Drinks package

[wolf7]

Looking at getting drinks package would it be better to get it the day after our arrival because if we have first day with our late boarding and drills may not get value for money first evening, other days won't be a problem.

Thanks wolf

[dgs1956]

Yes, Definitely.

[jeanlyon]

Have you really looked at the package?  It's £39.95 per person per day and both of you have to take it.  It doesn't include bottles of wine at the table.  You have to get through an awful lot to make it worthwhile especially if you have a lot of port days.

[majortom10]

Yes if you have decided to purchase it then I would buy it after breakfast on the first full day onboard. Only you know if it is value for money on what and how much you drink and if you think you will save money then go for it. My only advice is dont think you will be able to get 2-3 drinks whether it be wine or beer during dinner because you will be lucky. We were on Britannia 4th-18th and wine waiter asked if you wanted drinks at beginning of meal and never saw them again.

[jeanlyon]

Yes, I heard that happens.  We order a bottle and have it on the table so we can pour our own.

[AndyMichelle]

27 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Have you really looked at the package?  It's £39.95 per person per day and both of you have to take it.  It doesn't include bottles of wine at the table.  You have to get through an awful lot to make it worthwhile especially if you have a lot of port days.

We have just been discussing this with friends and came to the conclusion that it would be good value for them but not for us.

We like a drink, but our bar bill usually works out about £350/£400 for 7 nights where they would comfortably drink 5/6 cocktails each during the day plus wine with dinner and drinks after.

Each to their own.

Andy

[jeanlyon]

Very true.  We've just done 19 nights and our bill was £410 between us.  We have a drink in the bar before dinner and wine at the table.

[bazlin]

we dont cruise until feb and i would guess the bar prices will be put up by then so most people will take the package

[jeanlyon]

Not necessarily.  The package was available on our recent cruise and prices hadn't gone up at all.

[peteukmcr]

Well we're starting to budget for a 14 day transatlantic next year and based on prices quoted on here, the drinks package will be of value to us.

 

So over a day consuming (all costs approximate as I cannot find the latest prices)
 

1 coffee - £3.00

1 bottle of water (can't find the price for that)

1 beer at lunch - £4.25

1 soda in the afternoon - £2.85

2 G&T's pre dinner (bearing in mind these are UK single measures whereas on RCI and NCL they are far more generous measures as they are US based and the mixer is included) - £12.00

1 cocktail - £6.00

3 glasses of wine with/post dinner (equivalent of 1/2 bottle) - £13.50

1 post dinner cocktail/digestif - £4.00

 

Total 8 alcoholic beverages (so within the 15 limit) at an approximate cost of £45.60

 

Considering the number of sea days on a transatlantic where more non-alcoholic drinks will be consumed, it's even more cost effective.

 

Looks like we need to budget for the drinks package taking into consideration our OBC, making it around £35 per person per day which is the rough equivalent we can get the package on RCI (taking into consideration our loyalty discount) for larger measures and no limits on the number of alcoholic drinks per day.

Edited May 28, 2019 by peteukmcr

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, peteukmcr said:

Well we're starting to budget for a 14 day transatlantic next year and based on prices quoted on here, the drinks package will be of value to us.

 

So over a day consuming (all costs approximate as I cannot find the latest prices)
 

1 coffee - £3.00

1 bottle of water (can't find the price for that)

1 beer at lunch - £4.25

1 soda in the afternoon - £2.85

2 G&T's pre dinner (bearing in mind these are UK single measures whereas on RCI and NCL they are far more generous measures as they are US based and the mixer is included) - £12.00

1 cocktail - £6.00

3 glasses of wine with/post dinner (equivalent of 1/2 bottle) - £13.50

1 post dinner cocktail/digestif - £4.00

 

Total 8 alcoholic beverages (so within the 15 limit) at an approximate cost of £45.60

 

Considering the number of sea days on a transatlantic where more non-alcoholic drinks will be consumed, it's even more cost effective.

 

Looks like we need to budget for the drinks package taking into consideration our OBC, making it around £35 per person per day which is the rough equivalent we can get the package on RCI (taking into consideration our loyalty discount) for larger measures and no limits on the number of alcoholic drinks per day.

Be very wary about counting drinks during dinner or after dinner drinks in MDR i.e. port or brandy. On our recent cruise on Britannia we only ever saw the wine waiter once at the start of the meal asking if we wanted drinks and he never returned to see if anyone wanted more or any after dinner drinks. Cynically I could say that they are told not to keep coming to dinner table especially those on drinks packages and therefore increasing profits for P&O.

[peteukmcr]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

Be very wary about counting drinks during dinner or after dinner drinks in MDR i.e. port or brandy. On our recent cruise on Britannia we only ever saw the wine waiter once at the start of the meal asking if we wanted drinks and he never returned to see if anyone wanted more or any after dinner drinks. Cynically I could say that they are told not to keep coming to dinner table especially those on drinks packages and therefore increasing profits for P&O.

Thanks, but if there are service issues then I will have no hesitation to go out of the dining room to get refills from the nearest bar which I have done on other lines when service has been lacking during my dinner. I will not sit night after night and accept 1 drinks service. I have only had issues on 1 ship with 1 cruise line regarding service at 1 dinner and have had beverage packages on numerous sailings and cruise lines over many years.  My first point of contact will, and has been the head waiter, from there it is escalated if he/she does not resolve the issue. If this is an issue on P&O, trust me, as the other cruise lines learnt, official complaints will be lodged and compensation sought if service does not improve. 

Edited May 28, 2019 by peteukmcr

[P-L-B]

4 hours ago, peteukmcr said:

Well we're starting to budget for a 14 day transatlantic next year and based on prices quoted on here, the drinks package will be of value to us.

 

So over a day consuming (all costs approximate as I cannot find the latest prices)
 

1 coffee - £3.00

1 bottle of water (can't find the price for that)

1 beer at lunch - £4.25

1 soda in the afternoon - £2.85

2 G&T's pre dinner (bearing in mind these are UK single measures whereas on RCI and NCL they are far more generous measures as they are US based and the mixer is included) - £12.00

1 cocktail - £6.00

3 glasses of wine with/post dinner (equivalent of 1/2 bottle) - £13.50

1 post dinner cocktail/digestif - £4.00

 

Total 8 alcoholic beverages (so within the 15 limit) at an approximate cost of £45.60

 

Considering the number of sea days on a transatlantic where more non-alcoholic drinks will be consumed, it's even more cost effective.

 

Looks like we need to budget for the drinks package taking into consideration our OBC, making it around £35 per person per day which is the rough equivalent we can get the package on RCI (taking into consideration our loyalty discount) for larger measures and no limits on the number of alcoholic drinks per day.

To honest the theoretical savings you quote would not be enough for me to take the £40.00 package.

 

I would much prefer to use my OBC and pay as you go for my drinks, avoiding any package restrictions.

 

We find purchasing full bottles of wine in the MDR more cost effective and convenient as the wine waiter leaves the bottle on your table to help yourself. The unfinished bottle is then brought to your table the following night.

 

Having said that I fully respect your decision.

Edited May 29, 2019 by P-L-B

[peteukmcr]

4 hours ago, P-L-B said:

To honest the theoretical savings you quote would not be enough for me to take the £40.00 package.

 

I would much prefer to use my OBC and pay as you go for my drinks, avoiding any package restrictions.

 

We find purchasing full bottles of wine in the MDR more cost effective and convenient as the wine waiter leaves the bottle on your table to help yourself. The unfinished bottle is then brought to your table the following night.

 

Having said that I fully respect your decision.

Thank you in respecting my decision.

[Selbourne]

10 hours ago, bazlin said:

we dont cruise until feb and i would guess the bar prices will be put up by then so most people will take the package

 

They would have to double or triple the prices for most people to even remotely consider that £80 per couple per day represented good value - and that’s before you take into account all the restrictions (no doubles, budget tonics etc). 

[Selbourne]

5 hours ago, P-L-B said:

To honest the theoretical savings you quote would not be enough for me to take the £40.00 package.

 

I would much prefer to use my OBC and pay as you go for my drinks, avoiding any package restrictions.

 

We find purchasing full bottles of wine in the MDR more cost effective and convenient as the wine waiter leaves the bottle on your table to help yourself. The unfinished bottle is then brought to your table the following night.

 

Having said that I fully respect your decision.

 

That’s our view as well. The restrictions alone are enough to put us off, but I would want a saving of 20% plus to warrant being tied to a package and there’s no way we would buy £100 worth of drinks a day!

 

i think that P&O are being quite canny insisting that people have to buy the package by the end of the first day as it creates a sense of urgency and people haven’t had the experience of a port day when they will realise that they won’t buy anywhere near as many drinks on the ship as they would during sea days. 

 

Also, I never understand how people think that the package ‘costs less because they have OBC to use’. This OBC is your own money, not P&O’s, and can be used for many other things such as Select Dining, in addition to buying drinks as you go, free of any package restrictions. 

 

I can see that the argument for taking a package may be more compelling for families with multiple children, as their soft drinks are included free of charge, but for the vast majority of couples I can see people regretting it. 

 

A couple I know were dead set on buying the package on Azura last year (their first cruise) and after a few debates I persuaded them not to. Even though they drink a lot more than us, and had a teenager with them, they were very grateful to me afterwards as they reckoned that even though they felt that they had drunk a lot, they would have been out of pocket by hundreds of pounds had they bought the package. 

 

 

[Brayman]

Am I clear on this package? If you have bought the package and are happily obtaining drinks on your package and then I come along to have a chat, are you not permitted to buy me a drink on your package?

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, Brayman said:

Am I clear on this package? If you have bought the package and are happily obtaining drinks on your package and then I come along to have a chat, are you not permitted to buy me a drink on your package?

No, it can only be used for the passenger who purchased it. That’s why cruise companies make everyone in the cabin buy one to stop sharing.

 

Doesn't stop someone buying you a drink the normal way by just charging it to their card 😀

[wowzz]

15 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

No, it can only be used for the passenger who purchased it. That’s why cruise companies make everyone in the cabin buy one to stop sharing.

 

Doesn't stop someone buying you a drink the normal way by just charging it to their card 😀

Not quite sure how that can be policed. If I have the drink package, use it to buy a drink, and then walk out of the bar and give it to a friend sitting by the pool, who will stop me?

I have no intention of buying a drink package, but if I did, I would be of the opinion that my £39.95 allows me 15 drinks per day. What I do with those drinks is my choice, and nothing to do with P&O.  

[Eglesbrech]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Not quite sure how that can be policed. If I have the drink package, use it to buy a drink, and then walk out of the bar and give it to a friend sitting by the pool, who will stop me?

I have no intention of buying a drink package, but if I did, I would be of the opinion that my £39.95 allows me 15 drinks per day. What I do with those drinks is my choice, and nothing to do with P&O.  

 

That’s just the rules and I think you would be surprised at how well they can police it given the CCTV all over the ship. 

 

Cruise lines sell the packages on the understanding that they are for individual use only. P& O state that “sharing of packages is not permitted” so if you pass on drinks you are breaking that contract and that is made clear when you buy it so does have something to do with P&O.

[majortom10]

Whilst I can see there might be an advantage of drinks packages on sea days for me personally I would get nowhere near the £80 per couple cost on port days so would always be a no from me.

[Clodia]

11 hours ago, peteukmcr said:

Thanks, but if there are service issues then I will have no hesitation to go out of the dining room to get refills from the nearest bar which I have done on other lines when service has been lacking during my dinner. I will not sit night after night and accept 1 drinks service. I have only had issues on 1 ship with 1 cruise line regarding service at 1 dinner and have had beverage packages on numerous sailings and cruise lines over many years.  My first point of contact will, and has been the head waiter, from there it is escalated if he/she does not resolve the issue. If this is an issue on P&O, trust me, as the other cruise lines learnt, official complaints will be lodged and compensation sought if service does not improve. 

I complained, politely, on Aurora because the first time I dined in the MDR I ordered a glass of wine and asked for a second one with my main course; when the main course arrived I had to hustle for a wine waiter and I didn't like that. The next day, the Head Wine Waiter took the trouble to talk to me at lunch, and the problem was rectified from then onward, with a second glass being brought each night I was in the MDR with my main course, and enquiries made as to whether or not I'd like a third glass.

There were never any problems in the Speciality dining restaurants being served with as much as you wanted.

The package was new to Aurora this cruise and I honestly think the problem was just "teething troubles" as staff were eager to rectify it.

[daiB]

33 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Whilst I can see there might be an advantage of drinks packages on sea days for me personally I would get nowhere near the £80 per couple cost on port days so would always be a no from me.

 

Well like many men I could drink £40+ of booze in a day quite easily. Certainly in my younger days. However I do not think that I could do this every day. And not every day in a 14+ night cruise. Even taking the soft drink element into consideration it would not happen. My wife on the other hand could not manage half of the £40 per. day allocation.

 

The restrictions would also be a major factor my preferred tipple would not be allowed. I have become very partial to an Anderson’s perfect serve, which is well outside the price limit.

[majortom10]

20 minutes ago, Clodia said:

I complained, politely, on Aurora because the first time I dined in the MDR I ordered a glass of wine and asked for a second one with my main course; when the main course arrived I had to hustle for a wine waiter and I didn't like that. The next day, the Head Wine Waiter took the trouble to talk to me at lunch, and the problem was rectified from then onward, with a second glass being brought each night I was in the MDR with my main course, and enquiries made as to whether or not I'd like a third glass.

There were never any problems in the Speciality dining restaurants being served with as much as you wanted.

The package was new to Aurora this cruise and I honestly think the problem was just "teething troubles" as staff were eager to rectify it.

Personally with what I saw on Britannia and dont know if it is fleet wide or just to that ship but the wine waiters seem to have too many tables to cover to have the time to come back asking if anyone wanted further drinks or after dinner drinks. The cabin steward told us that they have now been allocated 22 cabins to service on a daily basis twice a day with the exception with embarkation day when you do not get an evening service of your cabin. 

[P-L-B]

28 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Personally with what I saw on Britannia and dont know if it is fleet wide or just to that ship but the wine waiters seem to have too many tables to cover to have the time to come back asking if anyone wanted further drinks or after dinner drinks. The cabin steward told us that they have now been allocated 22 cabins to service on a daily basis twice a day with the exception with embarkation day when you do not get an evening service of your cabin. 

Yes, that’s been our experience during our recent cruises and it’s probably down to the reasons you point out.

 

Although to be honest it doesn’t cause us any major problems as we have our bottle of wine and my favourite tipple delivered to our table and we help ourselves.🥂