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Deluxe Drink Packages


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Just looked up our cruise on Liberty (Jan 2018) for drink packages pricing.  It appears that in bottom of the descriptions, "Each adult of legal drinking age assigned to the same stateroom must purchase this package."  Has RC expanded their test or just went ahead and made the rule change across the board?

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Crud!  You just ruined my day!!  Guess I wont be buying a package after all!  I just tried and it requires both people in the room to purchase!  (ie.  It is not just a typo. when you go to actually purchase it, both people will show as checked and you can not uncheck someone.)

 

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5 minutes ago, jce2 said:

Crud!  You just ruined my day!!  Guess I wont be buying a package after all!  I just tried and it requires both people in the room to purchase!  (ie.  It is not just a typo. when you go to actually purchase it, both people will show as checked and you can not uncheck someone.)

 

Just checked for my March 31 sailing on Freedom, I see the same thing now. So they've decided this is how they're going to roll, huh? :39_angry:

Going to email my TA and see if she can either juggle the listed occupants of each room so we have one adult and one child in each. My wife doesn't drink, so if she can't do that and we can't finagle another way, they just lost a package purchase. And if that happens, you can bet I'm going to be drinking less now myself, because I'll just bring my allowed four bottles of wine (for the two rooms), have a couple glasses with dinner and more or less leave it at that. Especially it's already established that the pubs on all but Anthem so far have no selection of beers that I like.

I don't even know if I'd buy a refreshment package for myself; I don't drink soda at all (not for a couple of decades now), and since "specialty coffee" just means lattes and other espresso beverages, I can stick with regular complementary coffee. Only other thing I drink is water.

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Based on an email from Royal Caribbean to a concerned guest, there are exclusions to this rule:

drink-package-email-exclusions.jpg?itok=

  • Pregnancy
  • Recovering Alcoholic
  • Medical Reason
  • Religious Reason
  • Does Not Consume Alcohol Due to Personal Preference

Royal Caribbean announced earlier this year it was going to test this policy change on Harmony of the Seas.  The policy change would match other major cruise lines that Royal Caribbean competes with that already have a similar rule in place.

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Yes, your wife would use her SeaPass card to purchase her individual drink, and it would be charged to your account.

Technically, you could buy that glass of wine on your card under the package, give it to her, and then get your own drink when the timer they use to govern how often you can get a drink runs out. Probably best, if she'd be having that with dinner, to sit down at your table and then go out to the bar as others here have said they do (because beverage service is so slow in the MDR). Then just give it to her when you get back; as far as anyone else knows, you used her card to buy that glass of wine.

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Same in this Australia and NZ as well.

I notice if you want the Deluxe drinks package + voom for 1 device you both have to purchase this as well. I imagine that would be a bit annoying if you only need it for 1 device as you would essentially have to pay for 2. Either that or buy the drinks package and voom separately which negates the point of having the package at all.

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It is this line that seems to be interesting

  •  
Quote

 

  • Does Not Consume Alcohol Due to Personal Preference


 

I don't normally drink alcohol and would actually prefer a coke or a mocktail to a beer and cocktail most days. If this is the case does this mean I do not have to purchase the Delux package and can get the Replenisher package instead? Surely if this is true then the whole policy is almost a farce?

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I don’t understand why they don’t sell something like a 10 drink card that can be used by either person in a cabin. That way if you want a glass of wine each night with dinner you can just “clip the card” each night until there are none left. You buy 2 cards if you want 20 drinks between you. By card i mean a virtual card assigned to your Sea Pass account.

i don’t drink but from the pricing I see for the deluxe drinks package that is some serious dollars even for just one person let alone two.

maybe they should also consider a cabin drinks cabin that is a bit cheaper than 2 single drinks packages (a bit like voom for more than 1 device)

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2 hours ago, F1guynz said:

I don’t understand why they don’t sell something like a 10 drink card that can be used by either person in a cabin. That way if you want a glass of wine each night with dinner you can just “clip the card” each night until there are none left. You buy 2 cards if you want 20 drinks between you. By card i mean a virtual card assigned to your Sea Pass account.

i don’t drink but from the pricing I see for the deluxe drinks package that is some serious dollars even for just one person let alone two.

maybe they should also consider a cabin drinks cabin that is a bit cheaper than 2 single drinks packages (a bit like voom for more than 1 device)

Simple answer, drink cards are not as wildly profitable as drink packages.

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9 hours ago, jurrjurr said:

Those donated generators don't pay for themselves.  Timing to release this policy change was very calculated.  No such thing as a "free" lunch.

I hate to be skeptical..but they are a business..and ur damn right with all the cancelled cruises and donations that's eating into their bottom line! Were they going to do this anyways?....prob so....however, what a great time to slip in this extra cost when everyone is praising there hurricane relief efforts.

 

Just sayin.......

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15 hours ago, jce2 said:

The problem for me is my wife will drink a glass of wine in the evening but that is about it.  Most of the time she is on pain killers.  If I get an exception does that mean I CANT buy her the occasional drink?

 

Not at all. They will happily take your wife's money onboard for the occasional drink.

1 hour ago, jticarruthers said:

Simple answer, drink cards are not as wildly profitable as drink packages.

Bingo.

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I just checked to see what the prices are for my 1/21 Oasis cruise, and am pretty disappointed that

the prices haven't dropped a bit.  So, if I buy the package I have to get two, but the prices are still

nice and high.  My wife couldn't drink that much alcohol in a year, much less a week, and I'm sure 

it's that way for most folks.  

 

Regardless, I'm still gonna have a blast on my cruise, but this certainly dampens my expectations.

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I was able to call this morning and purchase the drink package for just myself.  I explained to the operator that my wife takes prescription pain killers so seldom drinks.  she made "note" of it in our records.  I did specifically ask if my wife would still be able to buy the occasional glass of wine on the good days and she said she would.  Some folks are saying they will require proof of her medical at the port, others are saying our records will prevent her form buying, still others are saying they are being told when thy call they don't need any reason at all as the rule still only applies to Harmony.  Bottom line is the experience will vary for everyone as no one seems to have the same experience.  If one thing has become clear to me form reading these pages and various FBs....the only thing consistent is inconsistency!

 

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4 hours ago, ellcee said:

1- I knew they wouldn't force an alcoholic to buy a package.

 

2- benefits of solo travel! I do what I want!!!! I'm just waiting for the package price to go down...

1-they may do that next. I am not aware that other cruise lines let people opt out. Either you both get it or you both pay per drink(if I am wrong, love for someone to let me know)

 

2-many benefits to going solo which I have done a cpl times...but when you pay 200% surcharge for your cabin, it kinda negates any savings on a drink package really..lol

 

As for the price going down..don't hold your breath. Now that they force everyone in the cabin to buy it, next step would be to raise the price. Why would you think they would lower it and make less money?

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@monctonguy

I'm sure you're right, I'm still hopeful though. I get that it's a business but I get weird about pushing alcohol if someone already doesn't drink for religious/cultural/alcohol reasons. Personally I have none of those restrictions so I'm not sure why I care.

My next cruise is 40+ people - I will need my own space and I will pay what I need to for peace of mind!!!!! If it means a little less Starbucks, then this is worth it. :3_grin: By the time I leave for my trip it'll be 2 years without a proper vacation (besides visiting) and I want to do this right.

I think there will be a sale in 9 months, it's 100% fine if there isn't. I miswrote and meant sale not price drop.

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33 minutes ago, monctonguy said:

 

As for the price going down..don't hold your breath. Now that they force everyone in the cabin to buy it, next step would be to raise the price. Why would you think they would lower it and make less money?

Well, now that I won't be buying the package, which means they are out two packages, and I'll be buying my drinks as I go and therefore will be much more mindful of the $$ I'm spending, they actually will be losing out.  If there was a decent discount for both of us, I might consider it.  

 

At least now I'll be able to share whatever drink I get with my wife and not feel like the po-po are watching  and waiting.

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23 minutes ago, ellcee said:

@monctonguy

I'm sure you're right, I'm still hopeful though. I get that it's a business but I get weird about pushing alcohol if someone already doesn't drink for religious/cultural/alcohol reasons. Personally I have none of those restrictions so I'm not sure why I care.

My next cruise is 40+ people - I will need my own space and I will pay what I need to for peace of mind!!!!! If it means a little less Starbucks, then this is worth it. :3_grin: By the time I leave for my trip it'll be 2 years without a proper vacation (besides visiting) and I want to do this right.

I think there will be a sale in 9 months, it's 100% fine if there isn't. I miswrote and meant sale not price drop.

Oh you will enjoy your vacation for sure I have no doubt....I am ready for my next one and its over 6 mths away...so at this point I would be pretty much be willing to pay anything for a get away!...ha

 

I always get the drink package and anyone I have travelled with in the past has as well so its not an issue for me...and I am watching for a sale on the package as well so let me know if you see one....I"ll owe you!....but I am not overly hopeful.

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So I called my TA, and she has in turn reached out to Royal Caribbean and had a note added to my reservation that my wife will not be drinking for medical reasons (cannot combine alcohol and the medications she takes daily). I've verified that this doesn't translate into me being able to buy the drink package for just myself on the Cruise Planner, which makes total sense if it's just a literal note on our reservation and not some flag in their system that would tell the Cruise Planner site to ignore the normal rules.

So, when I'm ready to buy my package, I'll still have to call Royal directly and point out this note is there. But at least now I will have that ability to buy it for only myself and not for both of us. And she plans to get the Refreshment Package since she will want her lattes and other espresso beverages each morning, so it's not like they're going to totally lose out on her.

I just wish there was a way to handle this online instead of going through the extra hoops of having to make these calls, get the notes put onto the reservations, etc. If RCI was planning on this for a while, shouldn't have been too much work to add a new setting in the cruise planner or cruising profile sections of their site to give us a way to have one passenger "opt out" for a valid reason.

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2 hours ago, JLMoran said:

So I called my TA, and she has in turn reached out to Royal Caribbean and had a note added to my reservation that my wife will not be drinking for medical reasons (cannot combine alcohol and the medications she takes daily). I've verified that this doesn't translate into me being able to buy the drink package for just myself on the Cruise Planner, which makes total sense if it's just a literal note on our reservation and not some flag in their system that would tell the Cruise Planner site to ignore the normal rules.

So, when I'm ready to buy my package, I'll still have to call Royal directly and point out this note is there. But at least now I will have that ability to buy it for only myself and not for both of us. And she plans to get the Refreshment Package since she will want her lattes and other espresso beverages each morning, so it's not like they're going to totally lose out on her.

I just wish there was a way to handle this online instead of going through the extra hoops of having to make these calls, get the notes put onto the reservations, etc. If RCI was planning on this for a while, shouldn't have been too much work to add a new setting in the cruise planner or cruising profile sections of their site to give us a way to have one passenger "opt out" for a valid reason.

Did they say if you are going to be required to provide documentation to support your reasons? 

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27 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said:

Did they say if you are going to be required to provide documentation to support your reasons? 

@Sabrinaklai, not that my TA noted to me. I guess I’ll find out when I actually make the purchase (which won’t be for another month or two, when I finally clear some hefty bills off my plate)

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I had the same experience this morning except that I actually did make the purchase.  Some are saying they will require proof at the port which I find impossible to believe since the operator neither required it nor told me I would have to provide it later.  My bigger concern is that since it is a "note" in my records that will prevent her form purchasing individual drinks during the cruise. But as a software developer I doubt it since I suspect it is quite literally a "note" and not a "flag" that could be tripped when a bartender tries to ring up a charge.  As long as they don't actually mark her card somehow I think we will be fine.

 

Before we get into the same arguments I have had on FB today I am NOT trying to pull a fast one.  It has always been my intent to buy the drink package for just myself and to PAY separately for drinks for my wife which will be limited by her pain killers.  That is still my intent.  I will not be trying to get her drinks on my package.  It simply makes no financial sense to buy her a package given her limited drinks

 

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18 hours ago, monctonguy said:

1-they may do that next. I am not aware that other cruise lines let people opt out. Either you both get it or you both pay per drink(if I am wrong, love for someone to let me know)

 

2-many benefits to going solo which I have done a cpl times...but when you pay 200% surcharge for your cabin, it kinda negates any savings on a drink package really..lol

 

As for the price going down..don't hold your breath. Now that they force everyone in the cabin to buy it, next step would be to raise the price. Why would you think they would lower it and make less money?

I cant speak to current situation but I do know that Carnival allowed for similar exemptions when we first sailed them ~10 years ago. You had to make the request to be exempted, it wasn't just check a box while you were ordering but if you pushed they would let you buy for just one adult. Not really a drink package buyer so I cant say if they still honor that policy or if they have tightened up.

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A quick FYI:  I did get confirmation (in writing!) today that the "note" in my file will NOT prevent my wife from purchasing drinks on the cruise and that it only serves as an explanation fr why the operator was willing to sell me a single package.  In other words, i got exactly what I wanted!

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19 hours ago, JLMoran said:

So I called my TA, and she has in turn reached out to Royal Caribbean and had a note added to my reservation that my wife will not be drinking for medical reasons (cannot combine alcohol and the medications she takes daily). I've verified that this doesn't translate into me being able to buy the drink package for just myself on the Cruise Planner, which makes total sense if it's just a literal note on our reservation and not some flag in their system that would tell the Cruise Planner site to ignore the normal rules.

So, when I'm ready to buy my package, I'll still have to call Royal directly and point out this note is there. But at least now I will have that ability to buy it for only myself and not for both of us. And she plans to get the Refreshment Package since she will want her lattes and other espresso beverages each morning, so it's not like they're going to totally lose out on her.

I just wish there was a way to handle this online instead of going through the extra hoops of having to make these calls, get the notes put onto the reservations, etc. If RCI was planning on this for a while, shouldn't have been too much work to add a new setting in the cruise planner or cruising profile sections of their site to give us a way to have one passenger "opt out" for a valid reason.

Making it easy to opt out would defeat the purpose.

The idea being that most people wont even know you can opt out and will just buy the package for two "because that's how it works" .. if you put a button on the screen that says "click here" if you object to buying alcohol for personal reasons it would be easy to click it and go back to buying for one.

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55 minutes ago, jticarruthers said:

Making it easy to opt out would defeat the purpose.

The idea being that most people wont even know you can opt out and will just buy the package for two "because that's how it works" .. if you put a button on the screen that says "click here" if you object to buying alcohol for personal reasons it would be easy to click it and go back to buying for one.

Definitely some truth there. But I think they're costing themselves some purchases here. Look at how many on this board, who I would say come from a pretty distributed set of demographics, said "screw 'em" when this came out because that added friction was put in place. And that was where we already knew a workaround could be had with just a little effort. How many more in the overall passenger set will also want an exception, not know they have an avenue for that, and also say "screw 'em"?

It definitely will vary with cruise line and ship (e.g., Carnival probably sees little need given their younger demographic), but Royal had better have seen some good stats during their trial period on Harmony to justify not reducing the friction just that little extra bit. Sure, still have both passengers in the cabin auto-selected; but instead of making it impossible to uncheck it, throw up a message when they try to do it that explains the situation and what qualifies as an exception. Could even still require that phone call, but the number is displayed there clearly. Now that passenger feels in control and informed, rather than feeling like he/she is being rooked, and I'd wager is more likely to put in the effort of the phone call, rather than ending it with an angry, "What?? Screw this!"

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For our Oasis cruise in January, with the discounted drink package at $46/pp:

 

$760  total for two pax inc. gratuities

  -  $380 each person

     -  $54.28 per day per person

        - 4.5 drinks per day to break even, assuming drinks are $12

 

This is not considering the specialty coffees and fresh-squeezed juices, etc.

 

And although I was miffed and poo-pooed the move, I may go ahead and do it.  Still not happy, but

I certainly don't want to keep eyeballing my tab every night.

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20 hours ago, JLMoran said:

Definitely some truth there. But I think they're costing themselves some purchases here. Look at how many on this board, who I would say come from a pretty distributed set of demographics, said "screw 'em" when this came out because that added friction was put in place. And that was where we already knew a workaround could be had with just a little effort. How many more in the overall passenger set will also want an exception, not know they have an avenue for that, and also say "screw 'em"?

It definitely will vary with cruise line and ship (e.g., Carnival probably sees little need given their younger demographic), but Royal had better have seen some good stats during their trial period on Harmony to justify not reducing the friction just that little extra bit. Sure, still have both passengers in the cabin auto-selected; but instead of making it impossible to uncheck it, throw up a message when they try to do it that explains the situation and what qualifies as an exception. Could even still require that phone call, but the number is displayed there clearly. Now that passenger feels in control and informed, rather than feeling like he/she is being rooked, and I'd wager is more likely to put in the effort of the phone call, rather than ending it with an angry, "What?? Screw this!"

Recall though that people like us are the educated cruise minority, the majority of people (and Royal's target market) have never cruised and don't know better. This is just part of their ongoing realization that churning through a never ending stream of first time cruisers is vastly more profitable than catering to those of us that are savvy enough to know not to buy the pictures, how to work the system to wait for the sales and the discounts, that are comfortable booking private excursions instead of through the ship, etc.

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Ok, I have a stupid question. Can you use your ON BOARD CREDIT toward drink purchases??  Reason I ask is, I got the Celebrity Credit Card ( we re booked on 2 and so far one RC) and I am usingi t pay off the cruises and already have enough points for $200 OBC and have $100 from the booking itself on RC.  With the CC, you automatically get 10,000 points (equal to $100 OBC) and when you go online to Bank of America you can see your points and switch between the 2 cruise lines for applying the points.

I don't intend on using it for Shore excursion, maybe one, we like to do our own thing, perhaps dining.  I don't need it for the Celebrity as we got all 4 perks when booking including Premium drink package so was wondering if just use what I have and not purchase the drink package on RC cruise.  

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