Cunard drinks

[Picklesmini]

Looking at drink packages but cannot decide as I am not a big drinker.  Can anyone tell me if you get any drinks included I.e water/squash/tea etc. if so is that from the buffet area. Many thanks in advance.

[sammyboots]

That's correct, tea, coffee, water and some squash type juices are available for free in the buffet area 24/7. In cruises from Southampton there is also a kettle available in your cabin with teabags and coffees etc provided. If you're not a big drinker, you can definitely get by with what's available without the drinks pacakage. 

[Pushpit]

And some drinks with meals are provided, such as tea and coffee, juice at breakfast meals, tea and coffee after the lunch and dinner meals. Iced water is always served with Britannia meals.

 

This is a point I've made in some other threads but the pricing of the packages is such that it's very difficult for a non-drinker to be sure of value here. If you spend a lot of time in the bars drinking lots of soda drinks then maybe the entry level package will work ($10 in advance, $12 onboard). To get value out of the Speciality Hot Drinks package you would need to be knocking back 4 fairly strong coffees every day outside of meal times and including any shore days. Despite what the website says, the soft drink options are now available on shorter cruises (where there may not be a shore day) so that may be a bit different.

[Winifred 22]

From Kings Court you can get a combination of pineapple juice, cranberry juice, orange juice and lemonade all day. It just depends which drink station you are at. Each machine usually just has two/ three  of the choices so if you want a particular flavour you may have to hunt it out. Also have water,  iced water and ice available. 

[Liberal_Baggie]

Basically unless you are a near alcoholic the drinks packages make no financial sense. The wines packages maybe make sence .

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

16 minutes ago, Liberal_Baggie said:

Basically unless you are a near alcoholic the drinks packages make no financial sense. The wines packages maybe make sence .

That’s a bit overstated. We are hardly alcoholics, but we like having one week where we don’t have to think about prices. The drinks package is about break even for us since we do drink more when we aren’t required to work or sing, etc. that doesn’t make us alcoholics, nor does it mean that for others who buy the package.

[NE John]

59 minutes ago, Liberal_Baggie said:

Basically unless you are a near alcoholic the drinks packages make no financial sense. The wines packages maybe make sence .

Remember that the Drinks package includes non-alcoholic drinks, mocktails, specially coffees, and hot chocolate. More importantly, the daily fee includes the automatic service charge so factor all that in. 
It’s probably still a win for the house but enjoy your time onboard. 

[intel]

Can any one advise the current costs of the 2 wine packages and what is the selection

[Szt]

My very first cruise was in 1991. I’ll never forget- we did not get a drink package. I’m not even sure they were offered then. We were not big drinkers by any means. When we got that final bill at the end of the cruise we were shocked at how much our drinks cost. Some others we had befriended on the cruise were getting drunk every single day. Their drink total was easily in the thousands! That was over 30 yrs ago! Cruises after that, we really watched our alcohol intake so as not to take that hit. 
When we started cruising again (new century, new husband) we opted for the drink package as one of our “free” extra perks. Though we still didn’t drink that much, it was more relaxing not to have to think about it. Now, I’d rather pay up front maybe a little more, and enjoy ourselves fully, than get hit with an unknown cost at the end. Just how I’m wired. 

[Pushpit]

5 hours ago, Szt said:

When we started cruising again (new century, new husband) we opted for the drink package as one of our “free” extra perks. Though we still didn’t drink that much, it was more relaxing not to have to think about it. Now, I’d rather pay up front maybe a little more, and enjoy ourselves fully, than get hit with an unknown cost at the end. Just how I’m wired. 

Indeed we are all different. A related reason for a package is to allow for upfront budgeting so you can get a relatively big cost element out of the way to allow budget planning for other items. However to help anyone new to Cunard, the way drinks are served onboard is that usually a small paper receipt comes back with every drink order.

 

Then the onboard app keeps a running total and breakdown of drinks. If you have an OBC you can see it running down. Finally you can always get the purser or concierge desk to run off a print of charges. So you can monitor as you go.

 

The two areas to watch for are (a) typos, table errors and mis-scans that mean you get someone else's tab by mistake - this is where the App really helps since it's constantly updated, if you think it may have happened you can check while still in the bar and save a trip to the purser's desk. And (b) in the restaurants they are now using small handheld devices which don't always result in you seeing the paper slips - so this would be some of the sommeliers.

 

But suffice to say, I don't think anyone can say the Cunard drinks package is a bargain, which it can be on other lines (Fred. Olsen was offering the near equivalent of Cunard's $70 package at £12.50 per night, if pre-purchased).

[rakkor]

8 hours ago, intel said:

Can any one advise the current costs of the 2 wine packages and what is the selection

 

This is the latest I have  - Should be reasonably current but the wine selection will have changed probably

 

 

Brochure Wine Package Cunard.pdf

[rhiannon84]

I agree with everyone saying the drinks package isn't worth it, and that it's easy to keep track during your cruise if you want to keep an eye on your spend. Unlike some cruise lines, Cunard doesn't push you towards the drinks packages, it's almost the opposite!

 

In my experience, if you like an alcoholic drink on your balcony for sailaway/while getting ready for dinner/spiked hot chocolate before bedtime - you can bring spirits & soft drinks on board, there's a fridge, kettle, cups & glasses in your room. If you drink a lot of wine with your meals, consider getting the wine package. Even if you don't think you'll get through a package and decide to buy wine by the bottle, your unfinished bottle will be kept for you by the restaurant until the next time you request it. Tea & coffee is included with meals and breakfast room service (which is included) - it's Twinings tea and you can ask for a jug of proper milk to keep in the fridge instead of the fiddly UHT packets.

 

A coffee in a lounge, 2 cocktails and half a bottle of wine a day = still just about cheaper than the package

 

For a transatlantic crossing it may be worth considering, but if there's several port days...I would struggle to drink that much liquid, let alone alcohol to make it good value! 😆

[PAMJP]

13 hours ago, intel said:

Can any one advise the current costs of the 2 wine packages and what is the selection

Just sailed Queen Victoria and disembarked 1/9/23 and purchased 6 bottle Captains Wine package at a cost of around 310$ an increase from 299$, included 15% as before. Can’t remember what the other one cost but that had increase from our previous cruise.

[maggielou362]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:28 AM, Liberal_Baggie said:

Basically unless you are a near alcoholic the drinks packages make no financial sense. The wines packages maybe make sence .

Hello, new contributor and only two-time sailor here. Goodness there's a lot of knowledge on this site, thank you!

As for "near alcoholic", well if the cap fits I'll wear it, just while I'm on holidays.

We are booked on QM2 from Fremantle (Perth) to Sydney in August 2024: I am SO excited!

We are getting the drinks package because I don't want to think about checking my onboard account and getting distracted or feeling guilty about how much we have poured down our throats. I will be happy with wines by the glass with meals, very satisfied with British bubbly, enjoy a couple of cocktails each evening and have one or two resuscitative good coffees each morning. You only live once! Many thanks again for sharing all your wisdom and experience.

Edited September 23, 2023 by maggielou362
correct spelling