Alcoholic Drink Package

[dresch25]

It has been quite a few years since my last cruise withPrincess, in the past they had an alcohol package that one could purchase (Looking for cocktails) Trying to see if it is still available. I tried the search and all threads areold.

 

Planning a Girl’s trip for November!

[voljeep]

Yes, the Premium Beverage Package 'should' be available depending

[dresch25]

Yes, the Premium Beverage Package 'should' be available depending

 

Any idea of what the daily cost would be?

[msmoger]

Any idea of what the daily cost would be?

 

Premier Beverage Package Our Premier Beverage Package is a great value! Enjoy a wide array of cocktails, wine, beer, bottled water, specialty coffee, smoothies, fountain sodas and more for just $59.99 USD^ per day ($68.99 per day with a 15% service charge included). There are also non-alcoholic and coffee packages available.

View full terms & conditions.Item #0531

$59.99

per person/

per day*

$68.99 with service charge

[Sacto Rick]

The alcohol package is sold on embarkation day. It costs $69 per day. On our 15 day cruise to Hawaii, the cost was $1,035.00 each. (if we would have bought them)

You have to stay drunk to make it worth it in my opinion.

 

Not that there's anything wrong with that...:cool:

[skynight]

Some info

The break even is about 6 to 7 cocktails/day both port and sea days menu priced up to US$12. More if you drink beers and straight whiskey.

Must be purchased for all days of the voyage.

US$12 covers around 95% of all alcoholic beverages offered.

Maximum alcoholic drinks per day is 15, no carryover.

Package can not be shared, except for discounted bottles of wine.

[mom2griff]

You can also pre-purchase the PBP from the Princess Web site when managing your booking. My family and I are sailing on the July 8th Inside Passage trip and have bought the PBP for my husband and me. We don't plan on staying drunk to make the package worthwhile. While we will have our fair share of alcoholic drinks, the specialty coffees/lattes (I need real coffee in the morning!), bottled waters, fresh juices, sodas, milkshakes, etc., that are included in the package should make it worth the cost--for us. I've read both the pros and cons on these boards, and some people seem to be very strong in their opinions. We're not frequent cruisers, so even if we don't break even, I think that the convenience of not having to pay for each individual beverage will make our trip feel more like the once-in-a-lifetime vacation that it is for us, and we'll be more relaxed and enjoy ourselves more.

[voljeep]

Solid answer about reason to buy. it's a 'beverage package' that includes alcohol.

 

And note - Princess does NOT require all adult passengers in the same cabin to buy the package. but - NO SHARING ;p

[Todd320]

The PBP doesn't include can sodas or big bottles of water. With the price increase and more restrictions it is not cost effective for us.

 

We actually bought the PBP's on two 10 day cruises this winter and did not buy them for our last two cruises this season. We only had a bar bill of $600 total( did not hold back) on each cruise, so we saved $700 a cruise by not getting the PMP. We have several cruises left with the old sip & sail and that is the only way we would do it going forward. That assumes they will run the promotion again and in the same way (no increase fares ).

[jagoffee]

IMO the removal of the can soda has lowered the value of the package. Princess’s individual drink and speciality coffees prices are very reasonable. Much less expensive than the prices on a Celebrity cruise.

I purchased the package when it was first introduced and recently had the package as part of the Sip and Sail. I personally would not pay full price for the package.

[Thrak]

We won't pay for it but had it as a perk under the Sip and Sail promo for our last two cruises. 28 days and 14 days with the PBP for both of us. I think my wife got up to 8 (alcoholic) drinks a few times but loved being able to get her lattes and such. We also snagged bottles of water each when going ashore. I hit my limit a couple of times but it was not common. I would usually also snag a San Pellegrino before going to bed each night. Normally I drink the fresh brewed coffee from IC but it wasn't all that great for some reason on our last cruise. I think I had more lattes on the 14 day cruise than in my entire life before that cruise. A few times I ordered a large vanilla latte and asked them to leave a little room at the top of the cup and then stepped next door and had a shot of Jameson's added. Pretty darn good. :)

 

While the package doesn't "allow" the purchase of more than one drink at a time I was served doubles many times on our last cruise. (I tend to drink Talisker straight up.) I asked one bartender how he was able to serve me doubles and he said it was "at his discretion" and that, by the second day, he knew for certain I wasn't sharing the drinks. Both Skywalker's and Wheelhouse served me doubles as a matter of course. (That's how I ended up maxing it one day. A double Talisker lasts about as long as a Tanqueray and Tonic or a Chairman of the Board. There were a few times when I had intended to order one of those but the bartender in Wheelhouse had "helpfully" poured me what she thought I wanted and I didn't bother to correct the order as the bartender was trying to be helpful.)

[JF - retired RRT]

Love the title of the thread!!

My giggle for the day.:kiss-mark:

[suekel]

You can also pre-purchase the PBP from the Princess Web site when managing your booking. My family and I are sailing on the July 8th Inside Passage trip and have bought the PBP for my husband and me. We don't plan on staying drunk to make the package worthwhile. While we will have our fair share of alcoholic drinks, the specialty coffees/lattes (I need real coffee in the morning!), bottled waters, fresh juices, sodas, milkshakes, etc., that are included in the package should make it worth the cost--for us. I've read both the pros and cons on these boards, and some people seem to be very strong in their opinions. We're not frequent cruisers, so even if we don't break even, I think that the convenience of not having to pay for each individual beverage will make our trip feel more like the once-in-a-lifetime vacation that it is for us, and we'll be more relaxed and enjoy ourselves more.

 

 

 

Well said.

[LoriPhil]

Wait - you can’t get large bottles of water with the package?

[RMMariner]

I could have drank more than my money's worth 20 years ago, but now I find there is just no way I want to drink enough to make the BP worthwhile.

 

Still, it is nice to be able order drinks without worrying about the cost. We have had the BP a couple of times on Celebrity as a perk. Quite enjoyed it.

 

I would take it as a Sip and Sail perk, but I would not buy it. Of course, the price of the cruise would probably reflect the perk.

[Thrak]

I could have drank more than my money's worth 20 years ago, but now I find there is just no way I want to drink enough to make the BP worthwhile.

 

Still, it is nice to be able order drinks without worrying about the cost. We have had the BP a couple of times on Celebrity as a perk. Quite enjoyed it.

 

I would take it as a Sip and Sail perk, but I would not buy it. Of course, the price of the cruise would probably reflect the perk.

 

Not necessarily. We booked a 28 day and a 14 day under the Sip and Sail in August 2016. The 28 day was last October and we just did the 14 day. Both cruises went up and up in price after we booked. At one point one cruise was $1,000 per person more than we paid. After final payment it finally got to a price less than we paid but only a few hundred dollars per person less and, of course, didn't include the beverage package. With both cruises we didn't end up paying any more due to the package and, also with both cruises, the price was considerably more later on and only less after final payment. I have gotten in the habit of booking about 1.5 years in advance of the cruise and have always just watched the price go up rather than down.

[mexicobob]

You can also pre-purchase the PBP from the Princess Web site when managing your booking. My family and I are sailing on the July 8th Inside Passage trip and have bought the PBP for my husband and me. We don't plan on staying drunk to make the package worthwhile. While we will have our fair share of alcoholic drinks, the specialty coffees/lattes (I need real coffee in the morning!), bottled waters, fresh juices, sodas, milkshakes, etc., that are included in the package should make it worth the cost--for us. I've read both the pros and cons on these boards, and some people seem to be very strong in their opinions. We're not frequent cruisers, so even if we don't break even, I think that the convenience of not having to pay for each individual beverage will make our trip feel more like the once-in-a-lifetime vacation that it is for us, and we'll be more relaxed and enjoy ourselves more.

 

When you receive a drink of any kind you will have to present a card to pay for it. Having paid for it in advance is irrelevant. You still have to show how the drink will be paid for. May or not be worth it.

[Thrak]

When you receive a drink of any kind you will have to present a card to pay for it. Having paid for it in advance is irrelevant. You still have to show how the drink will be paid for. May or not be worth it.

 

Not exactly true in all cases. By the second day of my last two cruises the bartenders in both Skywalker's and Wheelhouse knew my card number so I didn't have to present my card. Other servers and other venues did ask for my card but the bartender's themselves knew my number. :D

[mickrory]

I bought one on Diamond Princess Far East 2016. Worked for me but my only gripe was they ran out of my favourite NZ Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc wine so I had to drink other white wine I didn't really enjoy at dinner.

 

Guess I shouldn't have drunk all their Nobilo during week one.;)

[LoriPhil]

We received the sip/sail promo when we booked last year, which covered drinks up to $10 and 40% off a bottle of wine. The package on the Princess website now shows drinks up to $12 as being covered, with 25% off a bottle of wine. My question is whether the most current rules will be applied to our sip/sail promo package that we'll be using during our upcoming Alaska cruise, rather than the original program in place when we booked.

[voljeep]

new PBP rules will apply - $12 / 25% - 15 alcoholic drinks per 6am - 6am 'day'

[Todd320]

Not exactly true in all cases. By the second day of my last two cruises the bartenders in both Skywalker's and Wheelhouse knew my card number so I didn't have to present my card. Other servers and other venues did ask for my card but the bartender's themselves knew my number. :D

 

We are used to having the drink package and now we have transitioned to non drink package cruises except for a few Sip & Sail cruises that we have left. Regardless of if you have the package or not, once the bartenders or servers get to know you and your number then from that point you can keep the card in the pocket for your favorite venues. You gain nothing from having the package as far as convince or camraderie amogst bartenders. Our last two 10 day cruises we drank as much as we wanted and still came out ahead, about 50% of what the PBP costs. One convince we found by not having the PBP is that you can buy drinks for others which you can not do with the PBP. The other convince for not having the PBP is that you don't have the feeling of trying to get your monies worth out of the PBP. Not only for health reasons but sometimes drinking becomes a lot of work.

[Thrak]

We received the sip/sail promo when we booked last year, which covered drinks up to $10 and 40% off a bottle of wine. The package on the Princess website now shows drinks up to $12 as being covered, with 25% off a bottle of wine. My question is whether the most current rules will be applied to our sip/sail promo package that we'll be using during our upcoming Alaska cruise, rather than the original program in place when we booked.

 

We booked two cruises in August of 2016 under the Sip and Sail promo - one cruise was last October and the second one was this March. You will most definitely be under the newer PBP rules. I had no issues with it as we don't purchase bottles of wine nor do we purchase soda. We get our wine at Vines and, occasionally, at dinner in MDR. The PBP was more than sufficient for our needs. While we would never purchase the beverage package we will gladly take it as a perk.

[cruiser113]

On our last two cruises I only maybe drank one or two cocktails a day plus one glass of wine.

We have two future cruises booked with sip and sail...both TA.

Decided that maybe the S/S may not be worth it if we could get the casino rate. ( casino rate is not combinable with sip and sale) . So called to see what casino rate would be for upcoming TA cruises..... the price dropped over $1000 p/p. We lost the sip and sail but came out ahead on the cabin price.

 

So if you are eligible for casino discount....it may be worth checking out. Especially on port intensive cruises.

Husband may still purchase package on some cruises ....and we still can purchase bottles of wine for me with 25% discount.

[caribill]

One convince we found by not having the PBP is that you can buy drinks for others which you can not do with the PBP.

 

You can still buy drinks for others if you have the PBP, just by putting the costs of those drinks to your on-board account.