witkins Posted April 15, 2013 #1 Share Posted April 15, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandlassie Posted April 15, 2013 #2 Share Posted April 15, 2013 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 + Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witkins Posted April 15, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted April 15, 2013 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandlassie Posted April 16, 2013 #4 Share Posted April 16, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted April 16, 2013 #5 Share Posted April 16, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tring Posted April 16, 2013 #6 Share Posted April 16, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witkins Posted April 16, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted April 16, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandlassie Posted April 16, 2013 #8 Share Posted April 16, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted April 16, 2013 #9 Share Posted April 16, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandlassie Posted April 16, 2013 #10 Share Posted April 16, 2013 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:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witkins Posted April 16, 2013 Author #11 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Did you pay £19.99 per day for this mini cruise :eek: we paid £39.99 We paid £19.99 each per day however, perhaps your cruise was cheaper? we paid £229 each for cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlandlassie Posted April 17, 2013 #12 Share Posted April 17, 2013 We paid £19.99 each per day however, perhaps your cruise was cheaper? we paid £229 each for cruise we paid a lot more than that - balcony suite :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witkins Posted April 17, 2013 Author #13 Share Posted April 17, 2013 we paid a lot more than that - balcony suite :( Inside cabin here:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran48 Posted April 17, 2013 #14 Share Posted April 17, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witkins Posted April 17, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted April 17, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran48 Posted April 17, 2013 #16 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Its all swings and roundabouts, so we will all just go and enjoy the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanlyon Posted April 17, 2013 #17 Share Posted April 17, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran48 Posted April 17, 2013 #18 Share Posted April 17, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted April 17, 2013 #19 Share Posted April 17, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted April 18, 2013 #20 Share Posted April 18, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted April 18, 2013 #21 Share Posted April 18, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancourt Posted April 18, 2013 #22 Share Posted April 18, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted April 18, 2013 #23 Share Posted April 18, 2013 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 :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancourt Posted April 18, 2013 #24 Share Posted April 18, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_T Posted April 18, 2013 #25 Share Posted April 18, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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