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Rant on Deluxe Beverage Package


Dimension

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4 hours ago, Dimension said:

I know that once my wife and reach Diamond we will no longer be purchasing a drink package for her. 8 drinks between the two of us is more than she will drink in a day including specialty coffees.

I can't wait to hit Diamond as well,  My wife doesn't drink so that defeats to purpose on buying the package. I usually drink no more than 2 drinks per day..   So Diamond status will be more than enough.

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Can’t imagine making the drinks package worth it once we reach Diamond in October.  Even by my conservative estimate that would be 5 drinks OVER the 4 Diamond freebies.  Maybe the refreshment package to cover water/soda/specialty coffees but any mixed drinks over the 4 (maybe 1-2 per day?) would be out of pocket.

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Like others have noted, for Diamond and beyond it makes no sense to grab a drink package. The Lattes in the Diamond Lounge via the machine they have up there are pretty decent, especially if you get an extra espresso shot. We are D+ and even my Chicago Irish self has a bit of trouble going through 5 drinks a day plus our carry-on wine plus the "50% off two drinks" loaded onto the sea pass card.  A few times I ended up getting a bottle of Pellegrino to go for the room as my final drink.  

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The most I have paid is $75/pd for the package that includes Voom. With Voom for 2 devices priced at ~ $13.87 for a 4 night cruise, I get to subtract that value from the $75 for my break even per day price. That puts my drink intake at $61.13 which divided by $10 cocktails is only 6-7 drinks a day. My fiance and I easily hit 7-10 drinks each depending on sea days so in the end even $75 is worth it. 

My 7-night on Explorer is scary, even at $69/pd its over $1100.. thinking I will bite the bullet but yeeesh. On our S2S in November I had final bills of $2 and $1.60 so it's definitely nice to have had come disembarkation! 

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I'm on the Anthem right now. I paid $50 per day for the DBG. Forget about the gratuities because you pay that either way.  I had a bloody Mary late morning and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. I had two cocktails at the pool. I had a cappuccino late afternoon and a Manhattan at the Spectra show. I had late dinner at Chops. A pre dinner martini, two glasses of wine and an Irish coffee.  Do the math.  It's easily double the $50.  Now, yeah it's more than I usually drink but it's really easy to hit the $50. Up to the individual if it's worth it. No way do I think they're gouging. And to the original poster with the LI iced tea. You really think they're going to give you five or six full shots on one drink? Be real.

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There was a sale the last couple days of January. We are cruising in May for 5 nights. I got the deluxe drink and internet package for us both for 345 each. Does not include the gratuity but I thought we did good and if the drinks are weak then we will have plenty of them. In my home city drinks are around 10 bucks or more so I think we will make out with the package. 

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10 hours ago, nferr said:

I'm on the Anthem right now. I paid $50 per day for the DBG. Forget about the gratuities because you pay that either way.  I had a bloody Mary late morning and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. I had two cocktails at the pool. I had a cappuccino late afternoon and a Manhattan at the Spectra show. I had late dinner at Chops. A pre dinner martini, two glasses of wine and an Irish coffee.  Do the math.  It's easily double the $50.  Now, yeah it's more than I usually drink but it's really easy to hit the $50. Up to the individual if it's worth it. No way do I think they're gouging. And to the original poster with the LI iced tea. You really think they're going to give you five or six full shots on one drink? Be real.

I would be happy with 3 shots being covered under the package. To get up to 5 shots like a real bar makes I would be willing to kick in a little extra to cover the additional shots assuming that a standard one was 3 shots. I have no problem kicking in a little extra to get a drink that has a lot of alcohol in it. I do however get a little upset when I cannot taste an alcohol at all in my drink. I would have been really upset when I ordered the Long Island if I was paying by the drink. The better bang for the buck is a cap. and coke for it comes in a lowball glass so that there is not as much room to water down the drink. My Long Island was served in a standard highball glass so the drink was very watered down with the same amount of alcohol in it.

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3 hours ago, trueblue83 said:

Some people saying the DBP does included gratuities and others saying it does not. Can some please clarify this?

I have the DBP purchased (€960 for both of us) for our cruise in March and trying to figure out if we'll have any charges at the end (we pre-paid gratuities also).

The total charge you pay for the package when you purchase in the cruise planner includes 18% gratuity.  You won't have any additional charges on your account for it.  Sometimes when you order a drink, the server will give you a zero balance slip to sign.  There is a line on there to write in a gratuity amount.  If you were to add additional gratuity on the slip, then that would appear in your account balance at the end of the cruise.  That is optional as you have already paid the gratuity.

I like to bring a lot of dollar bills with me, and if it is a situation where a server is delivering me a drink (at the pool, in the theater, etc) then I will give them a buck or two cash, instead of adding it on the slip.  If I walk up to a bar and order a drink, I generally do not add or give anything additional.  To each their own though.

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3 hours ago, trueblue83 said:

Some people saying the DBP does included gratuities and others saying it does not. Can some please clarify this?

I have the DBP purchased (€960 for both of us) for our cruise in March and trying to figure out if we'll have any charges at the end (we pre-paid gratuities also).

When you purchase the DBP, gratuities are part of the final cost at check out.  Many like to tip a little extra to the bartenders but it is not necessary.  You have already paid the required 18%.

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8 minutes ago, Pooch said:

When you purchase the DBP, gratuities are part of the final cost at check out.  Many like to tip a little extra to the bartenders but it is not necessary.  You have already paid the required 18%.

Thank you. The money for the DBP has come off the credit card already so good to know that included the 18%. 

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Next week will be the first time to sail without the DX. Will enjoy our 5 "free" Diamond Plus drinks. It's a 5 night sailing and going to all-inclusive resorts at both stops. We will definitely not exceed that on port days. I am sure we will drink more than the 5 on sea days but will not be worth $66 (+18% grats). This is a test and I think in the end we will be far under $778 that the DX would cost us.

If this works out, we might give it a try on our April 7 night sailing. I find myself getting drinks on night 6, and especially night 7, that I would not normally consume in an attempt to "get my money's worth".

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3 hours ago, trueblue83 said:

Thank you. The money for the DBP has come off the credit card already so good to know that included the 18%. 

I see your location says Dublin.  Part of the confusion is that most answers here come from the US but the rest of the world gets shown things a bit differently.  Someone in the US, might see a daily price of $60 but when we go to check out, we are actually charged $60 * 1.18 = $70.80 per day.  International prices (generally) already include the gratuity so for that same cruise, you would only ever see ~$70.80 per day but in your currency.  That's the theory anyway because prices seem to fluctuate somewhat randomly.  But the good news is that if you have a package, you've already paid the gratuity.

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3 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:

I see your location says Dublin.  Part of the confusion is that most answers here come from the US but the rest of the world gets shown things a bit differently.  Someone in the US, might see a daily price of $60 but when we go to check out, we are actually charged $60 * 1.18 = $70.80 per day.  International prices (generally) already include the gratuity so for that same cruise, you would only ever see ~$70.80 per day but in your currency.  That's the theory anyway because prices seem to fluctuate somewhat randomly.  But the good news is that if you have a package, you've already paid the gratuity.

That makes sense as when we were looking first then DBP was $68 per day but when we went to pay it converted to €73 which was one hell of a conversation rate!! Nice to know why that was. 

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I've run the numbers for the various options for drink packages and internet access to determine price-point that I'm comfortable with.  Even with my low number of daily alcoholic drinks, when I compare the options to purchase the Combo Deluxe Beverage Package and Voom (One Device) vs. purchasing the Refreshment Beverage Package + separate Voom Internet Surf & Stream (One Device); and then separately paying for a few alcohol drinks daily (including gratuities), it comes out less expensive for me to purchase the Deluxe Beverage Package and Voom option.   The cost for the Deluxe Package with Voom has been averaging around $80.00-$85.00/day for sailings I've been looking at. Refreshment package is usually around $23.00/day; separate Voom Internet Surf & Stream around $16.00/day; then add in separate alcoholic drinks + gratuities.  On my next cruise, the difference worked out to be about $60.00 more expensive to purchase separately vs. just buying the Combo package with Voom Internet Surf & Stream.  Seems to be a moving target with pricing (just like Coco Cay Beach Club has ranged from about $90.00 - $180.00).  I've noticed quite a bit of price variation depending on sailing and when you purchase the packages in Cruise Planner. 

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When it comes to the Alcohol package, we tried with and without a package. Without, we found it to be stressful (Always counting, or looking at the bill every evening) we lost $ every time paying a la carte. Our daily routine: We found that with a fresh squeezed OJ in the morning, a water or two for excursions, a coffee or two that is not pee pee water, a Gatorade, and then 2 or 3 drinks a day each was way more then the drink package. So the package pays off for us big time. You have to have at least 5 drinks or a combination of about 5 of anything on this list per day to make it work. What I usually do, is when I book my cruise I purchase for whatever the price is at the time. Then since my face is always buried in my computer or phone most of the day. I will try to look once a day to cancel and rebook when the price drops. So here is how I break it down. For argument sake, lets go with $80 a day per person. Minus out the cost of the zoom, lets say $15 a day. Now you are at $65 per day for drinks. Lets use the number someone said of $10 per drink. It is more like $13 when you add in the gratuities for each drink. So @$10, that is roughly 5-6 drinks right? So like I said earlier (2) Specialty Coffee, (1)Fresh OJ I enjoy in the morning, (2) waters we take on board, keep in our room, and we also take then when on excursions especially when in Mexico, (that is a story for another day) we also stop by the little cafe outside the GYM where you can get Gatorade/Powerade then...about 3 alcohol drinks per day. Well....you do the math. But, many times If I am persistent and patient I find the package for about $66 a day. Depending on the itinerary.

Your thoughts?

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26 minutes ago, RorySC said:

When it comes to the Alcohol package, we tried with and without a package. Without, we found it to be stressful (Always counting, or looking at the bill every evening) we lost $ every time paying a la carte. Our daily routine: We found that with a fresh squeezed OJ in the morning, a water or two for excursions, a coffee or two that is not pee pee water, a Gatorade, and then 2 or 3 drinks a day each was way more then the drink package. So the package pays off for us big time. You have to have at least 5 drinks or a combination of about 5 of anything on this list per day to make it work. What I usually do, is when I book my cruise I purchase for whatever the price is at the time. Then since my face is always buried in my computer or phone most of the day. I will try to look once a day to cancel and rebook when the price drops. So here is how I break it down. For argument sake, lets go with $80 a day per person. Minus out the cost of the zoom, lets say $15 a day. Now you are at $65 per day for drinks. Lets use the number someone said of $10 per drink. It is more like $13 when you add in the gratuities for each drink. So @$10, that is roughly 5-6 drinks right? So like I said earlier (2) Specialty Coffee, (1)Fresh OJ I enjoy in the morning, (2) waters we take on board, keep in our room, and we also take then when on excursions especially when in Mexico, (that is a story for another day) we also stop by the little cafe outside the GYM where you can get Gatorade/Powerade then...about 3 alcohol drinks per day. Well....you do the math. But, many times If I am persistent and patient I find the package for about $66 a day. Depending on the itinerary.

Your thoughts?

100% agree.  Whether or not it makes since, financially, is irrelevant to us.  We do it for the convenience and for the ability to get whatever we want, whenever we want it without having to think about it.

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We've been on the lookout for acceptable DBP prices since lifting & shifting our Odyssey cruise to 2022. Unfortunately the lowest we have ever seen was 68 € per person per day (77 $). We bought the refreshment package in the Black Friday sales for a good price, but the DBP stayed on 68 €. Last week I checked the cruise  price in a different browser and by total chance saw a promotion for the DBP for 44 € per person per day (50 $). This was not advertised in the cruise planner and only available by calling Royal. While booking the DBP for us, they kindly cancelled the refreshment package at the same time. In contrast to cruise planner purchases this deal wasn't paid instantly but will be paid on final pay day together with the remaining cruise fee. Very strange new tactic - I'm happy with the result but I'm not used to not seeing my DBP in the cruise planner.

Would love to know if this approach makes more money for Royal compared to cruise planner discounts. Personally, I check the CP every day for new prices but I really despise caling anyone on the phone. I prefer the old approach.

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1 hour ago, RorySC said:

Your thoughts?

We are D+ and had to factor in our 5 “free” C&A drinks on our current 5 night cruise. Price for DX was $66. Do we normally drink more than 5 when cruising? Yes, but not more than would exceed $66 each. We are in port two days and both will be at an all-inclusive resort. No chance that we will exceed the 5 C&A drinks those two evenings. We carried on 2 bottles of wine and a case of water as well.
Going into this 02/09 sailing the decision was already made to skip the DX package.(first time since offered)
A few months after booking the price dropped significantly on Grand Suites. We upgraded and now alcohol is complimentary in the suite lounge between 5-8pm. We did not exceed our 5 free drinks yesterday, so $0 alcohol on invoice.
It’s a sea day so we will see how it works out today  😂 


 

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37 minutes ago, Neaxan said:

We've been on the lookout for acceptable DBP prices since lifting & shifting our Odyssey cruise to 2022. Unfortunately the lowest we have ever seen was 68 € per person per day (77 $). We bought the refreshment package in the Black Friday sales for a good price, but the DBP stayed on 68 €. Last week I checked the cruise  price in a different browser and by total chance saw a promotion for the DBP for 44 € per person per day (50 $). This was not advertised in the cruise planner and only available by calling Royal. While booking the DBP for us, they kindly cancelled the refreshment package at the same time. In contrast to cruise planner purchases this deal wasn't paid instantly but will be paid on final pay day together with the remaining cruise fee. Very strange new tactic - I'm happy with the result but I'm not used to not seeing my DBP in the cruise planner.

Would love to know if this approach makes more money for Royal compared to cruise planner discounts. Personally, I check the CP every day for new prices but I really despise caling anyone on the phone. I prefer the old approach.

Never heard of this!  Where did you find it? And can I assume you are not in the US?

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1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

100% agree.  Whether or not it makes since, financially, is irrelevant to us.  We do it for the convenience and for the ability to get whatever we want, whenever we want it without having to think about it.

Exact same.  There is no question that Royal makes money off of me.  But it's just being able to order when you want, to try new drinks and not worry if I'll like it.  Or maybe you feel like a drink but not forced to finish it, etc.

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I had a great deal on a DBP back when our cruise was on Allure transatlantic, then the ship got switched to Wonder of the Seas.  A couple months later Royal refunded the package back because they said it was on different ship.  They did not honour the previous pricing once I seen it had been refunded.  They honoured the price I paid for the cruise though. 

I hope they have a new intern doing the pricing soon.

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In the UK the unfortunate thing is we can't book packages then re-price them so we are locked in from the moment we purchase. 😞 I just had to wait til the time was right. Speaking of drinks, are Coco Locos sold onboard the ships or is it solely on Coco Cay? 

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On 2/4/2022 at 5:12 AM, trueblue83 said:

Some people saying the DBP does included gratuities and others saying it does not. Can some please clarify this?

I have the DBP purchased (€960 for both of us) for our cruise in March and trying to figure out if we'll have any charges at the end (we pre-paid gratuities also).

I had this question myself. I figured out what what the DBP and saw the price was higher then I thought it should be. I called RC and they said that the gratuity on the package. The gratuity you pay when booking the cruise is for the room and main dining. Hope this helps.

Pat

 

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I bought the DBP along with the internet package including gratuity for under 800. Looking through the app it appears the drinks are all listed at 13 dollars but the fine print of the DBP says 12 dollars. So will I be charged 1 dollar to my sea pass every time I get a 13 dollar drink or how does that work? We are sailing on Enchantment of the Seas in May.

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13 hours ago, JamieNI said:

In the UK the unfortunate thing is we can't book packages then re-price them so we are locked in from the moment we purchase. 😞 I just had to wait til the time was right. Speaking of drinks, are Coco Locos sold onboard the ships or is it solely on Coco Cay? 

You can get Coco Locos on the ships.

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13 hours ago, JamieNI said:

In the UK the unfortunate thing is we can't book packages then re-price them so we are locked in from the moment we purchase. 😞 I just had to wait til the time was right. Speaking of drinks, are Coco Locos sold onboard the ships or is it solely on Coco Cay? 

I wonder if there is a way around that? Such as if you were to book through a TA located in the US?

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So we are going on Wonder for the transatlantic in April. 14 nights will be the longest cruise we have been on. Current price for the DBP is $66.00 U.S. per day plus gratuity. Seems reasonable but here are the numbers if we both have to have it.

DELUXE BEVERAGE PACKAGE 21+

$924.00 USD

$924.00 USD

$332.64 USD Gratuity

TOTAL $2180.64 USD

I can take another guest with us for this amount of money. Somehow I don't see us getting the package on this trip.

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On 2/10/2022 at 10:12 PM, washdcdave said:

I bought the DBP along with the internet package including gratuity for under 800. Looking through the app it appears the drinks are all listed at 13 dollars but the fine print of the DBP says 12 dollars. So will I be charged 1 dollar to my sea pass every time I get a 13 dollar drink or how does that work? We are sailing on Enchantment of the Seas in May.

No, package covers $13 drinks.  $12 was the old price for non-oasis class ships but now it’s $13 on all ships.  No worries 😉 

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20 hours ago, kkjcrew said:

So we are going on Wonder for the transatlantic in April. 14 nights will be the longest cruise we have been on. Current price for the DBP is $66.00 U.S. per day plus gratuity. Seems reasonable but here are the numbers if we both have to have it.

DELUXE BEVERAGE PACKAGE 21+

$924.00 USD

$924.00 USD

$332.64 USD Gratuity

TOTAL $2180.64 USD

I can take another guest with us for this amount of money. Somehow I don't see us getting the package on this trip.

For me $66 a day is in my range but I am not sure if I could drink that much for 14 days. I would most likely get tired after the first solid week of drinking. I just wish that my cruise coming up was $66 a day mine has come down from $80 for the DBP to about $70 a day so I am little more happy but it sill out of my future range for the drink package.

I have already made up my mind that I am going to stick it to Royal for charging me so much money for the DBP that my minimum alcoholic drinks per a day is going to be 15. If they want to charge that much money then I am going to up my game. After this cruise however I am done with buying the DBP unless it is around $60 a day for it.

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