monctonguy

It's a great deal now that both people in the room dont need the package.

There are a few things they have in place to keep track of what your doing/drinking besides having the bartender/servers' watching you. Your photo comes up when they swipe your card of course. They keep track of every drink you purchase, you can only get a drink every 15 minutes....so its not really that easy to be buying or getting drinks for other.

Have I done it once or twice?...sure, but if you planned on trying to do this for a friend for a whole cruise, I am pretty sure you would be caught and out of your $.

I have never been offered it on 4 cruises so far....but they were all 4 day cruises......I have 2 more booked cruises, and those are both 4 days as well, so looks like I wont get to take advanatge of this perk....but it sounds like a good one!

Haha...I tried to tone it down and make it seem reasonable/normal.....lol.

I won't really tell you how much i put away when on these cruises.....

But to be honest, these packages are the reason why i decided to take that first cruise. I had always head horror stories about people getting off the boat with huge bar bills, so I didnt want to ever take that chance.  Being able to plan and pre-pay ahead of time is a great option and I would never cruise without a package to be honest.

Yes, if my 7 day cruise had 5 port days, I may rethink it.

That being said, even on port days, I am still usually on the ship for half the day.

Maybe I just drink alot when on a cruise and I am one of those people who the cruiselines do NOT make money off the drink package on...lol

There are some facts. For example, if you want the soda package, that alone is $6.50 a day. So that plus, 4 drinks a day(drinks range from $6-$12) each would pretty much be the break even point.

So saying unless you do nothing but drink all day and nite its not worth it is false.

It is very easy to enjoy a couple beer on the private island before lunch. Then a drink with lunch. A couple fruity drinks in the afternoon while lying in the sun. Maybe a glass of wine with dinner, and then a couple evening drinks while enjoying the show. That would be  equal to your drink package price, PLUS you dont have to sign(and tip) for each drink you get, plus that wouldnt include your soda package. Along with fact you can also get bottled water as well.

To each their own, but the peace of mind, plus the convience is well worth it for me, each and every time I cruise. I hate surprise charges at the end of my cruise, and I don't want to be having a great nite out with friends and feel like I counting every drink and the cost as the nite goes on.

Just booked the Enchantment for Nov 3-7!!..Can't wait...2 cruises in less than 3 months..love it!

Well worth the package. It can add up quickly without noticing. Unless you only expect to have 1 or 2 drinks a day and no more, its defn worth it in the long run.

ok..good to know. They are handy for sure, and while I will miss the freestyle machines, they will come in handy during the mornings when I need lots of powerade and  juice to replenish me. It is usually back in the room before lunch and not needed again untill the next morning as my drinks from then on out are all served in the  nice glasses...lol

Yeah..I found that out...:( So I am trying to think, when you want a soda or Powerade or juice etc, they give it to you in a glass or plastic cup, or do you still have a sepecial mug if you have one of the drink packages?

I also found out, that the windjammer does have an outside area to eat at the back of the boat which is awesome!

Best deals for rides from airport to port appear to be taxi....capped at a max of $25 each way.

I just booked Brilliance for Jan out of Tampa..couple of questions.

Freestyle coke machines on this one?

Is there an outside eating area at all?

You mentioned its 20-30 mins from the airport? Do you know if the hotels around the port, would offer shuttle service, or can recomend an hotel that offers free shuttle service as I will be arriving the day before my cruise.....

Thanks is advance!

Just booked Brilliance of the Seas....Jan22 out of Tampa....first time on this boat and out of Tampa...cant wait!

Sitll hoping to book Enchanment for Nov, but its not looking good so far.....

Seems confusing....purchase a drink package and no worries.....tax and tip all included in your daily package..and if your paying almost $15 for ONE martini....a $55 package seems like a no brianer to me....and eliminate the guess work and surprise at the end of the cruise!

Do they have these on all the cruise ships? I have been on 3 cruises now with RCI, and dont recall ever seeing a fridge?! All the pop/water was sitting on the top of the vanity. And I am pretty sure I opened every door in the room when I first arrived and before I left the ship.

Then again, not much I would use the fridge for really. Not about to pay for booze or soda or drinks to keep in the fridge when I have the drink pass.

Yes, i don't even use their website anymore, as it never seems to work well at all.

While i havent noticed wild swings on their site price wise.....I just notice wild prices for single travellers with RCI period!....$169 based on double occupanct becomes over $500 with taxes as solo....more than double! Would be cheaper to take someone off the street with me than to travel alone with them.

It's really too bad they do that....Carnival nor Celebrity nor NCL are as bad based on my searches...

So along with making their webesite better, maybe they could work on their pricing as well..lol

Local was cheaper in my experience.

I was also told I couldn't get it till the morning I disembarked if I bought on board.

All your drinks on Coco Cay are covered according to the package you have! So yes, you'll have all your drinks inlcuded with the Premium drink package.

Obviously the selection isn't quite the same as on the boat, but should be enough for you to choose from.

Enjoy, its a great day on the island!

My expereince as well is that on the ships I was on, there was a "cafeteria" style place located in the solarium area. It usually had some salads, soups, sandwhiches etc and quite often seemed to be open during times that the MDR or WJ wasn't open and also late in the evenings. Food was always good there.

And of course room service is 24hrs and a great option.

I thought the prices were actually pretty good. I had to use it unexpectdly and was impressed with the cost, service and how quickly it was done.

I never pay to get clothes cleaned professionally locally, but $7 for jeans and a dress shirt washed and pressed......I can handle that!

$25 for a bag?....great deal for sure

I sailed out of Port Can 3x, on 2 different ships headed to the Bahamas.

I never noticed a theme. Yes, they had the 70's/disco nite when they did a great show with staff. But to me, it seemed like there was a ride range of music played in different areas at different times during the cruise.

I can't speak for Navigator or Carnival or professional Vegas shows.....but...lol

The shows ranged of course. The "PG" shows or kids shows of course were what they were. But I also enjoyed some great comedy with a comic that actually did some shows in Vegas and on HBO and also some of the dancers etc were pretty good.

They also will have smaller shows at different venus on the boat, and RCL has some of their own shows which are veru popular like the Quest game(i think thats the name) along with a few others. Always enjoyable.

I am guessing the bigger the boat, the higher the level of shows. Ships like Allure and Oasis have broadway quality shows from my understanding.

I am sure others here will be able to give you first hand experience from Navigator.

Lots of different shuttle services. Acutally, quite a few of the hotels in Orlando have packages that includes  a shuttle their and back. To each their own.

Private taxi/shuttles arent much more expesive either for what you are getting.

Strange, as the cuises I have been on, are normally considered more party/lively cruises....4 days ones, Bahamas etc.  I do recall the cruise compass saying"late", but it wasnt my idea of late, and it wasnt for lack of people around to consume. Then again, i don't consider midnight to be late....lol

I have not been on a cruise yet where the bars stayed open all nite or waited for people to leave.

The "main" bars were closed by midnight at the latest, the only bar that stayed open would be the "disco" club in the crown and anchor lounge and that was closed by 2am at the latest, maybe earlier some nights.

No options for any drinks after that untill the morning, 10ish before the bars re-open.

I was curious for years but had heard the horror stories/rumors, plus the cost of getting to a cruise(from Canada), plus the cost once on the cruise(extras, tips and drinks!) was too much imho. So I travelled south for years and did AI's.

However, as soon as the drink packages came out, I decided to take the plunge and book a cruise. Have done 3 in the past 2 years and am ready to book my fourth.

Now that I have experienced it, I prefer it over an AI.....it's just convincing others to join me as the single supplement is killer with RCI.

Only been on 3 cruises, but all of them took cash. The card you stuck in was just to collect points for playing and prizes.

They actually had machines that only took quaters to play certain games as well......