New Cruiser - Are drinks really REALLY $$$$?

[turtle7178]

MH and I were all set to cruise on carnival to Bermuda in April. Unfortunatly we are one of the many people who were flooded during the rainstorm and had to cancel our trip.:(

One of the main reasons we had booked carnival was the lower cost of drinks and the ability to bring on a few bottles of wine.

We are thinking of booking the 7/15 sailing of the Explorer of the seas and need the final push to make us plunk down the cash.

 

Please tell me that we will not spend a fortune on board!:confused:

[isujim]

It really depends on YOUR definition of expensive and how much you drink.......most bar drinks are $5 or $5.50 and can go higher based on any specialty drink you might order..........avoid the sovenier glasses:)

 

I can't remember who, but one of our regular RC posters has posted before the drink charges from a cruise..........I didn't think they were any higher and in some cases lower than you would pay at a nice restaurant, but again it is all definition.

[cds2423]

I've only sailed on Carnival once and it isn't my favorite line, for a bunch of reasons, one of them was the drinks. Now believe me i am not a big drinker but i do enjoy the foo foo's while cruising. Now for the most part you can't really taste the alcohol in these drinks but i really wondered if there was any in them at all on Carnival, to me the drinks were totally watered down. So while the prices may have been better, & i really don't remember if they were, there was very little bang for my buck, IMHO.

[Sue L]

to put the price in perspective, hubby and I drink vodka gimlets, on the ship they were 5$ and the other night when we went to Outback they were $6.50 and they were much smaller then what we got on the ship.

[wakelover]

I have some bar prices up on my review for beers and cocktails etc. Follow the link and go to the Bolero's bar section. I think there is a good selection there for you to have a look at.....hope the info helps. These prices were for the Navigator..... www.wakelover.co.uk :D

[dolfinmusic]

I find that the prices of the drinks on cruises are cheaper than the drinks at home.

[redsoxfan58]

We just got off the Empress of the Seas and I have to say we found the drink prices to be very good. They also were very strong. The first day at sea and since it was the first cruise ever I did buy 2 drinks in the souvenier glasses. They came to $10 each. I love the glasses and wish I had gotten 4. They ran out by the end of the cruise. We had 3 or 4 drinks each per day and always tipped our servers extra over the 15%.

[andyjo0930]

We just returned from the Grandeur. The drink of the day was 5.95. I was drinking Coors Light which only came in a can and was $3.50. I believe the bottles of beer were a little more either $4.00 or $4.50. My sister was drinking Long Beach Ice Teas (similar to Long Island Ice Teas) and those were $7.50, BUT there was a lot of alcohol in those drinks, she only needed 2. If you are the type of person who can drink all day, it will add up. My husband and I are not big drinkers. We had a couple of drinks per day and our bill was $428.00 which included 3 pictures, the soda package, and bingo twice. So our actually "bar bill" was not that high.

[alcheme]

Please tell me that we will not spend a fortune on board!:confused:

 

Depends on how heavy a drinker you are. If you order a couple drinks a day, that's probably on the order of $100pp including the automatic gratuity for a 7-night cruise. That's probably about my average, plus any wine we order with dinner. Since we don't generally finish a full bottle each night, it's probably about 4 bottles between my DW and me for the week. Of course, some drink a lot more than that. ;)

[terri23]

wine is overpriced but mixed drinks are about the same as you'd pay at an "average" bar or restaurant. sometimes the guys come around with the drink of the day - virgin - and a bottle of rum on the side. you can always offer to "make a little more room" in the glass before they pour the rum in and they don't mind at all ;)

[Nliedel]

I seem to get a bang for the buck with RCI drinks. They are always strong, to me and I don't find the price out of line. I budget $300.00 for my husband and myself, for a week, for booze. I should note that he does not drink and I only drink when I travel, so I go a little nuts.

[crusinmama06]

I budget $300.00 for my husband and myself, for a week, for booze. I should note that he does not drink and I only drink when I travel, so I go a little nuts.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHA how do you remember your cruises? :p That averages to 60 drinks for the week, 8 drinks per day. I would be laying under the lifeboats...lol.

 

(just kidding, glad you have a great time. You deserve it!)

 

And to the OP - Just set your budget and stick to it. You know what you drink and don't drink. I always go overboard on the photos. So I need to take my own advice. ;)

[Nliedel]

HAHAHAHAHAHA how do you remember your cruises? :p That averages to 60 drinks for the week, 8 drinks per day. I would be laying under the lifeboats...lol.

 

(just kidding, glad you have a great time. You deserve it!)

 

And to the OP - Just set your budget and stick to it. You know what you drink and don't drink. I always go overboard on the photos. So I need to take my own advice. ;)

 

That includes his pop (soda) and a few bottles of wine to share with others. I'm not a total lush. I have about three drinks a day.

[love2vacation]

I agree with most of the other posters- the drinks are less or about the same as what you pay in a restaurant. For me they were less for some of the fou fou things I order, and I know for a fact the Long Island Iced Tea I had on the Explorer was STRONG. My face was numb.......... at least my lips after one Long Island IT. :D I twas a good time!!

[crusinmama06]

That includes his pop (soda) and a few bottles of wine to share with others. I'm not a total lush. I have about three drinks a day.

 

OHHHHhhhhh LOL!!!!! Now I gotcha :D

[HPCW]

Turtle, I hope you can make the cruise. My FDH are booked on that very cruise and are really looking forward to it. We were worried about the same thing. That last cruise I went on was 13 years ago and at that point a Bud cost something like $6.00 because it was "imported". What a nightmare, that was on the NCL. From what I have been reading and friends I have talked to they say it is much better. That it is very much the same or cheaper than drinking in the local bars. We live in CT and drinks run 4.25 and up.

 

We also purchased an onboard cruise credit ahead of time so that we could use that to offset the hit to the credit card at the end of the cruise. I also have a birthday coming in July and when asked what I wanted I told family and friends credit to the cruise, that added to the amount we have to spend onboard with no chance of spending it prior to leaving.

 

I hope you can make the cruise, it will be a blast.

[ken_nyc]

I've only sailed on Carnival once and it isn't my favorite line, for a bunch of reasons, one of them was the drinks. Now believe me i am not a big drinker but i do enjoy the foo foo's while cruising. Now for the most part you can't really taste the alcohol in these drinks but i really wondered if there was any in them at all on Carnival, to me the drinks were totally watered down. So while the prices may have been better, & i really don't remember if they were, there was very little bang for my buck, IMHO.

 

That's strange, on our two cruises on Carnival, my wife and I & our friends had a few drinks each day while on board and EACH drink was NOT WATERED DOWN.

[jules815]

I found the drinks on our last cruise to be in line with what you would pay in a bar here at home, and in some cases, depending on what bar in Chicago you compare it to, they were actually less.

 

I had heard horror stories about how expensive the drinks were (figured $10 or $12 for a froo froo), and was pleasantly surprised.

 

Cruise Critic Tip: You can ask for a plain glass. :)

[Aprille]

MH and I were all set to cruise...

 

My FDH are booked on that very cruise...

 

I've been posting on internet message boards for nearly a decade and I've never seen these particular acronyms before. They appear to be referring to a person or persons.

 

I'll take a stab at it:

 

MH = Macho Husband??

 

FDH = Former Dear Husband??

[willysgrandma]

RCCL is not the cruise line to think about trying to sneak booze onto. They are pretty strict with adherence to their policy of not bringing alcohol on board, as they are being sued by the family of a kid who did sneak alcohol on and later fell overboard.

 

You don't want to try and bring liquor onboard and have it confiscated - then you've simply thrown out your money if that happens.

 

I don't think the drinks are that terribly expensive on RCCL, not really any more than you'd pay in a club or restaurant around here.

 

If you want a line more liberal about bringing alcohol on board, you might want to think about Princess or Carnival.

[HPCW]

We are thinking of booking the 7/15 sailing of the Explorer of the seas and need the final push to make us plunk down the cash.

 

Turtle7178, if you decide to book 7/15, check out the Roll Call.

[FitzLA]

Drinks didn't seem any cheaper on Carnival than they did on RCI, to me. They are on average about 30%-50% CHEAPER on the cruise than they are at home.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Drinks were cheaper on the ship than they in our last three pre-cruise hotels :D

 

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[HPCW]

I've been posting on internet message boards for nearly a decade and I've never seen these particular acronyms before. They appear to be referring to a person or persons.

 

I'll take a stab at it:

 

MH = Macho Husband??

 

FDH = Former Dear Husband??

 

FDH = Future Dear Husband. I am so bad at this posting stuff. I should have just written FINACEE.

[Robkatcruisers]

RCCL is not the cruise line to think about trying to sneak booze onto. They are pretty strict with adherence to their policy of not bringing alcohol on board, as they are being sued by the family of a kid who did sneak alcohol on and later fell overboard.

 

You don't want to try and bring liquor onboard and have it confiscated - then you've simply thrown out your money if that happens.

 

I don't think the drinks are that terribly expensive on RCCL, not really any more than you'd pay in a club or restaurant around here.

 

If you want a line more liberal about bringing alcohol on board, you might want to think about Princess or Carnival.

 

 

 

 

 

What about sneaking soda on board?....soda package seems outrageous for two people.....my husband and I are not alcohol drinkers...Not sure if I want just tea and water all week.....either