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Deluxe Beverage Package

Sparetiming

By Sparetiming,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Sparetiming

Sparetiming

Posted
Posted

Is it just me or has the Deluxe Beverage Package prices so high it no longer makes sense to buy it? Our cruise is in a few weeks and I have diligently checked the price, the cheapest it has been listed at is $72.99. Even the Black Friday sale was at this price. Now they have the Holiday specials and still at this price. For 2 people this amount is $1,168.00!! Almost as much as our cruise price. Sorry this is just ridiculous and I am disappointed. I guess I will be brown bagging 2 bottles of wine.

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resetjet

resetjet

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, Sparetiming said:

Is it just me or has the Deluxe Beverage Package prices so high it no longer makes sense to buy it? Our cruise is in a few weeks and I have diligently checked the price, the cheapest it has been listed at is $72.99. Even the Black Friday sale was at this price. Now they have the Holiday specials and still at this price. For 2 people this amount is $1,168.00!! Almost as much as our cruise price. Sorry this is just ridiculous and I am disappointed. I guess I will be brown bagging 2 bottles of wine.

Its not worth it at all.  Just bring two bottles of wine and buy drinks.  You wont spend $1000.  

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poocher

poocher

Posted
Posted

Everyone has a different break even point.  Hubby & I don’t drink enough consistently to justify but we just hit Diamond so our 4 per day is plenty plus I do bring 2 bottles of wine.  Daughter is also going without.  Extra wine (different cabin) and OOP for her.  Son on the other hand will more than make it worth buying so he’s getting it.  They are in the same cabin but I called & got her the refreshment package instead.  She does like her specialty coffee.

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Husky1987

Husky1987

Posted
Posted

As has been said 1000s of times on here, they'll charge what people are willing to pay.  If it's ridiculous, blame the cruising public that pays and not the cruise line.  They're in it to make money, not to give us deals.

 

 YMMV, I know plenty of people who would spend more if they paid by the drink.

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footzz

footzz

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, Sparetiming said:

Is it just me or has the Deluxe Beverage Package prices so high it no longer makes sense to buy it? 

It's not just you. We've bought the DBP in the past, but never paid more than $58.99 a day pre-Covid. Even after the return to sailing, the first two cruises we took, the DBP was never higher than $62.99.

 

In our Cruise Planner for a Jan. cruise, the price has gone as low as $67.99 + grats a day and has gone as high as $77.99. Now it's at $72.99. There's no way are we going to pay over $1200 for a DBP. As long as people are willing to buy at the current prices, they're going to stay high. We'll manage just fine with our daily drink coupons and carry on wine.

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Miloomar

Miloomar

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Posted

At $73/day you're talking of a break even of like 5 drinks a day... i can have 2-3 drinks at dinner alone. Until the break even point is like 9-10 drinks a day it's still a good deal for a lot of cruisers. A cocktail is $14 now on a lot of ships, as long as drink prices are high, idk what people expect with regards with package prices. They aren't lowering costs, the best we can hope for is a pause on raising the prices. 

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I082692

I082692

Posted
Posted

I am on Allure Jan 15 and went ahead and purchased it at 67.99 during black Friday.. I am trying to be on vacation and I just don't want to think about it every time I want an adult beverage, bottle of water or even a coke for that matter (btw - I am disappointed that soda is not free).  I will get my moneys worth but they will profit off of my wife.  I realize we could have made a call and got her the refreshment package but she drinks, just not 5 a day ish .. Maybe she can even it out with the fresh juices, sodas and bottled waters etc.  We have done free drinks in the casino and it was hard to find servers, also we would find ourselves going down to the casino just for a free drink and that free drink would cost me a hundred bucks waiting on a server.. so that wasnt the answer..LOL

I remember being at the pool bar and thinking about ordering another drink and just passing because we knew it was another 14x2= 28 bucks to our ship card, hate having to think about it and that is where all inclusive resorts win.. PS- I am a cruiser, wife is a all inclusive-er   LOL

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footzz

footzz

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, Miloomar said:

it's still a good deal for a lot of cruisers.

Saying it's a good deal is tantamount to the sunk cost fallacy. The cruise lines have a captive audience and unless someone skirts the alcohol policies, they will have to pay whatever the cruise line charges. So, many will drink copiously just to 'break even'. That doesn't necessarily make it a good deal for the consumer, but it is a effective rationalization for them to justify the cost.

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Husky1987

Husky1987

Posted
Posted (edited)
44 minutes ago, footzz said:

They will profit off of both of you. But your wife will be even more profitable.

Lots of people don't realize that the $14 drink probably costs the cruise line somewhere in the neighborhood of, what, $4-5?  So that "break even point" for passengers may be 5 drinks, but for the cruise line it's more like 15.

 

Funny when people say "They're gonna lose money on me!!!"...99/100 times they don't.

Edited by Husky1987
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footzz

footzz

Posted
Posted (edited)
39 minutes ago, George C said:

We like visiting New York City, the 70 something dollars that rccl charges would be good for 3 or 4 drinks at best . Price of everything is going up including the price of liquor. 

True, but the local watering hole in NYC doesn't have the bulk purchasing power that RC does.

Edited by footzz
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mikefromny

mikefromny

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, footzz said:

Saying it's a good deal is tantamount to the sunk cost fallacy. The cruise lines have a captive audience and unless someone skirts the alcohol policies, they will have to pay whatever the cruise line charges. So, many will drink copiously just to 'break even'. That doesn't necessarily make it a good deal for the consumer, but it is a effective rationalization for them to justify the cost.

Your premise that the cruise line has a captive audience ignores the fact that you choose to go on a cruise. The cost extras should be part of your decision making process in choosing to cruise in the first place. Their audience isn't captive, it's voluntary. So is a cruiser's choice to purchase the DBP, buy each drink on its own, or purchase drinks at all.

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goldfish65

goldfish65

Posted
Posted

I'd rather put the money towards a suite, and get a few complimentary drinks/cappuccino, and pay for beverages individually....we don't drink bottled water...even with tipping extra our bar tab was far less than the DBP....also I might be preoccupied with thoughts about whether I am getting my money's worth every single day...

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nasa1974

nasa1974

Posted
Posted

So, if you are someone that likes to have a few drinks while on a cruise but can't see breaking even because of the cost of the beverage package why not buy some OBC. If $1200 is too much, do some math and if it looks like $800 might be close to what you would spend just put the $800 into OBC. If you have a few more drinks over that then you are still under $1200.  Also, that OBC could cover your daily gratuities.  Just something to think about.

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not-enough-cruising

not-enough-cruising

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, footzz said:

Saying it's a good deal is tantamount to the sunk cost fallacy. The cruise lines have a captive audience and unless someone skirts the alcohol policies, they will have to pay whatever the cruise line charges. So, many will drink copiously just to 'break even'. That doesn't necessarily make it a good deal for the consumer, but it is an effective rationalization for them to justify the cost.

5 drinks in a day is far from “copious consumption”; for many on vacation that is called “pre lunch”

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BobH5849

BobH5849

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, nasa1974 said:

So, if you are someone that likes to have a few drinks while on a cruise but can't see breaking even because of the cost of the beverage package why not buy some OBC. If $1200 is too much, do some math and if it looks like $800 might be close to what you would spend just put the $800 into OBC. If you have a few more drinks over that then you are still under $1200.  Also, that OBC could cover your daily gratuities.  Just something to think about.

I like the idea of putting some $$ into OBC.  If you don't drink up your $$ in OBC how does RCI reimburse you?

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Cruiser_1977

Cruiser_1977

Posted
Posted

As long as the Beverage Package stays under $80/day it makes sense for me. Fortunately (or not 😉 ) I rarely do 7 night or longer trips. I don't do specialty coffee but may have 1-2 diet sodas throughout the day. I also may have a couple of fruity/frozen drinks by the pool, 1-2 glasses of wine with dinner and maybe a pre/post dinner cocktail. That is easily $80 before tipping. I also drink 64-80 ounces of water a day....

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