Ultimate Drink Package Thread

[bkr50]

5) The service that I had was FANTASTIC. Like Chris said, you get to know the bartenders. I never felt pressured to tip them extra. I tipped one of them $20 at the beginning of the week and gave her another $20 at the end. But she was the best bartender I've ever met on a ship - so, there's that. I tipped another guy an extra $2 on one of the drinks - I forget what he did, but I appreciated it enough that I tipped him extra.

 

(Some of) the drink menus will follow shortly.....

 

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. By chance was Arlene the bartender you are referring to?

[sixesandeights]

Yes, as long as you just ask for a Mojito, and not one with a premium liquor that is not included in the package.

 

Clarea you are passing a bit of misinformation in posts like this. There are essentially zero ingredients in a Mojito that would be excluded. You are making the restrictions seem much more all encompassing then they really are. Even Pyrat XO Rum was included in the package and that is probably the most expensive Rum they have on the boat.

 

The answer to the question is yes, Mojito's are absolutely included in the package.

 

Chris

[sixesandeights]

Just wondering if avoin tequila is available on the ships in the fleet and if so would it be included

Cheers

 

 

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No they did not offer Avion. The available tequilas were Jose Cuervo, Sauza, 1800, Corazon, and Patron. Only Patron is excluded from the package.

 

Chris

[sixesandeights]

I'm really liking the sound of this. :)

 

When we cruise, if you tally up the drinks we get throughout the day, especially when we cruise with our friends, it would be worth it. Some mornings we'll get a Blood Mary or Mimosa with breakfast. A few drinks by the pool during the day, pre-dinner drinks in the Champagne Bar, a glass of wine or two with dinner, an after dinner drink. We'd skip the Premium Wine and Dine package we normally get. (I'd be perfectly fine with the house wines by the glass in the MDR.)

 

Are there any Cognac's available in the cigar lounge on the premium package? Also, can you use it on Coco Cay and Labadee?

 

Last but not least, is there a pdf anywhere of the on board drink menus? Curious to see the prices.

 

I dont drink Cognac, but there were some at the regular bars that were included. I did not find the cigar bar till the last day so I was not able to see what they had available.

 

The package does extend to the RCCL private islands. You can have all the coco-loco's or Labadoozies you want :-) Just make sure you get them at the bar in the plain glass.

 

Unfortunately I did not find a single menu on board the entire ship that had prices included. Mixed drink are in the $6-$7 range. Frozen drinks are in the $8-$12 range. Beers are in the $4-$6 range. The drinks of the day are $6.95.

 

I think these would be reasonable estimates for cost planning.

 

Chris

Edited June 16, 2013 by chrismarois

[Clarea]

Clarea you are passing a bit of misinformation in posts like this. There are essentially zero ingredients in a Mojito that would be excluded. You are making the restrictions seem much more all encompassing then they really are. Even Pyrat XO Rum was included in the package and that is probably the most expensive Rum they have on the boat.

 

The answer to the question is yes, Mojito's are absolutely included in the package.

 

Chris

That's good to know.

 

I have two lists of included liquors. One shows Pyrat XO included and one doesn't. It just shows that the package appears to vary based on ship.

[tess18]

Just got of the FOS. The drink package worked great. You can get drinks in the dining room and in Chops. Find a server, tip them up front and they will be your friend. We had second seating and our drinks were at our table waiting for us!

[Ocean Boy]

Unfortunately I did not find a single menu on board the entire ship that had prices included. Mixed drink are in the $6-$7 range. Frozen drinks are in the $8-$12 range. Beers are in the $4-$6 range. The drinks of the day are $6.95.

 

I think these would be reasonable estimates for cost planning.

 

Chris

 

When we were on Independence this past March I saw a menu in the Champagne Bar that had prices. After I ordered I was charged a higher price. On questioning I was told that the menues had not been updated.:rolleyes: I wasn't in the mood to argue the point.

[SWManiac]

Just got of the FOS. The drink package worked great. You can get drinks in the dining room and in Chops. Find a server, tip them up front and they will be your friend. We had second seating and our drinks were at our table waiting for us!

 

Do you know per chance if they allowed redbull as a mixer on your FOS sailing??

[Rick U]

Has anybody had any experience on the Grandeur of the seas for the packages. Can one person buy the prem. package and one the soda pkg? I

[Clarea]

Has anybody had any experience on the Grandeur of the seas for the packages. Can one person buy the prem. package and one the soda pkg? I

The rules are the same on Grandeur, if anyone in a stateroom buys an alcohol package, everyone else of drinking age in the stateroom must buy the alcohol package.

[sxphil]

Do you know per chance if they allowed redbull as a mixer on your FOS sailing??

 

I was served this in the Casino although it never said Redbull on the receipt

SkyBar NO

Schooner Bar Yes

 

Really hit and miss

 

 

Phil

[njaloha]

Does anybody know what the price of a bottle of water is on the Explorer and what brands are available? I've heard Evian but is there another brand as well?

Thanks!

[cjxblade]

These pictures taken aboard Freedom of the Seas - June 2nd, 2013.

 

Click on any picture for the full-size version. (You can download them to get the full-size picture or click on "X3" at the top of the screen to see it larger on your monitor.

 

 

 

 

Note that the ones with an asterisk describe it as not being a part of any beverage package.

 

 

Thanks for the info you've provided in this thread.

 

Can you tell me on the prices quotes above is there tax or gratuities to add to the printed prices or is that what you pay and you add your own gratuities on that you think are deserved.

[Ocean Boy]

Thanks for the info you've provided in this thread.

 

Can you tell me on the prices quotes above is there tax or gratuities to add to the printed prices or is that what you pay and you add your own gratuities on that you think are deserved.

 

If you are paying per drink then 15% is added to the price. You can add more if you want. If you have a drink package gratuities are included in what you paid for the package but you have the option to add more, if you want to, when you get the drink. There is no tax added to the price, at least not when the ship is out at sea. I am not sure about when in port.

[cjxblade]

If you are paying per drink then 15% is added to the price. You can add more if you want. If you have a drink package gratuities are included in what you paid for the package but you have the option to add more, if you want to, when you get the drink. There is no tax added to the price, at least not when the ship is out at sea. I am not sure about when in port.

 

Thanks for the reply.:)

[Riverz]

I was served this in the Casino although it never said Redbull on the receipt

SkyBar NO

Schooner Bar Yes

 

Really hit and miss

 

 

Phil

Good to know appreciate the feedback as is one of my most common mixers

 

 

 

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[WarEagleLady]

Just bumping this up to the front page! I find it a plethora of information :)

[Melsyboo14]

I see that the premium package says it includes sodas, but do you also get the tumbler like you would in the soda package? Would you be able to use the freestyle machines?

[Clarea]

I see that the premium package says it includes sodas, but do you also get the tumbler like you would in the soda package? Would you be able to use the freestyle machines?

No, the alcohol packages do not include use of the Freestyle machines.

[Royals Carol]

With the premium drink package, I have read that a sticker is put on your card and you show that to the bartender. If you pay in advance, will they still just put a stamp on your card or print it permanently on the card? I would think a sticker could fall off.

[amster65]

and no, it wont fall off.

[irlsq]

Depends on how many people per cruise are buying the package.

 

One fictitous example with totally made up numbers:

 

Lets say it cost RCI $2 per drink. And lets say they can get 25% of every 1000 passengers to buy either $45 or $55 packages. Finally, lets say for now that they drink 10 drinks each day.

 

So 250 x $50 (average) = $12,500 revenue

Cost = $5000

Profit= $ $7500

 

Now lets say that we go $35 and can double participation to 50%

 

500 x $35 = $17500 revenue

Cost = $10000

Profit = $ 7500 (same)

 

But let's say my theory of people reducing their intake is true and it is an average of 7 drinks per day:

 

250 x $50 cost goes to $3500 for a $9000 profit.

 

500 x $35 cost goes to $7000 for a $10,500 profit

 

Almost a 15% increase in profit per day.

 

Believe me, corporations do not always get it right the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. time. The corporate graveyard is full of companies who thought they had it all figured out. :)

 

Anyone can make up numbers to prove a point. Companies do market researxh to gind out what people would be willing to pay at certain prices. They also have economists that work out the the unity elsaticity of the product and as such they would already know what effect a price change would have on demand. The conpany also knows all costs and profitability of the packages, I am inclined to believe that they are right on this on.

 

 

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[NightOne]

Anyone can make up numbers to prove a point. Companies do market researxh to gind out what people would be willing to pay at certain prices. They also have economists that work out the the unity elsaticity of the product and as such they would already know what effect a price change would have on demand. The conpany also knows all costs and profitability of the packages, I am inclined to believe that they are right on this on.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

As I have said before, don't believe that companies get it right the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. time (or ever). Also, don't assume every company does market research, uses economists, or other high tech pricing strategies. Some times they just make it up. I will give a specific example from Apple history. This is from the Steve Jobs biography:

 

"Sculley began to believe that Jobs’s mercurial personality and erratic treatment of people were rooted deep in his psychological makeup, perhaps the reflection of a mild bipolarity. There were big mood swings; sometimes he would be ecstatic, at other times he was depressed. At times he would launch into brutal tirades without warning, and Sculley would have to calm him down. “Twenty minutes later, I would get another call and be told to come over because Steve is losing it again,” he said. Their first substantive disagreement was over how to price the Macintosh. It had been conceived as a $ 1,000 machine, but Jobs’s design changes had pushed up the cost so that the plan was to sell it at $ 1,995. However, when Jobs and Sculley began making plans for a huge launch and marketing push, Sculley decided that they needed to charge $ 500 more. To him, the marketing costs were like any other production cost and needed to be factored into the price. Jobs resisted, furiously. “It will destroy everything we stand for,” he said. “I want to make this a revolution, not an effort to squeeze out profits.” Sculley said it was a simple choice: He could have the $ 1,995 price or he could have the marketing budget for a big launch, but not both. “You’re not going to like this,” Jobs told Hertzfeld and the other engineers, “but Sculley is insisting that we charge $ 2,495 for the Mac instead of $ 1,995.” Indeed the engineers were horrified. Hertzfeld pointed out that they were designing the Mac for people like themselves, and overpricing it would be a “betrayal” of what they stood for. So Jobs promised them, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to let him get away with it!” But in the end, Sculley prevailed. Even twenty-five years later Jobs seethed when recalling the decision: “It’s the main reason the Macintosh sales slowed and Microsoft got to dominate the market.” The decision made him feel that he was losing control of his product and company, and this was as dangerous as making a tiger feel cornered."

 

You see, Scully just kind of made the number up so that he would have more marketing money.

 

Here is an interesting article on pricing:

 

How to Price Your Products

 

In the case of RCI, $55x7 or $385 per person, it probably is not going to appeal to the group of passengers that are buying the $499 inside cabin. (or not to the most price sensitive)

 

I can throw all the above out the window and ask myself the simple question:

 

Would I drink $385 worth of booze on a 7 day cruise with 3 port days?

 

My present answer is NO and therefore I don't think I will purchase the package on my upcoming cruise.

 

If I asked myself whether $45x7 or $315 makes me more likely to purchase it I would answer that it makes it a more interesting proposition and I'm 50/50 on the fence about it.

 

At $35x7 or $245 I'm jumping in head first. No question about it.

 

Without buying the package, what do I expect to spend on the bar tab? I would say $200-$300 with around $250 being more likely.

 

*IF* I did buy the $385 package it WOULD compel me to drink more expensive or more drinks than normal to recoup my package cost. (and thus raising RCI's cost) At the bottom end ($245) I would not worry about it and RCI would probably still come out ahead.

 

Overall, it is a personal financial decision for everyone based on their needs/desires. :)

[irlsq]

As I have said before, don't believe that companies get it right the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. time (or ever). Also, don't assume every company does market research, uses economists, or other high tech pricing strategies. Some times they just make it up. I will give a specific example from Apple history. This is from the Steve Jobs biography:

 

 

 

You see, Scully just kind of made the number up so that he would have more marketing money.

 

Here is an interesting article on pricing:

 

How to Price Your Products

 

In the case of RCI, $55x7 or $385 per person, it probably is not going to appeal to the group of passengers that are buying the $499 inside cabin. (or not to the most price sensitive)

 

I can throw all the above out the window and ask myself the simple question:

 

Would I drink $385 worth of booze on a 7 day cruise with 3 port days?

 

My present answer is NO and therefore I don't think I will purchase the package on my upcoming cruise.

 

If I asked myself whether $45x7 or $315 makes me more likely to purchase it I would answer that it makes it a more interesting proposition and I'm 50/50 on the fence about it.

 

At $35x7 or $245 I'm jumping in head first. No question about it.

 

Without buying the package, what do I expect to spend on the bar tab? I would say $200-$300 with around $250 being more likely.

 

*IF* I did buy the $385 package it WOULD compel me to drink more expensive or more drinks than normal to recoup my package cost. (and thus raising RCI's cost) At the bottom end ($245) I would not worry about it and RCI would probably still come out ahead.

 

Overall, it is a personal financial decision for everyone based on their needs/desires. :)

 

There is no indication at all in that article that "scully" made up the price increase. He came up with the price increase. There may have been a full costing analysis of the marketing costs carried out. If it was the plan to manufacture 100,000 units and marketing cost was 5,000,000 then an increase of 500 per unit covers this. My example is purely speculative as is all of your examples. And I dont see the relevance of your jobs quotes!? The assumption that a profitable company does not do research is at best ignorance and at worst idiocy.

 

 

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[irlsq]

Also scully did increase the price so he would have more marketing money, he increased the cost to cover the expected cost of a large marketing campaign.

 

 

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