Drinks Cost (alcoholic)

[ERIN123]

We are looking at booking without the current promo because not only do you have to pay $20 gratuity per person per day for the drinks package, but the actual cost of the cruise is higher on that option rather than with no "perks". I figure for the difference we can buy a 2-3 drinks a day and still save several hundred dollars.

 

What is the usual cost for a beer, glass of wine or highball? I have seen various pictures online of menus so I have an idea, but I don't know how up to date the prices are. 

 

Thanks

[RedwingHockeyFan]

I believe someone had done the math and posted on another topic that the service charge you pay with the UBP equates to around 2-3 drinks per day.  I honestly think it is closer to 1-2 drinks per day since the cost of a drink on average is close to $10.

 

The other point about selecting the UBP option causing the price to go up seems odd to me.  I research cruises all the time on the NCL site and that seems like an unusual occurrence.

[DCP]

Beers are $6 and up

Cocktails can be up to $17.

If you do the special of the day, I think those are around $10.

We are on a 15 day PC cruise, I am not a big drinker, so yeah, for the $600 it would cost us, there is no way we would drink enough to even break even.

 

[phillyguy31]

If both of you drink 3 drinks a day you are ahead of the game when taking the package as a perk. Also keep in mind if you are doing a sail away rate you don't pick your room. For me being a control freak that is a deal breaker for me, I need to know where the cabin is.

[ERIN123]

7 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

 

The other point about selecting the UBP option causing the price to go up seems odd to me.  I research cruises all the time on the NCL site and that seems like an unusual occurrence.

 

I'm comparing a balcony (select your room) and get the perks vs. sail away which you don't pick the room but no perks. I'd save a lot for the sail away room (giving up room choice) plus save the $20 pp per day for drinks. It really brings the cost down but still haven't decided.

 

I had a free drinks package on my last Celebrity cruise, and they include gratuities there. $20 pp per day is so high. I would never spend $99 on drinks in a day so paying a tip on that amount seems silly.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

1 minute ago, ERIN123 said:

 

I'm comparing a balcony (select your room) and get the perks vs. sail away which you don't pick the room but no perks. I'd save a lot for the sail away room (giving up room choice) plus save the $20 pp per day for drinks. It really brings the cost down but still haven't decided.

 

I had a free drinks package on my last Celebrity cruise, and they include gratuities there. $20 pp per day is so high. I would never spend $99 on drinks in a day so paying a tip on that amount seems silly.

 

Ahh it is a sail away, that makes a difference.

Also, It is not a tip charge it is a service charge.  There have also been a lot of posts regarding what the difference means.  Bottom line is, if you get the UBP for free and have to pay $20 per day, it is worth about the cost of 1 to 2 drinks but you can drink well more than that if you choose. 

[phillyguy31]

12 minutes ago, ERIN123 said:

 

I'm comparing a balcony (select your room) and get the perks vs. sail away which you don't pick the room but no perks. I'd save a lot for the sail away room (giving up room choice) plus save the $20 pp per day for drinks. It really brings the cost down but still haven't decided.

 

I had a free drinks package on my last Celebrity cruise, and they include gratuities there. $20 pp per day is so high. I would never spend $99 on drinks in a day so paying a tip on that amount seems silly.

 

[ERIN123]

5 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

 

Ahh it is a sail away, that makes a difference.

Also, It is not a tip charge it is a service charge.  There have also been a lot of posts regarding what the difference means.  Bottom line is, if you get the UBP for free and have to pay $20 per day, it is worth about the cost of 1 to 2 drinks but you can drink well more than that if you choose. 

 

 

Thanks. Celebrity Cruises calls it their "Gratuity Program" and NCL "Service Charges". Too bad they can't all use the same language. 

[phillyguy31]

Look at it this way, are you drinking enough to make it worth $20.00 a day including tip? Also keep in mind most of the prices you see posted do no include the automatic 20% tip. Yes the sail away is cheaper and if you don't care where your cabin is they are a good price and you probably won't drink that much to cover the difference. From my perspective it is just like what some of the airlines are doing now, pay less and they assign you the seat near boarding.....no thanks.

[FridaysChild]

We just booked a cruise last night (balcony on the Dawn for December) and we asked them to NOT give us the free drink package.  We don't drink alcohol so it is a total waste for us.  Norwegian gladly took the drink package and it's service charges off the reservation while still giving us the other perks.  Just because you can take all the perks doesn't mean that you have to.  Saved us approximately $275 for the two of us.

[TonyB17]

If taken as a perk, it seems fairly easy to "break even."  But buying the drink package, you'd have to drink 10 or more drinks a day to make the numbers work.  Neither one of us could do that and I know we couldn't do it for 7 straight days.

 

[UnicornsAreReal]

We have recently returned from a cruise on Spirit and didnt take the drinks package as it was $99 per person per day for 3 of us. $3267 for 11 nights! 

So we decided on pay as we go as we’re not big drinkers.  However, we found the drinks expensive particularly as 20% tax and gratuities are added but the main issue was the quality of the drinks were inconsistent - mostly poor.  Cocktails tasted of mainly cordial with little or no alcohol and under volume too.  If you had the drinks package it wouldnt be so bad as you just order another, but when a round of drinks for 3 came to $45, then you feel like you are being ripped off.  

[Lionkingrichard]

Please post the change in price for the two options!

 

Everyone always says it is so much cheaper for the sail a away and yet never post $$$$$$$$$$$!

[300dtc]

Glasses of wine are $8-$9 each add the 20% gratuity and you are at $10 for one drink.

[zqvol]

19 hours ago, ERIN123 said:

 

I'm comparing a balcony (select your room) and get the perks vs. sail away which you don't pick the room but no perks. I'd save a lot for the sail away room (giving up room choice) plus save the $20 pp per day for drinks. It really brings the cost down but still haven't decided.

 

I had a free drinks package on my last Celebrity cruise, and they include gratuities there. $20 pp per day is so high. I would never spend $99 on drinks in a day so paying a tip on that amount seems silly.

 

Take the difference in the fare and then add $200 to it. That is what the UBP is costing you. Divide that figure by 10 and you will see about how many drinks the two of you have to consume on the cruise to break even.

[senseib]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

 

Take the difference in the fare and then add $200 to it. That is what the UBP is costing you. Divide that figure by 10 and you will see about how many drinks the two of you have to consume on the cruise to break even.

 

You need to deduct the value of the other perks you get with a non-sail away.  If you get a total of 3 perks deduct the value of the other 2 perks first and then divide the remainder by 10 to determine how many drinks are break even.

[pretzels66]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 3:40 PM, ERIN123 said:

 

 

Thanks. Celebrity Cruises calls it their "Gratuity Program" and NCL "Service Charges". Too bad they can't all use the same language. 

 

[pretzels66]

going thru same thing with NCL, we have a sailaway balcony, 799 per person , room was given to us already, decent location, if we would had got a pricier room the gratuities  on drinks was 277. this was for the free drink package. so I looked up our last cruise bill on the RC harmony ship and we paid 278. for drinks last year.  so not worth it for us to book a pricier room and pay the same and possibly less on drinks.   please note, if you pick the free dining package you only get one entrée,  everything else you pay ala carte.   I have never experienced this on other cruise lines. 

[ERIN123]

12 minutes ago, pretzels66 said:

please note, if you pick the free dining package you only get one entrée,  everything else you pay ala carte.   I have never experienced this on other cruise lines. 

 

Wow that's crazy! Other lines you get all the food you want for free. They really seem to nickel and dime you on NCL.

[senseib]

14 minutes ago, pretzels66 said:

  everything else you pay ala carte

 

Really?

[Buford T Justiice]

22 minutes ago, senseib said:

 

Really?

 

Specialty Dining Packages include one main course per person. Additional main courses will be charged at the a la carte price listed on the menu.

 

Additional sides should be free.

[Buford T Justiice]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 3:08 PM, ERIN123 said:

We are looking at booking without the current promo because not only do you have to pay $20 gratuity per person per day for the drinks package, but the actual cost of the cruise is higher on that option rather than with no "perks". I figure for the difference we can buy a 2-3 drinks a day and still save several hundred dollars.

 

What is the usual cost for a beer, glass of wine or highball? I have seen various pictures online of menus so I have an idea, but I don't know how up to date the prices are. 

 

Thanks

 

Coors light (16 oz.) is $6.95 plus gratuity or about $8.34

[Ronin23]

For an upcoming cruise on the Pearl, we didn’t get the Free at See promotion, however not because we chose the Sail Away rate, rather we got 50% off the second passenger. So while we didn’t get the perks this time, we still saved over $2000 so I can live with buying my drinks on a 14 day port intensive cruise.

 

And we still get to pick our cabin...

[cathi007]

On 1/8/2019 at 3:08 PM, ERIN123 said:

We are looking at booking without the current promo because not only do you have to pay $20 gratuity per person per day for the drinks package, but the actual cost of the cruise is higher on that option rather than with no "perks". I figure for the difference we can buy a 2-3 drinks a day and still save several hundred dollars.

 

What is the usual cost for a beer, glass of wine or highball? I have seen various pictures online of menus so I have an idea, but I don't know how up to date the prices are. 

 

Thanks

I was on the Gem two years ago and for 2 pina coladas I paid almost 30.00. If I drink 2 a day its well worth it

[Buford T Justiice]

Coors light (16 oz.) is $6.95 plus gratuity or about $8.34