beer sells for $8 a bottle/can.

[vjmatty]

20 minutes ago, nasa1974 said:

Since I only drink beer and not liquor the $77.99 + 18% gratuity seems a bit steep. I would have to drink at least 8 beers a day and maybe a few soft drinks to make it pay for itself. That's if the beer sells for $8 a bottle/can.

 

I thought there used to be a beer and wine plan but I could be thinking of a different line.

[The Scurvy Pirate]

9 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

I thought there used to be a beer and wine plan but I could be thinking of a different line.

A long time ago (7+ years ago) they had the beer/wine and also the deluxe.

[The Scurvy Pirate]

5 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Boarding day almost always includes a BOGO half off deal; but the list price is likely to be in the $90 plus range. 
Not much of a deal 

Current BOGO deals supposedly go off the onboard "list" price, so assuming that is the actual onboard price wouldn't it be the same?

[rudeney]

7 minutes ago, The Scurvy Pirate said:

Current BOGO deals supposedly go off the onboard "list" price, so assuming that is the actual onboard price wouldn't it be the same?

 

Not really.  My CP has had prices from $65 to $79.  Each one of them had a sale price that didn't correlate.  For example, the $65 price was 30% off, but now it shows $70, but no discount.  BOGO50 was $75 each, but the $79 price was listed at 25% off, another time $75 was listed at 20% off.  It's all over the place.  I just bought at $65 and I still check every day just in case the price drops.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Your sailing is pretty close so I doubt you will see much of a downward movement in price.  We booked Thanksgiving on Wonder more than a year ago.  Lowest I ever saw was USD $68 and then $72 and then $78.  I bought at $72.  For a few days "Labor Day" sale it went from $78 to $72, but then went back to $78 where it sits today.  I doubt mine will ever go low enough before we cruise to make it worth the trouble of canceling and repurchasing.  If you cancel the credit doesn't come back right aware, but the new purchase goes out right away.  

 

[rudeney]

27 minutes ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

Your sailing is pretty close so I doubt you will see much of a downward movement in price.  We booked Thanksgiving on Wonder more than a year ago.  Lowest I ever saw was USD $68 and then $72 and then $78.  I bought at $72.  For a few days "Labor Day" sale it went from $78 to $72, but then went back to $78 where it sits today.  I doubt mine will ever go low enough before we cruise to make it worth the trouble of canceling and repurchasing.  If you cancel the credit doesn't come back right aware, but the new purchase goes out right away.  

 

 

On my cruise, I did cancel and rebook a few things (one was a price drop, another was changing a shorex).  In both cases, my AMEX was credited in about 4 days.  I believe RCCL issues the credit in about 2 days, so anything more than that is simply your card issues "playing the float" with your money.  

[taglovestocruise]

Three cruise coming up, one in  in Sep, Oct, and Nov.  Prices are $72.99, $66.99 and $80.99, the shorter the cruise the higher the price. 

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, The Scurvy Pirate said:

Current BOGO deals supposedly go off the onboard "list" price, so assuming that is the actual onboard price wouldn't it be the same?

If the onboard price were constant then all "sales" would add up; but they don't.  Long story short; its almost NEVER a good deal to buy the package onboard.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

3 hours ago, rudeney said:

 

On my cruise, I did cancel and rebook a few things (one was a price drop, another was changing a shorex).  In both cases, my AMEX was credited in about 4 days.  I believe RCCL issues the credit in about 2 days, so anything more than that is simply your card issues "playing the float" with your money.  

I also have AMEX and I think it's RCCL that floats (pun intended).  It's taken about 4-5 business days to get the credit back.  

Edited September 15, 2022 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[nasa1974]

4 hours ago, The Scurvy Pirate said:

Current BOGO deals supposedly go off the onboard "list" price, so assuming that is the actual onboard price wouldn't it be the same?

A BOGO wouldn't do me any good since I am sailing solo. Anyone remember how much a beer costs onboard?

[Mum2Mercury]

2 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

A BOGO wouldn't do me any good since I am sailing solo. Anyone remember how much a beer costs onboard?

A full priced beer onboard Explorer last week was $10.70 (includes automatic 18% gratuity). 

Being Crown & Anchor members, we were allowed two 50% off drinks + 10% off drinks after that; this deal may or may not be repeated in the future (or on other ships) 

A Bucket of Beer from the Pool Bar (5 beers) was $42.xx (includes automatic 18% gratuity), which is about $8.40/beer.