Drink Packages? Want to return to Princess

[chisoxfan]

Hello everyone. We are former Princess cruisers who have migrated to X for our Jan Carib cruises. We like X very much and the S class ships are wonderful.

That said you can have too much of a good thing and we want to change it up next year and would consider the Regal or Royal (have sailed on Golden, Sapphire and Grand). We obviously like Princess also and the new ships and Sanctuary are strong positives.

A major factor in our X love has been the availability of their 'free' drink package.

This has become a must have on the Carib cruise as it is so convenient for us to have all drinks covered (besides alcoholic beverages- water and specialty coffees). I know the argument that it is built in to cruise price etc. but at the end of the day it is a great value for us as it probably represents a 800-1000

dollar end of cruise 'savings'.

We have somewhat disappeared from the Princess solicitation radar but I have never seen a free drink package promo advertised on this line. Even NCL and Holland have joined in occasionally with these.

My question therefore is this...... has the dp been offered in the past and we have missed it and/or is there likelihood it will return?

Besides the DP promos on X we had noted Princess pricing had increased significantly from our last Carib cruise (Jan 2014) but pricing we have seen for 2017 looks more competitive ( balcony or mini suite).

 

Thanks in advance for any comments and insight.

[capriccio]

Last summer Princess had a "Sip and Sail" promo for specific cruises (mostly in 2016 if I remember correctly) that included the All-Inclusive Beverage package and a Specialty Dining voucher (only for those in mini or full suites). We were looking at a 31 day B2B in December and we couldn't pass this promo up. My only fear is that we'll find out that we can't live without the all-inclusive beverage package on future cruises :D but I haven't seen a similar promo since then.

Edited April 26, 2016 by capriccio

[partybarbie]

Last summer Princess had a "Sip and Sail" promo for specific cruises (mostly in 2016 if I remember correctly) that included the All-Inclusive Beverage package and a Specialty Dining voucher (only for those in mini or full suites). We were looking at a 31 day B2B in December and we couldn't pass this promo up. My only fear is that we'll find out that we can't live without the all-inclusive beverage package on future cruises :D but I haven't seen a similar promo since then.

 

We received the same promo for our 19-Day Panama cruise in November 2016. I haven't seen another one either.

[skynight]

You can never tell what promos may appear. I have only seen the All Inclusive Beverage Package offered as a promo on a few specific cruises. The purchase cost for the AIBP is $56.35/day/pp which includes the gratuity. It includes all alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages priced under $10, which is almost everything on the ship.

 

Promos with OBC, free specialty dining, free gratuities, are more common.

[FraudBroad]

My TA actually told me last week that he thinks the beverage packaged would be offered again beginning on May 1st. He had no other information and didn't know if it would be offered on all sailings or only select sailings...good luck!

[chisoxfan]

Thank you everyone. I guess I havenot been 'asleep at the wheel' regarding any drink promos on Princess. The Drink Package is 'intoxicating' particularly on the Carib route where we tend to stay on the ship all day. We have upgraded to the premium package on X (200 a week for 2) which pretty much covers everything (wine to 12 and cocktails, premium water, and coffees0. At the end of the cruise we may have 100-120 (free) drinks shown on our bill which sounds excessive but.... 4 waters each a day, a few beers and Coladas at the pool, a drink before dinner, maybe some wine with and cocktails after....... man it can add up. It is so relaxing not to worry about this expense that I would not cruise on Carib itinerary without it.

 

Hope this becomes an option on Princess as I would really like to try one of the new ships (and the 'old' ones aren't so bad either).

 

A lounger in Sanctuary for a week and drink package with good weather and I would be good.

 

ps. I don't lose sight of fact that DP can be purchased but at 700+ per day it is frankly not as attractive of the 'subsidized' rates

[Cruise Raider]

I know exactly what you mean. We definitely find Celebrity cruises to be a much better value for us when you consider the beverage package is offered as a 'free perk'. Considering the price inflation during the Princess's Sip and Sail promotion, we could probably have taken 2 Celebrity cruises that also included the included beverage package for that price. However, on Celebrity, only an oceanview room is required to include the perk and on Princess, it looked to be restricted to the balcony cabins and above. Now, if only we could get some additional Celebrity cruises on the west coast, namely San Francisco, we'd be set!!

 

Anyhow, Princess does have a more lenient policy on bringing you own wine onboard. They also have a fantastic happy hour two times per day, as of now, anyway. This is a real money saver for us and we always enjoy the atmosphere of the Wheelhouse in the afternoon. It really gets hopping! We usually go for the cocktails but end up enjoying the socializing as well.

They also have the 5 for the price of 4 beer bucket promo (Celebrity may have this as well but have had the beverage package on those cruises so haven't looked into it). The coffee card also saves us some money, albeit a small amount as we are not huge coffee drinkers. You can also purchase a 12 pack of bottled water ahead of time in your cruise personalizer that is a pretty good deal. I think it is only around $7 or so and the water is delivered to your room by the time you board.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Cruise Raider

[UpcountryTravelers]

We have the "free" package on our upcoming Caribbean Princess cruise to New England. It's the only way we could do the package, as we simply don't drink nearly enough to justify the normal cost.

[Coveguy4]

I have the Sip n'Sail coming up in 12 days. The cruise was a great deal,including beverages and specialty dining. If I tried to book the same cabin 3 months ago I would have pd over 400 more pp without those perks, only grats included. I am very pleased.

[chisoxfan]

Overall cost is certainly a concern since we really plan our Carib cruise around staying on ship and enjoying the private island(s). We prefer a newer ship, drink package, a well located balcony, and a manageable pool area. We would consider X, Princess, and Holland based upon our past cruises.

NCL is running a drink package on their latest ships but am concerned how crowded pool areas become on these. 4200 plus passengers. Also not into the 'White Hot Party' excess. We were on Epic a few years ago and were not big fans.

Will see if something comes up on Princess or Holland with DP.

For first time we may also look at all inclusive although it is hard to beat the value and relaxation of a cruise.

 

Our last Reflection was 2800 all in for a concierge balcony, drink package, tips paid, and OBC around 460. A good 'deal' just makes the cruise that much more enjoyable.

 

Thanks again for replies.

[capriccio]

I know exactly what you mean. We definitely find Celebrity cruises to be a much better value for us when you consider the beverage package is offered as a 'free perk'. Considering the price inflation during the Princess's Sip and Sail promotion, we could probably have taken 2 Celebrity cruises that also included the included beverage package for that price.

 

There was no price inflation during the Sip and Sail promotion on our B2B cruises. I'm sure each cruise in the promo is different but right now our first cruise is approximately $200 more p/p without the Sip and Sail and the second cruise is approximately $150 more p/p without the Sip and Sail promo. If we were paying the approximately $50 p/p per day on a 31 day cruise the price of the all-inclusive beverage package ($3100 :eek:) would have been so high we wouldn't have even considered it.

[vividharp]

We have the sip and sail promo towards the end of the year. Didn't see any pricing increase due to it. Heck, prices now without the package is more than what we paid for the same cruise, same stateroom category.

 

 

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[2islandhoppers]

ps. I don't lose sight of fact that DP can be purchased but at 700+ per day it is frankly not as attractive of the 'subsidized' rates

 

Sorry, but the math doesn't add up for me. When we took our Carib cruise in November, X wanted an additional $1000 per person for the "free" perk of a drink package. That was almost double the price of DP on our upcoming Princess cruise. We found wine packages on X at least 50% higher than Princess. We probably saved $1000 by "pay as you go", but perhaps we don't drink enough to make the DP worthwhile. At least there was an option; we were able to pay a much lower price for the cruise by declining the "free" perks.

 

As we found the food on X in the MDR to be mediocre at best, (dining choices were meatloaf, mac and cheese, shoe leather steak (apparently per capita meal costs have been slashed in the MDR to support the specialty restaurants, according to the Assistant Maitre 'D), feeling like we were herded cattle through the gauntlet of upselling staff, that was probably our first and last X cruise. Buffet was good, cabin was very nice, ship was beautiful to give X it's due.

[wizard-of-roz]

We received the same promo for our 19-Day Panama cruise in November 2016. I haven't seen another one either.

 

We're on the same cruise with you and got the drink package promo. My question is; is the drink package for each person in the cabin or does it just cover one?

[psouthcomb]

We have the sip and sail promo for October sailing. I heard on CC that sometimes the wait staff see the stickers on cruise card, and slow down on serving you. Someone said they waited up to 45 minutes to an hour to get a drink. I guess I'll be at the bar getting my moneys worth!!!!!! :p

[capriccio]

We're on the same cruise with you and got the drink package promo. My question is; is the drink package for each person in the cabin or does it just cover one?

 

The original press release (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-announces-thirst-quenching-sip--sail-cruise-promotion-300111278.html) stated:

 

Guests booking a balcony, mini-suite or suite staterooms will receive a free all-inclusive beverage package for two people. Plus, guests booking a mini-suite or suite stateroom will receive free specialty dining for two people.

[psouthcomb]

It's for two. You can see it in Princess personilzer. It will show complimentary all inclusive drink package.

[wizard-of-roz]

Thank you, I thought it would be for two but wasn't sure.

[tammymacb]

Can the drink package be bought for just one guest in a room? I'm not much of a drinker but my husband will have a couple drinks in the lounge and with dinner. It would be a waste for me though.

[Nezmo]

Can the drink package be bought for just one guest in a room? I'm not much of a drinker but my husband will have a couple drinks in the lounge and with dinner. It would be a waste for me though.

Yes.

[tammymacb]

Yes.

 

Thank you! That is awesome!

[daiB]

We live in the UK and always cruise with P&O. However we have booked a Med cruise on Crown next May from Southampton. We have the free drinks package which as far as I can see was available on all cabins if you booked very early. We booked 14 month ahead of time.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Can the drink package be bought for just one guest in a room? I'm not much of a drinker but my husband will have a couple drinks in the lounge and with dinner. It would be a waste for me though.

All beverage packages are sold per passenger.