Drink Package was best cruise deal ever!

[sccat]

Exactly my thoughts. In fact my husband just said, yes, I'll go on another cruise where I can order drinks as much....... or as little as I want without thinking about the cost.. So, I will just add the cost of the package into the cost of the cruise and it changes his frame of mind completely. ;) Makes us both happy. After a few all inclusive resort vacations we really realize that there is something more relaxing about just being able to order what ever to drink without a second though...I am not even going to bother to figure out what amount I would have to drink to make it financially worth it.. It is worth it anyway to me.. I know I will drink more water with the package and thats a good thing..

 

I agree with both of you. We had the Classic Alcohol Pkg on our Med cruise and I ended up enjoying the convenience more than anything. On past cruises I was always "budgeting" drinks ... but with the pkg, I never gave ordering a drink (alcoholic or not) a second thought! And I ended up enjoying more than I ever did! That's what a vacation is all about ... no worries!

[Retty2Go]

Delete your post now! Before the angry mob comes!

 

LOL! Good one!

[sbt518]

We had the premium alcohol package on the Eclipse a few weeks ago and I agree it was a great deal.

 

Also I was able to order a bottle of water and a martini at the same time a few times when I asked. BUT my husband was right next to me ordering his own martini so I think it was obvious to the bartender we weren't sharing the package.

 

I found that I enjoyed many non-alcoholic drinks that I normally would not splurge for on a cruise. Cafe al Bacio became our favorite place quickly.

 

I kept a tally of the drinks each of us ordered and we spent between $55 a day (one day) to $100/day. Our average was about $80 and it was about a third to a half non-alcoholic drinks. The convenience and the freedom to order whatever we wanted were great. We also loved the molecular bar so one cocktail before dinner and 2 after dinner and you are halfway to your package per day price.

[Mathguy42]

We had the PBP on our recent Summit cruise and it was the Best Deal EVER! Also, most of our savings was on non-alcoholic drinks such as at Cafe Al Bacio, smoothies for breakfast, specialty coffees, bottle water etc, Nice to have your San Pellegrino being poured out every evening as you arrived at table, nothing to sign etc. We had to show our cards but that was all. It made it like an all-inclusive vacation and i would do it again.

 

When you do the math, it all adds up:

 

Mimosa with breakfast: $8

Specialty coffee x 2: $8

Beer wine or smoothie with lunch: $8

Afternoon specialty teas x 2: $8

Pre-dinner cocktail x 2: $24

Wine with dinner: $20

Bottled water to take off the ship x 3 or 4 : $9-$12

 

Total: $90 min.

 

Cost per day of PBP: $54

[Suewhite2]

I have enjoyed reading this post and remembering all the wonderful drinks in the Molecular Bar. :D I just told my DH that we need to go on another cruise so I can order champagne with my starter every night and take a Vitamin water off the cruise every day! I thought I was doing good by taking a giant Evian. I feel like such a rookie!! ;)

 

Pam

 

Just curious to those who have had two different drink packages. My DH drinks scotch and water only so he only needs the classic package. I want to try everything at the martini bar and molecular bar. Do we need to go to different bars to get his drinks or can he order the basic scotch while sitting with me at the specialty bars?

[Karieem]

We will probably purchase the Premium package for our cruise in October. Can anyone clarify one point first though. When in the restaurant can you CHOOSE which wine you have by the glass? I have seen a wine list and some of the "by the glass " wines we like and some we definitely don't!!

[daxwise]

We will probably purchase the Premium package for our cruise in October. Can anyone clarify one point first though. When in the restaurant can you CHOOSE which wine you have by the glass? I have seen a wine list and some of the "by the glass " wines we like and some we definitely don't!!

 

The only wines offered by the glass are the ones specified as sold by the glass. Wines with a pricetag per bottle only (no price info per glass) are only sold per bottle.

[Karieem]

Oh that's ok then as there are several on the list that we DO like! I will not specify which of the wines by the glass we don't like as it is just a matter of taste!!

[librarylady19]

The list of wines available by the glass varies at different restaurants and bars. Cellarmasters also has a selection and you can get the wine carafes from the Oceanview cafe bar also. we found plenty to choose from, as well as beers, ciders, cocktails ...we didn't go thirsty;)

[Lsimon]

....When in the restaurant can you CHOOSE which wine you have by the glass? I have seen a wine list and some of the "by the glass " wines we like and some we definitely don't!!

 

Of course! The wine sommelier will come to your table to take your order. You order a specific wine of your choice from the wine by the glass menu. Tell him you have the package when you order.

 

There are some who have the package who have posted on these boards that they just told to sommelier they had the package and asked him/her to make the choice for them but this is not the usual practice.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Lsimon

[jerseygirl3]

We had the Premium Alcohol Package last month on Silhouette and would do it again, but just keep in mind that the list of wines given are not always available. If I had a La Crema Pinot Noir at Ensemble, it wasn't available in the MDR. Or the Super Tuscan DH liked was available in the MDR, but not in Ensemble. Also, frequently when I ordered one of the wines, I was told they were out of it.

 

One of the really nice things about the Premium Alcohol Package is that you see a glass of wine that is more than $12, you just pay the difference.

 

As I said, we enjoyed the package and the ease of it and knowing the money was already put out before the cruise was beneficial. But just be aware if you're a wine drinker, there were times that part of the package was a bit disappointing.

 

Jo-Ann

[cruisecatmama]

We had the premium alcohol package on our recent Equinox cruise and our wine steward went to Cellar Masters for wines not on the list in the MDR. Special requests need to be done in advance so you will need to talk to your wine steward early or better, the night before... :)

[SweetSummertime]

I posted a question on another thread but my parents both drink and are not very mobile want to get beverage packages. I don't drink at all but because of their immobility I have a huntch that I'll be their bar gopher.

 

Who's card should I put the packages on? Can I get their drinks for them? If i put it on mine can they drink at dinner? Can i put two drink packages on one card? Can I get more than one drink at a time?

 

Anyone have suggestions on how to do this smoothly and not cause a stir?

[cherylroslyn]

I posted a question on another thread but my parents both drink and are not very mobile want to get beverage packages. I don't drink at all but because of their immobility I have a huntch that I'll be their bar gopher.

 

Who's card should I put the packages on? Can I get their drinks for them? If i put it on mine can they drink at dinner? Can i put two drink packages on one card? Can I get more than one drink at a time?

 

Anyone have suggestions on how to do this smoothly and not cause a stir?

You can get two drink packages, one for each parent and you can get two drinks at a time with the two seperate cards. You must present both cards to get the drinks....you can even get three drinks if you have three cards.

[jerseygirl3]

I posted a question on another thread but my parents both drink and are not very mobile want to get beverage packages. I don't drink at all but because of their immobility I have a huntch that I'll be their bar gopher.

 

Who's card should I put the packages on? Can I get their drinks for them? If i put it on mine can they drink at dinner? Can i put two drink packages on one card? Can I get more than one drink at a time?

 

Anyone have suggestions on how to do this smoothly and not cause a stir?

 

I would put the package on each of your parents cards. You can then go to any bar with the two cards and you will be allowed to order two drinks at a time.

 

There may be times they won't be with you and if they are sitting in a bar, the bar staff should be able to go fetch the drinks for your parents. However, we found the bar staff to be a bit absent on our Silhouette cruise last month and it did necessitate our going up to the bar ourselves if we wanted a drink. I think they have cut back on staff.

[BosoxI]

I'm glad so many can see the value in the premium drink package. i would fall into the category known as "I better have another so I get my money's worth" and in so doing, stumble my way through the cruise. :) On our just completed cruise my highest liquid consumption for a single day was 1 Bloody Mary, 2 martinis, 1 beer, 1 glass of wine and a shared large bottle of water. That doesn't come close to $60 or so, so I guess I'm better off paying drink by drink. We met a couple in the Martini Bar who was keeping track of their consumption to gauge the benefit. They said they were better off with the package; I would have been under the table, had I tried to keep up with them. To each his own.

[SweetSummertime]

So they have no problem with giving you A drink if you have a drink card reguardless of if you are actually that person? Does the pic or name come up or do they even slide your card? I may just save the trouble and have them pay for each drink but I'm soo afraid they will run up a high tab on a trip they are getting as a gift from the family. Last cruise on RCL their tab was about 1200 for a 7 day. Ouch!!!

[jerseygirl3]

So they have no problem with giving you A drink if you have a drink card reguardless of if you are actually that person? Does the pic or name come up or do they even slide your card? I may just save the trouble and have them pay for each drink but I'm soo afraid they will run up a high tab on a trip they are getting as a gift from the family. Last cruise on RCL their tab was about 1200 for a 7 day. Ouch!!!

 

No they don't look to see who the card belongs to if you walk up to the bar and order a drink.

[Cruise Junky]

No they don't look to see who the card belongs to if you walk up to the bar and order a drink.

 

That was going to be my question when I send DH on an early Cappucino run. Thanks.

[jerseygirl3]

That was going to be my question when I send DH on an early Cappucino run. Thanks.

 

Did that many times last month when we were on Silhouette!

[Cruise Junky]

Did that many times last month when we were on Silhouette!

 

Good to hear, thanks. I'll just give him my card before he goes for his morning stroll.

[RumRunner01]

With regard to tipping bartenders if you have the Premium Package, you bring cash for that and tip as you would in a regular bar? Since you are not having to sign a slip, there is no mechanism to tip with each drink and add it to your onboard account, right? We are used to tipping $1 per drink on a cruise but don't usually carry around a lot of singles on a cruise, so that would be something to plan for if using the Premium package.

[librarylady19]

I bought an envelope full of $1 bills for drink tips. Generally, we gave a $1 tip for each drink, unless it was part of a meal, where we would add a tip to the bill (specialties only). We found service to be quite responsive in the bars, as well as around the pool.

[atebit]

I've read where you can "pay the difference" for more expensive drinks with the PBP. If I were to get the Classic plan, could I get say a Guinness every so often & just pay the overage from the $5.00 allowance?

Edited May 14, 2012 by atebit

[Algebralovr]

I've read where you can "pay the difference" for more expensive drinks with the PBP. If I were to get the Classic plan, could I get say a Guinness every so often & just pay the overage from the $5.00 allowance?

 

Sorry, if you purchase the classic and want a drink over the max for the Classic, you will have to pay full price for that drink. The pay the difference thing only works for the Premium package.