Klaus120

I'm not a very picky wine drinker and thought that the selection of wine by the glass was very poor in dining places. Wines by the glass at all of the bars are fine, but if you like to pair your wine with your food, I'd recommend the wine bottle package. I had the premium drink package and was not at all disappointed (definitely got my money's worth), but I would have been pretty upset if I was a more sophisticated wine drinker =).

Yes, I believe cider is included. I think the limit for included beer was under $6. Specialty beers in the pub like Guinness and Boddington are not included. The menus (which you can google images of) show what is not included with an astrix by it...and you can always ask bartender. You don't have to purchase the package before you board, so if you have a lot of questions you want answered, wait until you can go to the bar and talk to a bartender.

My husband and I just got off the Freedom yesterday. He opted for the ultimate package because he really enjoys fresh squeezed orange juice. I got the premium because I didn't think I would drink enough fresh squeezed OJ and premium coffee to make up for the $10/day. We both were EXTREMELY happy with the packages and with everything that is included. Everything is the same for both except the OJ and "premium" coffee....like lattes and espresso. I am an avid coffee drinker but was just fine sticking with regular coffee.

Since there is so much debate about the worth of the drink packages, we saved all of our receipts. We had over 200 drinks between the two of us for the week (including bottles of water to bring back to the stateroom!), and at an average of about $7/drink, we definitely got our money's worth (I am 27 and he is 30...maybe a little more than average drinkers, but not drunks ). Hope that helps!

ps. He often got Red Bull and Red Bull vodkas, and they were included. I don't recall seeing Monster, but we didn't ask about it either.