Cost of drinks?

[sjde]

Can anyone give me an idea of what we might spend for a glass of Pinot Grigio or a mixed drink like a Moscow Mule , Sangria or Margarita? Trying to decide if the beverage package is worth it for us.

We’ll be on the Brilliance, if that makes a difference.

[Clarea]

Basic well drinks are around $9. Fancy (upper shelf, blender, frozen) drinks run $12-$14. Wine starts at $8 per glass and goes way up. Add 18% for tip.

[sjde]

Does the bill come with the 18% tip added in?

[MrSnarkyPants]

Mixed drinks are $12-13 each. Wines are in the same neighborhood. I don't remember the beers because they charge too much to drink crappy beer on board.

[MrSnarkyPants]

Does the bill come with the 18% tip added in?

 

The 18% is added to the total of the bar bill.

 

 

If you order the package, you pay the 18% on the package price.

[Grandma Dazzles]

Mixed drinks are $12-13 each. Wines are in the same neighborhood. I don't remember the beers because they charge too much to drink crappy beer on board.

 

Disagree with your prices. I think you are on the high side.

 

Beer is $6 and up; basic mixed drinks are $8-10; blender drinks $12-14; wine $8-9 and up. All prices have an additional 18% automatic trip.

[little britain]

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Outrageous prices! Honestly...if you're at a sporting event for 3 hours, you expect to pay those prices...but when you're a captive audience for an entire week, it's gouging...pure and simple.

[MrSnarkyPants]

Disagree with your prices. I think you are on the high side.

 

I like to drink the good stuff. If I'm buying a drink I usually don't order well drinks or house wine.

 

 

I have watered my lawn with Miller Lite.

[jpcello]

Can anyone give me an idea of what we might spend for a glass of Pinot Grigio or a mixed drink like a Moscow Mule , Sangria or Margarita? Trying to decide if the beverage package is worth it for us.

We’ll be on the Brilliance, if that makes a difference.

 

My sister and I are primarily wine drinkers. We always bring the two bottles of wine we're allowed. We may order a bloody mary or margarita over the course of the cruise (I like a bloody mary late morning sitting by the pool), but I try to seek out happy hour specials (BOGO or discounts at certain time of day). We also don't hesitate to order wine when we run out. I was just looking at the beverage package for my upcoming cruise and have again decided against it.

[MrSnarkyPants]

Outrageous prices! Honestly...if you're at a sporting event for 3 hours, you expect to pay those prices...but when you're a captive audience for an entire week, it's gouging...pure and simple.

 

Considering how competitive the cruise market is, they all have to be operating on a razor thin margin on the fare and making up for that on food and beverage.

[MrSnarkyPants]

I was just looking at the beverage package for my upcoming cruise and have again decided against it.

 

I think most people would save money overall without the package unless they never got off the ship. Every time I do the numbers, I decide to just set a beverage budget per day and stick to it instead, because I'd rather get off the ship for those 8 hours and explore the ports, and we tend to book long cruises that are port-heavy.

 

 

For a 3-4 day cruise where you spend more time on the ship than off, that's where the package makes sense.

[not-enough-cruising]

 

 

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Most helpful post to this thread!

 

Thanks!!

 

 

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[not-enough-cruising]

Outrageous prices! Honestly...if you're at a sporting event for 3 hours, you expect to pay those prices...but when you're a captive audience for an entire week, it's gouging...pure and simple.

 

 

 

It all depends on your perspective, for me these prices are almost in line with what I pay for a night out in my hometown.

 

 

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[gerif]

Outrageous prices! Honestly...if you're at a sporting event for 3 hours, you expect to pay those prices...but when you're a captive audience for an entire week, it's gouging...pure and simple.

Don’t know where you live but those are average prices here.

[josumello]

Most helpful post to this thread!

 

Thanks!!

 

 

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I think the house wine was $8 on the Allure in January. It was Twisted Tree.

 

 

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[Grandma Dazzles]

Outrageous prices! Honestly...if you're at a sporting event for 3 hours, you expect to pay those prices...but when you're a captive audience for an entire week, it's gouging...pure and simple.

 

Cruise ship prices are very similar to what most people pay at home in a restaurant or club. You often post this same comment, and it makes no sense. You must be visiting smaller, local bars, VFW, Legion, etc., which is fine, but it's not the norm. Sorry, but I live in an area known for its drinking, and I find prices to be competitive and not really that much higher.

[jpcello]

I think most people would save money overall without the package unless they never got off the ship. Every time I do the numbers, I decide to just set a beverage budget per day and stick to it instead, because I'd rather get off the ship for those 8 hours and explore the ports, and we tend to book long cruises that are port-heavy.

 

 

For a 3-4 day cruise where you spend more time on the ship than off, that's where the package makes sense.

 

Even if we stay on the ship on port days, I just can't drink that much alcohol!

[rukkian]

Cruise ship prices are very similar to what most people pay at home in a restaurant or club. You often post this same comment, and it makes no sense. You must be visiting smaller, local bars, VFW, Legion, etc., which is fine, but it's not the norm. Sorry, but I live in an area known for its drinking, and I find prices to be competitive and not really that much higher.

 

Agreed, seems allot of people feel they should be able to get drinks for the same cost they would at the supermarket, just to be nice. Any vacation spot you go to will have the same (or higher prices) as on the ship.

 

I would much rather have higher drink prices, since it is optional, and you can bring on 2 bottles of wine, then have the cruise itself be higher.

[rukkian]

Even if we stay on the ship on port days, I just can't drink that much alcohol!

 

It all depends on what you drink, since frozen drinks are ~$13. My wife is not a heavy drinker, but can easily drink 3 drinks in one day and not really even be buzzed. If you are going to get the refreshment, then the extra $30 per day is easy to account for with frozen drinks.

[SeeTheSeas18]

Even if we stay on the ship on port days, I just can't drink that much alcohol!

 

The value for a lot of us isn’t just the alcohol.

 

On our upcoming transatlantic, I can get the refreshment package for $18/day on sale. For that, I can drink fresh squeezed orange juice, bottles of water (especially fabulous for the few port days we do have), fresh juices and smoothies at the vitality cafe, and specialty coffees - I love lattes and chais. By the time you have higher quality orange juice and a coffee or two in the morning and grab a bottle or two of water for those port days where it’s harder to get your value, it’s already close to that $18, and you’re not even back on the ship yet for a fresh squeezed celery-cucumber-ginger-whatever juice to cool you off when you get back from port, or a cappuccino or chai with dessert. And also not taking virgin cocktails into account.

 

From there, it’s $42/day for the alcohol package on the sale we found. That’s only $24/day more, or two alright glasses of wine with dinner, or a glass of wine with dinner and a cocktail at the show. I don’t think most people would say that’s a ton of alcohol.

 

It’s really up to the individual. I like being able to get a new drink if I left mine unattended. I like being able to get a coffee without the extra expense. Sure, I’d drink fewer alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks if I didn’t have the package. I would think about the cost of something and whether I really needed it. But with it, I can get what I want to have. It might be a LITTLE more money over what I’d spend otherwise, but it goes a long way to making things feel far more all inclusive.

[MrSnarkyPants]

Agreed, seems allot of people feel they should be able to get drinks for the same cost they would at the supermarket, just to be nice. Any vacation spot you go to will have the same (or higher prices) as on the ship.

 

Unless you're drinking in the Caymans, where 2 orders of fish & chips and 2 lemon drop martinis set us back USD$100 last time... Most places we've drank in port have been more reasonable.

 

 

When it comes to mixed and frozen drinks, the primary difference between on board and what you find on land is the ship will pour much more mixer than hooch.

[sdear]

I like to drink the good stuff. If I'm buying a drink I usually don't order well drinks or house wine.

 

 

I have watered my lawn with Miller Lite.

 

 

That made me LOL ;p

[MrSnarkyPants]

That made me LOL ;p

 

True story. We had two cases of the stuff left over from a party and I just can't bring myself to drink that swill (and apparently my friends didn't either which is why I had 2 cases). We were in the middle of a drought and they had water restrictions in place. So I watered the lawn with lousy beer.

[rukkian]

Unless you're drinking in the Caymans, where 2 orders of fish & chips and 2 lemon drop martinis set us back USD$100 last time... Most places we've drank in port have been more reasonable.

 

 

When it comes to mixed and frozen drinks, the primary difference between on board and what you find on land is the ship will pour much more mixer than hooch.

 

A third world country and a cruise ship are not the same thing. I would not actually trust drinking a frozen drink in many of the ports personally.

 

Neither my wife nor myself has ever had a problem with too little liquor in a frozen drink onboard.