Any Diamonds or D+ purchased Deluxe Drink Package? Were you satisfied with your purchase?

[Choozin Croozin]

I unfortunately can't drink like I used to and even then I felt like I was overindulging just to get my money's worth. My ds and dil who, in their 20's, without children, and typical drinkers of that age, felt the same way.. On sea days it's not a problem. but on port days if you go ashore, you are really having to play catch up. The drink packages used to be cheaper and I loved not having to worry about the final bill then, now, even at $68/day + sc, too much for me. I would love the convenience, but know it's just not a wise idea. I'll stick to the beverage or water package and my free drinks. (I sure hope they don't quit that) I am amazed, reading through this thread, how much some of you can drink. No judgement, just saying I would've been passed out in a corner somewhere, even in my "heyday", LOL 

[dasi11]

Between my husband and I, I think 10 drinks a day is enough from our D+.  Plus, a suite gives us happy hours in the evening.  I can't imagine even finishing the 10 drinks.  Too many calories, not to mention all the food.  

[not-enough-cruising]

The sweet spot for us has been the refreshment package and our D+ vouchers. 

[jcc1025]

We still buy the package, kind of a push depending on what kind of drinks you have. We also buy the dinner package and like to have a bottle of wine and the discound is pretty good with the package. Even though it may not same much if any I also like not getting a bill at the end of the cruise and knowing I have already paid for everything when I get on the ship. 

[Tree_skier]

On 10/28/2022 at 10:15 AM, ccletzgo said:

Diamond here.  Next cruise will be the first time I am not buying it.  With 2 of the days being embark and debark, I'm curious about the our actual cost.   I'll be testing it this cruise.  10 to 11 drinks a day to break even and port days I expect our 4 ea. diamond will do.   I am planning on ordering as usual just to compare.  Should be interesting.

This is what I did on Ovation in Aug.  It worked out cheaper for me.  Especially since I was able to use some of DW's voucher as she never used more than 3 and usually only used 2.

[Tree_skier]

On 10/28/2022 at 4:14 PM, OCVTSGIRL said:

I did purchase the drink package my first cruise being Diamond because the friend I was sailing with wasn't Diamond with.  My second cruise I also purchased it because we were a group of 10 so I knew there would be more than 4 drinks each day.  I'm wondering...being Diamond and if you purchase the drink package do they still use your 4 drink vouchers?  I assumed they didn't but maybe I'm wrong.

No, they will use the package for whatever you order.  You are free to give your diamond drinks to anyone you meet or are traveling with who doesn't have it.

[Tree_skier]

9 hours ago, Choozin Croozin said:

LOL!! Thanks for the tip. Do they have DeCaf or just regular?

 

 

This is the machine in Ovation's Diamond Lounge...

 

It offers both real and decaf coffee beans 🙂 

[whirlybird3]

On 10/28/2022 at 6:34 PM, Tlbecker1 said:

We are D+ and 5 drinks a day is good for us.  Plus our wine, we are more than taken care of each day. 

How do you claim for the five drinks?  Do you ask the bar tender to deduct the drink from your sea pass and not charge you?  Also, I can not recall how much is a mojito ... Will a mojito qualify as a complimentary drink?

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, whirlybird3 said:

How do you claim for the five drinks?  Do you ask the bar tender to deduct the drink from your sea pass and not charge you?  Also, I can not recall how much is a mojito ... Will a mojito qualify as a complimentary drink?

Yes, ask to have your perk be used and yes it covers a mojito. 

[RobInMN]

8 hours ago, whirlybird3 said:

How do you claim for the five drinks?  Do you ask the bar tender to deduct the drink from your sea pass and not charge you? 

 

6 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Yes, ask to have your perk be used and yes it covers a mojito. 

Pretty sure you don't actually have to ask. If you have drink vouchers available, they will automatically use them. Which means that if you don't want to use one (say for a bottle of water), you specifically have to tell them not to use your voucher.

Meaning that vouchers are opt-out, not opt-in.😉

[cruisin from florida]

On 10/29/2022 at 11:50 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

The sweet spot for us has been the refreshment package and our D+ vouchers. 

You beat me to it. D+ drinks for alcohol, refreshment package for the coffees, sparkling waters, and juices. 

[Cruise a holic]

Since we stay in suites and are Diamond members, we no longer take drink package.  We enjoy the free drinks in the suite lounge.  We also get the four free  alcoholic drinks when by the pool.  We take extra soda and water for our suite to drink whenever.

[Cruising89143]

Be careful, I got roasted here for making a comment on this board but for us it depends on the cruise. Last week and this week we booked a GS so we skipped the packages. We are also Prime in the casino so in all we receive drinks in the casino, suite lounge plus the daily drink vouchers. It did not make sense to purchase them but yes we have in the past and did not regret it. I just think that it’s a matter of time before the number of vouchers are reduced but that’s just my feeling. 

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, RobInMN said:

Meaning that vouchers are opt-out, not opt-in.

Until the one time they are not, and you have to go to GS to reverse the charge.

[ValerieJo]

We are D+ and find that the 5 per day works out ok for us.  We do buy the soda package as we don't drink coffee but drink pop.   We always have said if we want to have more than our allotted 5 drinks per day we would just buy them ala carte, we've never done it.

[marci22]

3 hours ago, RobInMN said:

 

Pretty sure you don't actually have to ask. If you have drink vouchers available, they will automatically use them. Which means that if you don't want to use one (say for a bottle of water), you specifically have to tell them not to use your voucher.

Meaning that vouchers are opt-out, not opt-in.😉

Not true, we were charged for a glass of wine on our last night, even though we had several vouchers left over. I would mention the vouchers every time, even to your assistant waiter who should know better...

[Another_Critic]

5 minutes ago, marci22 said:

Not true, we were charged for a glass of wine on our last night, even though we had several vouchers left over. I would mention the vouchers every time, even to your assistant waiter who should know better...

If they charge you, they should give you a receipt to sign.  At that point, you tell them to use a voucher.

 

Six cruises since restart and the only place I've told them to use the voucher was Johnny Rockets (for an adult shake) and only because there's also a 50% off coupon.  Obviously YMMV.

 

 

[marci22]

3 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

If they charge you, they should give you a receipt to sign.  At that point, you tell them to use a voucher.

 

Six cruises since restart and the only place I've told them to use the voucher was Johnny Rockets (for an adult shake) and only because there's also a 50% off coupon.  Obviously YMMV.

 

 

No receipt offered, and no idea why they charged me. If I was on the borderline of voucher usage, maybe, but I had multiple vouchers left. 

[Jimbo]

On 10/27/2022 at 12:51 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

I am currently a D and will reach D+ early next year. I am also prime in the casino and can drink free there when the casino is open. Despite this, I always buy the deluxe drink package for two reasons.
 

One, I like not having to worry about what I am spending on drinks during a cruise.

 

Second, the drink package includes a lot more than just alcohol. I usually drink 10-12 small Pellagrino waters every day and always get Pellagrino at night no matter what restaurant I am at. I also use the freestyle Coke machines daily for Diet Coke and Powerade Zero. Plus I drink my share of alcoholic drinks every day. On most days I will have 4-5 mimosas in the morning before switching to usually beer in the afternoon and stronger drinks or wine at night.

 

One other point is I only pay 18% tax on the price I pay for the drink package. Without the drink package, you are paying 18% tax per drink. Bottom line is the deluxe drink package makes financial since for me. However, that obviously doesn’t apply to everyone. 

Just wow, that's a lot of fluids.

[Tudy]

We are diamond and did not get the drink package for the last 2 cruises we were on. We said we would just pay for drinks if we drank more than 4.  However, we found we were reluctant to spend money to drink. 🙂 So we limited ourselves to 4 drinks: bloody in the morning, wine with lunch and then for the final 2, some combo of pre-dinner drink, wine with dinner, and post-dinner drink. When we cruised with friends, I found that I would have liked to have a drink package so that I didn't have to think about paying for a drink. But I knew that I would not drink enough alcohol to justify the cost. better to pay a la carte.

 

The package is really convenient.

[robtx100]

On 10/31/2022 at 11:54 AM, Jimbo said:

Just wow, that's a lot of fluids.

Jimbo, as I stated on my original post, I'm not looking for comments from "tee-totlers". Your comment here seems very judgmental, and I'm sure you would not appreciate being judged by strangers on the internet based on any comments you make. You live your life and let others live theirs without your judgment. 

[topnole]

On 10/31/2022 at 11:06 AM, Biker19 said:

Until the one time they are not, and you have to go to GS to reverse the charge.

Better to not assume.  Just tell them to bill it as a D drink or ring you up on your $tab.  Much easier than standing in a line later to fix it.  

[topnole]

On 10/31/2022 at 1:25 PM, Tudy said:

We are diamond and did not get the drink package for the last 2 cruises we were on. We said we would just pay for drinks if we drank more than 4.  However, we found we were reluctant to spend money to drink. 🙂 So we limited ourselves to 4 drinks: bloody in the morning, wine with lunch and then for the final 2, some combo of pre-dinner drink, wine with dinner, and post-dinner drink. When we cruised with friends, I found that I would have liked to have a drink package so that I didn't have to think about paying for a drink. But I knew that I would not drink enough alcohol to justify the cost. better to pay a la carte.

 

The package is really convenient.

I’ve done many cruises with and without a package.  I still don’t understand why people think the package is convenient?   
Is pulling out a card when you order inconvenient.  You have to do this either way?   
 

As far as holding back when not getting a package, I get it.  And maybe that is better for folks because it keeps you in check.  But another way to do it is just assume you already spent X$ on drinks (like you would with a package anyhow) and don’t worry when you buy a drink here or there.  If you spend an extra few hundred as a couple during the week, so be it.  Way cheaper than 70-90 a day X 2.

 

To me it doesn’t matter.  If I want a drink I’m getting a drink.  This no matter whether I bought a package or not, or whether I’m out of my D+ drinks.   Buying an extra drink or even thee after your diamond drinks are gone is nothing compared to now very expensive drink packages.  Bottom line, you gotta drink a lot to make a package worth it if D+. 

[Jimbo]

58 minutes ago, robtx100 said:

Jimbo, as I stated on my original post, I'm not looking for comments from "tee-totlers". Your comment here seems very judgmental, and I'm sure you would not appreciate being judged by strangers on the internet based on any comments you make. You live your life and let others live theirs without your judgment. 

Pretty much sounds like you answered your own question, why do you care what others think. You want unlimited drinks, go buy the package. Enjoy !

[whirlybird3]

On 10/31/2022 at 8:57 AM, Another_Critic said:

If they charge you, they should give you a receipt to sign.  At that point, you tell them to use a voucher.

 

Six cruises since restart and the only place I've told them to use the voucher was Johnny Rockets (for an adult shake) and only because there's also a 50% off coupon.  Obviously YMMV.

 

 

Wow!  I would never have though of using a voucher for a yummy shake at JR.