Prepaid Beverages

Is it cost effective to prepurchase alcoholic beverage tickets for a cruise. If so, which level is the most economical (biggest bang for the buck)?

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Which line are you cruising on?

Depends on how much you drink & the cost of the package

You need to drink 6-8 cocktails per day to break even, most cruise line require all adults in the cabin to purchase the package, easy to do with a lot of sea days, not so easy on port days. happy cruising

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Which line are you cruising on?

Royal Caribbean / Explorer of the Seas / January 4 2015

Royal Caribbean / Explorer of the Seas / January 4 2015.

You need to drink 6-8 cocktails per day to break even, most cruise line require all adults in the cabin to purchase the package, easy to do with a lot of sea days, not so easy on port days. happy cruising

Thank you.

Two ways to approach your question

1. Crunch the numbers ... how many drinks will you have in a day? On our last cruise I was a gasp when a couple at our table kept accepting the 'shot of the day' at dinner but then said they were horrible and didn't drink them. Then dw said, "they are on the drink package . . ." AHHHHHH (the package would give you the opportunity to try things you've never had, and not worry about the cost . . .) If you bought the 'soda card' a few years back, you needed to drink about 8 colas a day to make it worth while.

2. OPINION: I'm more of a drinker than most of our friends and the package doesn't work out as a good deal even for me. But as mentioned most cruise lines require both in a cabin to get the package since dw does not drink much which really cuts into the potential savings. We DO however usually get a wine package as dw is very happy to enjoy a glass or two at dinner and a once a cruise special is a bottle of bubbly with desert ... the typical wine package equals one free bottle ...

(psssst .... do you think the cruise lines offer these packages because YOU save money or they MAKE money?)

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We do not drink a lot so it does not pay for us to buy a drink package.

Check on the RCI board and see if there are any restrictions on what exactly you can buy. On HAL that is another issue with us -- too many restrictions.

On RCI, you'll need to drink about 7+ drinks per person, per day, for the package to make sense. I'm not into "trying" things....I KNOW what I like...

On sea days, I can easily do 7 drinks a day. On port days, not so much... You pay the same whether you're on the ship or not. So, figure out if it makes sense for you!

On RCI, you'll need to drink about 7+ drinks per person, per day, for the package to make sense. I'm not into "trying" things....I KNOW what I like...

 

On sea days, I can easily do 7 drinks a day. On port days, not so much... You pay the same whether you're on the ship or not. So, figure out if it makes sense for you!

Not sure about RCI, but on sister line Celebrity the package also includes bottled water, premium coffees, and some fruit juices that aren't included with the cruise price. If you enjoy any of those, they may help make the package more worthwhile even if you might not be a big alcohol drinker. Perhaps the RCI package works the same way - the RCI website should have that information.

You need to drink 6-8 cocktails per day to break even, most cruise line require all adults in the cabin to purchase the package, easy to do with a lot of sea days, not so easy on port days. happy cruising

It is no longer required for all adults per cabin to buy the package