$12 Drinks? No thanks!

[trvlbug08]

We are diamond members on RC. This past week we tried Princess Regal. Their drink prices are much lower as is their drink package. We went with an open mind and found both lines are similar in many ways....but we may lean toward Princess after hearing how expensive drinks have become on RC.

[American Bear]

 

 

I don't put anything past them right now.

Hopefully you are right, but as more cruisers earn higher levels, the benes. will decline.

Edited April 16, 2015 by American Bear

[BekkaW]

.

For many folks, I suppose this is not a huge deal. For others, my wife and I included, this is a very big deal. We drink 5 to 10 drinks each on sea days and maybe half of that on port days and I will be very uncomfortable with these prices.

 

If I were you I would definitely get a package, the 'break even' rate is now in the range of 4-6 drinks (depending which package) so you would come out ahead if you had a few 10 drink days

[tserface]

I could live with kind of package. I don't know if I'd ever buy a bottle of liquor to consume on the ship. We could never drink it that fast and we like the social atmosphere of a bar rather than holing up in our room.

 

I miss the wine packages. I hate carrying wine onto the ship. It's a drag to pack it around until 2p when the rooms are available (sometimes earlier).

 

Princess has a pre-paid coffee card that is really nice as well. I'd pay for a pre-paid drink card if it saved that kind of money. The problem is we don't drink enough to make a drink package worth the cost. A more limited drink package where you could still get good drinks, just fewer of them, would be really nice. I doubt they'll go there.

 

What stung a little was first raising the gratuity which, basically raised the drink prices by 3%, then raising the prices of the drinks by 40% which also increased the gratuity by 40% essentially making it like a 25% gratuity increase.

 

I'm sure it was all calculated ahead of time.

 

The Diamond benefits are even more useful with the higher prices. Especially for people that don't mind just having 3 drinks an evening. It will essentially save you at least $35 (almost $250 for a 7 day cruise).

 

I wouldn't be surprised if that benefit went away next.

 

Tom

 

On a B2B cruise we took on the MSC Divina out of Miami, we bought voucher books that were,,,

14 mixed drinks for $72.='$5.14 a drink gratuity included':eek:

15 beers for $52.='$3.47 a beer gratuity included':eek:

 

On Carnival you can order a bottle of liquor pre-cruise to your room,,,

example,,1 liter bottle of vodka, 22 shots for $75.='$3.41 a shot':eek:

Edited April 16, 2015 by tserface

[OzKiwiJJ]

Prices sort of fall in line with upper scale restaurants and cocktail bars where you may have 2 or 3 cocktails at most, but if you compare a cruise with a Vacation Destination where drinks are consumed all day, the prices are usually not that high in those locations.

 

dp

 

But in upper scale restaurants you get very, very good service. You don't have to line up at the bar to get your cocktails as you will be served at your table. You don't have to wait a long time to get served and your drink will appear shortly after you ordered it.

 

Unfortunately RCI is charging high without providing the service expected at those prices.

Edited April 16, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[Paul65]

Also in upper scale restaurants you get very, very good service. You don't have to line up at the bar to get your cocktails as you will be served at your table. You don't have to wait a long time to get served and your drink will appear shortly after you ordered it.

 

Unfortunately RCI is charging high without providing the service expected at those prices.

 

YMMV. I've never waited in line for a drink on an RCI cruise. I will generally just find a seat in one of the lounges and wait for a server to come by. Never had the service problems you seem to be implying.

[OzKiwiJJ]

YMMV. I've never waited in line for a drink on an RCI cruise. I will generally just find a seat in one of the lounges and wait for a server to come by. Never had the service problems you seem to be implying.

 

In the Centrum on Rhapsody last month there was one server most nights, two on a couple of the more busy nights. The wait to order a drink from a server was 20-30 minutes so DH would just go to the bar each night to get our cocktails, and mostly only had to wait about 5 minutes at the bar. Only once did the server come to us immediately we sat down, and even then the drinks took a long time to arrive as she also took orders from a large group after taking our order. Luckily they had excellent musicians in the Centrum most nights.

 

We were dining in the late traditional sitting at 8:30pm, and so the Centrum was always crowded at the time we wanted our pre-dinner cocktails, especially on nights when the really good band was playing. I was very surprised at the poor service, on our Princess cruise at Christmas there were usually four servers moving through what I think was a slightly smaller area.

Edited April 17, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[GTO-Girl]

We are just off the Brilliance today.....we had a wonderful cruise and we do love that ship!

 

BUT don't expect to see any servers around the pools at all!! We did two full sea days in the Solarium and never once had a server come by!!! If we wanted a drink we had to go get it ourselves.

 

People were really talking about how they felt since a lot more people are being pushed into a drink package because of the jump in prices, it seemed they are now making it very inconvenient to get a drink, hoping people wouldn't bother to go get as many drinks as they would if someone were coming by to take orders.

 

I have never seen the pool bar service so "non-existant".....

Edited April 17, 2015 by GTO-Girl

[rimmit]

YMMV. I've never waited in line for a drink on an RCI cruise. I will generally just find a seat in one of the lounges and wait for a server to come by. Never had the service problems you seem to be implying.

 

 

What ships have you been on lately? In the last year i have been on explorer and brilliance. Both with non existent bar service in the mdr. I am LUCKY to get a drink in the MDR given the lack of servers there. If i get one I definitely dont get a check by the end of the meal and end up waiting on the check. In a lounge it would take me 20-25 min if I sat down in a lounge chair. About 5 min at most at the bar.

[Big_G]

What ships have you been on lately? In the last year i have been on explorer and brilliance. Both with non existent bar service in the mdr. I am LUCKY to get a drink in the MDR given the lack of servers there. If i get one I definitely dont get a check by the end of the meal and end up waiting on the check. In a lounge it would take me 20-25 min if I sat down in a lounge chair. About 5 min at most at the bar.

 

The MDR bar service has been lacking for years. This isn't new news.

[OzKiwiJJ]

BUT don't expect to see any servers around the pools at all!! We did two full sea days in the Solarium and never once had a server come by!!! If we wanted a drink we had to go get it ourselves.

 

 

It was the same on Rhapsody, GTO-Girl. No poolside service at all.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The MDR bar service has been lacking for years. This isn't new news.

 

The MDR, dinner service only, was the one place we did get good drinks service on Rhapsody. We had late seating traditional dining and made it very clear to our waiters on the first night what we expected. They were wonderful. We did have the drinks packages and would order our appetiser wine and main course wine at the same time, and ordered an extra glass after that if we needed it.

[Cruzin RN]

On enchantment recently, the pool bar, posted hrs were 9:00am, when we walked up to get a bloody mary, the bar tender looked annoyed, was stirring his tea and replied "we are not quite open yet" when I asked what time, he say, " uh, around 9:30". Another server said, "no, in about 5 mins". I never went back...30 cruises, I have never seen any RCI seem rude, until then

Edited April 17, 2015 by Cruzin RN

[Big_G]

The MDR, dinner service only, was the one place we did get good drinks service on Rhapsody. We had late seating traditional dining and made it very clear to our waiters on the first night what we expected. They were wonderful. We did have the drinks packages and would order our appetiser wine and main course wine at the same time, and ordered an extra glass after that if we needed it.

 

 

Did you have to ask you're waiters for bar service?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[OzKiwiJJ]

Did you have to ask you're waiters for bar service?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

No, the wine list was already on the table, and our wine orders were usually taken before the food orders were taken. Our waiters would keep an eye on the levels in our glasses once we got to the main course and ask us if we wanted more wine at the appropriate time.

[Paulette3028]

Hearing more and more about the rising drink prices and at times poor service at some of the bars on ships.....maybe some of you should do more than just talk about your feelings here. There is a Food and Beverage department at the Royal Corporate office.....rcldining@rccl.com is the email address to reach it.

 

DH and I are not big drinkers....we have always had service when we wanted it -- but from what I can read here -- that clearly is not the case from others.

[Dave from below]

In the Centrum on Rhapsody last month there was one server most nights, two on a couple of the more busy nights. The wait to order a drink from a server was 20-30 minutes so DH would just go to the bar each night to get our cocktails, and mostly only had to wait about 5 minutes at the bar. Only once did the server come to us immediately we sat down, and even then the drinks took a long time to arrive as she also took orders from a large group after taking our order. Luckily they had excellent musicians in the Centrum most nights.

 

We were dining in the late traditional sitting at 8:30pm, and so the Centrum was always crowded at the time we wanted our pre-dinner cocktails, especially on nights when the really good band was playing. I was very surprised at the poor service, on our Princess cruise at Christmas there were usually four servers moving through what I think was a slightly smaller area.

 

They have your money and tip (if you brought the package) now to make a profit the secret is not to give you a drink.

[dpostman]

Before boarding the Liberty on April 2nd, I was worried about what the drink service was going to be like after reading many reports about the drop in service. However, I did not experience this on our cruise. We had the UP and still had great service at the bars, even the pool areas had servers going around, and came to check on us regularly. At the pub (Hoof & Claw) was probably the quickest service and best drinks of all the ship. We did also get good service at the Olive or Twist with table service and good drinks. Boleros was no as quick, but usually busy. Every show we went to see (Platinum Theater, Studio B) had servers that brought us drinks.

 

I probably spent about $60 in cash tips during the 4 days for the drinks alone, I don't know if that made the difference or not but I did enjoy the service and Many drinks.

 

dp

[Paulette3028]

They have your money and tip (if you brought the package) now to make a profit the secret is not to give you a drink.

 

If that truly was their 'corporate business strategy' -- after a short period of time NO ONE would be cruising on the line.

[Iluvcruising2]

Before I had access to the Diamond Club, I would drink on average one beer a day.

 

After I got access, I drink a lot more.

[boscobeans]

Before boarding the Liberty on April 2nd, I was worried about what the drink service was going to be like after reading many reports about the drop in service. However, I did not experience this on our cruise. We had the UP and still had great service at the bars, even the pool areas had servers going around, and came to check on us regularly. At the pub (Hoof & Claw) was probably the quickest service and best drinks of all the ship. We did also get good service at the Olive or Twist with table service and good drinks. Boleros was no as quick, but usually busy. Every show we went to see (Platinum Theater, Studio B) had servers that brought us drinks.

 

I probably spent about $60 in cash tips during the 4 days for the drinks alone, I don't know if that made the difference or not but I did enjoy the service and Many drinks.

 

dp

 

Party of four never really saw any problem with prices and had excellent bar staff service at all venues on the Grandeur back in Feb. One person had a beverage package and the rest did not. No one went dry at all, whether it was by the pool or in the MDR. As a matter of fact our MDR bar server was one of the best we ever had on any of our previous 17 cruises.

 

bosco

[ATC cruiser]

The MDR, dinner service only, was the one place we did get good drinks service on Rhapsody. We had late seating traditional dining and made it very clear to our waiters on the first night what we expected. They were wonderful. We did have the drinks packages and would order our appetiser wine and main course wine at the same time, and ordered an extra glass after that if we needed it.

 

 

Wine usually isn't a problem because the assistant waiter brings that.

[link99]

To be Fair this is what we paid for a Cruzan rum and soft drink on Legend March 21 2015. We purchased the Beer and Wine package but did buy 1 extra drink that was not included in our package and this was it and the cost.

 

[sharse]

Don't know if it's just me - but I find the drinks packages quite good value for money (compared to paying the per drink price).

 

Bloody Mary for breakfast

Glass of wine with lunch

Three cocktails over an afternoon

One or two pre dinner drinks

Glass of wine with dinner

Couple more cocktails in the nightclub

 

That's 10 drinks right there, let's say they're $10 each that's $100 total VS the $55 for the Premium package. Done deal in my book.

 

And in my case add at least 6-8 bottles of water and maybe a few club sodas a day, it certainly pays for itself.

[Paulette3028]

Don't know if it's just me - but I find the drinks packages quite good value for money (compared to paying the per drink price).

 

Bloody Mary for breakfast

Glass of wine with lunch

Three cocktails over an afternoon

One or two pre dinner drinks

Glass of wine with dinner

Couple more cocktails in the nightclub

 

That's 10 drinks right there, let's say they're $10 each that's $100 total VS the $55 for the Premium package. Done deal in my book.

 

If I drank that much on any day prior to dinner, I would be asleep through dinner and see nothing of the nightclub or any evening activities -- I would simply wake up for the next days breakfast....and that sleep might be done, on a chair in a public area -- I might not even be able to walk to my cabin. But that is just me, perhaps.