Jump to content

Drink pkg price differences....


Recommended Posts

 

I am super confused about the drink pkg sales and how they work....    I have two cruises in my cruise planner.   My first one, which is Anthem for NYE... i have a Refreshment Package,  that I got for 20 dollars per day a couple weeks ago.... in the cruise planner, on that cruise, my offer today is 52. per day for deluxe drink pkg.. and 20 for refreshment package.   My other cruise is on Liberty about 13 months away.....and on that one, it is offering me the 52 dollar deluxe package, but the refreshement package is still (and never has waivered from) 28. per day!!   I wonder why they are never offering me any refreshment sales on my Liberty cruise ..only deluxe pkg sales... 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pricing is always driven by Royal's purchase quotas vs. actual sales. No sale pricing means that particular package is selling well enough on your particular ship and sailing right now that Royal sees no need to goose the sales a bit with a promotion.

1 minute ago, KristiZ said:

You're just still to early for your second one. There are rarely any sales more than 6-9 months out. It will happen! ?

Not necessarily. I got a super-low sale price on the Refreshment Package last Black Friday for my Anthem sailing, which at the time was almost a year off. I think the DBP holds more to the 6-9 month range, as I don't recall seeing BOGO50 on my sailing until about 9 months out. And clearly the sales have been doing well enough that BOGO50 is as much as Royal wants to offer right now, because I haven't yet seen a single 30% off promo. ? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 @JLMoran ... makes sense i guess....  actually , i had wondered, since I bought the Refreshment package for my first sailing, for 20 per day... if they also watch what i am doing and figure i will go for that pkg for my second sailing too...and so they will not be so quick to offer me the 20.. because they know i probably want that one again...  meanwhile.. both sailings are offering me the same DBP price of 52....  I plan to drink on both cruises, but i just don't think i will drink more than maybe 2 alcoholic drinks per day... and on the first cruise, my aunt who is my roomie is a non drinker... and the second one... my son is not very big drinker either... i know he wont have more than 1 or 2 a day either... so i think Ref Pkg is the right one for me both times...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everyone over 21 in a cabin must purchase the package (with some medical exceptions). My wife doesn't drink, by choice. That's why I don't get it. I have been known to hold my own but I don't want to drink enough for 2 people every day. Wouldn't fit my sugar or carbs profile either.☹️

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buy when you can afford it and it has value for you.  If it drops lower that that, refund your purchase and buy it again at the lower price.  

Many times it never goes lower.  Sometimes it does.  Enjoy the savings you score at a lower price, enjoy the package when you don't. 

Even a few dollars here or there is nothing in the overall cost of the vacation but saving a few extra bucks is icing on the cake.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/31/2019 at 6:56 PM, kittysoul said:

 

I am super confused about the drink pkg sales and how they work....    I have two cruises in my cruise planner.   My first one, which is Anthem for NYE... i have a Refreshment Package,  that I got for 20 dollars per day a couple weeks ago.... in the cruise planner, on that cruise, my offer today is 52. per day for deluxe drink pkg.. and 20 for refreshment package.   My other cruise is on Liberty about 13 months away.....and on that one, it is offering me the 52 dollar deluxe package, but the refreshement package is still (and never has waivered from) 28. per day!!   I wonder why they are never offering me any refreshment sales on my Liberty cruise ..only deluxe pkg sales... 

 

Watch out for the Black Friday sale in November!  Some of the best deals on all of the drink packages happen on that day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/31/2019 at 8:08 PM, Zambia-Zaire said:

Do both passengers in a cabin still have to purchase the DBP or have that been modified?

My wife drinks I don't, so I have to call Royal and book hers and then I get the refreshment package so I can get mocktails.

If you try and do it online it will try and force you to get it for both, thus the telephone call. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, kittysoul said:

@tiny260  i think this is just a little bit overboard, myself....  I know that they are trying to keep people from cheating them by sharing the alcoholic drinks..but geez... 

All the major cruise lines have this policy.  Royal didn't for a while but then changed to follow the industry.  

In some cases there were four or more college kids sharing a package, openly, and binge drinking heavily.  People were abusing it and combined with the industry trend they decided to change.

The side benefit of that is that prices often approach what they were in 2016 when the Deluxe package first was introduced.  It went on sale for $46 back then for a 7 night cruise.  Recently 7 night cruises have seen sales down to $47 three years later despite rising costs.  If they continued to let people abuse and share the prices would not be $47 here in 2019, they would be higher across the board.  

Cruise length is still the biggest factor in the supply and demand pricing of drink packages.  You can't just say I paid X with considering cruise length, time of year, holidays and other details.  

Bottom line - the drink packages cost a certain amount for any given sailing.  If you can find value at that price then buy it without worrying about what someone on a different ship with a different itinerary paid.  If you buy it keep on eye out for price drops but be happy knowing you decided the original price had value.  If you can't justify the cost then don't buy it.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, tiny260 said:

My wife drinks I don't, so I have to call Royal and book hers and then I get the refreshment package so I can get mocktails.

If you try and do it online it will try and force you to get it for both, thus the telephone call. 

On our last 2 RC cruises (Oasis and Adventure) we were able to get an Unlimited Drink package and a soda package by phoning Royal. However, for our upcoming Allure cruise our TA just called Royal today to ask for the same thing and was told it was no longer possible :(

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

On our last 2 RC cruises (Oasis and Adventure) we were able to get an Unlimited Drink package and a soda package by phoning Royal. However, for our upcoming Allure cruise our TA just called Royal today to ask for the same thing and was told it was no longer possible ?

 

If that is the case then it is probably because people are abusing it.  Too many calling to get only one package.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Hoski said:

If that is the case then it is probably because people are abusing it.  Too many calling to get only one package.

I think from what @Vancity Cruiser was saying, it’s the combination of DBP and Soda Package that’s discontinued. Certainly both times I’ve gotten DBP for myself, I was only allowed to buy the Refreshment Package for my wife, nothing less expensive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, JLMoran said:

I think from what @Vancity Cruiser was saying, it’s the combination of DBP and Soda Package that’s discontinued. Certainly both times I’ve gotten DBP for myself, I was only allowed to buy the Refreshment Package for my wife, nothing less expensive.

Yeah I had to purchase the refreshment package as my 2nd also

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am hoping that one day, RC will see its way clear to offer Crown and Anchor members discounts on ALL the different types of drink packages. There are many like myself who either can not or choose not to drink alcoholic beverages and are left only with the sales open to everyone.  I would like a discount as a thanks for my loyalty.

 

Quote

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎2019‎/‎08‎/‎02 at 9:16 PM, JLMoran said:

I think from what @Vancity Cruiser was saying, it’s the combination of DBP and Soda Package that’s discontinued. Certainly both times I’ve gotten DBP for myself, I was only allowed to buy the Refreshment Package for my wife, nothing less expensive.

I suppose I can see if it works to get the refreshment package rather that the soda package. I don't drink at all so it makes no sense to buy 2. Right now even with the buy one get one 50% off sale the total for 2 DBP comes to $1180CAD!! That's more for alcohol than we paid PP for the cruise lol.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

I suppose I can see if it works to get the refreshment package rather that the soda package. I don't drink at all so it makes no sense to buy 2. Right now even with the buy one get one 50% off sale the total for 2 DBP comes to $1180CAD!! That's more for alcohol than we paid PP for the cruise lol.

You could always buy drinks individually.  If the price of a DX plus Refreshment is still too high just buy drinks one by one.  

Refreshment is $26 normally but sometimes on sale for $20 per day.  ($USD)

Is your SO going to drink $800 - $900 CAD in drinks?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, twangster said:

You could always buy drinks individually.  If the price of a DX plus Refreshment is still too high just buy drinks one by one.  

Refreshment is $26 normally but sometimes on sale for $20 per day.  ($USD)

Is your SO going to drink $800 - $900 CAD in drinks?

Yes that is the plan. It would take a LOT  of drinks to make it worthwhile to buy 2 packages so individuals it is :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dynamic pricing FOR SURE! Royal is still having their sale for Cruise Planner items (for another day+ at this time) and the price went from $56 before the sale, $52 when the sale started (for the last two days), to $65! right now. I was waiting for the next paycheck to get it... ? Missed that sale! This is for my September 13 Navigator sailing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Ala_Paul said:

Missed that sale! This is for my September 13 Navigator sailing.

On the (potential / probable) good news front -- Royal typically has a sale on Labor Day, and you can make Cruise Planner purchases all the way up until 3 days before your embarkation date. So you'll have at least one more chance if no other sales come up between now and then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

One thing I haven't really paid any attention to in the past is the options like 10 drink package you can buy on board. Has anyone purchased this before? or know what the cost is?

The 10-drink card isn't always offered; similar to Cruise Planner promotion pricing, it's dependent on how the ship has been doing with alcohol sales since embarkation day. IIRC, the earliest the card is offered is around day 4 of a 7-night cruise, and I've seen some live blogs where it wasn't offered until the final sea day or maybe the day before that.

Pricing tends to be OK, seems like most of the time it works out to something like $8 a drink. Good for cocktails or other higher-priced drinks; not so great if you're a beer drinker, as most beers go for around $6 each. The nice part about the card is that it is shareable, so you could get the card yourself and then you and your SO / travel mate can split it up however you want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/10/2019 at 1:12 AM, Macland said:

Do we have to buy our daughter a soda or refreshment package or can we just get her drinks using our package?

You are not required to buy her a soda or refreshment package if she is under 21.  However, you can not share your package with her.  You will either need to get her a package or just pay out of pocket for her drinks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Royal is using the same algorithm for the drink packages as they use for cruise prices (totally dynamic)....it's not normal to see such fluctuations for these types of things. 

I wish they would bring back the beer drink package....it was like $35, I guess people were getting to much value for money on that price.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...