Drink Packages

[cruisinelmo]

We are thinking of going on a cruise two years out and we are working on a budget. We are experienced cruisers, so we are familiar with the drink packages but what we don't know at this moment is what is the cost of the drink packages currently so we have some type of figure to start the budgetting process. Thanks all in advance.

[Sunshine3601]

I have a couple future cruises booked and Deluxe drink pkg is selling for $71 to $75 plus 18% gratuity pp per day.

[dc15]

We got it for $89 CAD pp on Labor Day (~$65USD). Its up to around $75USD now though. It fluctuates it seems.

[Biker19]

39 minutes ago, cruisinelmo said:

We are experienced cruisers, so we are familiar with the drink packages but what we don't know at this moment is what is the cost of the drink packages currently so we have some type of figure to start the budgetting process.

Prices vary quite a bit - figure the cost of the package around the same as the inside cabin base fare.

[deliver42]

It varies by ship, date, how full the ship is, and any other way Royal can increase the cost.

[ARandomTraveler]

My Symphony cruise next month has been selling it for $72.99/day when "on sale" ($86.13/day with the 18% tacked on, which is $602.90 for the week).

 

$77.99/day when not on sale ($92.03/day with the 18% tacked on, which is $644.20 for the week). 
 

Unless you plan to drink alcohol every day on the cruise, the other good option is to buy the refreshment (non-alcohol) package and then just pay out of pocket for the alcohol.
 

Refreshment on my Symphony cruise next month has been $22.99/day "on sale" ($27.13/day with the 18% tacked on, which is $189.90 for the week).
 

$29.99/day when not on sale ($35.39/day with the 18% tacked on, which is $247.72 for the week).

 

Buying the refreshment package, even at the full, non-sale price of $247.72 gives you  $396.48 of wiggle room to pay for alcoholic beverages out of pocket, which if you're not a big drinker, will save you money, especially when you multiply that by 2 passengers.
 

For 2 passengers that's $792.97 to use for paying for drinks out of pocket. If between 2 adults you'll drink less than 52 alcoholic drinks (that cost $15) in 7 days, then do the refreshment route.

Edited October 23, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[RandomUser123]

At a minimum if you both want to buy the deluxe beverage package I would say combined you would both then need to consume minimum 12 alcoholic drinks per day at the max price point allowed to get your money's worth. Now obviously that would vary if you also will have non alcoholic beverages or drinks that are a few bucks cheaper. My only recommendation I tell anyone who buys the deluxe beverage package is do not drink beer during that cruise, use it only for the good stuff up to the max point and any non alcoholic drinks you want to mix in. 

[edrussell]

Prices can and do vary but count on it being around the 72 to 75 PP per day mark.  Around 6 drinks per day per person is about the 'break even' point.  For us we've always purchased it and it makes 100% sense for us as we do like to drink on cruises.  To each their own for sure.  Just buy it early if you are going to buy it at all and if the price goes down, just cancel and rebook it at the lower price.

 

 

[Mombak]

If you are looking to buy one and trying to find the cheapest price, purchase it with ANY discount, then check back every once in a while for sales. If you see it at a lower price, you can cancel your old price, and then repurchase to get the new cheaper price.

 

They have a variety of different sales throughout the year, so ANY discount is better than NO discount.

[pacey50]

I'm surprised that RCCL doesn't give people a break when booking the deluxe beverage package on a 7 night cruise.  To drink that much alcohol over 7 nights straight is difficult.

[taglovestocruise]

2 hours ago, pacey50 said:

I'm surprised that RCCL doesn't give people a break when booking the deluxe beverage package on a 7 night cruise.  To drink that much alcohol over 7 nights straight is difficult.

Had 10 free daily drink vouchers on 10 night Quantum cruise a week ago.  On two nights we went over the 10 drink limit. Vouchers were only used for cocktails. 

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, pacey50 said:

I'm surprised that RCCL doesn't give people a break when booking the deluxe beverage package on a 7 night cruise. 

Why would they when people keep paying the higher prices?

[George C]

I have bought the drink package ever since it came out, now there is no need we are diamond plus so 5 free drinks each , we always book suites so free 3 hour happy hour and we buy UDP which gives us 40 percent off wine bottles under a hundred. 

[blueslily]

2 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Had 10 free daily drink vouchers on 10 night Quantum cruise a week ago.  On two nights we went over the 10 drink limit. Vouchers were only used for cocktails. 

When I first read this message, I was like wow, 10 drinks in one day. Then, I read it again and guessed maybe you meant that there were two people and  you all had 10 total drinks. So, that was 5 cocktails per person for a total of 10 drinks. Maybe? Or, I guess any combo of drinks for each of you, but they totaled 10 between the 2 people versus 10 drinks for one person. Either way, hope you all had a great cruise. 🤗🛳

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

5 hours ago, pacey50 said:

I'm surprised that RCCL doesn't give people a break when booking the deluxe beverage package on a 7 night cruise.  To drink that much alcohol over 7 nights straight is difficult.

Not really

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

I have been tracking the price on various cruise we have booked since pre-COVID.  Plan on $70 per day, if you ever see it for less buy it.  If it's $70, buy it, and if goes lower cancel and repurchase if it's enough to make it worth the hassle.  

[lcpagejr]

5 hours ago, pacey50 said:

I'm surprised that RCCL doesn't give people a break when booking the deluxe beverage package on a 7 night cruise.  To drink that much alcohol over 7 nights straight is difficult.

It really isn't hard... Mimosa with breakfast...drink at lunch...several drinks in afternoon, drink before dinner and 1/2 at dinner ....Thats around 7 drinks and doesnt include your night drinks.  In Labidee your drink cost is included....so obviously several while at that stop. On port days ...those could be days you could lose out on....but alot depends what you do in evening.  So for a couple who wants to enjoy their cruise vacation, have daily drinks....and not worry about what your end of cruise bill may be....its worth it

[Mum2Mercury]

11 hours ago, cruisinelmo said:

We are thinking of going on a cruise two years out and we are working on a budget. We are experienced cruisers, so we are familiar with the drink packages but what we don't know at this moment is what is the cost of the drink packages currently so we have some type of figure to start the budgetting process. Thanks all in advance.

We have two cruises booked at the moment.  Drink packages are already available -- and I'm assuming we're talking about the Deluxe Drink Package:   

- For our short upcoming cruise, the price is $83.99/person/day ($99.10 including mandatory 18% tip)

- For the longer cruise, the price is $70.99/person/day ($83.76 including mandatory 18% tip) 

- Sometimes these go on sale, but -- honestly -- they tend to raise the prices so they can lower them.  People say the best prices are available on Black Friday; that's only a few weeks away -- we'll see. 

- If you decide to buy any drink package, it's smart to do it before boarding.  It will be more expensive on board.  

 

If you want to buy individual drinks, here are the approximate prices: 

- Beer runs $8-10 ($9.44-11.18 including mandatory 18% tip) 

- If you're a beer drinker, you can save a little by buying a "Bucket of Beer" from the pool bar -- the price varies depending upon the beer you choose, but Heinekin runs about $36 (about $42.48 including 18% mandatory tip for a bucket of five beers.  

- Cocktails mostly run $13-14 ($15.34-16.52 including mandatory 18% tip) 

- If you're a cocktail drinker, the ship offers a "drink of the day", which runs about $10 ($11.18 including mandatory tip) 

- If you've sailed Royal before and are a Crown and Anchor member, you will probably receive an offer for a couple discounted drinks (details will be on a paper in your room upon arrival), but you can't know details until you're already on board.  

4 hours ago, pacey50 said:

I'm surprised that RCCL doesn't give people a break when booking the deluxe beverage package on a 7 night cruise.  To drink that much alcohol over 7 nights straight is difficult.

Royal's counting on cruisers "failing to get their money's worth".  Selling $$$ drink packages is one way they can offer lower priced cruises.  

[taglovestocruise]

17 minutes ago, blueslily said:

When I first read this message, I was like wow, 10 drinks in one day. Then, I read it again and guessed maybe you meant that there were two people and  you all had 10 total drinks. So, that was 5 cocktails per person for a total of 10 drinks. Maybe? Or, I guess any combo of drinks for each of you, but they totaled 10 between the 2 people versus 10 drinks for one person. Either way, hope you all had a great cruise. 🤗🛳

Yep, two of us, and a great cruise indeed. 

[Mum2Mercury]

14 minutes ago, lcpagejr said:

It really isn't hard... Mimosa with breakfast...drink at lunch...several drinks in afternoon, drink before dinner and 1/2 at dinner ....Thats around 7 drinks and doesnt include your night drinks.  In Labidee your drink cost is included....so obviously several while at that stop. On port days ...those could be days you could lose out on....but alot depends what you do in evening.  So for a couple who wants to enjoy their cruise vacation, have daily drinks....and not worry about what your end of cruise bill may be....its worth it

That'd be pretty hard for me.  Impossible even.  

[Engineroom Snipe]

One thing to consider is your time in port. When you leave the ship, to not include Coco Bay, you are now adding additional costs for food and beverages above the standard cruise.

 

I am not able to drink much due to medical conditions but I think that everyone who would like a package should get one because there are no DUIs and I hope you can have someone assist you to your room should you have one or two more than you can easily handle.

 

The magic number seems to be around seven drinks per day for each member in your cabin. I think that the cumulative drinking over two days straight at this level leads to fatigue. Trying to get your "money's worth" could lead to more drinks that you would normally have. I wish for everyone to enjoy themselves but do not drink in excess because you feel like you have to get "your money's worth."

 

This is your vacation, your money.I think Biker19 said it well that the price could be comparable to an inside cabin base fare. This is something to think about.

[lcpagejr]

17 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

That'd be pretty hard for me.  Impossible even.  

The sad thing is...I rarely drink at home...yet on cruises I regularly have 7-8 drinks a day. I only feel drunk when drinking champagne. As for other drinks...I can only surmise...they are very weak because I rarely feel fatigued or hung over in the morning! Then again...Im spreading drinks over all day...not partying at night and having numerous drinks in a short period of time

Edited October 24, 2022 by lcpagejr

[Engineroom Snipe]

12 minutes ago, lcpagejr said:

The sad thing is...I rarely drink at home...yet on cruises I regularly have 7-8 drinks a day. I only feel drunk when drinking champagne. As for other drinks...I can only surmise...they are very weak because I rarely feel fatigued or hung over in the morning!

And this is exactly why I think it is a personal decision. Your vacation, your money, your body, be safe, make good decisions and enjoy. In general, it is a much safer situation than drinking at a club in a big city and going home. The worse thing that happens is that you do not immediately find your room 😁.

 

My biggest concern would be those who feel they need to drink more than normal because they bought the drink package and need to get "their money's worth." This is similar to going to an "all you can eat" buffet and eating far more than you would want just because it is an "all you can eat" price already paid.

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Engineroom Snipe
typo

[pacey50]

To do 7 days at say $90 per day X 2 people.  $1260 worth of over priced alcohol!!!

[rhino7176]

6 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

We have two cruises booked at the moment.  Drink packages are already available -- and I'm assuming we're talking about the Deluxe Drink Package:   

- For our short upcoming cruise, the price is $83.99/person/day ($99.10 including mandatory 18% tip)

- For the longer cruise, the price is $70.99/person/day ($83.76 including mandatory 18% tip) 

- Sometimes these go on sale, but -- honestly -- they tend to raise the prices so they can lower them.  People say the best prices are available on Black Friday; that's only a few weeks away -- we'll see. 

- If you decide to buy any drink package, it's smart to do it before boarding.  It will be more expensive on board.  

 

If you want to buy individual drinks, here are the approximate prices: 

- Beer runs $8-10 ($9.44-11.18 including mandatory 18% tip) 

- If you're a beer drinker, you can save a little by buying a "Bucket of Beer" from the pool bar -- the price varies depending upon the beer you choose, but Heinekin runs about $36 (about $42.48 including 18% mandatory tip for a bucket of five beers.  

- Cocktails mostly run $13-14 ($15.34-16.52 including mandatory 18% tip) 

- If you're a cocktail drinker, the ship offers a "drink of the day", which runs about $10 ($11.18 including mandatory tip) 

- If you've sailed Royal before and are a Crown and Anchor member, you will probably receive an offer for a couple discounted drinks (details will be on a paper in your room upon arrival), but you can't know details until you're already on board.  

Royal's counting on cruisers "failing to get their money's worth".  Selling $$$ drink packages is one way they can offer lower priced cruises.  

 

We easily get our moneys worth!  Well worth the price even if we break even, as I know I won't owe anything coming off the cruise, as I have heard horror stories.