Help Needed

[pajazz28]

DW and I are sailing in 17 days. I booked the cruise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary two months ago. This will be our 15th cruise for the frist 12 cruises due to either budget concerns or the fact that we do not genrally drink a lot of alcohol we never get the a drink package. On the last 2 cruises we sailed with NCL and got the free drink package and we really enjoyed the freedom to tring different drinks without worring about the cost. That being said we keep going back and forth about paying for the $1,000 package this time. From most review we have seen  people say you at least need to drink 6 alcohol drinks a day minimum to get your money's worth of course it has other drinks like soda, water, speciality coffees and energy drinks. We generally drink the free coffee, we drink tap water, and bring a case of water with us for the room, we usually bring soda from home for my wife and we do not really drink energy drinks. Of course if we get the package we will probably drink the speciality coffee instead of the free coffee, we would probably drink a lot bottle water, my wife would probably have at least a couple of sodas a day. So my questions can anyone speak to the value of the drink package if you generally do not drink more that 5 or 6 alcohol drinks a day? Please help any advise is appreciated, thank you. 

 

 

 

[hapytobehr]

1 minute ago, pajazz28 said:

DW and I are sailing in 17 days. I booked the cruise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary two months ago. This will be our 15th cruise for the frist 12 cruises due to either budget concerns or the fact that we do not genrally drink a lot of alcohol we never get the a drink package. On the last 2 cruises we sailed with NCL and got the free drink package and we really enjoyed the freedom to tring different drinks without worring about the cost. That being said we keep going back and forth about paying for the $1,000 package this time. From most review we have seen  people say you at least need to drink 6 alcohol drinks a day minimum to get your money's worth of course it has other drinks like soda, water, speciality coffees and energy drinks. We generally drink the free coffee, we drink tap water, and bring a case of water with us for the room, we usually bring soda from home for my wife and we do not really drink energy drinks. Of course if we get the package we will probably drink the speciality coffee instead of the free coffee, we would probably drink a lot bottle water, my wife would probably have at least a couple of sodas a day. So my questions can anyone speak to the value of the drink package if you generally do not drink more that 5 or 6 alcohol drinks a day? Please help any advise is appreciated, thank you. 

 

 

 

I would suggest you do a search on here for "drink Package" as there have been many discussions regarding your question.

[thundercrack]

On the 2 NCL Cruises where the drinks were included, did you and your wife drink $1,000 worth of drinks, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic?  If not, probably not worth it and just pay as you go.  Instead of paying $1,000 up front, why not just deposit $1,000 in your sign and sail account, as what you do not use will get refunded?

[1025cruise]

Well, one thing to keep in mind, you won't be bringing a case of water on Carnival, though you can purchase one.

[tonit964]

48 minutes ago, pajazz28 said:

DW and I are sailing in 17 days. I booked the cruise for our 25th Wedding Anniversary two months ago. This will be our 15th cruise for the frist 12 cruises due to either budget concerns or the fact that we do not genrally drink a lot of alcohol we never get the a drink package. On the last 2 cruises we sailed with NCL and got the free drink package and we really enjoyed the freedom to tring different drinks without worring about the cost. That being said we keep going back and forth about paying for the $1,000 package this time. From most review we have seen  people say you at least need to drink 6 alcohol drinks a day minimum to get your money's worth of course it has other drinks like soda, water, speciality coffees and energy drinks. We generally drink the free coffee, we drink tap water, and bring a case of water with us for the room, we usually bring soda from home for my wife and we do not really drink energy drinks. Of course if we get the package we will probably drink the speciality coffee instead of the free coffee, we would probably drink a lot bottle water, my wife would probably have at least a couple of sodas a day. So my questions can anyone speak to the value of the drink package if you generally do not drink more that 5 or 6 alcohol drinks a day? Please help any advise is appreciated, thank you. 

 

 

 

It sure sounds to me that you will not be drinking anywhere near $1000 worth of drinks. If you’re questioning whether it’s worth it if you don’t drink the 6 per day to break even, you should just pay as you go. 
 

Happy Anniversary and enjoy your cruise!

[broadwaybaby123]

I NEVER drink alcohol and I get my fair use out of the drinks package.  I usually have about 3-4 drinks a day, more once the weather gets warmer.  I use mocktails when I'm with those who do drink.

 

If the cruise is only 3-4 days, I don't get the package, but if it's 5+ days, you bet I get the drink package!

[USU_Aggie]

Buy yourself a $500 gift card for $450 on aarp. Load it up as bar cruise cash. That's your drink package. Sure sounds like that would be plenty. 

[pinto18]

Prob not worth it..the one time we had it ( there was a promotion going on and it was inexpensive) we did drink the coffees, water, etc but if we don't have it we just get the included coffee and bring sodas on etc. It was fun but just cant justify the cost ( and we do drink but maybe one (or two) cocktails and a couple glasses of wine a day) 

[Elaine5715]

Run this calculator   

https://cruisespotlight.com/drink-package-calculator/

[Purvis1231]

It is a personal decision. For us a $1000 is almost another vacation so it is not really an option. The non-alcoholic drinks are a good benefit but realistically how much water, and Gatorade can one drink in a day?  I have seen and benefited from those with the drink package passing off drinks to others (I know this is against the rules.) So if you are sailing with friends this might come into play. 

[pinklucky61]

12 hours ago, USU_Aggie said:

Buy yourself a $500 gift card for $450 on aarp. Load it up as bar cruise cash. That's your drink package. Sure sounds like that would be plenty. 

It would be better to get regular cruise cash as bar cash can only be used at bars, regular anywhere.

[Elaine5715]

12 hours ago, USU_Aggie said:

Buy yourself a $500 gift card for $450 on aarp. Load it up as bar cruise cash. That's your drink package. Sure sounds like that would be plenty. 

If one goes the route, better to simply apply the gift card to charges as you cruise.  

[nascartim]

Or buy 1k worth of gift cards, and use that to pay for your drink pkg. Now that drink pkg only cost you $900, and you have an extra $100 to use as you please. If you do go the route of putting gift cards or money on credit, I would recommend cruise cash over bar cash. Bar cash can ONLY be used at a bar, while cruise cash can be used at a bar or anywhere else on board. Not even sure why anyone would use bar cash, I guess it makes them feel better?

[nascartim]

The more I think about it, I suppose bar cash would be useful if you are a heavy gambler and want to make sure you don't blow your bar money in the casino. But then, if you are a heavy gambler, you most likely get free drinks anyway, hmmmm.

[StephPS79]

32 minutes ago, nascartim said:

The more I think about it, I suppose bar cash would be useful if you are a heavy gambler and want to make sure you don't blow your bar money in the casino. But then, if you are a heavy gambler, you most likely get free drinks anyway, hmmmm.

 

I was just about to reply with this!  It's not blowing your bar money in the casino, it's about not blowing your regular cruise cash in the casino.  If you buy the bar cash, there is no chance you can cash it in on the machine to gamble lol.  Some people might benefit from that added roadblock when the drinks are flowing!

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, nascartim said:

Or buy 1k worth of gift cards, and use that to pay for your drink pkg. Now that drink pkg only cost you $900, and you have an extra $100 to use as you please. If you do go the route of putting gift cards or money on credit, I would recommend cruise cash over bar cash. Bar cash can ONLY be used at a bar, while cruise cash can be used at a bar or anywhere else on board. Not even sure why anyone would use bar cash, I guess it makes them feel better?

You can gift bar cash

[Globetrotter21]

On 1/4/2024 at 7:30 PM, broadwaybaby123 said:

I NEVER drink alcohol and I get my fair use out of the drinks package.  I usually have about 3-4 drinks a day, more once the weather gets warmer.  I use mocktails when I'm with those who do drink.

 

If the cruise is only 3-4 days, I don't get the package, but if it's 5+ days, you bet I get the drink package!

Why on 5+ days but not 3-4 day cruises?

[broadwaybaby123]

3-4 day cruises are shorter so for me to break even, I'd have to drink more than I would in one day. 

 

For cruises of 5+ days, I can spread it out more.

[staceyglow]

10 hours ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

 

 

Edited January 8 by staceyglow

[carohs]

How many drinks did you drink per day while on NCL? Sometimes we drink more when we don't have to think about it. Consider the bubbles package for just soda too, if you're not a big drinker. If you like wine, bring a bottle in your carry-on. Gatorade, bottled water, energy drinks, specialty coffee are fine but my philosophy is if I wouldn't spend $1000 on that at home I'm not going to do it on a cruise. The cruise cash suggestion sounds like a good compromise for you.

[Gamecock_Cruiser]

If you buy a mix drink, they are $12 plus 18% per drink coming to $14.15 per drink. Cheers is $70.74 per day including the flat 18%. Five mix drinks, you are even for the day... Four mix drinks, two waters, two sodas, and a coffee, you are even for the day. You drink more tomorrow to make up for today, you are even. As long as you at least break even, then your good. If you feel your going to drink more than typical just to break even, then probably not...

 

And cruise cash or charging it to your card or cash on your account is 6 of one of half a dozen of another. It is just a non refundable gift card.