Deluxe Beverage Package

[Miloomar]

2 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

 I’m on the Oasis in March and I don’t see the same deal. How come?

 

Bc March is full of spring break college kids and there is no incentive for Royal to lower the price. Hell you should be happy you're getting it as cheap as you are. Supply/Demand 

[CruisingHogFan]

1 minute ago, Miloomar said:

 

Bc March is full of spring break college kids and there is no incentive for Royal to lower the price. Hell you should be happy you're getting it as cheap as you are. Supply/Demand 

Our cruise in March price is no different than our other cruises we have booked throughout the year 

 

We have also cruised every spring break over the last few years and have never noticed any more college kids than all the other sailings we do…. 
 

[footzz]

19 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

I have a cruise on the Oasis in March (Western Caribbean). I purchased the drink package for $72.99 BOGO 50% off before the Black Friday deals. I have checked the website every day and that price has not gone lower. What kind of racket is RCI pulling?

The racket is 'dynamic-pricing' and RCL is the only main stream cruise line that uses dynamic pricing for beverage packages. You can thank former American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall for pioneering the development of yield-management (now called dynamic pricing) pricing concepts.

[not-enough-cruising]

18 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

No, I get that. That was the best price I had seen before the Black Friday deals which was no different from what I purchased. It then went back up to its normal price and currently I see it as $72.99 BOGO 50% off. You always have to price everything out to see if the deal is really a deal. Is it cheaper to go    “a la carte” or buy the on-sale package. Where I’m coming from is Crazy4Cruisin225 is sailing on the Oasis in a couple of weeks and sees a New Year’s sale for $67.99. I’m on the Oasis in March and I don’t see the same deal. How come?

It’s called dynamic pricing 

[nasa1974]

footzz and not-enough-cruising, Thank you.  Should be illegal.

[not-enough-cruising]

12 minutes ago, nasa1974 said:

footzz and not-enough-cruising, Thank you.  Should be illegal.

Illegal? 
why?

[Sparetiming]

23 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

I have a cruise on the Oasis in March (Western Caribbean). I purchased the drink package for $72.99 BOGO 50% off before the Black Friday deals. I have checked the website every day and that price has not gone lower. What kind of racket is RCI pulling?

🤑

[ccletzgo]

Our navigator cruise last month we opted for NO drink package.  I wanted to put it to a test with our 4 ea. diamond drinks a day.   I told myself I would not do anything different.  I sent back a drink I didn't like.  I ordered what I wanted the entire cruise.   I did order the bottled water case delivered to our state room.    We stayed on the ship the entire week.  We were sure to tell servers that we are paying when we order a beer vs a fancy drink we told them to use our vouchers.  We also took advantage of the BOGO beer and wine. I was shocked! 

After the test, lets just say, I'll never buy a drink package again.  We came out WAY ahead and didn't change our consumption.  We did cruise as a couple alone and I know hubby drinks more with friend pressure.  But we came out so far ahead even cruising in a group I would never buy it. 

[ccletzgo]

3 minutes ago, ccletzgo said:

Our navigator cruise last month we opted for NO drink package.  I wanted to put it to a test with our 4 ea. diamond drinks a day.   I told myself I would not do anything different.  I sent back a drink I didn't like.  I ordered what I wanted the entire cruise.   I did order the bottled water case delivered to our state room.    We stayed on the ship the entire week.  We were sure to tell servers that we are paying when we order a beer vs a fancy drink we told them to use our vouchers.  We also took advantage of the BOGO beer and wine. I was shocked! 

After the test, lets just say, I'll never buy a drink package again.  We came out WAY ahead and didn't change our consumption.  We did cruise as a couple alone and I know hubby drinks more with friend pressure.  But we came out so far ahead even cruising in a group I would never buy it. 

AND of course we walked off the ship on the last morning with 3 each vouchers tossed. We each had one bloody mary the last morning. 

[queenschick9b]

33 minutes ago, ccletzgo said:

Our navigator cruise last month we opted for NO drink package.  I wanted to put it to a test with our 4 ea. diamond drinks a day.   I told myself I would not do anything different.  I sent back a drink I didn't like.  I ordered what I wanted the entire cruise.   I did order the bottled water case delivered to our state room.    We stayed on the ship the entire week.  We were sure to tell servers that we are paying when we order a beer vs a fancy drink we told them to use our vouchers.  We also took advantage of the BOGO beer and wine. I was shocked! 

After the test, lets just say, I'll never buy a drink package again.  We came out WAY ahead and didn't change our consumption.  We did cruise as a couple alone and I know hubby drinks more with friend pressure.  But we came out so far ahead even cruising in a group I would never buy it. 

I just made Diamond after my Christmas week cruise and of course booked a cruise on the ship for this summer.  Can I ask you two question about the 4 drinks -- can I use them any time of day?  Do you think if i have the refreshment package (non-alcholic) they will try to use the free drinks if I use my card to get a virgin bloody mary, etc, so I'll probably need to say something right, like don't use my free drink for that? 

[footzz]

14 minutes ago, queenschick9b said:

Can I use them any time of day?

 

Do you think if i have the refreshment package (non-alcholic) they will try to use the free drinks if I use my card to get a virgin bloody mary, etc, so I'll probably need to say something right, like don't use my free drink for that? 

Yes and yes.  And, you should always tell the server whether you want them to use a drink coupon or the beverage package.

[queenschick9b]

@footzz Thank you! I'm not cruising until August, but I'm very excited because 4 drinks is probably the perfect number for me, but I need my coffees/milkshake and have a diet coke problems, so I'll still get refreshment because I definitely got my money's worth on that last month! 

[twinmommy08]

3 hours ago, queenschick9b said:

@footzz Thank you! I'm not cruising until August, but I'm very excited because 4 drinks is probably the perfect number for me, but I need my coffees/milkshake and have a diet coke problems, so I'll still get refreshment because I definitely got my money's worth on that last month! 

This is what we do. We buy the refreshment only and use our credits for alcohol. Between the coffee, non-alcoholic fruity drinks, soda, and bottled water we more than make up for it. 

[Ocean Boy]

5 hours ago, queenschick9b said:

@footzz Thank you! I'm not cruising until August, but I'm very excited because 4 drinks is probably the perfect number for me, but I need my coffees/milkshake and have a diet coke problems, so I'll still get refreshment because I definitely got my money's worth on that last month! 

You do know that you will be able to get specialty coffee in the Diamond Lounge with no charge, right?

[Tree_skier]

6 hours ago, ccletzgo said:

Our navigator cruise last month we opted for NO drink package.  I wanted to put it to a test with our 4 ea. diamond drinks a day.   I told myself I would not do anything different.  I sent back a drink I didn't like.  I ordered what I wanted the entire cruise.   I did order the bottled water case delivered to our state room.    We stayed on the ship the entire week.  We were sure to tell servers that we are paying when we order a beer vs a fancy drink we told them to use our vouchers.  We also took advantage of the BOGO beer and wine. I was shocked! 

After the test, lets just say, I'll never buy a drink package again.  We came out WAY ahead and didn't change our consumption.  We did cruise as a couple alone and I know hubby drinks more with friend pressure.  But we came out so far ahead even cruising in a group I would never buy it. 

This was my experience on our last two cruises since making Diamond.  It works especially well for us since DW will only order 1 Latte in the morning and 1 Daiquiri Mocktail in the afternoon.  That leaves me with two of hers to consume on top of my four.  I definitely came out ahead paying cash for my less expensive drinks like beer and cider and using the vouchers on the $14 beverages.

[Tree_skier]

37 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

You do know that you will be able to get specialty coffee in the Diamond Lounge with no charge, right?

That only works for folks who don't want flavoring in their lattes.  I'm good with that but DW always wants Caramel or Vanilla or Mocha so she always ends up at 270 of Cafe Promenade.  If they'd start laying out flavoring in the Diamond lounge I'd really have it made...

[Ocean Boy]

3 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

That only works for folks who don't want flavoring in their lattes.  I'm good with that but DW always wants Caramel or Vanilla or Mocha so she always ends up at 270 of Cafe Promenade.  If they'd start laying out flavoring in the Diamond lounge I'd really have it made...

When I want some flavoring I just get a packet of hot chocolate powder and mix it into the coffee.

[YadaYadaJodi]

So has anyone tried this scenario...

Platinum so no vouchers involved.

Refreshment Pkg.

Say you want a regular Lava Flow with alcohol. Can you order a mocktail one with Refreshment pkg with a shot of rum on the side for say ~$10 total instead of $14?

If so, how likely is bartender to just go ahead & mix it for you? Extra tip included. 😉

[Mum2Mercury]

21 hours ago, ccletzgo said:

AND of course we walked off the ship on the last morning with 3 each vouchers tossed. We each had one bloody mary the last morning. 

You could have taken 3 bottles of water each for your trip, right?  Not a great value for your vouchers, but still better than throwing them away?  

Another alternative might be to buy Bloody Marys or Iced Coffees for strangers in the MDR with you ... doesn't help you, but certainly would make someone's last cruise morning nice.

[Guest moe46]

16 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

You do know that you will be able to get specialty coffee in the Diamond Lounge with no charge, right?

My  first time being diamond.  What coffee options are in the diamond lounge? I bought the coffee card for my cruise on Explorer leaving Saturday but now I'm wondering if I need it.

[Ocean Boy]

8 minutes ago, moe46 said:

My  first time being diamond.  What coffee options are in the diamond lounge? I bought the coffee card for my cruise on Explorer leaving Saturday but now I'm wondering if I need it.

Cappuccino, espresso, Americano, latte, and maybe something that I'm forgetting.You operate the machine and can make combinations. It also dispenses hot and steamed milk. Hot chocolate powder is also available (usually) if you want to add it.

 

If for some reason you still want the card you could always purchase it on board. 

[Guest moe46]

31 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Cappuccino, espresso, Americano, latte, and maybe something that I'm forgetting.You operate the machine and can make combinations. It also dispenses hot and steamed milk. Hot chocolate powder is also available (usually) if you want to add it.

 

If for some reason you still want the card you could always purchase it on board. 

Thanks! I just canceled my coffee card 

[DaKahuna]

5 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

You could have taken 3 bottles of water each for your trip, right?  Not a great value for your vouchers, but still better than throwing them away?  

Another alternative might be to buy Bloody Marys or Iced Coffees for strangers in the MDR with you ... doesn't help you, but certainly would make someone's last cruise morning nice.

 

 Another alternative, and my favorite, is a couple of shots of Bailey's to go with a carafe of coffee  while waiting to depart the ship.  

 Since we are normally headed straight to the airport we do not normally take bottles of water off the ship. 

 

[dateacher]

I'm going on my first RCCL cruise in 25 years and my head hurts from all of these posts.  Taking 6 adults in April and just couldn't worry about the bill at the end so I bought the package. Don't want the same shock I had on our Disney cruise.  I know Celebrity costs more but I love not having to think about drinks, wifi and tips.

 

[Fouremco]

On 12/28/2022 at 6:45 PM, jmom2004 said:

Being from Canada, the DBP is usually top of our list of pre-purchase items - the shipboard prices are in USD and cruise planner is CAD - so there is a savings for us for sure.  We are not heavy drinkers but don't want to be thinking about prices while we are vacationing.  The price is higher than previous cruises but we're not surprised as prices have gone up for everything.  

It's been quite a number of years since we cruised with RCI, and I don't recall the pricing structure when I previously purchased the DBP. I assume that they take the USD DBP price and convert it to CAD, although perhaps with a slightly better exchange rate than offered by credit card companies. Is this the saving you mention?