Ability to cancel drink and dining packages

[lhsail]

Just booked our first Royal cruise in some time so I apologize if this seems like a stupid question. Today I received an email offering substantial discounts on beverage and dining packages. I assume I can cancel these at a later date if I change my mind, but want to be sure. Thanks for the help. 

[molly361]

Just now, lhsail said:

Just booked our first Royal cruise in some time so I apologize if this seems like a stupid question. Today I received an email offering substantial discounts on beverage and dining packages. I assume I can cancel these at a later date if I change my mind, but want to be sure. Thanks for the help. 

Yes I believe you can cancel up to 3 days before sailing

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, lhsail said:

Today I received an email offering substantial discounts on beverage and dining

Most of the time those "sales" are fake, in that the price has not really moved much. You can even cancel on board for OBC.

[kokopelli-az]

If you do book a package, check their website often.  Prices change frequently.      If you find a better deal, just cancel your booked package and rebook at the better price.  

[LB_NJ]

Did this recently and RCL said 30-45 days for the refund.

[Hogbay]

8 hours ago, molly361 said:

Yes I believe you can cancel up to 3 days before sailing

2 days before sail date 100% refund once on board credit to your account and pay full price of what you have used 😇

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/beverage-package-cancellation-policy

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, LB_NJ said:

Did this recently and RCL said 30-45 days for the refund.

I’ve found that it has been around 10 days if you cancel the cruise planner purchases.  Just did a cancellation on Dec 24th and had the refund the first week of January.  It is longer getting money back for cruise planner purchases if Royal cancels your sailing. 

[texmex.ferr]

24 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

Did this recently and RCL said 30-45 days for the refund.

I did a Lift & Shift before Christmas, and cancelled my cruise planner purchases, and monies were transferred to Card within 7 days.

 

 

[lhsail]

Appreciate all the input. Our offer right now is $50/person/day plus gratuity. I’m not even sure we want it, but am inclined to lock it in since I can cancel. We’re mostly wine drinkers so we’ve also talked about the dining package which gives us 40% off all bottles of wine. This is for a December cruise so lots of time to evaluate and make a final decision. Who knows what the drink menus will look like by then. 

[LB_NJ]

3 hours ago, lhsail said:

Appreciate all the input. Our offer right now is $50/person/day plus gratuity. I’m not even sure we want it, but am inclined to lock it in since I can cancel. We’re mostly wine drinkers so we’ve also talked about the dining package which gives us 40% off all bottles of wine. This is for a December cruise so lots of time to evaluate and make a final decision. Who knows what the drink menus will look like by then. 

 

It is currently $40 /person/day for our cruise.

[Tree_skier]

4 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

Did this recently and RCL said 30-45 days for the refund.

I have gotten refunds within the last couple of months on refunded drinks and dining packages with in a week.  I just make sure to cancel before Royal cancels the cruise.  I don't know for sure if that helps but it has worked for me since March last year.

[Tree_skier]

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I’ve found that it has been around 10 days if you cancel the cruise planner purchases.  Just did a cancellation on Dec 24th and had the refund the first week of January.  It is longer getting money back for cruise planner purchases if Royal cancels your sailing. 

Oops I should have kept reading to see you had already given the answer.

[Tree_skier]

4 hours ago, lhsail said:

Appreciate all the input. Our offer right now is $50/person/day plus gratuity. I’m not even sure we want it, but am inclined to lock it in since I can cancel. We’re mostly wine drinkers so we’ve also talked about the dining package which gives us 40% off all bottles of wine. This is for a December cruise so lots of time to evaluate and make a final decision. Who knows what the drink menus will look like by then. 

What ship?  $50 is an OK price on some ships but not on others.

[lhsail]

8 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

What ship?  $50 is an OK price on some ships but not on others.

Oasis of the Seas. 

[Ourusualbeach]

42 minutes ago, lhsail said:

Oasis of the Seas. 

Oasis class ships generally higher priced that other classes of ships

[George C]

Drink package on allure was over 60 then went to 50 which I booked now it’s 65 , this is for November. Liberty was in mid 40’s for my canceled cruise in February. 

[Tree_skier]

2 hours ago, lhsail said:

Oasis of the Seas. 

Then I'd say, buy now and watch for a better price.  $50 is pretty good for an Oasis class ship.  It  might get better but then again it might not.

[zdcatc12]

10 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

What ship?  $50 is an OK price on some ships but not on others.

Just curious, why do they have different prices for different ships?

[Tree_skier]

Good question.  Nothing about Royal's pricing of "extras" is consistent.  I would imagine they get premium pricing on ships that have greater demand. I've read folks talk about wishing they did it like Princess and make it consistent across the fleet.  However, my only experience with Princess was a Sept 2020 cruise that was cancelled.  Checking it's pricing for the drink package I was shocked at the cost compared to Royal and it never went on sale. Personally, I don't mind the dynamic pricing.  Scoping out the best deal is part of the pre-cruise planning entertainment for me.

[LB_NJ]

I assume that Royal tries to maximize profit and they have some algorithm that does that and on some class of ships and sailings they can charge more and make more money.

 

The recent $40 price was on an Enchantment  sailing.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

I assume that Royal tries to maximize profit and they have some algorithm that does that and on some class of ships and sailings they can charge more and make more money.

 

The recent $40 price was on an Enchantment  sailing.

Higher average cabin cost on newer ships so psychologically people won’t mind paying more for a drink package as they have paid more for the cruise.  
 

Also Oasis class tends to have more sea days so people know they will get their money’s worth.  Harder to justify $50 + per day  for a drink package when you have 6 port stops on a 7 day cruise.