Drinks Package Changes

[ribena1]

On 5/14/2023 at 7:12 AM, Mad4WDW said:

Before people kick off about how you “need to be an alcoholic” or “you can’t possibly drink 15 alcoholic drinks a day” Pleae keep those type of options to yourself as we’ve all heard it before.

Some info for you. As per the title. The drinks packages are changing, a. New tier will be added from 28th May(On Arvia) might be a different start date on other ships.

 

There will be a deluxe package which will have a raised price cap, include all the premium mixers, include doubles of spirits and include all the premium soft drinks in bottles etc 

 

The new highest tier will be £44.99 per day with a discount offered if booked landside.

 

New menus are going out no doubt with higher prices, but more cocktails will be included within the price limit on the new menus. I’ve attached a couple of menu scans from our cruise (ended 14th May) for reference if anyone gets eyes on the new ones and can upload at some point we can compare to see how the prices have changed

Olive Grove Arvia May 2023.pdf 1.72 MB · 74 downloads Arvia Amber Bar May 2023.pdf 3.25 MB · 62 downloads

Arvia Pool Bar Drinks Menu.pdf 780.96 kB · 49 downloads

ive heard maybe 3 levels 🤔

[Ess001]

just checked my Carib cruise for December and there are two choices of drinks pacakge which I could book - classic and a pricier deluxe at 49.99 v 39.99 per day. seems to make sense to offer the choice.

 

Ess

[Kevstir]

Not a lot of info but the websites been updated.

[jaydee6969]

19 minutes ago, Kevstir said:

Not a lot of info but the websites been updated.

 

I can also confirm that within my.pocruises for our upcoming Azura cruise at end of June, it is available to purchase.  No T's and C's as yet.

[Well boy 91]

All very short on details . On the most expensive package id be looking for Ice Cold Cuvee and Boom Boom red wine . The devil will be in the detail 

[scobie15]

And you have to pay more if you buy any package onboard  

 

 

NEW DRINKS PACKAGES AND PRICES:

THE REFRESH DRINKS PACKAGE

Drinks that everyone can enjoy

Price before your holiday: £9.85 | On-board price: £10.95

(Per person, per day)

Packed with fizz, punch and zing, fantastic all-day refreshment is at your fingertips, whenever you fancy. Just kick back, relax and quench your thirst from day one with our range of soft drinks.

Classic favourites such as R.Whites Lemonade, Pepsi and juices, all for a fixed price per person, per day. Perfect for all your daily refreshment from poolside to the bar.

Plus, if you’re travelling with children 16 years and under and you choose either a Classic or Deluxe drinks package, we’ll include the Refresh drinks package at no extra cost. That way, everyone can enjoy a selection of their favourite drinks.

Log in to My P&O Cruises up to three days before your holiday to buy your Refresh drinks package. Or, if you’d rather wait until you’re on board, you can buy your chosen package within the first two days of your cruise.

THE ALCOHOL-FREE DRINKS PACKAGE

Mocktails, mochas and more

Price before your holiday: £22.46 | On-board price: £24.95

(Per person, per day)

Whether you’re a coffee lover or a soft-drink sipper, there’s plenty to choose from. Fresh, fruity and flavour-packed drinks you can enjoy all day and all night too. Get the very best value from Costa Coffee for a morning pick-me-up or unwind by the pool with one of our refreshing non-alcoholic cocktails at sundown. Our Alcohol-free package includes everything from the Refresh package, plus Costa Coffee, teapigs™ and a wide range of superb soft drinks, all for a fixed price per person, per day. With all this to choose from, you really don’t want to miss out.

Log in to My P&O Cruises up to three days before your holiday to buy your Alcohol-free drinks package. Or, if you’d rather wait until you’re on board, you can buy your chosen package within the first two days of your cruise.

THE CLASSIC DRINKS PACKAGE

Lots of tipples for every taste

Price before your holiday: £40.46 | On-board price: £44.95

(Per person, per day)

Dive into a wide selection of fabulous drinks with a tipple for every mood. Our Classic drinks package includes everything from the Refresh and Alcohol-free drinks packages, plus an array of refreshing spirits, tempting wines and classic cocktails, making every toast a joy. You can even sample our exclusive Marabelle Gin and Golden Tide Rum with your mixer of choice. All of this for a fixed price per person, per day. And as if this offering couldn’t get any better, if you’re travelling with children 16 years and under and you choose either a Classic or Deluxe drinks package, we’ll include the Refresh drinks package at no extra cost so everyone can enjoy a selection of their favourite drinks.

And the good news keeps on coming… You also get a 20% discount on drinks excluded from this package* – ideal for that special bottle of Champagne.

Log in to My P&O Cruises up to three days before your holiday to buy your Classic drinks package. Or, if you’d rather wait until you’re on board, you can buy your chosen package within the first two days of your cruise.

* Exclusions apply.

THE DELUXE DRINKS PACKAGE

Cheers to our most generous drinks package

Price before your holiday: £52.16 | On-board price: £57.95

(Per person, per day)

Savour your favourites or branch out and try a new tipple with our most generous drinks package. From colourful cocktails to fine spirits and everything in between, our Deluxe drinks package includes the same selection as all our other packages and then some!

Delight in our most popular brands, a wider variety of spirits for every mood, craft beers and glasses of fizz – all of which you can enjoy while you look out at the captivating ocean waves and soft orange sunsets. With so much to choose from, our Deluxe package offers you the best value.

And as if this offering couldn’t get any better, if you’re travelling with children 16 years and under and you choose either a Classic or Deluxe drinks package, we’ll include the Refresh drinks package at no extra cost. That way, everyone can enjoy a selection of their favourite drinks.

And the good news keeps on coming… You also get a 20% discount on drinks excluded from this package* – ideal for that special bottle of Champagne.

Log in to My P&O Cruises up to three days before your holiday to buy your Deluxe drinks package. Or, if you’d rather wait until you’re on board, you can buy your chosen package within the first two days of your cruise.

* Exclusions apply

Edited May 18, 2023 by scobie15

[TPers]

I think this might help

 

https://www.pocruises.com/content/dam/po/pdfs/Terms-and-Conditions-Drinks-packages-2023.pdf

[jerter]

It says the new packages are 'Better Value'. I'd like them to explain why paying £44.95 is better value than paying £39.95 (assuming bought on board, which a lot do with OBC)

[jaydee6969]

If I am reading the T's and C's correctly, also a change on maximum number of drinks.  The old package was limited to 15 alcoholic drinks plus non alcoholic etc.  The new conditions stipulate

 

 All Drinks Packages are limited to 15 drinks per guest in any 24-hour period, starting each day at 6am.

 

This along with the price increase moves it out of some budgets. 

 

Having said that, time to speculate on bar price increases to coincide with the revised package launch.

[TPers]

The ‘old’ package had a price cap of £6.95. Is there a new price cap? I can’t see it mentioned anywhere.

[AlixN]

The Terms and conditions mention 'Drinks Package Menu Icons' so I think we will see a release of new menus soon with icons that make it easy to tell what is included.

[Mollag]

34 minutes ago, AlixN said:

The Terms and conditions mention 'Drinks Package Menu Icons' so I think we will see a release of new menus soon with icons that make it easy to tell what is included.

Hopefully they will do but I’ve just looked at what they class as craft beer which is Tribute and Okells IPA which aren’t craft beers unlike Punk IPA which is but no mention of it as one and as for only 15 drinks if you get 5 bottles of water a day for instance does that mean you’ve only got 10 drinks left or are the non alcoholic ones not counted like before as usual it’s as clear as mud. 

[Kip family of 4]

1 hour ago, Mollag said:

Hopefully they will do but I’ve just looked at what they class as craft beer which is Tribute and Okells IPA which aren’t craft beers unlike Punk IPA which is but no mention of it as one and as for only 15 drinks if you get 5 bottles of water a day for instance does that mean you’ve only got 10 drinks left or are the non alcoholic ones not counted like before as usual it’s as clear as mud. 

We’ll have to see what happens with the 15 drinks as it isn’t clear. 

 

I had already purchased the old package for my upcoming cruise with peninsula discount so happy to see that I will now be getting the deluxe package for no extra cost. 

[Mollag]

17 minutes ago, Kip family of 4 said:

We’ll have to see what happens with the 15 drinks as it isn’t clear. 

 

I had already purchased the old package for my upcoming cruise with peninsula discount so happy to see that I will now be getting the deluxe package for no extra cost. 

Nice one! Have they told you this will be the case with an email or written confirmation? Hopefully we’ll see the new menus at the weekend with it being rolled out on a couple of ships

[jeanlyon]

Think I will stick to PAYG.  There's no way we could make use of any of that!

[Selbourne]

Totally confusing. Multiple different prices referred to in this thread and the deluxe package still seems to have a lot of restrictions (the words ‘certain x’ wouldn’t fill me with confidence)

[Kip family of 4]

46 minutes ago, Mollag said:

Nice one! Have they told you this will be the case with an email or written confirmation? Hopefully we’ll see the new menus at the weekend with it being rolled out on a couple of ships

Had an email but this was confirmed on twitter too

[Kip family of 4]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

Totally confusing. Multiple different prices referred to in this thread and the deluxe package still seems to have a lot of restrictions (the words ‘certain x’ wouldn’t fill me with confidence)

Agreed, once new menus are used on cruises from 20th May it will be easier to see what is and isn’t included in the two alcoholic packages 

[Cruisemeister2002]

On 5/14/2023 at 11:02 AM, jeanlyon said:

I suppose my feeling is that there are all sorts of things that could make it a waste of money.  Lots of ports when you are ashore, not feeling well, so therefore not drinking any alcohol that day/days.  Confined to cabin with Covid. etc. etc.

 

At least when you PAYG, you don't have a problem.

 

It would be interesting to see someone write down what they would consume in a day to generate £45 including soft drinks and coffees etc.  I just can't see it at all.

We, that is the wife and I did a 35 night cruise on Ventura in March/April we took with us a  1 ltr bottle of gin and vokda. When we left the ship there were still some vodka left. Mind you, it's a individual thing. each to their own as they say. A couple on our table of six had a bottle of wine, she had white, he had red, which they drank over two nights and continue that throughout the cruise. We on the other hand didn't always drink at every meal and if we did we had a glass of wine or I had a beer and the wife a G&T and on the odd occasion we consumed a bottle. I simply don't go for a drinks package as there's no way i'd get my money's worth. But if a person feels that they can consume that amount then why not ?  

[jeanlyon]

We have a large glass of wine in the Crows Nest before dinner and a bottle at dinner.  I have the odd coffee during the cruise.   We don't do soft drinks at all.  Full of sugar and garbage.  So we are never anywhere near the package.

[Cruisemeister2002]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

We have a large glass of wine in the Crows Nest before dinner and a bottle at dinner.  I have the odd coffee during the cruise.   We don't do soft drinks at all.  Full of sugar and garbage.  So we are never anywhere near the package.

I nearly fell over (Not through drinking) when I looked on MyHoliday at the previous day's spend. We had two glasses of Souvignon Blanc and the bill was £19. I queried it at receiption and they looked into it. But apparently it was correct. Due to it being quite difficult to get the wine waiter and he didn't have a wine list with him always I just ordered them. I could have got a bottle for the same price.  

[No pager thank you]

The key issue here is how far the new menus will inflate the current PAYG prices, thereby changing how attractive (or not) the packages are. 

 

As a simple rule of thumb, it appears to be the case that (based on the higher of the pre-pay price levels quoted, and keeping in mind that buying in advance both means you cannot use OBC or gain the up to 10pc Peninsular Club discount)...

 

For the Refresh package - with loss of hot chocolates - the necessary consumption is 4 large (500ml) glasses of soft drink per day to break even.  Possible I suppose, although a lot of sugar/saccharin in 2 litres per day...

 

For the Non Alcohol package, the break even mark is around 5-6 drinks per day, based on higher priced premium soft drinks, or non alcoholic beers.  It still appears to be the poorest value for money of the non alcoholic deals (and even more sugar/saccharin!).

 

For the Classic package, the break even point appears to be at least 6 alcoholic drinks per day, taken at the "inclusive cocktail" levels, or wines.  For beers, the level is 7-8.

 

For the Deluxe package, its hard to say, but at the higher end price point for large glasses of wine, which are available and not considered to be fine wine, you are looking at around 6, but that's the equivalent of two bottles per day!  A lot when it's for a minimum of five nights consecutive!

 

Given that the cap is 15 per day and many passengers will spend at least 50pc of their cruises at ports and typically 1/2 a day off the ship, its probably fair to say that the deluxe package is the best value for money as an alcohol package, but also that many would struggle to deliver better value even af heavier levels of consumption. 

 

Passengers can still bring their own alcohol on, and bottles of spirit for in cabin consumption, costing around 1/2 of one day's package. 

 

If anything, the value for money has got worse with these changes, unless the pricing has been set up, like Princess, to create an effective half price drink option as an alternative to OBC.  This would make it look to be a good deal, and getting more margins from other spend like retail, specialty restaurant, etc, where passengers would no longer be able to use "free" money if taking the drinks.

 

It does appear that there is a preference to push margins and inflation on to drinks to keep the "saver" fares attractively priced. 

 

My sense is that many customers will cotton on, so question then is, what do P&O do next?

 

 

[Mollag]

2 hours ago, Kip family of 4 said:

Had an email but this was confirmed on twitter too

Make sure you take screenshots or copies they’ve been known to forget things before now

[jaydee6969]

On 5/14/2023 at 11:02 AM, jeanlyon said:

I suppose my feeling is that there are all sorts of things that could make it a waste of money.  Lots of ports when you are ashore, not feeling well, so therefore not drinking any alcohol that day/days.  Confined to cabin with Covid. etc. etc.

 

At least when you PAYG, you don't have a problem.

 

It would be interesting to see someone write down what they would consume in a day to generate £45 including soft drinks and coffees etc.  I just can't see it at all.

 

Many people get value from the package.  Everyone's holiday is different, as has been expressed many times on these threads.  Some passengers may spend little or no time ashore, that's up to them.

 

I personally wouldn't be going on my cruise with a pessimistic attitude that I would end up ill, confined to cabin or covid.  Positive that I would be enjoying myself.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

I nearly fell over (Not through drinking) when I looked on MyHoliday at the previous day's spend. We had two glasses of Souvignon Blanc and the bill was £19. I queried it at receiption and they looked into it. But apparently it was correct. Due to it being quite difficult to get the wine waiter and he didn't have a wine list with him always I just ordered them. I could have got a bottle for the same price.  

I always ask for the paper chit I'm afraid. Not environmentally friendly I know but I prefer to have a record of everything...