Drink Package was best cruise deal ever!

Let me start by saying we are not big drinkers per say, however on a cruise, we do like to enjoy ourselves, after all it is a carribbean vacation! We were on the Connie last January and purchased the Premium Drink package prior to boarding. Initially we were concerned that with so many port days we might not get our money's worth.

Not only did we get our money's worth and more, there were other perks that we didn't anticipate. Aside from no slips to sign etc, often around the pool when a frozen drink started melting often the staff would ask if they could just make a new one. We tried many different types of drinks esp Martinis that we might not have bought otherwise. If we tried a new drink and didn't like it it was replaced with another drink of our choice without question.

In order to show you why we felt this was a great deal I will describe a typical day. Disclaimer... based on this, some may think that we are heavy drinkers...if that is the case , while we appreciate your perspective and opinion please do not comment on our consumption ( this is our first post and we have seen some petty unnecessary replies). The purpose of this information is not to expose our consumption for review and/or public scrutiny, but to demonstrate to those who like to let their hair down a little and are wondering from a ecocnmic standpoint is it worth purchasing a package.

0830-Latte with one and half shots of Bailys..........$10.00

1100-large water...............................................$ 3.50

1230- Frozen drink..............................................$6.50

1430- Beer........................................................$5.00

1600- Frozen drink..............................................$6.50

1800- Glass of wine while dressing for dinner............$10.00

1930- Martini and dancing prior to dinner.................$12.00

2030- Dinner ( 4 different types of wine by the glass as suggested with each course by sommommlier-not all entirely consumed)..$ 40.00

2215- Specialty Coffee..........................................$ 8.00

2300- Dancing/Bar/Show/Casino Cocktail.............................$10.00

2400- Nightcap.(wearever..maybe brought back to balcony) $10.00

Total...$121.50 ( Drink prices are approx by memory-please don't bust me for not remembering exact price..probably cause I drank too much..Ha ha)

Cost per day...$55.00

Remenber this is for one person double the savings when we each bought one!

Only difference on port days was that we had two beers when back on ship as compared to 3 poolside drinks. Many nights we actually stayed out dancing etc later and maybe had another one...or if really hot day at the pool and having fun with poolside neighbors maybe snuck in an extra beer!

If you think this might come even close to a typical carribbean vacation day for you, then you can see what a true value it is. The other convieniences were no slips to sign, bar servers, waiters and sommoliers knowing your preferences and offering drink suggestions and special cocktails that we had never tried before. We told our assit waiter the first night about the specialty coffee and we had it served with our dessert every night...no hassles. It really added to the vacation atmosphere that we enjoy!

Hope this helps!

Well said!!! I would like to add, seeing all those 0.00 on your final bill at the end of the cruise was a real plus. We too love the drink package!:D

ITA!

And I was lucky enough to buy the drink package for my upcoming cruise BEFORE the price increase. :D

Wha increase! I thought it was only speciallty restaurants that went up?

Well said. We purchased the Premium drinks, we are not big drinkers but I can confidently say that it was worth our while & we will definitely purchase the premium drinks package again next year. :)

ITA!

 

And I was lucky enough to buy the drink package for my upcoming cruise BEFORE the price increase. :D

I know it is tough pill to swallow but it is still a better deal. We try to pay it in advance so we don't have a large bill at the end of our trip.

Thanks for putting together such a comprehensive list. We have booked the premium package for our upcoming Silhouette and after reading your post I know we have made the right decision. :D

Just one question though.... where do you get the

0830-Latte with one and half shots of Bailys..........$10.00

Thanks for putting together such a comprehensive list. We have booked the premium package for our upcoming Silhouette and after reading your post I know we have made the right decision. :D

 

Just one question though.... where do you get the at 8.30 in the morning. Sounds delicious. I am presuming it must be Cafe al Bacio?

That's the spot...open at 0700

Yes, we thought it was a good deal for us. We made good use of the Cafe Baccio. In the speciality restaurants we were provided with a matching wine for each course.

In the dining room I had sparkling water with meals - sometimes 2 bottles.

The big plus was it was so easy, no worrying about costs and the tab at the end of the cruise is just great!

Angie

Your post has me re-thinking my decision to not go with the premium package!

I have a question - are the "drink of the day" frozen drinks in the souvenir glasses included? I thought the limit is $12 per drink and they are $10?

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Your post has me re-thinking my decision to not go with the premium package!

I have a question - are the "drink of the day" frozen drinks in the souvenir glasses included? I thought the limit is $12 per drink and they are $10?

 

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Souvenier glasses are not included in the package!

Let me start by saying we are not big drinkers per say, however on a cruise, we do like to enjoy ourselves, after all it is a carribbean vacation! We were on the Connie last January and purchased the Premium Drink package prior to boarding. Initially we were concerned that with so many port days we might not get our money's worth.

 

Not only did we get our money's worth and more, there were other perks that we didn't anticipate. Aside from no slips to sign etc, often around the pool when a frozen drink started melting often the staff would ask if they could just make a new one. We tried many different types of drinks esp Martinis that we might not have bought otherwise. If we tried a new drink and didn't like it it was replaced with another drink of our choice without question.

 

In order to show you why we felt this was a great deal I will describe a typical day. Disclaimer... based on this, some may think that we are heavy drinkers...if that is the case , while we appreciate your perspective and opinion please do not comment on our consumption ( this is our first post and we have seen some petty unnecessary replies). The purpose of this information is not to expose our consumption for review and/or public scrutiny, but to demonstrate to those who like to let their hair down a little and are wondering from a ecocnmic standpoint is it worth purchasing a package.

 

0830-Latte with one and half shots of Bailys..........$10.00

1100-large water...............................................$ 3.50

1230- Frozen drink..............................................$6.50

1430- Beer........................................................$5.00

1600- Frozen drink..............................................$6.50

1800- Glass of wine while dressing for dinner............$10.00

1930- Martini and dancing prior to dinner.................$12.00

2030- Dinner ( 4 different types of wine by the glass as suggested with each course by sommommlier-not all entirely consumed)..$ 40.00

2215- Specialty Coffee..........................................$ 8.00

2300- Dancing/Bar/Show/Casino Cocktail.............................$10.00

2400- Nightcap.(wearever..maybe brought back to balcony) $10.00

 

Total...$121.50 ( Drink prices are approx by memory-please don't bust me for not remembering exact price..probably cause I drank too much..Ha ha)

 

Cost per day...$55.00

Remenber this is for one person double the savings when we each bought one!

 

Only difference on port days was that we had two beers when back on ship as compared to 3 poolside drinks. Many nights we actually stayed out dancing etc later and maybe had another one...or if really hot day at the pool and having fun with poolside neighbors maybe snuck in an extra beer!

 

If you think this might come even close to a typical carribbean vacation day for you, then you can see what a true value it is. The other convieniences were no slips to sign, bar servers, waiters and sommoliers knowing your preferences and offering drink suggestions and special cocktails that we had never tried before. We told our assit waiter the first night about the specialty coffee and we had it served with our dessert every night...no hassles. It really added to the vacation atmosphere that we enjoy!

 

Hope this helps!

I agree with everything you said! Sounds like the exact same experience I had. PRICELESS!!! :D We'll be getting it again in December on the Summit. Can't wait.

Souvenier glasses are not included in the package!

Thanks very much for the info. Interesting though, do you know if you wanted one of the drinks in the souvenir glass are you charged for it in full and if not in full how much?

It was more the ease of the drink of the day than the glass I was interested in - you know, just grabbing one - but as you can order a frozen drink anyway sounds good!

Your post has me re-thinking my decision to not go with the premium package!

I have a question - are the "drink of the day" frozen drinks in the souvenir glasses included? I thought the limit is $12 per drink and they are $10?

 

Thank you for sharing your experience!

No the glasses aren't included, but everything else up to $12 is, including things not mentioned fresh squeezed juices, energy drinks, soda, smoothies, all specialty coffees. Loved trying out all those martinis.

Who needs the drink of the day when you can have anything you want? We are big water drinkers as well and it's worth it not having to bring our own water or soda onboard with us.

Have fun whatever you decide.

Thank you Kathy, I am definitely leaning towards the premium package!

Interesting to know how they dealt with the souvenir glasses issue - I thought about this the other day and originally assumed they wouldn't be included (also how on earth would we take 40 glasses home... haha) but recalled their being less than the $12.

Just a few questions in regards to the Premiumn Pkg. How do they know you have it and did you say it does include Martini's ? Is the price for this on their website?

Hi all! We are thinking of getting the premium package for our 7 day cruise, with 3 port stops. Does anyone know how the water bottle service works in the Aqua Class rooms? Can you request 3-4 bottles at one time or do they only bring 2 a day? My wife and I drink a ton of water, but not sure if we would want to run back to the cabin to grab a new one while at the pool etc? Thinking that the premium package might be the way to go despite having the Aqua class room.

Any input from those of you that book an Aqua class room and pay for the premium package would be appreciate.

Thanks!

Thanks for the info! So bottled water is included in the package? Was thinking it might not make sense to do the drink package based on alcohol alone, but if water is also included that would be great.

Hi all! We are thinking of getting the premium package for our 7 day cruise, with 3 port stops. Does anyone know how the water bottle service works in the Aqua Class rooms? Can you request 3-4 bottles at one time or do they only bring 2 a day? My wife and I drink a ton of water, but not sure if we would want to run back to the cabin to grab a new one while at the pool etc? Thinking that the premium package might be the way to go despite having the Aqua class room.

 

Any input from those of you that book an Aqua class room and pay for the premium package would be appreciate.

 

Thanks!

We had the AQ class last November on the Equinox and the Premium drink package. Not only did we have to two waters in our cabin, we could get a bottle just about anywhere on board. When we were in port we would grab the 2 from our room then 2 more on our way out. When we got back from port we would grab 2 more on our way in, just in case they had not replenished the 2 in our cabin. Couple of times we took Pellegrino along with us in port or had it by the pool on sea days.

Thank you for posting this. We have the premium drinks package for our forthcoming cruise and I had been wondering if it was the right decision.

Now I am sure it is!:)

Just a few questions in regards to the Premiumn Pkg. How do they know you have it and did you say it does include Martini's ? Is the price for this on their website?

There is a sticker placed on your seapass card that you show to your server it let's them know which package you have. Martini's are included up to $12 and most (if not all) are under that!

Thanks to the OP for detailing what you had, DH and I loved the premium package on our caribbean cruise last january as well and found it got pretty good use as we were on board most days and when by the pool there is nothing better then trying a fruity cocktail! On our Alaska cruise, we were glad for not getting any package, simply because we weren't on board enough to make good use of it!

Thank you Kathy, I am definitely leaning towards the premium package!

 

Interesting to know how they dealt with the souvenir glasses issue - I thought about this the other day and originally assumed they wouldn't be included (also how on earth would we take 40 glasses home... haha) but recalled their being less than the $12.

They served me the drink in the souvenier glass.....and I paid nothing for it. I had two in my room when I left....I hate those glasses. I would much rather have a real glass......

I'm going to have to re-think this. I wasn't going to do the package - haven't in the past but I've also been careful about my consumption.

It would be nice to not have to worry about it but it could also be dangerous :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info! So bottled water is included in the package? Was thinking it might not make sense to do the drink package based on alcohol alone, but if water is also included that would be great.

Water....sparkling and still, Red bull, vitamin water, lattes, soda, fresh squeezed oj, smoothies, virgin frozen drinks........specialty teas...... Anything you can think of up to and including $12.00 for premium package.....

And only with the premium package if you buy something that costs more than $12. you only pay the difference, a $15. glass of wine costs $3. more. They changed that not long ago! It was that if you bought anything over you paid for the whole thing.

We grabbed a big bottle of water when we were leaving the ship. It includes so much more than alcohol. It gives being able to relax and not worry about what you are spending if you want another glass of wine, etc. because it's already budgeted. It includes soda also as well as a multitude of other things.