FWIW, Why I didn't get a beverage package as planned

[AlexanderBeetle]

Aren't most of the newer ships simply providing RO sea water for drinking water?

[pipeye1]

Very interesting read!!!!!!!:)

[Mattnvick]

Yes very interesting read. I was convinced I knew exactly what I was doing on our first ever cruise next week. Get the ultimate pkg and drink a little bit more than I would normally to get my moneys worth.

 

But now reading "specials" " 2 for 1" drinkable water amd decent regular coffee it has turned all that on its head :rolleyes:

 

A question though are the alcohol specials going to be available on our short 4 night Bahama cruise on EOS. Can anyone give me some pointers on that please?

[DrD]

Thanks.

 

Ship's water is made by reverse osmosis which is the exact same process that many bottled water companies use, so yes it's fine.

 

I agree that drink package is not worth it for many, and we don't usually get it, but, on our upcoming they had a BOGO, so then it's a different story.

 

another factor is the astonishing degree to which one's tolerance to alcohol increases during the cruise.

[astera]

I'd also add, at least from the experience during my most recent cruise, that the mysterious notion of a "casino pour" has been known to exist, where you can get a much more solid drink by getting it there and asking nicely for it to be stronger. :)

[kdawg954]

Solid read.

 

I am taking the exact same approach as you are. My goal is to keep my bar tab around $250 for 2 over the course of 7 days. Will take advantage of any specials, happy hours . . . plus I am doing an all inclusive in Cozumel as well and will be off ship all day in Jamaica.

 

I think Labadee will be the toughest day not having the drink package, but I have heard they sell packages for the day on Labadee stops, so I may look into that.

 

The no corkage fee really helps supplement dining room drinking for a couple of nights with our "brought on" wine.

 

Really hope the 10 drink coupons are available on my cruise . . . I'd buy 20 of them and be set.

[rnr4thatsme]

I see the original post, though, is from Sept 2015... Would the prices still be the same? Sailing in March 2016!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!

[Clarea]

I see the original post, though, is from Sept 2015... Would the prices still be the same? Sailing in March 2016!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!

If my memory serves, the major increase in drink prices happened around May 2015, so the prices should not be much different. I believe the soda price has gone up, and they have removed children's pricing from the soda package.

[Setting sail for fun]

OP very good advise. We never purchase the drink packages as we get the free drinks in the evenings and do not drink that much.. On a port intensive cruise we always have drinks on an excursion (many times included) or out in the town.

 

I did miss Mimosas in the morning - so now I just bring my Champagne on board and order the free OJ from Room Service along with our morning coffee!

 

Thanks for your informative post!

[Cruisebreak14]

Looking at compasses from a November sailing of the Allure all of the Drink of the day specials are $10 + 18% so I'm not sure if this is still as true. I'm on an April sailing of the Allure and I decided for the premium package but I'm only basing my price comparisons on the price difference between the RR and the premium package because i would at least have that for soda and bottled water. So if I average 3 $10 drinks a day I'm not losing money. I'm sure I'll hit that average as one port day is Labadee.

[tbill]

Solid read.

 

I am taking the exact same approach as you are. My goal is to keep my bar tab around $250 for 2 over the course of 7 days. Will take advantage of any specials, happy hours . . . plus I am doing an all inclusive in Cozumel as well and will be off ship all day in Jamaica.

 

I think Labadee will be the toughest day not having the drink package, but I have heard they sell packages for the day on Labadee stops, so I may look into that.

 

The no corkage fee really helps supplement dining room drinking for a couple of nights with our "brought on" wine.

 

Really hope the 10 drink coupons are available on my cruise . . . I'd buy 20 of them and be set.

 

This is the first I heard of a coupon book for drinks. What is that all about?

[Clarea]

This is the first I heard of a coupon book for drinks. What is that all about?

Some ships are offering various kinds of drink coupons. For example, on Vision, we were offered a 10 drink card for $79. These offers may or may not be offered, seem to come in the latter half of the cruise, and cannot be puchased pre-cruise. Drinks were the same that would have been covered by the Premium package.

Edited February 4, 2016 by clarea

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for taking the time to post this.

[whitsmom]

We've had good luck with putting the water in luggage.

 

I may try this in August as my 7 year old Granddaughter only drinks water. I thought I might pack some 8-oz bottled water for her. Is it better to put it in the tagged luggage or in her carry on?

[Clarea]

I may try this in August as my 7 year old Granddaughter only drinks water. I thought I might pack some 8-oz bottled water for her. Is it better to put it in the tagged luggage or in her carry on?

Either way works, but I'd rather not carry it around until the staterooms open.

[whitsmom]

Either way works, but I'd rather not carry it around until the staterooms open.

 

You are right - why didn't I think of that!

[MollyFlyer]

I'm a fan of fancy-schmancy coffees, so I got the nonalcoholic beverage package on my last cruise so I wouldn't need to worry about the cost . . . realized after the fact that I hadn't been consuming enough per day to cover the package cost. I'll just accept the micropayments each day this time.

[bonvoyagebites]

On our October Navigator cruise, we DID go with the drink package, and I kept track of every drink we had. We definitely came out ahead, based on menu prices... BUT BUT BUT....

 

We spent so much time and effort trying to make sure we came out "ahead", that we spent little time doing anything other than drinking.

 

The lesson we learned here is that while drinking is fun, sometimes there are other things to do, and it's hard to have your cake and eat it too. We would be unlikely to get the package again, in my best estimation.

 

Thoughts?

[denatravels]

On our October Navigator cruise, we DID go with the drink package, and I kept track of every drink we had. We definitely came out ahead, based on menu prices... BUT BUT BUT....

 

 

 

We spent so much time and effort trying to make sure we came out "ahead", that we spent little time doing anything other than drinking.

 

 

 

The lesson we learned here is that while drinking is fun, sometimes there are other things to do, and it's hard to have your cake and eat it too. We would be unlikely to get the package again, in my best estimation.

 

 

 

Thoughts?

 

 

That certainly is a concern. I like the nonalcoholic ones on my port intensive cruises. But I definitely see myself trying to make it worth it for the premium package. I enjoyed trying new drinks, though so I didn't regret it when I know I'm mostly staying on the ship. I think I'm going to hold off on Saturday, though, since we may get bad weather, and I'm prone to sea sickness. Would hate to buy the premium package, and spend days drinking ginger ale!

[Lean-N-Supreme]

Was pretty set on getting the drink package, but OP's post has me reconsidering.

 

Does anyone happen to know how much non-alcoholic cocktails normally cost?

Edited February 10, 2016 by Lean-N-Supreme

[Clarea]

Was pretty set on getting the drink package, but OP's post has me reconsidering.

 

Does anyone happen to know how much non-alcoholic cocktails normally cost?

Around $5.

[Dan-P]

On our October Navigator cruise, we DID go with the drink package, and I kept track of every drink we had. We definitely came out ahead, based on menu prices... BUT BUT BUT....

 

We spent so much time and effort trying to make sure we came out "ahead", that we spent little time doing anything other than drinking.

 

The lesson we learned here is that while drinking is fun, sometimes there are other things to do, and it's hard to have your cake and eat it too. We would be unlikely to get the package again, in my best estimation.

 

Thoughts?

 

I'm probably the odd ball out here, and it may come across as I don't mind throwing money away (which isn't true), but I don't buy the package hoping I "get ahead", or "get one over on RCI", or even to break even.

 

I pre-purchase the package so that part of my vacation expenditure is already covered/paid for/budgeted for before I step foot on the ship. I don't have to be concerned with what my stateroom balance will be at the end of the cruise - at least concerning drinks.

 

I've never bothered to track or care if I break even, come out ahead, or lose money. I do like being able to get/try drinks that I may not normally try if I was paying individually. I also like that on most ships/bars I have experience with, I have not had to to sign a receipt with the package (I realize this is not fleet wide or even the same at different bars on the same ship).

 

To each their own. I've had a beverage package on every sailing I've been on, plan to have it on all future sailings, have enjoyed it, and felt it was money well spent -FOR US. That's all that matters to me! :D

 

Dan.

[PlanoTim]

On our October Navigator cruise, we DID go with the drink package, and I kept track of every drink we had. We definitely came out ahead, based on menu prices... BUT BUT BUT....

 

We spent so much time and effort trying to make sure we came out "ahead", that we spent little time doing anything other than drinking.

 

The lesson we learned here is that while drinking is fun, sometimes there are other things to do, and it's hard to have your cake and eat it too. We would be unlikely to get the package again, in my best estimation.

 

Thoughts?

 

Here are my thoughts. I don’t really understand why people work so hard to make sure they come out ahead on the drinks package. Once you make the purchase, it’s done. Why not just drink as you want rather than as you feel you must in order to come out ahead? I’ve read posts where folks would report getting a drink when they really didn’t want one because they felt they had to come out ahead. Doesn’t this diminish the experience?

 

I analyze whether or not the package makes sense for that cruise (considering number of port days, planned activities, etc.). Then, once I buy the package, I don’t give a single thought into getting my money's worth out of it. I just enjoy it as I wish.

Tim

Edited February 10, 2016 by PlanoTim

[PlanoTim]

bonvoyagebites, please don't take my previous post as criticism of your experience or decision at all. I was just stating my philosophy regarding this specific aspect of drink package use. Forum posts can sometimes come off harsher than intended and I just wanted to assure you that is not how it was meant.

Tim

[Piggeldy]

Does anyone happen to know how much non-alcoholic cocktails normally cost?

 

So even though the table what the beverage packages include does not list frozen drinks or mocktails or non-alcoholic cocktails for the Royal Replenish they are still included in the package?

 

In that case I will actually need to consider it. With a premium coffee, a mocktail or two, a bottle of water and fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast we'd break even I guess. I don't need to come out ahead every day but like Dan-P I like to have (most of) my drinks budgeted for, I don't want to feel as if I have to get more drinks for the package to be worth it. We got a Premium Non-Alcoholic Package on Celebrity and I was pleased with what we got out of it (I had my money worth in Raspberry Fizzes.... until they ran out of raspberries in the middle of the Atlantic) while soda packages don't really do it for me. We were planning to just pay as we go as I definitely don't drink enough alcohol for any of the alcoholic packes to be worth it.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Piggeldy