Deluxe Beverage Package Question

[Tree_skier]

8 hours ago, strickers said:

 

It’s going to be a challenge at $112 a day each, but we are stuck at sea every day. I still think we can do it by mid afternoon, you’ll be pouring me off the ship by the end though. 

Where are you seeing $112 a day per person!! That's unheard of!

[Tree_skier]

8 hours ago, purpldoll6x said:

My question is how do you keep up with the prices of the drink pkgs?  Since I bought the UDP my cruise planner just shows that I bought it, but doesn’t show the present price.  How will I check to see if the price drops?

When I see this...

 

I just click on the image and it takes me to this...

 

[Tree_skier]

7 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Wow..nice!  I was looking up the price for our cruise, just before logging on to CC, and my price for today is $58.00 pp.🥴

What ship?

[Tree_skier]

7 hours ago, sunshinetricia said:

but the fresh orange juice sounds like something we could get into.

Once you try it you will be hooked.  It absolutely fabulous.!

[jimd909]

Do they charge different prices for different ships or different times of the year?  I just saw $58 and $47 per day above but on my sailing during Christmas its around $72 or $62 on sale.  So, what would the cost be on the ship?  I have $775 OBC and would probably just put it toward that.

[zekekelso]

54 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Where are you seeing $112 a day per person!! That's unheard of!

Maybe that’s the price in Bajan or East Caribbean dollars. 

[tcrandal]

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

Yes, just call and it is no problem.  I've done it on every cruise in the last while 

That's great, I've heard that before, but never tried it. Would definitely make more sense as my wife would never come close to spending enough to break even with Deluxe and she is fine using the Casino comp bar. 

[dswallow]

39 minutes ago, jimd909 said:

Do they charge different prices for different ships or different times of the year?  I just saw $58 and $47 per day above but on my sailing during Christmas its around $72 or $62 on sale.  So, what would the cost be on the ship?  I have $775 OBC and would probably just put it toward that.

 

It varies by ship and sail date. Onboard pricing on the Deluxe Beverage Packages for 2021/2022 sailings ranges between $63 and $89/day. Discounts are typically 20%, 25% or 30% during sales. 18% gratuity is added to that.

[Biker19]

59 minutes ago, jimd909 said:

So, what would the cost be on the ship? 

That also varies, but not as much as online before the cruise. Just like online, they sometimes have sales on board.

[dswallow]

1 hour ago, jimd909 said:

Do they charge different prices for different ships or different times of the year?  I just saw $58 and $47 per day above but on my sailing during Christmas its around $72 or $62 on sale.  So, what would the cost be on the ship?  I have $775 OBC and would probably just put it toward that.

 

Here's an example of discovering the onboard price...

For this example, I'm using the current pricing on Anthem of the Seas, 12/12/2021 sailing.

 

$47.00 is advertised as 30% off the onboard price.

$47.00 / 0.70 = $67.14.

Prices are rounded, and Royal Caribbean won't advertise a discount higher than the real discount, so we round that UP to $68.00. For this sailing, the onboard price is set at $68.00/day.

 

 

 

In the newer Cruise Planner format, it's actually now showing the onboard price. This is from Oasis of the Seas, 5/22/2022 sailing:

 

 

$57.99 / 0.70 = $82.84

 

Following the rounding rules, we'd expect it to be $83; they show $84.00 as the onboard price.


The main thing to remember is that the percent-off banners sometimes are delayed a day when a new sale starts. Some people then get confused; they see the discounted price one day, the next day the sale starts, and now they see the same price they saw the day before, but now showing the percent-off banner. That's just one of the poor implementations on Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner sale site.
 

 

 

[strickers]

6 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Where are you seeing $112 a day per person!! That's unheard of!

Anthem in July, UK cruise. Price includes the 18% gratuity so you could argue it's nearer $95. The cruise doesn't go anywhere so every day is a sea day hence the price I think?

[SullytheBFG]

Just checked £79 so about $100 a day. Anthem of the Seas from Southampton cruise to nowhere.

[poocher]

15 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Once you try it you will be hooked.  It absolutely fabulous.!

And how do you get the fresh squeezed stuff at Windjammer?

[MikeBayAreaCa]

Of course the price has to be reasonable.   I paid $62.00 plus gratuity for a seven day on the Navigator.  With gratuity it’s  $73.16 a day.  With three sea days that’s not too bad.  I check everyday and will cancel and purchase if it goes lower.  

 

Four drinks a day, fresh juice, a coke, lots of water, maybe a beer and a couple of coffees and were well ahead.  

 

A $13.00 drink is 15.02 with gratuity.  Two cocktails and two glasses of wine is close to $60.00.    Water is at least $3.00 a bottle.  A Diet Coke is $3.50.

Beers with gratuity in the 9 dollar range.  Add in fresh juice and an expresso or dessert coffee and you’ll at least break even, have peace of mind and no big bill at the end of the cruise.  We have suite lounge access and still get the package.  

 

 

 

 

[SullytheBFG]

We will get the package even at that price. We are at sea for 4 days and I don’t like getting a nasty bill! As previously someone said it is probably as there are no port stops. Us Brits like a drink!

[Tree_skier]

31 minutes ago, poocher said:

And how do you get the fresh squeezed stuff at Windjammer?

They have a small stand with an worker squeezing fresh oranges and another serving it at your request.  When I was on Adventure in Dec. 2019 it was immediately to your right as you entered the Windjammer.  

[Tree_skier]

9 hours ago, strickers said:

Anthem in July, UK cruise. Price includes the 18% gratuity so you could argue it's nearer $95. The cruise doesn't go anywhere so every day is a sea day hence the price I think?

Wow, that is eye watering!

[Luckynana]

16 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

What ship?

 

Allure of the Seas, April 2,2022.  I just checked today, and it's still $58.  I've got plenty of time, so I'll just keep checking to see if a good deal comes along.

[Big_G]

Never thought I'd see the day when I'd find a drink package/tipping thread a refreshing change here on CC. 

[strickers]

51 minutes ago, SullytheBFG said:

We will get the package even at that price. We are at sea for 4 days and I don’t like getting a nasty bill! As previously someone said it is probably as there are no port stops. Us Brits like a drink!

I'm planning on keeping records to see what the earliest time of day I can break even by is?

Edited May 28, 2021 by strickers

[Tree_skier]

Someone had posted a spread sheet they had created for tracking and determining the value of the DBP.  I can't remember which poster is was.  I had downloaded a copy and had used it on a couple cruises and I always came out mile ahead.  Now I can't find it on my computer and doing a search here on CC as produced no useful results.  If anyone else has it please post it!

[dswallow]

30 minutes ago, strickers said:

I'm planning on keeping records to see what the earliest time of day I can break even by is?

 

My personal best, 12 nights, Anthem of the Seas, 1/7/2018 through 1/19/2018. This was an intentional test of what I could manage. It's very important to have drinks made properly, not in large glasses with an excess volume of liquid. And it takes a little time to train bartenders not to overpour after you're tipping them regularly sometimes. I like my drinks properly made, not tasting like all alcohol. So yeah, I know if I watching dollars and cents while simultaneously wanting maximum alcoholic effect, things could be different. Normally I spend a lot of time in my cabin just drinking iced water and reading; this sailing I had to force myself to read at bars a whole lot, which is fine, though I prefer laying down to read a lot of the time, harder to do in bars. 🙂

Normally I float somewhere around 7 to 10/day. I had one 11-night sailing where I averaged just over 5.

 

I almost never go into ports, so I'm aboard all day hanging out on the ship.

 

And I do try to remember to take a picture of every drink, too. Though this sailing I got just 134 pictures, 12 of them coffee... so you can see how sometimes I don't remember to count them in the app, too! And in places like Music Hall at night, folks start buying each other shots a lot and I often forget to take photos but usually remember to add them to a separate counted category, sometimes not, though. I wish they would simply include all these things on the SeaPass account printouts we get. I'd love to know in correct detail, per day, everything.

I started the counting just so I had some sense of where the deluxe beverage package price should matter to me. Then it just sort of became somewhat of a habit. And the bartenders would start reminding me to count them, or ask what I was up to as the days went by.


 

Edited May 28, 2021 by dswallow

[SullytheBFG]

53 minutes ago, strickers said:

I'm planning on keeping records to see what the earliest time of day I can break even by is?

Are you on the 7th or 11th sailing? We are on the 7th. By the time you look at pool drinks, pre dinner drinks, wine with dinner and late night drinks it adds up 😁

[strickers]

28 minutes ago, SullytheBFG said:

Are you on the 7th or 11th sailing? We are on the 7th. By the time you look at pool drinks, pre dinner drinks, wine with dinner and late night drinks it adds up 😁

7th also fingers crossed. Staying at the HI the night before so I can be ready to board as early as possible. I reckon I’ll be able to break even by 2pm most days!

[Baowen]

On 5/26/2021 at 12:03 PM, sunshinetricia said:

Thank you!!! It seemed really strange to me! I've also been thinking about the tipping situation. Even though you prepay an 18% gratuity, do the staff really get that? I think I would feel guilty not tipping them each time. But even at $1 or 2 a drink plus the 18% prepaid, you could be tipping a total of 30% on your drinks. That adds up over the course of a week for 4 people! 

 

I know I will like the convenience of the prepaid drinks but I feel like they didn't really give a lot of information on the site before I bought it. They didn't even put the limit of the $12 on that page. I found it in teeny tiny print on a pdf that they linked to. 

Don't worry - the drink package will cover your drinks unless you order something super expensive. I noticed that the limit was $12 on some of  the smaller ships but it was $13 for the bigger ships like the Allure.