WOW - bar drinks prices increased by up to 40%

[peteukmcr]

Ever heard the phrase 'flogging a dead horse'? Well that's what this thread is now doing. Cocktail, mixed drink, highball, who cares. RCI has raised prices, we have to swallow it or not. For me not. Thank goodness I'm going on Carnival and Celebrity this year. At least I don't know I'm being bled dry as I've never sailed with them before, whereas I've 11 years experience of RCI now squeezing me until I bleed. $23 and possibly more for a G&T and Jack & coke, no way RCI. You can keep it. Enchantment in a few weeks will be a very dry cruise.

Edited March 13, 2015 by peteukmcr

[GUT2407]

We're about to try RCI for the first time ... and it may very well be the last time. We're not heavy drinkers, we enjoy a cocktail or two but mostly drink wine. We enjoy good wines so the drinks packages are not really ideal for us as the wines by the glass are limited and we would still have to pay 80% of the price of wines by the bottle.

 

On our last cruise, with Princess, we spent an average of AU $85 per day on drinks for both of us, which included coffees, cocktails, the occasional after dinner drink, and some excellent wines, far better than we can afford at restaurants in Australia.

 

I am expecting that we will have to cut back on drinks on our upcoming cruise, otherwise our drinks bill will end up being at least AU $200 per day for similar to what we had on Princess. The wine prices alone are more expensive in US dollars than the Princess wines were in AU dollars :eek:

 

It's becoming a big problem for us.

 

We are non-drinkers and a lot of lines are now including drinks packages that normally cost about $50 a day, but they are putting up the cruise price by similar amounts.

 

I always get a soda package and it always works out great for me, we often get herself the premium non alcohol pack and she mainly breaks even or a small loss, but mine is normally $8-$10 a day hers about $12-16 a day, but with the inclusive package we are paying about $40 a day extra.

 

In a nut shell it costs us about $30 a day extra:eek:

[frito58]

Attention all Royal cruisers----it is very easy to get this drink price increase reversed. The key is the bartenders!! If everyone starts drinking beer or drinks priced below $10 (assuming there are some) or reducing the amount of drinks per day, then, the bartenders tips will drastically be reduced AND TOP MANAGEMENT WILL HEAR THIS--ALL EMPLOYERS LISTEN TO THE EMPLOYEES RATHER THAN A BUNCH OF UPSET CRUISERS. I am not trying to pick on the bartenders (they usually are very good), but, we need to have a viable strategy. RIGHT NOW--answer to this thread: ON ALL FUTURE ROYAL CRUISES I WILL DECREASE MY SPENDING ON DRINKS!!! Answer now.

 

I already do this , I refuse to pay the high prices on the ship especially when we book southern Caribbean cruises with 5 ports and you can drink on the islands for WAY less than the ship . I may buy a few beers on the ship . But I will spend less than $100 for the week.

[frito58]

Ever heard the phrase 'flogging a dead horse'? Well that's what this thread is now doing. Cocktail, mixed drink, highball, who cares. RCI has raised prices, we have to swallow it or not. For me not. Thank goodness I'm going on Carnival and Celebrity this year. At least I don't know I'm being bled dry as I've never sailed with them before, whereas I've 11 years experience of RCI now squeezing me until I bleed. $23 and possibly more for a G&T and Jack & coke, no way RCI. You can keep it. Enchantment in a few weeks will be a very dry cruise.

 

Just sailed on my 12th Carnival Cruise , they are no picnic either . Cutbacks Cutbacks and more Cutbacks , entertainment is almost gone , food is going downhill. Crew is great . On deck be prepared for rap music all day. We are heading over to RCI for awhile . We are Platinum on both lines and RCI gets us more perks and that's way less cruises on RCI. Plus Carnival makes both people in a room buy the Drink pkg.

[gkbiiii]

Not entirely but think of the workers....do they get 15% on a voucher as a tip from RCL? If no tip that "perk" actually hurts the workers. RCL wants to keep their workers happy I suppose. Does RCL make any money on all the smuggled booze not caught? I would suspect not. All I'm saying (or writing actually) that nobody gets anything for "free" from a business. Someplace, somehow money has to be made to cover the cost of the "free" or "earned" perk. Some "royals" want an "all inclusive" on a beer budget.

 

 

 

Who cares about drinks in MY cabin, Disney NEVER once bothered me, about bringing hard liquor aboard, at ANY stop!!!!!

 

RCCL should stop this endless nickel & diming and take the Disney way!!

[brad_p]

i find it humorous that several months ago everyone was so happy to see AG go and welcomed Mr Bailey. now apparently he is just as bad :eek:

 

Better the devil you know! ;-)

[sugcarol]

On Navigator two weeks ago we always went to Boleros for our "Diamond" drinks. My friend drinks Mohitos and I drink Pina coladas and our signing slips always said 7.00 for each drink, but zero for us to pay. We always tipped 1.50 for each drink.

[The_Big_M]

Well thanks for clarifying your definition of a cocktail. It's a little easier to believe now that you make that distinction.

 

You mean your definition is different?

[John&LaLa]

You mean your definition is different?

 

Obviously in England, Canada, and now Australia the definition of a cocktail is somewhat different than in the US. No worries.

[Merion_Mom]

On Navigator two weeks ago we always went to Boleros for our "Diamond" drinks. My friend drinks Mohitos and I drink Pina coladas and our signing slips always said 7.00 for each drink, but zero for us to pay. We always tipped 1.50 for each drink.

 

Interesting, as neither of those drinks is supposed to be included as a "Diamond voucher drink".

[dachshunddoglover]

Just got off Legend (March 9th) and I can say the drink prices are still crazy high. A BBC was around $8.70 last June and now it is $11.70. :eek: That's too much for my blood. I was shocked. I meant to write it on my comment card but since it was emailed and it took me a couple days to get to it, I forgot. :( Thank goodness I'm not a heavy drinker.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I wonder if most people lose out with a package I know I'm always in front.

 

I'll let you know in a couple of weeks :D

 

We are going to start off without any packages while we suss out prices, and drink the two bottles of wine we can bring onboard with us for dinner on the first two nights. By then we should know whether a package is price-effective for us.

Edited March 13, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[pscruzinboyz]

OK, beat me up on this, that is fine. We are D+, have been for 6 years and do about 30 days a year on RCL. Sorry RCL, you get very little money from us on Booze or Beer. We bring our own Diet Pepsi on Board, a case of water, we only drink alcohol between 5 and 8:30, yep, a lot, the servers love us because we tip very well and we are very polite to all. Then we always have 1 to 3 drinks lined up at 8:30 so that will last us until 10:00 pm. So who needs to buy from the bar. Then we always find the cheap fun bars on land to drink and have fun. On our next trip, May 2015, out of Galveston on the Navigator, instead of getting on the ship at 11:00, like almost all do, we hang out on The Strand, Drink dollar Coronas and get on the ship by 3:30 pm.....ok, maybe a tad bit Happy. If you know how to play the game, and we do, Cruising is Very Cheap to do, but you have to go against what RCL wants you to do, And we do! :eek:

 

Mike

[Mjoellnir]

Heh, unlike many here (or so it seems) I *am* a heavy drinker on such vacations. I never drink so much that I bother others, but 5 drinks +beer and vine is not a problem for me. Must be my Norwegian vikingblood:cool:

 

So for me, a price increase on coctails, as long as they stay below $12, is a good thing as it makes my drinkpackage more worth it.

[GottaLuvCruising]

Just sailed on my 12th Carnival Cruise , they are no picnic either . Cutbacks Cutbacks and more Cutbacks , entertainment is almost gone , food is going downhill. Crew is great . On deck be prepared for rap music all day. We are heading over to RCI for awhile . We are Platinum on both lines and RCI gets us more perks and that's way less cruises on RCI. Plus Carnival makes both people in a room buy the Drink pkg.

 

I must agree! Just off my 19th Carnival cruise and it may be my last due to cutbacks (mostly entertainment.) We're booked on the Allure (with family and friends...not my choice) and I'm appalled to read about RCI drink prices...seriously? Not sure what we'll do, but likely we just won't drink. We're also Platinum on Princess and expect that line to be our first choice for a while.

 

I will be keeping an eye on palcohol availability and feedback. Very informative video available online if you search for "truth about palcohol.") This might be a game changer for the cruise lines!

[grand isle joe]

OK, beat me up on this, that is fine. We are D+, have been for 6 years and do about 30 days a year on RCL. Sorry RCL, you get very little money from us on Booze or Beer. We bring our own Diet Pepsi on Board, a case of water, we only drink alcohol between 5 and 8:30, yep, a lot, the servers love us because we tip very well and we are very polite to all. Then we always have 1 to 3 drinks lined up at 8:30 so that will last us until 10:00 pm. So who needs to buy from the bar. Then we always find the cheap fun bars on land to drink and have fun. On our next trip, May 2015, out of Galveston on the Navigator, instead of getting on the ship at 11:00, like almost all do, we hang out on The Strand, Drink dollar Coronas and get on the ship by 3:30 pm.....ok, maybe a tad bit Happy. If you know how to play the game, and we do, Cruising is Very Cheap to do, but you have to go against what RCL wants you to do, And we do! :eek:

 

Mike

 

...Thanks for being honest. You have every right to do what you do in the booze department. But RCL has to "pay" for your drinks somewhere and hence the drink price increase. The bottom line has to stay positive.

[marci22]

Rum and Coke

Vodka and 7

Whiskey and Coke

Gin and Tonic

Etc....

These are usually called Highballs

 

Drinks that have more then 2 ingredients (mixes or liquor) are usually called cocktails.

 

I agree with this but I think that highball is a term that has fallen out of favor. My grandparents and parents used it but you never hear it anymore.

[marci22]

OK, beat me up on this, that is fine. We are D+, have been for 6 years and do about 30 days a year on RCL. Sorry RCL, you get very little money from us on Booze or Beer. We bring our own Diet Pepsi on Board, a case of water, we only drink alcohol between 5 and 8:30, yep, a lot, the servers love us because we tip very well and we are very polite to all. Then we always have 1 to 3 drinks lined up at 8:30 so that will last us until 10:00 pm. So who needs to buy from the bar.

 

A majority of loyalty cruisers probably do some version of this, but Royal could easily put a stop to it by enforcing confiscation of carry on beverages and not letting people take their drinks out of the lounge (again). They probably will at some point.

[marci22]

As I was once told"if you have the money you can afford it",if you don,t have the money don,t buy it"

 

I always find this type of statement to be ridiculous.

[PORT ROYAL]

not letting people take their drinks out of the lounge (again).

 

Some 'wonderful' D cruisers have already overcome this.

 

Have witnessed the use of a plastic bottle inside a ladies handbag being filled, with the assistance of a funnel, with Jameson's. :eek:

 

On leaving the lounge, the man even sucked the funnel dry before it was placed inside the handbag :eek:

 

Pure class:rolleyes:

[mattwright]

Not entirely but think of the workers....do they get 15% on a voucher as a tip from RCL? If no tip that "perk" actually hurts the workers. RCL wants to keep their workers happy I suppose. Does RCL make any money on all the smuggled booze not caught? I would suspect not. All I'm saying (or writing actually) that nobody gets anything for "free" from a business. Someplace, somehow money has to be made to cover the cost of the "free" or "earned" perk. Some "royals" want an "all inclusive" on a beer budget.

 

There have been a lot of different reports on this, even between different bars on the same ship & sailing.

 

Last week on Legend, we had a good rapport with a bartender after visiting them around the same time each day. On one of the last days of our cruise, I asked if they minded me asking how some of their stuff works behind the scenes.

 

According to them, at least, they do NOT receive an automatic tip for any Diamond drinks served. This surprised me, because I had previously heard, read, and been told the opposite... that they still received their automatic tip, just as if they were serving a paid drink. If true, it's extremely frustrating that Royal doesn't include the auto-gratuity (either 18% of the menu price, or some generic flat-rate amount) in the cost of each "free" Diamond drink served.

 

Regardless, we tipped $1 in cash for each Diamond drink we received throughout the cruise. And from now on, it looks like "free" Diamond drinks will be the only drinks we ever get onboard. I'd rather pay $1 for a drink and put that money straight into the hands of a bartender or server than pay $10+ to Royal.

[cruisebunnies]

I always find this type of statement to be ridiculous.

 

Thank you for your well thought out and pithy reply!

[cruisegirl1]

I just boarded the enchantment, and when I walk through the bolero's I saw that there were NO drink prices posted on the menu. I asked bartender about the drink prices and she said everything starts at $10 and most are 12 and up. I like an occasional frozen Mojito, it was $12.

 

M

[Clarea]

I just boarded the enchantment, and when I walk through the bolero's I saw that there were NO drink prices posted on the menu. I asked bartender about the drink prices and she said everything starts at $10 and most are 12 and up. I like an occasional frozen Mojito, it was $12.

 

M

Marci, please someone at the pool bar the price of a "house margarita on the rocks". Just curious.

[pscruzinboyz]

So they say, Carnival is cutting back on entertainment. who need that, Just sit in your Cabin all day and read Cruise Critic, Now that's Entertainment! :) But Don't go to the Bar!