Are you ready to purchase a Royal Caribbean unlimited drink package?

Beverage packages have become incredibly popular with passengers because they like the idea of locking in the price of their drinks onboard by getting an unlimited drink package so they have one less thing to worry about.  

Here is how you can purchase a drink package for your Royal Caribbean cruise.

Online before the cruise

To pre-order any drink package online, go to Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner and choose which drink packages you want to order.

Drink packages are available for ordering online many months in advance of a cruise sailing date.  In fact, it is one of the first items available for purchase via the Cruise Planner.

Buying a Royal Caribbean drink package before your cruise begins offers two significant advantages: you can split up the total cost of the cruise vacation because the drink package cost will be charged at the time of purchase and it will be ready to be used once you board the ship.

As an example, the price on Icon of the Seas for the Deluxe Beverage package that included unlimited alcohol will cost $643.93 per person (before gratuity) for a 7-night cruise. For two guests with gratuity, that comes out to $1,519.56.

Read more: Guide to Icon of the Seas

While that is a lot of money up-front, you could pay it off now on a different credit card billing cycle, and not have to pay it on top of other purchases made on your sailing. Guests can pay off the drink packages before the cruise even begins, which means less of a bill that will be incurred following the conclusion of a cruise.

Moreover, most sailings offer some sort of pre-purchase discount on the drink package, which can bring that cost down.  Pre-purchasing a drink package online is the most reliable way of saving money on a drink package purchase (compared to booking it onboard).

Going back to our example, Royal Caribbean advertises the price is 20% off onboard prices.

As an added benefit, buying online means you won't have to waste time waiting to buy a drink package onboard the ship.

In short, your best choice is to pre-purchase a drink package before the cruise to get the lowest price and save time once you get on the ship.

Phone

There is one more method of pre-purchasing an unlimited drink package and that is by phone.

Guests may call (800) 398-9819 in the U.S. or Canada to reserve drink packages for their cruise.

If there's ever a choice, it's faster and easier to book a drink package online rather than the phone, however, there is one reason to call in and that's if you want to buy the drink package with alcohol but get someone else in the room a different drink package.

Royal Caribbean's rules stipulate if one adult gets the Deluxe Beverage Package, then all other adults in the cabin have to get one too. This is to prevent sharing of drink package benefits.

If there's an adult booked in the cabin that does not or cannot drink alcohol, you can call Royal Caribbean and ask for that adult to instead get the Refreshment package, which is the non-alcoholic option.

You have to call in to get this workaround, as it cannot be done online.

Onboard

Another option is to wait and purchase the drink package onboard your Royal Caribbean cruise.

Drink packages can be purchased at various kiosks set up around the ship, as well as any bar or lounge.

There only real advantage of waiting to buy a drink package onboard is if you choose to purchase a drink package on a day other than embarkation day.

In that case, Royal Caribbean will prorate the cost of the package for the remainder of the cruise.

If you know you're going to get the drink package, buy it online pre-cruise to save money and time. The onboard price will absolutely cost more per day than if pre-purchased.

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas is filled with a lot of fun activities, exciting shows and incredible dining choices.  The level of detail on this brand new ship is truly amazing, including one very small (and cute) bit of detail that is easy to overlook.

Hidden in the Central Park neighborhood, among the beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers, is Tony the Garden Gnome!

A photo posted by Tom Brownlee (@caribbeanplantdoctor) on Oct 8, 2016 at 5:43am PDT

Photo by Tracey Van Leeuwen

Tony was donated by Matt and Samantha Alexander, and have been adopted by the ship's horticulturist, Tom Brownlee.

Guests can find Tony under a tree, opposite the Trellis Bar in the Central Park neighborhood.  While not as thrilling as the ship's water slides, Tony is a great example of a fun hidden gem onboard Harmony of the Seas that you can visit once onboard.

Royal Caribbean will kick off its next promotion with the return of a WOW Sale, which will offer 60% off second guest, up to $200 to spend at sea and 50% reduced deposit.

For five days, The October WOW Sale will run, with a special preview just for Crown and Anchor Society Members. A valid Crown & Anchor Society membership number must be included in the reservation to book any sailing during the Crown & Anchor Society preview.

This WOW sale is open to Crown and Anchor Society Members beginning at noon ET on October 12, and the general public October 13-19, 2017.  It is valid on all sailings departing on or after November 12, 2016, excluding China departures.

The offer includes:

60% off second guest offer, 3rd and 4th guests receive 30% off

• Cruises 5 nights or less
  • $50 onboard credit per stateroom
  • 50% Reduced Deposit
• Cruises 6-9 nights
  • $100 onboard credit per stateroom
  • 50% Reduced Deposit
• Cruises 10 nights or longer
  • $200 onboard credit
  • 50% Reduced Deposit

Bonus Holiday onboard credit up to $500 per stateroom, for eligible Bahamas / Caribbean holiday sailings:

• $100 OBC per stateroom for eligible 3-5 night sailings departing Dec 22-31, 2016 & Dec 22-31, 2017
• $200 OBC per stateroom for eligible 6-9 night sailings departing Dec 15-31, 2016 & Dec 15-31, 2017
• $500 OBC per stateroom for eligible 10+ night sailings departing Dec 15-31, 2016 & Dec15-31, 2017

WOW Sale and Holiday Bonus are combinable with BOGO60, standard/full fare and restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military, etc.) and Next Cruise offers. WOW Sale is not combinable Crown & Anchor discounts, Shareholder Benefits or Loyal to Royal Sales. All offers are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, and Net Rates.

Offer available to residents of United States and Canada.

Our newest podcast episode is out to help give you a quick "audio escape" to a Royal Caribbean cruise!

Episode 167 is available for downloading, which features a first-hand review of the Royal Suite Class on Anthem of the Seas.

Guide book authors Laurel Stewart and Len Testa join Matt to talk about their experience in a Grand Loft Suite on Anthem of the Seas, and review their experiences trying out the Royal Suite Class offerings.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 167. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Stitcher or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!