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ROYAL CARIBBEAN changing drinks packages!


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Did a detailed spreadsheet comparing buying drinks individually versus the package, and gave RCCL the benefit in the spreadsheet of not including the 18% gratuity per day.  So, if the wife and I bring on 2 bottles of wine, and we drink about 3 drinks per day (6 total, 3 per person), we came out about $100 ahead buying our own drinks. I used a $10 price per drink as an estimate -- House wine is about 8 bucks a glass, as i recall. It all has to do with how much you drink to determine if it's a good value for you.

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I was chatting with a buddy of mine, who cruises often and here is how he justifies it to his wife:

Sea Day: Maybe you have a bloody Mary or Mimosa with breakfast

                Then you spend most of the day by the pool. You will almost certainly have a few pina colada's, miami vice or some other frozen concoction. 

                Now you go back and get ready for dinner, so you go have a martini or other pre-dinner cocktail.

                Then with dinner maybe a glass or two of wine

                After Dinner you get to the theater to see the show and you grab a drink at the bar in the theater. 

So 7 or 8 drinks on a sea day does not really seem so far fetched. Obviously not everyone drinks this much, but at average $10-$11 per drink, that package can save you money.

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It is easy to see/justify the value on a sea day, the tricky part is the port days and then weighing the mix of the two to determine the value over the whole cruise.

 

For me on most itineraries it isn't worth the extra expense for the convenience factor of not worrying about what I am ordering.

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It has been a steady 20% off (US$44/day) for our cruise although I didn't check this week.  I know personally, if we have relatives visiting and have drinks Friday through Monday, I am ready to call it quits by Monday.  I think I'll enjoy myself a few days but save myself the drink package...I would never be able to let it go and not drink my quota every day!  I really think my liver (and head!) will thank me...   But on a side note, I am also hoping those drink cards make an appearance!

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It is easy to see/justify the value on a sea day, the tricky part is the port days and then weighing the mix of the two to determine the value over the whole cruise.

 

For me on most itineraries it isn't worth the extra expense for the convenience factor of not worrying about what I am ordering.

 

Exactly --- As Matt has said numerous times in the past ..... it's easy to justify the drink package based only on the math of "Can you drink 5 - 6 drinks per day, every day"

 

But then you factor in the other things ..... Length of cruise.....Can you keep up the pace and avoid "Drink Fatigue"? ----- Number of ports, remember, you can't use the package off the ship (unless in Labadee or Coco Cay) so that's time wasted.

 

My wife and I were just discussing this ..... it would seem the shorter the cruise, the drink package makes sense because the likelihood of having Drink Fatigue goes down -- and -- if it's a short cruise WITH 1 or 2 seas days -- that's the perfect storm of why to buy the package.   For example, the 4-nighters out of Canaveral/Miami (short cruise plus 1 sea day AND Coco Cay) or the 5-nighters to Bermuda out of Baltimore or Bayonne -- 2 Sea Days thrown in there and you're back on the ship over night.... then the drink packages become a really good deal .... and then you're back to simple math of "Can you drink 5-6 per day each day?"  --- YES WE CAN!!! lol

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Now the Select package has been discontinued, does anyone know what will happen to bookings where that had been included as a promotion? We sail on Grandeur in November 2017 with the Select package included. I know the Ultimate package would have been replaced with the Deluxe version, but the only reference I could find concerning the Select package was that it would be honoured whilst stocks last. That is a bit enigmatic to say the least.

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Now the Select package has been discontinued, does anyone know what will happen to bookings where that had been included as a promotion? 

Select package drink packages will be honored as-is.  So you will get exactly what the select package promised.

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  • 2 months later...

I didn't think you could buy from the store to bring to the room..seeing as RCI charges you $40 for a 375ml bottle of rum to have in your room.....you would be stupid to do that if you could go buy a 40oz of rum for $25 in the store...

 

Am I missing something here?

You're not missing anything. Any alcohol bought in the onboard shops is held and delivered on the last night. And outside of the bottle purchase you mentioned, wine abd champagne seen to be the only bottles you can purchase for onboard consumption.

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Thanks for the info,  I did see on the web site, where you can purchase wine by the bottle and have it delivered to your room or table, also the rum, which I think is our choice because we don't want to drink all the time .  maybe getting a few drinks here and there, won't add up to over $355 .

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Two thoughts:  I see a lot of folks trying to determine of the drink package is worth it by simply aksing can I frink xx number of drinks per day.  But they seem to be counting only alcohol.  Assuming you are also drinking coffee with breakfast, a few waters and maybe a soda or two, you really shouldn't need to drink that many alcoholic drinks per day to reach the target I would think....

Second;  How do they handle alcohol you buy in ports?  Do you simply turn those bottles over when you re-board?  I am thinking I might want to buy a bottle of tequila in Mexico and a bottle of rum in Jamaica.  Though part of me asks, "Why bother?"  Except for saving a little bit on "duty", I am pretty sure anything worth drinking I could have just bought at my local liquor store.....

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Second;  How do they handle alcohol you buy in ports?  Do you simply turn those bottles over when you re-board?

What is supposed to happen is security will take it from you and return it to you on the last night of the cruise.

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Second;  How do they handle alcohol you buy in ports?  Do you simply turn those bottles over when you re-board?  I am thinking I might want to buy a bottle of tequila in Mexico and a bottle of rum in Jamaica.  Though part of me asks, "Why bother?"  Except for saving a little bit on "duty", I am pretty sure anything worth drinking I could have just bought at my local liquor store.....

 

As the resident drunkard here (I'm a 'consumer judge' at the Miami Rum Festival this April http://www.rumxp.com/RumJury.html ), I'd suggest buying a bottle of your favorite spirit from a distiller that isn't available in your area, or getting something that is expensive that you can drink as a "treat" like http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20170210/jwn-pay-homage-joy-spence-appleton-estate-joy-rum 

 

When I first started becoming a rummy, I enjoyed drinking from a certain set of distillers.  As I was exposed to other expressions of the spirit i learned I really enjoyed rums from a specific geographic area and distilling method, and I wouldn't have learned that if I didn't buy those oddball bottles when on vacation.

 

Step out of your comfort zone and try something new.

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It's funny you say that because Appleton was precisely what I was thinking of!

Fortunately, the finest liquor on the planet is made right here in the U.S. or A. (Jack Danials!) but would be fun to grab some local flavors as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yeah, you probably won't save any money buying a bottle of something available stateside in a port shop, besides the ship probably has a supply you can have as much as you want of with your drink package.

 

Get something the locals make.  The Mexican shops have some really nice blue agave tequilas you can't get here.

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