All-Inclusive Beverage Package

Because of past experience of all the posters, thats how sure. :p

Thanks again.

 

So how sure are we that both adults in a room are not required to buy the package if only one wants it..

Very sure.

Thanks again.

 

So how sure are we that both adults in a room are not required to buy the package if only one wants it..

Guaranteed for certain. I would back that with a monetary bet - which I don't normally do unless I am absolutely certain I will win. (I don't make a lot of bets...)

Thanks again.

 

So how sure are we that both adults in a room are not required to buy the package if only one wants it..

That requirement only existed during the initial test program. The "all or none" requirement was dropped when the program was deployed fleet wide.

That requirement only existed during the initial test program. The "all or none" requirement was dropped when the program was deployed fleet wide.

What I have from Emerald

Exactly. The actual program never included the "all" requirement. It was only on the Sapphire and Star during testing.

It was also ALL (all adults in cabin) when Crown Princess first offered it in January 2014. We were on the ship at the time. One man really wanted to buy it but his wife could not drink for health reasons so it was not worth it to him.

Good this has now been changed. :)

LuLu

It was also ALL (all adults in cabin) when Crown Princess first offered it in January 2014. We were on the ship at the time. One man really wanted to buy it but his wife could not drink for health reasons so it was not worth it to him.

I'm a pretty big fan of unlimited beverage packages for 7 or 10 days, but I'd have a hard time keeping up that level of drinking 14 or 20 days in a row. And it starts to get really expensive for that number of days. So I'm glad to hear you got a small discount, but maybe they could consider bringing the package back in the middle of a longer cruise, and give people the opportunity to buy it for the second half of the cruise. I suspect they'd get a lot of takers.

I agree. I did an 8 day cruise on Celebrity. It's like any thing else. The first couple of days you go hog wild for the food and drinks. By the last day or so you are just done eating and drinking. However, on Celebrity they allow you to purchase the drink package up to 2 days before the sailing ends so you could purchase the package for days 14 through 20.

If we're looking into sailing in February on Emerald, if my wife doesn't drink but I do, It's ok If I'm the only buying the package correct.

If we're looking into sailing in February on Emerald, if my wife doesn't drink but I do, It's ok If I'm the only buying the package correct.

Yes, that is fine. :)

Hi, new to this forum and thought I'd related a personal experience on board the Diamond Princess only a few days ago. I went with a group of 7 on a short melbourne - sydney cruise for a friends birthday. Booked a few months ago and pre paid for the alcohol package. Two days before departure we were advised that they were no longer offering this package and that we would be refunded the purchase price to use as on board credit!!! We would not have booked this cruise had we have known this was not available - so not only did they hang on to our money for 3 months , they did not inform us straight after we booked so we could have cancelled - but the left it until 2 days before departure when we had airfares booked etc. The staff were very apologetic but it was a management decision that was out of their hands. I have lodged a complaint with the relevant consumer affairs authorities as this is what is called a "bait and switch" - they sell you one thing but give you another. Hopefully they get prosecuted over this. So just because you paid for it don't expect to get it. As a footnote I had a similar experience on Royal Caribbean last year and they said they offered the alcohol package on a short cruise in error but to their credit they honored the original agreement.

Hi, new to this forum and thought I'd related a personal experience on board the Diamond Princess only a few days ago. I went with a group of 7 on a short melbourne - sydney cruise for a friends birthday. Booked a few months ago and pre paid for the alcohol package. Two days before departure we were advised that they were no longer offering this package and that we would be refunded the purchase price to use as on board credit!!! We would not have booked this cruise had we have known this was not available - so not only did they hang on to our money for 3 months , they did not inform us straight after we booked so we could have cancelled - but the left it until 2 days before departure when we had airfares booked etc. The staff were very apologetic but it was a management decision that was out of their hands. I have lodged a complaint with the relevant consumer affairs authorities as this is what is called a "bait and switch" - they sell you one thing but give you another. Hopefully they get prosecuted over this. So just because you paid for it don't expect to get it. As a footnote I had a similar experience on Royal Caribbean last year and they said they offered the alcohol package on a short cruise in error but to their credit they honored the original agreement.

Maybe they discovered that people from Australia drink heavily & they were losing money on the package. :rolleyes:

Hi, new to this forum and thought I'd related a personal experience on board the Diamond Princess only a few days ago. I went with a group of 7 on a short melbourne - sydney cruise for a friends birthday. Booked a few months ago and pre paid for the alcohol package. Two days before departure we were advised that they were no longer offering this package and that we would be refunded the purchase price to use as on board credit!!! We would not have booked this cruise had we have known this was not available - so not only did they hang on to our money for 3 months , they did not inform us straight after we booked so we could have cancelled - but the left it until 2 days before departure when we had airfares booked etc. The staff were very apologetic but it was a management decision that was out of their hands. I have lodged a complaint with the relevant consumer affairs authorities as this is what is called a "bait and switch" - they sell you one thing but give you another. Hopefully they get prosecuted over this. So just because you paid for it don't expect to get it. As a footnote I had a similar experience on Royal Caribbean last year and they said they offered the alcohol package on a short cruise in error but to their credit they honored the original agreement.

this has been said many times

Package does not apply to Sun Princess, Sea Princess and Dawn Princess or Diamond Princess and Golden Princess voyages departing from and returning to Australia.

Package does not apply to Sun Princess, Sea Princess and Dawn Princess or Diamond Princess and Golden Princess voyages departing from and returning to Australia.

Of course Princess has the right to change their policies at any time, but they need to take into account people who have already booked under the previous terms (or if they have been allowed to book or purchase something by mistake, through no fault of their own, which could be what happened in this case). So I do think noalcoholpackage has a legitimate complaint. At the very least, the cost of the pre-purchased package should have been refunded to their credit card, not as OBC. It does sound like the Princess agents were appropriately apologetic, and maybe these passengers deserved some small compensation (I'm thinking like $25 OBC per person, just a gesture, nothing outrageous) in addition to a full refund.

The All-Inclusive package has never been offered on Australia-based ships, so it wasn't a change of policy. Sounds like a system error combined with lack of knowledge on the part of the Princess rep who added the package (or travel agent, depending on how they booked).

Hi, new to this forum and thought I'd related a personal experience on board the Diamond Princess only a few days ago. I went with a group of 7 on a short melbourne - sydney cruise for a friends birthday. Booked a few months ago and pre paid for the alcohol package. Two days before departure we were advised that they were no longer offering this package and that we would be refunded the purchase price to use as on board credit!!! We would not have booked this cruise had we have known this was not available - so not only did they hang on to our money for 3 months , they did not inform us straight after we booked so we could have cancelled - but the left it until 2 days before departure when we had airfares booked etc. The staff were very apologetic but it was a management decision that was out of their hands. I have lodged a complaint with the relevant consumer affairs authorities as this is what is called a "bait and switch" - they sell you one thing but give you another. Hopefully they get prosecuted over this. So just because you paid for it don't expect to get it. As a footnote I had a similar experience on Royal Caribbean last year and they said they offered the alcohol package on a short cruise in error but to their credit they honored the original agreement.

Wow thats an original board name if I ever saw one. :rolleyes:

Welcome to CC. Post often.

The All-Inclusive package has never been offered on Australia-based ships, so it wasn't a change of policy. Sounds like a system error combined with lack of knowledge on the part of the Princess rep who added the package (or travel agent, depending on how they booked).

And Princess should be held liable for not properly training the staff and or the system error. How hard is it to program an alert into the system that prompts the TA or Princess Rep to let them know that a package isn't available for sale on a particular itinerary? They have been doing this with coupons in retail stores for years.

Hi, new to this forum and thought I'd related a personal experience on board the Diamond Princess only a few days ago. I went with a group of 7 on a short melbourne - sydney cruise for a friends birthday. Booked a few months ago and pre paid for the alcohol package. Two days before departure we were advised that they were no longer offering this package and that we would be refunded the purchase price to use as on board credit!!! We would not have booked this cruise had we have known this was not available - so not only did they hang on to our money for 3 months , they did not inform us straight after we booked so we could have cancelled - but the left it until 2 days before departure when we had airfares booked etc. The staff were very apologetic but it was a management decision that was out of their hands. I have lodged a complaint with the relevant consumer affairs authorities as this is what is called a "bait and switch" - they sell you one thing but give you another. Hopefully they get prosecuted over this. So just because you paid for it don't expect to get it. As a footnote I had a similar experience on Royal Caribbean last year and they said they offered the alcohol package on a short cruise in error but to their credit they honored the original agreement.

I would be interested in knowing the out come. Something similar happened with Celebrity where they were offering the free drink package. Their website clearly states the different brands of liquor that are available under each plan. When the passengers boarded, their favorite brands of liquor were removed from the classic package and replaced with well brands. They had to upgrade to the Premium package in order to get their select brand. All hell broke out on the Celebrity board claiming bait and switch, which clearly it was. I know that the classic package was free but at the time of booking passenger booked with the assumption that their brand would be available and there were passengers who did not book under that promotion and like you prepaid for the package. It got so heated on the Celebrity board that a representative from Celebrity posted that they were aware of the situation and it was being rectified.

Does a souvenir cup come with this package too?

The All-Inclusive package has never been offered on Australia-based ships, so it wasn't a change of policy. Sounds like a system error combined with lack of knowledge on the part of the Princess rep who added the package (or travel agent, depending on how they booked).

It could be debated that Diamond is not an Australian based ship. Merely sailing some Australian itineraries. Sun, Sea & Dawn would be Princess's Australian based fleet.

I've cruised six times, but haven't done so in ten years. I'm booked on the 15-day Grand to Hawaii with my BFF. My husband thinks I should buy the all-inclusive drink package. I'm hoping someone will be kind enough to help me make a decision. I can see myself having a virgin Bloody Mary or real Mimosa or two each morning. I will drink at least four if not six bottles of water each day (sparkling or still), I will drink water or ginger ale during the day, except for the possible mimosa. I will have a cocktail or glass of wine or champagne before dinner. I will have two to three glasses of wine at dinner (which I may go to Vines to get). After dinner I like an Irish Coffee. At that point I will probably go back to bottled water. Maybe a final glass of wine or another Irish Coffee to take back to the cabin for sitting on the balcony at the end of the night (if it's not raining!). Add to that seven specialty coffees. That's for days at sea. I think I will still drink close to that on port days. I also understand the package includes fresh juice that you can't get at the buffet. If so, I'll be having a juice a day. Sooooo, does it sound like the $55ish a day is worth me doing? It seems so, but I don't know the prices that well. Any help will be Greatly Appreciated! Thanks, Victoria

Does a souvenir cup come with this package too?

Sooooo, does it sound like the $55ish a day is worth me doing?

A cruise critic member has put together a great spreadsheet that is very helpful in explaining whether the beverage package is worth it. If you Google "Princess Beverage Package Evaluator Spreadsheet", it will come up.

Sorry, no souvenir cup. :(

Thanks, Right there's my deal breaker!! :rolleyes: You'd think that would have sweetened to pot, so to speak. :D

Hope all is well where your at!! Listening to the Special Report on right now and praying for those involved. Very sad! :(