Drinks package Help

[Happy People]

sailing on Independece of seas on 10th August Italian Med first time with R C I so not sure if it is worth going for drinks package or to pay at end of cruise not sure how much drinks are on ship I like glass of beer my wife likes white wine any advice appreciated:D:confused:

[ryano]

Unless you plan on consuming 8 - 10 drinks each per day or more, it will probably be better to just forget the package and pay at the end of the cruise. :)

 

The convenience of not having to keep track of it is certainly worth something though. So is the ability to try drinks you normally wouldnt try. It varies from ship to ship as to whether or not they make you sign a receipt from what Ive read.

 

Exact prices could probably be given by someone if you post what beer you like and what wine your wife likes.

[Clarea]

The beer/wine option (no mixed drinks) is $45 per day per person and this includes gratuity. Most beers run $4.75 to $6.25 plus 15% gratuity. Wine by the glass starts at $6 plus 15% gratuity. So you should be able to come up with a ballpark value of what it might cost you for drinks without the package, and then compare to the $45 per day package cost.

[Frankmac]

There are a large number of "drinks package" threads on here if you search. At this stage I think most questions have been asked, however the one thing that is very clear is that purchasing the package and the value involved is very much an individual thing.

 

There is a general consensus that the house wine on the package is not wonderful so if your wife knows her wines it might not be for her. Having the odd glass of beer would probably mean that you would not get value either.

 

Remember also that both of you will have to buy the package so it will cost $770 for the week.

 

To put it in simple terms you would need to consume 17/18 drinks at $5.50 per day plus gratuity, to break even moneywise.

 

Having said that there are many who say they buy the package as they enjoy the freedom of not worrying about their bill, not having to sign everytime and being able to try out new drinks

[DeadPhish]

I've been doing alot of research the last couple of days myself. For my fiancee and I, this doesn't work out. The package doesnt include everything, like roomservice drinks, so I'd still have a large drink bill afterwards. I'm sure I could make the price work for me, but the package requires everyone in the room to have the package for every day. Even with me picking up her slack we wouldnt make it worthwhile.

[NICruisers]

The drinks package IS good value for money if your cruise has a lot of sea days, say for example a Transatlantic. Otherwise, it doesn't really make much sense if you're not really a heavy drinker.

[mrsfuzzmo]

One thing to realize is that most cocktails will run about $8.50. Yes, some will be $6.25 and a good martini will be in the $11. 00 range. We purchased the package.

 

Mimosa in the morning, a drink of the day or two and a couple of beers at the pool, a martini or two before dinner, glass of wine with dinner, a few drinks in the disco or at the pool party at night.....easily WAY over $55 a day. Well worth it for us.

 

A bonus was that we went to Coco Cay and the drinks on the island were included in the package, so our buckets of beer and Coco Locos were included as well.

[sabres431]

Are buckets of beer included in the package on the ship? I thought I read that you can only get one drink at a time with the package.

[AZAficionado]

Are buckets of beer included in the package on the ship? I thought I read that you can only get one drink at a time with the package.

They are not included and you are correct that you can only get one drink at a time with the package. However, you can go to the bar with say 4 Sea Pass cards that have the package and order 4 drinks.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Are buckets of beer included in the package on the ship? I thought I read that you can only get one drink at a time with the package.

 

True. We had 6 adults all with the package so they would take all our cards and keep the bucket of beer coming.

[fun_one]

I have read many of the threads on the drink package but cannot confirm what wines are available by the glass in the $55 package? If it is just one house red, white and pink, that won't work for us but if they give you a few options, that may work. Anyone tell me how it really worked if they drank wine?

thanks,

Barbara

[tlatrice]

Mimosa in the morning, a drink of the day or two and a couple of beers at the pool, a martini or two before dinner, glass of wine with dinner, a few drinks in the disco or at the pool party at night.....easily WAY over $55 a day. Well worth it for us.

 

 

This is what I was thinking. I'm planning to do the package on my next cruise. I did an estimate based on what I paid for the few drinks I had on my last cruise and I came up over $55 a day! LOL!!!

[Clarea]

I have read many of the threads on the drink package but cannot confirm what wines are available by the glass in the $55 package? If it is just one house red, white and pink, that won't work for us but if they give you a few options, that may work. Anyone tell me how it really worked if they drank wine?

thanks,

Barbara

Royal does not say anything more specific than "house" wine. However, some people have reported that the reds are St. Martin merlot and cab. This may not be the case on every ship.

[crookedhalo]

Seriously considering this for the cruise I'm booking this weekend - I'm a martini girl and DH likes double Makers Marks. Each of these is easily $9-$10 per drink. I also like frozen drinks which are in the $8 range. I usually buy the soda card, so this would replace that for me.

 

Next trip in planning phase is 8 nights with three sea days, a private island day and we have been to all three ports (the goal of this trip is going to be to get warm and relax) so don't really anticipate spending a ton of time off the ship (except maybe at Key West- love that place:D). Factoring in all of this I think it could pay for itself easily....

 

Mimosa in morning $8.00

Sodas (4 x 2.5) $10.00

Frozen drinks @ pool $16.00

Martinis before/at dinner $18.00

 

Just this is $52 and we usually like the after dinner shots which run about $8 each.

 

It's just such a huge chunk of money up front! LOL

 

Gotta go over $$ w/DH (though I believe I know which way he'll go);)

[NICruisers]

They're not really that good .. try them and see, but I'd imagine you won't be drinking much of them ..

[Clagmeister]

sailing on Independece of seas on 10th August Italian Med first time with R C I so not sure if it is worth going for drinks package or to pay at end of cruise not sure how much drinks are on ship I like glass of beer my wife likes white wine any advice appreciated:D:confused:

 

Drinks packages are becoming popular. If you are a light drinker, pay as you go might be best. Wine packages do offer savings in the 6 or 12 bottle options. However, if you are likely to enjoy a fair number of your favourite tipple each day on your cruise holiday then an 'all inclusive' package could be a good choice.

 

I see that we are sailing together. Have you joined our roll call? Here is the link.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1607819