Right now, what is the cheapest price you are seeing in the Cruise planner for the drinks package?

[TRzeleney]

Hey y'all!

I'm wondering if the awesome community here can help me out. I am planning our family's 3rd cruise together, and my husband and I are contemplating buying the drink package for the first time. We did the math on our last cruise and figured out that we were just about at the break even point for getting the package, but that we both held back from getting things like specialty coffees/smoothies/bottled water because we didn't get the package - therefore, thinking it might make sense to get it this time as our next sailing is on Symphony in Dec and includes CocoCay where the package also works.

 

So here's my question - what is the cheapest price you are seeing on your cruise planners for similar 7 night sailings? I'm particularly wondering because I am Canadian but always book our cruises via a US travel agent and pay in US dollars - so I'm a little unclear if the prices I'm seeing when I log into my cruise planner are in USD or CAD (and there is no denomination shown which would help sort this out!). For reference, I am seeing $72.99/pp/pd at the moment. That price is listed as the BOGO 50% deal. Regular price is $98.00 it says. 

 

Thanks for your help fellow cruisers!

[Lovetocruise2002]

17 minutes ago, TRzeleney said:

I'm particularly wondering because I am Canadian but always book our cruises via a US travel agent and pay in US dollars

If you are using a US agent, and paying in US dollars, your Cruise planner pricing is in American dollars.

We are Canadian but my TA is US based and I also pay in US dollars.

[Lovetocruise2002]

20 minutes ago, TRzeleney said:

I am seeing $72.99/pp/pd at the moment

Cruise planner pricing varies a lot! I am sailing Symphony as well this December and $72.99 is the current pricing as well. This price might go up or down with different cruise planner sales etc. My best advice is to book and grab a price you are comfortable with, then keep checking and if the price drops, cancel and re-book. You can do this up until the cruise planner closes (2-3 days prior to sailing).

[Ryan79]

$72.99 for my Dec cruise and $90.00 for July. I haven’t seen lower than $72.99 in the past year and a half

[Rackham]

$66.99 BOGO50%; $90 price before discounts. Feb 2023 on Anthem.

[Pooch]

$72.99 on sale, $77.99 off sale.  Has not varied from this since I booked in January.  This included my 8 day on Explorer in October and 7 day Harmony next May.

[Pattycruise]

$68 for my Aug 28 cruise on Oasis

[TRzeleney]

Thank you everyone for your responses! This is super helpful!

[mom2mybugs]

On 8/20/2022 at 2:43 PM, Ryan79 said:

$72.99 for my Dec cruise and $90.00 for July. I haven’t seen lower than $72.99 in the past year and a half

I bought at the 72.99 and really hoping for a Black Friday sale.  This was the lowest I’ve seen.  Jane

[Ryan79]

36 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

I bought at the 72.99 and really hoping for a Black Friday sale.  This was the lowest I’ve seen.  Jane

I don’t remember that drink package being on any decent sale last Black Friday. I think it was their usual “Buy 1 get one 50% off” promo that was running. I could be wrong, but the only beverage package that stuck in my mind was the soda package for like $6/day. 

[mom2mybugs]

9 minutes ago, Ryan79 said:

I don’t remember that drink package being on any decent sale last Black Friday. I think it was their usual “Buy 1 get one 50% off” promo that was running. I could be wrong, but the only beverage package that stuck in my mind was the soda package for like $6/day. 

Like with everything royal, it just depends.  My last couple cruises had a very good deal…maybe $5 a day less…on Black Friday and if I remember correctly, the one before it didn’t.  I’m not going to chance my restaurant reservations even if the price is too good to be true, but I’m crossing my fingers for internet and the alcohol drink pkg.  jane

[Temeculaguy]

$66.99 for a bogo on Anthem may 23 transatlantic. I'm torn, I've always gotten the DBX but now as diamond and in a suite and prime in the casino I've got 4 free drinks a day for diamond, plus free drinks in the casino, free drinks in the suite lounge and the diamond lounge, not sure it pencils out to get the package. Also we have the dining package and will specialty dine all 11 nights with 40% off wines by the bottle and we are primarily wine drinkers. A bottle of Kendall Jackson cab is like $35 after the discount (normally $13 a galss), not sure I can justify 130 a day above the freebies when 2 bottles alone does us in at half the price despite 7 sea days. If they are still giving 4 drinks a day for diamond by then it will influence my decision, 2k is a lot for the package and after a few days of drinking a lot we tend to taper off. On a 3 or 4 day cruise, sure, but for an 11? I probably don't have the stamina.

[mistertomatohead]

It doesn’t really matter because each sailing is priced different. You might already have the best price for your particular sailing.

I currently have $70.99 (30% off $102) for my Sept 2nd Cabo 5 day on Navigator. I’m going solo.

[JazzBassMan]

2 hours ago, Temeculaguy said:

$66.99 for a bogo on Anthem may 23 transatlantic

I'm on the same sailing and have the same train of thought as you. Going to be in a GS and be Diamond by then. I'm pretty sure whatever bar tab I rack up by the end is going to end up being less than the 2K for the drink package. Only annoyance for me is I do like the hassle free experience of not dealing with the receipt for every round of drinks. 

[baltodave]

They vary a lot. 
For our December 4-night Navigator cruise out of LA it's currently 75.99 per day.
For our June 2023 7-night Radiance Alaskan cruise it's $64.00 per day
And for our March 2024 RCB group cruise in Panama, it's not posted yet.

[Ramja]

When are you sailing? If after Thanksgiving, wait until Black Friday.  That's usually the best sale price on the drink packages and excursions.

[FSUFAN]

7 day out of Boston to NE/Canada - $65.

Fair price nowadays, but still too rich for me with Mrs Fan's 1-3 drinks per day consumption.

[FSUFAN]

2 hours ago, baltodave said:

For our June 2023 7-night Radiance Alaskan cruise it's $64.00 per day

Our June 2023 7-night inside passage on the Quantum is currently at $66.99 and that is the cheapest I've seen yet for this sailing.

[KevinJ]

We're on an October Voyager sailing. I got the DBP for $65. I've been struggling with the Diamond decision also.  For this cruise I have several family members also on board so plan to use my vouchers to get them a few drinks. My wife can't drink alcohol or carbonated beverages, so i always have to call to get the package for me and the refreshment package for her. That makes is more of a hassle if I want to reprice.

[Ryan79]

1 hour ago, FSUFAN said:

Our June 2023 7-night inside passage on the Quantum is currently at $66.99 and that is the cheapest I've seen yet for this sailing.

That’s an awesome price! I’m on a July 2023 Quantium Alaskan sailing and my price is $90!! 

[Fla33023]

2 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

That’s an awesome price! I’m on a July 2023 Quantium Alaskan sailing and my price is $90!! 

2023 Thanksgiving cruise on Indy is  $105/day. Insane.

[new2cruzing]

My Sep 2022 Alaska sailing on OOTS is currently showing $66.99. The lowest I saw 20+ days ago was $62.99

[GuelphSmoke]

If you can wait until Cyber Monday (Nov. 28). That will likely be when the next big sale is. Obviously if your cruise is before then, that’s not going to work. You need to pre-buy it because it will be cheaper. I paid about $69/day for 10 nights in Australia. The cost varies based on cruise length and location. I also bought my package boxing week, as that was when I figured I would be a good deal.

lastly, remember you have to buy it for both guest in the state room and they automatically add a 20% gratuity on top of the cost. So if the lowest cost is $66.99 that works out to $80.39/day per person, or about $1,125 for the trip. 

[GuelphSmoke]

P.S. the cost on ship was $70 USD per day. That’s about $90 Canadian, give or take.

[Ampurp85]

2 hours ago, GuelphSmoke said:

If you can wait until Cyber Monday (Nov. 28). That will likely be when the next big sale is. Obviously if your cruise is before then, that’s not going to work. You need to pre-buy it because it will be cheaper. I paid about $69/day for 10 nights in Australia. The cost varies based on cruise length and location. I also bought my package boxing week, as that was when I figured I would be a good deal.

lastly, remember you have to buy it for both guest in the state room and they automatically add a 20% gratuity on top of the cost. So if the lowest cost is $66.99 that works out to $80.39/day per person, or about $1,125 for the trip. 

It will be 18% gratuity and usually the Black Fridy sale and Cyber Monday sale are the same thing. My advice is to not wait for a sale. Buy at a price you are comfortable with and reprice as needed. 

The most important thing is that sailing length, itinerary, port days, and time will factor into what constitutes a low price. Because of this, it really doesn't matter what one's lowest price is. My Nov Odyssey could be $68pp, while my Sept Nav is $77pp, a 2023 Oasis could be $86. Even though the Oasis cost more it is for 7 days, with 4 sea days, giving better value. 

[MattG]

We're on Oasis in October. Here's my tracking sheet for the past 6 months, green boxes are the lowest price i've seen, and yellow boxes are when I purchased:

[mistertomatohead]

What is the best sale percentage wise you’ve seen? BOGO 50% off isn’t. I’ve seen 30% off. What does the Black Friday one say?

I am assuming they don’t change the regular price once it is set for the sailing.

[Leroyr55]

I have 72.99 for HOS in May 2023. My wife and I average around 6-8 drinks a day plus up to 6 bottles of water per day. So I don’t think it’s a bad price but I will keep watching for lower. 
May 2022 on SOS I believe it was 64 a day caught a sale.

[Psycho and Barb]

For our next three cruises the prices for our Booze package is.

Wonder of the Seas, Feb 23...Its $77.99

B2B on the Adventure of the Seas

18 Nov 23...Its $101.00

24 Nov23...Its $101.00

[JohnK6404]

We also had $72.99 for Wonder in JAN 2023 with the last "sale"... now back to $77.99... The DBP has skyrocketed in a relatively short period as we paid $57.99 for Odyssey this past FEB and $53.00 for Oasis last OCT.

 

 

... and no discount for Wonder OCT 2023 right now...

[MattG]

Best price i've seen for my October Oasis cruise is $65/day. 

 

Best price i've ever seen was Anthem last December at $50/day.

[MattG]

2 hours ago, mistertomatohead said:

What is the best sale percentage wise you’ve seen? BOGO 50% off isn’t. I’ve seen 30% off. What does the Black Friday one say?

I am assuming they don’t change the regular price once it is set for the sailing.

Percentage literally does not matter. Ever. Only look at the actual dollar amount. 

I got UDP at $168 when it was "45% OFF ONBOARD PRICES". Now it's $219, and guess what % off is...

[MattG]

2 hours ago, mistertomatohead said:

I am assuming they don’t change the regular price once it is set for the sailing.

They will 100% change the regular price. They did it on our DBP. 

[J3N]

I will be on Harmony Jan 2023 and I haven't seen a lower price than $72.99 and I check weekly for sales.  Sale was 50% off....   Same price for over 6 months when they launch a sale.   Hoping for a better price Black Friday .  Purchased this one at that price plus voom and will see if Black Friday is better.  If so will cancel and repurchase.

 

 

[Jax]

I am sailing Harmony over Christmas 2022 and 2023 and the unlimited drink package is $77.99 for both cruises. I use a USD credit card to avoid exchange rate fluctuations should I reprice any cruise planner items at a lower rate.  

[NYCruisers]

We booked a cruise for Jun 2023 and the day we book the DBP was $71.99 i checked back a 3 weeks later and it was up to $90.00 I kicked myself for not getting it only to check 5 days ago and it was on sale at buy-one get one 50% off at $66.99 each so i 100% bought it at that price and now it's back up to $90. There is no rhyme or reason to there sales but I'll keep checking to see if it goes lower maybe on black friday.

[Ban-One]

Just booked the DBP today for the "Wonder Of The Seas" sailing on October 2nd. Got it for 71$ pp. Was with 73$ at the lowest for a while, today it dropped 2$. Decided not to wait any longer and book it.

[RJC]

On 8/24/2022 at 7:40 AM, MattG said:

We're on Oasis in October. Here's my tracking sheet for the past 6 months, green boxes are the lowest price i've seen, and yellow boxes are when I purchased:

This level of detail resonates well with me.  Well done!

[MattG]

1 hour ago, RJC said:

This level of detail resonates well with me.  Well done!

I'm a sucker for trends:

• how often do sales happen? (monthly-ish)
• are sales actually beneficial? (not really)
• what happens to prices as embarkation day gets closer? (prices get tighter as more items sell/sell out)
• How much regret do I feel for not locking in DBP at that price back in March? (lots)

[Psycho and Barb]

On 8/24/2022 at 7:43 AM, Psycho and Barb said:

For our next three cruises the prices for our Booze package is.

Wonder of the Seas, Feb 23...Its $77.99

B2B on the Adventure of the Seas

18 Nov 23...Its $101.00

24 Nov23...Its $101.00

Just checked ours as we do a couple of time a week and its changed!!!  Not cheap enough yet!

B2B on the Adventure of the Seas

18 Nov 23...Now Its $79.99

24 Nov23...Now Its $79.99