Is Sip and Sail worth it?

[Ottawa1963]

I believe the tips are included.

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

[hllwdcruiser]

I just booked a 2019 cruise in February under a Sun Drenched deal. I priced the same trip, same ship, same approx date for 2020 for the sns. The sns fare (under princess pricing) comes out $850 more for 2 people which translates to just under $61 per day per person.

 

Just to be clear, I compared the 2020 sns to the published princess sun drenched sale pricing for the 2019 trip I just booked. So I was comparing apples to apples.

 

What a coincidence that the increase is approximately the same amount as what they charge for the package.

 

Now, granted, I purchased my cabin from a TA, received a discount and an additional OBC - but I am sure I would have received a similar discount if I booked the 2020 cruise as well.

 

I always seem to get really good deals that the sns or the 3 for free never seems to be able to beat.

 

So I think it just depends on you. We enjoy our drinks but we simply can't drink as much as the beverage package would require of us to make it worth it.

 

Unlimited soda, coffee and water (we bring water on board with us) isn't enough to make the cost worthwhile to us either.

Edited August 24, 2018 by hllwdcruiser

[memoak]

I always comes down to how much you drink - I cannot recall any day on any cruise I have ever taken when I do not have at least 9 drinks a day, so for us it is a great bargain - for those who only have 2-3 drinks a day then it is not usually a very good deal and they should consider other promos that are more of a bargain for them

[deliver42]

It was great for me. $500.00 OBC + drinks, and less expensive than HAL or NCL for Alaska 05/19. The $1.00 deposit deal for one day didn't hurt either. This was thru a TA, not Princess.

[DaisyRose]

Also consider if the deposits are refundable or not. I recently got a quote without the beverage package that was substantially lower than the Sip n Sale price. But upon further questioning, it turned out that the lower price was a non refundable deposit. I really don't like non refundable deposits; life happens, especially when you are booking a year or more in advance. So I took the higher priced cruise with the beverage package because it was a refundable deposit. Now I have the flexibility to rebook under different promotions, such as the upcoming 3 for Free, if that turns out to be a better deal for me.

[caribill]

Also consider if the deposits are refundable or not. I recently got a quote without the beverage package that was substantially lower than the Sip n Sale price. But upon further questioning, it turned out that the lower price was a non refundable deposit. I really don't like non refundable deposits

 

I do not like them either. But one advantage of having and using Future Cruise Deposits is that the deposit is only the value of the FCD ($100) per person. That might be worth risking for significantly lower pricing.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Princess is unusual in the Industry in that it allows only one person in a cabin to buy the drink package.

 

For us, only my DH gets the beverage package. He likes to try new things and enjoys beer, red wine, ports, bouban & cocktails. I like to see him happy so I always buy the package for him.

 

I only drink white wine or champagne. So the Beverage package doesn’t work for me. The white wine menu is limited for my tastes and the only sparkling wine they have that I’ll drink is a Chandon. It’s just okay and not my first choice.

 

For a 10 day cruise I order 3 cases of water (< $21) in the cruise personalizer, a coffee card (<$40) and pay the $15 a bottle corkage on a case ($180) of my preferred wine. Plus I have the 2 free bottles we can bring and the free mini bar in the suite. Sometimes I leave the ship with bottles I didn’t drink but I don’t care.......I like having choices. The wine and champagne I bring onboard costs on average $20 a bottle through winery memberships and big box sales ($240) and every bottle is something I love.

 

Total for me on a 10 day cruise? $480

Total for DH with beverage package? $690.

 

Nominal difference depending on your view point but both of us get exactly what we want. And I love Princess for giving us this option. Most lines don’t allow it.

 

So are you like me or are you like my DH?

 

Regardless, since the price difference is more than what you’d pay through the cruise personalizer or onboard for the beverage package, I’d book it without and then decide if you want to add it later.