Drink package- is it worth having?

[lambinator1982]

 

On 9/14/2022 at 11:06 AM, Megabear2 said:

Fanta is mainly sugar free since the sugar tax landed with us and is very much on sale still all over Europe and the USA. Anyway that side, maybe the person involved actually likes that type of drink or it was for a child or non drinker. I have a friend who takes full sugar coca cola to bed with her in the same way I take a glass of water.

 

Not a huge fan of Fanta but was getting sick of coke or lemonade. 

[Cruisemeister2002]

All I can say is good luck to those that spend the best part of £40 a day or more on booze. Each to their own I say. If that's what floats your boat, or as a Captain once said to me "It's not a boat, it's a ship". Neither myself or wife are big drinkers. I would hazard a guess that on any given day we would drink half a dozen drinks max. We usually take a litre bottle onboard at embarkation each so as to have a G&T or Vodka and coke or whatever. We don't always have a bottle of wine with the evening meal, sometimes taking our pre dinner drinks through from the bar to the MDR or I may have a beer and the wife a G&T at the table. If there's a football match I want to see we go along and I'll have a couple of pints and the wife a cider. Shore day's we usually pop to the bar when we get back to the ship if it's mid to late afternoon. So drinks packages aren't for us and there's no way at nearly £80 per day for a 35 night cruise I would consider spending £2600.00 on booze.

[Nidec]

On 8/26/2022 at 2:40 PM, emam said:

Give this a try, but you will have to remember the restrictions that everyone has mentioned. 

 

https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/cruise-drinks-package-calculator/

That's great, thanks 

[Red Leicester]

Mrs RL and me have the non-alcoholic drinks package aboard Britannia, we get our money's worth from that each day in the shape of sugary drinks and the odd hot choc.  I drink beer and Mrs RL has the odd cocktail but we don't drink wine so we decide to pay as you go on alcohol.  We don't drink enough alcohol to make paying double worth it.  We will break even for sure and still have on board credit left.

 

Drinks packages are very marmite, people love or hate them, no middle ground really.  One thing I will agree with is the comment about drinks cards, if they still did the Pepsi one we'd do that.

[picsa]

On 9/18/2022 at 1:45 PM, Cruisemeister2002 said:

All I can say is good luck to those that spend the best part of £40 a day or more on booze. Each to their own I say. If that's what floats your boat

 

You could say that about anything else people spend their money on.

 

Do people get £65 a day per person value from the small bit of outside space that a balcony offers? Do people get £30 a day per person value from a window?

 

Well plenty of people seem to value those things quite highly, so perhaps paying a similar amount so you don't have to think about ordering drinks has a similar value to them.

[Nidec]

On 9/28/2022 at 10:14 AM, picsa said:

 

Do people get £65 a day per person value from the small bit of outside space that a balcony offers?

Agree fully, each to their own. I have found that the need for a balcony is less for me on certain cruise lines. For example, on River Cruises I find the lack of privacy due to proximity of pedestrians etc meant we had the curtains drawn a lot of the time. And on Oceania the pool areas where so underused that I would seriously give some thought to not booking a balcony but using the pool area instead.

[Malibustacey79]

We are disembarking Azura tomorrow and decided to go for the Drinks Package on Day 2. It was the best choice for us as we do like a drink on our hols, especially when without the kids, as we are on this one. 
 

It’s worked out better than I thought TBH, although I still think the ‘rules’ are often nonsensical. I’m usually a cocktail drinker and the included choices definitely aren’t great - although I did discover a little hack by getting a Fruit Cooler from Costa then ordering a peach schnapps to go in it, and same with an Iced Latte and a Baileys. A few issues with actually getting the Costa’s drinks, but those issues are non-drinks-package related!
 

I also found that they are very generous with the wine, so only being allowed a ‘small’ with dinner isn’t really a problem as they aren’t small! 
 

Husband is a beer/wine/whiskey drinker and found it absolutely fine, it really is mainly the cocktails that let it down, together with not being allowed to pay just the difference. I would have ordered more expensive ones and paid the difference if that was allowed but hey-ho I never went thirsty. 
 

I’m not sure if we’ll sail with P&O again but if we do we would get the package again. 
 

I hope this helps someone with their decision as I really did go back and forward with it for months beforehand!
 

 

[JeanieC,Aston]

I came back of Britannia last Sunday,,,I bought the drink package for £1050 ish with loyalty discount.

I drink John Smiths,Guinness and Jameson’s.

My wife only drinks Prosecco,,,there is only one size for Prosecco= small,,,,and at £6.25 a glass only 6 glasses were needed to break even.

x2 before dinner,x2 during dinner,x2 after dinner.

 

I believe we nailed it without really trying with 4 days spare…..don’t forget we also had coffee and those small tins of water,,,,and soft drinks.

 

And without late nights as the ship died a death at 23:00 hrs.

[BillieJeanKaraokeKing]

I've just come back off MSC, the premium package (anything up to €13 value) was purchased for £26pppd, and there were no issues getting served in a timely manner at all. So that additionally puts P&O's pricey restrictive offering in perspective. 

[BornLucky]

On 10/21/2022 at 5:56 PM, Malibustacey79 said:

 

It’s worked out better than I thought TBH, although I still think the ‘rules’ are often nonsensical. I’m usually a cocktail drinker and the included choices definitely aren’t great - although I did discover a little hack by getting a Fruit Cooler from Costa then ordering a peach schnapps to go in it, and same with an Iced Latte and a Baileys. A few issues with actually getting the Costa’s drinks, but those issues are non-drinks-package related!

Each to their own. I pefer the bar staff to make my cocktails rather than me doing a venue crawl to pour from cup to cup. How about getting the cocktails you want on your holiday?  Your compromise saves you a few quid, probably not a significant proportion of your overall holiday cost.  If budget restricted take some drink on board and have it in the cabin. Either way has to be better than calling a 25ml (dirty the glass) measure of Baileys in a coffee a cocktail.

[Malibustacey79]

1 hour ago, BornLucky said:

Each to their own. I pefer the bar staff to make my cocktails rather than me doing a venue crawl to pour from cup to cup. How about getting the cocktails you want on your holiday?  Your compromise saves you a few quid, probably not a significant proportion of your overall holiday cost.  If budget restricted take some drink on board and have it in the cabin. Either way has to be better than calling a 25ml (dirty the glass) measure of Baileys in a coffee a cocktail.

As you say…each to their own. There wasn’t a cocktail option for either of those drinks even if I’d paid, but collecting a Costa on the way up to the pool suited me fine. I don’t tend to have any more drinks after wine with dinner on an evening. 
 

Husband was really pleased with the selection of draft beers he could get so he was happy. But the cocktail lists didn’t compare to the other lines we’ve been on (Celebrity/Marella/MSC), included or otherwise. 

[BornLucky]

19 minutes ago, Malibustacey79 said:

As you say…each to their own. There wasn’t a cocktail option for either of those drinks even if I’d paid, but collecting a Costa on the way up to the pool suited me fine. I don’t tend to have any more drinks after wine with dinner on an evening. 
 

Husband was really pleased with the selection of draft beers he could get so he was happy. But the cocktail lists didn’t compare to the other lines we’ve been on (Celebrity/Marella/MSC), included or otherwise. 

Glad you made the package work for you. I dont't think anyone could argue with my view that the P&O Ultimate drinks package is the worst such offering of any cruise line. It is the only line where I don't buy the package and have pretty much switched my custom to other cruise lines. Even when other Carnival Group lines have similar rules on paper they are in fact much better in terms of the choice you get. I do however agree P&O have a good choice of beers but they are only about 4 quid anyway so don't justify buying the package.

[majortom10]

52 minutes ago, BornLucky said:

Glad you made the package work for you. I dont't think anyone could argue with my view that the P&O Ultimate drinks package is the worst such offering of any cruise line. It is the only line where I don't buy the package and have pretty much switched my custom to other cruise lines. Even when other Carnival Group lines have similar rules on paper they are in fact much better in terms of the choice you get. I do however agree P&O have a good choice of beers but they are only about 4 quid anyway so don't justify buying the package.

P&O drinks package is not the worst offering of any cruise line have you seen Cunard's. A lot dearer to purchase at $69pppd with almost exactly T&Cs as P&O and yet the drinks on Cunard are much more expensive so limited choice within the $12 limit.

[Malibustacey79]

49 minutes ago, BornLucky said:

Glad you made the package work for you. I dont't think anyone could argue with my view that the P&O Ultimate drinks package is the worst such offering of any cruise line. It is the only line where I don't buy the package and have pretty much switched my custom to other cruise lines. Even when other Carnival Group lines have similar rules on paper they are in fact much better in terms of the choice you get. I do however agree P&O have a good choice of beers but they are only about 4 quid anyway so don't justify buying the package.

Agreed…and this is what will probably stop me booking with P&O again unless an amazing offer pops up. I did know this before we booked but wanted to give it a try having always let it put me off in the past.
 

I probably wouldn’t book with MSC either again, to be fair, although the drinks package was fab!

[Megabear2]

I find this latest debate quite interesting.  Am I to assume that the provision of a decent drinks package as discussed by our two most recent posters is one of the more important aspects of choosing a cruise nowadays. If that is so I wonder how the lines such as Princess, Celebrity and RCI who threw it in as a freebie on most of their cruises after the pandemic are fairing.  The Princess offering for instance is much the same as P&O and Cunard one in the 15 drinks a day.  I know that draft beers were almost non existent on Regal with beer offerings bottled.  Now that it's no longer automatically included how many are paying to upgrade or indeed upgrade twice?

 

Celebrity also offered two levels of package when I sailed with them in June and it was totally unlimited. As someone who doesn't drink alcohol a great deal I was glad of it for the "free" iced coffees etc but can truthfully say I wouldn't necessarily choose it if I hadn't been given it.

 

Passengers' alcohol consumption on the Celebrity and Princess cruises I took this year was I would say substantially higher than on my P&O ones and the crowd (mainky American) as a result louder and more boisterous.  This isn't in any way a criticism as each to his own but perhaps P&O are aware of the UK's sad reputation abroad with alcohol and are deliberately walking a fine line to temper their guests enthusiasm.

[crompton21]

Have things got so bad that the only way to enjoy a cruise is now to consume so much alcohol that you neither know where you are or remember the experience?  That’s what would happen to me once I’d had 15 glasses of wine/beer etc, I must be too much of a lightweight when it comes to drinking🍺 

[wowzz]

We don't buy the P&O package, as the drink prices are reasonable,  and we normally have sufficient obc to cover the cost of buying drinks on a payg basis anyway.

Princess is a different matter.  Due to fx rates, plus the 18% service charge,  a glass of wine will cost you the best part of £12, so the £40 pppd package ( which also includes autotips and wifi) is a no brainer.  And, it is nice to have various coffees, soft drinks, water etc knowing that you will not be facing  an enormous bill at the end of the cruise. 

Personally, I've never seen Princess Plus been given as a freebie - it is shown as included on some advertising,  but you can purchase a stand alone fare if you wish. 

It is not a matter of attempting to achieve the 15 alcoholic drink limit on a daily basis - it is the ability to consume what you want, when you want, without mentally totting up the impact on your wallet.

And, with due respect to Megabear, cruises, or indeed any holiday where there are numerous Americans, are always more noisy and boisterous than Brit only holidays.  It is a national trait, nothing to do with alcohol consumption. 

Edited October 23, 2022 by wowzz

[crompton21]

I understand the flexibility thing, and for you that works.  There are numerous other posts where people claim to have “got their monies worth” or words to that effect.  To do that involves calculating your rolling drinks consumption on a daily basis to ensure that you haven’t been short changed, which appears to be the opposite of what you are able to achieve by having the package.  

[Megabear2]

55 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We don't buy the P&O package, as the drink prices are reasonable,  and we normally have sufficient obc to cover the cost of buying drinks on a payg basis anyway.

Princess is a different matter.  Due to fx rates, plus the 18% service charge,  a glass of wine will cost you the best part of £12, so the £40 pppd package ( which also includes autotips and wifi) is a no brainer.  And, it is nice to have various coffees, soft drinks, water etc knowing that you will not be facing  an enormous bill at the end of the cruise. 

Personally, I've never seen Princess Plus been given as a freebie - it is shown as included on some advertising,  but you can purchase a stand alone fare if you wish. 

It is not a matter of attempting to achieve the 15 alcoholic drink limit on a daily basis - it is the ability to consume what you want, when you want, without mentally totting up the impact on your wallet.

And, with due respect to Megabear, cruises, or indeed any holiday where there are numerous Americans, are always more noisy and boisterous than Brit only holidays.  It is a national trait, nothing to do with alcohol consumption. 

I agree about Americans - I cruise out of the US on a regular basis.  My point, trying to be polite, is that the AI packages are ideal for that market as apart from a few isolated younger people there are not so many intent on drinking as their main recreation (not just on a ship).  Unfortunately that is beginning to creep in to their society too - see reports of drunken fights in Epcot at Disney World Food Festival for example so even travelling with children does not curtail the enthusiasm.

 

We would be lying to ourselves if we do not admit since the 80's heavy drinking has become a symbol of the British abroad and as a result we are perceived in some places as a bad influence - all inclusive resorts in Majorca limiting drinks at some all inclusive resorts for instance. P&O rightly need to be careful with their image and as a result want to make an offering but not one which allows excess.  I'm not in anyway judging people as that would be pot, kettle and black.  I have nights in good company where I get drunk, hopefully not to nuisance levels, but I could not drink to that level every day.

 

Regarding Princess my experience on a fly cruise with predominantly US guests was completely different to my staycation on the same ship with only UK guests.  Boisterous and excitability Americans were a totally different animal to the latter who got progressively more rude and self centred at they neared their 15 drink daily limit - the bottles of beer being used to make a pint running out for many before dinner leaving the men in particular cross as their allowance was gone.  I include my own friends in that one and I know it repeated on their cruise to Norway and Denmark this year.

[BornLucky]

11 hours ago, majortom10 said:

P&O drinks package is not the worst offering of any cruise line have you seen Cunard's. A lot dearer to purchase at $69pppd with almost exactly T&Cs as P&O and yet the drinks on Cunard are much more expensive so limited choice within the $12 limit.

With respect I disagree. Yes the Cunard price is higher but they offer you a huge choice of properly made and presented coctails within the limit. On P&O there is almost no choice and the presentation is amateur. Basic P&O drinks are the best value and for most paying as you go is probably the better option.

[JeanieC,Aston]

3 hours ago, crompton21 said:

I understand the flexibility thing, and for you that works.  There are numerous other posts where people claim to have “got their monies worth” or words to that effect.  To do that involves calculating your rolling drinks consumption on a daily basis to ensure that you haven’t been short changed, which appears to be the opposite of what you are able to achieve by having the package.  

You don’t need a daily calculator to work out the fact that the DP with discount is £36.50.

I know that my wife will drink x6 Proseccos a day at £6.25 a go.

6 x 6.25 =37.50.

Easy peasy.

[Red Leicester]

The 15 drink limit a day is one not to exceed not necessarily go out and achieve.  It's about what you get from the package and whether it's worth it for you.

 

Mrs RL and me have done Pepsi cards (RIP 😭), pay as you go and a non-alcholic drinks package on our last cruise in September.  We didn't keep track other than at a high level to see if it was worth doing again.  On average we think we hit the £20 per day at 4 x Pepsi, Hot Choc, couple of mocktails.  £20 hit and only half of our 15 drink limit.  

 

If I took Mother RL on a cruise she wouldn't have a drinks package and would pay as she went as she's a straight tea drinker.  The odd J2O would be purchased with credit.

 

Would we do it again?  Yes.  It was less hassle for us and we enjoyed spending the on board credit on other things instead and on the alcoholic drinks we had.  We broke even.  We concluded non-alcohol package suits our needs and pay as you go on alcohol. 

 

We can also save up and pay the drinks package up front over the preceding months and it's one less thing to worry about, that's another key thing for us.

[JeanieC,Aston]

15 hours ago, BornLucky said:

Glad you made the package work for you. I dont't think anyone could argue with my view that the P&O Ultimate drinks package is the worst such offering of any cruise line. It is the only line where I don't buy the package and have pretty much switched my custom to other cruise lines. Even when other Carnival Group lines have similar rules on paper they are in fact much better in terms of the choice you get. I do however agree P&O have a good choice of beers but they are only about 4 quid anyway so don't justify buying the package.

Beers at 4 quid? when was the last time you went on a P&O cruise.?

I was on Britannia a week ago and there was no beers at 4 quid.

• Peroni, pint £5.20
• Stella Artois, pint £5.00
• Budweiser, 330ml bottle £4.50
• Old Speckled Hen, 500ml £4.75
• Guinness draught can 440 ml can £4.75 
• IPA, £5.15per pint
•  
• Doesnt take many to reach the cost of BP if you add in coffee,water,soft drinks etc.

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, BornLucky said:

With respect I disagree. Yes the Cunard price is higher but they offer you a huge choice of properly made and presented coctails within the limit. On P&O there is almost no choice and the presentation is amateur. Basic P&O drinks are the best value and for most paying as you go is probably the better option.

When did you last go on a Cunard cruise, you cannot get many cocktails under $12.

[waddle]

On 10/21/2022 at 5:56 PM, Malibustacey79 said:

We are disembarking Azura tomorrow and decided to go for the Drinks Package on Day 2. It was the best choice for us as we do like a drink on our hols, especially when without the kids, as we are on this one. 
 

It’s worked out better than I thought TBH, although I still think the ‘rules’ are often nonsensical. I’m usually a cocktail drinker and the included choices definitely aren’t great - although I did discover a little hack by getting a Fruit Cooler from Costa then ordering a peach schnapps to go in it, and same with an Iced Latte and a Baileys. A few issues with actually getting the Costa’s drinks, but those issues are non-drinks-package related!
 

I also found that they are very generous with the wine, so only being allowed a ‘small’ with dinner isn’t really a problem as they aren’t small! 
 

Husband is a beer/wine/whiskey drinker and found it absolutely fine, it really is mainly the cocktails that let it down, together with not being allowed to pay just the difference. I would have ordered more expensive ones and paid the difference if that was allowed but hey-ho I never went thirsty. 
 

I’m not sure if we’ll sail with P&O again but if we do we would get the package again. 
 

I hope this helps someone with their decision as I really did go back and forward with it for months beforehand!
 

 

Can I ask if any liquor coffees are included in the package or is it a case or ordering a single measure of spirit and throwing it into a coffee yourself? 😀