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All inclusive drinks package?


witkins

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Have signed up for the AI package on a mini cruise with FO, has anyone else used this package and found it to be advantageous, what drinks were you able to buy & did you feel it made monetary sense at the end of your trip? Allowing for time off ship sightseeing

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Have signed up for the AI package on a mini cruise with FO, has anyone else used this package and found it to be advantageous, what drinks were you able to buy & did you feel it made monetary sense at the end of your trip? Allowing for time off ship sightseeing

 

What mini cruise - mines is on 6th June and also signed up for the AI package. I booked it and then had to call them to make sure they did cider, which they do so hubby will manage a few +

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What mini cruise - mines is on 6th June and also signed up for the AI package. I booked it and then had to call them to make sure they did cider, which they do so hubby will manage a few +

 

Same mini cruise as you, leaves from liverpool, have you decided what you are doing in ports, think we will do hop on off bus in Belfast, tobermory visit couple of pubs and bit wander, you been with fred before?

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Same mini cruise as you, leaves from liverpool, have you decided what you are doing in ports, think we will do hop on off bus in Belfast, tobermory visit couple of pubs and bit wander, you been with fred before?

 

Never been with Fred before - want to try them out for a cruise next year as no flying - or may stick with Thomsons as I like the sound of one of their cruises next year leaving from Newcastle

 

 

Think we will do the the HOHO bus as well - also there is a market on as well we might do

 

We pick the bus up from Greenock and taken down to Liverpool, so just a 5 min taxi ride home when we get back to Greenock

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We were one of the cruises that had everyone on the AI package last month.

 

I think the best way to put it is if you are not particularly fussy about wine and tend to drink spirits with a mixer then you'll be OK.

 

As you may imagine, they are using the cheapest possible brands for the included spirits and wines, but if the beer/cider brands work for you then not so much of a problem there.

 

For us, the G+T was tolerable, the white wine was OK for lunch but the red was poor. In the evening we tended to take advantage of the 50% discount and ordered a bottle of something we would enjoy. Similarly the 50% discount on cocktails came in handy.

 

Not sure we would actually pay for the AI on another cruise, but as it was thrown in free on our cruise we had no complaints.

 

What are Fred asking for the AI these days? Last time I looked at the website I couldn't see the price.

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The charge is higher for mini cruises than longer cruises (they are always busier in the bars), but they seem to use it as an offer on some cruises - perhaps yours was one of them. If you look at the individual cruises on the website it tells you the cost - I think it was £39 per person per day on mini cruises, but I am not sure about that

 

We are on the same cruise and we would not benefit from an all inclusive rate. Fred's bar prices are quite reasonable.

 

We do find AI annoying on land holidays as it invariably only includes house wine by the glass, when we much prefer to choose our own bottle, which can be kept for the next day. The main advantage of AI to us would be if we were in a very hot climate and wanted a lot of non alcoholic drinks, the price of which can add up.

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We were one of the cruises that had everyone on the AI package last month.

 

I think the best way to put it is if you are not particularly fussy about wine and tend to drink spirits with a mixer then you'll be OK.

 

As you may imagine, they are using the cheapest possible brands for the included spirits and wines, but if the beer/cider brands work for you then not so much of a problem there.

 

For us, the G+T was tolerable, the white wine was OK for lunch but the red was poor. In the evening we tended to take advantage of the 50% discount and ordered a bottle of something we would enjoy. Similarly the 50% discount on cocktails came in handy.

 

Not sure we would actually pay for the AI on another cruise, but as it was thrown in free on our cruise we had no complaints.

 

What are Fred asking for the AI these days? Last time I looked at the website I couldn't see the price.

 

We paid £19.99 each per day and we had to pay that figure at the time of booking, suppose after 5 drinks it has paid for itself I'm hoping. How much did it roughly cost you for cocktails as like the sound of 50% off them, unsure if I would upgrade spirits

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We paid £19.99 each per day and we had to pay that figure at the time of booking, suppose after 5 drinks it has paid for itself I'm hoping. How much did it roughly cost you for cocktails as like the sound of 50% off them, unsure if I would upgrade spirits

 

Did you pay £19.99 per day for this mini cruise :eek: we paid £39.99

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Did you pay £19.99 per day for this mini cruise :eek: we paid £39.99

 

Each or per couple?

 

The cocktails worked out at around £3.50 each after the discount and we were typically saving around £10 on a bottle of wine each day.

 

I saved all our receipts so I can check back and figure out where our break-even point would be.

 

We generally budget on around £50 a day for the two of us, including wine with dinner so it isn't an obvious easy choice to go with the inclusive package, especially with the poor quality red wine that is included.

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Each or per couple?

 

The cocktails worked out at around £3.50 each after the discount and we were typically saving around £10 on a bottle of wine each day.

 

I saved all our receipts so I can check back and figure out where our break-even point would be.

 

We generally budget on around £50 a day for the two of us, including wine with dinner so it isn't an obvious easy choice to go with the inclusive package, especially with the poor quality red wine that is included.

 

£39.99 each per day:(

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The inside cabins were only £179 when we booked, but we are in a suite. Thomsons do it as well, the muck about with the prices. Glad I never took the AI.

 

Have since noticed that the price has went down from what we paid, guess one never knows a good time to book as last minute cabins may be all gone

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Don't think I will be bothering with AI. We normally have 2 drinks each in the bar before dinner and then a half litre of wine with the meal. First night for us on Fred, the barman suggested if we were drinking wine in the bar, then why didn't we buy a bottle and he would keep it in the fridge! Perfect and much cheaper of course.

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When we were on the Balmoral, people had a bottle of wine with their dinner, then the waiter would keep it for them till the next night. I'm looking forward to this mini, will get us in the mood for our 7night with PO to Norway a couple of weeks later.

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I kept all of our receipts as although we had the AI package thrown in free, the receipts still tracked the cost of things.

 

Just a few items to help people figure out if it is worth it or not:

 

Pina Colada - £4.60

G + T - £3.45

Whisky - £2.75

 

Wine

Pinot Grigio £17.10

Chablis £24.95

 

So if on the inclusive package, the G+T and whisky would have been free, the Pina Colada £2.30 and the wine £8.55 and £12. 48 respectively.

 

Oddly enough, lime cordial is not included with the AI package and is charged at £0.60 if you add it to something like lime and soda.

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Each or per couple?

 

The cocktails worked out at around £2.30 each after the discount and we were typically saving around £10 on a bottle of wine each day.

 

I saved all our receipts so I can check back and figure out where our break-even point would be.

 

We generally budget on around £50 a day for the two of us, including wine with dinner so it isn't an obvious easy choice to go with the inclusive package, especially with the poor quality red wine that is included.

 

 

Edit: corrected cocktail price to £2.30 from £3.50

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Found out today that they are asking £19.99/person/day for the AI on our next cruise in November.

 

Frankly, for us it just isn't worth it.

 

Another change which I noticed last month was that they no longer provide a drinks service in the show theater on Braemar.

 

They used to have staff circulating to take orders and deliver drinks but these have all gone, you now have to queue at the bar outside and carry your own in with you.

 

We managed OK, but it was far from convenient for the many who are not exactly steady on their feet at the best of times.

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I think they will lose out by not providing a drinks service in the show lounge. I for one won't go and queue to get a drink I will just wait until the show is over.

 

There is not enough room in the Braemar show lounge, to move around, as it is, so I think most people will wait.

 

Susan

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I think they will lose out by not providing a drinks service in the show lounge. I for one won't go and queue to get a drink I will just wait until the show is over.

 

I suspect that is at least part of their thinking, if they believe they can get enough people on the AI package then it is in their best interests not to make it easy to get multiple drinks in there :(

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We are on the Braemar in October for 3 weeks, we were given the drinks package when we booked last year.

 

I am interested to see what drinks are on offer (brand names etc.) and if I had paid for the package would I have saved any money.

 

The only thing I would be bothered about would be the wine we have with our evening meal.

 

 

Susan

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I am interested to see what drinks are on offer (brand names etc.) and if I had paid for the package would I have saved any money.

 

Consider the spirits and wine to be 'un-branded', both of low quality but drinkable if with a mixer, or in the case of the wine if it is white. The red wine we found too poor to be drinkable.

 

As noted earlier in this thread we elected to buy a bottle of wine in the evenings and took advantage of the 50% discount. It was not that the white wine was undrinkable, we were perfectly happy with it at lunch times, but in the evening we prefer something a little crisper than the wine that was being served.

 

Worth noting perhaps, there was no variation in the wine offered, it remained the same each day.

 

There were recognisable brands of beer on the included list, I'll see if I can locate it later today.

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