OK, I am Such a Sucker for RCI's Sale!

[rudeney]

We are on Voyager in October for a CAN/NE cruise.  I have been checking Cruise Planner and booking various spa services and shore excursions and also watching for price changes in case I needed to cancel and rebook anything.  Then I saw the Memorial Day sale with the DBP for $65 and the UDP for $245.  I have been saying all along that neither of these really fit our needs.  My wife might have 2 or 3 drinks a day, and I might have twice that many, but being in a suite, many of those are consumed in the suite lounge or in the with room from our two carry-on bottles of wine. Voyager only has three specialty restaurants, and one is Izumi, which is not my wife's favorite.  We also almost never eat lunch - we do a late breakfast and an early dinner.  But this sale just pushed me over the edge and I vought BOTH!  I figured that it's entirely possible that onboard a la carte prices will go up in the next 4 months.  Plus it will just make things easier with drinks and specialty meals pre-paid.  We only cruise once every few years, so this will be a treat.  Oh well, yes, I am a sucker! 😄

[orville99]

15 minutes ago, rudeney said:

We only cruise once every few years, so this will be a treat.  Oh well, yes, I am a sucker! 😄

Not at all - a happy wife makes a happy life - and if you only sail once every few years make it memorable. As for specialty restaurants, Giovanni's is always one of our favorites, and we could eat there every night. Between the  Chops and Gio's menus, you could easily eat in those two every night and never have the same meal twice.

 

The drink package on the other hand is not something we would do (Neither one of us could ever drink enough to break even at $65/pp/per day). If your wife is not a drinker, check and see if you can get the refreshment package instead.

 

Just to add: if you are in a full suite (GS or above) you can also order room service for any meal from breakfast to dinner from the MDR menu at no charge.

Edited May 25, 2022 by orville99

[RFerrington]

We are booked on VY for its first trip (a continuation of the TA from Copenhagen) although it's inevitable that we will have to cancel.

 

We purchased the DBP+Voom for $66 PP/PD in Sept 2021 (it is now $82, on sale).  We also purchased the UDP for $168 PP (now $245 PP).  I thought the prices I paid in Sept were outrageous !  No way in he!! I would pay what they're asking now.

[pcur]

OP:  the drink package can be used for just about anything you may choose to drink, and those non-alcoholic drinks can add up, too.  

 

Plus, it's nice to have more choices for lunch and dinner. 

 

Your family income; your choices.  Be a sucker:  only I wouldn't call it that.  I would call it "it's worth it to us to enjoy our every so often cruises".

[rudeney]

18 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Not at all - a happy wife makes a happy life - and if you only sail once every few years make it memorable. As for specialty restaurants, Giovanni's is always one of our favorites, and we could eat there every night. Between the  Chops and Gio's menus, you could easily eat in those two every night and never have the same meal twice.

 

The drink package on the other hand is not something we would do (Neither one of us could ever drink enough to break even at $65/pp/per day). If your wife is not a drinker, check and see if you can get the refreshment package instead.

 

Just to add: if you are in a full suite (GS or above) you can also order room service for any meal from breakfast to dinner from the MDR menu at no charge.

 

Because we do only sail every few years, a cruise is a special vacation and we don't skimp and we book full suites.  But I am a numbers person, so I always try to maximize the perceived value.  This time, I just decided what the heck - I threw out the spreadsheets and spent the money.  I hope it will make our cruise feel more relaxed, even if we don't "save money" on these packages.

 

I suspect knowing that there is no "additional" cost for drinks, my wife will likely drink more than normal.  I know about suite room service and have done that before, but we really like eating out.  During the "lockdowns", we were going absolutely stir crazy not being able to eat out. 

[pcur]

3 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

I threw out the spreadsheets and spent the money.  I hope it will make our cruise feel more relaxed, even if we don't "save money" on these packages.

Just remember, you might pay your budget back for some of that splurge by food, gas, and utilities savings while you're gone.  (I'm a spreadsheet planner myself).

[Jimbo]

I think from what you are saying, The DBP is a waste of money for you..........Between the 2 of you, you are never going to spend $130.00 a day on drinks.

 

Dining Package I would keep for sure.

[ARandomTraveler]

The conundrum of the over-thinker 😂 I've been doing the same thing. Haven't bought yet because I'm waiting for a better deal...but I will eventually buy (knowing I won't get my money's worth).

 

I get the refreshment package because I'm not a big drinker, but last time I got it, I didn't get my moneys worth even when it was $19/day. But $20 is different than $70. I'm gonna try the dining package this time too, even though I know I'd be perfectly fine with the free food and probably won't even use the dining package every night, making it more expensive than it should be, even if I get a good sale. But whatever...

Edited May 25, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

The conundrum of the over-thinker 😂 I've been doing the same thing. Haven't bought yet because I'm waiting for a better deal...but I will eventually buy. 

I suffer from over-planner's syndrome - I already have shore excursions booked for a cruise that doesn't sail until next February, and we have already mapped out which dining venues and which entrees we are considering in each one for all 21 days of our B3B in July.

 

24 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Between the 2 of you, you are never going to spend $130.00 a day on drinks.

With the current bar prices, that comes out to ~4 Mai Tai's each/day😵🍹

[rudeney]

5 minutes ago, pcur said:

Just remember, you might pay your budget back for some of that splurge by food, gas, and utilities savings while you're gone.  (I'm a spreadsheet planner myself).

 

I wish! 🙂  We're driving 400 miles round-trip to the Nashville airport to get a better flight due to crappy schedules out of Birmingham.  That's more than we usually drive in a week.  Also, our daughters will still be house and pet sitting for us, so I doubt I'll see any utility savings (they may use MORE electricity!)  But that's OK - it's a cruise vacation!

 

4 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I think from what you are saying, The DBP is a waste of money for you..........Between the 2 of you, you are never going to spend $130.00 a day on drinks.

 

Dining Package I would keep for sure.

 

Yeah, that's probably something like 12 per day.  I suspect 3 will be my wife's so I guess I need to get my liver rested and ready for 9+ per day!  🤣  Seriously, I know we will also drink some juice and bottled water, and maybe a few soft drinks, too.  I just decided to buy the DBP because it will make the trip easier, not necessarily less expensive.   Really, the UDP is the one I have 2nd thoughts about.  We normally only do Chops one night and Giovanni's another, and no lunch, so maybe we will just have to change that pattern on this cruise. 

 

[Jimbo]

7 minutes ago, orville99 said:

I suffer from over-planner's syndrome - I already have shore excursions booked for a cruise that doesn't sail until next February, and we have already mapped out which dining venues and which entrees we are considering in each one for all 21 days of our B3B in July.

 

With the current bar prices, that comes out to ~4 Mai Tai's each/day😵🍹

Does the package cover the cost of any drink no matter the price or just drinks up to $13.00 and then if a drink you get is higher you just pay the difference? Just how does that work now since all drinks prices seem to be going up and up?

[Another_Critic]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Does the package cover the cost of any drink no matter the price or just drinks up to $13.00 and then if a drink you get is higher you just pay the difference? Just how does that work now since all drinks prices seem to be going up and up?

Up to $13 included

> $13 pay the difference + 18% grat on the difference.

[rudeney]

It's drinks up to $12 or $13  (there are discrepancies in their published terms).  I think most call brand cocktails and frozen drinks are in the $11 range.  It's only when you order doubles or get into the aged specialty liquors where the price goes beyond the DBP limits.  But you can get around the price limit on doubles if you order a cocktail plus a shot.  That's two regular-priced drinks.  I also hear that that frequenting the same bartenders and tipping extra can get you better service, like always just serving a double for the regular "price".

[orville99]

28 minutes ago, rudeney said:

We normally only do Chops one night and Giovanni's another, and no lunch, so maybe we will just have to change that pattern on this cruise. 

Doing specialty restaurants "off the rack" (waiting until you are on board and booking them directly) will cost you ~$130 at Chops for the two of you and ~$120 at Gio's. I you do each venue twice, you hit the published cost of the UDP "sale". BTW, the $245/pp is before they add the automatic 18% service charge, so the total cost is more like $290/pp all in.

[rudeney]

10 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Doing specialty restaurants "off the rack" (waiting until you are on board and booking them directly) will cost you ~$130 at Chops for the two of you and ~$120 at Gio's. I you do each venue twice, you hit the published cost of the UDP "sale". BTW, the $245/pp is before they add the automatic 18% service charge, so the total cost is more like $290/pp all in.

 

Good point - OK, I'm good with my decision on the UDP!  

[orville99]

46 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Does the package cover the cost of any drink no matter the price or just drinks up to $13.00 and then if a drink you get is higher you just pay the difference? Just how does that work now since all drinks prices seem to be going up and up?

Current bar price for mixed shaker drinks is $13 plus 18% service charge. Current prices for shots and mixers ranges from $10 to $12 plus the service charge. There are a few call brands that go for $25+ 

 

Beers run $8-9 plus grat.

 

Doesn’t take as long as it used to to cover the cost of the package.

[smokeybandit]

I'm sure you're not alone in buying packages when really it's not cost efficient to do so.  I would imagine most people buying the drink package could have done it cheaper by buying a la carte.

[ulcards99]

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

Doing specialty restaurants "off the rack" (waiting until you are on board and booking them directly) will cost you ~$130 at Chops for the two of you and ~$120 at Gio's. I you do each venue twice, you hit the published cost of the UDP "sale". BTW, the $245/pp is before they add the automatic 18% service charge, so the total cost is more like $290/pp all in.

 

Do they add the 18% at the restaurant or before?  When I go into the cruise planner and click the UDP and add it to my cart, it says gratuity is included in the published price... so it is currently at $245 and so for 2 people, it's showing $490 total.

[orville99]

8 minutes ago, ulcards99 said:

 

Do they add the 18% at the restaurant or before?  When I go into the cruise planner and click the UDP and add it to my cart, it says gratuity is included in the published price... so it is currently at $245 and so for 2 people, it's showing $490 total.

We have never seen a statement that gratuities were included in the published price when we add the UDP to our cart. Have you actually completed the purchase, because that is where the 18% upcharge would show up.

[rudeney]

I can tell you that the published $245 UDP price was exactly $490 when I paid for it, so no gratuity was added.  

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, rudeney said:

I can tell you that the published $245 UDP price was exactly $490 when I paid for it, so no gratuity was added.  

Good to know. Looks like they changed their pricing model again. They used to also charge sales tax on some purchases made pre-cruise, so hopefully that is gone as well.

[RFerrington]

The “old” Cruise Planner purchases did not charge an extra gratuity on top of the purchase price and no additional gratuity was added at the restaurant.  Supposedly the gratuity was integrated into the pp price.  Additional gratuity has always been added to beverage packages at purchase.

 

The new My Royal cruise planner (or whatever it’s called) charges the gratuity for both the dining and beverages packages at checkout.  

Edited May 25, 2022 by RFerrington

[pcur]

6 hours ago, orville99 said:

I suffer from over-planner's syndrome - I already have shore excursions booked for a cruise that doesn't sail until next February, and we have already mapped out which dining venues and which entrees we are considering in each one for all 21 days of our B3B in July.

 

I call my OPS a "hobby"...............................😉

[taglovestocruise]

6 hours ago, rudeney said:

I can tell you that the published $245 UDP price was exactly $490 when I paid for it, so no gratuity was added.  

You lucked out and got a deal. This is for a 7 night UDP on Ovation. $75 in grats added during checkout.

 

 

Unlimited Dining Package

$415.98

 

UP TO 50% OFF (PRICE REFLECTS DISCOUNT)

Guests

xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx

Day 1

Time8:30 pm

Modify 

Remove 

Order summary

Subtotal$415.98

Gratuities$74.86

 

Total due$490.84

Proceed to checkout

[rudeney]

So that's for one person?  That's 2x what I paid.  Then again, you have more dining options on Ovation than I have on Voyager.