Anyone cruised without drinks package?

[PhillyFan33579]

22 hours ago, asomante said:

Not worth it unless you are borderline alcoholic.  lol. 

 

i love to drink, but never get it.  I pay as a go and always do better that way.  I do bring two bottles of wine with me.  

So in your book every RCI cruise has hundreds to thousands of borderline alcoholics on the ship? I don’t know what ships you have been on, but I have never witnessed anything even remotely close to that on any RCI cruise. 

[Frapaccino]

12 hours ago, little britain said:

* There will be a sale around 4/7 … if you buy now and the price drops then, you can cancel and rebook. 
* Yes there are fridges (and kettles) on cruises from Southampton.

* Yes your 18 yr old will be able to drink ( so he will probably smash the package lol).

* You can bring on 2 bottles per cabin, and they never charge corkage. If they say they will just take bottle back to cabin, open it and pour yourself a glass and walk into dining room with it! 
* Strictly no sharing of packages allowed and if one in the cabin buys the package, then all in cabin must have package. Perhaps rearrange the sleeping arrangements to put the heavy drinkers in same cabin ( on paper at least)
*You can buy the package a few days into the cruise… I know many people “overdo” it on the first day and then slow down! Especially with a lot of port intensive days. Coming back on at 6pm then “having” to do 6-7 drinks to get your monies worth when you’re exhausted isn’t worth it. 


 

 

Thanks all

 

@little britain Lol yes I think he will smash it, finishes his A levels this year so will live it up! 

I’m wondering what you mean by sale around 4/7.. 4th July? 
 

This is our 3rd family cruise, 2nd time from Southampton 3rd Rome on NCL so have done most of the ports around the Med (limited in choice due to school holidays) so won’t be spending excessive time on shore. 

 

Really appreciate all the replies, lots to consider! If only we had D  sounds great! 
 

Anyone know when 

 

 

[little britain]

Yes 4th July

[snaefell]

10 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

So in your book every RCI cruise has hundreds to thousands of borderline alcoholics on the ship? I don’t know what ships you have been on, but I have never witnessed anything even remotely close to that on any RCI cruise. 

On our last RCI cruise on Quantum in 2019 there were certainly quite a few that seemed to qualify for that description.

Drunk by mid morning on sea days,as for shore days the bars were busy once people were back on board,they just had to drink their days quota!😆😆

[kernow]

9 hours ago, Frapaccino said:

Thanks everyone,  it’s about saving money but having the ability to not wonder or worry about the bar tab! Think I might enjoy it more not having to worry what tab my 18 year old racks up! 

@little britain Lol yes I think he will smash it, finishes his A levels this year so will live it up! I’m wondering what you mean by sale around 4/7.. 4th July? 
 

Really appreciate all the replies, lots to consider! If only we had D  sounds great! 

 

Anyone know when 

 

Do you mean when do you become D? If so it's the cruise after you reach 80 points in C&A.

 

Have you already downloaded the RCL app? You can see individual drink prices on there, just click on dining, then bars and lounges and then the individual bar and it's menu. (might be a dollar per drink more out of the UK because there will be no added gratuity).

[Mick B]

Oh, yes, don't forget that unlike the drinks package where the drinks are not sharable, the D, D+ and P drinks are. That means that if you are lucky enough to be travelling with a family member or friend(s) who get the 4, 5 or 6 free drinks per day but either don't drink or don't normally drink all of them each day, then they may choose to share some of their drinks with you. Just a glass of wine in the MDR or a cocktail by the pool each day may be all some need to be happy and if so, no need for a package then.

 

Oh, and another way in the past to get a free drink was to join someone who was on their own in the Quiz and win it for them and then except the free drink they would offer you for making their day. Naughty if they have the drinks package, but perfectly Ok if they want to share one of their D, D+ or P drinks.

 

Mick.

 

 

Edited March 12 by Mick B

[AandBmom]

12 hours ago, little britain said:

Yes 4th July

Crap I thought you meant April 7

[AandBmom]

I am really torn right now. In the past I have always sailed with kids and being that the adults were split between two cabins, we were able to have the drink package for only one of us. Our next cruise will be an adults only Cruise was likely lots of partying. We only have two ports and one of them is a Royal Caribbean port which obviously accepts the drink package. The cost is $100 per day. The Money Saver in me wants to do the math and figure it out but the individual in me that doesn't like to look cheap and wants to just relax and enjoy doesn't want to have to Nickel and dime. Decisions decisions

[Harrisonkid]

Hmmm! 100 bucks per day seems steep..doing the math seems like the think to do 

[AandBmom]

46 minutes ago, Harrisonkid said:

Hmmm! 100 bucks per day seems steep..doing the math seems like the think to do 

It is steep. It works out to about 8ish drinks a day each. I know when I go to resorts in Mexico that's easy to get through.

[TexCruise371]

We've been on 60+ Royal cruises and have never bought a drink package and yes, we drink

[mac66]

There are ways to supplement your alcohol consumption even it you are a D, D+ or higher without buying the package. Bringing wine on board is one way, gambling is another. There are others.

Edited March 13 by mac66

[cruise1957]

On 3/10/2024 at 6:08 PM, SG65CB said:

You can calculate your break-even number, but then you're going to have to hit that number every single day for 14 days. Can you keep up with that? It will become a chore after a while. If you buy the package it might not be to save money so much as it is to have the peace of mind to just order whatever you want whenever you want without thinking about the additional cost. 

When I did it, it was mostly to have something else paid for before the cruise, that way I could spend what I wanted to on other things. I like to space everything out and pay for it along the way.

[firstimer2009]

On 3/11/2024 at 5:19 AM, TwoMisfits said:

Since it never hit my spouse's mental budget, we'll be cruising without a drink package.

 

I don't drink (we have separate cabins), and he doesn't drink anything but coffee, water, beer, and alcohol, so it was all or nothing.  Since the price was more alcohol than he would drink, we'll bring on 2 bottles of wine (for him) and 12 bottles of water each, and he'll get an evening drink every night (on top of the glass of wine, b/c it's all for him).

 

I'll save about $60/day from the lowest the drink package ever got...

You have separate cabins?  Are they inside cabins?  I’m liking this idea!  Don’t tell my husband. 😆

[PhillyFan33579]

11 hours ago, TexCruise371 said:

We've been on 60+ Royal cruises and have never bought a drink package and yes, we drink

I think your definition of drinking is significantly different than a lot of others definition of drinking. People who “drink” definitely save money with the deluxe drink package. Of course it gets more complicated buying the drink package when you start getting free drinks based on reaching Diamond or higher and/or if you are Prime or higher and get free drinks in the casino. I cruise often with friends who are D+ and Signature and they still buy the deluxe drink package every cruise. 

[TwoMisfits]

7 hours ago, firstimer2009 said:

You have separate cabins?  Are they inside cabins?  I’m liking this idea!  Don’t tell my husband. 😆

 

We have a few kids, so that helps:).  2 and 3 in our inside cabins.  I don't look for big cabins to fit us all b/c I like multiple bathrooms.

[BND]

On 3/12/2024 at 4:38 AM, snaefell said:

On our last RCI cruise on Quantum in 2019 there were certainly quite a few that seemed to qualify for that description.

Drunk by mid morning on sea days,as for shore days the bars were busy once people were back on board,they just had to drink their days quota!😆😆

We've seen it all.  People slamming back as many as possible as soon as they board and others who drink moderately even with the package.  On Wonder in Jan on the second leg of our b2b, there was a couple sitting up near the entrance area (just past the handwashing station) every morning at a bistro table.  Every, single, morning, he had a bloody Mary and she had a glass of wine.  Wine with eggs and bacon, etc?  Yuck lol.  

 

We've never bought a drink package in 40 cruises.  We carried on wine for a while and we made D pretty quickly so then used the DL in the evenings and usually had no more than one drink during the day that we paid for.  Now, we get 5 free drinks a day and 3 bottles of wine (525+ amenities).  We don't even use all of the 5 per day.

 

What I don't get is the mentality that when buying the drinks package, you don't have to keep track of or worry about what you spend.  Odds are, most people wouldn't drink as much if they didn't have the package because they're only drinking as much to try to get their "money's worth".  As I've said on other threads, Royal wouldn't sell the package if it wasn't really profitable for them.  They're not selling it for the cruisers benefit.

Edited March 14 by BND

[sgmn]

Wish they would bring back those drink cards, 10 drinks for $80 or whatever. They were handy when we were pre diamond,  and shareable too.

[jsf]

We don't need alcohol to have a good time,have been on many cruises never bought package.

[celoplyr]

On 3/12/2024 at 2:43 AM, Mick B said:

Oh, yes, don't forget that unlike the drinks package where the drinks are not sharable, the D, D+ and P drinks are. That means that if you are lucky enough to be travelling with a family member or friend(s) who get the 4, 5 or 6 free drinks per day but either don't drink or don't normally drink all of them each day, then they may choose to share some of their drinks with you. Just a glass of wine in the MDR or a cocktail by the pool each day may be all some need to be happy and if so, no need for a package then.

 

Oh, and another way in the past to get a free drink was to join someone who was on their own in the Quiz and win it for them and then except the free drink they would offer you for making their day. Naughty if they have the drinks package, but perfectly Ok if they want to share one of their D, D+ or P drinks.

 

Mick.

 

 

I have actively tried to give away our D drinks before and everyone either had their own or the drink package.  We use ~3 per day and are given 12.

 

I actually have some questions. I'm cruising on a ship next year with no Freestyle machine, and this is a problem in my house.  Would they give away soda water for free at the bars, or do they charge for that? I'm thinking to bring the diet gingerale packets that you can put in water, and they taste a lot better with carbonation. (we only drink diet caffeine free sodas, so the bar ones are really limited in comparison, and it's a long cruise, 12 sodas per person is still less than we drink)

[snaefell]

On 3/14/2024 at 5:43 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

I think your definition of drinking is significantly different than a lot of others definition of drinking. People who “drink” definitely save money with the deluxe drink package. Of course it gets more complicated buying the drink package when you start getting free drinks based on reaching Diamond or higher and/or if you are Prime or higher and get free drinks in the casino. I cruise often with friends who are D+ and Signature and they still buy the deluxe drink package every cruise. 

Now that has either got to be drinking one check of a lot of expensive drinks to make that work out surely!😕😕

[OCSC Mike]

15 hours ago, sgmn said:

Wish they would bring back those drink cards, 10 drinks for $80 or whatever. They were handy when we were pre diamond,  and shareable too.

People have reported seeing them in recent weeks on Wonder. I believe it’s $90 now.

[firstimer2009]

On 3/14/2024 at 5:33 AM, TwoMisfits said:

 

We have a few kids, so that helps:).  2 and 3 in our inside cabins.  I don't look for big cabins to fit us all b/c I like multiple bathrooms.

It's still not a bad idea for a couple (me) who would like two bathrooms.  We could just get an adjoinging room and it would be like having a suite!