rtread Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 I'm still trying to understand this drinks package thing. On a seven day cruise, the charge for the package is per day but you buy for the duration.....? I mean you can't buy it for 1 day or 3 days.....you buy it for 7 days? I think the part that's bothering me is Day 1 and Day 7 are not complete days but you are paying for 7 days. What am I missing here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyJoe Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 I'm new to cruising, but I think they would have to charge for every day because you will be spending at least part of the day on the ship even on port days, and some people opt to stay on the ship on the port days. I also read somewhere that the drink package extends to some of the ports that are run by RCI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 It is per night, not day. So on a 7 day cruise, it is 6 nights. Day 1 can actually become a full day. For example, we have boarded as early as 10:30/11:00 a.m. There is no 1 or 3 day package. Remember to look at it from a whole $$$ cost. Let's say you buy the refreshment package for 20 bucks. It will include sodas, coffees, and bottle water. We got our deluxe for 47 pp day. That means to break even I only have to have 2-3 drinks per day. I will easily have at least 1 drink at the pool during sea days. Than have a glass of wine at dinner. If we are hanging over dinner I will have a cappuccino and amaretto. Boom I am costing them money. The beverage package can be used at Coco Cay and Labadee, their private islands. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NS8VN Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 You buy it for the duration and by the night, which is what your cruise is sold as anyway. You can purchase it on the ship after a day or two and save those days, but since you will almost certainly find it at a discount online before the cruise you will rarely save money by skipping a day or two on the ship and buying at full price (exception is if you are Diamond level and get a discount when purchasing onboard). Don't look at it as days or anything else, just calculate your total cost for the package. Then figure out whether you would get any other package if you don't get the Deluxe package and deduct the cost of that (example: if I don't get the Deluxe then I would get the Soda, so I would figure out how much more I'm spending and use that figure in the next part). Then figure out if you would get enough alcoholic beverages/premium coffee/fresh squeezed OJ/bottled water, etc over your entire cruise to make that worth it. Typically it comes out to 3-4 mixed drinks with nothing else, but beer is usually cheaper than that but then also non-alcoholic drinks do add up. For my wife and I on any given day we would often get enough OJ, coffee, and bottled water alone to make it nearly worth it, and then enough alcoholic drinks to also make it worth it by themselves. So for us on a 5-day cruise without the child it was no question a good purchase. That said, on a longer cruise drink fatigue is a real consideration. As is a port extensive itinerary (sea days and private island visits are catch-up days). For me having our child with us would decrease the drinking a bit at least, so something to consider. Start with the most basic math and figure out how many drinks over the entire cruise would make the package "worth it" and go from there. The fixed cost and the ability to try new things without paying extra is also worth something to many people, so even if you don't know if you will come out ahead you might find it worthwhile in other ways. Finally, you can get plenty of use out of the package on embarkation day and I got a coffee on debarkation day morning. If you want to get a dozen coffees before going through customs you can, but they might wonder why you seem so nervous and pick you for enhanced screening nanowerx, mom2mybugs and Kelaine 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlantix2000 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 2 hours ago, rtread said: I'm still trying to understand this drinks package thing. On a seven day cruise, the charge for the package is per day but you buy for the duration.....? I mean you can't buy it for 1 day or 3 days.....you buy it for 7 days? I think the part that's bothering me is Day 1 and Day 7 are not complete days but you are paying for 7 days. What am I missing here? I assume you mean you're on a week long cruise (saturday to saturday or equivalent) which is 7 nights not 7 days. There is actually a Day 8 on such a cruise. Day 1 is whenever you board until midnight. Day 8 is midnight until you debark. Add them together and you're only a few hours short of 7 full days (and thus the earlier you board, the better the deal). Of course, few if any bars are open in the early morning so you're not really missing drinking opportunities anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason12 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Just think of it as for the cruise length. Here in the UK we get deals with the deluxe package included which is great on a 14 night TA cruise cause the extra cost will be $1000 but on a heavy port 7 night cruise it’s not really required for me as we are up early and don’t want a fuzzy head, I’ve seen a beer card on some cruises which I think was $80 for 10 drinks a bit like the coffee card. If you are likely to buy 4 alcoholic drinks a day then buy the package if not buy the refreshment package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtread Posted March 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Great information all! Typically I was trying too hard to justify the cost and look for the gotchas. We're going to get the Deluxe Package and enjoy the ride. Cheers! WAAAYTOOO and JohnK6404 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Jason12 said: If you are likely to buy 4 alcoholic drinks a day then buy the package if not buy the refreshment package. ... but you know RC is smart enough to price the packages so we will decide to go to next higher package... In my case, at this time, the refreshment package is $20 a day... the DBP is $46 (and likely will drop again before sail date)... So just 2 alcoholic drinks a day would justify a jump to the DBP IF you are on the fence between these two packages. However, in the past, my wife and I used to only purchase the soda package ($10) and buy the drinks and specialty coffees a la carte (not huge drinkers normally)... in that scenario the DBP is definitely not worth the jump. This upcoming cruise we've purchased the DBP partially due to the folks we're travelling with (and a full day in Labadee)! I also like the freedom the drink package gives us in that I can try new drinks without worrying that I will not like them and feel that I've wasted my money. Kelaine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason12 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 14 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said: ... but you know RC is smart enough to price the packages so we will decide to go to next higher package... In my case, at this time, the refreshment package is $20 a day... the DBP is $46 (and likely will drop again before sail date)... So just 2 alcoholic drinks a day would justify a jump to the DBP IF you are on the fence between these two packages. However, in the past, my wife and I used to only purchase the soda package ($10) and buy the drinks and specialty coffees a la carte (not huge drinkers normally)... in that scenario the DBP is definitely not worth the jump. This upcoming cruise we've purchased the DBP partially due to the folks we're travelling with! I also like the freedom the drink package gives us in that I can try new drinks without worrying that I will not like them and feel that I've wasted my money. Wow great prices for our next cruise on the Oasis from Barcelona deluxe $57 and $28 for refreshment and that’s in the sale JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 6 minutes ago, Jason12 said: Wow great prices for our next cruise on the Oasis from Barcelona deluxe $57 and $28 for refreshment and that’s in the sale Those prices are for upcoming Allure (Ft. Lauderdale), Western Caribbean, on 5/19/19. Can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason12 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 2 minutes ago, Jason12 said: Wow great prices for our next cruise on the Oasis from Barcelona deluxe $57 and $28 for refreshment and that’s in the sale I forgot to add the Spanish tax on them prices that’s another 16.3% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason12 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 2 minutes ago, Jason12 said: I forgot to add the Spanish tax on them prices that’s another 16.3% $32 for the refeshment JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason12 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 3 minutes ago, Jason12 said: $32 for the refeshment Deluxe $62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG27 Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 I'm going on the same Oasis cruise out of Barcelona this July. Curious if for the beverage package you posted above, if each person in the cabin had to purchase the same package or at least a beverage package? I've heard different information about all adults in the cabin having to purchase the same beverage package. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 11, 2019 Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 17 hours ago, SG27 said: I'm going on the same Oasis cruise out of Barcelona this July. Curious if for the beverage package you posted above, if each person in the cabin had to purchase the same package or at least a beverage package? I've heard different information about all adults in the cabin having to purchase the same beverage package. Thanks. If one adult in a stateroom buys the Deluxe Beverage Package (aka the alcohol package), then all other adults in the same stateroom must purchase the alcohol package too. If one of those adults doesn't drink (a lot of ) alcohol, often those people can call Royal Caribbean and ask for an exemption, where they will be allowed to buy a non-alcoholic drink package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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