Is Sip and Sail worth it?

[Ottawa1963]

I can book my cruise through Princess with the sip and sail promo OR through a discount cruise company without. The cost difference is approx $1700. for a 12 day cruise to the Bristish Ilses, both premium balcony cabins , same deck. I wonder if the Sip and Sail is worth it. There are restrictions as to what drinks you can apply it to...like under $9.00 I think. What's the cost of a drink? For example a scotch? Wine? Rye? I don't want to pay more for the Sip and Sail promo and find I still have to pay for drinks!! Any thoughts? So, yes, we like to have drinks pre dinner and wine with dinner. Commentary appreciated!

[Coffeeluvr05]

It’s worth it for us even though we don’t drink a lot. It means not nickeling and dining ourselves after we’ve already paid for our vacation. I booked through a big box membership store and got Sip & Sail and OBC for way less than Princess prices and another big TA. They couldn’t believe I was getting such a good deal.

 

The PBP includes all drinks $12 and under. For me that’s coffees, cocktails, bottled water, anything I want anytime.

 

All but 2 liquors are under the $12 price. Not sure about wines by the glass. From previous experience, there is much to choose from. There is a PBP spreadsheet with all drink prices floating around here somewhere.

 

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[Coffeeluvr05]

On board credit. Can’t mention TA names here.

 

 

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[fishywood]

The value of the Sip + Sail addition (including gratuity) for you is $68.99 * 24 = $1655.76

 

So if the naked fare is a greater savings your question has answered itself. Unless you believe your bar bill would be in excess of $1700 should you be given free reign over 15 alcoholic beverages per day plus unlimited sodas, juices, premium & specialty coffees, fresh brewed coffee & tea, and still bottled water without the PBP.

 

The drink price ceiling is $12. There are virtually none that exceed that price, including call brands, wine flights at Vines, and other venue-specific specials.

 

Perhaps reading over the Terms and Conditions of the Premium Beverage Package would help you decide if this no-better-than-break-even proposition is actually of interest:

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/

(scroll 2/3 down to 'Premier Beverage Package' and click on 'view terms')

 

 

...and please go back and edit out the name of the TA you put in post #3 else this thread will be deleted. A big no-no on here which is why the post before yours only supplied a "hint"

Edited August 24, 2018 by fishywood

[OCruisers]

The Sip & Sail is definately worth it to us! (y)

[sunsetbeachgal]

The British Isles itinerary you are doing is very port intensive, our 12 day cruise had 9 full day port stops and two sea days. This should figure into your equation, if you are planning to do a lot of touring it will be more difficult to get your moneys worth .

 

Just me but I’d take the lower rate. We booked our June British Isles cruise a year prior under sip and sale, and then each sale I compared price and perks. We ended up with much lower fare and could have bought many many drinks for what we saved!

 

 

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[riclop]

I can book my cruise through Princess with the sip and sail promo OR through a discount cruise company without. The cost difference is approx $1700. for a 12 day cruise to the Bristish Ilses, both premium balcony cabins , same deck. I wonder if the Sip and Sail is worth it. There are restrictions as to what drinks you can apply it to...like under $9.00 I think. What's the cost of a drink? For example a scotch? Wine? Rye? I don't want to pay more for the Sip and Sail promo and find I still have to pay for drinks!! Any thoughts? So, yes, we like to have drinks pre dinner and wine with dinner. Commentary appreciated!

How much do you drink?

[Thrak]

It was worth it to us as an included perk on our last two cruises. I would never pay for it. The current Sip and Sail bummed me out. I waited for it and then Princess raised the price of the cabin by $500 per person and said I would have to re-book at the new pricing to get the promo. Nope.

[Hlitner]

So here is my question to the OP? Do you guys normally drink $70 per person/day on a cruise? If yes, then the deal is probably worth it. If not....you would be wasting your money. DW and I have spent far more then 1000 days on many cruise lines and we both drink adult beverages and wine with dinner. We have never spent more then $45 per passenger/day for booze on any cruise..no matter how hard we try :).

 

Hank

[jagoffee]

I can book my cruise through Princess with the sip and sail promo OR through a discount cruise company without. The cost difference is approx $1700. for a 12 day cruise to the Bristish Ilses, both premium balcony cabins , same deck. I wonder if the Sip and Sail is worth it. There are restrictions as to what drinks you can apply it to...like under $9.00 I think. What's the cost of a drink? For example a scotch? Wine? Rye? I don't want to pay more for the Sip and Sail promo and find I still have to pay for drinks!! Any thoughts? So, yes, we like to have drinks pre dinner and wine with dinner. Commentary appreciated!

 

I do not think it is worth that much of a premium.

I would suggest you see if you can get a quote for the cruise with the Sip and Sail promotion from a Discount TA. It should be at least 8% lower with the Sip and Sail from a Discount TA.

 

IMO by comparing the Princess direct price with a discount TA quote without the S&S you are really not comparing the same thing.

 

I was able to get my regular TA Discount before the S&S promotion was available on my cruise. Then when the promotion was introduced I was able to add it for no additional cost.

 

Good luck

[esper10]

It all depends how much you drink. We just booked a cruise under the sip and sail promotion. I than found out that if we don’t want to book without using the promo for sip and sail we will pay $625.00 less so we besicly buying the package. The catch is that it is a none refundable deposit and the sip and sail is refundable. The cruise is a year and a half out so it’s a chance we have to take. Also you don’t need a travel agent for that. I just called princess and asked them if I can book without the sip and sail.

[xman111]

If you get the free princess premiere package in the sip and sale, do you have to pay gratuities on each drink you get?

[Woobstr112G]

For shorter cruises it would be worth it for me. For longer cruises, I would take a sip/sail promo perk but probably won't buy it anymore. It's just too expensive and I just do not drink as much now as I did in my younger days......:):):)

 

Bob

[L454S]

I do not think it is worth that much of a premium.

I would suggest you see if you can get a quote for the cruise with the Sip and Sail promotion from a Discount TA. It should be at least 8% lower with the Sip and Sail from a Discount TA.

 

IMO by comparing the Princess direct price with a discount TA quote without the S&S you are really not comparing the same thing.

 

I was able to get my regular TA Discount before the S&S promotion was available on my cruise. Then when the promotion was introduced I was able to add it for no additional cost.

 

Good luck

 

Very good advise here. The comparison you make is apples to oranges. Compare the travel agents discounted price for the sailing with and without SipNSail. We just booked a 29 day sailing for next year with a T/A(good discounted price), SipNSail promo added $1700. Thats $29.31 per day per person.

 

Even if you don't drink a lot, that math works well for me. I will however watch closely come Sept. for the change to the 3 for Free promo and pricing to see which works best. "Shop around" is always good advise.

[Dudleydog73]

Having done the 12 day British Isles cruise this summer I will tell you that you will not be on the ship enough to justify paying for the sip n sail IMHO. I too would take the lower fare and then just buy any drinks as you go. You should come out ahead.

[paul929207]

Because "worth it" is subjective, it must be figured for each person and the deal(s) they are picking from. We have found that for us, purchasing the PBP is not worth it, but the Sip & Sail is.

[Coffeeluvr05]

If you get the free princess premiere package in the sip and sale, do you have to pay gratuities on each drink you get?

 

 

 

No, whether you buy the PBP or you get it through sip & sail, gratuities are included.

 

 

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[Wishing on a star]

I think you are confusing two different issues....

If Sip and Sale is available, then I believe that you can get it with, or without, either thru Princess or thru your TA.

So, who to book thru is one thing.

 

And whether to include the package is another.

Whether the package is worth it can very on a case by case basis.

We had booked with this, and it was worth it!!!

UNTIL the exclusive Captain's Circle Fares came out for our cruise.

We could upgrade to a Balcony Deluxe, have a $500.00 bar tab, and still save money.

We re-fared.

 

You just have to look at all options and get out the ole calculator!

[Qstrom]

We always wait for a SNS sale as it's a good value in our humble opinion. Even if your not huge drinkers, it includes bottled waters when you leave on port days or anytime you want one, also the coffee is a great value to us as the "syrup" coffee upstairs sucks.....one can experiment trying things one would not usually try because if you don't like it just get something else. It also caps your costs.

[Yehootu]

It was worth it to us as an included perk on our last two cruises. I would never pay for it. The current Sip and Sail bummed me out. I waited for it and then Princess raised the price of the cabin by $500 per person and said I would have to re-book at the new pricing to get the promo. Nope.

My T/A was able to get the SNS added to our 10day/15day BTB without any increase if fare or rebooking. Got to thank him again.

[jennybenny]

We cruise a few times a year and book as soon as the itineraries are released. Rarely has the Sip N Sail been an option when we actually book, but we have re-fared a couple of times for the Sip N Sail. We've found on port intensive cruises the drink package is not worthwhile, at least it did not prove to be on a California Coastal.

 

It has proven a good idea on 10 and 15 day cruises for us (Mexican Riviera, Caribbean and Hawaii).

 

We prefer the idea of paying up front and then not worrying about additional expenses. We drink coffee daily, I like having tea on a cold day so I will drink a lot of tea sometimes. I drink a lot of water (small bottled water and sparkling water are included in drink package). We don't drink pop really and then we have a few drinks throughout the day. There are days that I feel that we've spent the $60 wisely and other days where we didn't but overall we prefer to get it.

[c-boy]

We cruise a few times a year and book as soon as the itineraries are released. Rarely has the Sip N Sail been an option when we actually book, but we have re-fared a couple of times for the Sip N Sail. We've found on port intensive cruises the drink package is not worthwhile, at least it did not prove to be on a California Coastal.

 

It has proven a good idea on 10 and 15 day cruises for us (Mexican Riviera, Caribbean and Hawaii).

 

We prefer the idea of paying up front and then not worrying about additional expenses. We drink coffee daily, I like having tea on a cold day so I will drink a lot of tea sometimes. I drink a lot of water (small bottled water and sparkling water are included in drink package). We don't drink pop really and then we have a few drinks throughout the day. There are days that I feel that we've spent the $60 wisely and other days where we didn't but overall we prefer to get it.

whats "pop" ?

[Cruiser_1977]

Worth it to me. I am sailing in 2020. Solo in a balcony.

The cost for the cabin was $1278 when I priced it before S&S.

The cost after S&S was $1649.

I will drink between 5-10 drinks (alcoholic, soda, coffee) per day for an median of 7.5. At $12 that's $90/day. Over the course of my cruise that is $630. This makes the Premier Beverage Package worth it by itself. ($68.99*7=$482.93)

The difference in cabin cost (note I haven't included port fees, taxes simply room & board) is $371. I see it as a savings of about $112.

[jennybenny]

whats "pop" ?

 

soda pop :rolleyes:

[Ottawa1963]

Thank you. I didn't realize I had done a big no-no. Lesson learned for sure! I do appreciate your response very much.

 

The value of the Sip + Sail addition (including gratuity) for you is $68.99 * 24 = $1655.76

 

So if the naked fare is a greater savings your question has answered itself. Unless you believe your bar bill would be in excess of $1700 should you be given free reign over 15 alcoholic beverages per day plus unlimited sodas, juices, premium & specialty coffees, fresh brewed coffee & tea, and still bottled water without the PBP.

 

The drink price ceiling is $12. There are virtually none that exceed that price, including call brands, wine flights at Vines, and other venue-specific specials.

 

Perhaps reading over the Terms and Conditions of the Premium Beverage Package would help you decide if this no-better-than-break-even proposition is actually of interest:

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/

(scroll 2/3 down to 'Premier Beverage Package' and click on 'view terms')

 

 

...and please go back and edit out the name of the TA you put in post #3 else this thread will be deleted. A big no-no on here which is why the post before yours only supplied a "hint"