Ultimate Beverage Package: Makes you feel 3rd class

[BornLucky]

Considering buying an ultimate drinks package on P&O?

You are aware that your limit is £6.95 per drink and that you are limited to 15 alcoholic drinks and unlimited soft drinks and coffees per day.

You have done the calculations and think it is worth it.

If you think that means you can happily order most things you are in for a serious wake up call. Too many standard drinks are not included.

First off,  many many drinks are above £6.95. Sometimes luaghably by less than a pound. Do you get to the pay the difference? No, you get a 20% discount off the full price. That is I think a poor choice by P&O but stay tuned, you haven't heard anything yet !

On board I recently turned up at one bar to be told that some of the drinks that were priced  on the list at £6.95 and available to puchase for £6.95 but were no longer included in the package. Despite repeated requests for an explanation the managemant response was to point to the small print which effectively says they can at their full discretion decide what is and what is not included. Wow, nice customer appreciations guys !

It gets better. 

No doubles allowed. So if you want a double Baileys (i.e. one where the single 25ml measure isn't just lining the sides of the glass) the rules say you are out of luck even although the double is priced well below the £6.95 limit.

Now for my personal favourite.

At the end of dinner we like to have a double espresso. If you have that at the dining table that is fine. If, however, you walk off your dessert then go to the cafe: you guessed it; you can only have a single espresso, wait 15 minutes and get another one !

P&O do you ever think about how your rules look to your passengers?

I get that spending 80 pounds a day for the two of us doesn't get us top shelf but being made to feel so restricted leaves a very poor taste. Not like the taste of my wife's favourite Singapore Sling because that isn't included.

[Britboys]

Sadly, many of P&O's policy decisions seem illogical and not customer focused. Maybe the newish, Australian Carnival UK President will bring a new perspective/approach...🤔

[wowzz]

55 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Sadly, many of P&O's policy decisions seem illogical and not customer focused. Maybe the newish, Australian Carnival UK President will bring a new perspective/approach...🤔

The P&O package is completely out of kilter with that offered by its' sister company Princess.

It is almost as if P&O are deliberately positioning themselves above Princess, hoping that not too many of their loyal customers will jump ship (sic) to Princess.

[Jennizor]

We have previously bought the package twice. We gave up after the second one as we felt we were making do with drinks we wouldn’t have normally chosen because our favourites were not included. It was far more relaxing on Britannia in December, we had what we wanted and still came under the price of the package.

[Britboys]

17 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The P&O package is completely out of kilter with that offered by its' sister company Princess.

It is almost as if P&O are deliberately positioning themselves above Princess, hoping that not too many of their loyal customers will jump ship (sic) to Princess.

If it wasn't for ship size, I would definitely jump ship to Princess...

[wowzz]

6 minutes ago, Britboys said:

If it wasn't for ship size, I would definitely jump ship to Princess...

Whilst I appreciate your concerns about size, on a port intensive cruise it might be worth giving Princess a try, especially on a short 7 day trip, just to see how you get on.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Whilst I appreciate your concerns about size, on a port intensive cruise it might be worth giving Princess a try, especially on a short 7 day trip, just to see how you get on.

Yes, I would try a 7-night cruise with them, but no longer. One of the big issues I have with the Royal Class ships is the lack of a Promenade. Most of my P&O cruises are taken in an inside cabin and I use the Promenade for both walking and sitting.

My concern with the later Grand Class is that on both occasions I have sailed on Azura, I found her hideously overcrowded.

The final factor is the cost of sailing solo. In the past, it has certainly been much more on Princess than P&O.

[Bazrat]

Back to the Original post we would not buy the drinks package because my beloved doesn't drink alcohol, and the pop/soda only is on tap not cans so her favourite drink not available, if they made it so only one person needs to buy it I would.

[mike x ftc]

50 minutes ago, Britboys said:

 

My concern with the later Grand Class is that on both occasions I have sailed on Azura, I found her hideously overcrowded.

 

 We went on the Sapphire Princess and although she looks the same as Ventura / Azura she doesn't have the extra passenger deck so 400+ less passengers and it makes a lot of difference. 

 

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, mike x ftc said:

 We went on the Sapphire Princess and although she looks the same as Ventura / Azura she doesn't have the extra passenger deck so 400+ less passengers and it makes a lot of difference. 

 

Thanks. I always check the Grand Class because I can never remember which three or four of them were built before Carnival Corp added the extra deck of cabins 😀

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, mike x ftc said:

 We went on the Sapphire Princess and although she looks the same as Ventura / Azura she doesn't have the extra passenger deck so 400+ less passengers and it makes a lot of difference. 

 

She and her Japanese sister, Diamond princess are also a bit wider than all the other Grand class ships. Supposedly because the Japanese steel cutters misread the plans, but somehow I doubt that was the case.

[wowzz]

42 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

She and her Japanese sister, Diamond princess are also a bit wider than all the other Grand class ships. Supposedly because the Japanese steel cutters misread the plans, but somehow I doubt that was the case.

Perhaps the Japanese assumed the dimensions were in metres,  and the designs were in yards !

[Megabear2]

Returning to this very old post with apologies!  I've just had an email from Princess introducing their new upgraded package to run alongside Princess Plus.  Apparently its Premier and costs £60 per day. I assume the 15 drinks rule still applies but interestingly this offers 2 speciality dining meals included.

 

In light of all the problems with P&O's drinks range included in their package does anyone see a "Premier" option being offered by them in the near future and if so what would people think P&O would sell such a package for?

 

[BornLucky]

I was told by P&O that they were looking to change their drinks package offering around June so it is possible they have something similar in mind to Princess. That said in my opinion they will probably do nothing at all and certainly won't offer anything free of absurd restrictions. On other lines I like the bundle of drinks, wifi and speciality dining. On P&O I will ignore the drinks package, do without internet and pre-book speciality dining. I have an Iona cruise booked but would predict that will be my last on nP&O given more welcoming offers elsewhere.

[Thejuggler]

P&O have painted themselves into a corner.  Being UK based they have always prided themselves in having drinks priced similar to UK pubs.

 

They have then introduced a drinks package, but to keep this profitable are now playing games with rules and prices.

 

They need to make a decision.  If they want to profit from packages they need to increase the bar prices by a huge amount and charge what a 5 star London hotel charges and not the local Wetherspoons.

[crimson moon]

On 5/28/2022 at 8:35 PM, Thejuggler said:

 If they want to profit from packages they need to increase the bar prices by a huge amount and charge what a 5 star London hotel charges and not the local Wetherspoons.

They already charge more than our local 'Spoons

[Fionboard]

Drink prices are reasonable. No need for drinks package unless you are alcoholic! Drinks I like are not even covered by package. 

[BornLucky]

11 hours ago, Fionboard said:

Drink prices are reasonable. No need for drinks package unless you are alcoholic! Drinks I like are not even covered by package. 

P&O offer good value cruise fares and the beverage prices on board are reasonable.

What they do not offer is a fair beverage package.

The rules are absurd and frustrating.

I like a beverage package on cruises becauses it means I pay up front and dont' have to worry about a big number on my end of cruise ststement. It means I experiment with ordering, can drink more as not driving or working the next day; and it is a key part of my trip. That does not make me an alcoholic.

Without doubt the P&O drinks package is the worst in the business.

OK, so I don't need to buy it but inevitably I will find myself analysing what I do spend agaonst having the package which will lead to more frustration.

P&O please fix it or drop it. 

 

[gsmt47471015]

Agree with the comments that P and O beverage package is not one of the best in the cruising business, we hardly drink at home ,cant remember the last time we were in a pub, but do like a glass of wine , or a bottle with our evening meal while on holiday, we always thought the drinks prices to be reasonable on P and O and never considered the beverage package, but as we have a couple of longer cruises upcoming considered it , but it would appear that the choice is becoming more limited by the day and as others have said why end up having to drink something you don't really want. Our recent experience on an American line when the package was put on without our knowledge and at no extra cost proved to us that we would never get the value out of it , even with a few sea days, what was quite obvious was the size of the drinks we received , large glasses and nearly full to the brim, and as soon as they were a third empty staff were asking if you would like another.

What would be nice is if P and O did a half size drinks package ,say maximum eight drinks , for a smaller fee ,then we would probably go for that ,we will await to see if the alleged change to the packages in June  actually happens

[davecttr]

Just bought a 14 day premium drinks package on Marella, cost £10 per day. For that you get everything except bottles of wine and no champagne even by the glass. Worth it IMO for the Lavazza coffee, 1.5 litres of water per day and the premium gins/whiskies. Fever tree tonics as well plus standard spirit measure is 40ml 🥳

[GOQ]

4 hours ago, gsmt47471015 said:

 

What would be nice is if P and O did a half size drinks package ,say maximum eight drinks , for a smaller fee ,then we would probably go for that ,we will await to see if the alleged change to the packages in June  actually happens

Yes I definitely agree with your suggestion of a reduced drink package.

 

Even when I cruise with Marella with unlimited All Inculsive, I don't usually have more than 5 drinks per day.

On my P&O cruises the usual is about 3 pints a day at about £5 per pint, and the shareholder OBC cpays for 2 of those pints.