Drinks package/policy changes?

[AndyMichelle]

31 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

After the two cruise’s this year and the ones next year, and the one the year after we will not be using P&O again because there are to many people like us onboard.

Yeah, I wouldn't want to be in a cabin next to me😂

[mrsgoggins]

10 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

TBH if you have a drinks package, especially one like Princess Premier, then OBC becomes rather pointless.

Not at all. I received $750 OBC for my September, 31 night Canada/USA cruise (booked thanks to seeing a post by @yorkshirephil ) and we have the Princess Plus package (drinks, gratuities and internet). It has all been used on excursions booked with Princess, and more besides!  You are unable to do that on P&O currently of course, until you are on board, by which time the popular ones are likely to have been sold out.

 

Regarding another of your posts, it’s the gratuities, internet and good coffees that are the most attractive elements of the Princess package to me, not the alcohol. So I’m not at all surprised by the post that mentions the popularity of the internet package with P&O.

[Clodia]

17 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Just to confirm, this was each ingredient being put in separately, ice added and then mixed. Or was it one ingredient, ice added and then mixed. 

Each ingredient added.At the Sunset bar.

[Peter Lanky]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:53 AM, Denarius said:

I agree. I've always thought it odd that people will spend thousands of pounds to go on a cruise then go to inordinate lengths to save a few pounds onboard.

A lot of people have probably been able to afford cruises only because they have not wasted money on overpriced cruise drinks. But it's not just the overpriced cruise drinks though. The canny person will save a few pounds here and there on dozens of different things during the year, and they all add up.

 

Not everyone is blessed with a high salary to enable them to travel. Some of us have to work a bit harder at it, but if we are canny enough, we get there in the end.

 

As for the policy itself; is the overpricing of drinks and then preventing people bringing their own any different to the convenience shop owner who buys the entire stock of toilet rolls in Asda and then sells them for double the price?

 

The bottom line though is that we've only been on one P&O cruise and I found it acceptable, but not very inspiring, so I'm more likely to stick to the all inclusive cruise lines in future and forget about the price of drinks.

Edited May 7 by Peter Lanky

[yorkshirephil]

[jeanlyon]

Drinks prices on board are not much different to pub prices these days, so not sure why people think they are expensive.  The package is expensive unless you drink a lot of alcohol and soft drinks.

[Peter Lanky]

41 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Drinks prices on board are not much different to pub prices these days, so not sure why people think they are expensive.  The package is expensive unless you drink a lot of alcohol and soft drinks.

It depends on how you compare. I only drink ale at around £3 - £3.50 a pint in pubs at home, and to me the beer on board is undrinkable, so not an option. I never drink wine or Scotch outside home as it's so overpriced, so £7 for a glass of mediocre wine on a cruise is a non starter when I drink far better wine at home for £1 a glass. I'd rather just do without than pay the equivalent of £40+ for supermarket quality wine, which is what most of it is.

Edited May 7 by Peter Lanky

[Mollag]

From another forum I’ve edited out the source but that’s the third different one I’ve seen

[david63]

If that is true then there is a logic error in the policy. In the section on spirits it says "when guests first embark the ship" therefore the logic of that statement does not preclude taking spirits onboard at ports of call.

[Mollag]

8 minutes ago, david63 said:

If that is true then there is a logic error in the policy. In the section on spirits it says "when guests first embark the ship" therefore the logic of that statement does not preclude taking spirits onboard at ports of call.

P&O and logic in the same sentence 🤔😂

[jeanlyon]

1 hour ago, Peter Lanky said:

It depends on how you compare. I only drink ale at around £3 - £3.50 a pint in pubs at home, and to me the beer on board is undrinkable, so not an option. I never drink wine or Scotch outside home as it's so overpriced, so £7 for a glass of mediocre wine on a cruise is a non starter when I drink far better wine at home for £1 a glass. I'd rather just do without than pay the equivalent of £40+ for supermarket quality wine, which is what most of it is.

Wel of course you can drink for that price at home!   BUT if you go to a pub, a large glass of wine is about the same as on P&O.  You are not at home!

[happy v]

41 minutes ago, david63 said:

If that is true then there is a logic error in the policy. In the section on spirits it says "when guests first embark the ship" therefore the logic of that statement does not preclude taking spirits onboard at ports of call.

However the policy for ports is any alcohol is stored until you leave the ship 

[happy v]

Out of interest I have just checked on my P&O and the prices haven't changed yet. So anyone who would buy a drinks package can do it today. We don't. 

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Peter Lanky said:

It depends on how you compare. I only drink ale at around £3 - £3.50 a pint in pubs at home, and to me the beer on board is undrinkable, so not an option. I never drink wine or Scotch outside home as it's so overpriced, so £7 for a glass of mediocre wine on a cruise is a non starter when I drink far better wine at home for £1 a glass. I'd rather just do without than pay the equivalent of £40+ for supermarket quality wine, which is what most of it is.

You are so right. Staying at home will save a fortune.

[jeanlyon]

7 minutes ago, zap99 said:

You are so right. Staying at home will save a fortune.

Do you know I never thought of that!!

[Peter Lanky]

53 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Wel of course you can drink for that price at home!   BUT if you go to a pub, a large glass of wine is about the same as on P&O.  You are not at home!

The solution is simple:

In a pub I drink ale, the wine is usually mediocre anyway.

When at home I drink wine; all sorts of it.

On a P&O Cruise I just have a Scotch nightcap in the cabin, but looks like it's teetotal if I ever go on another, which is unlikely.

On an Azamara/Silversea/Oceania cruise I drink to my heart's content.

All options covered. 😀

[Lee Jones Jnr]

If the drinks package changes and implementation dates are correct then it does seem hugely short notice, one would expect there to be a longer notice period rather than 'with immediate effect'.

[Angel57]

On the P&O website now!

 

Each guest aged 18 years (21 years in United States of America ports) and older may bring up to 1 litre of wine, Champagne on board as they embark the ship for the first time only. Wine or Champagne over the 1 litre limit will be stored and returned to the guest prior to the end of the cruise. If this alcohol is consumed in the dining rooms, bars, restaurants or lounge areas, it will be subject to a corkage fee of £20* per bottle, per occasion which will be charged to the guest’s on-board account. Other alcohol types such spirits are considered restricted items and prohibited to bring on board when guests first embark the ship.

[Peter Lanky]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Wel of course you can drink for that price at home!   BUT if you go to a pub, a large glass of wine is about the same as on P&O.  You are not at home!

The fact that wine is a rip off in a pub doesn't make me feel better about it. At home I unscrew the lid, pour it, and after drinking I wash the glass. Somebody else doing those 3 simple tasks for me isn't worthy of a 500% price premium.

Edited May 7 by Peter Lanky

[yorkshirephil]

4 minutes ago, Peter Lanky said:

The fact that wine is a rip off in a pub doesn't make me feel better about it. At home I unscrew the lid, pour it, and after drinking I wash the glass. Somebody else doing those 3 simple tasks for me isn't worthy of a 500% price premium.

Especially when they don't even allow you to take your own wine in😄

[FatBoy20]

16 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

On the P&O website now!

 

Each guest aged 18 years (21 years in United States of America ports) and older may bring up to 1 litre of wine, Champagne on board as they embark the ship for the first time only. Wine or Champagne over the 1 litre limit will be stored and returned to the guest prior to the end of the cruise. If this alcohol is consumed in the dining rooms, bars, restaurants or lounge areas, it will be subject to a corkage fee of £20* per bottle, per occasion which will be charged to the guest’s on-board account. Other alcohol types such spirits are considered restricted items and prohibited to bring on board when guests first embark the ship.

The problem with bringing on board at Embarkation is that P&O have no control over what are in your suitcases as they do not search them as Associated British Port Security undertake this task!. So the last sentence is worthless.

[S1971]

18 minutes ago, Lee Jones Jnr said:

If the drinks package changes and implementation dates are correct then it does seem hugely short notice, one would expect there to be a longer notice period rather than 'with immediate effect'.

 

My thoughts exactly, very poor to simply announce on the day or near too the day of implementation.

 

People can continually defend them as they do, but this alongside all the other changes post covid they shouldn't be defended, they should be challenged.

 

It may not be a game changer on its own, but with everything else it's getting that way!!

[Windsurfboy]

1 hour ago, Peter Lanky said:

The solution is simple:

In a pub I drink ale, the wine is usually mediocre anyway.

When at home I drink wine; all sorts of it.

On a P&O Cruise I just have a Scotch nightcap in the cabin, but looks like it's teetotal if I ever go on another, which is unlikely.

On an Azamara/Silversea/Oceania cruise I drink to my heart's content.

All options covered. 😀

 

 

The logic  doesn't compute, you are willing to spend £1000s more on Amazara/ silversea/Oceania,  so you can save at most a £100 or so bringing own drinks

[molecrochip]

32 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

On the P&O website now!

 

Each guest aged 18 years (21 years in United States of America ports) and older may bring up to 1 litre of wine, Champagne on board as they embark the ship for the first time only. Wine or Champagne over the 1 litre limit will be stored and returned to the guest prior to the end of the cruise. If this alcohol is consumed in the dining rooms, bars, restaurants or lounge areas, it will be subject to a corkage fee of £20* per bottle, per occasion which will be charged to the guest’s on-board account. Other alcohol types such spirits are considered restricted items and prohibited to bring on board when guests first embark the ship.

I had just come on here to advise that the website had now been updated but it appears someone else beat me to it.

12 minutes ago, FatBoy20 said:

The problem with bringing on board at Embarkation is that P&O have no control over what are in your suitcases as they do not search them as Associated British Port Security undertake this task!. So the last sentence is worthless.

P&O set the restricted items list and the security teams check in line with that policy. Thats not to say that every bottle of will get found, but some will. Their higher priority is items of a terrorist/weaponry nature.

1 minute ago, S1971 said:

 

My thoughts exactly, very poor to simply announce on the day or near too the day of implementation.

 

People can continually defend them as they do, but this alongside all the other changes post covid they shouldn't be defended, they should be challenged.

 

It may not be a game changer on its own, but with everything else it's getting that way!!

 

As its not permanent confiscation of the items, there is no need to advertise in advance, unlike the liquids allowance at airports.

[Lee Jones Jnr]

9 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

My thoughts exactly, very poor to simply announce on the day or near too the day of implementation.

 

People can continually defend them as they do, but this alongside all the other changes post covid they shouldn't be defended, they should be challenged.

 

It may not be a game changer on its own, but with everything else it's getting that way!!

WELL... P&O want to change the game IMO, they are changing where the line sits in the market by offering bargain basement cruises and then recouping via extras, sort of a little more in the MSC direction.