Premium Beverage Package

My wife and I are taking the 7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Freedom of the seas. I am very interested in comments about the Premium Beverage Package. Been reading other posts, and I am wondering if anyone can share their experances. We are looking forward to drinks with dinner and then in the Viking Crown Lounge. I am assuming we will not have issues ordering drinks.

Thanks for any comments.

I saw someone post the flyer for this earlier and I have to say it sounds a bit expensive and I would find myself drinking just to drink lol... I think the cost was about $55.00 per day and at that price you would have to drink 10 drinks a day just to make it worth while... I guess it really comes down to how much do you drink!

My other half and I just got back from our first cruise and we had the Premium beverage package.

I will start out by saying that neither of us drink wine or beer. Every cocktail, liquor, frozen drink, etc..., that we ordered was served up without question - both in the main dining room, and the bars, lounges, etc... around the ship. A couple we were traveling with did drink beer, and from what I could see, every type of beer they ordered was also included in the package.

The only place we had a slight problem, was on Coco Cay. For beer, and most liquor cocktails, all of the small auxillary bars could serve without issue. If you wanted the "Coco Loco" frozen drink of the day, you had to go to the main bar on the island, as they were the only ones equipped to serve it in non specialty glassware - which is not included with the beverage package. You can still get it, but you have to pay the few dollars for the glassware - or walk to the main bar to get it in a plastic cup.

We enjoyed ourselves drinking on our vacation. And even with getting fairly "happy" on several occassions we didn't come close to ordering enough drinks to cover the $55/day price of the premium beverage package. With that said, I would still get it again on future cruises. I ordered drinks I might not have normally tried, I wasn't afraid to dump them out if they weren't to my liking, and I wasn't surprised with a big beverage bill at the end of the cruise. To each their own I guess.

One further thing I will add: the bartenders on the Majesty of the Seas do NOT skimp on alcohol content in their drinks. You certainly are getting your monies worth per drink.

If I can answer anything specific, just let me know.

Dan.

thanks, I have been reading a lot of posts on this subject. it is hard because one post will say they one thing, and another post will say something different. I am 99% sure we will buy the package, I really like the idea of not tracking my bar bill for a 7 day cruise. Last time I can remember thinking about going to the Viking Crown Lounge and have a couple of drinks with my wife and spending $30 or $40. with the package I feel we will enjoy ourselves much more without tracking how much we have spent.

Disclaimer: I have not bought this package before, these are just my thoughts-

My wife and I will probably purchase the package. Liquor based drinks are in the range of $7-$9 before the 15% gratuity. We dont drink alot of beer and we like wine, but I heard the house wine is not very good. So we will focus on liquor - which we both love :rolleyes:.

I think more realistically 6 drinks is the breakeven point. My wife likes a mimosa or a bloody Mary in the morning. I dont drink in the AM. I figure we will have at least 2 cocktails/frozen/miscellaneous drinks each throughout the day in the pool area, solarium, bars, etc. I figure one drink at dinner each, AND no less than 2 drinks (most probably 3) for the rest of the evening. We stay up late usually.

That's 6-7 drinks a day for each of us, and spread over say 14 hours is not unreasonable. We are social drinkers, not everyone will drink as much (and some alot more!)

Things to keep in mind is your itinerary and port days. The more you are in land, the less you will obviously drink in the ship. For us, we have 4 port days (IOS 8 day Western Caribbean). One of them is Labadee, where drinks would be included. One is San Juan where the ship leaves at 2:00 (so most of the "drinking" hours on the ship).

Our goals is not to make sure we drink enough to break even. We are much too old for that. But not having to worry about the bar bill and not worrying about ordering something we dont like is worth alot as well.

Agree, not having to worry about the bar bill, and ording something we do not like makes this type of package worth it.

We are going to be cruising with another couple and have decided to do the premium package for all of us...for a couple of reasons, like mentioned previously, but mainly, so that we can simply order drinks and not be tempted to say, "hey, I'll get this rounds for everyone" and having to deal with possibly one of us getting stuck with an uneven 'splitting' of the bar bill, with all of us doing the package, no bills, no paperwork, much easier to relax or our group....

David:D

My wife and I are taking the 7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Freedom of the seas. I am very interested in comments about the Premium Beverage Package. Been reading other posts, and I am wondering if anyone can share their experances. We are looking forward to drinks with dinner and then in the Viking Crown Lounge. I am assuming we will not have issues ordering drinks.

 

Thanks for any comments.

Hope this helps.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Food+%26+Drink&faqId=5531&faqSubjectId=336&faqType=faq

We are going to be cruising with another couple and have decided to do the premium package for all of us...for a couple of reasons, like mentioned previously, but mainly, so that we can simply order drinks and not be tempted to say, "hey, I'll get this rounds for everyone" and having to deal with possibly one of us getting stuck with an uneven 'splitting' of the bar bill, with all of us doing the package, no bills, no paperwork, much easier to relax or our group....

 

David:D

That's a really good point! We have cruised with family before and ended up paying more for everyone so we could have upper-end wines/drinks without having issues with other party members.

I am going on Explorer in April and am going to get the drink package.Does any one know if they give you a receipt?id like to add up after to see how we did.Thanks

We are going to be cruising with another couple and have decided to do the premium package for all of us...for a couple of reasons, like mentioned previously, but mainly, so that we can simply order drinks and not be tempted to say, "hey, I'll get this rounds for everyone" and having to deal with possibly one of us getting stuck with an uneven 'splitting' of the bar bill, with all of us doing the package, no bills, no paperwork, much easier to relax or our group....

 

David:D

Exactly why we are doing the same with 3 couples in May. We've all decided it would be to our benefit not to worry about it.

I've been on a cruise (three gals in a cabin) where we all drank together most of the time, and half way through the cruise two of us had $250 bar bills and the other one was $75. How does that work??? :) Apparently "one" of us wasn't bringing her card out to "buy a round" as often as myself and my sister-in-law.

Lesson learned. But since we are now cruising with a gang that likes to imbibe a bit, the beverage package will definitely be on all of our accounts as soon as we board!

We just returned from Liberty and bought the $55 package. The only inclusion issues we came across were at the Champagne Bar. They do not carry "house" champagne so you couldn't get a glass there or a champagne cocktail either. We simply went to other bars for these.

We also felt that the staff aren't happy about these packages. I am sure most people are not tipping as well with the packages. The level of service really lacked until a server would figure out that we were good tippers and then they were overly happy and attentive.

We just returned from Liberty and bought the $55 package. The only inclusion issues we came across were at the Champagne Bar. They do not carry "house" champagne so you couldn't get a glass there or a champagne cocktail either. We simply went to other bars for these.

 

We also felt that the staff aren't happy about these packages. I am sure most people are not tipping as well with the packages. The level of service really lacked until a server would figure out that we were good tippers and then they were overly happy and attentive.

That would really annoy and frustrate me seeing as I've already tipped 15%

Alright, so I am going on Liberty of the Seas in November and my wife and I are going to get the premium drink package. We plan on pre-tipping our bar tenders a little extra at the club to make sure they look out for us and keep refilling our drinks without having to order more. My question is this, Is there any way to have buckets of beer delivered to my stateroom? The first cruise we went on we didn't look for this but would love to have some beer in my stateroom if I didn't want to go out to the bar. Any suggestions or tips on this?:)

Alright, so I am going on Liberty of the Seas in November and my wife and I are going to get the premium drink package. We plan on pre-tipping our bar tenders a little extra at the club to make sure they look out for us and keep refilling our drinks without having to order more. My question is this, Is there any way to have buckets of beer delivered to my stateroom? The first cruise we went on we didn't look for this but would love to have some beer in my stateroom if I didn't want to go out to the bar. Any suggestions or tips on this?:)

The only way I can think of to get a bucket of beer is to purchase it because the drink package does not include a bucket of beer.

I don't think room service cocktail, wine or beer delivery is included in the package.

David, That a great point, best way to ensure no one get stuck with a bigger bill when going with another couple. Also if someone has more expensive drinks it makes it much easyer.

I read that you can only purchase ONE drink at a time... how strict are they with this rule? I'm just thinking that between my husband and I, we would jointly share the responsibility of getting drinks. I may go to the bar once and get a cocktail and him a beer (2 drinks).... then the next time, he would go and get 2 drinks (his beer and my cocktail) and vice versa.... That way someone could be sitting with our stuff if we were at the pool or in another area of the ship.

I read that you can only purchase ONE drink at a time... how strict are they with this rule? I'm just thinking that between my husband and I, we would jointly share the responsibility of getting drinks. I may go to the bar once and get a cocktail and him a beer (2 drinks).... then the next time, he would go and get 2 drinks (his beer and my cocktail) and vice versa.... That way someone could be sitting with our stuff if we were at the pool or in another area of the ship.

That is a really good question. Usually, if we are out by the pool, I will order drinks for both of us and put it on my Seapass. Will we now be required to both give our Seapasses to the server so they can both be scanned?

My other half and I just got back from our first cruise and we had the Premium beverage package.

 

We enjoyed ourselves drinking on our vacation. And even with getting fairly "happy" on several occassions we didn't come close to ordering enough drinks to cover the $55/day price of the premium beverage package. With that said, I would still get it again on future cruises. I ordered drinks I might not have normally tried, I wasn't afraid to dump them out if they weren't to my liking, and I wasn't surprised with a big beverage bill at the end of the cruise. To each their own I guess.

 

One further thing I will add: the bartenders on the Majesty of the Seas do NOT skimp on alcohol content in their drinks. You certainly are getting your monies worth per drink.

 

Dan.

We returned from our cruise on the Adventure a few weeks ago and bought the Premium beverage package as well. We met a few people that told us only one person in the cabin bought the package...?? :rolleyes: We both bought the package and have no regrets. I do believe you can only order one drink per card at one time. However, it wouldn't be a problem to go back to the bar (or another bar) and get another drink within minutes. I did that a few times when I didn't like my drink.

I agree with the above poster that there were no surprises with cost at the end of the week and we think as far as dollar value, we came close to breaking even! I believe there were two times that I ordered something new and didn't drink it, most of the time, I enjoyed trying the different drinks.

Bartenders were always friendly, gave us every drink we asked for and waited on us quickly!

We only had one sea day :eek: and still the number of drinks we had added up. Never did we get "drunk". Happy Happy :D A few of the port days, we came back to the ship for lunch and had a beer. We had a few drinks in the Diamond Lounge before late seating (no cost). We had a couple of glasses of wine with our supper in the MDR, sometimes a shot with our coffee, and a few more drinks at the shows in the evening. Not including the lunchtime beer, these 6-7 drinks were spread out over 6 hours, mixed with appetizers, supper and snacks. (once back at the pool in the late afternoon, I usually had a foo foo drink and most definitely had a few of those on our sea day.)

Would we do it again, maybe, maybe not. The convenience outweighed the price. As mentioned, we probably broke even, RCCL may even have come ahead by a bit. lol We loved not having to sign anything and the bartenders never looked for an extra tip. Our next booked cruise has 2 sea days, so its possible. We'll wait and see if the package has changed in 2014. (remember to subtract the 15% for the tipping from the cost of the package to get the "real" price)

Are prices posted anywhere, or can someone on this thread just post an estimate of the following types of drinks? We are pretty habitual with our alchohol and cruise habits and with information, we should be able to make an estimate and determination.

Afternoon at the pool: tropical cocktails

Dinner every night: Martinis, glass of wine

Post dinner at the show, bar or club: Mixed drinks (such as vodka tonic, or bar specialty drink.

IF you don't think you would drink enough to at least break even but are leaning towards the pckg for convenience why not load the amount onto your account as OBC? If you "drink" it all up that's great! If not you could cash in the balance at the end of the cruise. Just a thought.....:cool: :)

Are prices posted anywhere, or can someone on this thread just post an estimate of the following types of drinks? We are pretty habitual with our alchohol and cruise habits and with information, we should be able to make an estimate and determination.

 

Afternoon at the pool: tropical cocktails

Dinner every night: Martinis, glass of wine

Post dinner at the show, bar or club: Mixed drinks (such as vodka tonic, or bar specialty drink.

Someone posted this pdf elsewhere.

maybe it will help?

Cocktail menu

They do not keep track of how many or what drinks you get. So there is no itemized bill for your own FYI. If you want to know, you need to keep track of it yourself.

Also, you can get two drinks at once (one for you, one for DH) if you have both the cards in hand.

Another small point. Do you have a problem with seasickness? I tend to mildly. And I cannot drink near as much on ship as on land. I had forgot about that point. Also, do you have any/many excursions where alcohol is included? That makes a big difference on your ship drinking. Both points found out this past week.