Drink package on RCL

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, lks1165 said:

How much do they charge you for a budweiser or Blue Moon (if they even have it)?

ty

 

 

Around $6 or $7 plus 18%.

[LAVCruiser]

As others have said, it really depends on what and how much you drink.  One thing we noticed on our first cruise five years ago (and this has been the case on every cruise we've taken since) is that we drink a LOT of bottled water.  You need to stay hydrated and with the wind blowing and the warmer temperatures, you will need more water than you think.  For us, it makes sense to buy the case of water that is delivered to our stateroom and waiting for us when we got on board.  Then we are sure to bring our thermal tumblers, which the buffet staff are more than happy to fill up with ice for us at any time.  We also bring the allotted two bottles of wine.  And we buy the 10-punch drink card if it's offered.  You might try going without the package for a couple cruises, adding it all up at the end to see if the drink package would have been a better deal, and then making future decisions based on that.

[LH84]

We've been quoted $90 plus 18% gratuities so that is nearly the price of the cruise. Can it seriously cost that much?! 

[LB_NJ]

48 minutes ago, LAVCruiser said:

 And we buy the 10-punch drink card if it's offered.  

 

What is the 10-punch drink card? 

 

Don't remember seeing it on our cruise.

 

The full package does not make sense for us however between us we would definitely do 10 drinks during a 7 or 8 night cruise.

[Clarea]

37 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

 

What is the 10-punch drink card? ...

 

It's a physical punch card that is sometimes sold onboard.  Good for 10 cocktails, same limit as used by the Deluxe Beverage Package.  Can be shared.

[scottbee]

I bought it on a 14-day transatlantic cruise.

 

DAY 1:  Yipee, I'm on vacation ! - paid for itself

DAY 2: Yipee, I'm on vacation ! - paid for itself

DAY 3: I'll just have a water

 

While I can make the drink package pay for itself on some days (5-6 drinks/day), I just can't drink enough, 14 days in a row

 

Also, now I'm diamond, which includes the lounge for a few hours in the afternoon/evening, which makes it even less worthwhile.

 

As others point out, it really depends on how much your normally drink.

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, LH84 said:

We've been quoted $90 plus 18% gratuities so that is nearly the price of the cruise. Can it seriously cost that much?! 

I have never seen it even close to that high. What ship and sailing? Is that for two people?

[Tree_skier]

I have found that the package is well worth it for me.  On my last Adventure of the seas cruise in Dec I was tracking my drinks on a spread sheet and by midday day 4 it was obvious to me that I was coming out way ahead so I quit tracking.  I enjoy a fresh OJ in the morning.  It is vastly superior to the orange juice  they serve in the WJ. I will get at least one latte usually two.  Add to that at least 4 bottles of water and a couple of soda's and it doesn't take a much drinking to get over the break even point.

 

EDIT: I just looked back over that spread sheet and I was $140 ahead by day 4 and I don't even think I counted everything on that 4th day.

Edited January 9, 2020 by Tree_skier

[Laura925]

21 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I have never seen it even close to that high. What ship and sailing? Is that for two people?

no each per day, we have been told that is the on board price and can possible expect a discount in our account however it is gamble as to what level of discount. this is on the Symphony in Sept 2020. We sailed Allure 3 years ago and had some offers in our account when I logged in but they did differ to other peoples. I don't mind added costs when I know exactly what they are! 

[snaefell]

On 1/9/2020 at 7:33 PM, Laura925 said:

no each per day, we have been told that is the on board price and can possible expect a discount in our account however it is gamble as to what level of discount. this is on the Symphony in Sept 2020. We sailed Allure 3 years ago and had some offers in our account when I logged in but they did differ to other peoples. I don't mind added costs when I know exactly what they are! 

Having previously said that we were looking at over £1100 for our 12 night cruise which we decided was too much when we got on board we tried again,my Wife drinks,I don't,she was quoted £700 for her drink package,I was quoted somehwat less for a refreshment package but given that I don't drink coffee or soda it was still paying for something I wouldn't use.
Between making drinks in our cabin,the drinks included at Windjammer & buying drinks from the bar as & when we wanted it worked out far cheaper for us not to have one.

[tazntom]

On 1/7/2020 at 4:14 PM, Mugiwara said:

We did it previously, and are doing it on our next cruise, but only after making an assessment if it would be a good value for us.

 

We looked at where our currency was going as related to the USD, got the most current drink price list from Royal Carribean Blog, translated it to CAD and ran it through a spreadsheet where we estimated what we expected to be drinking vs what we'd be looking at if we were buying a la carte.  

 

We purchased our package when it was offered at 30% off.  Full price would not have been worth our while but that offer got us past the break even point, so it made sense.  The thing about the package is that it includes fancy coffees and bottled water.  This is really handy for shore excursion days - people generally don't drink enough water at the best of times and having a few bottles with me going out in the sun has been a real life saver.  Going through 5-6 bottles in a day is pretty normal for me, so that's almost $20.00 a day by itself.  Add a couple of lattes, a glass or two of wine at dinner and the happy hour cocktail and I'm pretty much there.

yeah we did  drink package this cruise the price came down to $45 USD a while back so we jumped on it. We are diamond members so we get a few free drinks each night which skewed the numbers a little, but on sea days the drinks can add up and fresh squeezed juice with breakfast and as you said water to take both to your room and on excursions. It's funny last time I got the package I wound up drinking a soda everyday (I don't usually have soda unless there's Captain Morgan in it.🛳😎

[fur4elise]

We buy the Deluxe package. Just like others, if I did a total break down we more than break even. No, we are not heavy alcohol drinkers, but we do like variety. For this upcoming cruise, we prepaid and got a nicely discounted total for 2 people plus VOOM for 2 devices. We like the convenience, we don't have to nickel and dime or worry about a large tab on the other side. 😉

[Roybthered]

On 1/9/2020 at 4:10 PM, LH84 said:

We've been quoted $90 plus 18% gratuities so that is nearly the price of the cruise. Can it seriously cost that much?! 

 

What cruise is that on and who quoted it? Log onto your account on RCI and see what they are offering, if you think it is reasonable and want it then go for it. If you keep going onto your account and see it at a better rate then cancel and rebook at the better price (there is no problem doing this). We are on Anthem for 12 nights on 1st Nov 2020 and will be getting the deluxe package and the reason is this:

A couple of coffee's in the morning, Fresh OJ with breakfast, a Pina colada or two throughout the day by the pool, pre dinner drinks, wine at the table and a couple of drinks at a show. 

Now thats not going over the top just a chilled day on your cruise and not having to worry about work etc as you are on holiday. We only have two ports of call, so for us it is well worth the cost and we don't have to worry about a bill at the end as it has all been sorted prior to our cruise even beginning. Like others have said if you feel like a drink you have never tried and don't like it then you can put it down and get another without worrying about the cost as you have already paid. 

When we go on a cruise I don't want to have to be worrying about paying this or that out, I want to go enjoy myself and make memories.

Enjoy your cruise.