Best time pre-cruise to buy drink package

[rhino7176]

When is the best time to buy the drink package prior to the cruise.  We are going on the Allure on April2 and best we have seen is a promom for buy 1 get other 50% off, which amounts to $66 per day for an 8 night cruise.  This amounts to about $1250 for the two of us.  Is there ever better deals offered and should I wait longer than what is offered now?

[Coralc]

The best time to buy is when it is the cheapest. There is a sale going on now, but You and I are both running out of time to purchase it at the "best" price. I will probably just buy it this week during the sale and then keep watching until our end of April cruise.

 

Incidentally, buy 1 get one 50% off is NOT generally the best price. 

[smplybcause]

$66 might be the best you'll get. I have a cruise in April and $66 is the best I've seen for mine for months. If you see better you can always cancel and rebook. 

[exm]

I agree. Prices have increased for alcohol onboard as well as packages. But it now during the current sale and monitor prices. I recommend to login at least once a week to check prior to departure.

[berbician]

6 hours ago, rhino7176 said:

When is the best time to buy the drink package prior to the cruise.  We are going on the Allure on April2 and best we have seen is a promom for buy 1 get other 50% off, which amounts to $66 per day for an 8 night cruise.  This amounts to about $1250 for the two of us.  Is there ever better deals offered and should I wait longer than what is offered now?

You should buy now and at least lock down these prices.  If the prices go down you can always cancel the current purchase and re-purchase at the lower price.  Keep looking at your cruise compass for a sale.  I used to look at mine daily 😀 

[Mr. Green]

That is probably as cheap as you are going to get or close to it. I can't see RC dropping the price a huge amount. Like mentioned above, you can always cancel it and purchase it again for the cheaper price if it happens.

[Sunshine3601]

Time is running out so if I was you I would buy the pkg now then if you see price drop you can always cancel and rebook at cheaper price.

 

[Hogbay]

1030 am🤣

[lx200gps]

Sorry for the slight hijack. New RCCLers here, sailing the Oasis out of Cape Liberty at the end May and I'm trying to decide whether the booze package is worth it for both my wife and I. For me, it definitely is, but for her it isn't worth it, and we both have to buy it. If I decide to lock in the two packages now because of the current massive 25% off sale, and decide later on it's actually not worth, will I be able to cancel them and get our money back? I realize people buy, then cancel and re-buy at at better price, but what about getting a refund?  Thanks...

[PTC DAWG]

7 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Sorry for the slight hijack. New RCCLers here, sailing the Oasis out of Cape Liberty at the end May and I'm trying to decide whether the booze package is worth it for both my wife and I. For me, it definitely is, but for her it isn't worth it, and we both have to buy it. If I decide to lock in the two packages now because of the current massive 25% off sale, and decide later on it's actually not worth, will I be able to cancel them and get our money back? I realize people buy, then cancel and re-buy at at better price, but what about getting a refund?  Thanks...

No issues cancelling…don’t let the cruise get too close before doing so.

[snaefell]

Is there still the 18% to add to the quoted prices?

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, snaefell said:

Is there still the 18% to add to the quoted prices?

Yes, you see the final price in the planner before having to pay.

[lx200gps]

12 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

No issues cancelling…don’t let the cruise get too close before doing so.

Super, thanks. From other threads here on CC about the package, it's looking like a minimum of 5 drinks per person per day is required (at the going package price of $66/pp/day) to make it worth buying, and my wife won't come close to that.  IF we can get it substantially cheaper (I've seen people say they got it as low as $50) then it might make sense for us. I'd be happy to drink a little extra to make up for her shortfall ;o)

[jimmcg29]

What is the normal pre-cruise price per day?

[billslowsky]

7 hours ago, Hogbay said:

1030 am🤣

It's 5:00 somewhere!

[smplybcause]

14 minutes ago, jimmcg29 said:

What is the normal pre-cruise price per day?

 

Hard to say. It seems like the normal price has increased significantly in the last few months. I'm not sure I've seen anyone post this year about a current price under $60, but I could have missed it. 

 

My cruise for the last few months has had the normal sale price of $70 with the good sale hitting $66. I keep hoping it'll go lower but haven't seen it. 

[smplybcause]

30 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

Super, thanks. From other threads here on CC about the package, it's looking like a minimum of 5 drinks per person per day is required (at the going package price of $66/pp/day) to make it worth buying, and my wife won't come close to that.  IF we can get it substantially cheaper (I've seen people say they got it as low as $50) then it might make sense for us. I'd be happy to drink a little extra to make up for her shortfall ;o)

 

So if you call they do let you buy one deluxe and one refreshment package. You'll have to do the math if it works out for you. The refreshment package doesn't really save you anything when you buy an alcoholic drink (ie a shot of rum to add to your virgin pina colada is either the same price or maybe $1 cheaper than just ordering a Pina colada) so you'll have to figure out how many drinks your wife might drink. 

 

So like for my cruise the difference between deluxe and refreshment is 48. So if wife would drink 4 or more alcoholic drinks then doing this doesn't save you money. But if she'd only drink 1 or 2 then you'd save a bit of money. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by smplybcause

[S.A.M.J.R.]

IGNORE THE % OFF.

IGNORE THE "BUY ONE GET ONE % OFF"

IGNORE *ALL* "SALES".

IGNORE what anyone else has paid for the package unless they're on YOUR sailing.

 

If you're interested in the package, put it in your cart and look at the total.  Is that amount worth it to you?  If so, buy it.  If not, don't.  Rinse, repeat. 

 

 

[jimmcg29]

What is odd is I looked at this a while ago and must have added it to my cart but never completed the purchase. I received an email yesterday and read it today that they were having a deal. I clicked on it and it said 65.99 per day. Seemed pretty close to what I remembered the normal was. Anyhow I went to my cart and for the two of us before the gratuities it was $609.90. A five-day cruise for two people would be 10 days, which would be 60.99 per day. 

[MichaelCMTX]

36 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

My cruise for the last few months has had the normal sale price of $70 with the good sale hitting $66. I keep hoping it'll go lower but haven't seen it. 

 

Got one in April I don't think has been much lower than that, and for a 13-nighter with 2 in the cabin, that's getting up near $1600. 

I'm thinking it's Suite Lounge, Diamond drinks, and whatever wine we're bringing aboard.  If I try to make it worth $800 apiece I'll have the "Check Liver" light blinking after the first week.

[lx200gps]

1 hour ago, jimmcg29 said:

What is the normal pre-cruise price per day?

When I go on-line right now for our sailing in late May, I'm presented with a price of $US65.99 pp/day, which is supposed to be 25% off. I make that a "regular" price, with no discount, of $US88 pp/day

[Sacruiser62]

On 3/4/2022 at 2:48 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

IGNORE THE % OFF.

IGNORE THE "BUY ONE GET ONE % OFF"

IGNORE *ALL* "SALES".

IGNORE what anyone else has paid for the package unless they're on YOUR sailing.

 

If you're interested in the package, put it in your cart and look at the total.  Is that amount worth it to you?  If so, buy it.  If not, don't.  Rinse, repeat. 

 

 

Best advice as royal math is fun to watch.  Only way to get real price is in your cart and divide it out.