I know per drink it is not a lot (on average $1.50 per drink) and I won't let it ruin anything... but I can see how it can add up for someone on a cruise with multiple US ports... especially if they stay on the ship and have a few alcoholic drinks around the pool or grab some waters or coffees... it just seems like a bummer to buy the package and still incur costs per drink rather than the carefree "yes I paid for everything already" I guess we will see when we get aboard, just wanted to set expectations but won't let a few dollars worry us!
It sounds like most agree that on Princess if you have the package, then drinks are not charged local taxes. That makes a lot of sense since I am not purchasing anything, just utilizing a service I paid for previously. However on Carnival they do charge local taxes for drink package consumption. That could be confusing.