Drink packages on Queen Elizabeth

[Bramptongirl]

We have just booked an Alaskan cruise for June 11, 2024. I am wondering if anyone can help me decide whether or not to buy the drinks package or just buy drinks as I go. I am not a big drinker but enjoy wine with meals and a cocktail or 2 before dinner. I also like to drink soda and bottled water. What is the typical per-drink cost for soft drinks, sodas, specialty coffees, wine, and alcoholic drinks, etc?  Has anyone done a comparison of the costs of both methods? Does everyone sharing a cabin have to purchase the package? 

Thanks for your help!

[david63]

1 hour ago, Bramptongirl said:

Does everyone sharing a cabin have to purchase the package?

Yes - well at least all adults

 

From what you have posted I would be inclined to be of the opinion that the drinks package would not be of benefit to you.

[Bramptongirl]

3 minutes ago, david63 said:

Yes - well at least all adults

 

From what you have posted I would be inclined to be of the opinion that the drinks package would not be of benefit to you.

Thank you. I'm pretty sure my roomie won't want the alcohol package so that settles that. She may want the soda [package so we could get that if she wants.

[D&N]

You probably need to have six alcoholic drinks per day to make it worthwhile. We have between six and eight per day and save money. We drink wine, aperitifs and liqueur for nightcaps. Beer drinkers would probably not benefit unless they drank far more.

Our calculations include coffees, teas, hot chocolate, soft drinks and bottled water in restaurants and lounges. On BC we get bottled water in the cabin.

[Bramptongirl]

Thank you. I think I will skip it. We've had drink packages before and I tend to overdrink to make it "worth the money". Haha. I may get the soft drink package. 

 

[reeves35]

From what you say, a drinks package does not seem appropriate especially if your cabin-mate is a non-drinker.

 

It is also important to assess your itinerary.  If you are on a port-heavy itinerary, you will be off the ship for a great deal of time so won't drink as much whereas an itinerary with lots of sea-days changes the equation a bit.

[TowandaUK]

We have recently done a comparison, this is tricky because until you are onboard it can be hard to know exactly what you may drink. There are several factors to consider. 
Take into account that if you buy as you go there will be 15% added in gratuities for each drink. This made the difference for us. We made our calculations and thought that we would buy as we go - however once we added the 15% we had to think again. 
Something which also affected our decision is the expected temperatures. We are expecting the temperatures to be quite warm and therefore will most probably be drinking more sodas, juices, and water. For a cooler trip you may be drinking more hot drinks. 
Remember that basic drinks are free with meals in the MDR and buffet. 
Remember if you have port days that you will not be drinking onboard for some of the day. 
If you were to take a package then any drinks over the maximum ($13.50) would cost the full amount + 15% gratuities less 20% discount. You may need to take a calculator!  
Final thing to mention is that if you take a package you can do away without having to sign for each drink and work out the cost each time you buy. 
It sounds like it will not be viable for you to take the package, but there are a lot of things to take into account when deciding. 

[e&mcruise]

41 minutes ago, TowandaUK said:

 any drinks over the maximum ($13.50) would cost the full amount + 15% gratuities less 20% discount. 

We were under the impression that on the package the 15% gratuity was included for drinks over $13.50 if purchased, less the 20% discount. ie. $15 drink becomes $12 drink charged to your account. As you are suggesting, it is not really a 20% discount for drinks over $13.50 if on the drinks package. i.e $15 + $2.25 (15% gratuity) less 20% discount becomes a $13.80 drink. Is that correct?

[TowandaUK]

That’s how I read it. Perhaps someone who has experienced it could clarify the situation. 

[e&mcruise]

1 hour ago, TowandaUK said:

That’s how I read it. Perhaps someone who has experienced it could clarify the situation. 

Interesting. Seems to be a deceptive discount if that is the case. Appreciate experienced Cunarders chiming in.

[Winifred 22]

That is my understanding too. The drink is discounted by 20% but the service charge is still payable. The only time the service  charge is not applied is for drinks that are fully included in  the drinks package. A drink package is not likely to be a cost effective option if you are then  frequently paying for other drinks outside of the package. Also remember that on 3 and 4 night sailings the daily rate is more expensive. 

[D&N]

For any drink that exceeds the price limit, currently $13.50; you pay the listed value of the drink, plus 15% service charge, minus 20% discount. That is from experience, I have the bills.

 

That also applies to most bottles of wine. Next time we'll buy wine by the glass during our light lunch and during the evening while we're dancing. Anything refreshing is adequate at those times. At dinner we'll order a bottle of wine at average $80 every second night and make a saving of around $18.40 on each bottle. We also have aperitifs and nightcap liqueurs. We don't generally drink cocktails. An odd Aperol Spritz is the only thing we drink that's not related to wine or brandy.

We did try to stay within the package last time but the wines we would consider drinking that were within the limit were lacking in structure and in our view only suitable for refreshment, not as a compliment to a well flavoured dinner dish.

[Pushpit]

As a general point, Cunard makes a huge amount of revenue off drinks, and won't be trading that off lightly. The drinks packages are unlikely (in my view) to be a bargain, but they may be convenient. I'm a non drinker and it's difficult to get the basic soft drinks package to pay its way - you basically need a lot of sea days. It's even harder for the hot drinks and premium packages, unless you really are drinking a lot of mocktails and other high priced items, or something like 5 coffees a day.

 

I can compare this with Fred. Olsen: they are reluctant to offer bargains on cabins, but do offer bargains and promotions on drinks and drink packages. Cunard is the other way around - if necessary they will virtually give away a stateroom - they just want you in the bars, in the casino, in the spa.

[e&mcruise]

9 hours ago, D&N said:

For any drink that exceeds the price limit, currently $13.50; you pay the listed value of the drink, plus 15% service charge, minus 20% discount. That is from experience, I have the bills.

Thanks for the confirmation. Very much a faux discount IMHO.

[maggielou362]

My impression is that drinks packages on any cruise line are for convenience and simplicity, not to save money. That's why we have bought a drinks package for our upcoming voyage. I am by no means a drinks/wine connoisseur so I expect I will be happy with the $13.50 and under offerings. I don't want to be mentally tallying up each order and worrying about a big payment at the end of our holiday. It's an expensive initial outlay, and we will probably also buy a couple of nice bottles of wine for dinners, but in the main it's a psychological thing for me. However, if your travel companion doesn't drink alcohol and is not a caffeine fiend it wouldn't make sense to buy a package. But I am a new sailor, pay more heed to @Pushpit and @D&N, they seem to know their way around everything Cunard.

[D&N]

@maggielou362 Thank you but my knowledge is limited.

We've only been on one 2 week B2B Transatlantic from Southampton on QM2 so far. And more of the same is all we plan for the future. I know what wines, coffees, cabin and lounges I like. We dance any time we can, use the gym regularly, and eat all our meals in Britannia Club. I have probably used Staircase B more than most here 😀.

Possibly due to my OCD, I do like to make sure I know every detail about things that affect us.

 

There are many folk on here that know much more about all the other things that happen on a Cunard ship that we take no interest in.

[maggielou362]

You might think your knowledge is limited, but thank you, @D&N for sharing all the details that affect you, your posts have been most helpful to me as a new Cunard passenger, along with so many other "regulars" on this board. I feel very fortunate to live in my beloved Sydney, but sometimes I wish I could more readily access a Transatlantic, especially a B2B. I would be planning many more Cunard voyages for the future too, if I could. 

[FoodWineTravel]

On 1/28/2024 at 3:05 PM, D&N said:

You probably need to have six alcoholic drinks per day to make it worthwhile. We have between six and eight per day and save money. We drink wine, aperitifs and liqueur for nightcaps. Beer drinkers would probably not benefit unless they drank far more.

Our calculations include coffees, teas, hot chocolate, soft drinks and bottled water in restaurants and lounges. On BC we get bottled water in the cabin.

Do you know if they carry eagle rare or buffalo trace bourbon?

[Bramptongirl]

Thank you for all your input. I think lots of people learned a lof.  I’m a cheap drunk so I’m happy with bar brands and house wines. I think a drink package would be wasted on me!! 

[D&N]

8 minutes ago, FoodWineTravel said:

Do you know if they carry eagle rare or buffalo trace bourbon?

Searching this menu doesn't show them.

https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/my-voyage/pdfs/qv/qv_main_bar_menu_aug_2022a.pdf

Prices might be different but brands probably don't change much.

[asdf1245]

The last time we cruised Cunard was the 2014 World Cruise.   Back then no drinks package, you paid for everything.   From memory if you had 5-6 wine or spirits, 2-3 coffee's and a couple of soft drinks or waters per day, it added up significantly plus the 15% grat.   So if one was to do the same today and we will be shortly on the QE, it makes good sense to take the package unless one of you in the cabin doesn't drink.

Edited March 30 by asdf1245

[david63]

1 hour ago, asdf1245 said:

The last time we cruised Cunard was the 2014 World Cruise.   Back then no drinks package, you paid for everything.   From memory if you had 5-6 wine or spirits, 2-3 coffee's and a couple of soft drinks or waters per day, it added up significantly plus the 15% grat.   So if one was to do the same today and we will be shortly on the QE, it makes good sense to take the package unless one of you in the cabin doesn't drink.

I don't know if the drinks packages are different in Australia but from what you have posted there it certainly would not be a viable option from the UK.

You really do have to do your homework with the drinks package to make sure that the sums add up.

[asdf1245]

7 minutes ago, david63 said:

I don't know if the drinks packages are different in Australia but from what you have posted there it certainly would not be a viable option from the UK.

You really do have to do your homework with the drinks package to make sure that the sums add up.

The Cunard drink package for beer, wine, spirits and other drinks is currently US $70 per day (cruises over 5 days).   The 39 night cruise between Japan, Alaska and Canada, May June 24, comes to US $5460 for 2 people.   That comes to Australian $8,353 presently given our Aussie is only worth some US 65 cents presently.   That's a pretty hefty sum of money and one where you really have to think about value for your dollar at $107 Australian per day per person.   Still by the time you've had a couple of wines or beers, 3-4 spirits, 3 coffee's, some soft drink and/or water you'd be close to that US 70 or AUD 107 especially if you include the 15% Grat per drink if you don't do the package.

[D&N]

The current price on a 39 night cruise is US $67.50 per passenger per day.

Unless you were to buy the very cheapest wines or spirits you are likely to save money on 5-6 wine or spirits, 2-3 coffee's and a couple of soft drinks or waters per day.

Many people don't seem to realise how quickly it all adds up, particularly when you add in the 15%.

 

[asdf1245]

10 minutes ago, D&N said:

The current price on a 39 night cruise is US $67.50 per passenger per day.

Unless you were to buy the very cheapest wines or spirits you are likely to save money on 5-6 wine or spirits, 2-3 coffee's and a couple of soft drinks or waters per day.

Many people don't seem to realise how quickly it all adds up, particularly when you add in the 15%.

 

Just rechecked indeed we have been charged the US $67.50 which is a bit cheaper for us poor Aussies 🙂