Beverage packages on Princess

[seasickgirl]

We are trying to decide whether it is better to purchase the beverage package.  Any ideas?

[Shmoo here]

44 minutes ago, seasickgirl said:

We are trying to decide whether it is better to purchase the beverage package.  Any ideas?

Depends on what types of drinks  you drink and what kind of package you purchase.

[Colo Cruiser]

53 minutes ago, seasickgirl said:

We are trying to decide whether it is better to purchase the beverage package.  Any ideas?

Only you would know that.

The Premium Beverage Package @$70 per day is crazy expensive and each individual with the package would need to drink a lot to justify it.

[Thrak]

I absolutely love the beverage package - when it's included as a perk. There is no way I will pay for it. I really do love the freedom to stop in Vines in the evening for a glass of good wine. I love stopping in the bar for a drink or my wife snagging a beer out by the aft pool and not having to thing about the cost. Having the drinks included is a fantastic feeling of freedom. However, paying $71 per person per day isn't for us. We can't afford it so we simply drink less when we don't have the package as an included perk. Works for us. Others have more disposable income and gladly pay for the package. We would rather add on another cruise (or two) instead. The bottom line is, as always, whether the package is a good buy for you. We have great cruises both with the package (as a perk) and without the package.

 

Note: The 24k Gold Margarita - on the rocks, in a rocks glass, without salt on the rim - is wonderful. 🥃

Edited July 4, 2019 by Thrak

[paul929207]

The answer is up to you. Some people drink enough to make it a good deal. Others do not.

 

Like Thrak, we do not drink enough to make it worth purchasing. However, it is great when we get it as a perk thru a Sip & Sail event.

[skynight]

Premium Beverage Package? One rule of thumb is 6 to 7 alcoholic drinks per day to break even, and consider the non-alcoholic beverages as a bonus.

[kywildcatfanone]

All of the drink packages are hugely overpriced.  But, if you want the convenience of having them available to you, then that is up to you. 

[Iamcruzin]

We have paid for drink packages on other lines because the average price for a glass of wine or cocktail is about $10. $50 plus gratuity is our limit to come out a head of the game with specially coffee and water in addition to spirited drinks. At $70 a day I would n't even be able to consume enough liquids to break even. The drink packages have worked out for us on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean just on the fact that everything on those lines including water and coffee are over priced. On our recent sailing on Anthem I paid $49 plus grats for a deluxe drink package and $17 plus grats for a refreshment package which included every except alcohol. A glass of fresh squeezed orange juice was $8.25. My 2 or 3 a day blended coffees were $4.50 each plus I drank sparkling water most of the day. It didn't take long to break even on the $17. DW  had no problem spending $50 a day either. I wouldn't even consider buying the drink package on Princess.

[BeinKc]

Does Princess ever put the package on sale?   

[voljeep]

20 minutes ago, BeinKc said:

Does Princess ever put the package on sale?   

"FREE" - during the current promotion - Sip-N-Sail

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, BeinKc said:

Does Princess ever put the package on sale?   

Princess has never had a sale on the purchase price of the package.

They do offer it once a year as a perk for those booking from North America.

Apparently they're currently also offering as a perk for those booking from the UK also - according to a recent CC post 

[Colo Cruiser]

1 hour ago, BeinKc said:

Does Princess ever put the package on sale?   

No.

[paul929207]

No discounts for the Beverage Package. It is available as  a perk during the S&S promotion which is currently going on

[jangor]

Again, the answer is how much do you drink while on a cruise?  Some people drink little or maybe several alcoholic drinks per day.  Some people figure "I am on vacation" or have a high tolerance for alcohol.  Let your body be your guide.

[Laurie S.]

We just booked today on Golden Princess for next May and were very happy to see the beverage promotion as a bonus.

[suekel]

I base it depending on the number of port days.  Alaska 7 day-no.  Transatlantic with 9 sea days-yes.  Caribbean 10 day, probably since at a few of the ports I stay on the ship and hang out around the pool and we as a rule, don't get up as early which means we can have later nights. 

[Tucker in Texas]

The sip'n sail "free" perk is not always free.  I priced out a cruise January 3, 2020 down the west coast for $1,600, aft for a chosen balcony cabin.  The sip'n sail went in a day later--price for same cabin was $1,900.  I called to see if I could get the cabin without the sip'n sail since DH does not drink.  NO!  The promotion will run out July 23 and I'll be interested to see if the price goes down.  It might not as the cruise is selling well and there will be no need to reduce the price from Princess' standpoint.

[Coral]

32 minutes ago, Tucker in Texas said:

The sip'n sail "free" perk is not always free.  I priced out a cruise January 3, 2020 down the west coast for $1,600, aft for a chosen balcony cabin.  The sip'n sail went in a day later--price for same cabin was $1,900.  I called to see if I could get the cabin without the sip'n sail since DH does not drink.  NO!  The promotion will run out July 23 and I'll be interested to see if the price goes down.  It might not as the cruise is selling well and there will be no need to reduce the price from Princess' standpoint.

Actually you can. Who told you couldn't:

 

https://book.princess.com/pdf/onesource/pc/sales_marketing/Promotions & LTO/PC_Sip+Sail_At_A_Glance_Final_FINAL.pdf  

 

Just have them reference the promo code. 

Edited July 5, 2019 by Coral

[crystalspin]

14 hours ago, voljeep said:

"FREE" - during the current promotion - Sip-N-Sail

Note, only for cabins that have a balcony. For the first time this year, Insides and Oceanviews get a non-alcoholic package. 

 

The base rate for our 2020 Alaska trip actually went down from the previous promotion (grats and OBC) we had. As such it "paid" for DH and me to re-fare, but not for my Sister and BIL: they don't drink enough and won't for health reasons. The OBC they got on the previous promo (which was oddly just like 3-for-free but was not called that) will cover their drinks and then some, and the increased fare at that time was less than the gratuities it paid.

 

But you have to do the math for your own situation with every promotion or "Sale".

[OzKiwiJJ]

The downside to the beverage package is that you are restricted to wines by the glass and there are two problems with this:

1. There may not be a good selection of the type of wines you like to drink. I haven't been on a cruise with the new wine lists yet but on the old wine list we found the selection was very limited.

2. You may not be able to get your wine when you want it. On one cruise we did a couple of years ago our dinner waiters were appallingly slow. We usually managed to get one glass of wine at the start of dinner but getting a second glass was a challenge. We stopped getting the drinks package after this cruise. 

 

You also have to allow for port days, especially if your calculated number of alcoholic drinks includes drinks with lunch or afternoon cocktails. 

[kywildcatfanone]

Prices fluctuate in the promo time frame, and no, it's not free.  Someone is paying for it.

[memoak]

7 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The downside to the beverage package is that you are restricted to wines by the glass and there are two problems with this:

1. There may not be a good selection of the type of wines you like to drink. I haven't been on a cruise with the new wine lists yet but on the old wine list we found the selection was very limited.

2. You may not be able to get your wine when you want it. On one cruise we did a couple of years ago our dinner waiters were appallingly slow. We usually managed to get one glass of wine at the start of dinner but getting a second glass was a challenge. We stopped getting the drinks package after this cruise. 

 

You also have to allow for port days, especially if your calculated number of alcoholic drinks includes drinks with lunch or afternoon cocktails. 

The plan also gives you a 25% discount on bottles of wine under &100

[PMGS247]

As someone else pointed out it's like 6-8 alcoholic drinks to break even..a little less depending on how much you take advantage of the non-alcoholic drinks that are included as well.

 

It does go on "sale" as with the current sip n sail promotion available on many future sailings.  As a general rule the fare is higher than the base but less so than if you bought the base fare and then added the package after, so it is still a good deal but in most cases it is far from "free".  When sip n sail comes off, in most cases the fare will go back down by an amount slightly less than the full price of the beverage package.  You can only ever say "most cases" or "general rule" on this topic because every sailing is different based on supply & demand.  Unlike RCI's stock-market like cruise planner with package & excursion prices going up and down almost daily, princess prices are pretty well static and it will not go on sale again once the sip n sail promotion is done.

 

I generally recommend it to anyone who feels like they will come close to the break even point, especially if your go to beverage is liquor and/or wine.  Most people underestimate the amount they will drink, especially when you consider the weak drinks & not-so-generous pours you will receive on board.  Makes it really easy to rack up the drink count.  Even if you come up a little short the peace of mind not getting a bill at the end and freedom of knowing you can order whatever you want whenever you want during your trip is worth something.  It can be quite cringe inducing to shell out $9 for weak drink after weak drink, each time dreading that paper that gets slid under your door at the end of the trip but when you've got the package it's no problem - keep em coming bartender!  I'm not saying everyone should do it, but if you can see yourself at 4-6 drinks per day, that's right on the border and it might be worth considering.

[BeinKc]

I called today to see if I could upgrade my existing cruise reservation (Feb 2020, 10 Day Southern Caribbean) from the inside room to a balcony and then get the "sip and sail promo".  The price was shocking to say the least.  

 

We are currently booked on a casino offer, so this cruise cost us under 500.00 total for two (inside room).  For us to upgrade this to a balcony and get the promo included it would end up costing us about 3,000.00 more.  That makes me think that the promo really does jack up the cruise price, thus making it a little more than "Free".

[Coral]

I used to like the soda and more package. They definitely got their moneys worth out of me on that as I liked it for the convenience but only used it for Mocktails. I won't buy the new ones. So they lost a sale.