Tell me about the drinks packages please?

We are new to Oceania and have a house package included.

We are not big drinkers but my husband occasionally likes an after-dinner whiskey and we both enjoy a pre-dinner glass of champagne or cocktail - or two! I don't drink wine with meals - ever and we rarely drink during the day.

Should we upgrade? Is it worth it for us?

If you do a search you will find plenty of threads about this subject, including an active one right now:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2496096

Right now that one is just below yours. Some people will say yes, some no. Those with negative views are people like me to don't find any package worthwhile. But if you like several drinks of the premium stuff, you probably would find it valuable.

Mura

We are new to Oceania and have a house package included.

 

We are not big drinkers but my husband occasionally likes an after-dinner whiskey and we both enjoy a pre-dinner glass of champagne or cocktail - or two! I don't drink wine with meals - ever and we rarely drink during the day.

 

Should we upgrade? Is it worth it for us?

The House select package includes wine & beer with meals only

If you drink less than 4-5 drinks a day PP then just pay as you drink

JMO take the OBC as your O life perk

drink menu with prices

http://www.thepreismans.com/riviera16_menus.htm#main_bar

then decide what works best for you

Thank you. Is there a service/gratuity charge applied to drinks?

Thank you. Is tgere a service/gratuity charge applied to drinks?

yes 18%

but included in the beverage packages

Thank you.

Useful info. Thanks.

We are new to Oceania and have a house package included.

 

 

 

We are not big drinkers but my husband occasionally likes an after-dinner whiskey and we both enjoy a pre-dinner glass of champagne or cocktail - or two! I don't drink wine with meals - ever and we rarely drink during the day.

 

 

 

Should we upgrade? Is it worth it for us?

Many many many threads on this here in the O forum. The "search feature" is your friend.

That said: two doubles of better quality spirits per day is break even for the prestige package (which also includes the gratuities).

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I have the house select package. To upgrade to Prestige, all I pay is the $20 per day difference correct?

My scotch is $11.50 per drink. One double or two drinks covers it. My DW's is $9.50 per drink. So a tad over two drinks per day covers her.

If my presumptions are correct, then this would be a no brainer for me.

Yes, you just pay the difference.

Mura

I have the house select package. To upgrade to Prestige, all I pay is the $20 per day difference correct?

 

 

 

My scotch is $11.50 per drink. One double or two drinks covers it. My DW's is $9.50 per drink. So a tad over two drinks per day covers her.

 

 

 

If my presumptions are correct, then this would be a no brainer for me.

Interesting math you've got there.

You took the $40/day package as your O Life perk (instead of the OBC or excursions). Now you're adding $20/day more for Prestige. Since that first $40/day is gone (not available for OBC or excursions), you've lost its purchasing power (e.g., had you taken the O Life OBC, it would be applied to onboard purchases like booze before any charges would be made to the usually refundable OBC from your TA - money you could take home if unspent).

No matter how you slice it or dice it, the cost of the Prestige package is $60/day (actually closer to $50 in actual booze because of the included 18% tip). from your OBC (or equivalent) or cash.

So, more realistically, four $12.50 drinks or two $25.00 doubles are the "break even" point (with the tip bringing it to approx $60/day.

Now, if you get doubles of top shelf stuff, something like a margarita with El Tesoro Anejo tequila and Cointreau, two of them would make Prestige's daily rate a true bargain. (That double drink, with tip, would approach $35-40).

Where there may be a catch however is when the cruise exceeds three weeks. Can/will you drink every day for three weeks?

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One thing to remember is that you can bring liquor onto the ship for use in your room. If you husband just wants his whiskey after dinner and can go there he can bring it with him. We did this on our last cruise as we liked a bourbon on the balcony before dinner. Worked great and we did not get a beverage package of any sort. Julia

I have the house select package. To upgrade to Prestige, all I pay is the $20 per day difference correct?

 

My scotch is $11.50 per drink. One double or two drinks covers it. My DW's is $9.50 per drink. So a tad over two drinks per day covers her.

 

If my presumptions are correct, then this would be a no brainer for me.

If that is all you drink why not just take the OBC ??

We drink 1 or 2 drinks a day ... total bill for 2 of us is $25 -$40 per day

we are taking the OBC $400 for our 7 day cruise ..we are ahead of the game in the end

but what ever works for you

One thing to remember is that you can bring liquor onto the ship for use in your room. If you husband just wants his whiskey after dinner and can go there he can bring it with him. We did this on our last cruise as we liked a bourbon on the balcony before dinner. Worked great and we did not get a beverage package of any sort. Julia

It all comes down to your personal choice! My husband, 9 out of 10 days, always has a drink before dinner and it is always a "premium" grade scotch(real double;3 oz)

For him(I do NOT drink alcohol) to have a drink in the room is counter-productive to the vacation experience. We enjoy going to the bar before dinner/after dinner and chatting up all the folks. Will he have a drink every day of our 21 day cruise, I would say YES!

And whether or not he comes close to the $60 per day, who cares, it's only money!

If that is all you drink why not just take the OBC ?? We drink 1 or 2 drinks a day ... total bill for 2 of us is $25 -$40 per day we are taking the OBC $400 for our 7 day cruise ..we are ahead of the game in the end but what ever works for you

Didn't really want to get bogged down in the math (weeds) but here are our three O cruises:

10 day cruise choice of $600 OBC or $800 worth of house select (but I drink call brands so have to upgrade)

16 day cruise choice of $800 OBC or $1,280 worth of house select

14 day cruise choice of $800 OBC or $1,120 worth of house select

OK, I don't see how taking the OBC instead of the $40pp/pd house select is a better deal. Adding the prestige at $60pd combined value is three doubles per day if the single pour is valued at only $10.50. However with the prestige package I would probably try better quality scotch or bourbon than I normally don't order in restaurants when I'm paying the tab. But it's moot because all this is "free" money."

Fortunately my TA has thrown in hefty OBC and prepaid grats. The specialty restaurants are free. I tend not to use ship excursions. So what is there to spend it on? We really don't need anything in the shops. So this works for us.

OK, I don't see how taking the OBC instead of the $40pp/pd house select is a better deal. Adding the prestige at $60pd combined value is three doubles per day if the single pour is valued at only $10.50. However with the prestige package I would probably try better quality scotch or bourbon than I normally don't order in restaurants when I'm paying the tab. But it's moot because all this is "free" money."

.

Everyone has to do what works best for them

You have obviously done the math & know which is the better option

If you drink wine or beer with meals the House select is fine & if you drink the top priced Scotches/cognacs the added $20 pp/pd for the Prestige package is a better fit for you

I was going by what you said you drink in your other post which did not seem like a good deal to me but if you do not need more OBC your way works better for you :halo:

enjoy the cruises

Didn't really want to get bogged down in the math (weeds) but here are our three O cruises:

10 day cruise choice of $600 OBC or $800 worth of house select (but I drink call brands so have to upgrade)

16 day cruise choice of $800 OBC or $1,280 worth of house select

14 day cruise choice of $800 OBC or $1,120 worth of house select

 

OK, I don't see how taking the OBC instead of the $40pp/pd house select is a better deal. Adding the prestige at $60pd combined value is three doubles per day if the single pour is valued at only $10.50. However with the prestige package I would probably try better quality scotch or bourbon than I normally don't order in restaurants when I'm paying the tab. But it's moot because all this is "free" money."

 

Fortunately my TA has thrown in hefty OBC and prepaid grats. The specialty restaurants are free. I tend not to use ship excursions. So what is there to spend it on? We really don't need anything in the shops. So this works for us.

It really does come down to a personal choice and, for us, it is very dependent on itinerary.

For a single segment cruise under 18 days with a lot of sea days, the premier package makes sense to me - even the idea of taking the basic O alcohol perk and paying the $20 upcharge.

But, for longer journeys- particularly multiple segment and/or port intensive ones (where we don't drink everyday or are gone for most of the day), I usually take either the OBC or excursions as the O Life perk. In those multi-segment situations, there will be free booze (yes, doubles and top shelf) for each segment's Captain's welcome party and O Club gatherings. We'll then add one or two of the 7 bottle wine program(s) for about $300 (I.e., $150/person) per package (the trick here is to know your wines since there's usually only three or four bottles that are quite nice "loss leaders," e.g., Shramsberg Mirabelle); and we'll round it out with twofers at the pre-dinner happy hour. Also, depending on the embarkation and/or itinerary ports, we may bring, at least, six or more of our own more interesting wines with values that make the $25 corkage easier to swallow.

Taken together, these above circumstances and our personal preferences often make "a la carte" booze a better buy than the Prestige package.

As for what to spend the accumulated OBC on? Culinary Classes and LaReserve (more included wine), maybe Privee with the right gang.

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One thing to remember is that you can bring liquor onto the ship for use in your room. If you husband just wants his whiskey after dinner and can go there he can bring it with him. We did this on our last cruise as we liked a bourbon on the balcony before dinner. Worked great and we did not get a beverage package of any sort. Julia

Are you sure we can bring liquor? I have read beer and wine only, but I have heard they can be lax on the policy. Does anyone tried to bring duty free onboard or purchased from port only? Thanks.

Yes, you can bring liquor...please consume in your cabin however. It doesn't matter where you purchase it..See previous posting: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331260&highlight=Booze