Drink(s) Package Royal Princess

[Stands with a Drink]

Hi; This is our first time going on a cruise. I am confused about the drink packages.

 

One package is for non-alcoholic drinks including pop, coffee/tea, orange juice, virgin cocktails, etc. I forget the price of this unlimited package but it's per person per day. My question is, are drinks included with your meal? For instance, can I get a tea with my breakfast or do I have to pay for it? Do drinks only cost if they are not at meal time? Is there an advantage to getting this drink package? I am surprised by this package because I would have thought non-alcoholic beverages would be complimentary. I have concerns that every time my teenage son wants to get something to drink that we will be charged for it.

 

Do we get a complimentary glass of wine or alcoholic drink with lunch or dinner?

 

Thank you.

[reedprincess]

Hi; This is our first time going on a cruise. I am confused about the drink packages.

 

One package is for non-alcoholic drinks including pop, coffee/tea, orange juice, virgin cocktails, etc. I forget the price of this unlimited package but it's per person per day. My question is, are drinks included with your meal? For instance, can I get a tea with my breakfast or do I have to pay for it? Do drinks only cost if they are not at meal time? Is there an advantage to getting this drink package? I am surprised by this package because I would have thought non-alcoholic beverages would be complimentary. I have concerns that every time my teenage son wants to get something to drink that we will be charged for it.

 

Do we get a complimentary glass of wine or alcoholic drink with lunch or dinner?

 

Thank you.

Included in your cruise fare is water, coffee and decaf, iced and hot tea, lemonade, milk, and juices at breakfast. These are no charge at all, available at any meal, and coffee/tea/lemonade all available 24/7 in buffet. Water, coffee/tea available 24/7 from room service. Eater is also available at any bar all day/night long. Many people stick to the included beverages and don't spend a dine on any pay beverages or packages

 

Any alcohol, soda, mocktails, specialty coffees (espresso based, lattes, fresh brewed, etc), costs extra. You can pay-as-you-go for any items if you choose.

 

As far as the Soda and More package - it does not include bottled water or the specialty coffees or tea. It includes sodas (premix/gun soda only, not the canned sodas), mocktails, etc This package is per person, no sharing.

The Coffee card covers specialty coffees and teas, along with fresh brewed coffees as long as one punch is left. Coffee card can be shared.

 

If you want a package that includes virtually ALL drinks onboard including soda in the can, bottled water, specialty coffees and teas, alcohol, wine by the glass, shots, beers and so on - that would be the AIBP, All-inclusive Beverage Package. Again, package is per person with no sharing.

 

As its your first cruise, you may simply want to not bother with a package at all, and pay-as-you-go for any additional drinks. You can bring onboard a reasonable personal amount of soda or water if you want. You are also allowed one bottle of wine per person with no corkage fee to be enjoyed in your cabin, or take s glass wirh you. You can also bring as many more bottles of wine you like at the cost of $15 corkage per bottle, and these can be enjoyed around the ship.

 

Have a wondeful time!

[4cats4me]

No free drinks except for tea and coffee with dinner, and coffee and tea at buffets. Drinks have never been free. I've been cruising for 25 years and that's the way it has always been. [emoji4] Princess doesn't limit you if you want to tote on a six pack or twelve pack of sodas, or a case of water. You are allowed to bring on one bottle of wine or champagne per person at embarkation only. Many cruise lines don't even allow that, or water to be brought onboard. We would never consider paying the exorbitant cost of an alcoholic drink package though and find that if one is not much of a drinker, then the cruise line will come out way ahead. Som cruise lines like Royal Caribbean have dispensers at the buffet with fruit punch or lemonade, but Princess does not. Never is any alcohol complimentary, unless you cruise with the high end lines, and it really isn't complimentary since one pays a huge tariff to cruise on those lines. Princess drinks are much more reasonably priced than Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, for example. Adult beverages average around $8-9 pp on Princess, while they're approx $14-15 per beverage on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.

Also, a gratuity of either 15-18% will automatically be added to each drink, so if you order a Coke and the price is, say, $1.75, then a gratuity of approx 30c will be added on to the bill.

 

 

 

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[Stands with a Drink]

Thank you both for replying. We've already decided NOT to get the AIBP. We don't drink that much alcohol and it's too rich for our blood anyways ;). We still need to figure out the Soda and More package. It may be a good deal for our teenage son. Also, thinking we could add our own alcohol to mock-tails or mixers. It sounds like it would be a better deal just to buy a bottle of alcohol or wine and keep in our room. Buying soda and bringing it on board is also an idea that did not occur to me. Thank you for the heads up on the included gratuity charge as well. We appreciate your help.

[4cats4me]

It seems that most kids have a soda package, since kids love that stuff. You can't buy alcohol and bring onboard except for wine or champagne, but I think you can order a bottle of hard alcohol from room service, but if you were to do that, you'd just be better off buying drinks, especially if you're not a big boozer.

You can buy alcohol onboard in the gift shop at a reduced price to take home, but you can't take it back to your stateroom. It would be delivered to your room the last night of the cruise.

Half the fun of cruising is buying the fun froo froo drinks that they make for your onboard. [emoji4][emoji267][emoji259] if you only drink two drinks per person per day, the cost really isn't all that much in the grand scheme of things. Now I know people who can pound down 10 drinks a day. They're the ones who benefit most from these packages. LOL

 

Also, if you try to sneak on a bottle of alcohol in your big luggage, they might not deliver your luggage to your stateroom and you will be called to the "naughty room" to retrieve your luggage. Your luggage will be scanned. I know people who have been very successful importing their favorites onboard. I haven't bothered to do that ever.

 

 

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[easyboy]

We still need to figure out the Soda and More package. It may be a good deal for our teenage son. Also, thinking we could add our own alcohol to mock-tails or mixers. It sounds like it would be a better deal just to buy a bottle of alcohol or wine and keep in our room.

 

The Soda & More package works well for us. There is also a BOGO $1 where you buy alcoholic drinks or beer and just pay for the same drink for $1. It is at 3-4pm and 10-11 (Sometimes it is 11-midnight). Bar offering that are on the Princess Patter

 

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[4cats4me]

The Soda & More package works well for us. There is also a BOGO $1 where you buy alcoholic drinks or beer and just pay for the same drink for $1. It is at 3-4pm and 10-11 (Sometimes it is 11-midnight). Bar offering that are on the Princess Patter

 

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Yes, same here! Crooners from 3-4 on the Regal Royal and from 11-12 midnight at Club 6

 

 

 

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[Optotronics]

All soft drinks are coke products.

Were not coke fans, so we just stopped at the grocery on the way to port and bought an assortment of 4 12packs and used packing tape around both ends to bundle them all together and then taped an extra luggage tag on 2 sides. When we dropped off our luggage it was treated just like any other luggage and was in our cabin when we got there.

[NavyVeteran]

The Soda and More package may be a good idea for a teenager - and not just to save money.

 

If the teenager is mature enough to go around the ship without you, then the Soda and More package allows purchase of nonalcoholic bar drinks without charging anything to his/her card. You may not want him/her to have charging privileges. If not, you need to go to Passenger Services to request no charging on his/her card. In this case, he/she would still be able to get nonalcoholic drinks from any bar. If he/she does not have charging privileges or the Soda and More package, then he/she will not be able to get anything to drink other than a glass of water at a bar or the items available in the dining room or buffet.

 

Also you do not need to purchase bottled water. The tap water on the ship is very good. Just take a refillable bottle with you and fill it from the tap to take on shore excursions.

[Thrak]

The Unlimited Soda and More package is one of the best deals onboard. It's $8.05 per day (including the 15% gratuity). As noted above you can also take as much soda onboard as you like. We have the AIBP as a perk on our next two cruises and it sounds great but I don't think I'd ever pay for it. It's just too dang spendy. It would be over $3,200 on our next cruise! (I'm very happy to have it as a free perk. ;))

[skynight]

Thank you both for replying. We've already decided NOT to get the AIBP. We don't drink that much alcohol and it's too rich for our blood anyways ;). We still need to figure out the Soda and More package. It may be a good deal for our teenage son. Also, thinking we could add our own alcohol to mock-tails or mixers. It sounds like it would be a better deal just to buy a bottle of alcohol or wine and keep in our room. Buying soda and bringing it on board is also an idea that did not occur to me. Thank you for the heads up on the included gratuity charge as well. We appreciate your help.

Just to add

The soda & More package is a good idea for the teen. They can get as much fountain soda and other items as they want at any bar or waiter on the ship. The package excludes room service.

 

You can carry on as much non-alcoholic beverage on as you like. You can store it in the cabin fridge. We like the small 7 oz cans of soda, easy to carry, easy to store. If you run out you can bring additional beverage on at the ports of call. When you first board the cabin fridge may have mini bar items inside. If you use these you will be charged. Just call room service to have them removed, or just place them on top of the fridge.

 

Each person of drinking age can carry on 1x750ml bottles of wine without charge for use in your cabin. If you bring this bottle to a public area or DR you will be charged a $15 corkage fee. Additional bottles of wine can be carried on board and are subject to the $15 corkage fee. These bottles can be used anywhere on the ship. Spirits and beer are not allowed to be brought on board for use. If you purchase a bottle at a port it will be checked and delivered to your cabin on the last day of the cruise.