RichRe01

Hi Bmac; OH, fear not... haven't forgotten gratuities; especially when I RACED to pay them (base gratuities) after finding out about the impending increase recently. In fact your calculations are the crux of the issue ;;.. I'm going to pay $16.50 every time I have a cocktail?? That's crazy highway robbery. Ya' know, I might have an $8 beer once in awhile...oh sorry $9.40 beer. Incidentally, looks like the D. Bev. Package for my sailing has once again dropped from the 50% off of 1 person to 30% off both ($72.99/day):

Good morning SpeedNoodles; My understanding is.. that to do that...I might have a problem buying any alcoholic drinks Ala carte if my cabin-mate has the Deluxe package and I don't. Pretty sure I'd like to drink SOME liquor;; just not $600 worth over 7 days.

Hi TX; Yeah well, not saying I agree with how RC plays all of this out but, thanks for giving me a better visual (having never been on one of these before). I'm sure the expense of an Icon Of The Seas base price somewhat justifies a bigger package discount. And though I do believe we did well with the base discounts on THIS cruise (booking far in advance), I think Ala carte will be the way for me.

Hi SpeedNoodles; Yeah, lookin' like ala carte may be it. Even if I do drink, say, more than 4 drinks per day, I'm sure at least one of them would be an $8 beer. As I mentioned, haven't seen anything lower than 30% discount for my sailing ( ..yes, we'd get the J.R. shakes in our package). Sadly, I'm creating a big disadvantage for my roommate...who would likely benefit from the package. Puts me in a bit of a spot.

Hi Vasilii; Yes, well for mine its back to the $77.99 as of a few days ago. Haven't seen my sailing's bev. package below $72.99.

Hey TX; Thanks for your insight! As (somewhat) rationale as that sounds, its still ridiculously egregious. I mean the package is priced per day, not by number of days. Why would I drink anymore per day than anyone with less days at sea? And most every one of these sailings have time off of the boat in ports or excursions, so sea time can't really differ all that much; so still can't justify a sailing like mine not qualifying for 35% off. Wow; haven't even boarded yet (my first cruise) and RC leaving me very bad-taste-in-the-mouth-ish feeling . The idea that its a newer boat doesn't cut it either...correct me if I'm wrong but, somewhere on these boards I thought I read an Icon of The Seas sailing got the 35% discount. But yes, I know those are far more expensive sailings to begin with......

Hi everyone; I was wondering about this pricing also...I've booked a 7-day with family on the Anthem of The Seas this month. In the past six months I've perused this board and seen OTHER cruises and/or specific boats where this package gets down to somewhere in the $65-$67/day range (which I'm assuming is in line with this aforementioned 35% off Margarita Day sale) and this lasts one or two days. I've even seen someone post a picture of a sale price in this range, physically written up on a sign, and advertised as they entered the ramp to board their cruise. For some reason, the one we've booked NEVER gets to this price; (only as low as $72.99 as someone else posted: PRETTY CONSISTENTLY). We've been monitoring the RC site pretty closely and did not see the 35% discount for our sailing on Margarita Day. As someone else ALSO posted, I feel that for a longer cruise, $73 or $78/day is overpriced and a waste, but could be O.K. for shorter sailings. Has anyone ever seen ANY Anthem of The Seas cruise going to the Bahamas lower than $72.99/day? Seems ridiculous if lots of these cruises are visiting similar locations during the same seasons, yet receive different discounts.