Beverage Package question?

[j3000]

I (we) never get any kind of Beverage Package ....looked at it long time ago, wasn't viable for us. we like a drink...but not enough to make it pay!

Haven't looked lately, or at the fine print, but basically, how much /many do you have to drink a day, to make it viable? ballpark? what's sort of the 'break-even ' number?  lol

Also, how does it work exactly?: often wondered if one buys the Premium all-in pkg. can that person get unlimited booze (drinks for everybody!) or are there limits?  ...Hic!

[CruiserBruce]

Depends on the cruise line rules, package prices and drink prices. There is no one answer for all cruise lines and packages. 

[j3000]

no, i know.  generally speaking, maybe ....?

[CruiserBruce]

32 minutes ago, jargey3000 said:

no, i know.  generally speaking, maybe ....?

Do you have a particular cruise line in mind? If so, best to ask on the board for that cruise line.

 

Again, the variables can be considerable. For example, on HAL, you essentially need to consume $55 of charged beverages per day to break even. Soft drinks run a little over $2 each...waters about $4 each, beers around $7-8, mixed drinks between $8 and $11, wines and champagne, $9-11. I don't know the cost of specialty coffees. So, the combos of various beverage types to get to $55 per day is numerous.

[wowzz]

6 hours ago, jargey3000 said:

no, i know.  generally speaking, maybe ....?

Also, many lines don't have beverage packages, as all drinks are included.

[mrgabriel]

We sail on Celebrity & a couple of years ago we calculated that the package is worthwhile if you consume about 8 or more alcoholic drinks a day. 

 

[mjkacmom]

With NCL’s free at sea, you are charged about $20 a day pp for gratuities on the package, drinks average around $12.

[sanger727]

generally speaking, you are only permitted to order drinks for yourself with your package. If you are caught sharing them with your group, your drink package can be revoked without a refund. Everything else is so line dependent. Some lines are unlimited and some have a total number of drinks a day limit. Some lines make everyone in a cabin purchase it and some don't. Some lines include it in the booking for a higher booking price but less cost than purchasing the package outright. 

[j3000]

good info. here (as usual)

thanks all.🍹🥂🍷🍻

[sparks1093]

This calculator might help. https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator/

[j3000]

cool! ...lol

(did not have Celebrity as an option)

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by jargey3000

[DarrenM]

On 3/16/2023 at 12:45 PM, mrgabriel said:

We sail on Celebrity & a couple of years ago we calculated that the package is worthwhile if you consume about 8 or more alcoholic drinks a day. 

 

I am well in then.

 

We have the premium package on Celebrity in June, and its a no-brainer.

 

We can drink what we like, when we like, already paid for it, so wont ever think about whether I could have saved a few pounds/dollars here or there. Lifes too short to worry about stuff like that.

 

And no bill at the end, which is something to worry about.

[caribsun]

The cruise lines offer a drink package because they come ahead and make a profit. You need to drink around 8 alcohol drinks a day to break even.

[mjkacmom]

2 minutes ago, caribsun said:

The cruise lines offer a drink package because they come ahead and make a profit. You need to drink around 8 alcohol drinks a day to break even.

 

2 minutes ago, caribsun said:

The cruise lines offer a drink package because they come ahead and make a profit. You need to drink around 8 alcohol drinks a day to break even.

It’s different on every line, and in some cases prices change all of the time.

[caribsun]

1 minute ago, mjkacmom said:

 

It’s different on every line, and in some cases prices change all of the time.

Yes I agree but OP wanted a ballpark answer.

[DarrenM]

16 minutes ago, caribsun said:

The cruise lines offer a drink package because they come ahead and make a profit. You need to drink around 8 alcohol drinks a day to break even.

8 drinks a day? Jackpot.

 

I probably dont quite do that, but on a few days I might have double that.

[wowzz]

31 minutes ago, caribsun said:

The cruise lines offer a drink package because they come ahead and make a profit. You need to drink around 8 alcohol drinks a day to break even.

Certainly not the case on Princess. Broad generalisations are useless.

[wowzz]

27 minutes ago, caribsun said:

Yes I agree but OP wanted a ballpark answer.

But that is not in the ball park !

The breakeven point is much lower than that on the majority of cruise lines.

[caribsun]

8 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Certainly not the case on Princess. Broad generalisations are useless.

I just went to the Princess site and today the low end pkg. is 75.00 a day. Beer 8.00 and high end 15.00, I thought I was in the ballpark at 8 drinks.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, caribsun said:

I just went to the Princess site and today the low end pkg. is 75.00 a day. Beer 8.00 and high end 15.00, I thought I was in the ballpark at 8 drinks.

Princess Plus is $60 pppd. That includes autotips and wifi, and the Plus drinks package.

Once you deduct the autotips,  the actual cost of the drinks package is around $35 pppd.

A decent glass of wine on Princess costs around $15 +18% service charge, so the break even point is two glasses of wine a day.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

Princess Plus is $60 pppd. That includes autotips and wifi, and the Plus drinks package.

Once you deduct the autotips,  the actual cost of the drinks package is around $35 pppd.

A decent glass of wine on Princess costs around $15 +18% service charge, so the break even point is two glasses of wine a day.

Just to clarify, in the above costings, I allocating $10 to the wifi element of the package. If the wifi is of no value to an individual, the drink element would therefore be $45, so break even is three glasses of wine.  

[Tan1415]

I used the calculator for a drinks package on a royal Caribbean. What I didn’t realize was that on port days we hardly use it and we get free drinks when we have dinner at MDR or buffet restaurant.

in other words…it was absolutely not worth it for us.

 

with port days we only had 3 sea days and that means we needed to continuously chug drinks to get even.

 

[Donald]

Many of today's mass market cruisers are always looking for bargains.

The cruisers on the better lines tend to look for convenience.

 

Most of these packages offered by cruise lines were never intended to be bargains.

They were designed as a hybrid version of an all-inclusive cruise package.

Instead of paying for everything up front, the packages allow you to pay up front for a limited number of items that you may want, without having to go through the nickel and diming that has become so popular with discount cruisers.

These packages are convenience - nothing more.

 

"Viable" to the discount cruisers means "can I drink my money's worth?"

"Viable" to the serious cruisers means "will the package make my cruise more hassle-free?"

[HardToPort]

As has been alluded to elsewhere it’s not always all about alcohol. I do not like drip coffee so in the mornings I have 2 cafe espresso Americano’s. sometimes a latte if the spirit moves. ($4-&6 each) A mimosa with breakfast.  ($6-$8) At least 4 club sodas ($2-$3) and 1-2 bottles of water daily. ($3-$4 each).  So I can be $25 or $30 in before my first real drink. (I don’t count the bubbly in my mimosa. It’s for digestive purposes 😉)

 

Throw in 2-3 beers, a glass or two of wine with dinner and maybe a liqueur in the evening and I feel I’m getting value. NOTE: I spend most port days on board with the exception of a walk around the port, so I don’t get behind on port days. Unless it’s a new port, I’ve been to them already and other than some souvenir shopping they have no appeal.

[DarrenM]

10 hours ago, HardToPort said:

As has been alluded to elsewhere it’s not always all about alcohol. I do not like drip coffee so in the mornings I have 2 cafe espresso Americano’s. sometimes a latte if the spirit moves. ($4-&6 each) A mimosa with breakfast.  ($6-$8) At least 4 club sodas ($2-$3) and 1-2 bottles of water daily. ($3-$4 each).  So I can be $25 or $30 in before my first real drink. (I don’t count the bubbly in my mimosa. It’s for digestive purposes 😉)

 

Throw in 2-3 beers, a glass or two of wine with dinner and maybe a liqueur in the evening and I feel I’m getting value. NOTE: I spend most port days on board with the exception of a walk around the port, so I don’t get behind on port days. Unless it’s a new port, I’ve been to them already and other than some souvenir shopping they have no appeal.

I get this and previous post above. It just makes life so much easier to know everything is paid for.

 

I dont set out to get my moneys worth. i dont drink that much, and if i did it would ruin the next day.

 

I like my coffee too, and drinks lots of it, as well as soft drinks. And some of the alcohol free cocktails during the day are fantastic.