how much was your pay as you go booze tab?

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, clo said:

Would it be cheaper to just build a pool in your backyard...if you never go ashore 🙂

I do have a pool in my back yard but I can't use it right now.😀

[KnowTheScore]

In all fairness our bill at the end of a cruise these days is tiny.  Sometimes less than £100.   We make good use of our OBC which comes from 3 sources, booking on-board, OBC for the actual cruise itself and Carnival share holding.

 

We're not penny pinchers by any means and in years gone by we used to regularly have a bill of a few hundred.  It's just that these days with everything now changed and dumbed down and no longer particularly special, we don't engage in the activities we used to.   We've not big drinkers from the outset but we used to have a regular routine of a decadent pre-dinner drink in certain ship's bars, doing a little people watching and having canapés that were freely given.  We'd have a bottle of wine at the dining table and then maybe after dinner one or more drinks elsewhere.  By day we used to sit out on prom decks in lovely full length steamer chairs and order cocktails or other drinks.   Now the steamer chairs are gone, we no longer use the prom deck as a result and so don't buy cocktails. 

 

There are different ways to attract drinking revenue on ships.  You can steer things more like a local pub back home and attract lots of regular drinkers or you can steer things like a sophisticated wine bar with ambience and an aura of decadence about it that will attract less regular drinkers who will enjoy a more "special" experience. 

 

In terms of the drinks packages you are trying to weigh up it all depends on the specific package and your own lifestyle.

P&O have recently introduced some drinks packages and for it to be worth the money for someone I notionally calculate that they would need to be buying maybe 8 drinks a day to make it worth while.   I think that's a lot TBH but then I'm not a drinker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Warm Breezes]

Usually, if we have no alcohol package promo (NCL) or Drinks on us Casino Promo (Carnival) our alcohol doesn't come over $100 total for the 2 of us on a 5-7 night cruise.  We may get 1-2  drinks per day and usually share them.  

[idraconis]

It really depends on what and how much you drink. Higher end booze cost more and of course lower end cheaper. For example, you have the drink of the day, few beers buy the pool, an afternoon cocktail, before dinner cocktail, wine at dinner,after dinner drinks and the night cap. It could be $50 to $70, more or less. If your a big drinker or buying rounds for people  it'll be a lot more. Been on 13 cruises and my first 9 (before the packages) my bar taps ranged between $700 and $900. To answer you query, I have spent more than what a package would cost me. 

[Joebucks]

We have rarely broken $300, even factoring in carry-on drinks, and drinks at port. Being able to bring 2 bottles of wine on is very nice, no matter how many people huff and puff at how it inconveniences them. It's nice to drink when you want vs sucking down as much sugar as possible to get "your monies" worth. I also love the gift shops and bars at ports that sell beer for about $2 a bottle. Finally, on Carnival, I can buy a 1 liter bottle of Whisky for about $120. That will last me the whole vacation, and is the majority of what I drink. I will buy a few cocktails or margaritas as a treat when I want something different.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we were just on Regal Princess - no drink package, but $300 of non-refundable OBC to burn through.

for the 5 of us - DH and I had 1-2 mixed alcoholic drinks each per day, for my dad - one beer a day, for mom - one fancy coffee a day, for the kid - one or two sodas a day. We spent $250 on a 7-day cruise, and I still had to buy something on the last night of the cruise so that $50 didn't go to waste.

So glad we didn't spend money on a package because we'd never be able to drink enough to even break even.

[jwattle]

Well, I'm ready for the flames...We enjoy ourselves on a cruise, and average (alcohol AND NON $75+ pp per day). We are now quite happy with the packages. Happier that we get them included. HAPPIEST that all of our next cruises are on Princess with Best. Sale. Ever.

We do not get drunk; I emphasize that this includes non-alcoholic drinks throughout the day; lattes, lots of bottled water, fresh squeezed juices, decently high end bottle of wine with dinner...

[pacruise804]

21 hours ago, clo said:

Only non-alcoholic. And if you take your own wine to dinner there's a $25 corkage fee.

 

Many lines don't charge corkage if you only bring a glass with you rather than the whole bottle.  Viking (similar level to Oceania) offers complimentary beer and house wine with lunch and dinner.

 

 

17 hours ago, clo said:

Would it be cheaper to just build a pool in your backyard...if you never go ashore 🙂

 

The backyard pool doesn't have trivia, someone to cook and do dishes for me, or a rock climbing wall/ropes course/mini golf 😉 

[clo]

43 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

The backyard pool doesn't have trivia, someone to cook and do dishes for me, or a rock climbing wall/ropes course/mini golf 😉 

Except for SOME of the cooking, none of those things hold any appeal to me. LOL.

[pacruise804]

OP, I realize I didn't answer your question 😳

 

We are only moderate drinkers so only had a package twice: once on NCL when it was included and that clinched alcohol packages rarely make sense for us, again on Princess (I think we were on the same cruise?) when we got the Bubbles package but again it really didn't work since much of what they implied was included wasn't.

 

On a heavy for us 7 day cruise with drinking we might spend $400 between two of us.  I have seen enough drinking threads to know there are many who do "break even" or better with the package and it really depends on the package and your drinking style.

 

We have 2 cruises booked this year: a 9 day we will pay as we go and probably spend $400-500 including on shore, and a 12 day where we are getting a $20 per day package (each) so $480 and probably won't quite break even but are making an exception since it could be close.

[Mike981]

Seven day Caribbean easily $800 - $1,000 for two. And that is even when someone snuck some booze in our luggage.

 

Rascals.

[janetz]

First cruise so long ago, with many friends

Paid as we went, around 1400.00 🤫

[MandyMooToo]

I truly cannot remember spending more than a couple hundred dollars on alcohol before the drink packages came along, I always hated thought of a huge bill at the end of the cruise (what we did spend was mostly on frozen drinks by the pool).  We always get the packages now as it is just easier.  There is never have a bill to worry about and I feel like I can get a drink when I want without that feel of "How much is my bar tab?!  Are you sure?!" 

 

My parents, who are admittedly big drinkers, got the sticker shock of their lives when they got their bill the last night of their first cruise.  It was several years ago, just before the dawn of drink packages, when my mom did a double take at their final tally.  It came out to over $1800!  She said they had an excursion on there too but the rest was alcohol...which meant they nearly drank as much as they spent on the cruise.  I was finally able to convince them to cruise again last year and she immediately got them the drink package and went on about what a bargain the $700 and some change was😆

[JanineM]

We sailed with friends several years ago and their liquor tab was over $1,400. He ordered bottles of Bailey's for the room to have with their coffee first thing in the morning, then that led to Bloodies for breakfast, beer at 11 am, martinis at 4, wine with dinner and if anyone was still standing, a nightcap after dinner. She also bought rounds for groups of people. They were a LOT of fun - but he didn't always make it to dessert.

 

On the other hand, our largest bar bill has been about $600 for a 12-night TA. If we don't have a drinks package I'll pre-order wine for the room and we sail on Celebrity so tend to take advantage of the Captain's Club lounge ... 

[dreadpirate3]

We spend about $50 a day on the ship for drinks, some days less. I rarely drink more than 1 alcoholic drink per day.

[lindsay0526]

We leave next week so I can give you a total then, but this is what I have estimated:

 

Cheers would have been $306.50pp or $613 for DH and myself even if I prepaid and that price included the automatic gratuity.I did a quick math of likely drinks we would order (and gave us a generous *for us* quantity) and also picked above-ish average priced options:

Embarkation Day: 2 drinks (9.50), dinner: wine (10.50), double espresso w/dessert (2.25), evening cocktail (11)

     Daily Total: 42.75 + 7.70 gratuity= $50.45

Port Days: specialty coffee (3.50), dinner: wine (10.50), double espresso w/dessert (2.25), evening cocktail (11)

     Daily Total: 27.25 + 4.91 gratuity= $32.16

Sea Days: specialty coffee (3.50), 3 drinks (9.50), dinner: wine (10.50), double espresso w/dessert (2.25), evening cocktail (11)

     Daily Total: 55.75 + 10.04 gratuity= $65.79

 

Our trip is 5 days (1 embarkation day, 2 port days and 2 sea days)- $246.35pp or 492.70 for DH and myself and I honestly don't think we will drink this many drinks nor do I think we will get a specialty coffee every morning (I think we will likely be about $150-200pp, which is $200-300 less than paying outright for Cheers), but it's nice to look at it and see that even if we decide to indulge a little more we won't be breaking the bank. 

[MicCanberra]

Have never spent more than the package on any cruise on any line. We like a drink or four but between the perks on some lines and bringing on a couple of bottles of wine, we rarely even surpass $50 per day for a couple.

Last cruise being a 6 day cruise with 3 port days, we had the 2 wine bottles and a mini bar set up, so only bought a few beers and water, total price $75 for the cruise for both of us.

[OzKiwiJJ]

On a 35 night Princess cruise lat year we averaged AU$55 pp per day despite having a few expensive bottles of wine. The Australian drinks package price is AU$87. 

 

The other advantage of not having a drinks package is that you aren't restricted to a limited selection of wines by the glass. In some ways this is more important to us than the money saved.

Edited February 21, 2020 by OzKiwiJJ

[evandbob]

In 17 years of cruising, I have not spent a penny on booze for myself.  ZERO.  I don't even order alcohol when I have free drinks coming my way via loyalty coupons or casino perks..

 

On occasion, I would pop for drinks for others.

Edited February 21, 2020 by evandbob

[K32682]

4 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The other advantage of not having a drinks package is that you aren't restricted to a limited selection of wines by the glass. In some ways this is more important to us than the money saved.

 

This is what deters me from the drinks package too.  Our total spend per day is at or slightly above the drinks package but only because we sometimes prefer finer wines and spirits that aren't on the package.  If I parse out the good stuff the drinks package wouldn't make economic sense.  

 

The other aspect of the drinks package is that it is an incentive to consume more than you might otherwise to make it worthwhile or to tolerate lesser brands.  I'd rather drink what I want when I want instead of tossing them back just to meet a "quota." 

[D&L Thomas]

To test the theory, try putting the amount of the drinks package on your account in the form of gift cards or cash. For example on Princess it would be $70 per per person per day. Then at the end of the cruise see if you would have done better with or without.

That said - the current Best Sale Ever on Princess with unlimited wifi, gratuities, and drinks package is a great deal especially on our upcoming 32 day cruise. 😊