mscoug Posted February 8, 2017 Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 Hello everyone, My wife and I are leaving on an Arabian cruise on Vision on February 27th. When I log in and look at the cruise planner, the deluxe drink package is shown at $55/day with no discount available. I've been looking every few days for a while, and the price hasn't changed. Is there any chance that we could get a better deal when on board, or is the price always higher if we waited until then to purchase it? Thank you in advance for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 8, 2017 Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 In general, it's always cheaper to pre-purchase the drink package before the cruise. Granted, the $55/day rate you see is higher than almost any other cruise I've booked. Then again, no clue about Middle East cruise pricing. Also, we have a Cruise Compass from Vision in Middle East here: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/vision-of-the-seas/mon-2016-12-26-0000-0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted February 8, 2017 Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 Always pre-book it..... a) you have the chance to watch for a sale and get it cheaper in the meantime b) its nice to walk on the ship with it already on your card...the bars and sign up desks can get quite busy that first day if you decide you want to purchase it then....so its one less thing to worry about once on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted February 8, 2017 Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 Always pre-book it..... a) you have the chance to watch for a sale and get it cheaper in the meantime B) its nice to walk on the ship with it already on your card...the bars and sign up desks can get quite busy that first day if you decide you want to purchase it then....so its one less thing to worry about once on board. Good point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted February 8, 2017 Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 If you don't have a high (Diamond or better) status level and know you want the drink package I don't think there is any way you can "win" by waiting until you get on board. If you have a status level there may/should be an onboard discount so you at least shouldn't lose. If you aren't sure you want the package or want to play game by skipping it the first night for example then it might also be ok to wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor_to_Cruiser Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 As I am currently on day 4 of that exact same cruise, I figured I should jump in on this one. I booked in Oct for this cruise. I watched daily for a price change. As I'm from the UK my prices are in British pounds. Since June and the brexit vote, the exchange rate has been really fluid so I saw a few changes based on that, but I never saw a sale on the drinks package. I ended up buying on the day before the cut-off for GBP £45.10 which is about USD $55. Once on board I saw the prices were also USd $55. No savings whatsoever on the cruise planner. Hope this helps. I'll be doing a full review of the trip within the week when I return so be sure to watch for it. A lot of good first hand information that RCCL isn't too forward with. If you have other questions before Sunday you can email me at [email protected] and I'll find out what I can for you. Watch my morning coffee stroll periscope too. About 7:00 each morning (dubai time) 10pm us eastern time. Periscope name is sailor_to_cruiser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 I've just checked the actual prices for my "Canarian and North Africa" cruise out of Southampton (Sep 29), the package would be 51.02 EUR (= 55$). And according to the website this is the price including 20% discount. A bit expensive for a 14 night cruise, so I think we will do it without the drink package. I have never spent that much for my drinks on my recent cruises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 I've just checked the actual prices for my "Canarian and North Africa" cruise out of Southampton (Sep 29), the package would be 51.02 EUR (= 55$). And according to the website this is the price including 20% discount. A bit expensive for a 14 night cruise, so I think we will do it without the drink package. I have never spent that much for my drinks on my recent cruises. You could also wait and purchase the package part way through the cruise based on your consumption in the beginning. Also remember that you can bring on two bottles of wine per cabin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mscoug Posted February 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 Thank you very much for all of your responses and for posting the Cruise Compass. I'll probably watch the Cruise Planner for the next few days just in case, but will pre-book the drink package as I don't want to hassle with it on the ship. And Sailor_to_Cruiser, thank you very much for providing your e-mail address. I'm looking forward to reading your review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marti314 Posted February 9, 2017 Report Share Posted February 9, 2017 One benefit to buying it onboard when its the same price as the cruise planner is that your onboard credit can be used when you purchase it onboard while it can not be used for a pre cruise planner purchase. One thing people often forget is that onboard credit can go towards gratuities, so those who wonder how they will use their OBC, figure about 200 for a couple will just be gratuities at the end of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugsyCruiser Posted February 11, 2017 Report Share Posted February 11, 2017 Definitely pre book the drink package. On board Liberty it was 450. And also watch for the sales on packages sometimes.... have seen up to 30 percent off on the drink package :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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