Royal Caribbean drink package - to buy or not to buy?

[letscutitout]

Does anyone know the price of ONE non-alcoholic frozen drink on Allure of the Seas?

I'm trying to figure out if the refreshment package is worth the cost for me?

 

Thank you for your help!

 

 

[rtazz17]

Nothings cheap drink wise. My wife got the refreshment package. I believe it was 21.00 a day when she got it for our upcoming cruise. No brainer. 3 drinks,whether its a specialty coffee,bottle of water,or orange juice you are over 21.00 dollars for the day. Non alcohol frozen drinks arent much cheaper then with alcohol. Wanna say about 10.00 if I remember right. Plus you can just try things you have never had. If you dont like it,toss it. Imo worth it if its around 20ish a day.

[Biker19]

29 minutes ago, letscutitout said:

I'm trying to figure out if the refreshment package is worth the cost for me?

Both that and the deluxe package break even point is about 5 drinks.

[brillohead]

From past experience, a virgin daiquiri or margarita or the like was in the $6-$8 range.  

[brillohead]

5 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Both that and the deluxe package break even point is about 5 drinks.

 

It depends on what they're charging for the Refreshment -- when it's $30/day, then 5 drinks would be about right, but when it's closer to $20/day, it's more like 3-4 drinks.

[ray985]

This calculator helps determine if it's worth it. It has the average drink costs based on the recent sailings. 

https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator

[YankeesFan4Life]

19 minutes ago, ray985 said:

This calculator helps determine if it's worth it. It has the average drink costs based on the recent sailings. 

https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator

At that rate I’m in for a $550 refund from them!!!!  It definitely pays to get the drink package!

[time4u2go]

13 hours ago, rtazz17 said:

No brainer. 3 drinks,whether its a specialty coffee,bottle of water,or orange juice you are over 21.00 dollars for the day.

Three bottles of water costs more than $21? 😮

[Dajbman22]

3 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Three bottles of water costs more than $21? 😮

 

I believe the water bottles are currently ~$4 so if bottled water is the only NA beverage you want it's not worth it, but if you like specialty coffee, virgin drinks, and/or smoothies, 3-4 total drinks between those types (not to mention soda) will break $21.

[Jasukkie]

I like the refreshment package if the price is right. I've gotten it as low as $18/day. The fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast is really nice. It's also really convenient picking up water bottles throughout the day. I don't like the sugar in the menu cocktails/mocktails so my main bar beverage is a modified virgin mojito, just mint, lime, and seltzer, very refreshing. Or seltzer and cranberry juice. I'm not sure what they would charge for those without the package, probably around $5-6? If I don't have the package I stick with tap water and bring those tea sachets for water bottles. Bottom line, $18 is a buy for me, $26 is not. 

[karmamule]

We bias towards getting drink packages if only to prevent ourselves from constantly second-guessing and self-limiting because the amount we're drinking each day is going to exceed what it would have cost for the drinks package. 

 

While I suspect it more than pays for itself regardless, just removing that worry about "how much am I spending on drinks?" thanks to having a fixed cost is worth it.

 

 

 

[smwg]

If you are not sailing before December, you might find a deal on Black Friday.  I did that a couple of years ago and got a great deal on the refreshment package.  Sad thing was I never got to use it because our cruise was cancelled due to Covid. 😞  

[DCPIV]

On 7/26/2021 at 6:17 PM, letscutitout said:

Does anyone know the price of ONE non-alcoholic frozen drink on Allure of the Seas?

I'm trying to figure out if the refreshment package is worth the cost for me?

 

Thank you for your help!

 

 

 

At the current prices, purchasing a beverage package can only be a small mistake, and it may be a great bargain. 

 

Just an aside, we always get some manner of drink package because we enjoy indulging ourselves on vacation. Pay for the option today, and then don't worry about it while on board. At least, take the price calculation out of it when asking "why not?"

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, DCPIV said:

 

At the current prices, purchasing a beverage package can only be a small mistake, and it may be a great bargain. 

 

Just an aside, we always get some manner of drink package because we enjoy indulging ourselves on vacation. Pay for the option today, and then don't worry about it while on board. At least, take the price calculation out of it when asking "why not?"

A beverage package for us would be a big mistake. We drink very little and we don’t change just because we are on vacation. If we would decide to imbibe a little more, the extra cost would not be a problem no matter how much.

[smplybcause]

On 7/27/2021 at 2:59 PM, karmamule said:

We bias towards getting drink packages if only to prevent ourselves from constantly second-guessing and self-limiting because the amount we're drinking each day is going to exceed what it would have cost for the drinks package. 

 

While I suspect it more than pays for itself regardless, just removing that worry about "how much am I spending on drinks?" thanks to having a fixed cost is worth it.

 

 

 

 

I did that on the one cruise I was like do I really need the drink package? I was constantly checking my account and weighing whether I wanted to get a drink. Not fun worrying about that. I'll be getting the drink package until I hit diamond on royal - then it's an evaluation.

[VegasVic14]

On 7/27/2021 at 2:59 PM, karmamule said:

We bias towards getting drink packages if only to prevent ourselves from constantly second-guessing and self-limiting because the amount we're drinking each day is going to exceed what it would have cost for the drinks package. 

 

While I suspect it more than pays for itself regardless, just removing that worry about "how much am I spending on drinks?" thanks to having a fixed cost is worth it.

 

 

 

And on the other hand, should you "fall behind" a few drinks per day and not get your money's worth, it's not the best situation to then spend a few days drinking too much in order to get the books balanced. No one in our group wants to dedicate any day to "over drinking" just to meet that  fixed cost, but to each his own.

[MikeBayAreaCa]

1 hour ago, VegasVic14 said:

And on the other hand, should you "fall behind" a few drinks per day and not get your money's worth, it's not the best situation to then spend a few days drinking too much in order to get the books balanced. No one in our group wants to dedicate any day to "over drinking" just to meet that  fixed cost, but to each his own.

If your counting drinks and worried about breaking even the package does not make sense. I have posted before that we get it for the convenience and we also consume a great deal of non alcoholic drinks.  So for us, if the price is reasonable, three $13 drinks per day is our break even point.  Since, I believe, most people, like us,  have a few extra drinks the first few days of a cruise we could only have a drink or two the last couple of days and still break about even.    

There have been times when my wife or I ordered a drink and after the first sip didn’t like it.  Since we had the package we just ordered a different one.  If we were paying for individual drinks we probably would not do that.

 

 

 

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, MikeBayAreaCa said:

So for us, if the price is reasonable, three $13 drinks per day is our break even point.

I don't think most cruises are going to see $40 drink packages anytime soon....

[MikeBayAreaCa]

46 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I don't think most cruises are going to see $40 drink packages anytime soon....

Not sure where $40.00 came from.

 

You didn’t read my whole post.
 

 I said we drink a lot of non alcoholic drinks a day, juice, specialty coffee, soda and we each probably get six to eight bottled waters a day.  So it takes only three drinks to break even.  

 

 

[CruiseBride926]

On 7/27/2021 at 2:59 PM, karmamule said:

We bias towards getting drink packages if only to prevent ourselves from constantly second-guessing and self-limiting because the amount we're drinking each day is going to exceed what it would have cost for the drinks package. 

 

While I suspect it more than pays for itself regardless, just removing that worry about "how much am I spending on drinks?" thanks to having a fixed cost is worth it.

 

 

 

So much this. We had booked a last minute cruise with our kids and decided not to get the drink package (deluxe in this case) and my husband talked himself out of every single drink. Thankfully I don’t have that issue especially since we were saving all that money from him not drinking 😂

 

We both agreed that the drink package is completely worth it for that reason alone.

[DISFANS3]

1. Buy Drink package ahead, or buy when you walk on ship.Our last cruise in 2019, we did not buy a drink package before because of high price. Only to find out after boarding ship that was a sale on the Deluxe drink package. Thinking about the DDP now, Hope the RCI Allure will sail in Sept???

[S.A.M.J.R.]

The bottom line is it's an individual decision.  How much you THINK you'll drink, and you need to be realistic, consider port days (it's easy to get three, four, or even five drinks a day when you're at sea or on the private islands, but line up some port days and it may be more difficult), and at what cost does "convenience" factor in.  

 

As far as tasting a drink and not liking it, I've done that WITHOUT the package.  Guess what, I had a couple sips, didn't like the drink, and so I threw it away and got another.  

 

The cruise I had the drink package, I was always trying to keep an account of my drinking to make sure I was getting my monies worth.  Unless the package is at an UNBELIEVABLE price, it's not for me.  If you think it's good for you, more power to you.  But simply saying (which many seem to do) "It's great for me, you should get it too!" isn't good advice.  

[SRF]

8 hours ago, CruiseBride926 said:

So much this. We had booked a last minute cruise with our kids and decided not to get the drink package (deluxe in this case) and my husband talked himself out of every single drink. Thankfully I don’t have that issue especially since we were saving all that money from him not drinking 😂

 

We both agreed that the drink package is completely worth it for that reason alone.

 

We did the same.  Did a cruise without the package.  And questioned every drink.  We drank less (which may be a good thing), but it seemed to be less enjoyable.

 

And the convenience to not have to wait and sign a receipt and keep track of your account to see if you are being charged correctly was a PAIN.

[Ocean Boy]

11 hours ago, VegasVic14 said:

And on the other hand, should you "fall behind" a few drinks per day and not get your money's worth, it's not the best situation to then spend a few days drinking too much in order to get the books balanced. No one in our group wants to dedicate any day to "over drinking" just to meet that  fixed cost, but to each his own.

I agree. That is why it is also important to take into account the itinerary when considering a package. A port intensive itinerary where you will be off the ship a lot vs. sea days (or private stops) makes a difference.

 

I also find that my tolerance for alcohol, and even those sweet virgin drinks diminishes as the week progresses. But, as you said, to each his own.

[alexgtp]

Buy and enjoy a worry free cruise.

 

Look for the sales they have every so often.

 

I have an anthem cruise for NYE21. Price dropped $8 pp/pd. Went ahead and bought it. If it drops for BlackFriday/CyberMonday i will cancel and book the better price.