Refreshment Drink Package

[beardedtog]

Hey Everyone,  First time cruising next year.  May family will doing a 7 day cruise and I'm looking at the drink packages and had questions.  I know we all want to do the classic soda package.  I'm wondering if one of us get the refreshment package are we allowed to share?  Like say my daughter asked or orange juice and lunch.  Can I get 2 orange juice one for me and her.  Or my wife and I want a milkshake at a restaurant, can I just walk in and get two of them.  I don't know how it works like to places tell you only one mocktail, one juice per person per visit or etc?   Thanks in advance.

 

**UPDATE**.   thanks all for your help. 

[amanalo217]

Drinks should not be shared on drink packages. So if two people want a specialty coffee they should each have the refreshment package.

[CanHardlyWait]

No you cannot share. Each person must buy their own package. 

[Ampurp85]

Sharing a package is the quickest way to never be allowed a package again. 

[Ryan79]

If sharing a drink package was allowed, then you would have large parties where only one person would buy the DBP and everyone else would mooch off of that one person. I’m no finance major, but I’m pretty sure that is not what RC has in mind when selling this package. They aren’t going to allow you to order two RP drinks at a time because that is a dead give away that you are sharing the package. If you want two drinks, you will need to produce two sea cards with the package indicated on it.

[TeRriii]

Just think the drink package as "All You Can Eat" buffet, you need to pay for each person you bring to be allowed to eat in the restaurant.

 

[Steve B]

You can al la carte the individual drinks, this way you don't have to upgrade each person to the refreshment package. 

[loujill]

Hi, does anyone know what the 2023 cost will be for the alcohol drink package.  I'm not a big drinker, but I don't want the nagging notion of "cha-ching" on my bill in my head every time I order a drink.  About how many drinks per day would make the drink package worth it?  

 

Thanks!

[Ryan79]

1 hour ago, loujill said:

Hi, does anyone know what the 2023 cost will be for the alcohol drink package.  I'm not a big drinker, but I don't want the nagging notion of "cha-ching" on my bill in my head every time I order a drink.  About how many drinks per day would make the drink package worth it?  

 

Thanks!

Cost will vary by ship and itinerary. I have one cruise this month that is $64.99 per day and another in December that is $74.99. There is no standard fleet-wide price. To break even, it will depend on what types of drinks you like. For mixed drinks it’s usually around 6-7. For beer it’s about 9.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

The alcoholic drink package is apparently priced according to ship and date and length of cruise.  Seems everyone gets different prices depending on their particular cruise.  My current price for Oasis July 28 7 night cruise is $70.99/day/person.  My November 6th Independence 4 nighter is currently $72.99/day/person.

[Atlantix2000]

3 hours ago, loujill said:

Hi, does anyone know what the 2023 cost will be for the alcohol drink package.  I'm not a big drinker, but I don't want the nagging notion of "cha-ching" on my bill in my head every time I order a drink.  About how many drinks per day would make the drink package worth it? 

Thanks!

If you're not a big drinker, you may not be able to the drink package "worth" it but it depends what you drink.  If you ONLY drink cocktails, then at $14/cocktail, you'll likely need 5-7 per day depending on your specific trip.  If that's a 7 night trip, that's going to be hard to do if you're not used to drinking alcohol like that.  However, if you also make use of the other beverages like bottled water, soda, and specialty coffee, then the math gets easier, but it's still a lot of liquid.  So consider if you normally drink that much (and not just alcohol).

[Xaa]

15 hours ago, loujill said:

Hi, does anyone know what the 2023 cost will be for the alcohol drink package.  I'm not a big drinker, but I don't want the nagging notion of "cha-ching" on my bill in my head every time I order a drink.  About how many drinks per day would make the drink package worth it?  

 

Thanks!

Just fund your own drink package.  To avoid the worry, take the price of the drink package, extend it out by the length of your cruise, then multiply by 1.18 for gratuities.  Double that number for your cabin mate.  Put that amount in an account or under your mattress or whatever.  Then just order all the drinks you want without worry.  At the end total up your drinks and pay yourself the left over.  If you ended up exceeding the amount, then you'll know that you should get DBP.  Generally I think that those who are unsure will do better self funding and paying a la carte.  Those that know they need it, are usually right.

[CruisingNewb]

These types of questions get asked all the time.  I get it.

Let me ask you guys this:

Do you ever go to all-you-can-eat or any type of buffet restaurants?  For example, not that I have been to one since a teenager, but Red Lobster used to have $20 unlimited shrimp dinners.  Those shrimp they serve are typically 31/40 count shrimp.  This means a pound of shrimp yields 31 to 40 shrimp.  A restaurant can get a pound of 31/40 count shrimp for about $4 a pound or less.  Each serving dish of shrimp at Red Lobster gives you about 8 shrimp.  Ok, here is the math: A person pays $20 for unlimited shrimp.  Each serving portion is 8 shrimp.  5 servings is about 1 pound.  After 5 servings you ate $4 in shrimp.  In order to break even, you must eat at least 4 pounds of shrimp.

Same concept applies to buffets.  A low end buffet that costs $20 a person would require that person to eat at least 5 plates of the highest end meat cuts offered to break even.

My question: Why is everyone so fixated on the math?  If you don't do the math to eat out at a restaurant, don't bother doing the math for the beverage packages.  

[Xaa]

Your examples are really very flawed @CruisingNewb.  The comparison begins after there has been a decision to go to Red Lobster or board a cruise ship.  That then rules out buying your own raw shrimp or mixing your own drinks.  

So at Red Lobster the math is [$20/{cost of single dinner}]*8.  Will you eat that many shrimp or are you better off buying 1 or more single dinner plates.

For drink packages, it is more complex based on the type of drinks, but a person directionally wants to get an idea if they are spending their money wisely so these conversations come up.

People absolutely do math at restaurants.  I would get the all you can eat Shrimp, my wife the single dinner.  In both cases it will be all we can eat.

 

[CruisingNewb]

 

Your examples are really very flawed @CruisingNewb.  The comparison begins after there has been a decision to go to Red Lobster or board a cruise ship.  That then rules out buying your own raw shrimp or mixing your own drinks.  

So at Red Lobster the math is [$20/{cost of single dinner}]*8.  Will you eat that many shrimp or are you better off buying 1 or more single dinner plates.

For drink packages, it is more complex based on the type of drinks, but a person directionally wants to get an idea if they are spending their money wisely so these conversations come up.

People absolutely do math at restaurants.  I would get the all you can eat Shrimp, my wife the single dinner.  In both cases it will be all we can eat.

 

Perhaps.

My point is that if you drink alcohol and plan to drink other drinks, there will be days that you barely drink and days where you binge drink.  Ultimately, the question is, if pure economics is involved, these things are truly not worth the money.  Not even when you factor in overhead and labor.  I can make my own drinks, cook my own meals, and enjoy my pool at home while watching the History Channel and National Geographic about the Bahamas at a much more economical manner.  But then, is it vacation?  Is it pampering yourself?  What are you paying for when you go on a cruise?  The experience?

At the end of the day, these questions about whether something is worth it should be more towards the personal aspects rather than the economic aspects.  Drink packages may be worth it for some, not for others. But defining "worth" is the issue.

[Geezer Of The Seas]

Three cruises with Royal, we have never purchased the Deluxe Beverage Package, only the Refreshment Package, which of course includes any beverage but alcoholic drinks. Never paid much attention to the math, but sorta did on our 7 day trip on Wonder this past April. We had 2-3 drinks daily apiece (hard stuff primarily, some wine) and our out of pocket cost on drinks was about $330 (including additional gratuities outside the 18% (NOT REQUIRED) added to the drink price). Between the Refreshment Package cost & the a la' carte booze, I know we spent less on all refreshments than the lowest cost pre-trip price we found for the Deluxe Package in the Cruise Planner. Perhaps helpful to the OP, perhaps not, but it worked for us.

PS: FWIW, we did all our alcohol consumption at 2 bars, Trellis in Central Park, & the Solarium Bar. The additional tips which went on our Sea Pass cards with the drinks, netted us 5 "on the house" over 7 days. Don't know how things, work, but it appears if you add an additional tip that money is not pooled and split, but rather goes to the bartender on duty  that recorded the sale. Only way I can explain the freebies, but it appears to to pay dividends confining your business to a single bartender at a bar if that's possible. 

[Xaa]

I think you and I agree in principal @CruisingNewb, but again it isn't a purely economical decision from point 0.  It's an economical decision from a point where a decision to cruise has been made.

Then the simple problem statement is this.  "I'm going to drink all that I want the entire week, am I better off doing that with a package or paying a la carte?"

The level of pampering is identical, but I can look at my brother and say with great certainty "You need the DBP".  Then I can look at my wife and say, again with certainty "We should handle you a la carte".  neither is close to the line of value.  My brother way over and my wife very far away.  For those that are near the line on one side or another, they struggle with the question so we see it here.

I always recommend, as I did here, that if you aren't sure, you should self fund and find out.

[Ryan79]

I agree 100% with that last sentence that @Xaa posted above. On our first cruise, my wife and I knew we could “break even” on sea days and PDCC, but not sure about the other port days. So we decided to self fund that cruise and see where we land. We drank whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and we found out we were not DBP drinkers. Saved a couple hundred dollars by not buying it. But we also know that if we were on an extended cruise with many sea days and less ports, then we would be much more likely to consider the DBP. You have to just find out for yourself if it’s worth it for you. No one can answer the “is it worth it?” question for you.

[CruisingNewb]

Another point I would like to make on this topic:

Your life's station at the time you cruise shouldn't be the limit of how you perceive your vacation to be.

When we were first married, my wife and I took a 3 night cruise for our first vacation.  Barely out of lawschool and my wife just having become a CPA, we had no money.  The cruise was $203 a person per night.  We saved up and made it happen.  Aside from pre-paying tips, we did not spend a dime on the cruise other than the fare.  We did not even get off the ship at port.  We drank the free "juice," coffee and free water.  We had one free alcoholic drink voucher for each night. We ate at the MDR and Buffet.  Honestly, it was the most memorable cruise were went on.  

Fast forward to last year. We took 2 cruises last year.  After the first one, where I bought the DBP and UDP for my family, pre-bought blankets, souvenirs, upgraded our room, etc...Yeah, I paid a pretty penny, I realized that maybe it was overboard (pun is intended).  SO our second cruise of the year we did the 3 restaurant dining and paid for alcohol ala carte.  Still fun, but realizing I spent at least 15 minutes a night staring at the TV to check my daily purchases, spent 30 minutes each morning at Guest Services to pay off those purchases from the day before, etc, etc....I think going all out was much more relaxing.

I admit, now, I act way more boujie than I should and want to be pampered.  

So, when anyone asks these types of questions, I can only give my opinion based upon my station in life now.  Not rich or anything, but able to afford some pampering.  Yes, the drinks packages are worth it....to me.

[Xaa]

 

Still fun, but realizing I spent at least 15 minutes a night staring at the TV to check my daily purchases, spent 30 minutes each morning at Guest Services to pay off those purchases from the day before, etc, etc....I think going all out was much more relaxing.

That was your choice.  I certainly recommend looking over purchases in the app.  I can't imagine it taking 15 minutes.  That would be a lot of purchases.  Put a CC on file and then you don't need to go to guest services unless there is some issue.

A person doesn't need a DBP to go "all out".  That's a frame of mind.  Anyone who might have enough drink purchases the day before to spend 15 minutes looking them over probably was a strong candidate for DBP.

But every person should sail how they see fit and place their own values on the convenience and so forth.  So while none of us can ever answer the question singularly for any other person, the totality of discussion hopefully provides directional support for the askers to find their own path.  Hopefully our respectful back and forth provides some of that to someone.

Nothing like that first, freshly married cruise.  The SS Norway will always have a special place in our hearts here.

[ChessE4]

Some people just drink or eat too much. Their choice, but I don't recommend it. I don't think cruising is about being drunk or hungover. One night might be fun, but....I like to travel, and cruising facilitates that. Whatever you choose, have a great cruise.

[Ampurp85]

I know there are quite a few questions that get asked over and over and over. But in most cases people are just looking for the "right" answer. There is no right answer when it comes to subjective questions. The DX will and has never been for me. The refreshment/soda package use to always work out fine. My status means I don't need either.

My brother was adamant that he would need the DX every time he cruised. Then we cruised together in Jan without one.  He is a whiskey drinker, normally his go-to is two or three doubles a day, and a glass of wine at dinner. He realized he was drinking other stuff to get value out of the package as opposed to just enjoying what he drinks. We sail in Oct and instead of paying the $629 for the DX, he saved an extra $300 for a la carte drinks.  It is double what he thinks he will spend but it is smart to have the buffer. 

[CruisingNewb]

Another thing to consider:

I rarely drink alcohol.  In fact, I drink a couple glasses of wine a year, a glass or two of scotch a year, and maybe 2 beers a year.  Yes. That is more more than 6 or 7 alcoholic drinks in ONE YEAR.  LOL

BUT--when I am on a cruise, something magical happens.  I drink.  Not a lot, but I drink.  3 or 4 cocktails, 1 glass of wine, and 1 beer per day?  What is it that makes this happen?  Is it the fact that subconsciously I am trying to recoup the cost of my DBP?  Is it the fact that I don;t have to drive home after drinking?  Is it the fact that I am simply on vacation?  I dunno.

Now, I also drink about 6 to 8 tall glasses of water a day, 3 coffees/lattes a day, and maybe a soda per day.  This is when I am not on vacation.  

On a cruise, my daily regular beverage consumption changes only slightly. I end up drinking a little more water and maybe one less coffee.

If I based any costs of alcohol consumption based upon my regular daily habits, I simply would not choose the DBP.  

But like I said, something magical occurs when I board a cruise ship.  More Kraken Rum please!

[Joche]

Hi! Sorry for this post almost after a year, but I want to know if I can share the juice or the water of my refreshment package with a baby of 3 years