Deluxe Beverage Package

[DavidOrawan]

Why for royal is the drink package so expensive? It make the cruise so much more than other cruise lines. It's almost as much as the cruise itself? 89.99 per person + gratuities. And that on-sale precruise.

[TexanSailor]

you don't have to have a drink package to cruise; just purchase drinks individually

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

The short answer: because people are willing to pay those prices. 😉 Every cruise line uses a different pricing model, and as you've probably seen, prices can vary dramatically (both cruise fare and add-ons) from ship to ship and date to date.

 

The good news is that nobody is ever compelled to purchase any of it. 🙂 

[DavidOrawan]

Well drink prices are alot higher also, 14/15 per drink + gratuities and beer 8 + gratuities is alot.

[DavidOrawan]

Just now, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

The short answer: because people are willing to pay those prices. 😉 Every cruise line uses a different pricing model, and as you've probably seen, prices can vary dramatically (both cruise fare and add-ons) from ship to ship and date to date.

 

The good news is that nobody is ever compelled to purchase any of it. 🙂 

Understand it just make Royal price so much higher than others.

 

 

[smokeybandit]

2 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

Well drink prices are alot higher also, 14/15 per drink + gratuities and beer 8 + gratuities is alot.

Drink prices are quite reasonable actually.

[DavidOrawan]

Wow

[TexanSailor]

2 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

Well drink prices are alot higher also, 14/15 per drink + gratuities and beer 8 + gratuities is alot.

 

1 minute ago, DavidOrawan said:

Understand it just make Royal price so much higher than others.

 

 

I am not sure what cruise line you are comparing to, but I find Royal's individual drink prices to be in line with the industry.  Living in a large metro area, the drinks onboard Royal's ships are not far off from what we pay at a restaurant or bar on any given day.

[DavidOrawan]

Just now, TexanSailor said:

 

I am not sure what cruise line you are comparing to, but I find Royal's individual drink prices to be in line with the industry.  Living in a large metro area, the drinks onboard Royal's ships are not far off from what we pay at a restaurant or bar on any given day.

I mean when you include 2x in balcony cabin + drink package + internet + maybe 2 specially dining we are at over 5000? Where princess or ncl are around 3500 and for comparison msc is under 3000

[TexanSailor]

17 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

I mean when you include 2x in balcony cabin + drink package + internet + maybe 2 specially dining we are at over 5000? Where princess or ncl are around 3500 and for comparison msc is under 3000

 

Sounds like you may benefit from finding a travel agent with some group space available.

 

Princess isn't a fair comparison, they aren't in the same class as Royal IMO.

 

Unfortunately for you, Royal is sailing at over 105% occupancy with current pricing, so obviously many feel the value is there.

Edited March 31 by TexanSailor

[smokeybandit]

15 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

I mean when you include 2x in balcony cabin + drink package + internet + maybe 2 specially dining we are at over 5000? Where princess or ncl are around 3500 and for comparison msc is under 3000

You can find a balcony room with all that for a lot less than $5000

[JeffT237]

13 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

I mean when you include 2x in balcony cabin + drink package + internet + maybe 2 specially dining we are at over 5000? Where princess or ncl are around 3500 and for comparison msc is under 3000

 

Also it depends on the ship and itinerary, we recently returned from the Harmony and spent much less than that for an ocean view balcony cabin with those add ons you mentioned.  We do not purchase the drink package when we sail on Royal Caribbean, we purchase drinks a la carte and do not come close to what the DBP would cost the 2 of us especially when using our on board credit.  When we cruise with Princess we do purchase the Princess Plus and agree, it's a much more reasonable price than Royal's drink package and based on what we drink we find value in the package.

 

I also would agree with others that say use a good TA, we always receive a good group rate that's lower than Royal's price as well as perks like pre-paid gratuities, speciality dining vouchers and on board credit which we use for our drink purchases. For us it has always lowered the cost of our cruise vacations. 

 

 

[Engineroom Snipe]

19 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

I mean when you include 2x in balcony cabin + drink package + internet + maybe 2 specially dining we are at over 5000? Where princess or ncl are around 3500 and for comparison msc is under 3000

@TexanSailor comment drops the microphone.

 

Like it or not, Royal is sailing at record occupancy and has found that enough cruisers are willing to pay the price of their drink packages.

 

That is the crux of the matter, if you feel that your total price for everything you want in a cruise is not reasonable, you have to shop else where. This has been a constant theme since December 2022 when the covid restrictions were lifted.

 

Prices for everything were lifted too after demand went through the roof.

 

Your sticker shock is not unusual. It is like going to buy a car today if your current car is twelve years old. You look at the sticker price and go....

 

😱😭🤢🤮

 

 

[firefly333]

47 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

I mean when you include 2x in balcony cabin + drink package + internet + maybe 2 specially dining we are at over 5000? Where princess or ncl are around 3500 and for comparison msc is under 3000

I did a carnival and isnt their cheers 59 pppd, plus 18%. They never have excursions on sale, so I did black friday and paid less than carnival.,I dont drink much but get 5 drinks a day. Rcl has drinks and wifi and perks, so people are loyal to get to those perks. I cant wait for pinnacle and free wifi the whole cruise.

 

Its true newbies pay more for some things. No wonder rcl wants loyals to leave and attract more newbies.

 

I would never pay 5k for a royal cruise. Ask me in 10 years and I may change my mind, but I dont and wouldnt pay anywhere close to 5k. 

Edited March 31 by firefly333

[taglovestocruise]

4 hours ago, DavidOrawan said:

Well drink prices are alot higher also, 14/15 per drink + gratuities and beer 8 + gratuities is alot.

When Royal sails with 2500 D,D+ and Pinnacle they are giving away up to 10,000 free drinks per day. Someone must pay for the freebees..  Last 15 night cruise my wife and I had no problem with 150 cocktails. Thats $2700 in real prices.. 

[SRF]

5 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Drink prices are quite reasonable actually.

 

Yeap, check the prices on drinks in most restaurants these days.

[Engineroom Snipe]

7 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

When Royal sails with 2500 D,D+ and Pinnacle they are giving away up to 10,000 free drinks per day. Someone must pay for the freebees..  Last 15 night cruise my wife and I had no problem with 150 cocktails. Thats $2700 in real prices.. 

The previous cruises to this level are "Club Access Fees."

 

Almost sounds like a "Pyramid Scheme" where you have to buy into the system and then live off or those who follow.

 

No wonder Royal wants to get rid of top heavy cruisers.

 

Let's design family ships that drive the old "Grumpos" like me overboard.

 

🤣

[LobsterStalker]

5 hours ago, DavidOrawan said:

I mean when you include 2x in balcony cabin + drink package + internet + maybe 2 specially dining we are at over 5000? Where princess or ncl are around 3500 and for comparison msc is under 3000

That is quite a comical generalization !

... At least it made me chuckle

 

Cheers

[PhillyFan33579]

7 hours ago, DavidOrawan said:

I mean when you include 2x in balcony cabin + drink package + internet + maybe 2 specially dining we are at over 5000? Where princess or ncl are around 3500 and for comparison msc is under 3000

Based on your posts, it sounds like RCI isn’t the right cruise line for you. Nothing wrong with that, there are lots of different cruise lines out there to choose from. 

[LittleMissMagic]

I agree that the drink package price on Royal is pretty steep. Once you hit Diamond C&A and get the 4 free drinks per day, it's even harder to justify the additional cost of the drink package.

 

Why so steep? The pricing makes me think that Royal wants to discourage people from buying it....

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

5 minutes ago, LittleMissMagic said:

Why so steep? The pricing makes me think that Royal wants to discourage people from buying it....

Possibly, or maybe it's just because they know people are still willing to pay the higher prices. Since they are a for-profit corporation dragging a massive debt, I can't say I blame them. Eventually the pricing will hit a ceiling, at least presumably, where people stop buying. But until then, I don't predict any price reductions to speak of. 🙁

[Cdude]

It depends on how much you drink, doesn’t it? I just paid $86 pp for an upcoming 7-night on Symphony. Some beers and some cocktails averages about $10 per drink using rough math. If I drink 9 per day I basically even. So, do you intend on drinking 10 or more per day?

 

Judge if you will, but we hated the 15 drink per day cap on our recent Princess Sun voyage. It was a bit cheaper, but who wants to keep tabs on vacation? 15 sounds like a lot, but when at sea it isn’t hard to do. A shot of bailey’s in your cappuccino and a couple mimosas at breakfast; a couple pops at lunch; a couple at Bingo; a couple before dinner, and so on and so on… We actually hit our max a couple of times on our 10-night, both times were sea days. That’s another question you need to ask yourself, how port intensive is your voyage and does a port include Coco Cay or Labadee where your drink package works?

[DavidOrawan]

Just 1453.48 seems like a lot for 7 day cruise. If it get under 1000 I might go for it. 

[DennysDad]

2 minutes ago, DavidOrawan said:

Just 1453.48 seems like a lot for 7 day cruise. If it get under 1000 I might go for it. 

It won't. 

[cruisegus]

@DavidOrawan one other thing you have consider with Royal’s pricing is as @Cdude said CCL and it's childern line have a limit on drinks, Royal no limits.  NCL even when part of included is a lower level package that you still pay gratuities on, and if you want good liquor you need to pay an upgrade to that package.

MSC I'm not knowledgeable.

 

Yes Royals DBP is much more expensive now than say 3 years ago. Some will benefit if for no other reason than, knowing up front the cost, no surprise end of cruise bill.  Maybe just not having to think of cost in the decision, do I have a drink or not.

 

I hope whatever you decide it works out for you