Beverage package

[Southern adventurers]

Being new to Princess and leaving on a 42 day cruise I was considering the beverage package as a pre booked item.

However, I am unsure how it works and the website not clear.

I assume you are charged the daily rate irrespective of how many drinks you have in a day. Is my understanding correct?

On a 42 day cruise at approx $74 per person per day it is a rather substantial amount if you are a moderate drinker only.

We all know on a cruise you tend to drink a little more than you would normally.

I know it's subjective but would appreciate some thoughts on the package.

[plumduff68]

Wow. 42 nights - sounds amazing!

We are on a Princess cruise in Sept from Southampton to New York. Neither of us drink much - the odd cocktail and glass of wine with dinner - but certainly not a bottle a night.

We will bring on 2 bottles of wine (as allowed) but that's it.

There is no way we would get anywhere near drinking the value of the daily cost of the package.

It'll be much cheaper to buy the odd G&T or cocktail as we fancy it.

 

Katie

 

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[GRAYTech]

Your understanding is correct, you pay the same rate regardless of how many or how few you have in a given day.

 

The website says you must purchase the AIBP for all nights of your cruise. A recent post I read said they were able to purchase the AIBP up until the last 4 nights of the cruise and only be charged for the days it was purchased for.

 

If you had to pay for 42 nights there is not a chance I would do it and I enjoy beverages most days. If I could wait until the last week or even the last few nights yes, I would give it a try.

 

Guess it depends on how much you consume but I think your liver will thank you if you didn't punish it 42 days in a row getting your money's worth from the AIBP.

[Colo Cruiser]

Being new to Princess and leaving on a 42 day cruise I was considering the beverage package as a pre booked item.

However, I am unsure how it works and the website not clear.

I assume you are charged the daily rate irrespective of how many drinks you have in a day. Is my understanding correct?

On a 42 day cruise at approx $74 per person per day it is a rather substantial amount if you are a moderate drinker only.

We all know on a cruise you tend to drink a little more than you would normally.

I know it's subjective but would appreciate some thoughts on the package.

 

 

Yes 42 days X going rate per day.

[fishywood]

Your understanding is correct, you pay the same rate regardless of how many or how few you have in a given day.

 

The website says you must purchase the AIBP for all nights of your cruise. A recent post I read said they were able to purchase the AIBP up until the last 4 nights of the cruise and only be charged for the days it was purchased for.

 

 

That is the policy on Royal Caribbean. There have been a few rare reports from Princess cruisers that the ship advertised in the Patter that pro-rated plans were available on Day 2 (or maybe as late as Day 3) but far outnumbered by those saying they were charged for every day when they wanted to purchase the morning after embarkation. I certainly would not count on any exceptions on an Australia or Asia cruise.

[JF - retired RRT]

Help me with my math:D

That's approx. 8 mixed drinks a day :eek::confused:

WOWZER!!

[fishywood]

Help me with my math:D

That's approx. 8 mixed drinks a day :eek::confused:

WOWZER!!

 

I believe were a talking about Aussie Dollars where the AIBP is AU$74/day but drinks are priced around AU$11-14 each. So roughly comparable to $US pricing of $56.35/day where drinks run $8-10 each

Edited January 3, 2017 by fishywood

[skynight]

Being new to Princess and leaving on a 42 day cruise I was considering the beverage package as a pre booked item.

However, I am unsure how it works and the website not clear.

I assume you are charged the daily rate irrespective of how many drinks you have in a day. Is my understanding correct?

On a 42 day cruise at approx $74 per person per day it is a rather substantial amount if you are a moderate drinker only.

We all know on a cruise you tend to drink a little more than you would normally.

I know it's subjective but would appreciate some thoughts on the package.

Package must be purchased for the entire cruise, port and sea days. If your cruise is actually more than one voyage b2b, then the package can be purchased individually for each leg of the voyage.

If you are an Australian cruise the pricing will be in AU$. But, if you are on a US$ based cruise the price is US$56.35/pp/day which converts to around AU$74/day. Whatever the price it is substantial. You usually have to consume around 5 to 6 mixed drinks/day to break even, less if you drink beer or straight spirits.

 

Includes unlimited alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages priced up to AU$14 or US$10. This is mostly all beverages on the ship. It also includes a 40% discount on bottled wine priced up to AU$100. Package in individual and can not be shared.

Excludes room service.

[2pbears]

As "moderate drinkers" who tend to drink a little more while on a cruise we decided to give the drink package a try on a short (3 day) coastal cruise recently. All three days were sea days so we thought there would be more opportunity to use the package. That said, we really did struggle to drink enough to get the value out of the package. We have a cruise this Fall which included the drink package in the price of the cruise so we will enjoy the package then but if we had to pay for the package, I'm afraid it would not be a good value for us. We'll just buy our drinks individually when we want to have a drink and that way we won't feel "obligated" to drink. :D

[easyboy]

Your understanding is correct, you pay the same rate regardless of how many or how few you have in a given day.

 

The website says you must purchase the AIBP for all nights of your cruise. A recent post I read said they were able to purchase the AIBP up until the last 4 nights of the cruise and only be charged for the days it was purchased for.

The post was from a recent cruiser on the Island Princess. Hope the OP will share his experience on this.

[Southern adventurers]

Wow. Thanks for the great feedback. Conscence seems it would not be practical for us to get the package.

We would probably have 4 beverages a day between my wife and I.

So we shall just purchase as we go.

Our previous cruises were on HollandAmericaLine and got a bonus $400 when we booked our cruise.

Had to spend little more on drinks for the duration of the cruise.

Don't want the holiday to b a blur so I'm convinced.

Thanks folks.

[Colo Cruiser]

Conscence seems it would not be practical for us to get the package.

We would probably have 4 beverages a day between my wife and I.

So we shall just purchase as we go.

 

 

 

At the rate of $3100 PP :eek: I would say purchasing as you go is a much better idea!

[Southern adventurers]

Thanks Keith, that settles it I reckon. I'm not a big drinker and neither is the missus.

Would rather spend the cash on other luxuries.

Cheers

[jennybenny]

That many days? I don't think the drink package would be worth it. We've been doing the drink package on all of our cruises since they introduced the AIBP, but we found that a 10 day cruise is the longest one that it makes sense for us. On our 15 day cruises, its just too many days of drinking. so anything over 10 days we will pay as we go, but the whole reason we enjoy the AIBP is that we like not worrying about what we are charging. So, we give ourselves some OBC to cover our expected charges. We've never had to be credited after the cruise (knock on wood).

[tv24]

Good information to help me plan our crossing in April. Thanks to all.

[Bill B]

These beverage packages are a huge 'cash cow' for the lines. The majority of pax who buy it will never come near to getting their money's worth.

[Thrak]

Help me with my math:D

That's approx. 8 mixed drinks a day :eek::confused:

WOWZER!!

 

Not necessarily. The package includes ALL drinkable items - bottled water, coffee, shakes, mocktails, juices, etc. Still a pretty spendy item though. I took it as a perk on my next two cruises but wouldn't actually pay for it.

[easyboy]

These beverage packages are a huge 'cash cow' for the lines. The majority of pax who buy it will never come near to getting their money's worth.

The Soda & More Package will do for me. Can't take that much alcohol for even just 7 consecutive days.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Is the cruise an overseas-based cruise with onboard currency in USD or aone out of Australia with the onboard currency in AUD?

 

If an AUD cruise be aware that the package price is actually $59 onboard. The online price is wrong. Cocktails are $9-14, beer $6-8, wine $7-9, bottled water $2.50 and $5, espresso $1.75, latte $3.50-$4.50.

 

If it's a USD cruise then it's a bit more complicated. The drinks prices listed on those ships don't include the gratuity (15%) and may end up being dearer when converted to AUD eg a $10 cocktail becomes $11.50 with gratuity and at today's exchange rate that's $15.77.

[Randycurit]

We have gone with and without the AIBP - for our 10 day cruise I was thinking it would not be worth it however when you add in the specialty coffee and bottles of water it became a deal for us. We are not huge drinkers but our break even we feel is 3 to 4 alcoholic drinks per day based on having the specialty coffee, a few sodas and a bottle of water per day. We will have a glass of wine at Vines before dinner and usually a drink with dinner or at the show after. If it is a late night in the casino I may grab a beer. On a 42 day cruise I would have to really think long and hard to make that decision.

[skynight]

Is the cruise an overseas-based cruise with onboard currency in USD or aone out of Australia with the onboard currency in AUD?

 

If an AUD cruise be aware that the package price is actually $59 onboard. The online price is wrong. Cocktails are $9-14, beer $6-8, wine $7-9, bottled water $2.50 and $5, espresso $1.75, latte $3.50-$4.50.

 

If it's a USD cruise then it's a bit more complicated. The drinks prices listed on those ships don't include the gratuity (15%) and may end up being dearer when converted to AUD eg a $10 cocktail becomes $11.50 with gratuity and at today's exchange rate that's $15.77.

This is correct, but the US$10 limit on drinks included in the AIBP is the menu price, not the menu price plus grat. So, a drink listed on the menu as US$10 is included in the package.

[TriumphGuy]

If I were a billionaire I still wouldn't spend that much on a drink package!

 

I pre-ordered a couple bottles of gin and brought my own tonic water. That took care of my 2 evening cocktails. We also on occasion took advantage of "Happy Hour" in the Wheelhouse bar, 2 for 1. More than enough booze for me! I consider myself a moderate drinker. But everyone is different.

[oldracer]

We too had to make this decision for our 29 day cruise in April. The cost analysis clearly showed we would not use anywhere near the cost of the package so "buy by the drink" will be the norm". Looks like Princess and others could make more profit if the drink package was more reasonably priced.

[texsailor]

We just booked an Alaska cruise for this coming September, and the beverage package was included as a perk. I think this is great, but I have a question. My wife and I are wine drinkers, and the only way we can see that this may be a problem is if the wine by the glass is more than $10. Does anyone know what the per-glass prices for wine (obviously they will vary depending on the wine) are on Princess?

[land lover]

We just booked an Alaska cruise for this coming September, and the beverage package was included as a perk. I think this is great, but I have a question. My wife and I are wine drinkers, and the only way we can see that this may be a problem is if the wine by the glass is more than $10. Does anyone know what the per-glass prices for wine (obviously they will vary depending on the wine) are on Princess?

 

 

Only a few are over the limit.....make sure to hang out at Vines.