Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast Episode - Specialty dining packages

Royal Caribbean guests in the market for an unlimited alcohol package and internet access will want to take notice of a new option Royal Caribbean has added.

The Deluxe Drink Package and Voom One Device offers guests the deluxe beverage unlimited alcohol package and a one-device Voom plan in one combo.

The cost of this package is listed at $54 per guest, per day. Compared to buying the two options separately, there are potential savings to the guest.

Here is an example for what each would individually cost for a 7-night cruise on Harmony of the Seas.

This "Sip and Stream" combo package has appeared in the past but has also disappeared quite quickly.  If you are interested in it, our advice is to book it immediately.  Keep in mind that Cruise Planner purchases are able to be canceled prior to the start of the cruise.

Our readers often ask many questions about Royal Caribbean's unlimited drink packages, and we have answers to the most frequently asked ones!

Our readers ask a lot of questions about the Royal Caribbean cruise experience, especially when it comes to Royal Caribbean's unlimited drink packages. These all-you-can-drink options have never been more popular with guests, but there is often a concern or two prior to purchasing one.

We dug through our inbox's, comment threads and message boards to find the sort of questions we get asked a lot and are sharing the answers to help everyone figure out if a Royal Caribbean drink package is right for them.

1. What drinks are included without a drink package?

Before you can decide if a drink package is worth the cost, you need to understand which beverages Royal Caribbean includes in your cruise fare.

You can expect these drinks to be included and available during your cruise for no additional cost

• regular coffee
• decaffeinated coffee
• tea
• iced tea
• tap water
• milk
• chocolate milk
• lemonade
• flavored waters
• juices (at breakfast, not fresh squeezed)
• hot chocolate (via instant packets)

These drinks are available throughout your cruise at a number of locations, so there will always be somewhere to get something to drink for free.

2. Can I get the drink package only for certain days of the cruise?

Not exactly.  You cannot "cherry pick" days to have the drink package benefits.  Basically, when you purchase a drink package, you are buying it for the duration of the cruise.

There is one way to buy a drink package for only certain days, and that is if you skip a few days at the beginning of your cruise.  Royal Caribbean will sell you the drink package even after the first day.  If you purchase it on day two, three or six, the cruise line will only charge you for the days remaining on the cruise. This can be a good strategy for someone that is unsure how much they will really want to drink onboard.

3. Is the drink package worth it?

Trying to determine if Royal Caribbean's drink packages are worth it is ultimately a personal decision. Everyone cruise's differently, and everyone has different needs and wants.

You must weigh the benefits of having virtually all of your drinks paid for, the ability to try new drinks without much risk and not having to worry about your bar tab at the end of the cruise, versus considering if the drink package will actually save you money compared to buying drinks a la carte, and if you will want to drink enough drinks every day of your cruise to make your package investment worthwhile.

If you want a completely unscientific means of figuring out if a drink package is for you, ask yourself this question:

Can I drink 5-7 drinks per day, every day of my cruise?

If after thinking that you initially thought, "Whoa, that is a lot to drink" or "Whoa, that's it?", then you probably have your answer.

4. Is Starbucks included with the unlimited alcohol package?

Your drink package includes premium coffee and tea from places like Pearl Cafe, Cafe Latte-tudes, and Cafe Promenade, where Starbucks drinks are brewed. It's Starbucks beans, but not a licensed Starbucks location.

On ships that have a standalone Starbucks kiosk, the drink package does not work there, but there will be premium coffee offered at Cafe Promenade or Pearl Cafe.

5. If a drink costs more than my drink packages covers, can I just pay the difference?

Yes, your unlimited alcohol package covers the cost of your drinks up to $14 per drink. Above that price threshold, anything you order will be charged you the difference.

So if you purchase a $25 shot of whiskey on Oasis of the Seas, you will be charged $11 to your SeaPass account.

6. How many drinks can I order at one time?

You may order one drink per drink package at a time. 

You are allowed to bring your spouse/friend/parent/guy you met 10 minutes ago/neighbor SeaPass card up to the bar with you and make a group order, provided each SeaPass card has purchased an unlimited drink package.

Royal Caribbean does not have a minimum amount of time to wait between alcoholic drink orders, so you can keep the good times flowing as you see fit.  This is probably the part of the blog post where we recommend drinking responsibly.

7. Does the unlimited alcohol package work in all specialty restaurants? Can I get a glass of wine at dinner?

Yes it does. You can use any drink package benefits (alcohol or not) at any of the specialty restaurants.  In terms of what is included or not, the same rules apply to specialty restaurants, as they do at the bars around the ship.

You can order glasses of wine at dinner, whether in a specialty restaurant or the main dining room.

8. If I get a drink package, why am I charged for the last day of my cruise?

Despite the fact a lot of verbiage you see refers to the drink packages being charged per day, the reality is you are charged for each night.

So on a seven night cruise, you will be charged seven times the daily rate (plus gratuity). This means you get to use the drink package benefits on embarkation day and disembarkation day.

9. How can I get a discount on a drink package?

The most reliable way to get a drink package discount is to purchase it before your cruise on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner. 

To be clear, if you are going to purchase a drink package, you will save money if you purchase it online rather than waiting to buy it onboard. 

10. Someone in my stateroom wants a drink package, but I do not.  Does Royal Caribbean require all adults in a room to get a drink package?

Yes, they do.

Royal Caribbean used to have a provision that allowed for you to call and ask for an exemption to the rule, but they removed it in 2025 because too many people were taking advantage of it and subsequently abusing the drink package benefits.

The rule only applies to the Deluxe Beverage Package, so if you wanted to buy the Soda Package or Refreshment Package, there is no such requirement.

There are alternatives to the drink package you might consider, and that could save you money compared to buying a full drink package for someone that won't (or can't) take advantage of it.

Royal Caribbean has added two new bottled alcohol stateroom delivery options for guests to prepurchase prior to their cruise. 

The Royal Gifts shop added two new packages that offer a bottle of liquor with cans of Coca-Cola products.

Absolut Vodka and Sprite Package

Cost: $38

This package includes: (1) 375 ml. bottle of Absolut Vodka and 4 Sprite cans.

This product is not available on the following ships:

• Explorer Of The Seas
• Legend Of The Seas
• Mariner Of The Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum Of The Seas
• Radiance Of The Seas
• Splendour Of The Seas
• Vision Of The Seas
• Voyager Of The Seas

Johnnie Walker Red and Coca-Cola Package

Cost: $45

This package includes: (1) 375 ml. bottle of Johnnie Walker Red and 4 Coca-Cola cans.

This product is not available on the following ships:

• Explorer Of The Seas
• Legend Of The Seas
• Mariner Of The Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum Of The Seas
• Radiance Of The Seas
• Splendour Of The Seas
• Vision Of The Seas
• Voyager Of The Seas

These two new packages are in addition to the rum and gin bottled alcohol packages that were first offered back in December 2016.

Any of these drink packages can be purchased prior to a cruise, and be delivered to a guest's stateroom.

Royal Caribbean is offering a special three-day sale, where guests can save up to 30% off select pre-cruise purchases.

The "Sale Before you Sail" deal is available for guests on select sailings, and offers discounts on services, such as unlimited drink packages, internet packages and even some shore excursions and spa treatments.

The exact discount available will vary from sailing to sailing, but there appears to be a fair amount of discounts applied.

Based on the countdown clock, it appears this promotion ends at midnight on February 6, 2017.

To check if your sailing has this new offer available, log into the Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's web site and navigate to the Dining & Beverage section to see any available offers.

If you have a drink package already prepurchased, you should be able to cancel the purchase and then re-purchase the same drink package under this promotion.

Many Royal Caribbean Blog readers have reported recently prices of certain alcoholic beverages have increased to the point they are no longer included with the unlimited alcohol package.

This first reports occurred on Royal Caribbean cruises that sailed around Christmas and New Years, and it was thought the price increase was a result of holiday demand.  Yet, the drink price changes remain in effect on cruises beginning after the holidays.

Royal Caribbean's deluxe drink package only covers beverages that are $12 or less ($13 on Oasis class ships).  Drinks priced higher than the included threshold are charged the difference to the guest.

Pub drink menu on Allure of the Seas. Photo taken January 4, 2017

Pub drink menu on Independence of the Seas. Photo taken January 5, 2017

Olive or Twist bar menu on Independence of the Seas. Photo taken January 6, 2017

Pub drink menu on Adventure of the Seas. Photo taken January 7, 2017

The drink package policy may change in the days or weeks to come to match these drink price increases. However, this is the first time since Royal Caribbean introduced its drink packages that we are seeing a notable amount of drinks priced outside the drink package allowances.

Royal Caribbean's drink packages are quite popular with guests, and we get lots of questions from our readers if a drink package purchase is worth it. The unlimited drink packages offer a lot of convenience, flexibility, and a wide variety of drinks to enjoy.

Before you purchase a Royal Caribbean drink package, you will want to consider these five important factors to ensure a drink package purchase makes sense for you.

1. Package prices

Royal Caribbean's drink packages are priced on a per-day and per-guest basis, which means once you purchase a drink package, you will be charged for every day of the cruise going forward. The exact price of the drink package can actually vary from ship to ship. Over the last year or so, Royal Caribbean has been offering its drink packages at various prices depending on the ship, itinerary, and time of year.

There is one universal truth about the drink packages, and that is they are often discounted if purchased prior to cruise, but will come with a full price onboard. These pre-cruise discounts are available from Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site, and discounts are regularly offered on the Deluxe unlimited alcohol drink package. Other non-alcoholic drink packages have had discounts offered in the past, but the availability of discounts seems to vary.

Anyone interested in a drink package should check what discount is available for a drink package prior to the cruise, and understand what the costs will be. While drink packages will be sold onboard your Royal Caribbean ship, they are rarely discounted. Moreover, purchasing the drink package online will ensure less time spent waiting to purchase it onboard.

2. Drink prices onboard

It greatly helps if you have a good idea of how much drinks will cost onboard the ship if you were to purchase them a la carte, instead of using a drink package. After all, one of the key benefits of a drink package is to pay a fixed cost and be able to enjoy as many drinks as you like, often saving money versus buying those same drinks individually.

You can refer to this list of Royal Caribbean drink prices for a good idea of how much the popular drinks cost. Drink prices may vary from ship to ship, but it will provide a good ballpark of estimating how much your indulgences onboard may cost you. It is entirely possible that you may find your drinking habits may not make a drink package purchase a financially suitable arrangement.

3. Your itinerary

An often overlooked consideration for purchasing a drink package is your Royal Caribbean cruise itinerary. The drink package benefits are only useful to you while onboard a Royal Caribbean ship (or private destination), which means if your itinerary is port intensive, you will have far less time to take advantage of the drink packages.

Conversely, if you have many sea days, a drink package may make more sense since you will have ample time onboard to take advantage of the package.

As mentioned earlier, beverage packages do work at both Perfect Day at CocoCay and Labadee, which are Royal Caribbean's private destinations. If your cruise happens to stop at one of these ports, that is another full day of drink package value to reap.

It is important to weigh how many sea days versus port days you will have, if any of those stops include a private destination, and what your plans are for any ports you visit. You may find with touring onshore, a drink package purchase will not be so conducive to getting a good return on your package investment.

4. What the drink package does not include

While the drink packages do include quite a lot of beverages, not everything can be had with a package. Depending on your habits and preferences, this may or may not be a deal breaker.

Royal Caribbean's deluxe drink package allows guests to enjoy drinks such as Labadoozies, Coco Locos, after-dinner shots, or the drink of the day, but it does not include the souvenir mugs/glasses they are often served in.

Likewise, Starbucks on Oasis Class ships and those little bottles of alcohol in your minibar are not included either.  

5. You can (usually) cancel the package

If you find yourself with buyer's remorse when it comes to a drink package, there are options available for canceling and getting your money back.

The simplest means is to cancel the drink package prior to your cruise. If you followed our advice and booked a drink package but want to cancel it, this can be easily done via the Cruise Planner site. Just follow these steps:

1. Log into your Royal Caribbean account and proceed to the Cruise Planner for the sailing you have in mind.
2. At the top right corner of the pick, click Order History. You will want to cancel the item you bought first, and then re-book it later.
3. Once at the Order History page, you will be able to see everything you have reserved or purchased for your cruise. From here, find the item you want to cancel and click cancel.
4. Follow the next few steps to confirm the cancellation. You should find yourself on a screen that displays a confirmation message with the exact refund to the form of payment used. It may take a few business days for the refund to be made.

If you decide to cancel the drink package onboard the ship, usually Royal Caribbean will allow it, but not always. You will need to go to Guest Services onboard and ask to cancel and refund the drink package.

Keep in mind that if they do cancel your drink package purchase, any drinks you purchased will be charged to your SeaPass account individually. We have heard from lots of guests this has worked, but cannot guarantee canceling a drink package onboard will be available for you.

Your best bet is to consider the drink package prior to your cruise and make any cancellations before you get onboard.

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In addition to Royal Caribbean's unlimited alcohol packages, there are two additional packages available that offer guests convenient drink options in their stateroom.

The Royal Gifts shop has two packages that combine Coca-Cola products with a bottle of liquor.

Bacardi Gold and Coca-Cola Package

Cost: $40

This package includes: (1) 375 ml. bottle of Bacardi Gold and 4 Coca-Cola cans.

This product is not available on the following ships:

• Explorer Of The Seas
• Legend Of The Seas
• Mariner Of The Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum Of The Seas
• Radiance Of The Seas
• Splendour Of The Seas
• Vision Of The Seas
• Voyager Of The Seas

Bombay Sapphire and Tonic Package

Cost: $43

This package includes: (1) 375 ml. bottle of Bombay Sapphire and 4 Tonic water cans.

This product is not available on the following ships:

• Explorer Of The Seas
• Legend Of The Seas
• Mariner Of The Seas
• Ovation of the Seas
• Quantum Of The Seas
• Radiance Of The Seas
• Splendour Of The Seas
• Vision Of The Seas
• Voyager Of The Seas

Either of these drink packages can be purchased prior to a cruise, and be delivered to a guest's stateroom.

Royal Caribbean has a new option that we have spotted in the Cruise Planner that combines two popular cruise add-ons into one package together.

The Deluxe Package And Voom One Device offers guests the deluxe beverage unlimited alcohol package and a one-device Voom plan in one combo.

The cost of this package was listed at $49 per guest, per day. Compared to buying the two options separately, there are savings to the guest.

Keep in mind that this option may not be available for all guests, and exact pricing may vary depending on your sailing.

Royal Caribbean's Deluxe Beverage Package includes just about every drink you'd want on your cruise for one price.

This is the only of Royal Caribbean's beverage packages that includes alcohol, and it's intended for passengers who wish to "have it all" and lock in their price.  

Beer, wine, cocktails, coffee, water and more are all included in this package and purchasing the Deluxe Beverage package means you will know your cost for drinks in advance and be able to lock it in now.

Similar to the Refreshment package, the Deluxe Beverage package includes sodas, water, mocktails, premium coffee and tea, fresh-squeezed juice, as well as cocktails, spirits and liquors, as well as beer by the bottle or can and wine by the glass.

Read more: Royal Caribbean Drink Package Info & Tips

It promises a flat cost to enjoy as many beverages during a cruise with very few limitations.

What does the deluxe drink package include?

Guests can choose between unlimited cocktails, beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, premium coffee, tea, and bottled water. This package includes drinks with a value of up to $14. For guests that would like to enjoy a beverage over that threshold, a $14 credit will be applied towards the beverage of choice and guests will be required to pay the balance.

Guests with Deluxe drink package can also get 40% discount on wines under $100. Wines above $100 will receive a 20% discount.

All Beverage Packages exclude any beverages served inside licensed Starbucks stores.

How much is the deluxe drink package?

Based on observed prices we researched, the base price is between $56 to $115 per person, per night excluding the service charge.

An automatic 18% gratuity will be added to the cost of any drink package at the time of purchase.

This means the daily price you pay covers all the drinks in the package as well as gratuity.

There are pre-cruise discounts available for guests that purchase the drink package online, via Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner.

Royal Caribbean uses variable pricing for its Deluxe Beverage package, and the price can change a lot depending on the ship, time of year, and itinerary.

When should I buy a Royal Caribbean drink package?

Without a doubt, you're better off buying any drink package before your cruise begins from the Royal Caribbean website.

Prices onboard are always higher than the pre-cruise offering.

Royal Caribbean employs a great deal of sales throughout the year, and the price of the Deluxe Beverage package will likely fluctuate. There's no telling when there will be a discount or better price, so our advice is to book the drink package early and then cancel and rebook if there's a lower price later.

By booking now, you lock in the current rate, but if there's a better sale later (like on Black Friday) you cancel and rebook at the lower price with no penalty.

Read more: How to get a get a discount on a Royal Caribbean drink package

Who is the deluxe drink package best for?

Someone who wants to be able to pick from the widest variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks without having to pay for each drink individually will want the deluxe package.

Royal Caribbean advertises the deluxe package as having "virtually unlimited options" and that is pretty close to the truth.  Guests who can consume a lot of cocktails, beers, coffees, juices and more are well-suited for this package.  

A common scenario we hear about is a guest who likes to drink a lot of coffee and/or juice in the morning, and then enjoy alcoholic beverages during the day and evening.

Is the Deluxe Beverage package worth it?

Does it make sense for you to invest in a drink package now with the large up-front cost?

The Deluxe Beverage package has the highest cost among all the Royal Caribbean drink packages, but your bar bill could stack up quickly without one.

A bottle of beer will cost around $8 or $9, cocktails will cost $12-$14, and wine by the glass can easily get up to $25 each. And that's before the automatic 18% gratuity.

If you're trying to decide if Royal Caribbean's Deluxe Beverage Package is worth it, you should also consider it includes non-alcoholic drinks.  Premium coffees, bottled water, and even sodas are included, and these can make it much easier to get your money's worth from the package.

Your best bet is to buy a drink package before the cruise to get the lowest price, otherwise you'll probably need to drink another drink every day to make up the difference.

If your drink package cost is around $65 per day, then you'll need to order enough drinks every day to make it worthwhile.  If having that much to drink every day sounds impossible, you could just skip a drink package and order drinks a la carte instead.

You should also think about the itinerary you're sailing to make sure a drink package makes sense.  If your cruise goes to Perfect Day at CocoCay or Labadee, your drink package benefits work there too, and that's added value.

But if your sailing is a port intensive Alaska cruise or Mediterranean cruise, you'll have significantly less time on the ship to consume enough drinks.

Can I get souvenir glasses/mugs while using the deluxe drink package?

You can get drinks like Labadoozies, Coco locos, after dinner shots or the drink of the day with the deluxe drink package but does not include the souvenir mugs/glasses they are often served in.

If you were to order a drink in a souvenir cup, you'd be charged the difference for the souvenir cup.

You should tell your waiter or bartender to get the drink without the souvenir cup to avoid being charged extra for the souvenir cup.

Can I purchase the deluxe drink package and share drinks with someone I know onboard?

No, sharing beverages on any of Royal Caribbean's unlimited drink packages is strictly prohibited.