Beverage Package Prices Just Keep Going Up And Up!

[Dayman9966]

Our Oasis of the Seas sailing for June started out at $63.99 and now up to $85.99!!  I get they have to make up for lost money, but it's starting to get to the point where it makes no sense to purchase it.  With 18% taxes/tips, it's about $1,400 for 2 people on a 7 day sailing.  At $200 per day, it almost forces you to drink your face off every day, with the exception of specialty coffees and no alcoholic drinks.  If they dropped it to $69.99 they would have many more people signing up in my opinion.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

2 minutes ago, Dayman9966 said:

Our Oasis of the Seas sailing for June started out at $63.99 and now up to $85.99!!  I get they have to make up for lost money, but it's starting to get to the point where it makes no sense to purchase it.  With 18% taxes/tips, it's about $1,400 for 2 people on a 7 day sailing.  At $200 per day, it almost forces you to drink your face off every day, with the exception of specialty coffees and no alcoholic drinks.  If they dropped it to $69.99 they would have many more people signing up in my opinion.

I'm assuming they have studies done that shows how many people purchase at each price point.  If you have 100 people purchase at $63.99, you need 75 people to purchase at $85.99.  So even if they lose 20% of their $63.99 sales, they're STILL ahead of the game.  

 

While it's not a "supply and demand", the role of any business is to get people to pay the most for the product.  

[islandchicklet]

Well I just posted asking how high can it go!  🤣  Well, I guess at least 85.99.  

Edited February 20, 2023 by islandchicklet

[Dayman9966]

1 minute ago, islandchicklet said:

Well I just posted asking how high can it go!  🤣  Well, I guess at least 85.99.  

Funny, I've never seen it this high!

[islandchicklet]

Just now, Dayman9966 said:

Funny, I've never seen it this high!

I know! It is getting ridiculous!

[George C]

Celebrity is asking over a hundred, glad I get 5 free drinks for being diamond plus.

[JeffT237]

We've never purchased it for our Royal cruises, simply we do not consume enough to justify the cost. $1400 for the 2 of us for our upcoming Wonder cruise is just too much, we'd never break even.  We have purchased it for our past 2 Princess cruises, the Princess Plus which includes most drinks, Wi-Fi and gratuities for $60 pp per day and amazingly people on the Princess board complain about the programs high cost! 

Edited February 20, 2023 by JeffT237

[ClaireA1978]

I agree, I always purchase them but I even choked at the discounted rate of eighty odd British pounds per person per day....and don't get me started about the price of everything at Cococay grrrrr

[sandym718]

It's crazy.  No way would we drink that much.  We all got the soda pkg + Internet for 22.99 on sale.  We have $400 total OBC.  We'll use that for any other drinks, alcoholic or not.  Not sure what else we'd spend it on anyways, other than the Escape room if we can get it.  

[topnole]

1 hour ago, Dayman9966 said:

Our Oasis of the Seas sailing for June started out at $63.99 and now up to $85.99!!  I get they have to make up for lost money, but it's starting to get to the point where it makes no sense to purchase it.  With 18% taxes/tips, it's about $1,400 for 2 people on a 7 day sailing.  At $200 per day, it almost forces you to drink your face off every day, with the exception of specialty coffees and no alcoholic drinks.  If they dropped it to $69.99 they would have many more people signing up in my opinion.

To be honest, the inflation on the drink package is nothing compared to inflation on a lot of other products or services.  

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, Dayman9966 said:

Our Oasis of the Seas sailing for June started out at $63.99 and now up to $85.99!!  I get they have to make up for lost money, but it's starting to get to the point where it makes no sense to purchase it.  With 18% taxes/tips, it's about $1,400 for 2 people on a 7 day sailing.  At $200 per day, it almost forces you to drink your face off every day, with the exception of specialty coffees and no alcoholic drinks.  If they dropped it to $69.99 they would have many more people signing up in my opinion.

Specialty coffee in the morning, OJ with breakfast, two or three waters through out the day, afternoon cocktails, a cocktail in the show room , a glass of wine with dinner, late night cocktails in the pub or bar.  You are already way over $100 pp.    

[Dayman9966]

10 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Specialty coffee in the morning, OJ with breakfast, two or three waters through out the day, afternoon cocktails, a cocktail in the show room , a glass of wine with dinner, late night cocktails in the pub or bar.  You are already way over $100 pp.    

I bought the case of water, plus bringing 12 more on board plus 2 bottles of wine.  I'm a beer drinker, I can't drink 75 of them for a week, lol.

[taglovestocruise]

1 minute ago, Dayman9966 said:

I bought the case of water, plus bringing 12 more on board plus 2 bottles of wine.  I'm a beer drinker, I can't drink 75 of them for a week, lol.

Wife and I get 10 free cocktails a day. Last cruise was 10 nights and most nights the last two were charged against the sea pass account.

[George C]

54 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

Specialty coffee in the morning, OJ with breakfast, two or three waters through out the day, afternoon cocktails, a cocktail in the show room , a glass of wine with dinner, late night cocktails in the pub or bar.  You are already way over $100 pp.    

we like getting UDP which gives us 40 percent off wine by the bottle that plus suite lounge and our diamond plus drinks solves our issues.

[vjmatty]

It's a test to see how high it can go before people stop buying it.  It used to be a good deal for the majority of passengers, but the light and moderate drinking crowd is getting priced out to where it isn't worth it.  Unless you're drinking more than 2-3 cocktails a day, you're probably better off a la carte.

Edited February 20, 2023 by vjmatty

[Bateau_de_croisiere]

1 hour ago, sandym718 said:

We all got the soda pkg + Internet for 22.99 on sale.

 

Newbie that just booked an Alaska trip on the Brilliance September 3, 2023. That combined soda and internet package would be great, but I don't see it offered (as a bundle) in my paid add-on choices. Is that combo exclusive to other routes?

[resetjet]

They should probably go to a 15 drink max like carnival.  So many people get others drinks which drives up costs.  But they are adjusting accordingly and raking in the cash.  

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, Bateau_de_croisiere said:

Is that combo exclusive to other routes?

No, RCI seems to mainly offer the DPB+Voom combo if any at all.

[Coralc]

2 hours ago, resetjet said:

They should probably go to a 15 drink max like carnival.  So many people get others drinks which drives up costs.  But they are adjusting accordingly and raking in the cash.  

No. They don't actually. If I get drinks for others, I use my vouchers, which go unused when you have the DBP. 

 

We were able to get the packages for semi-reasonable prices for March. But we are taking a cruising break anyway, so perhaps the prices will adjust at some point. Pretty sure, we are not the only ones. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by Coralc

[George C]

2 hours ago, resetjet said:

They should probably go to a 15 drink max like carnival.  So many people get others drinks which drives up costs.  But they are adjusting accordingly and raking in the cash.  

Totally against doing anything carnival does , your paying big money plus you want to limit # of drinks, doubt more than 5 or 10 percent gets that close to 15 ,

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by George C

[S.A.M.J.R.]

3 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Wife and I get 10 free cocktails a day. Last cruise was 10 nights and most nights the last two were charged against the sea pass account.

Good for you?

 

I got the Deluxe during one cruise years ago (so before the prices exploded).  I think I broke even over the week... because I was TRYING to break even.  I definitely drank more than I would have normally.  Yes, I'm a light weight.  No, I don't have an interest in getting buzzed, much less drunk.  

 

Everyone has their comfort level.  I will say I don't understand the people who get the deluxe plan, don't care if they break even, because they don't want to "waste their money" if they get a drink and they don't finish it.  

[S.A.M.J.R.]

3 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Specialty coffee in the morning, OJ with breakfast, two or three waters through out the day, afternoon cocktails, a cocktail in the show room , a glass of wine with dinner, late night cocktails in the pub or bar.  You are already way over $100 pp.    

BTW, the coffee, OJ, and waters can all be gotten with the refreshment package.  That is $50-60/day cheaper than the deluxe.  So yes, if you have 4-5 alcoholic drinks every day, you're better off with the package. 

[ARandomTraveler]

It doesn't surprise me how much people will pay for it anymore. I was priced out 10 years ago, and have never spent so much out-of-pocket that I've regretted not buying it.

 

My next cruise has it priced at only $58.99/day (+18%), the catch is that you have to buy it for 12 days. 
 

I've been shocked at how many people buy it at the current prices, and the fact that they're able to raise the price again shows that they haven't reached the breaking point yet.

 

I buy the refreshment package and if I want alcohol I just pay out of pocket. There is no scenario under which the alcohol package would be worth it for me. With the refreshment package at $31.99/day now, even that isn't really worth it anymore. 
 

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[nasa1974]

I hope Princess doesn't follow what Royal is doing. For less than $500 per person (for 7 days) you can get a Princess Plus added to your cruise and it includes the daily gratuity, Wi-Fi and beverages. The Princess Premium is less than $600.  Where Royal is around $700 per person for 7 days just for drinks.  Just saying.  Ouch!!!

[Thisguylikestocruise]

We paid $67.99, which was $1,123 total for our Wonder cruise 2 weeks ago. Broke even, and enjoyed trying new drinks. However, with higher prices I don’t think it’s worth it. 2 more cruises booked, and not getting another drink package.