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Newbie drinks package help!


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Hi all. My wife and I are going on our first cruise on the 4 night Cork itinerary end of May on board Independence and we're not sure what to do about drinks packages! Its currently showing at £47.88 per day and I've previously seen it at around £41 but didn't book it.... should we just book the £47.88 rate and be done with it or is it worth handing on until very close to departure? We're worried if we leave it then it might go off-sale? BIG thanks in advance for your help! 

 

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Thanks 

2 minutes ago, CGTLH said:

If you are comfortable with that price, book it. If it goes down you can always cancel and repurchase at the new price.

Just keep in mind when cancelling it may take a few days before your card it credited back.

Thanks for that - didn't realise I could cancel and re-purchase. Might be the way to go! guess I was hoping for some last minute flash sale or whatever! 

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3 hours ago, Richard Banks said:

Thanks 

Thanks for that - didn't realise I could cancel and re-purchase. Might be the way to go! guess I was hoping for some last minute flash sale or whatever! 

 Since you are in the UK, being able to cancel and re-purchase might or might not be an option. I know that’s not really an option for the cruise booking if the price drops, but haven’t heard anything about that also being an issue with cruise planner purchases. 

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23 hours ago, Richard Banks said:

Thanks 

Thanks for that - didn't realise I could cancel and re-purchase. Might be the way to go! guess I was hoping for some last minute flash sale or whatever! 

Book now and if price drops, cancel and rebook.  It's the best way and protects against price increases.

Regardless, the drink package will cost more onboard.

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My husband and I are going on our first cruise at the ages of 82 and 84, and we no longer drink much, but I'd like to have maybe one mixed drink with dinner and he might enjoy a beer in the afternoon. How much does a rum drink cost on board without a drink package? And a beer? The package price seems much higher than anything we would consume. Advice appreciated, please!

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11 hours ago, tiny blonde said:

How much does a rum drink cost on board without a drink package?

Around $8-10 before gratuity

11 hours ago, tiny blonde said:

And a beer?

$7-8 before gratuity

11 hours ago, tiny blonde said:

he package price seems much higher than anything we would consume. Advice appreciated, please!

You are correct and you should not feel obligated at all to get a drink package. I know it gets a lot of attention, but it's really for someone that will enjoy 4-6 drinks a day, every day.

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Thanks, Matt! Your responses are very helpful!! This also gives us an idea of how much cash to bring. Although I suppose the drinks are charged to the key card and can be paid with a credit card? Also, I read somewhere that gratuities are automatically included in the price of the drink . . . . . true?

Also . . . . just whom do the pre-paid gratuities go to?

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Anything on the ship will be charged to your account using your sea pass.  You can settle that bill with credit cards or cash.  They will automatically add an 18% gratuity to any drinks purchased (and also to the drink package if you purchase that).

Pre-paid gratuities cover your stateroom attendant, waiters, and all the behind the scenes employees.  If you don't pre-pay those, they will be charged to your sea pass daily.

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Just now, tiny blonde said:

Thanks, Atlantix2000! So, since I've prepaid gratuities, I guess we won't have to tip. Except maybe the person who delivers our luggage? Or is that included?

If you have pre-paid tips, all tips are included. Any additional tips for exceptional service above and beyond what you feel is normal, is totally up to you.

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1 hour ago, Atlantix2000 said:

Anything on the ship will be charged to your account using your sea pass.  You can settle that bill with credit cards or cash.  They will automatically add an 18% gratuity to any drinks purchased (and also to the drink package if you purchase that).

Pre-paid gratuities cover your stateroom attendant, waiters, and all the behind the scenes employees.  If you don't pre-pay those, they will be charged to your sea pass daily.

If you have the DBP, do you still get charged the 18% for all drinks?

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46 minutes ago, Yo2slick said:

If you have the DBP, do you still get charged the 18% for all drinks?

When you purchase the DBP, they'll add the 18% to the cost of the package to cover the gratuities.  So if you see the DBP advertised as $50/day, once you add it to your cart, it will really cost you $59/day.  But then you won't have to pay any tips as you get each drink.

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On 5/17/2019 at 1:02 PM, tiny blonde said:

 Except maybe the person who delivers our luggage? Or is that included?

If you are talking about the porters you hand your checked luggage off to when you arrive at the terminal, it is not required but highly suggested that you tip them $1-2 per bag when they take your luggage. I don’t believe they work for the cruise line (pretty sure it’s the port) and they definitely don’t get any of the prepaid gratuities. The same would apply if you use the porter service when you are debarking. Using them at debarkation isn’t as required as on embarking, but I highly recommend it since they whisk you past long customs lines and IMO it’s the best $8 I spent the whole vacation. 

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I don’t know about the other ports but I know that at Bayonne the dockside porters are longshoremen and they do NOT take kindly to getting no tip. We always tip but the first time we went to Bayonne our metal-wired name tags mysteriously disappeared. There’s no way they just “fell” off. And coincidentally, the longshoremen were battling with management for a pay raise. Not much of a coincidence. 

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