I added up all my drinks from my 5-night cruise

[bortman23]

We recently came off a 7 night sailing on the Prima, and found the FAS+ upgrade well worth it. We had planned to upgrade to unlimited wifi anyway, and the extra $50 ShoreEx saved us a lot (we got an excursion in every port, and only cost us about $250 CAD for both, total). 

 

We also found it useful for:

- Flow water at night and every day before going ashore

- Trying all the high end Whisky at the Whiskey Bar

- Starbucks every day, often twice (morning/afternoon)

- A shot of Baileys in our Starbucks!

- Aqua Panna bottles at dinner

- P+ Wine by the glass or Bottle at dinner

- My partner probably drank a few bottles of Veuve to himself, and I constantly had Belvedere martini

- Having 2 extra Specialty Dinning was wonderful, we barely ate in the MDR (though it was also good)

 

All said I think we came out ahead, over purchasing all these upgrades separately. Though we were VERY mindful of getting as much out of it as possible. 

 

I would do it again for a cruise like this, just the two of us or a small group. When traveling with family/large group I wouldn't since most of my family would not opt to upgrade, and with the extra dinners we likely would never eat together (maybe that's a good thing!?).

[FLAHAM]

16 alcoholic drinks per day is grossly unhealthy.

[European_CruiseGirl]

21 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

16 alcoholic drinks per day is grossly unhealthy.

I don’t think they had 16 alcoholic drinks per day. Just 16 drinks per day. Like: 

 

- 4 cokes ($12 + tax/day )

- 2 freshly squeezed oj ($8 + tax/day)

- 2 Starbucks ($12 + tax/day) 

- 3 Pellegrino/Aqua Panna waters ($ 18 + tax/day)

- 5 glasses of wine/drinks ($75 + tax/day) 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by European_CruiseGirl

[SpacemanSpiff]

4 hours ago, Monica887 said:

You had more than 16 drinks a day?! I can't even drink that much water....I don't understand the logistics of that. 

Don't laugh.  We had a senior engineer who retired from my office in 1997 and went on a one-week cruise.  And he was known to be a heavy drinker (in the proper occasions -- never on the job).

 

I heard he came back with a $3000 bar tab.  And that was 25 years ago.  🤨

[sabrecatz]

53 minutes ago, bortman23 said:

We recently came off a 7 night sailing on the Prima, and found the FAS+ upgrade well worth it. We had planned to upgrade to unlimited wifi anyway, and the extra $50 ShoreEx saved us a lot (we got an excursion in every port, and only cost us about $250 CAD for both, total). 

 

We also found it useful for:

- Flow water at night and every day before going ashore

- Trying all the high end Whisky at the Whiskey Bar

- Starbucks every day, often twice (morning/afternoon)

- A shot of Baileys in our Starbucks!

- Aqua Panna bottles at dinner

- P+ Wine by the glass or Bottle at dinner

- My partner probably drank a few bottles of Veuve to himself, and I constantly had Belvedere martini

- Having 2 extra Specialty Dinning was wonderful, we barely ate in the MDR (though it was also good)

 

All said I think we came out ahead, over purchasing all these upgrades separately. Though we were VERY mindful of getting as much out of it as possible. 

 

I would do it again for a cruise like this, just the two of us or a small group. When traveling with family/large group I wouldn't since most of my family would not opt to upgrade, and with the extra dinners we likely would never eat together (maybe that's a good thing!?).

Not drink related but I am thinking of doing this 5 night cruise and was wondering if they still had Jersey Boys and Six for entertainment ?

[drwbrt]

1 hour ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

And how did you enjoy the accounting profession?? 😉😎

I’m in marketing, I’m just a total nerd. 

[drwbrt]

8 minutes ago, sabrecatz said:

Not drink related but I am thinking of doing this 5 night cruise and was wondering if they still had Jersey Boys and Six for entertainment ?

Yes. They still have both shows. 

[drwbrt]

28 minutes ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

I don’t think they had 16 alcoholic drinks per day. Just 16 drinks per day. Like: 

 

- 4 cokes ($12 + tax/day )

- 2 freshly squeezed oj ($8 + tax/day)

- 2 Starbucks ($12 + tax/day) 

- 3 Pellegrino/Aqua Panna waters ($ 18 + tax/day)

- 5 glasses of wine/drinks ($75 + tax/day) 

 

 

Yes. This was the case. I’m going to upload the full drink list later. 

[latebloomer56]

5 hours ago, SeaShark said:

So explain the other side...if all it takes it a morning Starbucks and wine with dinner to come out ahead, then why would the cruise line kiss all their profit goodbye so easily? If the guest comes out ahead, the cruise line loses...do you really think the program is set up for them to lose?

Maybe the majority of people don't drink 15-16 drinks a day. I don't some days I don't drink anything but water maybe a latte. I get packages that offer other items as well.

[New2cruise2022]

I was on the cruise with @drwbrt and can provide a little context. Neither of us are small humans. (We can drink like we can eat.) We absolutely enjoyed the cruise. NCL did what they do right, and we do what we do right. We both had FAS+. We ordered a bottle of Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino with every meal. If we were in specialty dining or MDR, as soon as they saw we were Premium Plus, our bottled water was offered to my sons that were traveling with us but didn’t have the package. My boys drank Acqua Panna with me and we were a minimum 2 bottles per meal and probably 3-4 for most. When we were in the buffet for a meal or a snack or a nice place to sit and play cards, we always sat at the front, right by the bar. (He is overwhelmed at times, but does a great job and it was a favorite place to get drinks.) I was 2 fresh squeezed juices per day in the morning. Always with full cans of soda, Red Bull, and always with my Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino. @drwbrt probably had more alcohol than me but I was going through 2 Red Bull, 2 Starbucks, 2 Fresh Juice, and 6-8 Acqua Panna, and 8-10 sodas per day. Remember, if they aren’t giving you a can, a soda is about 4-6 ounces in a cup with ice. 

[sabrecatz]

34 minutes ago, drwbrt said:

Yes. They still have both shows. 

Awesome ....Thanks!

[CILCIANRQTS]

39 minutes ago, drwbrt said:

I’m in marketing, I’m just a total nerd. 

Nothing some “free” 151 rum can’t fix!! 🥃😁

[drwbrt]

2 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Nothing some “free” 151 rum can’t fix!! 🥃😁

Whiskey for this guy. 

[CruiseScrooge]

Drinking, eating and staying active constantly during the cruise can really increase a person's tolerances. Years ago before all these drink packages it was common to see a couple the final morning at guest services yelling my SO gets drunk on a glass of wine and two has them almost asleep so the huge bill can't be correct.

[New2cruise2022]

Also, with exception of one greet late night when a question or comment was repeated a few times, no one in our party was anything beyond buzzed. Upright and walking straight with a belly full of something we ate at the Local. But yes, cruises are different. People that have sedentary desk jobs are much more active walking around the ship. (My fitness program on my watch is pissed at me since I got home telling me I should have more steps by now. If I had a bar with included booze that was three decks away on the other end of the ship, I would have those steps. Instead, I’m just sober, fat, and lazy.)

[Greenpea2]

8 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

What logistics? Having 16 drinks a day on a cruise is pretty average (for drinkers).

I'm a drinker! No way I could (or would even want) that many drinks a day. Probably more like 7. But that's just me, I realize. In any case it certainly is a good deal for someone who drinks that many!.

[ilovesparky13]

8 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

What logistics? Having 16 drinks a day on a cruise is pretty average (for drinkers).

It absolutely is not 😂 It sounds like you may need some help. 

[drwbrt]

Here's the tally for those thinking that I had 16 alcoholic drinks per day, even though this has been explained by several people (thanks for the contribution).

 

Totals for the Cruise:

Pellegrino: 8 - $62 (this doesn't count the 6 Flow waters in my room that I drank or the many Aqua Panna bottles that would have been on @New2cruise2022 acct.)

Sodas: 19 - $79

Coffee: 7 - $50

Beer: 3 - $27

Wine: 9 - $205

Cocktails: 21 - $290

Liquor: 15 - $362

 

Now feel free to judge me with all the information.

[ilovesparky13]

4 hours ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

I don’t think they had 16 alcoholic drinks per day. Just 16 drinks per day. Like: 

 

- 4 cokes ($12 + tax/day )

- 2 freshly squeezed oj ($8 + tax/day)

- 2 Starbucks ($12 + tax/day) 

- 3 Pellegrino/Aqua Panna waters ($ 18 + tax/day)

- 5 glasses of wine/drinks ($75 + tax/day) 

 

 

My stomach hurts just reading that. 

[RD64]

Why is there so much judgement for those people that may or may not drink 15 alcoholic drinks a day while on vacation?
 

If free drinks were on offer - the number of people that NEVER drink, or only have 1-2 drinks per day would grow exponentially.

[dbrown84]

2 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Why is there so much judgement for those people that may or may not drink 15 alcoholic drinks a day while on vacation?
 

If free drinks were on offer - the number of people that NEVER drink, or only have 1-2 drinks per day would grow exponentially.

why is there so much judgement for everything on CC these days???  Cheers

[dbrown84]

36 minutes ago, drwbrt said:

Here's the tally for those thinking that I had 16 alcoholic drinks per day, even though this has been explained by several people (thanks for the contribution).

 

Totals for the Cruise:

Pellegrino: 8 - $62 (this doesn't count the 6 Flow waters in my room that I drank or the many Aqua Panna bottles that would have been on @New2cruise2022 acct.)

Sodas: 19 - $79

Coffee: 7 - $50

Beer: 3 - $27

Wine: 9 - $205

Cocktails: 21 - $290

Liquor: 15 - $362

 

Now feel free to judge me with all the information.

I'm seeing a lot of folks talk about Aqua Panna water.  Is that plain water or does it have bubbles in it, pellegrino?  

[SunshineGal2022]

8 hours ago, farmecologist said:

 

Glad you got a good value out of FAS+! 👍

 

We wouldn't drink anywhere near 16 drinks a day, so I'm not sure the 'math' would work out for us.  Also, my wife is a very light drinker...BUT she loves coffee...so the Starbucks benefit of FAS+ certainly needs to be taken into consideration. 

 

While we won't drik 16 drinks a day, the drinks we do try are the 'expensive' ones that we wouldn't normally pay for a la carte, which is the beauty of the package, regardless of the 'math'. 👍 In other words, we can try exotic (to us) things without worry.  I never thought about the "expensive bottle of wine at dinner" thing either.  I enjoy wine at dinner...so an "upscale" bottle of wine seems to have value as well.   Is there a limit to the bottle cost?

 

Thanks for this thread.  We never even considered FAS+. However, we were considering upgrading to unlimited internet anyway...so it seems like I should go do the 'math' to see if it works for us.  I think it just might! 👍

 

 

 

I am considering the FAS+ for Starbucks and Internet alone - especially if Starlink is added before our cruise!  Between those upgrades and I think using 2 days of excursion credits, the FAS+ package equals out in what we would pay.

 

There’s no limit to the bottle cost, to my understanding.

[dbrown84]

5 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

why is there so much judgement for everything on CC these days???  Cheers

on my next cruise, I'm going to make it a point to drink 16 alcoholic drinks a day, tip with a $2 bill each time and pour a couple into a zip lock bag and carry it back to my cabin 😜

[drwbrt]

6 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

I'm seeing a lot of folks talk about Aqua Panna water.  Is that plain water or does it have bubbles in it, pellegrino?  

No bubbles, just harvested from the bougiest mountain springs the Itallians can find.