Has anyone regretted NOT buying the drink package?

[podgeandrodge]

It's highly unlikely that you will drink as much if you don't have the package. So even people that figure they beat the package by "paying as you go" only beat it on the basis of what they drank - not on the basis of what they would have drank :)

 

Even down to coffees and freshly squeezed orange juice with the ultimate package - even aside from the alcohol you'll drink more of, you'll get more of those premium coffees than you would if you were going drink by drink. It stands to reason - paying by the drink there are going to be times you'll say "Ahh, it's not worth shelling out another $4 for a coffee again" - when you have the package you won't even think about it any more!

 

Buy it and enjoy it! Buy it and enjoy the fact that you'll drink more, not because you feel you have to, but because you'll suddenly realise you want to! :D

[splash_in_the_water]

The way I understand it is that varies ship to ship and maybe even bar to bar. Some bartenders will have you sign a 0.00 receipt and some will just run the card and not have you sign anything. I do believe your Seapass card gets ran every time though

 

this was about how it went for us on the enchantmnent last may....Most of the time we signed a slip, usually threw in a $1.00 tip, but if we got a beer from one of the guys pushing the beer carts around on the lido sometimes they just ran the card and that was that...

 

Most of what has to be said in this thread has been said. We'll for sure get a drink package on 5 night or fewer cruises....7 nighters..well, we'd have to think about it....(we probably would anyway) but still....

 

otherwise, we drink plenty. soda and coffee drinks, and waters as we get off to ports included....As said before, we like not worrying about the bill, able to try new things, etc.....

 

drinkers, non drinkers, you know what's right for you....basically if you think have 5-6 everyday of most combos (booze, soda, coffee drinks, water) everyday, then get a package. If you consistently have 1-3 or so drinks/day and not so much soda, coffee, water, etc then you're better off without...

[brillohead]

Just to clarify, the time limit between refills only applies to the Freestyle Coke Machines.

 

There is no time limit between getting alcoholic bar drinks. I've seen people standing at the bar doing multiple shots on the package, and it was never a problem. Shot ... refill ... shot ... refill ... shot........ now the GOOD dance moves come out to play!

[GUT2407]

Just to clarify, the time limit between refills only applies to the Freestyle Coke Machines.

 

There is no time limit between getting alcoholic bar drinks. I've seen people standing at the bar doing multiple shots on the package, and it was never a problem. Shot ... refill ... shot ... refill ... shot........ now the GOOD dance moves come out to play!

 

 

Never had any time limit enforced on a soft drink [soda] at the bar either.

[MattInFLL]

There is a time limit between alcoholic drinks. How it's enforced is another matter. I learned that on Freedom last year. Had a bartender where I ordered a shot and then I wanted to order a drink and he was not going to let me do it - citing the time limit. I got a little pointed with him and pointed out that i was obviously not doing this to give a drink away to a friend, and he relented "this one time." I moved on to a different bar.

 

My "regular" bartenders did not care, but told me there is a policy in place about it. So enforcement seems to depend.

[Bahamma Mamma2]

what an awesome idea...if you don't mind sharing, you could post it here and maybe even start a new thread about drinks people have tried on cruises that they never would have otherwise... And the OP has a great excuse to try all kinds of things... "It's all CC research..."

 

 

I totally agree! I want to try them ALL!! :D I am a scientist by day...I am all about some research!! LOL;)

[casinostreer]

It's highly unlikely that you will drink as much if you don't have the package. So even people that figure they beat the package by "paying as you go" only beat it on the basis of what they drank - not on the basis of what they would have drank :)

 

Even down to coffees and freshly squeezed orange juice with the ultimate package - even aside from the alcohol you'll drink more of, you'll get more of those premium coffees than you would if you were going drink by drink. It stands to reason - paying by the drink there are going to be times you'll say "Ahh, it's not worth shelling out another $4 for a coffee again" - when you have the package you won't even think about it any more!

 

Buy it and enjoy it! Buy it and enjoy the fact that you'll drink more, not because you feel you have to, but because you'll suddenly realise you want to! :D

 

Wasn't true for us. We went paying as you go for 2 people FIRST on Allure and had RIDICULOUS sticker shock when we got our bill. (We drank it - so we payed it.)

 

Next cruise we actually had the premium and actually didn't end up drinking as many drinks per day - AND ended up spending less than we did on the first Allure cruise.

 

Rather than go back and forth - we decided after the second cruise that we'd rather not worry about the bill either way. We build the drink package into the price of the cruise. Not because we WANT to drink more - because we don't want to CARE if we do. We tend to enjoy cruising much more without worrying about taking out that sea pass card.

[casinostreer]

Here's the drink menu cheat sheet. I like the idea of making a game out of it. :-) Like Drink Menu Bingo! :-) I'm sure someone can come up with a score card!!

 

Drink Menus.pdf

[Bahamma Mamma2]

Here's the drink menu cheat sheet. I like the idea of making a game out of it. :-) Like Drink Menu Bingo! :-) I'm sure someone can come up with a score card!!

 

[ATTACH]359091[/ATTACH]

 

 

:D:D:D THANK YOU!! I don't have time to make an official game because we are leaving in 3 hours to head to FL....but...I just printed 7 copies and we will make our own game...see who can try the most different drinks over the 7 days...first page excluded! ...well...except for the wine:D

[jules815]

Last year my husband and I had the Ultimate package for both weeks of a B2B on FOS. We also just built it into the price of the cruise and paid for it well before our sail date.

 

Almost every morning we would start our day with a Bloody Mary or a Mimosa, had fresh squeezed OJ in the WJ (they always gave us the large glass). We had multiple specialty coffees every day, and lots of bottled waters. If we were walking by the promenade cafe or a bar, we would always stop for a couple of bottled waters. We had a stock pile in our room and it was nice to be able to throw a few in our beach bag before heading off for an excursion.

 

We tried lots of drinks poolside that I probably never would have tried without the package. A few cocktails before dinner in the Champagne Bar. I even tried different Martini's at Olive or Twist, something I typically wouldn't have done. A glass of wine in the MDR with dinner, and a Pellegrino sparkling water. It adds up quickly, especially now with the higher drink prices.

 

We don't get drunk and we certainly "remember our vacation."

 

To the OP, I think you made a good decision, especially since you'll be traveling with a group of friends.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Cheers! :)

[casinostreer]

:D:D:D THANK YOU!! I don't have time to make an official game because we are leaving in 3 hours to head to FL....but...I just printed 7 copies and we will make our own game...see who can try the most different drinks over the 7 days...first page excluded! ...well...except for the wine:D

 

Totally let us know how it goes. Don't forget to let the bartenders make you something interesting. We found some of the best drinks were the ones that weren't on the menu.

 

Take pictures of drinks!! :-) And have a BLAST!!!

[casinostreer]

Last year my husband and I had the Ultimate package for both weeks of a B2B on FOS. We also just built it into the price of the cruise and paid for it well before our sail date.

 

Almost every morning we would start our day with a Bloody Mary or a Mimosa, had fresh squeezed OJ in the WJ (they always gave us the large glass). We had multiple specialty coffees every day, and lots of bottled waters. If we were walking by the promenade cafe or a bar, we would always stop for a couple of bottled waters. We had a stock pile in our room and it was nice to be able to throw a few in our beach bag before heading off for an excursion.

 

We tried lots of drinks poolside that I probably never would have tried without the package. A few cocktails before dinner in the Champagne Bar. I even tried different Martini's at Olive or Twist, something I typically wouldn't have done. A glass of wine in the MDR with dinner, and a Pellegrino sparkling water. It adds up quickly, especially now with the higher drink prices.

 

We don't get drunk and we certainly "remember our vacation."

 

To the OP, I think you made a good decision, especially since you'll be traveling with a group of friends.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Cheers! :)

 

In my opinion, that's some great cruising! :-)

 

(Not for everyone - we know!!! But we're usually a LOT of fun to hang out with!)

[tlatrice]

Last year my husband and I had the Ultimate package for both weeks of a B2B on FOS. We also just built it into the price of the cruise and paid for it well before our sail date.

 

Almost every morning we would start our day with a Bloody Mary or a Mimosa, had fresh squeezed OJ in the WJ (they always gave us the large glass). We had multiple specialty coffees every day, and lots of bottled waters. If we were walking by the promenade cafe or a bar, we would always stop for a couple of bottled waters. We had a stock pile in our room and it was nice to be able to throw a few in our beach bag before heading off for an excursion.

 

We tried lots of drinks poolside that I probably never would have tried without the package. A few cocktails before dinner in the Champagne Bar. I even tried different Martini's at Olive or Twist, something I typically wouldn't have done. A glass of wine in the MDR with dinner, and a Pellegrino sparkling water. It adds up quickly, especially now with the higher drink prices.

 

We don't get drunk and we certainly "remember our vacation."

 

To the OP, I think you made a good decision, especially since you'll be traveling with a group of friends.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Cheers! :)

 

I'm getting a drink package on my upcoming cruise and this is EXACTLY my plan! :D

[Bahamma Mamma2]

Totally let us know how it goes. Don't forget to let the bartenders make you something interesting. We found some of the best drinks were the ones that weren't on the menu.

 

Take pictures of drinks!! :-) And have a BLAST!!!

 

 

We will! Thanks! :D I am ready to go NOW! This day is just going so slow....

[splash_in_the_water]

There is a time limit between alcoholic drinks. How it's enforced is another matter. I learned that on Freedom last year. Had a bartender where I ordered a shot and then I wanted to order a drink and he was not going to let me do it - citing the time limit. I got a little pointed with him and pointed out that i was obviously not doing this to give a drink away to a friend, and he relented "this one time." I moved on to a different bar.

 

My "regular" bartenders did not care, but told me there is a policy in place about it. So enforcement seems to depend.

 

indeed. we made good witht he bartender and the solarium bar...we tipped pretty heavy a few times a day. After a few drinks he'd be like "how's that drink mr. smith?" ...how do you tihink, it's faaaantastic!!!...here's $5...so that went well, and sometimes when it was bus he'd come back to us first, and a couple times people would politely say "sir, i'm next" and he'd take care of them....

[Emperor Norton]

Quick question...I just want to know if anyone who has NOT purchased the beverage package (alcohol ones) ever regretted not doing it?

 

I am seeing TONS of drink package posts and I have been reading them. I know there are a million people who are glad they didn't buy it. I want to hear the ones that regret it NOT buying it when they got that final bill.

 

I have never done the package before but I bit the bullet for this cruise for many reason (one being a 21 celebration and 4 ship days for us counting Labadee and the fact we don't like Grand Cayman). I have been back and forth on this since we booked a year ago and with the recent drink price increase I figured I should just go for it. We always blow up the bar tab the first 2-3 days anyway so adding it later in the cruise would make it worse.

 

TIA! We cruise in 4 days, looking forward to it!

 

If Im on a cruise that doesn't already include the alcohol and they offer a drink package - I buy it. Id rather not play a game of "Cruise fare was X, booze cost me 2X". Sadly on my next cruise Im with Disney who doesn't offer any packages.

[Jacy613]

I just returned from a 5 day cruise on LOS. I was traveling with my daughter and her husband, my granddaughter and her bestie, and my husband.

Since this was my daughter's first cruise, I decided to purchase the premium drink package for her as a gift for her 40th. I wanted her and her husband to enjoy this cruise and not have to worry at all about the alcohol costs at the end of the cruise.

 

My husband and I didn't have the package because we would rather pay as we go, and not really worry about the end result. It is what it is.

 

My daughter was thrilled with the package, and said over and over again that she was so happy she had it! She tried drinks she never would have tried, and she always got a bottle of water with her drink. She found a favorite bar and bartender, tipped him and smiled her pretty smile. She was able to get an occasional second drink for her husband with no problem. Not always, but a few times. Enforcement of the rules is always subjective.

 

My husband and I drank what we wanted, when we wanted to drink. Wine at dinner, fruity frozen drinks during the day, Bloody Marys at brunch. Our bar bill was just slightly higher than what we anticipated, because of the higher prices. It's a vacation, so we didn't stress over it.

 

My daughter has already said that when she cruises again, it will be with a drink package! She loved it!

[rudeney]

I just returned from a 5 day cruise on LOS. I was traveling with my daughter and her husband, my granddaughter and her bestie, and my husband.

Since this was my daughter's first cruise, I decided to purchase the premium drink package for her as a gift for her 40th. I wanted her and her husband to enjoy this cruise and not have to worry at all about the alcohol costs at the end of the cruise.

 

My husband and I didn't have the package because we would rather pay as we go, and not really worry about the end result. It is what it is.

 

My daughter was thrilled with the package, and said over and over again that she was so happy she had it! She tried drinks she never would have tried, and she always got a bottle of water with her drink. She found a favorite bar and bartender, tipped him and smiled her pretty smile. She was able to get an occasional second drink for her husband with no problem. Not always, but a few times. Enforcement of the rules is always subjective.

 

My husband and I drank what we wanted, when we wanted to drink. Wine at dinner, fruity frozen drinks during the day, Bloody Marys at brunch. Our bar bill was just slightly higher than what we anticipated, because of the higher prices. It's a vacation, so we didn't stress over it.

 

My daughter has already said that when she cruises again, it will be with a drink package! She loved it!

 

So how did your bar bill compare to what you would have paid for the package?

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

what an awesome idea...if you don't mind sharing, you could post it here and maybe even start a new thread about drinks people have tried on cruises that they never would have otherwise... And the OP has a great excuse to try all kinds of things... "It's all CC research..."

 

As I already said, I didn't have a package on my Alaska cruise. BUT... On our last night, we had the awards ceremony and slideshow for our running group (guarantee you that next year there will be discussion to NOT have us in the room where the BINGO for a free cruise is as that ran over, making us late when we were already going to be late to dinner - which was pre-arranged...we were just a little later than expected), and there were servers walking around with free drinks for us. Red wine, white wine, beer, a mixed drink I forget, and a Yellow Bird. Well, by the time the server in our area got to me, he had white wine (ick!) or the Yellow Bird. I didn't realize we could ask for say red wine, so based on the description I took the Yellow Bird. The first sip or two were ok - I think the actual fruit juice concentrated there - but then it tasted like nasty yellow Triaminic. My friend sitting next to me noticed my face and that I wasn't drinking anything and called a server over to get me some red wine (she knew that's what I liked of the options), but I was definitely glad I hadn't paid for the Yellow Bird. I know now that I don't ever want to drink that again, and fortunately I wasn't out any money. So that would definitely be an advantage to the package - the trying new things and hey, it's ok if I find it gross and don't want to finish it! :)

[riclop]

We would never spend that much $$$ on booze, it's like another cruise.

[docd]

I've only cruised on RCI once on the Freedom last December. I bought the Premium drink package figuring I would at least break even , so no financial loss and a lot of freedom to drink almost whatever I wanted. Unfortunately, one of my motivators to purchasing the package was trying some wines at Vintages where they wouldn't honor the package. So, that was a disappointment.

 

I am a moderate drinker so I figured a package would work out reasonably well for me. The reality was though, I felt like I struggled to drink enough to make sure I at least broke even. I think it was all the food!! I didn't stress over it, but it made me question my decision on whether the package was worth it for me.

 

Now, on my upcoming cruise things have changed. With the dramatic price increase I think it will be much easier to break even. I think the freedom to drink almost whatever you want and not worry about anything is very much worth it as long as you get close to the minimum number of drinks, which shouldn't be difficult for me with the current prices.

 

So, I might regret not buying it this time around. I also plan on purchasing it mid cruise, which should work out even more in my favor financially.

[calypso73]

I'm not traveling until January but pre purchased my drinks package months ago. I looked at what I would realistically drink and the prices of those drinks and decided at today's prices and exchange rate I would be at least close to breaking even on only 4 or 5 drinks a day. I figured not having to stress about a bar tab at the end of the cruise and then the added shock / stress of converting that to AUD made it well worth it. The exchange rate has already gone down since I purchased the package so theoretically I'm already ahead ;-)

[rudeney]

I've only cruised on RCI once on the Freedom last December. I bought the Premium drink package figuring I would at least break even , so no financial loss and a lot of freedom to drink almost whatever I wanted. Unfortunately, one of my motivators to purchasing the package was trying some wines at Vintages where they wouldn't honor the package. So, that was a disappointment.

 

I thought that Vintages would honor the drink packages, but only up to the specified $12/drink price?!?!

 

Now, on my upcoming cruise things have changed. With the dramatic price increase I think it will be much easier to break even. I think the freedom to drink almost whatever you want and not worry about anything is very much worth it as long as you get close to the minimum number of drinks, which shouldn't be difficult for me with the current prices.

 

My drink of choice is Whisky (preferably Johnnie Walker) and club soda. I also drink red wine with dinner. My understanding is that prices will be in the $10-$12 per drink range (plus 18% gratuity). So, if I buy the Premium Package ($49/day, plus 18% gratuity) and drink 5 per day, then I'm above break even. Honestly, it sounds like a lot, but on vacation, I might do that. Then again, being in a suite, some of that will be consumed in the CL, so it might not be quite the deal. Really, I am inclined to just go ahead and do the package so I don't worry about my bill at the end of the cruise.

[docd]

I thought that Vintages would honor the drink packages, but only up to the specified $12/drink price?!?!

 

There are definitely cases where it was included. Unfortunately, RCI are completely incompetent at communicating with their staff, so there is inconsistency with everything that is going on. Ask one question and you'll get a different answer from everyone you speak to. I don't even know how they manage to operate. I honestly can't imagine if there was an actual emergency on one of their ships. Luckily the ships are spectacular.

 

My drink of choice is Whisky (preferably Johnnie Walker) and club soda. I also drink red wine with dinner. My understanding is that prices will be in the $10-$12 per drink range (plus 18% gratuity). So, if I buy the Premium Package ($49/day, plus 18% gratuity) and drink 5 per day, then I'm above break even. Honestly, it sounds like a lot, but on vacation, I might do that. Then again, being in a suite, some of that will be consumed in the CL, so it might not be quite the deal. Really, I am inclined to just go ahead and do the package so I don't worry about my bill at the end of the cruise.

 

Five+ drinks a day seems just fine to me while on vacation =).

[Jacy613]

So how did your bar bill compare to what you would have paid for the package?

 

All things considered, my husband and I were a little ahead of the game without having the drink package for ourselves. My daughter definitely was much better off with the package!:)