bport95 Posted December 12, 2023 Report Share Posted December 12, 2023 Hello all! After watching the most recent Q&A, I thought it might be helpful for some to have a tool to determine if the drink package is worth it. I am not aware of any existing tools so I added one to a website that I own:https://goingroyal.com/drinkPackage Feel free to enjoy and let me know if there is anything else that you would like to see on this site NoobCruise, CrimsonCruiser, PPPJJ-GCVAB and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobCruise Posted December 13, 2023 Report Share Posted December 13, 2023 Nice work. Basically this means for me if you drink cocktails the drink package makes sense since you typically only have to drink 6 drinks a day to break even. If you drink beer, or seltzer then you are up to 10 a day and that might not make sense for many people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 13, 2023 Report Share Posted December 13, 2023 Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 13, 2023 Report Share Posted December 13, 2023 I would take it a step further and break it out by types of drinks (including bottles of water), assign an average price (say, beer is $8, liquor/wine is $11, mixed drinks are $14), then allow the user to pick how many each day of each type of drink they think they'll consume. bport95 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xaa Posted December 13, 2023 Report Share Posted December 13, 2023 6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: I would take it a step further and break it out by types of drinks (including bottles of water), assign an average price (say, beer is $8, liquor/wine is $11, mixed drinks are $14), then allow the user to pick how many each day of each type of drink they think they'll consume. Like this one on cruisemummy https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/cruise-drinks-package-calculator/ bport95 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMaxRebo Posted December 13, 2023 Report Share Posted December 13, 2023 17 hours ago, bport95 said: Hello all! After watching the most recent Q&A, I thought it might be helpful for some to have a tool to determine if the drink package is worth it. I am not aware of any existing tools so I added one to a website that I own:https://goingroyal.com/drinkPackage Feel free to enjoy and let me know if there is anything else that you would like to see on this site Thanks for putting this together - does this include gratuities? Just I know they add 18% in when you buy the package, so should we enter that price? If so, then the average price per drink should also include the 18% added to it, right? Or maybe we take out the gratuities from the initial cost? Just thinking either both or neither should have it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamon Posted December 13, 2023 Report Share Posted December 13, 2023 Awesome - Each person needs to drink 3.8 drinks per day to break even Challenge accepted! bport95 and JasonOasis 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bport95 Posted December 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2023 1 hour ago, TheMaxRebo said: Thanks for putting this together - does this include gratuities? Just I know they add 18% in when you buy the package, so should we enter that price? If so, then the average price per drink should also include the 18% added to it, right? Or maybe we take out the gratuities from the initial cost? Just thinking either both or neither should have it Ah yeah you have a good point. According to a blog post in RCB a drink is $10.00 - 14.00, so I think you're right in saying that it would make sense to either adjust the drink average or enter the price of the package before gratuities TheMaxRebo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter D Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 On 12/13/2023 at 8:52 AM, NoobCruise said: Nice work. Basically this means for me if you drink cocktails the drink package makes sense since you typically only have to drink 6 drinks a day to break even. If you drink beer, or seltzer then you are up to 10 a day and that might not make sense for many people. It further complicates the break even when you figure in free drinks. Adding 4, 5, or 6 drinks for D, D+, and Pinnacle, brings these numbers up in the 10-16 drink range. Honestly if Royal offered C&A members free drink value (say $40-60/person/day) to the onboard savings, buying a drink plan would look a lot more appealing over just 4-6 free drinks. Bruin Steve and cmich068 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Peter D said: It further complicates the break even when you figure in free drinks. Adding 4, 5, or 6 drinks for D, D+, and Pinnacle, brings these numbers up in the 10-16 drink range. Honestly if Royal offered C&A members free drink value (say $40-60/person/day) to the onboard savings, buying a drink plan would look a lot more appealing over just 4-6 free drinks. And you forgot about us casino rats. We get free drinks in the casino with prime status which further increases the number of drinks needed per day to make it worthwhile if you hang out in the casino. I think my liver would revolt if I tried to take advantage of a drink package, vouchers, and casino drinks. WAAAYTOOO, Ampurp85 and Peter D 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Last2Know Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 26 minutes ago, DoomSlayer said: And you forgot about us casino rats. We get free drinks in the casino with prime status which further increases the number of drinks needed per day to make it worthwhile if you hang out in the casino. I think my liver would revolt if I tried to take advantage of a drink package, vouchers, and casino drinks. DoomSlayer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBC Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 I really wish Royal would just give bigger discounts off drink packages to diamond and higher up levels, instead of vouchers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 1 hour ago, JBC said: I really wish Royal would just give bigger discounts off drink packages to diamond and higher up levels, instead of vouchers. I think the voucher system is much more valuable. No need to get the drink package as a result WAAAYTOOO, Keanoknick and HeWhoWaits 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFCruise Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 8 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: I think the voucher system is much more valuable. No need to get the drink package as a result It's also one of the truly "free" perks from C&A. Most perks from the program are discounts, which are nice - but you still need to pay for stuff to get the benefit. I'm not Diamond, but I would never ever make the drinks package work for me because I don't drink that much alcohol. I don't drink that much and not much into juices/shakes/etc. But 4 drinks a day...oh my - a couple of cocktails, a specialty coffee, and a whatever else is perfect. Anything else I can pay as I go. HeWhoWaits, fireclan and Peter D 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 23 hours ago, Peter D said: It further complicates the break even when you figure in free drinks. Adding 4, 5, or 6 drinks for D, D+, and Pinnacle, brings these numbers up in the 10-16 drink range. Honestly if Royal offered C&A members free drink value (say $40-60/person/day) to the onboard savings, buying a drink plan would look a lot more appealing over just 4-6 free drinks. Agree. We are Diamond Plus...we get five free drinks per day. Buying a package is like pre-paying for drinks #6-11...and that is just to BREAK EVEN! My wife has trouble drinking five. She'd fall asleep at dinner drinking eleven. I usually drink her last couple of vouchers every night. Unless you drink A LOT...and I mean REALLY A LOT, you're better off just paying by the drink. Also, when we cruise, we often also drink off the ship in port--wine tasting tours, tequila or rum distillery tours or just a drink with lunch in town...Figure those into how much you can really drink. And, yes, for D+, that 20% package discount--if you can figure out how it works, still comes far short of the value of the five vouchers. The discount SHOULD be the value of those five vouchers...anything less and we're double-paying. All the drink package means is that the cruise lines have figured out a way to get people to pre-pay for more than the actually drink on the average...and even for those who go over, remember drinks are already a high profit margin item...the drink for which they charge $10 really only costs the cruis line about 50 cents! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMaxRebo Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 One reason I like getting the drink package is that I feel more open to trying different drinks - if I don't like it, jo big deal, just don't finish it and move on to something else. If I was paying by the drink I would feel the need to finish it even if I didn't like it and/or just be very safe/boring with what I picked So some value beyond just the math Will say, even like 4 or 5 drink vouchers would allow for that some anyway (at least to some extent) jbrinkm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharla Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 This is a neat tool- this is why I don't pay these prices for the drink package. The only time I purchased the package it was on sale for like $37 per day! For my upcoming cruise: Each person needs to drink 6.8 drinks per day to break even No thank you. tingtang 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad2Cue Posted December 16, 2023 Report Share Posted December 16, 2023 4 hours ago, Sharla said: Each person needs to drink 6.8 drinks per day to break even I have a hard time consuming my 5 free drinks I get for being D+ 4 hours ago, Sharla said: The only time I purchased the package it was on sale for like $37 per day! I have purchased the refreshment package for half that amount and for only one person. A refreshment package covers the kinds of drinks I consume the most of. Now the refreshment package sells for about $30 per day so I don't need it anymore. I might buy a coffee card for longer cruises because I know I will use it all before the cruise ends. I'm amazed the price of the coffee card stays the same. KristiZ and Sharla 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattycruise Posted December 16, 2023 Report Share Posted December 16, 2023 7 hours ago, Dad2Cue said: I have a hard time consuming my 5 free drinks I get for being D+ I have purchased the refreshment package for half that amount and for only one person. A refreshment package covers the kinds of drinks I consume the most of. Now the refreshment package sells for about $30 per day so I don't need it anymore. I might buy a coffee card for longer cruises because I know I will use it all before the cruise ends. I'm amazed the price of the coffee card stays the same. Item #1. You are hanging out with the wrong crowd. item #2. Ssshhhh don’t give them any ideas! tingtang and Dad2Cue 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rackham Posted December 16, 2023 Report Share Posted December 16, 2023 14 hours ago, Dad2Cue said: I have a hard time consuming my 5 free drinks I get for being D+ I have purchased the refreshment package for half that amount and for only one person. A refreshment package covers the kinds of drinks I consume the most of. Now the refreshment package sells for about $30 per day so I don't need it anymore. I might buy a coffee card for longer cruises because I know I will use it all before the cruise ends. I'm amazed the price of the coffee card stays the same. Gut feeling is it allows Royal to capture some pre-cruise spending from seasoned cruisers who know how the card works and drives sales of the refreshment package from those who don't. Here's a screenshot from one of my upcoming cruises. While the water package lists bottles, the coffee card doesn't list coffees the card entitles the purchaser to. It appears from this screen (at first glance) that it's like the refreshment package, but only for coffee. Most people will start at the top with the refreshment, see that coffee is included, wonder why anyone would get the coffee card for the same or more money, and purchase the refreshment instead of the card. And before someone chimes in that people wouldn't think like this, consider the amount of questions which are asked here and elsewhere where the person would have had an answer by reading what Royal provides on their website or could be found by dropping their question into an online search engine and clicking the first link. Or the number of people who are angry because something didn't work the way they assumed it would because they didn't bother reading the materials Royal provides. Dad2Cue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad2Cue Posted December 16, 2023 Report Share Posted December 16, 2023 3 hours ago, Rackham said: Most people will start at the top with the refreshment, see that coffee is included, wonder why anyone would get the coffee card for the same or more money, and purchase the refreshment instead of the card. Good point. It is interesting that the price of the coffee card is listed as $31 / per package as if it is like a refreshment package. The coffe card is a punch card and not a "package of unlimited coffee drinks." Of course a coffee card isn't priced per day either. I like soda drinks but the waiter in the MDR never checks to see if I'm entitled to free soda. If I order a soda on day one of the cruise ... the sodas just keep on coming in the MDR for the rest of the cruise whether I ask for one or not. Is this the experience other people have? Maybe soda drinks are free in the MDR ... I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad2Cue Posted December 16, 2023 Report Share Posted December 16, 2023 On 12/16/2023 at 1:52 AM, Pattycruise said: Item #1. You are hanging out with the wrong crowd. item #2. Ssshhhh don’t give them any ideas! I drink alcohol but not many alcohol drinks in a day and not every day. When I order an alcohol drink ... many times I think they forget to put alcohol in it. The drinks basically all taste the same as far as the alcohol content goes. A bottle of beer and/or glass of wine is a different matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter D Posted December 16, 2023 Report Share Posted December 16, 2023 For what it is worth, Royal was selling coffee card during Black Friday deals for $12.99 for 7 day cruise (on my Icon sailing Oct2024) as well as 3- and 4- night Utopia sailings. bport95 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilley Posted December 16, 2023 Report Share Posted December 16, 2023 I actually purchased one during that sale for my son . Thought it was a really good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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