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Beverage package, is it worth it?

molly5673

By molly5673,
in Royal Caribbean International

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appleosprey

appleosprey

Posted
Posted

I am cruising in a few days and was wondering if it was worth buying the $20 soft drink package. I like to have a latte here and there and I like fresh OJ in morning and I love Sparkling water.

 

Can I go to the Lattetudes coffee shop and order as many coffees as I want or is it just for coffee in the MDR?

 

Also for Dinner will they bring me a bottle of Pelligrino or is it another water when we are having our main meal.

 

If I can go to the coffee shop and order 2-3 coffees a day and have a few sparkling waters I think it will be worth it for me.

 

I have purchased the soda package before and every time I ordered a soda from the staff at bars or in the theatre I felt like they were annoyed with me as they were not getting any gratuities. They always seemed to be looking for drinks orders that needed to be post-paid

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BekkaW

BekkaW

Posted
Posted

I have purchased the soda package before and every time I ordered a soda from the staff at bars or in the theatre I felt like they were annoyed with me as they were not getting any gratuities. They always seemed to be looking for drinks orders that needed to be post-paid

 

The soda package includes 15% gratuity (as do all the beverage packages) so why would they be annoyed? Obviously everyone's experiences are different but I have never had any problems getting service with a soda package.

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Esilef

Esilef

Posted
Posted

Everyone has different needs and other factors need to be taken into account this includes the length of cruise/port days/sea days & climate cruising. Do you want to prepay all you can or would you rather pay as you go? It's great to be able to choose how you want to be able to holiday. For me I love the idea that a cruise becomes all inclusive.

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

Posted
Posted

 

Q: Can I cancel or change any of my Wine & Beverage packages?

 

A: Orders may be modified up to four days before the sail date either online or by calling (800) 398-9819.

 

Once onboard, the guest may cancel or change their package for onboard credit. However, any consumed items will be charged.

 

I interpret RC's answer to mean that if you cancel the package once you have begun to use it, they will go back and charge you PER DRINK for everything that you have so far consumed.

 

I could be wrong. :)

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JillLovesTravel

JillLovesTravel

Posted
Posted
Q: Can I cancel or change any of my Wine & Beverage packages?

 

A: Orders may be modified up to four days before the sail date either online or by calling (800) 398-9819.

 

Once onboard, the guest may cancel or change their package for onboard credit. However, any consumed items will be charged.

 

I interpret RC's answer to mean that if you cancel the package once you have begun to use it, they will go back and charge you PER DRINK for everything that you have so far consumed.

 

I could be wrong. :)

 

Well you could be…but you are not. You are correct on this one.

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bchalker

bchalker

Posted
Posted
here's a hi-jacking question (that i apologize for)...

 

if you have prepurchased any alcoholic drink package, is the first drink (sail away drink i think they call it) free???

 

Yes all are free just not a souvenir glass. Just go to a bar and ask for drink of the day without a souvenir glass.

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zombiehunter

zombiehunter

Posted
Posted
I am cruising in a few days and was wondering if it was worth buying the $20 soft drink package. I like to have a latte here and there and I like fresh OJ in morning and I love Sparkling water.

 

Can I go to the Lattetudes coffee shop and order as many coffees as I want or is it just for coffee in the MDR?

 

Also for Dinner will they bring me a bottle of Pelligrino or is it another water when we are having our main meal.

 

If I can go to the coffee shop and order 2-3 coffees a day and have a few sparkling waters I think it will be worth it for me.

 

I have purchased the soda package before and every time I ordered a soda from the staff at bars or in the theatre I felt like they were annoyed with me as they were not getting any gratuities. They always seemed to be looking for drinks orders that needed to be post-paid

 

 

This is no longer an issue with the soda machines they have on board. But yes, I could see them being annoyed.

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bouhunter

bouhunter

Posted
Posted
[quote name='appleosprey']
I have purchased the soda package before and every time I ordered a soda from the staff at bars or in the theatre I felt like they were annoyed with me as they were not getting any gratuities. They always seemed to be looking for drinks orders that needed to be post-paid[/QUOTE]

My wife and daughter have had the soda card on 8 cruises and it seems like they always serve the soda with a smile:) I can't ever remember the staff member seeming "annoyed".
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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted (edited)
[quote name='At Sea 4Ever']Thanks for all ur quick responses! You have clarified a lot for me! Can I ask one more question? Lol my DH and I are almost certain to go with the premium. What's the major difference between that and the ultimate?[/quote]
Here's the description of the packages:

[URL]http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/royal/en_US/pdf/beverage_packages.pdf[/URL]

The Ultimate adds premium coffee/tea, sparkling water, and fresh squeezed OJ to the Premium package. Edited by clarea
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Cd24747

Cd24747

Posted
Posted
[quote name='Sandlapper in exile']If you have any on-board credit coming your way, wait to buy a package until you're onboard, as only then can you use your credit towards the package.

No OBC? Doesn't much matter.[/QUOTE]


Is there a difference in price from booking on line?
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DrD

DrD

Posted
Posted
We've been thinking about this also. We're mostly wine drinkers so I think we'll stick to a wine package, and bring our 4 bottles on (2 cabins.)

One thing that helped me decide is that's it's tough to get a drink at dinner, bar service is very slow. But getting a bottle of wine is easy, then you can just help yourself throughout meal.

The only advantage to buying ahead of time is that it's one less thing to do when you board.
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nolesrule

nolesrule

Posted
Posted
[quote name='appleosprey']I am cruising in a few days and was wondering if it was worth buying the $20 soft drink package. I like to have a latte here and there and I like fresh OJ in morning and I love Sparkling water.

Can I go to the Lattetudes coffee shop and order as many coffees as I want or is it just for coffee in the MDR?

Also for Dinner will they bring me a bottle of Pelligrino or is it another water when we are having our main meal.

If I can go to the coffee shop and order 2-3 coffees a day and have a few sparkling waters I think it will be worth it for me.

I have purchased the soda package before and every time I ordered a soda from the staff at bars or in the theatre I felt like they were annoyed with me as they were not getting any gratuities. They always seemed to be looking for drinks orders that needed to be post-paid[/quote]

The Replenish package only includes small bottled sparkling water, but they will serve you the sparkling water in the dining room. However, they have to get it from the bar.

The first night in the MDR was a bit of a hassle because the Replenish package was very new, but they brought over unflavored Perrier, which was fine. They kept an ice bucket filled with the small bottles, and had them ready to go every night after the first night when I arrived. It was great.

If you want Pellegrino, be specific about it when you ask in the MDR.

And during the day, we were always running to the Solarium bar for a bottle of Evian or a bottle of Pellegrino. I actually found myself drinking less soda on the cruise because of the availability of the sparkling water in the package.

I believe you can get the coffees a Latte-tudes, but we were staying in a suite so made use of the coffee machine in the concierge lounge, which was closer to our room than Latte-tudes.

And I loved the fresh squeezed OJ every morning. I'm a native Floridian, and fresh squeezed OJ is the only way to drink it. No matter where I was eating breakfast, I always grabbed 2 glasses everyday from WJ (no, I didn't share).

We'll be doing the Replenish package again on future cruises.

And for us, we tried the Premium package once, found we really didn't drink enough for it to be worth it.
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appleosprey

appleosprey

Posted
Posted
[quote name='zombiehunter']This is no longer an issue with the soda machines they have on board. But yes, I could see them being annoyed.[/QUOTE]

My first 2 cruises I had the soda package and I was met with a different greeting when I was purchasing a can of soda on my last 2 cruises. I really felt that they would prefer to serve someone buying a can than someone with a refillable cup!

Coffee question! Does anyone know if we can get the frappacpino drinks and lattes from lattetudes on the $20 per day package?
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