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Deluxe Beverage Package


JSB

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Recently purchased a deluxe beverage package for a week end next May & gotta 10% discount but had to add tips as a extra, that said does anyone have any knowledge about a 20/30% discount as the date gets closer. Some have said RC does occasionally offer higher discounts, Just seems a little pricy for a weekender @ almost $400 - Thanks for any advice

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1 hour ago, JSB said:

Recently purchased a deluxe beverage package for a week end next May & gotta 10% discount but had to add tips as a extra, that said does anyone have any knowledge about a 20/30% discount as the date gets closer. Some have said RC does occasionally offer higher discounts, Just seems a little pricy for a weekender @ almost $400 - Thanks for any advice

There will definitely be sales between now and your sailing next May.  Your best price may come during the Black Friday sale.  Keep in mind you can cancel and re-book as many times as you want, so even if you think you got a good price, keep checking each sale as you never know when it's going drop that one more dollar a day.  

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Does RC have higher prices on drink packages (price the same but smaller sale price) for the shorter cruises?  My weekend cruise in May has only shown a 10% discount making the price $56 a day which is similar to @JSB.  I wonder if I will see the same sales as a weeklong sailing and will really find out on Black Friday.

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8 hours ago, melski94 said:

Does RC have higher prices on drink packages (price the same but smaller sale price) for the shorter cruises?  My weekend cruise in May has only shown a 10% discount making the price $56 a day which is similar to @JSB.  I wonder if I will see the same sales as a weeklong sailing and will really find out on Black Friday.

Among other inconsistencies one of the stand outs is beverage package pricing.  

There are often trends you can detect for internet or dining packages however when it comes to drink packages there is no obvious rhyme or reason.  

It wouldn't surprise me to see a different pricing approach to short cruises.  Royal is all about analytics and adjusting prices to maximize revenue.  They have operated thousands of cruises and they can predict how many people will purchase a package in advance and when the typical guest is most likely to make that purchase. They also know how many guests never find the cruise planner and purchase a package on board.  

Drink fatigue is real so there is less risk offering lower prices on longer cruises compared to a 3 night weekend cruise where it's more likely to see people drinking a higher average daily drink count.

Once onboard with every swipe of tens of thousands of cards across the fleet they know how many and what kind of drinks are consumed by those with a package and those without. 

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Has there been a very recent price increase to the regular price of the DLXBP?

During the last CPS two weeks ago, I bought the package at the advertised "Buy 1, Get One 50% Off" at $45 Per Day. (Regular Price, $60PD)

Today's new sale is advertising the same promotion at $47 Per Day. (Reg  $63PD approx?)

I didn't notice anything about onbopard prices vs. pre-cruise prices

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1 hour ago, Matt said:

There is no fleet wide price of the deluxe package. It varies from ship to ship and sailing to sailing

I know, Matt. What I'm referencing is that what was an overall 25% Off on my specific FOTS sailing was $45PD two weeks ago & today it is now $47PD.

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18 hours ago, KathyC aka KathLuvsGH said:

There will definitely be sales between now and your sailing next May.  Your best price may come during the Black Friday sale.  Keep in mind you can cancel and re-book as many times as you want, so even if you think you got a good price, keep checking each sale as you never know when it's going drop that one more dollar a day.  

Oh this is good to know! Does that mean a charge/refund/recharge cycle? I want to make our trip as "easy" as possible, including drink packages (or "refreshment" packages... gotta see what all our options are, I guess), but I'm also a bit of a deal-hunter...

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45 minutes ago, HtownHolly said:

Oh this is good to know! Does that mean a charge/refund/recharge cycle? I want to make our trip as "easy" as possible, including drink packages (or "refreshment" packages... gotta see what all our options are, I guess), but I'm also a bit of a deal-hunter...

Yes, a lot of us here end up doing that, sometimes a couple of times in a month. Do be aware that when you cancel and re-book, it gets processed as an actual cancellation with a full refund to your card, and the full charge for the re-book. It would be SO nice if they could just credit our cards the difference in price, but I guess that would muck up their own bookkeeping or whatever metrics they use to track sales during promotions vs. regular times.

Also, it usually takes a couple of business days for the refund to show up in your credit card's processed transactions, but the re-book typically shows up the same day (unless you rebooked after 5 PM EST, in which case it'll probably appear the next day). So if you're right at the end of a billing cycle and do a cancel/re-book, you might find that the refund didn't make it in before the statement went out, even though the re-book charge is there. Rest assured it'll show up in the next statement.

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5 hours ago, Matt said:

New sale began today and runs for a week

Hi Matt, I looked for any new deluxe.bp but didn’t see any for the Harmony, Also I wonder if too many people purchase a early pkg does this reduce the likelihood of RC offering a better deal.. Thanks

4 hours ago, Matt said:

There is no fleet wide price of the deluxe package. It varies from ship to ship and sailing to sailing

 

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8 hours ago, HtownHolly said:

So are most pre-cruise options something that can be booked and cancelled "at will"?

Yes. Up until your cruise planner closes 3 days prior to sailing. That is why if you spot a good price and you know you want it, grab it. Prices don't always go down. There were sailings in the past where prices went up over time.

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18 hours ago, SPS said:

I know, Matt. What I'm referencing is that what was an overall 25% Off on my specific FOTS sailing was $45PD two weeks ago & today it is now $47PD.

Ah, can't explain that other than the price can change.  It's why I recommend buying the drink package as soon as you know you want it to guard against a price increase.

If it makes you feel any better, that $47 price is still going to be cheaper than onboard.

15 hours ago, JSB said:

Hi Matt, I looked for any new deluxe.bp but didn’t see any for the Harmony, 

 

When is your Harmony sailing?

15 hours ago, JSB said:

 Also I wonder if too many people purchase a early pkg does this reduce the likelihood of RC offering a better deal

 

I can only speculate, but I don't have any reason to believe that is the case.

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3 minutes ago, Matt said:

If it makes you feel any better, that $47 price is still going to be cheaper than onboard.

re-booked it at $45PD two weeks ago after originally paying $48PD a couple conths ago & I am quite pleased with it!

I always continue to look at my bookings to see if better prices are offered. Every $ counts!

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Just for fun I checked my two sailings for next year ...

3 night on Mariner is advertised @ $60 per day "10% off shipboard" which implies a shipboard price of $66.67 per day.

7 night on Harmony is advertised @ $50 per day "20% off shipboard" which implies a shipboard price of $62.50 per day.

In both cases there is no way I am going to come close to breaking even so its just a fun pricing exercise to check it out.

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8 minutes ago, jticarruthers said:

Just for fun I checked my two sailings for next year ...

3 night on Mariner is advertised @ $60 per day "10% off shipboard" which implies a shipboard price of $66.67 per day.

7 night on Harmony is advertised @ $50 per day "20% off shipboard" which implies a shipboard price of $62.50 per day.

In both cases there is no way I am going to come close to breaking even so its just a fun pricing exercise to check it out.

I agree for now But won't give up, we've got a long way til next May?

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10 minutes ago, jticarruthers said:

Just for fun I checked my two sailings for next year ...

3 night on Mariner is advertised @ $60 per day "10% off shipboard" which implies a shipboard price of $66.67 per day.

7 night on Harmony is advertised @ $50 per day "20% off shipboard" which implies a shipboard price of $62.50 per day.

In both cases there is no way I am going to come close to breaking even so its just a fun pricing exercise to check it out.

I agree but still if fewer people book very early then RC might orrer a better deal, might even cancel my deal and others who also booked just to see what happens.

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1 hour ago, HtownHolly said:

I'm kinda bummed that if one adult gets the alcohol package, all adults in the room must, but I understand why. I do not drink at all, but my husband enjoys one every now and then. Guess he'll be taking them one at a time (like me with the milkshakes, haha).

Honestly, if he enjoys a drink every now & then the drink package may not make financial sense, even if you could buy just one.  

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8 hours ago, HtownHolly said:

I'm kinda bummed that if one adult gets the alcohol package, all adults in the room must, but I understand why. I do not drink at all, but my husband enjoys one every now and then. Guess he'll be taking them one at a time (like me with the milkshakes, haha).

You can always try calling and booking over the phone, they often make the other person get the royal refresher package but thats a bunch less cost then alcohol. Just a thought. 

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19 hours ago, HtownHolly said:

I'm kinda bummed that if one adult gets the alcohol package, all adults in the room must, but I understand why. I do not drink at all, but my husband enjoys one every now and then. Guess he'll be taking them one at a time (like me with the milkshakes, haha).

11 hours ago, Kim&N8 said:

You can always try calling and booking over the phone, they often make the other person get the royal refresher package but thats a bunch less cost then alcohol. Just a thought. 

Yes, this has worked for a lot of people. And the refreshment package often goes on sale for $18/night, which is easy to meet if you just get a couple of specialty coffees and a "mocktail" or two.

I've done this on both of my cruises since the policy was put into effect, as my wife can't drink. It's a little bit of a pain having to call instead of just doing it online; but apart from waiting for the rep to confirm with a supervisor, it's never been an issue.

As far as your husband not drinking that much, I would tend to agree with @KathyC aka KathLuvsGH -- Even on the best sale price that I've seen ($42/night), you need to get a pretty decent number of beverages each day to break even. They certainly don't all need to be alcoholic, you can cover a decent amount of ground with specialty coffees (lattes, cappuccinos, etc.), fresh-squeezed OJ with breakfast each day, and a couple of sodas or bottled waters. But you need to figure on at least a couple of alcoholic drinks every day to "keep up". It's honestly not *that* much, depending on your regular at-home habits -- a glass of wine with dinner; another glass, or a beer or two, before or after dinner while you hang out watching entertainment in the pub or Schooner Bar; maybe a sail-away cocktail or a drink while watching a show in the theater. But if he's not necessarily keen on that, then getting the Refreshment Package for himself and paying a la carte for his alcoholic drinks might be a better way to go.

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For us, the drink packages don't make sense.  At first I was really annoyed at the change, as we have a 12 night repo coming up this Fall and are going with another couple.  The husband can really drink, a lot, and my husband tries very hard to keep up with him when they are together.  The wife, barely drinks at all. I am somewhere in between.  I enjoy a frozen drink in the afternoon, then a couple beers or wine at night, but that's about it. 

To buy us both a drink package for the 12 nights was $1500+!  Since then, we've calmed down a bit about the policy, realizing that we really don't NEED a drink package.  Just because we're on vacation doesn't mean we NEED to change our habits and overdo it; we'll just pay for it afterwards.  My husband got a coffee card (we had one on a 7 night sailing and had a hard time using 15 punches between the three of us) so he can get his coffee, and the rest we'll pay as we go.  That's what OBC is for...LOL 

We cruised in May, 7 nights, and did what we wanted, bought what ever drinks we wanted, and the drink package wouldn't have been worth it.  By day 7 we were down to 1-2 beers a day, and forcing the specialty coffees.  There is no way on 12 nights (with 7 sea days) we can keep it up.  I know everyone WANTS the package...but do you really NEED the package?  LOL 

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Just now, KathyC aka KathLuvsGH said:

We cruised in May, 7 nights, and did what we wanted, bought what ever drinks we wanted, and the drink package wouldn't have been worth it.  By day 7 we were down to 1-2 beers a day, and forcing the specialty coffees.  There is no way on 12 nights (with 7 sea days) we can keep it up.  I know everyone WANTS the package...but do you really NEED the package?  LOL

No one needs the package, but a lot of us sure do want it! ? Honestly, for budgeting purposes, as long as you think you'll just come close, it's good for budgeting and pre-paying.

My last cruise (8-night with 4 sea days), I had no problems with my daily sail-away margarita and a glass or two of wine with dinner, even on port days; sea days found me drinking a little bit more, but only by one or two drinks. We do not discuss embarkation day. ? That was enough, with my daily cappuccinos and fresh-squeezed OJ, for me to at least come close to break-even, if not quite there or a little better.

That said, not sure I could maintain that across a 12-night cruise. More likely, I'd be better with a Refreshment Package, and then limiting my adult beverages to dinner wine and an occasional sail-away drink.

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1 minute ago, JLMoran said:

That said, not sure I could maintain that across a 12-night cruise. More likely, I'd be better with a Refreshment Package, and then limiting my adult beverages to dinner wine and an occasional sail-away drink.

We don't drink soda or sugary drinks, so the Freestyle machines do not get used by us.  On Harmony last September we didn't even open our cups.  The water bottles we would get, but the ship water is so clean that we have no problem drinking it.  My hubs got the coffee card, we'll see how Serenade uses those punches compared to Adventure, and I don't do the specialty coffees enough to warrant one for me.  I'll have a cup of coffee with breakfast and I'm good for the day.  I enjoy herbal teas which are complimentary, and may even pack a few of my favorites from home. Fresh-squeezed OJ is so filling for me; I got a couple on Harmony and didn't eat most of my food as I felt like I had already drank a smoothie.  My hubby will get smoothies/protein drinks in the spa when available, but not an option on our 12 night.  So not even the refreshment package is worth it for me.  On a different ship, may be worth it for hubby.  

Yes, I pretty much only drink water all day long.  Will toss in a cucumber, some mint, or even lemon/lime slices every now & then.  We both have GERD, I have a hiatal hernia, so unless I want my vacation ruined, I need to follow along with my regular routine. 

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