Pima1988 Posted September 4, 2019 Report Share Posted September 4, 2019 @marti314 Actually the free style machine offers a lot more than sugary sodas. You can get Dasani flavored water, Powerades, Minute maid juices, etc. As far as coffee you can get decaf iced coffee or chai tea. You can easily hit that 22 per day. RWDW1204 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted September 4, 2019 Report Share Posted September 4, 2019 1 hour ago, marti314 said: They make a pregnant woman get the REFRESHMENT package when you request not to buy 2 Deluxe..... Lets think about that: Sugary Soda Drinks filled with Caffeine - Perfect for Pregnant Women Caffeine filled espresso drinks: Perfect Sugary Mocktails - Lets get that baby dancin Fresh Squeezed OJ: Better drink 8 a day to make up for the 22.00 a day Bottled Water: Fine if you force yourself to justify bottled water over the perfectly fine filtered water available everywhere. My wife is not pregnant. She will not drink sugary drinks. She will not drink espresso. She will not drink mocktails. She will not drink fresh squeezed fruit drinks. She only drinks water, black coffee and un-sweet tea. All that is free but if I want a deluxe package for me I still have to pay for the refreshment package for her even though she will not use any of it. CoupleOfCruisers and lovecruising!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted September 4, 2019 Report Share Posted September 4, 2019 Is this policy exclusive to RC? What are the other cruise lines doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted September 4, 2019 Report Share Posted September 4, 2019 5 hours ago, FManke said: Is this policy exclusive to RC? What are the other cruise lines doing? I think most all the other lines have this policy, but RCCL just started with the everyone in the cabin over 21 has to have a package 12/31/18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted September 4, 2019 Report Share Posted September 4, 2019 5 hours ago, Jolly Ogre said: My wife is not pregnant. She will not drink sugary drinks. She will not drink espresso. She will not drink mocktails. She will not drink fresh squeezed fruit drinks. She only drinks water, black coffee and un-sweet tea. All that is free but if I want a deluxe package for me I still have to pay for the refreshment package for her even though she will not use any of it. Have you called RCL? The reason I love this company is if you actually talk to a rep they can override the system. This and other boards are litterd with passengers that got a "pass" If your are forced into a refreshment package for her, than I would say Can you really drink 70+ a day in alcohol, specialty coffee. freestyle drinks? If the answer is no, than don't buy the drink packages. You honestly can't blame RCL for tightening their restrictions. You buy the DBP, she can take the cup to the freestyle machine and get Dasani flavored water. She can take your sea pass card and get a coffee from Starbucks. You say that is all she drinks, but many others can say that too and yet use their partners cup or card. I also want to say one thing regarding pregnant women. Basically at 26 weeks you cannot sail with RCL. Realistically pregnant women are a very small %, there will be more kids than pregnant women. Baked Alaska and SpeedNoodles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted September 4, 2019 Report Share Posted September 4, 2019 45 minutes ago, Pima1988 said: Have you called RCL? The reason I love this company is if you actually talk to a rep they can override the system. This and other boards are litterd with passengers that got a "pass" If your are forced into a refreshment package for her, than I would say Can you really drink 70+ a day in alcohol, specialty coffee. freestyle drinks? If the answer is no, than don't buy the drink packages. You honestly can't blame RCL for tightening their restrictions. You buy the DBP, she can take the cup to the freestyle machine and get Dasani flavored water. She can take your sea pass card and get a coffee from Starbucks. You say that is all she drinks, but many others can say that too and yet use their partners cup or card. I also want to say one thing regarding pregnant women. Basically at 26 weeks you cannot sail with RCL. Realistically pregnant women are a very small %, there will be more kids than pregnant women. I have but it is a choice and not for any medical or religious reasons. I understand why they do it, and we would not abuse it at all. I "could" drink that much but I wont. So I just get the refreshment package for me as that is all I am willing to pay extra for. Now if I could have gotten that $18/day SNAFU that would have been great, but I did not find out about that until it was already fixed. lovecruising!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuruczpa Posted September 5, 2019 Report Share Posted September 5, 2019 Right now the UDP is $81 CDN a day! How crazy is that. For two people (including tax and gratuities) it comes to around $1,500. We managed to get the deal of the century and saved close to $1,000. Jeeze.... Hoski 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katiel53 Posted September 16, 2019 Report Share Posted September 16, 2019 I think the prices have risen far more than they should are based on a few reasons. I do believe the cruise line is trying to make up for their $18 snafu. They didn't void the purchases because it would have been a PR nightmare, but no doubt they are going to make up the money one way or another. Secondly, I think there are many cruisers who may or may not have cruised other lines where there was a 15 drink max per day and heard about the unlimited packages on RC, so they are booked and are darned sure going to get their monies worth. I have seen that posted so many times on another site that it's kind of like a given now. Thirdly, I think so many people have posted to watch for sales and if the price is lower than what you paid, cancel and rebook. The prices are lower than one line who gives free drinks but charges gratuities that amount to a much higher price than RC. Lastly, the cruise line has new ships on the line and needs to make the money to pay for them and the alcohol package is a great way to do so. At some point the cruisers will decide the price is too high, but until then, the price will go up. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted September 16, 2019 Report Share Posted September 16, 2019 58 minutes ago, Katiel53 said: At some point the cruisers will decide the price is too high That's why they can't raise prices to cover the $18 DX mistake. When they raise prices many people stop buying the package. You can see that trend in many different posts on the topic. If they could have raised prices and had minimal impact to sales they would have raised prices long ago. In the end the market (us) indirectly dictate prices. When they raise them if sales remain the same that is the new normal price. If they raise prices and people stop buying it, they have lowered revenue, not increased revenue. When they raise prices and sales fall the natural reaction will be price reductions. Until the recent price increases the DX price was largely unchanged from 2016 when the DX was first introduced. Yet cost of alcohol, beer and wine have increased for all of us over the last 3 years. Prices of individual drinks have increased on board. A price hike was due simply because of the cost of inflation and cost of goods compared to years past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene Desmarais Posted September 17, 2019 Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 with that pricing, every reason for me to not buy any of the drink packages. I'll buy my alcoholic drinks when I'm visiting every port.. much cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor_to_Cruiser Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 On 8/17/2019 at 1:32 PM, Ogalthorpe Haywood said: I agree, when gratuity is mandatory and not left to anyone’s judgement it should just be added up front. In my humble opinion, a gratuity that is mandatory is not a gratuity. What are we gratuitous for? Paying the extra 18%? This is just a tax levied by RCCL and kept by RCCL. lovecruising!!!, Ogalthorpe Haywood, lambdabeta and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro24 Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 Problem is, like everything else in life, if people keep buying it - its only going to go higher. Economics 101. A few out way the many. My baseball team will not make the playoffs, but they still sell out every game. Prices go up every year, and because they sell out, they will go up again next year. If people keep buying the product, why not increase the cost? The rich just keep getting richer. lovecruising!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 3 hours ago, Sailor_to_Cruiser said: In my humble opinion, a gratuity that is mandatory is not a gratuity. Agree completely with this !! CoupleOfCruisers, Boston Babe, Vancity Cruiser and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 I am a generous tipper, minimum 25%, USUALLY. However, a mandatory gratuity. . . Don't better hotels call that a RESORT FEE? WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 6 hours ago, Sailor_to_Cruiser said: Paying the extra 18%? This is just a tax levied by RCCL and kept by RCCL. What % of cruisers with drink packages, do you think would tip and how much would they tip? Surely not 18% every drink. Just about everybody who has weighed in on this site, that I've seen, recognizes that the beverage staff is hard working and deserves the tips. They certainly would not be making as much, tip wise without it. It's of course a marketing thing, but just change the package cost to say " includes tax and gratuity," give us a final price and be done with it. I think most people are smart enough to know, if you are buying any package, it's going to cost you more than listed with tax and gratuity. lambdabeta and Baked Alaska 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregD Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 Odyssey of the Seas pricing monctonguy, spiralqueen, JohnK6404 and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Crush Posted September 19, 2019 Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 12 hours ago, emsff02 said: Odyssey of the Seas pricing ($82.00) Yikes! For that price, I'd go back to smuggling liquor onboard SteveinSC, JLMoran, DublinFC and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted September 19, 2019 Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 2 hours ago, Orange Crush said: Yikes! For that price, I'd go back to smuggling liquor onboard Shhh! You have to do like @Jolly Ogre -- bring on your two bottles of "wine". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Ogre Posted September 19, 2019 Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 2 hours ago, JLMoran said: Shhh! You have to do like @Jolly Ogre -- bring on your two bottles of "wine". Well? avast me mateys its 9/19....yarrrr! lovecruising!!! and JLMoran 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted September 19, 2019 Report Share Posted September 19, 2019 3 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said: Well? avast me mateys its 9/19....yarrrr! Ummm... Might t'day be National Talk Like a Pirate Day... Me matey? Jolly Ogre 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoski Posted September 20, 2019 Report Share Posted September 20, 2019 Onboard prices on the Anthem just went up by $5 per day in the last month according to the compasses. We typically tip $1 minimum per drink with or without the package. A lot of people do not tip so the only tips from those people are from the 18% if they bought the package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted September 20, 2019 Report Share Posted September 20, 2019 11 hours ago, Hoski said: Onboard prices on the Anthem just went up by $5 per day in the last month according to the compasses. We typically tip $1 minimum per drink with or without the package. A lot of people do not tip so the only tips from those people are from the 18% if they bought the package. Not true; if you don't buy the package, all a la carte purchases have an 18% gratuity automatically added to each drink you buy. So a $13 drink is really $15.34. That said, the bartenders still appreciate the single wrapped around the Sea Pass card because they can directly pocket that for themselves, whereas the automatic 18% is split among all bar staff. IRMO12HD and lovecruising!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRMO12HD Posted September 23, 2019 Report Share Posted September 23, 2019 Thanks for revealing the technique, @JLMoran!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skatepunk Posted September 24, 2019 Report Share Posted September 24, 2019 We are on Navigator at the end of October, before they announced two cococay stops it was $49, the day they announced the two stops it suddenly jumped to $65 a day.. I think they are factoring the extra cococay day BUT it replaced a sea day that anyone who purchased the package would be using it anyway, I can’t imagine drinking more at cococay vs being at sea.. at least on Navigator. Sadly we missed the lower price so we purchased on sale and hoping there is a lower price. We have another on Jewel in July 2020 and it has not gone up still $52 per day and has not changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DublinFC Posted September 24, 2019 Report Share Posted September 24, 2019 On 9/19/2019 at 7:50 AM, Orange Crush said: Yikes! For that price, I'd go back to smuggling liquor onboard deffo not paying that. I think buying the package is great for piece of mind, but not for that price. drinking in port and drinks of the day will be the ticket. For 2 ppl that is equivalent to the cost of some cruises. RC getting greedy with that price. Baked Alaska 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJM Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 *Sigh* I remember the days... on my first 11 day cruise we got 25% off the original deluxe drink package price of $55. . . now $55 is the "sale" price (and I'm going on a smaller ship!). I got it this time (the deluxe beverage package with the 1 device Voom surf + stream as it's actually saving me a WHOPPING $2.40/person/day doing it this way) but I suggested to my spouse that we should go a la cart next time as I can only foresee prices rising even more by the time we cruise after next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted October 9, 2019 Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 My Empress next August is $69 a day. Ridiculous. Empress?!?? Not happening. LOL monctonguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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