Plus package for non-drinker?

[Sandie5]

I'm not a drinker these days. Should I pass on the Plus package even though we'd get crew appreciation and wifi included?

[voljeep]

depends - how many specialty coffees  / teas / fountain sodas / bottled water - regular or fizzy / mocktails would you consume in a day, every day, of the cruise?

[memoak]

6 minutes ago, voljeep said:

depends - how many specialty coffees  / teas / fountain sodas / bottled water - regular or fizzy / mocktails would you consume in a day, every day, of the cruise?

That is the question you need to look at. Are you going to consume many coffee drinks, soft drinks etc. if so it might work but in many cases the numbers just don’t work

[mtnesterz]

If you are a non-drinker, or an envelope tipper, or can get by without internet for a few days during your cruise, it makes little sense to buy Plus. You'd either need to spend $10 to have your Medallion mailed, or have to wait like a whole two minutes to pick it up at the pier.

And lets be real about it, with all the eating opportunities on a cruise, do you really need those specialty desserts? 

What do we do, you ask? Technology what it is today,  we catch up on communications in port and disconnect sea days. We pick up the Medallion at the port and rarely drink alcohol, so no, we don't buy plus. 

[wheezedr]

39 minutes ago, Sandie5 said:

I'm not a drinker these days. Should I pass on the Plus package even though we'd get crew appreciation and wifi included?

Why don’t you do the math

[kywildcatfanone]

Non drinkers should avoid those packages.  No way to make it worth the cost.  Buy soda and water and take on-board as needed.

[Mike45LC]

I would buy the soda and more (or whatever it is called these days), buy the WiFi single device plan, auto-pay the tips (plus extra) and come out way ahead!

 

My alcohol consumption on a recent 16 day cruise was 3 drinks total.

[Coral]

I have bought it on my last few cruises. 

 

I do not drink alcohol, coffee or soda.

 

On my last cruise, I used OBC and it covered all but $50 off the package (on an 11 night cruise). I use it for tips and WIFI.

 

The reason I buy it is because I am on vacation, I do like fresh squeezed OJ and Mocktails. And occasionally hot chocolate. The reason I buy it is if I don't - I will just stick with water and probably not spend the money on mocktails. 

 

Back home, when I eat out, I stick with water. So ordering mocktails is something I only do on cruises.

 

If I didn't have OBC, I am not sure if I would have done it. The previous cruises, Plus was less money and it didn't seem as big of a deal. In the future, the amount of OBC will determine if I purchase it or not. I usually do private excursions.

[phabric]

I do not drink alcohol, coffee, or tea.  I purchase separately soda package, tips, and WiFi.  I compare the standard and Plus for each cruise and save $ each time.

[kywildcatfanone]

8 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I would buy the soda and more (or whatever it is called these days), buy the WiFi single device plan, auto-pay the tips (plus extra) and come out way ahead!

I would agree if you can drink enough soda items to make it worth while.  We prefer coke zero and sprite zero, so I just buy packs and take onboard at embarkation and stops as needed.  We find that works for us, and saves us a lot of money we can use for other things. 

[Grayce]

I didn't get it for my upcoming cruise. We prepaid our tips and bought the WiFi package at %50 off (platinum discount). We would never drink enough coke to make it worthwhile for us. We don't drink coffee/specialty coffees.

[nattie]

I buy Plus for my teen for the wi-fi, tips and deserts/juices/mocktails/soda. Princess bartenders actually make delicious mocktails! 

I would honestly compare regular fare plus cost of soda package/wifi package/tips to Plus fare. For us it is a no brainer to get Plus every time because we do end up using all the packages and it is actually cheaper than getting ala carte offerings. Math could be different for you.

[kywildcatfanone]

26 minutes ago, Grayce said:

I didn't get it for my upcoming cruise. We prepaid our tips and bought the WiFi package at %50 off (platinum discount). We would never drink enough coke to make it worthwhile for us. We don't drink coffee/specialty coffees.

We stopped getting packages after the last price increase.  I can pay for tips and wifi for a 7 day cruise and be $500 cheaper than a package for 2 people.  We now just bring our own water and drinks we want onboard as needed at embarkation and stops.  

If we want a mocktail or specialty coffee we will just buy it. 

[deltahog]

54 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

We now just bring our own water

Why would you need to bring your own water?  Are you saying water isn't available unless you buy a drink package?

 

I was assured (elsewhere) that water, iced tea, basic coffee (not specialties) and "sometimes" juice or lemonade is available without a drink package.

[Steelers36]

12 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I would buy the soda and more (or whatever it is called these days), buy the WiFi single device plan, auto-pay the tips (plus extra) and come out way ahead!

 

My alcohol consumption on a recent 16 day cruise was 3 drinks total.

Have to disagree.  The Zero Alcohol package costs $35.40,  Add on minimum $16 CA and now at $51.40 per day.  Internet for $7.50 - IF you get it 1/2 price brings it to $58.90 - virtually the $60 for PLUS and you get Medallion mailed for free.  If you don't qualify for 50% off Internet, then the cost for separate purchases is over $60.  I maintain the separate drink packages are inflated in price to make the packages look good.  I'd either go full cruise package or standard.

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, phabric said:

I do not drink alcohol, coffee, or tea.  I purchase separately soda package, tips, and WiFi.  I compare the standard and Plus for each cruise and save $ each time.

That is the only one that works - if all one wants is the soda package, then the pricing works better than Plus.

[Steelers36]

 

29 minutes ago, deltahog said:

Why would you need to bring your own water?  Are you saying water isn't available unless you buy a drink package?

 

I was assured (elsewhere) that water, iced tea, basic coffee (not specialties) and "sometimes" juice or lemonade is available without a drink package.

Yes, water is available free by the glass.  If you want a bottle to carry around on or off the ship, you either need your own container(s) to fill and take or buy water by the bottle from Princess.  We get a starter package (only available in advance of cruise in Cruise Personalizer) which is 12 bottles for about $7.  We then re-use those a couple of times or so by re-filling with ship's water which is fine for us.

 

[kywildcatfanone]

3 hours ago, deltahog said:

Why would you need to bring your own water?  Are you saying water isn't available unless you buy a drink package?

 

I was assured (elsewhere) that water, iced tea, basic coffee (not specialties) and "sometimes" juice or lemonade is available without a drink package.

No.  You can purchase bottles of water onboard,or drink what is available for free. We prefer to buy ours and bring onboard.  Save a few dollars.

Water, tea, and coffee are included for free.

 

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by kywildcatfanone

[Mike45LC]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Have to disagree.  The Zero Alcohol package costs $35.40,  Add on minimum $16 CA and now at $51.40 per day.  Internet for $7.50 - IF you get it 1/2 price brings it to $58.90 - virtually the $60 for PLUS and you get Medallion mailed for free.  If you don't qualify for 50% off Internet, then the cost for separate purchases is over $60.  I maintain the separate drink packages are inflated in price to make the packages look good.  I'd either go full cruise package or standard.

Steelers, when I last had to pay for a soda package, it was a heck of a lot cheaper than $35.40 per day.  More like $10 per day, which made economic sense for me (a Coke drinker).  In the last few years, I've been gifted the Full Plus Package (as opposed to the Plus Beverage Only -- I hate these new names!), so I haven't followed the package prices.  And I've mostly been drinking hot tea, lemonade and iced tea, which I think are free even without a package.  

 

Best advice is:  do the math!  And post it so Steelers can verify for you!!!

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

We are always amused by how many people we meet at Coroner's drinking Martini's who claim they don't drink!

[Ombud]

I'm a tea drinker & I prefer my tea to what they offer now that they don't carry Mighty Leaf Vanilla Bean tea. Hot water at IC is NC.  Buy a dz waters for $7. I can get ice cream at meals, 3 scoops + 4 toppings was $4 on Emerald at IC in the afternoon (disembarked 6/17/23), and I'm never going to a gym .... hate power walking inside.  Plus I love the chance to unplug. So the Plus / Premier pkg would basically cover gratuities.  

[MissP22]

.

[Steelers36]

13 hours ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

We are always amused by how many people we meet at Coroner's drinking Martini's who claim they don't drink!

Too many Martinis could land you at the Coroner's!!

[Buckeye10640]

On 7/20/2023 at 5:58 PM, Sandie5 said:

I'm not a drinker these days. Should I pass on the Plus package even though we'd get crew appreciation and wifi included?

We cant tell you what you should do. After the price increases,  I will not book Plus. I may have a drink some days, I pre-purchase bottled water, and carry on soft drinks. I get 50% off wifi, pay the grats, and dont need all that other stuff (ice cream concoctions, fitness classes, etc).  So thats what  works for me. 

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

We cant tell you what you should do. After the price increases,  I will not book Plus. I may have a drink some days, I pre-purchase bottled water, and carry on soft drinks. I get 50% off wifi, pay the grats, and dont need all that other stuff (ice cream concoctions, fitness classes, etc).  So thats what  works for me. 

It sounds just like us. We carry what drinks we want onboard with us also. 

Why pay for 15 drinks a day when we certainly don't need that many. Same with the coffee. we'll just buy what we want or drink the dripped coffee in the buffet which isn't all that bad.