Can you buy a drink package once on board?

[mooshipalmdale]

Trying to figure out if the drink package is worth it or not. Last cruise we averaged 2 drinks per day, one cocktail and wine (sometimes more than one glass) with dinner. If we had the drink package I’m sure we would drink more but do we need to? 

[doghog]

10 minutes ago, mooshipalmdale said:

Trying to figure out if the drink package is worth it or not. Last cruise we averaged 2 drinks per day, one cocktail and wine (sometimes more than one glass) with dinner. If we had the drink package I’m sure we would drink more but do we need to? 

Yes you can buy a drink package while on board. Do you need to. That's all on you. 

[luv2camp04]

You can buy it onboard however it is usually less expensive purchasing precruise.

[someguyfl]

Realistically speaking, for a 7 day or longer cruise, I think most people would probably get the best financial bang-for-their-buck if they got the Zero Proof package and paid a-la-carte for alcoholic drinks...

Most people simply just can't drink 5 alcoholic drinks per day for 7 days in a row without feeling pretty terrible. I certainly can't... but I do have a friend who can, so I certainly know that some people like that do exist.

 

With that said, A lot of the benefit of what you're paying for is the freedom to just order when you feel like it and not worry about signing receipts. It might sound trivial and tacky, but it does change your behavior.

 

Without the beverage package, I'd probably never think it's worth it to pay $20 for a drink, fill out a receipt, note a tip, etc ... I'd probably just end up having zero alcoholic drinks on an entire cruise. Alternatively, if I have the Premium beverage package, I'll probably end up having a glass of Port after dinner, and one or maybe two cocktails or glasses of wine through the day.

[doghog]

9 minutes ago, someguyfl said:

Realistically speaking, for a 7 day or longer cruise, I think most people would probably get the best financial bang-for-their-buck if they got the Zero Proof package and paid a-la-carte for alcoholic drinks...

Most people simply just can't drink 5 alcoholic drinks per day for 7 days in a row without feeling pretty terrible. I certainly can't... but I do have a friend who can, so I certainly know that some people like that do exist.

 

With that said, A lot of the benefit of what you're paying for is the freedom to just order when you feel like it and not worry about signing receipts. It might sound trivial and tacky, but it does change your behavior.

 

Without the beverage package, I'd probably never think it's worth it to pay $20 for a drink, fill out a receipt, note a tip, etc ... I'd probably just end up having zero alcoholic drinks on an entire cruise. Alternatively, if I have the Premium beverage package, I'll probably end up having a glass of Port after dinner, and one or maybe two cocktails or glasses of wine through the day.

Disagree for us. We would never buy the Zero Proof package. We don't drink any type of soft drink and don't want to drink a virgin drink. Wine, beer, shots and bottled water for me, wine and bottled water for my wife.  I don't drink coffee (hate it) and my wife only drinks one cup with breakfast. Five drinks over the course of the day and evening is nothing. Especially wine with the 5 oz. pours. I drink way more than my wife but we also feel the price we are paying (past and future cruise) is worth it to us.

Edited December 9, 2023 by doghog

[someguyfl]

Just now, doghog said:

Disagree for us. We would never buy the Zero Proof package. We don't drink any type of soft drink and don't want to drink a virgin drink. Five drinks over the course of the day and evening is nothing. Especially wine with the 5 oz. pours. I drink way more than my wife but we also feel the price we are paying (past and future cruise) is worth it to us.

I don't drink Soda either. The major cost for my wife and I would end up being all the premium bottled water (Evian, San Pellegrino). Cafe Al Baccio. Spa Cafe Smoothies.

Can easily end up with 6+ drinks per day of just that.

[doghog]

2 minutes ago, someguyfl said:

I don't drink Soda either. The major cost for my wife and I would end up being all the premium bottled water (Evian, San Pellegrino). Cafe Al Baccio. Spa Cafe Smoothies.

Can easily end up with 6+ drinks per day of just that.

Thanks for making my point. Everyone is different and what is value for one is not for another. We stick with the CBP and get everything out of it we want. We never try and drink to get our monies worth. 🤣

[someguyfl]

5 minutes ago, doghog said:

Thanks for making my point. Everyone is different and what is value for one is not for another. We stick with the CBP and get everything out of it we want. We never try and drink to get our monies worth. 🤣

Of course. I'm certainly not making any judgement on people who make different choices on what they like to drink when they are on vacation.

 

It is also interesting how different people's needs are... for me, the CBP is almost completely worthless, because I'm not going to drink enough alcoholic drinks to get my value that way, and it excludes all of the non-alcoholic drinks I want.

 

Meanwhile, the friend (I mentioned in my previous post), he can easily drink 10+ alcoholic drinks per day, and never get wasted. I've seen him have dozens of shots of Vodka in a single night. To him, the Premium Beverage Packages are sort of a joke -- he knows he can [and does] easily "get his money's worth"... But, like I said, I think that's an extreme minority.

And, looking at anything on cruises, vacations, or measure as far as the best value proposition is always sort of a losing battle... The best value proposition is of course to stay at home. Anything beyond that is not a need, it's a want. And nobody can decide what you want other than you.

Edited December 9, 2023 by someguyfl

[doghog]

13 minutes ago, someguyfl said:

Of course. I'm certainly not making any judgement on people who make different choices on what they like to drink when they are on vacation.

 

It is also interesting how different people's needs are... for me, the CBP is almost completely worthless, because I'm not going to drink enough alcoholic drinks to get my value that way, and it excludes all of the non-alcoholic drinks I want.

 

Meanwhile, the friend (I mentioned in my previous post), he can easily drink 10+ alcoholic drinks per day, and never get wasted. I've seen him have dozens of shots of Vodka in a single night. To him, the Premium Beverage Packages are sort of a joke -- he knows he can [and does] easily "get his money's worth"... But, like I said, I think that's an extreme minority.

And, looking at anything on cruises, vacations, or measure as far as the best value proposition is always sort of a losing battle... The best value proposition is of course to stay at home. Anything beyond that is not a need, it's a want. And nobody can decide what you want other than you.

Exactly why I never recommend any type of BP to @mooshipalmdale.