Do I have to buy a drinks package.

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

The only disadvantage of ship's water is that because it's stored in tanks rather than from underground pipes or springs it's not particularly cold. No problem in public areas - plenty of ice machines. In your cabin put some in the fridge or ask your steward for a bucket of ice.

 

Coffee from the public urns is hit-and-miss, usually miss 🤮.  If you want to know how bad it can be try it at about 3 am 🤣🤣🤣. Sometimes decaf is DIY sachets, sometimes we bring our own jar of instant, usually we switch to tea, very rarely do we pay extra for a good cup. 

 

JB 🙂

 

We have learned to carry refillable water bottles.   We fill them up on the lido deck.   Mrs Ldubs is adept at pouring from a glass to the narrow opening of our water bottles.  My aim isn't near as good.  Haha.  

 

I spend a fair amount of time outdoors and was a big user of disposable plastic water bottles -- bought them by the case.  Now I pack larger containers for dispensing water.   It isn't near as convenient and it took some getting used to but I can't remember the last time we bought plastic water bottles.   

 

The public coffee -- that stuff at the Princess coffee pumps is the worst, IMO.  

[K32682]

My issue with the drinks package is it incentivizes alcohol consumption and the break even point is most often greater than I would consume in a day even on vacation. Secondly, the packages generally only cover well drinks, non-premium beers and the onboard equivalent of house wine. If you prefer better wines, premium spirits and craft beer you have to pay over and above. I'd rather drink what I want when I want it than be tied to a package that limits my options. 

[wowzz]

On 10/16/2022 at 4:21 PM, ldubs said:

 

I believe that.  And actually, on our last cruise I showed nothing to make onboard purchases.  They see my ID just from my being in proximity.  I don't know the name of the technology other than that "thingy" they gave me.  lol.  

I think you are referring to the Princess medallion.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, K32682 said:

My issue with the drinks package is it incentivizes alcohol consumption and the break even point is most often greater than I would consume in a day even on vacation

Break even on Princess is three alcoholic drinks a day (approximately) so I've broken even by lunch time !

[ldubs]

48 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think you are referring to the Princess medallion.

 

Yep.  What I didn't say very well is I meant I don't know how the chip or whatever it is transmits my info.  

[AKGOFF]

Apologies for my very late reply but thanks to all who advised, very much appreciated.

I think I am going to buy the drinks package purely so it's one less cost I'll have at the end of the cruise.

 

Adam

 

[SPacificbound]

On 10/6/2022 at 1:35 PM, AKGOFF said:

Hi,

 

As per title please, do I have to buy a drinks package or can I just buy drinks as and when we would like one?

We are sailing on RC Harmony in April 23 if that makes a difference.

 

Apologies if this has been asked before but I’m pretty thick when it comes to forums and have no idea how to look for it!!

 

Thankyou

 

Adam

Think about what you and 

[SPacificbound]

1 minute ago, SPacificbound said:

Think about what you and 

Oops, keyboard problem....   Think about what you and others cruising with you normally like to drink. Soda, smoothies, juice, bottled water, tea, coffee drinks, etc. There is a package that covers all of these. It's been awhile but I think it's 'refreshment package' or something like that. There are no free drinks onboard other then the water coming out of the faucet. If you are on a port intensive cruise and will be off the ship on port days, it probably wouldn't pay to get the package, however if you have a lot of sea days it may be something to look at. Whatever you decide, just enjoy!  Enjoy the beautiful sea and sky, look off at that horizon, pure peace.

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, SPacificbound said:

There are no free drinks onboard other then the water coming out of the faucet.

Apart from tea and coffee, and orange juice at breakfast !

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Apart from tea and coffee, and orange juice at breakfast !

And lemonade, iced tea, other juices, milks, breakfast smoothies.......

[mcollins3549]

On 10/10/2022 at 5:50 PM, Capt_BJ said:

at the present time the RCL cruise I have booked for next moth has the drink pac at $75 (plus qratuity) a day per person

 

even at 4 drinks a day that's STEEP ... you must buy for all in your group/room

 

on the other hand a different cruise I have booked offers a 'drink pak' for $20 a day 😁

Also - does RCL require BOTH people/ALL people in the cabin buy the drink package if one person buys it??   THAT is something to consider also.  VERY expensive with grats on top of cost. 

[wcook]

I really enjoy having a drinks package. It’s nice on vacation to just get a drink without having to debate if I really want to spend the money on one more drink today. That said, several lines have priced their drink packages so high there’s no way I’m paying that. 

[wcook]

1 hour ago, mcollins3549 said:

Also - does RCL require BOTH people/ALL people in the cabin buy the drink package if one person buys it??   THAT is something to consider also.  VERY expensive with grats on top of cost. 

Yes, although if one person in the cabin has a medical/person reason to avoid alcohol you can usually call and have them downgraded to a no alcohol package. 

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, wcook said:

I really enjoy having a drinks package. It’s nice on vacation to just get a drink without having to debate if I really want to spend the money on one more drink today. That said, several lines have priced their drink packages so high there’s no way I’m paying that. 

 

Even if you are spending more for the convenience of the package?   I have no problem ordering what I want on an a la carte basis.  Admittedly, I don't think I could drink enough to justify one of those packages.   One one cruise line we get four free drinks each per day.  We cannot even use those much less a drink package on top.   

[John Bull]

On some cruise ships (Royal Caribbean?) it's possible to buy a drinks package part-way thro the cruise at the same per diem cost. So you can monitor the cost for a few days before deciding whether to buy a package. Must be done a minimum number of days (4?) before the end of the cruise and must be for all of the rest of the cruise.

Anyone know if that's still available?

 

All the folk that I know who've bought a package have made damned sure that they got value out of it 🍹🍺🍷 🍷🍺🍹🍹🍺🍷🍷🍺🍷🍷🍺🍹🍹🍺🍺 😏

 

JB 🙂