Drink cards across the fleet?

This what was offered on the 9 night Liberty cruise. I'm on the current Liberty cruise, day 5, and no special packages or drink cards have been offered. 10 drinks for $67, gratuities included.

Edited November 26, 2015 by ARCruisinNana

The cards were sold on Vision a couple of weeks ago.

 

 

Shattered! We were on a couple of months ago... That would have been amazing!!!

[ATTACH]369664[/ATTACH] This what was offered on the 9 night Liberty cruise. I'm on the current Liberty cruise, day 5, and no special packages or drink cards have been offered. 10 drinks for $67, gratuities included.

That would have been an excellent deal!

We had it on the Oasis in the spring this year and also the Liberty cruise that ended on 11/01/15. It was a good deal and certainly beats the normal prices of their drinks. : )

Is it just me,I'm a British first time on RC, next July for a two week cruise,I'm finding the included gratuities very hard to swallow,is it wrong for me to think that it should be optional.?

Is it just me,I'm a British first time on RC, next July for a two week cruise,I'm finding the included gratuities very hard to swallow,is it wrong for me to think that it should be optional.?

 

It's not just you, it's all Britts and Australians and most Europeans. You've got lots of company. It seem that those of us in the US and, I guess, to some extent, Canada, are contitioned to tip for nearly everything.

 

We tip the porters at the port and airport, we tip the stewards and MDR servers extra, beyond the daily $12 that the ship collects. We tip the tender crew and the shuttle drivers, cabbies and bell hops, even the take out cashier in some places.

 

Tips used to be recommended at 10%. Then prices went up and the 10% tip increased by a proportional amount. That wasn't enough apparently, so the tip percentage also rose to 15% and now typically, 18%. I think it's getting out of hand. I can hardly imagine what folks from a non-tipping culture think.

 

Sorry for the rant. It seems natural to us to tip because everyone does in the US. When in Rome...

 

You actually can, I think, still remove the daily $12, but I believe there's nothing you can do for the 18% on drinks. If it's any consolation, a lot of Americans add a dollar or $2 to each drink order, above the 18%.

Is it just me,I'm a British first time on RC, next July for a two week cruise,I'm finding the included gratuities very hard to swallow,is it wrong for me to think that it should be optional.?

 

It's a cultural thing! In the US, the whole remuneration of restaurant and bar staff is predicated on the assumption of everyone tipping at around 20%. In many states, basic pay is minimal, the majority of waiting staff's income coming from tips. Hence the standard pattern in all US-based cruise lines. We Brits could object and, for example, cancel the daily gratuities hit in protest, but that would only hit the staff. Tips with drinks are inescapable, but I note that for cruises out of Southampton, Celebrity simply list gratuity-inclusive prices - and I assume RCL do the same?

 

Stuart

I've never seen this offer on any sailing and I've been on seven RCCL cruises this year??!!

Just off the liberty.

 

The drink card appeared on day 6 of a 9 day cruise. $67 for 10 drinks.

Imo it's a good deal if you can split it with someone.

 

On day 8, there was a notice in the compass that they would have 1-day packages on day 9 (the last sea day), but when I asked about that, I was told they weren't honoring it.

clearly they have found that they have over priced the drinks and instead of buying the drink package many people are buying less drinks... therefore the bar revenue is going down.. therefore the sale happens.

 

same thing when they said no last minute price drops. and now, of course they are doing it..

 

consumers drive demand. if demand goes down, then so will the price to make up for the lack in revenue.....

 

it would make them look to foolish to now Lower the drink prices to what they are ... so instead they give promotions on the drink packages or these crazy cards. Simple economics. The cruisers have spoken, and RCCL had no choice but to respond because they were losing money

 

I certainly hope that is the case.

We have certainly purchased far less drinks since the prices rose sharply on cocktails back in March. (On our last cruise the bar bill was about $48 for beer and wine between us).

 

I would like to see these drink cards offered more towards the beginning of a cruise rather than towards the end.

Then again if they do not... we will continue to spend less!

I certainly hope that is the case.

We have certainly purchased far less drinks since the prices rose sharply on cocktails back in March. (On our last cruise the bar bill was about $48 for beer and wine between us).

 

I would like to see these drink cards offered more towards the beginning of a cruise rather than towards the end.

Then again if they do not... we will continue to spend less!

 

 

I wish they would have the coffee cards that Princess use to have, don't know if they still do. I would rather have lattes and such, more than alcoholic drinks. Lucy

Currently on day 6 Liberty sailing. The punch cards are available- 10 drinks for $67, including gratuities.

I also would like to see drink card at the beginning of cruise. On the subject of tipping Americans tip for just about any services. I wish they gave us the vouchers for tipping for the envelopes. That way the folks getting tips would not know if there was extra. I can only think of one time that I did not recieve excellent service. All others I tip extra.

 

Also tip porters, cab drivers, concierge, bar waiters, cabana attendant, ect. They really appreciate the gesture. (We bring small bills in addition to 10.00 and 20.00. Bartenders we tip 1.00)

I also would like to see drink card at the beginning of cruise.

 

I'm guessing these cards only show up if bar revenue is below a certain number mid-way through the sailing.

Can you use the card on another ship/sailing?

Can you use the card on another ship/sailing?

 

I claim no knowledge on this but would bet all in that's a no!!! ;)

Can you use the card on another ship/sailing?

I would doubt it because:

 

1) Not all ships have cards.

2) The cards I've seen and read about here are different. Some have 10 drinks, some have 15 drinks, etc.

 

However, I'll bet you can use the same card on a both cruises on a B2B.

I hope they have the drink card on my upcoming sailing on Anthem. You can bet I will watch for it.

 

I don't drink enough to warrant buying the package....except for the one time I actually did buy the package and drank way too much to make sure I got my money's worth! So better for me to stick to purchasing individual drinks - so this card would be AWESOME!

It seems like they'd be better off just offering it throughout the entire cruise. If I were to buy one on the first day, I feel like I'd be more likely to drink a little more knowing I could get another one later.

I would doubt it because:

 

1) Not all ships have cards.

2) The cards I've seen and read about here are different. Some have 10 drinks, some have 15 drinks, etc.

 

However, I'll bet you can use the same card on a both cruises on a B2B.

 

We'll be doing a B2B starting the end of Jan. and hopefully they offer the card and if they do I will definitely ask if it can be used on the next leg of the cruise.

I am thinking no, but will ask anyway.

We'll be doing a B2B starting the end of Jan. and hopefully they offer the card and if they do I will definitely ask if it can be used on the next leg of the cruise.

I am thinking no, but will ask anyway.

Unless they change the card somehow between cruises, I don't know how they would know. It's not electronic, just a plain punch card.

Unless they change the card somehow between cruises, I don't know how they would know. It's not electronic, just a plain punch card.

 

 

When you buy the card, it's entered into the system with your folio number. Each time I got a drink it was also entered.

When you buy the card, it's entered into the system with your folio number. Each time I got a drink it was also entered.

Thanks, must be different than the way they did it on Vision. If the folio number is involved, then there's little chance it would carry over to the next cruise.

what a great idea for people who don't want to or can't consume a lot of alcohol and it is certainly more affordable than the very expensive drink packages on offer by RCI.

 

Has anyone seen this on australia/nz cruises lately? Ie. Voyager, Explorer, Radiance or Legend of the seas?

I am hoping this is a shift in thinking for RCI. I would love to see these offered on day 1 (although I think that is unlikely as they are still going to push the full packages). Neither DH nor I bought any alcohol on our FOS cruise due to the cost of individual drinks, lack of menus, and knowing that a drink package was no where near cost effective for us. We would love to have 1-2 drinks per day and have these paid for in advance. If a 10 drink punch card was available for our next cruise I would purchase one card for each of us so that we could enjoy without feeling like we were overspending.