RCL drink package best price?

[ojan0010]

Hi all, I apologize in advance if this has been discussed. I have a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise booked for January. Royal is currently offering BOGO 50% off the drink package. This deal was also offered on embarkation day on my last cruise. Is this the best price offered, has anyone seen a better deal, wait for Black Friday?

 

Thanks!

[Clarea]

Disregard any percentage figures touted by Royal, they are meaningless.  Just go by the actual price.

[HBE4]

As Bob noted, Royal gets pretty creative with their percentage off math and often times, two "different" sales will have the same total dollar cost, such as 25% off vs BOGO 50% off.

 

Buy at a cost you feel comfortable with and you can always cancel & reorder if you find a lower price.

 

There is another thread regarding Black Friday sales and it seems to be a mix of experiences - some report better prices, others do not.

[awestover89]

If you want the package, buy it. You can always refund and rebuy if the price drops later, but if you wait and the price goes up you can't go back and get the earlier price.

 

I've had cruises where the drink package went as low as $39 a day, and cruises where I never once saw it drop below $63 a day. One cruise for next year has been $82 per day since the day I booked the cruise 

[HBE4]

13 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

I've had cruises where the drink package went as low as $39 a day, and cruises where I never once saw it drop below $63 a day. One cruise for next year has been $82 per day since the day I booked the cruise 

 

Yikes! Is someone holding the glass for me as I drink while simultaneously  get a shoulder rub?

 

Between $50, give or take a few dollars, is my usual cutoff point.  Tough to see the "sale" price dropping that low from $82.

Edited November 6, 2019 by HBE4

[awestover89]

On 11/6/2019 at 1:00 PM, HBE4 said:

 

Yikes! Is someone holding the glass for me as I drink while simultaneously  get a shoulder rub?

 

Between $50, give or take a few dollars, is my usual cutoff point.  Tough to see the "sale" price dropping that low from $82.

 

The $82 is on the inaugural Odyssey of the Seas cruise next November. Possibly a placeholder since it's the first scheduled cruise of the ship, or maybe priced high for real for the same reason. 

 

It also doesn't mention any sale at all, so if they do something like a BOGO 50 in theory that would make it $62 or so, which is about on par with the next highest I've seen.

[LB_NJ]

It is currently $48 + grat. on a trip I am booked on

[lusyrsgirl]

My 7 day in March is priced at $51 right now - I paid $48 a couple of months ago when it went on sale.

 

[Leeba25]

For my spring break trip, it’s been hovering between $61-65 per person, which is a bit high for me. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens on Black Friday! 

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

It is currently $48 + grat. on a trip I am booked on

Ditto for me on my next two. Dec 1 on Adventure and May 5 on Radiance.  The others after that are either high or don’t list a price yet. 

[Sherri914]

1 hour ago, Leeba25 said:

For my spring break trip, it’s been hovering between $61-65 per person, which is a bit high for me. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens on Black Friday! 

Ours next November has been sitting at "20% off" (which means it's showing for $65) since we booked months ago.  Hasn't budged off that $65 number.  Since it's still over a year off, I'm doubting I'll see any sale on black friday or cyber monday either, but i sure can hope it moves.  I won't pay the $65.  

[NRWPA]

I found the beverage package @ $47 several weeks prior to my upcoming Adventure cruise. Booked someone else to the cabin several days later and he originally had to pay $52. I kept checking every day and when it went down to $48, cancelled and re-booked for him - and am still checking every day. Currently my Independence cruise next year is priced at $57. I am not going to book at that price even though I can cancel later.

 

UPDATE: just looked a minute ago and price is now back at $52. AND my Independence cruise price is now $61

Edited November 8, 2019 by NRWPA

[reney313]

Our next cruise is a short 3 day on Mariner as a respite from Disney.  It's been years since I've been on a short cruise and well before Drink packages were introduced.  Does anyone have experience with those short cruises getting sales on the drink packages?  It would make more sense for Royal to discount on a longer cruise, but maybe they don't price it that way?

[starrcards]

Beverage packages just showed up for our Empress July 2020 New England Canada cruise. It's been almost a year since I've cruised RCCL and longer than that since I bought beverage packages. Deluxe package is $55 and refreshment (for my wife) is $28.  I see in this thread where people are happy with $48 for the deluxe package. What prices have people seen for the refreshment package.

[rigs32]

I just paid $45/day for the Rhapsody Thanksgiving cruise.  I’m wondering if it’s been low because they haven’t sold many, which is probably because the number of kids will be high.  But I thought that price was reasonable.

[MississippiMom]

Our June 2020 sailing currently has the deluxe beverage package at $55 per day.  I have seen it as high as $65 per day.

[vacationlover_mn]

Ignore the %, and pay attention to the daily rate they quote.  Prices go up and down all of the time.  On my Feb cruise, I got $54, but current price is $65

[HBE4]

4 hours ago, rigs32 said:

I just paid $45/day for the Rhapsody Thanksgiving cruise.  I’m wondering if it’s been low because they haven’t sold many, which is probably because the number of kids will be high.  But I thought that price was reasonable.

 

It's very reasonable.  Anything under $50 is a good deal in my book.

 

It does seem that the older, smaller ships generally have better prices, probably because there are not as many bars. I've heard of people getting $38/day on Grandeur, although that might have been a year or so ago.  Also, as you mentioned, if there are a lot of families & kids on the cruise, maybe not as many packages are being sold.

[Nextcruise42]

 I paid $45 for anthem in January 2020. Oasis in Oct is $59. I'm waiting for black Friday.

[Casino Comp Chick]

$18.00.

Thank you to the bad typing intern.
😂

[Ex-Airbalancer]

They should make a sticky for all beverage package questions 

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, Airbalancer said:

They should make a sticky for all beverage package questions 

 

Agreed.

 

It definitely would get more action than the Meet&Mingle Door Signs sticky thread.

 

Add a filterable spreadsheet capability like the Cabin Review thread, and it would go a long way to reducing the beverage package question threads.

 

In my opinion.

[ptod]

On 11/10/2019 at 11:56 AM, starrcards said:

Deluxe package is $55 and refreshment (for my wife) is $28.  I see in this thread where people are happy with $48 for the deluxe package. What prices have people seen for the refreshment package.

The best price for the refreshment package I have seen this year is $22pppd.  I think that is the new normal low price.  I will be curious to see what, if any, savings can be had on Black Friday/Cyber Monday this year.  It is a crap shoot since not all sales affect all sailings.