Drink Packages Real Value...

I grabbed the package on my Anthem of the Seas sailing 4/7 and had 10-20 drinks a day ( water / coffee / liquor / wine ) and not having to think of $10 here and $10 there was a huge stress relief on the trip.

My wife is a moderate drinker, and easily had 6-7 drinks in a day ( water / liquor / trying new wines ).

I was on the fence about getting the package cause of the price ( 750 for the two of us for 7 days ) but not having to think about a bill was so worth it.

Also traveled with 8 other family members who constantly counted what they were spending, and would skip drinks cause "I dont want to spend any more today"

( probably a repetitive post but figured there is someone like me out there... )

I grabbed the package on my Anthem of the Seas sailing 4/7 and had 10-20 drinks a day ( water / coffee / liquor / wine ) and not having to think of $10 here and $10 there was a huge stress relief on the trip.

 

My wife is a moderate drinker, and easily had 6-7 drinks in a day ( water / liquor / trying new wines ).

 

I was on the fence about getting the package cause of the price ( 750 for the two of us for 7 days ) but not having to think about a bill was so worth it.

 

Also traveled with 8 other family members who constantly counted what they were spending, and would skip drinks cause "I dont want to spend any more today"

 

( probably a repetitive post but figured there is someone like me out there... )

You are correct. The peace of mind that comes with that very small bill at the end of the cruise is worth it. Plus, it gives me a chance to try new things and not worry if it is not to my liking. We probably break even, but it would be worth it if we were even a few bucks short of break-even on some port days.

Trying new drinks was great, I think I only tossed 1 beer. My wife tried a lot, but the bar tenders are great and ask enough that you are not going to hate your drink.

We first were thinking we would go on NCL just cause they had drink packs "included" but ( first time cruiser ) I found Royal to be an amazing experience, and would easily drop the money on the pack again.

Trying new drinks was great, I think I only tossed 1 beer. My wife tried a lot, but the bar tenders are great and ask enough that you are not going to hate your drink.

 

We first were thinking we would go on NCL just cause they had drink packs "included" but ( first time cruiser ) I found Royal to be an amazing experience, and would easily drop the money on the pack again.

FYI -- the NCL "free drink package" is not really free.... they still charge you the gratuities. For light drinkers like me, I wouldn't normally spend that gratuities amount on drinks in the week, so it's wasted. Bottled water is not included.

On Celebrity, "free drink package" is a FREE drink package - bottled water is allowed, and there are no gratuities.

NCL's drink package is significantly cheaper as a promo. We have done it numerous times and I would gladly only pay the "service charge" (18%) which is roughly $200 than the $700+ that Royal charges! While Celebrity's is "free" the increase in cruise fare makes it not so worth it.

FYI: NCL's drink package does not include bottled water like Royal or Carnival. NCL also does not provide any discounted bottled water (with Carnival you could order a case of bottled water, which is delivered to your room, for around $4). The soda brand on NCL is Pepsi, and you are NOT allowed to carry on any soda (therefore basically stuck with Pepsi brand). NCL also charges a corkage fee for the wine that you bring on (Carnival and Royal allow you to bring two bottles on without a fee. Carnival will only charge a fee if you bring the bottle to the dining room). I do agree that the drink package perk is a good benefit-just compare to the total price.

Another consideration: NCL will not honor their drink package on Harvest Caye (private island in Belize). The drink prices on Harvest Caye are "New York" prices, and they automatically add a 20% gratuity. The walk from the ship to the pool/beach is about half a mile, so not realistic to go back to the ship to get drinks. Just a huge pet peeve of mine.........

My understanding that with the “free” drink packages on other lines, comes decreased bartenders and other ways of limiting access...

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I grabbed the package on my Anthem of the Seas sailing 4/7 and had 10-20 drinks a day ( water / coffee / liquor / wine ) and not having to think of $10 here and $10 there was a huge stress relief on the trip.

 

My wife is a moderate drinker, and easily had 6-7 drinks in a day ( water / liquor / trying new wines ).

 

I was on the fence about getting the package cause of the price ( 750 for the two of us for 7 days ) but not having to think about a bill was so worth it.

 

Also traveled with 8 other family members who constantly counted what they were spending, and would skip drinks cause "I dont want to spend any more today"

 

( probably a repetitive post but figured there is someone like me out there... )

That is one of the main reasons I like getting the drink package, not having to worry about a bill at the end of the cruise. I drink a lot of specialty coffees, wine at dinner, cocktails at a show, Mimosa at breakfast. Now with the sales in the cruise planner it really is a good deal for me. I do understand how some people thing it is not a good option for them. I do not understand the controversy though. If it makes financial sense to you then buy the package. If it does not then pay per drink.

FYI: NCL's drink package does not include bottled water like Royal or Carnival. NCL also does not provide any discounted bottled water (with Carnival you could order a case of bottled water, which is delivered to your room, for around $4). The soda brand on NCL is Pepsi, and you are NOT allowed to carry on any soda (therefore basically stuck with Pepsi brand). NCL also charges a corkage fee for the wine that you bring on (Carnival and Royal allow you to bring two bottles on without a fee. Carnival will only charge a fee if you bring the bottle to the dining room). I do agree that the drink package perk is a good benefit-just compare to the total price.

All true, but we don't drink bottled water (ship water is fine and we don't like the waste of the bottle itself), nor do we take soda on board (they have soda there and we aren't brand specific), and we don't bring bottles of wine on the ship (because we just paid for a drink package that includes wine). They also only charge a corkage fee if you have someone open the bottle for you in a public space. We have had family take wine and as long as they opened it in their room-no charge...the stateroom attendant even provided glasses and a wine opener. While it does suck about their island, we have no interest in going to the Bahamas again and use NCL to cruise to Bermuda and Southern Caribbean only.

Didn't have the drink package but bought the 10 drink card for $93 and several buckets of beer at $30 for 5 beers. First couple of days had our wine to carry us until the drink card became available.

FYI -- the NCL "free drink package" is not really free.... they still charge you the gratuities. For light drinkers like me, I wouldn't normally spend that gratuities amount on drinks in the week, so it's wasted. Bottled water is not included.

 

On Celebrity, "free drink package" is a FREE drink package - bottled water is allowed, and there are no gratuities.

The drink package is not free, it is either included in the price, or you pick what two perks you want, at added fee. My expeience is if the price for a balcony is say $160 per day it is included, if it’s say around $110 it’s not. I see this everyday when I check prices on a couple of cruises I’m watching. I avoid the drink package because I refuse to change my drinking habits to make sure I get my money’s worth. I don’t worry about the cost.

Did not know drink package on ncl doesnt cover harvest cay....

Coco cay was included in rccl I have like 6 drinks.

When you break down the cost of the cabin + service charges for a mx to a non guarantee to get the drink pack you are almost paying the 750 for two for the rccl drink package on a 7 night.

I'll pay extra to not think about a bull at the end.... I want everything covered...or as good as I can get it.

NCL's drink package is significantly cheaper as a promo. We have done it numerous times and I would gladly only pay the "service charge" (18%) which is roughly $200 than the $700+ that Royal charges! While Celebrity's is "free" the increase in cruise fare makes it not so worth it.

20% of $89 per day

We cruise Celebrity and Royal and have not sailed without an included drinks package for several years.

We monitor prices and only book when we think the price is right. For our B2B in Symphony next month, I checked prices for a few months whilst the drinks package was not a perk, then when the promo switched and the drinks package was offered the price difference was around £100pp. So for us that offered good value.

For Celebrity sailings Ex UK we can compare similar itineraries offered by P&O and more often than not they come in around a similar or lower price on Celebrity with the drinks package included. However, the “free” drinks package on Royal is a bit better than the free one on Celebrity with more inclusions without the need to upgrade it as we do on Celebrity.

I grabbed the package on my Anthem of the Seas sailing 4/7 and had 10-20 drinks a day ( water / coffee / liquor / wine ) and not having to think of $10 here and $10 there was a huge stress relief on the trip.

 

My wife is a moderate drinker, and easily had 6-7 drinks in a day ( water / liquor / trying new wines ).

 

I was on the fence about getting the package cause of the price ( 750 for the two of us for 7 days ) but not having to think about a bill was so worth it.

 

Also traveled with 8 other family members who constantly counted what they were spending, and would skip drinks cause "I dont want to spend any more today"

 

( probably a repetitive post but figured there is someone like me out there... )

Here is a spreadsheet to help you figure out if the drink package is worth it.

Beverage Program Calculation.xls

I agree that freedom of having no additional worries about money is very valuable. I just don't know if that value exceeds $1029 which is the current price for my next cruise, for 2 people. The cruise itself was $740pp, thus the deluxe package is something like 80% of the cruise fare. Now, I could look at that and say, hey I got a price I'm very happy with for the cruise, relax, buy the package. Instead, I will most likely wait for the 10 drink cards to appear, fingers crossed.

We have bought drink package every year since it first was offered, if you have 4 drinks a day it is a good deal when you add waters with it and I have at way more than 4, we always have a glass or 2 of wine with lunch and dinner and once in a while a glass of champagne for breakfast. We do exceed the plans 12 or 13 dollars a drink with most of our wines, if you want a 15 dollar glass and package covers up to 12 then you pay the 3 dollars and tip.

I had the Deluxe package on the last two cruises and while it was great not thinking about a bill when I ordered a drink, after the last cruise, I added the number of drinks and found that I enjoyed trying out drinks for the first two days and then I slipped back into my normal drinking and it just didn't pay for itself with me. I stopped ordering a drink "just because" I had the drink package and would have come out ahead, even with my more tan usual drinking for the first two days. It just depends on your individual habits and everyone is different. I know that a couple of folks in our group got more than their money's worth out of it. I just wasn't one that did. I'm not ordering it this time and just going to see if I somehow feel "deprived" or that I was limiting myself because I didn't have it. I'm going to live on the edge....;p

Here is a spreadsheet to help you figure out if the drink package is worth it.

This looks very helpful. Do you mind offering a quick explanation on how to use it?

That is one of the main reasons I like getting the drink package, not having to worry about a bill at the end of the cruise. I drink a lot of specialty coffees, wine at dinner, cocktails at a show, Mimosa at breakfast. Now with the sales in the cruise planner it really is a good deal for me. I do understand how some people thing it is not a good option for them. I do not understand the controversy though. If it makes financial sense to you then buy the package. If it does not then pay per drink.

It makes sense for us, although I am the only one with the alcohol package. My So just purchased the Refreshment package, he doesn't drink alcohol much. So this works for us. I get my money's worth in just the coffee & water. I drink at least 4-6 bottles a day.

Do they have "premium" brewed coffees at the Cafe Promenade or only expresso drinks? Just wondering vs. going to Starbucks...

Do they have "premium" brewed coffees at the Cafe Promenade or only expresso drinks? Just wondering vs. going to Starbucks...

You can get an Americano, which is just espresso diluted with hot water.

This looks very helpful. Do you mind offering a quick explanation on how to use it?

The spreadsheet is setup based on the full price of package on the ship. You can change that price to the actual price you can purchase it. The gratuity will be automatically figured in the calculation in the sheet. You also can select how many people are getting package. For example is you and your spouse are both getting package, you would put 2 in that cell.

Then you go down the list of drinks and put the amount of that type of drink you would have in a typical day. Do the same for the second person in the "person 2" section.

Also below the drinks there are refreshment package and classic soda package rows. You can add those to your calculation to help with comparison. Just be sure not to put anything included in those packages if you select one those packages.

Again, all gratuity is auto figured in spreadsheet.

Thanks TravisP, the spreadsheet is very useful.

This is the one thing I go back and forth on when we cruise. On Princess last year we purchased the speciality coffee punch card which also allowed unlimited teas (my drink of choice). DH had his fancy coffees and I had my morning and evening teas for no added cost. Each night before dinner we would go to the bar for their 2 for 1 drink special and then enjoy our wine in the evenings. That cruise would not have been worth the cost for the beverage package for us.

Our cuise with RC in September has many more sail days, so once again I'm debating the drink package. If our drink cost was even close it would be a no-brainer, but we are moderate drinks at best.