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Man, drives me nuts when I see people say the deluxe is not worth it because they can't drink that much alcohol....

PSA,its not just alcohol!!! when you factor in the price per day that means ALL drinks (coffee, juices,smoothies, soda, and yes booze) all of that adds up quick! 

Rant over, and yes, I understand the deluxe is not for everyone (non drinkers, voucher people, etc) 

Thanks for joining my ted talk

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The fact that it covers both my needed caffeine *and* my alcohol is what sold me. I drink a lot of Coca-Cola, so that alone would probably make it worth it. Throw in the alcohol, and I'm guaranteed to be ahead of the game. It helps that I snagged a BOGO 50% Off sale, so it didn't hurt as bad as it could have getting it for me and the husband.

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Since you went there, here's my take. For most people, based on message board postings, they're better off financially paying as they go instead of purchasing a package due to drink fatigue and opportunities for use. It seems most frequently people break even on a drink package (that includes the Refreshment package) versus paying out of pocket. The DBP at current pricing makes the most sense for people who really enjoy premium cocktails and cruisers who don't want to think about the cost of what they're ordering while on vacation. While it might seem silly to overpay to not think about drink costs, there is a certain value to just going and having a good time without worrying about the bill at the end (not something I'd personally do, but I can understand where people are coming from who do).

 

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Ok the DBP is not worth it for me because I can’t drink that much for the entire cruise.  I don’t drink specialty coffee, don’t care about fresh squeezed OJ, find the ship’s water perfectly acceptable and bring wine with me. PSA - it’s not for everyone.  Sorry to drive you nuts. 🙄

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It’s hard to be black and white on this topic.  The key to me is what’s the price of the package.  My sailing in a couple of months shows a retail of $90 per day.  For me, that might be difficult to break even.  However, since I got it for $59.99, it makes it more likely I will save money.  I figure a couple of coffees or smoothies, a couple of drinks during the day (conservative for point of discussion) and two glasses of wine at dinner it will pay for itself.  This doesn’t include the numerous bottles of water I am positive I will consume.

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My wife and I had no drink package on our last cruise. We drank anything and everything we wanted without hesitation. Drinks were had at meals. Drinks were had by the pool. Drinks were had at the Solarium and at Coco Cay. Our bill after 7 days came to $550. The cost of Unlimited drink package would have been $1100. So my fuzzy math says they FOR ME, the package would not have been worth it. Sorry if math in MY scenario drive you nuts. 😂🤣😂

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54 minutes ago, Ryan79 said:

My wife and I had no drink package on our last cruise. We drank anything and everything we wanted without hesitation. Drinks were had at meals. Drinks were had by the pool. Drinks were had at the Solarium and at Coco Cay. Our bill after 7 days came to $550. The cost of Unlimited drink package would have been $1100. So my fuzzy math says they FOR ME, the package would not have been worth it. Sorry if math in MY scenario drive you nuts. 😂🤣😂

7 days for $550...

$80 per day (a little less actually)

$40 per person

Average drink 10 - 14 bucks

4 drinks per person per day....hmm you really didn't drink that much so I would agree you are not a DBP 

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1 hour ago, Pooch said:

Ok the DBP is not worth it for me because I can’t drink that much for the entire cruise.  I don’t drink specialty coffee, don’t care about fresh squeezed OJ, find the ship’s water perfectly acceptable and bring wine with me. PSA - it’s not for everyone.  Sorry to drive you nuts. 🙄

You are not the one who drives me nuts. As I said, I understand those who shouldn't do the DBP 

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2 hours ago, TimeRacer said:

The fact that it covers both my needed caffeine *and* my alcohol is what sold me. I drink a lot of Coca-Cola, so that alone would probably make it worth it. Throw in the alcohol, and I'm guaranteed to be ahead of the game. It helps that I snagged a BOGO 50% Off sale, so it didn't hurt as bad as it could have getting it for me and the husband.

Hey TimeRacer,

With a nickname like that I can understand your need for caffeine and Coca-Cola. Did you know that Royal is now trying out a new drink package program? It's a Pepsi/Coke challenge. It includes all the drinks, juice, coffee, etc that comes with the UDP. The catch is the Pepsi/Coke Challenge. Once you are on board, they have the challenge set up where all participants have to do three successive blind Pepsi/Coke drink challenges. If you successfully can distinguish between which were coke and which were pepsi, Your UDP is reduced by 50%. However, if you do not distinguish between which was coke and pepsi, be prepared to pay the full price of the UDP and also be relegated to the bowels of the ship (deck 2) for dishwashing service. Depending on how many choices you had right or wrong will determine the length of your stay in the bowels. 😎🤣

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3 hours ago, TimeRacer said:

The fact that it covers both my needed caffeine *and* my alcohol is what sold me. I drink a lot of Coca-Cola, so that alone would probably make it worth it. Throw in the alcohol, and I'm guaranteed to be ahead of the game. It helps that I snagged a BOGO 50% Off sale, so it didn't hurt as bad as it could have getting it for me and the husband.

Rum and Coke and you cover both ends?

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Let's face the facts

If Royal was not at least at the break even point on their drink package, they'd raise the price even more.

For most purchasers royal make a substantial profit.  On average it is more than if they just sold drinks by the drink.

Just like those Casino free cruise folks.  Royal bottom line is PROFIT

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1 hour ago, Randon1234 said:

You are not the one who drives me nuts. As I said, I understand those who shouldn't do the DBP 

So then what’s your point? People say they can’t drink enough to justify it.  The other included beverages you mention can be had much cheaper with the refreshment or soda packages.  So to make the DBP of value, you have to drink enough booze.

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1 hour ago, Pooch said:

So then what’s your point? People say they can’t drink enough to justify it.  The other included beverages you mention can be had much cheaper with the refreshment or soda packages.  So to make the DBP of value, you have to drink enough booze.

If you don't drink alcohol than obviously the DBP doesn't apply to you. My rant was for the people who think you have to only drink booze to equal the cost of the DBP, (aka i need 7-10 alcoholic drinks every single day) which is in fact not true at all. You have to take the accumulation of all your drinks to determine whether or not the price was justified. 

If you get the DBP and only have 1 beer, but drink enough soda or whatever else to total out to more than the cost of the package, its worth it. Thats my point. 

I think you are questioning a different argument about which is more cost efficient. In my scenario above it would be cheaper to just buy the 1 beer and have everything else on The refreshment package, but that is not what my rant was about. This was for those who strictly claim that the deluxe has to be consumed with nothing but alcohol. 

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5 hours ago, Randon1234 said:

Man, drives me nuts when I see people say the deluxe is not worth it because they can't drink that much alcohol....

PSA,its not just alcohol!!! when you factor in the price per day that means ALL drinks (coffee, juices,smoothies, soda, and yes booze) all of that adds up quick! 

Rant over, and yes, I understand the deluxe is not for everyone (non drinkers, voucher people, etc) 

Thanks for joining my ted talk

Sorry, I don't drink coffee, tea, smoothies. Just the occasional diet soda. And only have juice on rare occasions. So don't assume we all would use all those things. 

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My travel companion and I have a theory. When we get the Deluxe package, we drink it's worth. When we don't get it, we don't drink anywhere close to the package cost. For us, it's a mental thing. When we know we don't have to worry about the cost and it's already been paid for, it's a lot easier to drink more. The flip side to this is the pressure to meet the package costs. I.e. I need to drink X drinks a day to recoup what I paid for it.

I usually get my folio at the end of a cruise and make a spreadsheet of how much we drank and use a low rounded amount ($10 for alcohol drinks, $6 for coffee drinks) to estimate the package costs based on where we got the drinks. I do this because the package often costs so much that in order to get it again, I have to justify paying that much. I know once we stop drinking as much alcohol, the Deluxe package won't be for us.

If we don't get the Deluxe package, we usually get one Refreshment and one soda package and buy drinks a la carte. 

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I love the emotional hold the DBP seems to have on people.  I often hear how having it gives them a sense of freedom to order what they want even if they are unsure if they will get value from it.  I also often hear that achieving value from it creates a certain burden on some cruisers.

I would say for anyone not certain they will get value from it, why not instead of giving the $660 pp (80/night plus 18% 7 day cruise) upfront to Royal, just go to guest services when onboard, give them the $660 on account and essentially fund your own DBP.  Then order away!  At the end of the cruise, the amount you have left is the profit you are paying yourself instead of the cruise line.

For those that know they need the DBP, they know it.  I think for those unsure, most will find they spend less.

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I don't get the DBP because I seldom drink alcohol and I'm fine with the iced tea, water, and free juices at breakfast.  I also bring Crystal Light on the Go packets with me and I drink that a lot of the time.  I usually get one mocktail/day which was $8 on Liberty in October (BTW the lava flow is to die for!).   One of my friends on our upcoming June cruise had to get the DBP because her roommate wanted it.  She said she only drinks 1 or 2 glasses of wine/day and didn't think she'd get her money's worth.  I told her about all the other drinks she could get with that package and that made her feel better; she drinks a lot of coffee so the specialty coffees being available was a definite plus.

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13 hours ago, Pooch said:

Ok the DBP is not worth it for me because I can’t drink that much for the entire cruise.  I don’t drink specialty coffee, don’t care about fresh squeezed OJ, find the ship’s water perfectly acceptable and bring wine with me. PSA - it’s not for everyone.  Sorry to drive you nuts. 🙄

Yeah same. I don’t drink soda, have one cup of plain black coffee a day, and a maximum of three alcoholic drinks. It’s kind of like the old Disney Dining Plan (not sure if that’s still a thing), great if you just don’t want to worry about it when you’re there.

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1 hour ago, Xaa said:

I love the emotional hold the DBP seems to have on people.  I often hear how having it gives them a sense of freedom to order what they want even if they are unsure if they will get value from it.  I also often hear that achieving value from it creates a certain burden on some cruisers.

I would say for anyone not certain they will get value from it, why not instead of giving the $660 pp (80/night plus 18% 7 day cruise) upfront to Royal, just go to guest services when onboard, give them the $660 on account and essentially fund your own DBP.  Then order away!  At the end of the cruise, the amount you have left is the profit you are paying yourself instead of the cruise line.

For those that know they need the DBP, they know it.  I think for those unsure, most will find they spend less.

I really like this idea for those who don't think they'd drink enough to justify the cost. Very interesting concept, thanks for sharing

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1 hour ago, Southern Waters said:

I don't get the DBP because I seldom drink alcohol and I'm fine with the iced tea, water, and free juices at breakfast.  I also bring Crystal Light on the Go packets with me and I drink that a lot of the time.  I usually get one mocktail/day which was $8 on Liberty in October (BTW the lava flow is to die for!).   One of my friends on our upcoming June cruise had to get the DBP because her roommate wanted it.  She said she only drinks 1 or 2 glasses of wine/day and didn't think she'd get her money's worth.  I told her about all the other drinks she could get with that package and that made her feel better; she drinks a lot of coffee so the specialty coffees being available was a definite plus.

Tell your friend they can call royal and get the refreshment package even though the roommate is getting the deluxe. They will switch it. 

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11 hours ago, Randon1234 said:

If you don't drink alcohol than obviously the DBP doesn't apply to you. My rant was for the people who think you have to only drink booze to equal the cost of the DBP, (aka i need 7-10 alcoholic drinks every single day) which is in fact not true at all. You have to take the accumulation of all your drinks to determine whether or not the price was justified. 

If you get the DBP and only have 1 beer, but drink enough soda or whatever else to total out to more than the cost of the package, its worth it. Thats my point. 

I think you are questioning a different argument about which is more cost efficient. In my scenario above it would be cheaper to just buy the 1 beer and have everything else on The refreshment package, but that is not what my rant was about. This was for those who strictly claim that the deluxe has to be consumed with nothing but alcohol. 

Trust me, virtually everyone here knows the deluxe package includes more than just alcohol.  Yet almost everyone who questions the value of the DBP does so BECAUSE they know they won't drink enough of those non-alcoholic drinks.  That's WHY they say they would need to drink 7-10 alcoholic drinks every day.  When fresh squeezed juices or specialty coffee has no value to you, it gets eliminated from the equation.  So there's very few people who actually fit into your rant.

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I have never purchased the deluxe drink package not because I would not be able to get value out of it, it was because I would have to purchase it for my wife as well and she does not drink that much. Even if I were to call Royal and then just get the refreshment package for her, she is still not going to get the value out of it as she only drinks water, tea and black coffee.

I would just get the refreshment package for me and then get alcohol ala cart. It has saved me hundreds on all my sailings. Now that we are Diamond, we get 4 alcohol dinks per day. She will likely only use 2 per day if that. I will get her other 2 weeee!!

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1 hour ago, Atlantix2000 said:

Trust me, virtually everyone here knows the deluxe package includes more than just alcohol.  Yet almost everyone who questions the value of the DBP does so BECAUSE they know they won't drink enough of those non-alcoholic drinks.  That's WHY they say they would need to drink 7-10 alcoholic drinks every day.  When fresh squeezed juices or specialty coffee has no value to you, it gets eliminated from the equation.  So there's very few people who actually fit into your rant.

More than you think, cheers

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44 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

I have never purchased the deluxe drink package not because I would not be able to get value out of it, it was because I would have to purchase it for my wife as well and she does not drink that much. Even if I were to call Royal and then just get the refreshment package for her, she is still not going to get the value out of it as she only drinks water, tea and black coffee.

I would just get the refreshment package for me and then get alcohol ala cart. It has saved me hundreds on all my sailings. Now that we are Diamond, we get 4 alcohol dinks per day. She will likely only use 2 per day if that. I will get her other 2 weeee!!

6 comp drinks! Let's go! 

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I agree with your rant @Randon1234.  When one tries to figure out if the DBP, they need to calculate all their drinks, not just alcohol.  I choice not do do the DBP because I am a light weigh on the alcohol side.  But I take full advantage of the refreshment package and my 2 free bottles of wine (for dinner).  Then I only purchase a la carte 1 or 2 mix drinks a day. But this summer, I did purchase a DBP at a great price just to see if it would change my drinking habits.  I may just have a drink or two during the afternoons instead of just in the evening. 3-4 drinks along with all my fresh fruit juices, diet coke, and milkshake just may pay for the DBP.  

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17 minutes ago, FireFishII said:

I agree with your rant @Randon1234.  When one tries to figure out if the DBP, they need to calculate all their drinks, not just alcohol.  I choice not do do the DBP because I am a light weigh on the alcohol side.  But I take full advantage of the refreshment package and my 2 free bottles of wine (for dinner).  Then I only purchase a la carte 1 or 2 mix drinks a day. But this summer, I did purchase a DBP at a great price just to see if it would change my drinking habits.  I may just have a drink or two during the afternoons instead of just in the evening. 3-4 drinks along with all my fresh fruit juices, diet coke, and milkshake just may pay for the DBP.  

The price plays a huge factor, but if you got a good deal then you will easily get your money's worth 

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48 minutes ago, FireFishII said:

I agree with your rant @Randon1234.  When one tries to figure out if the DBP, they need to calculate all their drinks, not just alcohol.  I choice not do do the DBP because I am a light weigh on the alcohol side.  But I take full advantage of the refreshment package and my 2 free bottles of wine (for dinner).  Then I only purchase a la carte 1 or 2 mix drinks a day. But this summer, I did purchase a DBP at a great price just to see if it would change my drinking habits.  I may just have a drink or two during the afternoons instead of just in the evening. 3-4 drinks along with all my fresh fruit juices, diet coke, and milkshake just may pay for the DBP.  

Yes it may for "YOU" but if you have others in the room then they all have to have a package... that is the extra cost you have to consider as well.

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22 minutes ago, Pooch said:

Not true.  It is quite easy to call & get a combination of DBP & refreshment package.  

And then you are still paying for 2 packages. 

I do not and will not pay for a package that will not be used or have any meaningful benefit. 

My wife only drinks water, tea, and black coffee. All of which are already included in the cruise fair. So a deluxe package for me would cost me that plus a refreshment package. It will never be worth it.

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Just to chime in, the OP says it drives him nuts when people say the DX is not worth it and I can't understand why. The value of something will always be tied to a person definition of value. Why should that matter to the OP? If you find value in something others don't, great, if not it should not bother you. If I don't see value in x, y and Z doesn't mean that when other people do it bothers me, nor should it. The value of DX should only be based on alcoholic drinks because like many other have stated, you can get other packages.

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26 minutes ago, TimeRacer said:

While I think we can generally agree that the DBP is expensive, and the value (or lack thereof) depends on the individual, I think the OP's original rant might have just been to get people talking. From that perspective, it worked. 

Just ranting, but I'm glad it could bring up some discussion with multiple perspectives and viewpoints

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It’s definitely a personal choice based on individual unique circumstances. I get diamond vouchers and I have prime status in the casino. Considering I can get all the alcohol I could ever drink for free, why would I want to pay for the DBP?  But someone without these perks may find a benefit to the DBP useful. I do like the refreshment package if it is on sale. 

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