Ultimate Drink Package Yea or Nay

[klfrodo]

Back in the day, the package worked well for us. Now?? That's why I'm coming to you.

 

1st of all we're both Diamond. If I'm correct, that's 5 drinks a day each right there.

2nd, we're booked in a GS and we enjoy the Concierge Lounge. We usually only go there pre-dinner for a couple of drinks. Unless I'm mistaken, there is no charge for these drinks in the Concierge Lounge. (unless we request something really special and different). Plus we can get bottles of water from the lounge.

 

Even with the CL access, we only have 3 to 5 drinks per day plus a couple of specialty coffee's each day. Maybe a glass of wine at dinner.

 

With all that said,,, what drink package makes sense to you?

[OCSC Mike]

You only get 4 drinks per day as Diamond.

 

That said, I can't imagine buying a drink package with the D vouchers plus 3-hour open bar happy hour in the suite lounge (plus 11-11 beer, wine, hard seltzer, soda, bottled water if Oasis-class).

[DaKahuna]

I would say ‘Nay’ 

 

The UDP’s break even point is four to five drinks per day .. add to that your four Diamond drinks and you are looking at 8-9 drinks per day. 
 

 

[George C]

36 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Back in the day, the package worked well for us. Now?? That's why I'm coming to you.

 

1st of all we're both Diamond. If I'm correct, that's 5 drinks a day each right there.

2nd, we're booked in a GS and we enjoy the Concierge Lounge. We usually only go there pre-dinner for a couple of drinks. Unless I'm mistaken, there is no charge for these drinks in the Concierge Lounge. (unless we request something really special and different). Plus we can get bottles of water from the lounge.

 

Even with the CL access, we only have 3 to 5 drinks per day plus a couple of specialty coffee's each day. Maybe a glass of wine at dinner.

 

With all that said,,, what drink package makes sense to you?

Diamond is 4 drinks a day, diamond plus is 5 , plus 3 hour happy hour of unlimited drinks up to 13 , your 4 drinks is also up to 13. Unless you are extremely heavy drinkers o would say no. I drink a lot we had 5 drinks plus happy hour we were also in grand suite. You also can bring on 2 bottles of wine , we bought a few bottles since we had the UDP which gives you a 40 percent discount on bottles under 100.

[brillohead]

You'd have to be pretty heavy drinkers to go through your four free Diamond drinks plus your Suite Lounge happy hour drinks PLUS another six boozy drinks per day, every day, to just break even on the DBP.

If you would normally get things like fresh-squeezed OJ, fancy coffee from Cafe Promenade, and a bunch of waters in addition to boozy drinks, maybe go for the Refreshment Package instead?  You can use that for the non-boozy drinks, and then save your D vouchers for actual drinks.  

 

[klfrodo]

Thanks for the responses 🙂

[Tree_skier]

Ovation in 24 days is our first cruise as diamond and the first cruise I will not be getting the DBP.  I'm going to tally up the total and see how it fares... 

[Ourusualbeach]

10 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Ovation in 24 days is our first cruise as diamond and the first cruise I will not be getting the DBP.  I'm going to tally up the total and see how it fares... 

My daughter is turning 21 this fall and our Christmas sailing will be her first where she can "officially" drink😉  All she wanted was the beverage package as her 4 for Diamond were not enough🙄.  Looks like I will use her 4 plus my 5.  Should be a good cruise...

[Tree_skier]

deleted

Edited August 3, 2022 by Tree_skier

[Tree_skier]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

My daughter is turning 21 this fall and our Christmas sailing will be her first where she can "officially" drink😉  All she wanted was the beverage package as her 4 for Diamond were not enough🙄.  Looks like I will use her 4 plus my 5.  Should be a good cruise...

With my wife's 4, all she does is drink one Latte and one frappe a day.  That'll leave me with six if they let me use hers.  I hope I can come out ahead.

[flamingos]

We are diamond and cruised for the first time without a DBP last winter. We did not miss it - the four drinks a day was usually enough, and whatever we bought extra never added up to more than $25-$30/day. 

[OCSC Mike]

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

With my wife's 4, all she does is drink one Latte and one frappe a day.  That'll leave me with six if they let me use hers.  I hope I can come out ahead.

 

1. You can definitely use hers.
2. She can get unlimited free lattes in the DL unless the machine there isn’t to her liking.

[George C]

48 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

1. You can definitely use hers.
2. She can get unlimited free lattes in the DL unless the machine there isn’t to her liking.

Only once on our cruise did I need to use one of my wife’s credits not a issue.

[Deeliteful]

First time for me - on my next TA cruise in October - that I will not buy a drinks package. Just couldn’t see it saving me money, I will buy drinks over and above my Diamond vouchers but still think it will be cheaper.

 

and might slow me down a bit! 😂

[Surfguyxxx]

Not worth it.  

[rudeney]

My wife and I are not Diamond yet (I think one cruise after this next one will do it), so no vouchers.  We do book suites so with having the Suite Lounge happy hour and two bottles of carry-on wine, the DBP never really seemed like a good deal.  The highest beverage bill for the two of us has been about 80% of the cost of the DBP for that cruise.  I did decide to buy it for our next cruise @ $65.  It's not really about the money, but the convenience.  I can see us not spending as much time in the Suite Lounge on this trip, plus we may not bring on any wine (that will be a last-minute decision).  I am sure with that, I will more than break even, but my wife may not.  Then again, she does like juice and specialty coffees.  We shall see.

[CruisingHogFan]

We still buy the drink package and come out way ahead even with the 4 “included”drinks. It’s easy to have around 10 alcoholic drinks per day plus you get all the other non alcoholic options and bottled water. As long as the drink package stays under $120 or so per day we will buy it as it’s a costs savings for us as most drinks are $15 dollars now after gratuities.

[cruisegal40]

Hubs no longer drinks since our last cruise. (triple by pass surgery). So I will use a few of his 4 drinks  day.  We just don't drink like we use to.

[Hutcha]

"Worth it" is very subjective, and varies per person. My June RC cruise had it included, so I didn't have to think about it. My Feb cruise on NCL had the drink package included (like most), but I did a lot of back and forth on whether or not I would upgrade it to the Premium Plus package. It was a significant upcharge. In my research, I came across quite a few things that made me think. I may not have recouped my money, but it was nice not having to think about what to order (NCL has a lot of selections not covered under the standard package).

 

What it comes down to is this.... Do you mind having to make the trip to the suite lounge for a drink? Do you usually only have that one glass of wine at dinner? What about a mimosa with breakfast or Miami Vice by the pool? If you're the type that's going to count how many drinks you order, and kick yourself if you don't recoup your outlay, don't do it. If you have the attitude that you may come up short (and it sounds like you may), but you like the convenience and freedom, then do it.

[erinsmom03]

On 8/2/2022 at 6:45 PM, OCSC Mike said:

You only get 4 drinks per day as Diamond.

 

That said, I can't imagine buying a drink package with the D vouchers plus 3-hour open bar happy hour in the suite lounge (plus 11-11 beer, wine, hard seltzer, soda, bottled water if Oasis-class).

 

Can you elaborate on the 11-11 info you shared? We've been in a suite 2x now, and once was on Allure. But we also had a refreshment package and didn't know about this perk.

 

We will be diamond on our next cruise, in a 2 bedroom suite on Oasis. But our suite mates are not diamond. I'm trying to figure out if they should get a drink package or not.

[OCSC Mike]

12 minutes ago, erinsmom03 said:

 

Can you elaborate on the 11-11 info you shared? We've been in a suite 2x now, and once was on Allure. But we also had a refreshment package and didn't know about this perk.

 

We will be diamond on our next cruise, in a 2 bedroom suite on Oasis. But our suite mates are not diamond. I'm trying to figure out if they should get a drink package or not.

 

Not sure what else to add. From 11-11, on Oasis class ships, you get the drinks I listed for free in the SL. This perk has nothing to do with being Diamond. It's a suite perk.

 

Your suite mates who are not Diamond will get everything you get (as far as drinks) except for the 4 daily vouchers you can use at any time for any drink up to $13 at any bar. They will have the 3-hour nightly open bar and the 11-11 drinks. You all will also have access to the coffee machine in the SL which has cappuccinos, lattes, espresso, etc.

 

Hope that info helps with their decision.

 

 

[teddybear231]

Since you are diamond it probably doesn't make much sense to purchase it IMO.

 

I know for me personally it wouldn't make much sense to purchase it if I were Diamond and in a suite, but everybody's drinking habits are different (especially on vacation 😉)

[George C]

In the past pre Covid days wine served in suite lounge was very low quality, now you can order any wine up to the 13 dollar limit , if you want something more costly you just pay the difference.