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Drink Purchases


bjt0315

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Hi everyone! We are leaving on our first cruise on the 19th and I have no idea how the whole drink thing works if we don't purchase a drink package. Are any free beverages included at all with meals? We will be on Brilliance of the Seas. I keep seeing people mention a mini bar. Does that mean for each individual room? We have an interior stateroom. Does that make a difference? I'm so confused! I don't want to be spending a lot of money on drinks, but I don't want to just drink water the entire time either, ya know?

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Juices are largely only available in the morning.  However, you will be able to get milk, water, lemonade, iced tea, and regular coffee and hot tea at meals.  At the Windjammer, you will need to request milk at any time other than breakfast.  There's also some kind of flavored drink at the Windjammer (buffet) at most meals.

 

The minibar is just like that in a hotel room.  You pay if you consume anything within it at normal bar prices.

 

Remember that you can bring on two bottles of wine without charge and even take them to the restaurants as well.  Sodas will run about $2.50-$3 or so per can, or you can opt for the soda package.

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Thank you for the responses. If we do purchase drinks separately, does it get charged each time to the card we keep on file when we check in or like a lump sum once the cruise is over with? I guess it doesn't really matter much as long as we can do that, but it'll be nice to know how the charges will show up so we can track them.

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Each is charged individually and then you pay the sum at the end of the cruise or have it applied to the card you used at check-in.  It will be a detailed folio for the account including which bar the charge was made at.  The only confusion comes if you buy a drink being carried by one of the servers, as it might hit a central bar as the point of sale.

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Each is charged individually and then you pay the sum at the end of the cruise or have it applied to the card you used at check-in.  It will be a detailed folio for the account including which bar the charge was made at.  The only confusion comes if you buy a drink being carried by one of the servers, as it might hit a central bar as the point of sale.

I was confused the first time when we ordered drinks in the MDR but were posted as the Piano Bar next door.  

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While considering your cruise itinerary and how many days you'll be ashore on this cruise ask yourself, do you fee confident you'll consume five drinks per day?

 

If your response is "hell yeah" then a drink package probably makes sense from a financial point-of-view. If your response is a definite "no" or "I'm not so sure", then I would go a la carte (which is what I personally do). There are a few other nuances that could make that "five-drink" number go up or down one, and if it does make sense, then there's a few more points to figure out which package makes sense.

 

In addition to points made in prior posts, I would add the following about wine for dinner in the main dining room:

  • as DocLC mentions, you can bring two (750mL) bottles of wine on the ship, and you can bring them to dinner in the main dining room where they will serve it to you free of charge (i.e. no corkage fee);
  • if you order a bottle of wine and don't finish it, they will store it for you and serve it the next night (even if it's one of the bottles you brought on the ship);
  • each day there is a Wine-of-the-Day that is offered at 20% off the wine list price; it's worth asking about this, there's usually a few options (although don't be surprised if the assistant waiter taking your order doesn't know the current special and has to go ask).
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