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

[xpcdoojk]

Thanks for the kudos, I was actually a bit worried about the thread being perceived as some anti-drink package rant, so am glad it didn't come out that way. I saw lots of people on drink packages and have absolutely no doubt it's great value for a great many people. I was just surprised to not be one of them this particular time around. If I was to go with a group of couples where I knew I would would split of "with the boys" a few times during the week, I'd definitely reconsider. Or if I wasn't in such a suggestive mood lately on what specifically to drink so that I could roll with the price points...

 

There is a daily drink special, it's listed in the cruise compass. It's usually $8.95+18%, but IIRC there was a day or two it was a buck more or cheaper either way.

 

The two-for-one drink specials appeared in the cruise compass and were not surprisingly at venues hosting $$$ events (eg, Bingo) -- but you didn't need to play, just walk in to the bar area in the venue and your set. They were usually brightly colored blended drinks -- but they had the full pour of booze in them.

 

The $5+18% & souvenir glass specials appeared on day 5, IIRC. They were in the main promenade, outside the ice rink during shows, and I think I saw them pool side as well. You could get them "virgin" for same price, or they'd do a pour of vodka/rum depending on the drink. These were very sweet, but I happened to be in the mood for simple sweet (having had an embarassing amount of beer at Nachi earlier in the week :rolleyes:). They did also have other drinks with glasses that were a bit "higher end", like bloody mary's, but they were $10+18%, so I don't think they were on special per se, just that you got a souvenir glass with it. It really did vary quite a bit - but in a good way if you weren't set on something specific.

 

As for the wine, on day 5 (Roatan) they had a "limited time" 20% discount on wine and bottle specials on a table at vintages. It was advertised in cruise compass as being from 7pm-9pm. But -- we were offered the discount (without even asking) from up at Giovani's at 6pm that night (and why we got the Caymus), and at 10pm we went down and they had the table still up with some $20, $30 and $50 bottles (a half dozen or so each). There was a nice Chateau Lafite that I've seen retail for $80 that was on for $50, but I couldn't really place any of the other bottles. It seemed like they were odd-lots that they were just trying to get off the ship. They weren't on any menu or wine list any more -- just wasting space AFAICT.

 

But here's the thing -- the next night we walk by and the wine is there, and we asked if we could get another Krug at the discount and they said absolutely. And on Day 7? Same thing, we just asked if the 20% deal was still going and they were all too happy it seemed. (disclaimer is that vintages isn't that popular out of Galveston from what I've seen/heard, so maybe it's a limited thing or we just got lucky).

 

One more comment on the coffee -- on my sailings with Princess the free coffee is absolutely undrinkable, and the water was horribly undrinkable. So we were expecting same without question on the Navigator and found it surprisingly OK. It's not great, I wouldn't cross the street for it on mainland, but it was actually drinkable and the premiums just didn't seem any better.

 

Agree, completely on the undrinkable Princess coffee. We did the Diamond Princess in New Zealand and Australia, and they had the premium coffee cards, that they punch. I did that for wakeup most mornings. Those were good. Only problem was waiting until they opened those venues.

 

Do they still offer the premium coffee cards?

 

jc

[bonvoyagebites]

Great thread. We are on the same itinerary in 3 weeks, and MAY still get the package, since we never have done so in the past. I have been very wishy-washy about whether it's a good idea or no, so I think the best way to find out is to take the plunge and see where it takes us...

 

I loved your logical approach to your post.

 

Much thanks!

[Hawaiifrank]

going on the Indy next month and I've been reading the compasses that I could find. One poster included a sheet for each day that was titled "Offers of the day" It showed all the drink specials and what venue and time for each day. Like the OP mentioned there was a 2 for 1 drink special every afternoon and many wonderful sounding $7 drink specials between 9:30 and midnight different drinks in different Venus. I too am lucky to be diamond and so between these specials and my voucher drinks I don't feel I would get any value out of a package. If I want a frozen drink by the pool I will buy a virgin piña colada as I am not a big drinker.

 

I was on Indy for the TA from England in Nov last yr. Bolaros had Margaritas for BOGO special several nights and other specials on different nights. On our cruise in February we has Cupid shots for $3. They were so good. I had 16 of them throughout the day (they were small, in a shot glass, I never even felt tipsy).

 

I definitely like the drink specials. I've only bought the drink package once (on Carnival, never on Royal). I just can't drink enough to get full value EVERY day, especially on port days.

[widallas]

Excellent, well-thought out and practical post -- thanks for sharing!

[jmf123]

Interesting. Definitely never heard that about the free coffee! Maybe I should try it next time we're onboard. I don't plan to buy even Replenish for myself in the future, but if I like the free coffee it could save me the cost of 7 iced lattes!

 

We considered the Replenish Package for our upcoming cruise, with coffee being the biggest issue. Instead, we are bringing Coffee-mate individual creamers in two of our favorite flavors (Italian Sweet Cream and French Vanilla), to use in the free coffee. The purchase of a fresh squeezed o.j., virgin drink or soda here and there, will still be less than the package. :)

[330searay]

Awesome post! Thanks for your time sharing info that is actually accurate as well as informative. Dan

[champagne123]

What a great thread. Thank you for all of your informative tips.....I DO, however have ONE complaint...

 

Do you have ANY idea, how long it took me to figure out what FWIW, meant????? ha hahahahaha :):):)

[Norwich Cruiser]

Thanks for taking the time.Totally agree with everything you have said.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Last fall we were on the Brilliance TA from Harwich to Boston. When we booked the cruise it came with a "free" Premium drink package. [we actually were surprised to see the sticker on our sea pass since we used the diamond balcony discount--but, we were not complaining. ]

 

We decided it would be our experiment. We would keep track of how many drinks [water, soda/coffee/alcohol] we had outside of the diamond cocktail hours.. . . or that we could not get there. [i.e. frozen drinks] The only day I would have come out ahead was the day I went to Vintages and sampled wines. While the 2 oz wine drinks [flights] are not supposed to be included in the package, I was able to sample a variety of wines to find something I really liked. The OP is correct, this was not a very popular venue.

 

We decided the drink package was not for us.

 

PS--we determined it would not be worth it for us even if we did not have access to the diamond lounge.

[Willow45]

Great post Tinious. We are traveling on Explorer next year and I was very much undecided about the drinks package. Thought it would be good as we don't stress about how much we are spending but sounds like we might not spend lots e.g. Beer, wine deals and specials of the day. I think I will definitely do like you and leave it for a few days to see what we really are spending and then decide from then.

[Fat Paul]

Thanks for the great post. My wife and I always have a bottle of wine with dinner, that and being diamond and suite guests the drink packages make no sense for us. Our last cruise was on the Independence. Between the diamond and concierge lounges, three free drinks per night, BOGO coupons and the wonderful hosted brunch with the ship's officers there was no way that I would come close to breaking even with a package.

[dcgrumpy]

We did the same on our recent cruise and decided to wait a day or two to see if it was worth it. We ended up not getting it.

 

I think we averaged about $70 a day for the two of us. We had a variety of beer, wine, mixed and frozen drinks.

[KevInPitt]

Another congratulations on your balanced, no-nonsense post that was quite informative. Fair, impartial and well-written. Job well done!

[conandrob240]

What a great thread. Thank you for all of your informative tips.....I DO, however have ONE complaint...

 

Do you have ANY idea, how long it took me to figure out what FWIW, meant????? ha hahahahaha :):):)

 

Google is your friend.

[mirp]

Thank you. I enjoyed your analysis.

 

I personally ended up not getting a drink package as the 2 bottles of wine per cabin lasted me quite awhile.

[KiwiGal117]

Thanks for the great analysis. I'm going to print it out and put it in my cruise folder (old school, I know)!

 

We can definitely put back the alcohol, especially while on vacation. However, we have been waffling about getting a package on our next cruise. We do like nice wine with dinner, and while some of the wines by the glass are fine, I'd rather have a bottle so I don't have to keep tracking down the drinks waiter, and generally have nicer wines.

 

As well, on our last cruise, they also had bottles of wine on special each night (listed in the drinks menu on the tables) and most nights we were able to find something we liked. Nice to know that they are still doing that, and that may be the tipping point in favour of not getting a package.

[denatravels]

I found that on cruises that are more port intensive, the replenish package and bringing on wine works really well for me.

[nelblu]

Good analysis. We basically drink the ship's water, unless we're on a lengthy excursion(s). With regards to the ship's coffee, it's Seattle Best and strong enough that don't require specialty coffees. Hey, we're Dunkin Donuts (DD) and Mikey D's coffee drinkers as Starbuck is simply too overpowering. We also, take advantage of the D club for our fill.

 

Ps. As a members of AARP, I get a free donut with an X-large coffee at DD. LOL

Edited September 22, 2015 by nelblu
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[mollyeilis]

What a great thread. Thank you for all of your informative tips.....I DO, however have ONE complaint...

 

Do you have ANY idea, how long it took me to figure out what FWIW, meant????? ha hahahahaha :):):)

 

:)

 

In the future, when confused by an internet forum abbreviation, just google it. Voila, the answer is in front of you.

[dacsmom]

Thank you for the well thought out, and in depth post. It was nice to see how your thought process worked and how you came to the conclusion.

[monctonguy]

Interesting to see that there were so many offers, cheap drinks, discounts on wine etc on your cruise.

 

I don't recall seeing as much variety like that on any cruise I have done so far. And $80 for a bottle of wine would almost pay for 2 full days of the drink package, but to each their own.

 

For those people that only have a couple drinks a day, then yes you can walk around, attend different events and ask every days what the drinks deals are and where.

 

That would not be enjoyable or convenient for me at all. I like to be able to enjoy what I want, when I want it, where I want it and as many as I want without worrying about if I am getting a deal or not.

 

BUT, I am going to pay much closer attention to drink prices and deals on my next cruise in Nov just to see how many deals there are and the prices. I am pretty sure I have never seen as many deals or cheap prices like the OP on their cruise did!

[dcgrumpy]

Interesting to see that there were so many offers, cheap drinks, discounts on wine etc on your cruise.

 

I don't recall seeing as much variety like that on any cruise I have done so far. And $80 for a bottle of wine would almost pay for 2 full days of the drink package, but to each their own.

 

For those people that only have a couple drinks a day, then yes you can walk around, attend different events and ask every days what the drinks deals are and where.

 

That would not be enjoyable or convenient for me at all. I like to be able to enjoy what I want, when I want it, where I want it and as many as I want without worrying about if I am getting a deal or not.

 

BUT, I am going to pay much closer attention to drink prices and deals on my next cruise in Nov just to see how many deals there are and the prices. I am pretty sure I have never seen as many deals or cheap prices like the OP on their cruise did!

 

I was on Indy a few weeks ago. Every day they had a 2 for 1 drink special at Boleros and the Schooner bar from 3:30-4:30. Bellini Sunsets for $6 at the Sky Bar every day 5-7pm, $7 drink specials at the On Air Club and Olive or Twist from 9:30pm-12 and then the $5 drink of the day the last 2 or 3 days of the cruise. I was surprised too. We spent less than we thought we would.

[Hvnfuninmn33]

I will be sailing on Brilliance in two weeks. I have debated whether or not to do the drink package and this post was so helpful. I did find it interesting that you brought on your own water, etc. I have been told that is not allowed. Based on your experience, I do think that I will pack club soda and bottled water in a separate pack and tag it and see what happens. Has anyone else had experience with bringing water, etc on board?

[Ladysilver]

I will be sailing on Brilliance in two weeks. I have debated whether or not to do the drink package and this post was so helpful. I did find it interesting that you brought on your own water, etc. I have been told that is not allowed. Based on your experience, I do think that I will pack club soda and bottled water in a separate pack and tag it and see what happens. Has anyone else had experience with bringing water, etc on board?

 

We always bring a 1/2 case of water with a luggage tag. It always finds it's way to our room. ;)

[Clarea]

I will be sailing on Brilliance in two weeks. I have debated whether or not to do the drink package and this post was so helpful. I did find it interesting that you brought on your own water, etc. I have been told that is not allowed. Based on your experience, I do think that I will pack club soda and bottled water in a separate pack and tag it and see what happens. Has anyone else had experience with bringing water, etc on board?

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