vacuman

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Our cabin 103 was miniature. Good bathroom but minimal storage space for clothes etc. Not enough space to unpack and restore - we lived out of our bags! We have more space in our small boat and of all our crossings this was the cabin with least space. Small improvements could easily be made by adding stylish shelving and some hooks with out spoiling the look/ambiance. On paper the cabin was of adequate area but this included a kind of access passage from the door which was entirely wasted space but was obviously included in the so called measured area. So, beware the cabins 103 and 104 and no doubt 101 and 102. Ok perhaps for singles. Beds were ok though!

Oh dear - just checked and we are booked into cabin 102 for our first ever clipper cruise, out of Barbados on March 3rd. Not a worry, we also tend to live out of our bags anyway and hope to spend as much time as possible OUT of the cabin.

I concur the suggestion to get the Cheers package. On the Sunshine last October and having (almost) unlimited drinks actually meant that I was able to enjoy my drinking more. By not having too many (never got drunk in ten days) meant I could try drinks I would not normally want to risk my precious cash on.

Special rums, unfamiliar wines, off-the-menu cocktails, fancy vodkas etc. plus tasting all the different beers became part of the cruise experience and I wasn't going to mess it up by being too drunk one and too ill the next day.

I think the fact you get to eat so much helps absorb the alcohol as well....those burgers, pizzas, club sandwiches, Asian noodles.....yum yum

As a fan of drinks packages (just one less thing to worry about once paid) the posts so far are forgetting that the material costs of the drinks are tiny compared to what we pay. So what if you share the odd drink. Not saying it's right but a can of beer costs the cruise line about 50 cents, a liter of spirit around $8 etc. If you have the package and pass on a few drinks it's not going to be share price affecting.

As has been mentioned, all that counts is that on-board spend, when drinks packages are available at a price people will pay, is greater than without. If the rules (i.e. CCL all adults in cabin) or range (Celebrity include coffees and juices) are not attractive then the take-up will be lower. If that's what the cruise lines want then fine but I'm sure they know their business, their P&L and their customers better than we do.