Drink prices? Debating on a drink package...

[Kwevans]

I'm debating over whether I'm better off purchasing a drink package for my family now or just paying as we go while on the cruise. Can anyone tell me prices for different drinks on the cruise? Soda, mixed cocktails, beer, wine? We don't drink a ton so I'm not sure a drink package will make sense for us. 

[CGTLH]

Great starting point, soda will run around $3 to $3.50 for a 12oz can. Don't for get about the 18% gratuity.

 

[Kwevans]

18 minutes ago, CGTLH said:

Great starting point, soda will run around $3 to $3.50 for a 12oz can. Don't for get about the 18% gratuity.

 

Perfect! Thank you!!

[delerium98]

Just as an example.  If you bought the drink package at $49 then after the gratuity you would have to consume 5 - $13 cocktails to break even and that's for one person.

Of course there are other drinks that cost less that would add up towards the break even point but I was trying to just keep it simple.

The nice part about the package is that you can buy drinks above the $13 limit (think wine) and you will just pay the difference plus gratuity. 

So a $15 glass of wine after the $13 discount will come down to just $2.36

[Lovetocruise2002]

I feel like the most overlooked thing with the drink package is that it includes not just alcohol, but all your bottled water, juices, specialty coffee, pop & smoothies (on ships that have it).  I don't drink a ton of alcohol either but with the rest of the drinks factored it, it is most definitely worth it at the right price.  Anything $49/day and under is enough to make me break out my calculator and start thinking.

[JohnK6404]

I'm looking forward to the flexibility the DBP gives you to experiment and try drinks/liquor you wouldn't normally order if you had to purchase them a la carte!

If you don't like what you just ordered, try something else a few minutes later!

[Baked Alaska]

15 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I feel like the most overlooked thing with the drink package is that it includes not just alcohol, but all your bottled water, juices, specialty coffee, pop & smoothies (on ships that have it).  I don't drink a ton of alcohol either but with the rest of the drinks factored it, it is most definitely worth it at the right price.  Anything $49/day and under is enough to make me break out my calculator and start thinking.

Agreed. To add to the mix are consideration s of you are staying in a grand suite or higher.

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, Baked Alaska said:

Agreed. To add to the mix are consideration s of you are staying in a grand suite or higher.

For SY this July we have a GS and I still took the bait at $49/day. I like to be able to grab drinks around the ship as the mood strikes. With the suite lounge, the hours are limited and you have to be there. I did the same for HM the first time I sailed her and we were in a GS that time too. But yes, definitely many things to factor in.

[Baked Alaska]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

For SY this July we have a GS and I still took the bait at $49/day. I like to be able to grab drinks around the ship as the mood strikes. With the suite lounge, the hours are limited and you have to be there. I did the same for HM the first time I sailed her and we were in a GS that time too. But yes, definitely many things to factor in.

Including qty of port days. Will not add to Alaska, but Caribbean sailings for sure.

[WAAAYTOOO]

16 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Anything $49/day and under is enough to make me break out my calculator and start thinking.

That's my top price, too.  I have drinks packages on every cruise I have booked except for the Thanksgiving Brilliance cruise.  It has not gone below $52 and if it does not fall below $49 we are just going to "wing" it.

[Jolly Ogre]

heh...my Dec 19 cruise on Indy it is still sitting at $56/day.

oh just checked and now @ 20% discount its $55/day...WOW what a savings...:(

 

[AshleyDillo]

My Thanksgiving cruise it's sitting at $52/day too..seems like the holiday cruises aren't going to catch the pricing breaks.

[WAAAYTOOO]

6 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

My Thanksgiving cruise it's sitting at $52/day too..seems like the holiday cruises aren't going to catch the pricing breaks.

Not surprising.  That's usually the way the holidays work.  I was very very surprised to see my 4th of July cruise on NAV come down a bit.  The Thanksgiving cruise (Brilliance), however, has not budged at all.

[Al Horner]

We don't drink a lot. On our last cruise (9 nights) we got the deluxe drink package and I may have possibly broken even but I'm sure we lost money on my wife. The problem we ran into is that we typically don't drink much. On the cruise we enjoyed the first few days of drinks but felt burnt out (on drinking) after the third or fourth day and were back to ice tea or water. On our next cruise, we ordered the refreshment package and will just order drinks when we are in the mood and pay for them as we go along.

[TravisMA81]

Is the 18% gratuity applied per drink or applied to the price per day of the drink package?  

[Lovetocruise2002]

20 minutes ago, griswold81 said:

Is the 18% gratuity applied per drink or applied to the price per day of the drink package?  

Applied when you purchase the package.

[FManke]

11 hours ago, kontraxed said:

  On the cruise we enjoyed the first few days of drinks but felt burnt out (on drinking) after the third or fourth day and were back to ice tea or water. 

This is pretty common with a lot of people that I've read online. You really need to keep up the pace of alcoholic drinks throughout your cruise to justify the cost. I know that non-alcoholic drinks also factor in, but at a lower price point, they take a lot more of them to make up the difference. 

Reading the boards here though, there are a lot of people who get there moneys worth and more.

Part of the attractiveness of all packages is the convenience of having everything paid up front or ahead of time.

[karl_nj]

2 hours ago, FManke said:

This is pretty common with a lot of people that I've read online. You really need to keep up the pace of alcoholic drinks throughout your cruise to justify the cost. I know that non-alcoholic drinks also factor in, but at a lower price point, they take a lot more of them to make up the difference. 

Reading the boards here though, there are a lot of people who get there moneys worth and more.

Part of the attractiveness of all packages is the convenience of having everything paid up front or ahead of time.

 

I've never been able to justify buying the drink packages, at any price.  My bar bill has never been anywhere near what the drink package would cost.

If I do ever buy the drink package, I'm sure I would be able to get my money's worth.  I would have fancy coffee every morning, I would focus on trying the $12 or $13 dollar cocktails, I would get lots of bottled water.  I would consume enough so that if I was paying list price for every drink, I would come out ahead.

But this is not my normal behavior on a cruise.  My wife and I will get a fancy coffee once or twice on a cruise.  And we will use our C&A BOGO coupon for coffee, so we only need to pay for one.  The rest of the time we just drink the regular, included, coffee.  We will also use our BOGO wine/soda/beer coupons.  Generally we will just use those on beers, on sea days.  With the coupon each beer will cost me $3.50.  We generally book balcony cabins, and bring 2-4 bottles of wine onboard.  So our pre-dinner drink will be a glass of our BOYB wine on the balcony.  At dinner we will usually share a bottle of wine, especially if we are traveling with other people.  A wine that is $12 a glass is only $46 a bottle.  5 glasses of wine in a bottle, so $9.20/glass.  After dinner we will sometimes get a cocktail.  At Boleros I enjoy the Caribbean Painkiller.  $9.50.  If I'm on the drink plan, will I feel compelled to switch to a $12 in order to "get my money's worth?"  I've never bought a bottle of water on a cruise ship.  The tap water is fine with me.  I've read tips that say if you are on the drink package to get a bottle of water with every drink, so you can stay hydrated.  Bartenders will also give you a glass of ice water with every drink, and that is free.

I'd rather just pay per drink.  If my consumption habits were naturally closer to the $12/drink level, and I drank cappuccinos every morning, I might feel differently.

 

[Kwevans]

3 hours ago, karl_nj said:

 

I've never been able to justify buying the drink packages, at any price.  My bar bill has never been anywhere near what the drink package would cost.

If I do ever buy the drink package, I'm sure I would be able to get my money's worth.  I would have fancy coffee every morning, I would focus on trying the $12 or $13 dollar cocktails, I would get lots of bottled water.  I would consume enough so that if I was paying list price for every drink, I would come out ahead.

But this is not my normal behavior on a cruise.  My wife and I will get a fancy coffee once or twice on a cruise.  And we will use our C&A BOGO coupon for coffee, so we only need to pay for one.  The rest of the time we just drink the regular, included, coffee.  We will also use our BOGO wine/soda/beer coupons.  Generally we will just use those on beers, on sea days.  With the coupon each beer will cost me $3.50.  We generally book balcony cabins, and bring 2-4 bottles of wine onboard.  So our pre-dinner drink will be a glass of our BOYB wine on the balcony.  At dinner we will usually share a bottle of wine, especially if we are traveling with other people.  A wine that is $12 a glass is only $46 a bottle.  5 glasses of wine in a bottle, so $9.20/glass.  After dinner we will sometimes get a cocktail.  At Boleros I enjoy the Caribbean Painkiller.  $9.50.  If I'm on the drink plan, will I feel compelled to switch to a $12 in order to "get my money's worth?"  I've never bought a bottle of water on a cruise ship.  The tap water is fine with me.  I've read tips that say if you are on the drink package to get a bottle of water with every drink, so you can stay hydrated.  Bartenders will also give you a glass of ice water with every drink, and that is free.

I'd rather just pay per drink.  If my consumption habits were naturally closer to the $12/drink level, and I drank cappuccinos every morning, I might feel differently.

 

This is our first cruise so I have to ask.... what are C&A BOGO coupons?!?!  And how do I get them???  

Thanks for breaking it all down for me!  We will just be on a 4 day cruise so I'm thinking we will just pay as we go. We neither one drink much. Are you allowed to bring a case of water on board?  Do you just check it with your luggage if so?  I (or let's be honest, my husband!!) won't want to have to lug it around everywhere until we can get in our cabin. 

[karl_nj]

4 minutes ago, Kwevans said:

This is our first cruise so I have to ask.... what are C&A BOGO coupons?!?!  And how do I get them???  

Thanks for breaking it all down for me!  We will just be on a 4 day cruise so I'm thinking we will just pay as we go. We neither one drink much. Are you allowed to bring a case of water on board?  Do you just check it with your luggage if so?  I (or let's be honest, my husband!!) won't want to have to lug it around everywhere until we can get in our cabin. 

Sorry, unfortunately you'll have to wait until your 2nd Royal Caribbean cruise to get the crown and anchor coupons.  They used to be actual physical pieces of paper, but now they are electronic, so it's sort of a pain to keep track of when you use them.

Each stateroom can carry on 2 750ml bottles of wine and 12 cans or bottles of water or soda (17oz or less).  You have to lug them around until you can get into the cabin.  On my last cruise we had 2 cabins so I had 4 bottles of wine and 6 cans of seltzer.  I put it all in a small carry on suitcase with wheels to make things easier. 

 

[JLMoran]

5 hours ago, karl_nj said:

If my consumption habits were naturally closer to the $12/drink level, and I drank cappuccinos every morning, I might feel differently.

8 hours ago, FManke said:

You really need to keep up the pace of alcoholic drinks throughout your cruise to justify the cost. I know that non-alcoholic drinks also factor in, but at a lower price point, they take a lot more of them to make up the difference.

Having done two sailings with the drink package now, I can say that the non-alcoholic drinks can take a bigger bite out of the daily quota than you think. But, you have to drink the "right" non-alcoholic beverages. As @karl_nj noted, being a regular cappuccino drinker definitely helps. I usually have two grande (16 oz) per day, plus I like to get the fresh-squeezed OJ with breakfast every morning (which also goes for something like $4 or maybe even $5 a glass). If the only non-alcoholic stuff you drink is bottled water or soda, "keeping up" with a DBP is a lot harder.

A few other factors I've figured out make it easier or harder to "keep up":

• If you typically have 1-2 drinks a day, say as part of dinner, that definitely helps since you don't feel like you're really "going overboard" on the cruise and you've got the benefit of some tolerance
• Don't focus on the poolside cocktails or mixed drinks, where there's a lot of sugar that fills you up and makes you feel not-so-great
• If your preferred beverage is beer rather than wine or spirits, that's a deal-breaker in my book; it's going to take almost twice as many drinks to break even since they charge so much less for beer

So if you meet all the "right conditions", it's not really that hard to "break even" at $49/night or less.

[JennyB]

On 4/25/2019 at 7:10 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I feel like the most overlooked thing with the drink package is that it includes not just alcohol, but all your bottled water, juices, specialty coffee, pop & smoothies (on ships that have it).  I don't drink a ton of alcohol either but with the rest of the drinks factored it, it is most definitely worth it at the right price.  Anything $49/day and under is enough to make me break out my calculator and start thinking.

I feel the same way.  I RARELY drink alcohol.  I think on all our cruises I've had maybe 5 total alcohol drinks over the years but the Refreshment package is always worth it FOR ME because of all the options in it.  Now, mocktails...yeah, that's where I could go crazy spending if I didn't have the Refreshment Package...

[WannaCruise]

It's great when they offer the dink cards...10 drinks for $x (I forget amount offhand) that can be shared.  Don't think it's always offered though and it's later in the cruise.

[JoeFan]

On 4/25/2019 at 7:10 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I feel like the most overlooked thing with the drink package is that it includes not just alcohol, but all your bottled water, juices, specialty coffee, pop & smoothies (on ships that have it).  I don't drink a ton of alcohol either but with the rest of the drinks factored it, it is most definitely worth it at the right price.  Anything $49/day and under is enough to make me break out my calculator and start thinking.

I am so with you and I got in at $49 as well. I am not a big drinker either. At family gatherings, I will have a beer and a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. Something I would never pay for at a restaurant. I am just too cheap and would prefer to just skip it. So just those 3 drinks are the difference between refreshment and deluxe for me and I was sold. Not including sparkling water at dinner. Bonus.

[Kirsten]

On 5/1/2019 at 7:27 PM, WannaCruise said:

It's great when they offer the dink cards...10 drinks for $x (I forget amount offhand) that can be shared.  Don't think it's always offered though and it's later in the cruise.

It was offered the 7th day of our 8-day cruise last year and we bought it.  It was fun to try the more expensive drinks without feeling like we were spending so much.  I was drinking mainly wine of Tito's and club soda, which was only $6.  Definitely not worth the drinks package, IMO.

[bcarney]

On all my recent cruises mixed drinks were $12 plus tip so $14.16.  At $49, the break even point, if solely considering alcohol, is 3.46 drinks.  A recent cruise I scored the package at $46, so break even was 3.25.

On my last cruise I had the package at $49, but had to cancel it before the cruise for financial reasons (I wear black on Tax Day, LOL).  When I got onboard I saw the package was $65/day plus tip...I was really kicking myself for cancelling it.  I settled for the $79+tip drink card offered on Day 4.

[karl_nj]

3 hours ago, bcarney said:

On all my recent cruises mixed drinks were $12 plus tip so $14.16.  At $49, the break even point, if solely considering alcohol, is 3.46 drinks.  A recent cruise I scored the package at $46, so break even was 3.25.

On my last cruise I had the package at $49, but had to cancel it before the cruise for financial reasons (I wear black on Tax Day, LOL).  When I got onboard I saw the package was $65/day plus tip...I was really kicking myself for cancelling it.  I settled for the $79+tip drink card offered on Day 4.

Doesn't the $49 price not include the 18% service fee?  So it's really $57.82?  $46 would be $54.28? 

So about 4 $12 drinks/day at the $49/day price, or 3.8 drinks if you snag $46?

 

[CGTLH]

9 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

Doesn't the $49 price not include the 18% service fee?  So it's really $57.82?  $46 would be $54.28? 

Correct, still have to add 18% to the cost.

10 minutes ago, karl_nj said:

So about 4 $12 drinks/day at the $49/day price, or 3.8 drinks if you snag $46?

4 $12 drinks would be $48 +18%, just about equal to the package at $49 +18% a day.

[bcarney]

On 5/8/2019 at 6:30 PM, karl_nj said:

Doesn't the $49 price not include the 18% service fee?  So it's really $57.82?  $46 would be $54.28? 

So about 4 $12 drinks/day at the $49/day price, or 3.8 drinks if you snag $46?

You are correct, I didn't include that in my calculations. Mea culpa.  

[mcoler18]

We got ours included in our cruise price, quite common in the UK.  Its currently priced at £38.00 on my cruise planner which is about $49 i think.

To be honest I would quite happily pay $65 as I would still comfortably break even at that price, looking at the price of a beer I would probably break even round the pool on sea days on beer alone, plus I like the thought of it all been paid upfront and not having to think about what I’m spending.