Rare Ukigirl Posted September 18, 2023 #1 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Been cruising with Royal for 20 years and always with the drink package, we enjoy trying new cocktails and hey, if I didn’t care for it I’d wait and order something else. Well, last year the husband went in for his physical and discovered he had elevated liver enzymes so he quit drinking alcohol. He’s a healthy guy who works out, eats kind of sort of healthy, not overweight but this scared him so when it came time for our cruise last May, we decided to skip the package altogether. Inwardly I was disappointed (our secret), but I wanted to support him and help him regain his health. Interesting thing is he’s not really a drinker, just a beer or two on weekends, his body just absorbs too much iron. We are diamond so I knew I’d be able to have 4 drinks per day and thought if I wanted more I’d pay for them. Much to my surprise, most days I didn’t even have 4 and I felt great. We were up early every day, my energy level was so much higher and I didn’t miss my fruity, sugary cocktails by the pool, mostly had a glass or two of wine with dinner. Money saved was definitely a plus too. Goodbye drink package, don’t take this personally but I’m just not into you anymore. 41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mapleleafforever Posted September 18, 2023 #2 Share Posted September 18, 2023 If you don't drink all 4 D drinks that day stop off at a bar on the way back to your cabin for the night and get some bottles of water for the next day. Don't let any of the 4 drinks go to waste. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Wilson Posted September 18, 2023 #3 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Not only using the vouchers on water. Speciality coffee and fresh OJ are options. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ukigirl Posted September 18, 2023 Author #4 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Yes we used vouchers for some great lattes! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted September 18, 2023 #5 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Doesn't sound like you ever really needed the drink package. I'm glad you shed that bill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted September 18, 2023 #6 Share Posted September 18, 2023 If your husband is also diamond you can use his 4 free ones also. We cruise in suites so we get 3 hour happy hour and diamond plus so since they added the free drinks we dropped the drink package that we did last ten plus cruises. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loman Posted September 18, 2023 #7 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Yep , i used one of my 4 free drinks to get fresh squeezed OJ in the dining room at breakfast . Had a couple of drinks and used the rest for bottled water at cafe promenade . You can use them for specialty coffee also . ( if you dont want a trip down to the D lounge ) Between the two of us , we had plenty of water and they chilled quite nicely in the room fridge. The Diamond benefit is quite generous , over 400.00 USD per week , per person if you factor in a few coffees from the Diamond lounge every day along with 4 alcoholic drinks . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky1987 Posted September 18, 2023 #8 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Completely with you....that $1000-1200/week for the two of us goes a long way in savings or other cruise goodies. And more often than not I don't use all 5 of my vouchers either. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAS21 Posted September 18, 2023 #9 Share Posted September 18, 2023 (edited) How much are drinks like Jack Daniels and coke? My brother is cruising on his first RCI cruise and asked me. We are diamond and get our vouchers so I wasn't sure. Edited September 18, 2023 by SAS21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted September 18, 2023 #10 Share Posted September 18, 2023 1 hour ago, SAS21 said: How much are drinks like Jack Daniels and coke? $10-12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted September 18, 2023 #11 Share Posted September 18, 2023 46 cruises and counting (27 on Royal) and I've never bought a drink package. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ukigirl Posted September 18, 2023 Author #12 Share Posted September 18, 2023 19 hours ago, smokeybandit said: Doesn't sound like you ever really needed the drink package. I'm glad you shed that bill. We more than got our $$ worth over the years, I’ve probably tried every frozen cocktail possible, I like icy cold beer by the pool so once it got warm I’d just order another, 2-3 glasses of wine with dinner and then after dinner drinks. No wonder we slept in, we don’t miss it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovesthebeach2 Posted September 19, 2023 #13 Share Posted September 19, 2023 I never drank a lot and DH only got the package once many years ago before we were Diamond and before I had to get the package too. He didn’t feel it was worth it, he didn’t drink enough for it to pay to get it again. Now we’re Diamond + and I never drink all 5, especially when we’re on long cruises. I dont want that much alcohol in my liver either… if I can’t use them towards the end of the cruise, I get things for the room steward 😁. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBlackDress Posted September 19, 2023 #14 Share Posted September 19, 2023 17 hours ago, Another_Critic said: 46 cruises and counting (27 on Royal) and I've never bought a drink package. I only bought the DDP when it was $18... I used to get the refreshment package but the value for that is not there anymore. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBlackDress Posted September 19, 2023 #15 Share Posted September 19, 2023 If I don't use up my diamond + drinks, I find out what type of beer or soda my Room Attendant likes and get those at the end of the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BND Posted September 19, 2023 #16 Share Posted September 19, 2023 (edited) Did they have a drink package 20 years ago? I don't remember seeing it until the last 10 years or so. We have never bought it because having done cruises before it was offered and buying what we wanted when we wanted we never spent anywhere near what a package costs, and that included coffee, water, soda as well as alcohol. And, now we get 5 drinks a day which is plenty. We even use one a day for specialty coffee. Edited September 19, 2023 by BND Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggieq Posted September 19, 2023 #17 Share Posted September 19, 2023 Since they count bottled water and club soda as a “drink” I weigh this into my decision to get the drink package. Based on that consumption and a couple cocktails during the day and in he evening, I would far exceed the cost of the drink package given cost charged per drink these days. I would blow right through my 5 d+ drinks without alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retiredgram Posted September 19, 2023 #18 Share Posted September 19, 2023 2 hours ago, LilBlackDress said: I only bought the DDP when it was $18... I used to get the refreshment package but the value for that is not there anymore. We had two 12 night cruises booked when that IT blunder happened.😃 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BND Posted September 19, 2023 #19 Share Posted September 19, 2023 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said: Yes. 20 years ago Royal offered a Beer/Wine package, a Deluxe alcohol package, and a soda package. I remember the beer/wine and soda, but not the deluxe. I remember after we'd been cruising on Royal for a few years and we were on Allure or Oasis I think noting that with the new package, people were slamming drinks back like crazy when we were in the Solarium. I seemed to remember that the package was new. I just googled and there is a blog post from 2016 about the revamped packages. That's what I remember. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/09/06/royal-caribbean-revamps-its-unlimited-drink-package-offerings Edited September 19, 2023 by BND Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum2Mercury Posted September 19, 2023 #20 Share Posted September 19, 2023 1 hour ago, BND said: I remember the beer/wine and soda, but not the deluxe. I remember after we'd been cruising on Royal for a few years and we were on Allure or Oasis I think noting that with the new package, people were slamming drinks back like crazy when we were in the Solarium. I seemed to remember that the package was new. I just googled and there is a blog post from 2016 about the revamped packages. That's what I remember. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/09/06/royal-caribbean-revamps-its-unlimited-drink-package-offerings We started cruising in 2003, and I definitely remember a beer /wine package. Might not've been Royal Caribbean, as we "poked around" with other lines for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BND Posted September 19, 2023 #21 Share Posted September 19, 2023 50 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said: We started cruising in 2003, and I definitely remember a beer /wine package. Might not've been Royal Caribbean, as we "poked around" with other lines for a while. They definitely had a beer and wine package. We started cruising in 2005 and with Royal in 2009. Something else that a lot of people miss is the wine bottle package where you could buy bottles of wine. On a 7 night you could buy like 4 or 5 bottles for the dining room. Anyway, they will make more changes in the future. The cost has to hit a breaking point where it's too costly for cruisers and not profitable for Royal. As I've said before, the only reason Royal offers it is because they make money on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoepipes Posted September 19, 2023 #22 Share Posted September 19, 2023 6 hours ago, LilBlackDress said: I only bought the DDP when it was $18... I used to get the refreshment package but the value for that is not there anymore. And that will never happen again - 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark290 Posted September 20, 2023 #23 Share Posted September 20, 2023 9 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said: We started cruising in 2003, and I definitely remember a beer /wine package. Might not've been Royal Caribbean, as we "poked around" with other lines for a while. I had purchased the beer and wine package more than once on RCCL. It was always $35 a day. No price fluctuations during the couple years I bought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherful59 Posted September 20, 2023 #24 Share Posted September 20, 2023 Years ago, I used to get the drink card (10 drinks) for a specified amount. I used to like this, but haven’t seen it offered for years. I never felt the UDP was worth it for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBlackDress Posted September 20, 2023 #25 Share Posted September 20, 2023 9 hours ago, zoepipes said: And that will never happen again - 🙂 It was a nice 6 hours tho... At least I was able to enjoy it for 11 nights. Most cruises were canceled 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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