Drink Packages

[Goofyisme]

What are the current prices for drink packages.  I have looked on RCCL site and can find the packages but not the prices.

Thanks in Advance

[Roybthered]

You will only find the price out once you have booked a cruise and they are available on the manage my booking on the RCCL site or on your App. The prices will be different between cruises.

[gumshoe958]

There’s no set price. It can and does change - both up and down. The good news is you can cancel for a full refund and repurchase if it goes down after you’ve bought it. So the usual advice is to buy it, then keep checking in case it’s come down.

[silentbob007]

The prices fluctuate a bit and they are also different per ship and sailing. On my next booked cruise it is $80/pp/pd plus gratuity. 
 

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by silentbob007

[OCSC Mike]

Here is a neat tool a poster created to help you look at any future cruise planner, even if you haven't booked the cruise...

 

 

[Joe33472]

4 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Here is a neat tool a poster created to help you look at any future cruise planner, even if you haven't booked the cruise...

 

 

 

This web tool is brilliant.  I used it to create the link and bookmarked the link so that I can check for price changes.   It would be great if the web tool was pinned in the forum.   

Edited July 12, 2023 by Joe33472

[Hutcha]

The prices go from ridiculous to outrageous. Especially in this day of competing lines offering free drinks (including Celebrity).

 

On my Mar 2024 Icon cruise it's running over $1500 (incl grat) for two people, on a 7 day.

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

9 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

 

On my Mar 2024 Icon cruise it's running over $1500 (incl grat) for two people, on a 7 day.

It sure is expensive to be drunk on a cruiseship 😂

[RedIguana]

12 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

The prices go from ridiculous to outrageous. Especially in this day of competing lines offering free drinks (including Celebrity).

Celebrity is not offering free drinks other than the loyalty stuff. The all-inclusive rate is costing you roughly $140 pp/day for tips/drinks/wifi  (and the that is for a classic beverage package with sub-par offerings compared to Celebrity's Premium package or RCL's Deluxe package) over the cost of just the cruise only fare.

[Hutcha]

2 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Celebrity is not offering free drinks other than the loyalty stuff. The all-inclusive rate is costing you roughly $140 pp/day for tips/drinks/wifi  (and the that is for a classic beverage package with sub-par offerings compared to Celebrity's Premium package or RCL's Deluxe package) over the cost of just the cruise only fare.

Every line that offers a drink package included also has a cheaper option that doesn't include it. I just pulled a random one up and it was $75 pp/pd for drinks, wifi, and tips. That's a far cry from the $107 pp/pd for just drinks on my Icon cruise.

[Hutcha]

8 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

Every line that offers a drink package included also has a cheaper option that doesn't include it. I just pulled a random one up and it was $75 pp/pd for drinks, wifi, and tips. That's a far cry from the $107 pp/pd for just drinks on my Icon cruise.

 

 

Here's a comparable deal on RCL the same month (first one I pulled up).

 

So, The base cruise fare, plus the drink package (incl grat) is $2,749 pp. Yes, it is a better drink package.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Hutcha

[RedIguana]

21 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

Every line that offers a drink package included also has a cheaper option that doesn't include it. I just pulled a random one up and it was $75 pp/pd for drinks, wifi, and tips. That's a far cry from the $107 pp/pd for just drinks on my Icon cruise.

Is that $75 pp/pd difference you listed from Celebrity? That would shock me. RCL and Celebrity are charging what I consider crazy pricing on beverage packages since sometime in 2022. My first two back from the restart on RCL was paying in the upper $50's to mid $60's for the deluxe package/wifi combo. My 7 night on Celebrity last fall was $1500 pp for concierge class cabin with Premium beverage/tips/wifi + 400 obc  (total $800 obc, also no solo supplement...wife and I grabbed connect concierge class cabins). But RCL and Celebrity's packages are crazy high right now. I was agreeing with you on that. I was just pointing out Celebrity was not offering free drinks, and that their packages were just as nuts as RCL's. Other lines AI's are less expensive than just the beverage packages on RCL/Celebrity right now. 

[ARandomTraveler]

I have 4 cruises booked right now, 2 with Royal and 2 with Celebrity, and the Celebrity premium drink packages are the most expensive at $86.99/day. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[Liljo22]

6 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Is that $75 pp/pd difference you listed from Celebrity? That would shock me. RCL and Celebrity are charging what I consider crazy pricing on beverage packages since sometime in 2022. My first two back from the restart on RCL was paying in the upper $50's to mid $60's for the deluxe package/wifi combo. My 7 night on Celebrity last fall was $1500 pp for concierge class cabin with Premium beverage/tips/wifi + 400 obc  (total $800 obc, also no solo supplement...wife and I grabbed connect concierge class cabins). But RCL and Celebrity's packages are crazy high right now. I was agreeing with you on that. I was just pointing out Celebrity was not offering free drinks, and that their packages were just as nuts as RCL's. Other lines AI's are less expensive than just the beverage packages on RCL/Celebrity right now. 

The $75/pp/pd is their bundled all included rate which includes the Classic drink package.  The classic on its own is $89pp/pd plus 20%.  The Classic is very limited in the offering and only goes up to $10 per drink.  If you want the Premium package, its $109pp/pd plus 20%.  If you take the all included rate, you can upgrade to premium for $24pp/pd plus 20%.  

 

The all included is a good deal given it includes tips and wifi on top of the drinks if you are ok with basic drinks.  

[Rob-Bob]

I must be different from most.  I am heading on a 10 day cruise in Nov 2024.  Drink package would be $1,500 for 2 of us for the 10 days.  That is 10 drinks a day at $15 a drink to break even.  That is 5 drinks per day per person.  While I may have 5 drinks in a day once or twice, my wife's max may be 3.  On some days we may have 1 or 2.

 

I can't justify it.  It is a port intensive cruise and I am sure we may tip a few back while on shore. I am thinking it is borderline insane.  I wonder how many of these packages do they sell?  Is there any data on that that anyone has access to and can share?

[Liljo22]

8 minutes ago, Rob-Bob said:

I must be different from most.  I am heading on a 10 day cruise in Nov 2024.  Drink package would be $1,500 for 2 of us for the 10 days.  That is 10 drinks a day at $15 a drink to break even.  That is 5 drinks per day per person.  While I may have 5 drinks in a day once or twice, my wife's max may be 3.  On some days we may have 1 or 2.

 

I can't justify it.  It is a port intensive cruise and I am sure we may tip a few back while on shore. I am thinking it is borderline insane.  I wonder how many of these packages do they sell?  Is there any data on that that anyone has access to and can share?

Nothing wrong if the drink package doesn't make sense to you.  Its expensive and not for everyone.  For a lot of people, 5 drinks is not a crazy amount.  A mimosa in the morning, a drink by the pool when you return to the ship, a wine at dinner and a couple of drinks for after dinner entertainment and you are there.  

 

[Rob-Bob]

1 minute ago, Liljo22 said:

Nothing wrong if the drink package doesn't make sense to you.  Its expensive and not for everyone.  For a lot of people, 5 drinks is not a crazy amount.  A mimosa in the morning, a drink by the pool when you return to the ship, a wine at dinner and a couple of drinks for after dinner entertainment and you are there.  

 

True.  I guess I just can't see doing that 10 days in a row but that is me.  Plus what you described is breaking even, financially.

 

Looks like I can bring on 2 bottles of wine for no charge. Is this accurate?

 

Thanks.

[Liljo22]

Just now, Rob-Bob said:

True.  I guess I just can't see doing that 10 days in a row but that is me.  Plus what you described is breaking even, financially.

 

Looks like I can bring on 2 bottles of wine for no charge. Is this accurate?

 

Thanks.

Yes its break even but the allure for some is not having to worry about the bill at the end.  Plus it gives you the freedom to try drinks you would not normally order.  If you don't like it, just order something different.  

 

You can bring 1 bottle per person of age in the cabin.

[Rob-Bob]

Just now, Liljo22 said:

Yes its break even but the allure for some is not having to worry about the bill at the end.  Plus it gives you the freedom to try drinks you would not normally order.  If you don't like it, just order something different.  

 

You can bring 1 bottle per person of age in the cabin.

Thanks.  And you are right about trying different drinks.  That is definitely one benefit of a drink package.

[RedIguana]

12 minutes ago, Rob-Bob said:

I can't justify it.  It is a port intensive cruise and I am sure we may tip a few back while on shore. I am thinking it is borderline insane.

I can't justify it either. I think the prices are insane, especially as you mention most of our wives would never come close to breaking even.

 

16 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

The all included is a good deal given it includes tips and wifi on top of the drinks if you are ok with basic drinks.

Compare to Princess plus at $60 pp/day with drinks up to $15, or Princess Premier at $80 pp/pd with drinks up to $20. Both include grats and wifi, Premier also includes specialty dining (2 per person on a 7 night). Both also include some extraneous stuff that isn't really relevant to our comparison. I was drinking Caymus cabernet sauvignon for an $8/glass up charge on my last Princess cruise. 

 

Royal's drink vouchers are nice though, probably best loyalty perk of the mass market lines. Pretty much make a beverage package not required.

[Hutcha]

5 hours ago, RedIguana said:

Is that $75 pp/pd difference you listed from Celebrity? That would shock me. RCL and Celebrity are charging what I consider crazy pricing on beverage packages since sometime in 2022. My first two back from the restart on RCL was paying in the upper $50's to mid $60's for the deluxe package/wifi combo. My 7 night on Celebrity last fall was $1500 pp for concierge class cabin with Premium beverage/tips/wifi + 400 obc  (total $800 obc, also no solo supplement...wife and I grabbed connect concierge class cabins). But RCL and Celebrity's packages are crazy high right now. I was agreeing with you on that. I was just pointing out Celebrity was not offering free drinks, and that their packages were just as nuts as RCL's. Other lines AI's are less expensive than just the beverage packages on RCL/Celebrity right now. 

Yes, that was from Celebrity. Yes, if you wait and just buy the drink package, it is really expensive. My point was that there are many cruise lines (X, NCL, MSC) that let you bundle your fare to include a drink package. NCL is something like $120 pp/pd, plus grat, if you opt out of it when you book and try to add it later.

 

On my 7 day X cruise in Feb, it was about a $500 pp difference for the cruise. When you include the internet and tips, it's a really good deal. The drink package alone was more than that. I like the convenience of the drink package, but I'm not getting it on Royal at $107 pp/pd on my Feb cruise. They are going to need to do something to remain competitive. The Diamonds and above might not care about a package, but a lot of people do.

[Goofyisme]

What great information especially the tool.

What is the availability of coffees and teas outside of Starbucks? Is there just a "normal" coffee shop?  BTW looking to sail on the Vision.

Thanks again

[OCSC Mike]

21 minutes ago, Goofyisme said:

What great information especially the tool.

What is the availability of coffees and teas outside of Starbucks? Is there just a "normal" coffee shop?  BTW looking to sail on the Vision.

Thanks again

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/vision-of-the-seas/things-to-do/cafe-latte-tudes

[amby6063]

I just paid $1482CAD for a 6 day cruise for 2. Last year I paid $1313 for a 5 day including drink package and Wi-Fi.  Crazy!!

[CroNich]

 

This is whats showing for my 7 night Oasis cruise for next January. Is this the best deal you can get or is there a chance for a better deal come Black Friday etc?