Has anyone bought the drink package when they got on the ship

[ourfamilylovescruising]

we are doing the enchantment in July. the reason I am asking is because my husband and I have a casino offer, so we are bringing our best friends

who will need the drink package my husband and I will not need the drink package so they can't buy it until we get on the ship, I am just wondering what is the average price to do it this way? I know we could do the refresher package but, on this ship, it does not offer a lot of options for that.

 

that for the input😄

 

[c-leg5]

18 minutes ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

we are doing the enchantment in July. the reason I am asking is because my husband and I have a casino offer, so we are bringing our best friends

who will need the drink package my husband and I will not need the drink package so they can't buy it until we get on the ship, I am just wondering what is the average price to do it this way? I know we could do the refresher package but, on this ship, it does not offer a lot of options for that.

 

that for the input😄

 

How does buying on the ship make any difference?

 

Have they sailed before?

[firefly333]

The price is always higher to buy once on the ship. If you want 1 person to buy the drink pkg and 1 to buy refreshment pkg  call and they will put it thru for you.

 

I read a post the bogo wasnt even offered when they boarded the ship, only full price. I assume they were  mistaken and it's a confusion but waiting until you board will just cost more than buying ahead. Idk how they figure bogo but it's off some full price and costs more than the planner price. Maybe the poster thought bogo wasnt offered because he thought you paid for one and the other was free. Idk. Sounds to me like he was confused. 

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

we are doing the enchantment in July. the reason I am asking is because my husband and I have a casino offer, so we are bringing our best friends

who will need the drink package my husband and I will not need the drink package so they can't buy it until we get on the ship, I am just wondering what is the average price to do it this way? I know we could do the refresher package but, on this ship, it does not offer a lot of options for that.

 

that for the input😄

 

Not sure why they can't buy it until you are on the ship unless you have put one of them in the room with each of you and you don't want to purchase it.  If this is the case just be aware that on board the same requirements will still apply and each guest in the room would have to purchase the package. You getting free drinks in the casino does not count as having a package.

[Jasukkie]

I take it you and your husband each hold one room and are bringing a guest? You will face the same package rules onboard and the price is significantly higher. It never goes down.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

we are doing the enchantment in July. the reason I am asking is because my husband and I have a casino offer, so we are bringing our best friends

who will need the drink package my husband and I will not need the drink package so they can't buy it until we get on the ship, I am just wondering what is the average price to do it this way? I know we could do the refresher package but, on this ship, it does not offer a lot of options for that.

 

that for the input😄

 

The rules are still the same if you buy the deluxe drink package on the ship…both people in the cabin must purchase the package (I assume you and your friends are all over 21). As you and others have mentioned, if you call RCI prior to the cruise, they almost always will allow one person to buy the deluxe package and the other person to buy the refreshment package.  

[ourfamilylovescruising]

I guess I didnt explain my self correctly 

Once on the ship we will go to the front desk and move ourselves to be in the room with our husband's so they will buy the drink package for both of them i am just curious if anyone has an idea of what the package cost on the ship 

 

[Anton]

3 minutes ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

I guess I didnt explain my self correctly 

Once on the ship we will go to the front desk and move ourselves to be in the room with our husband's so they will buy the drink package for both of them i am just curious if anyone has an idea of what the package cost on the ship 

 

It depends on the ship.  The price isn't the same across the fleet.  I've found that the price they show in the cruise planner for the onboard price when compared to the online discount price has been accurate for the past year.  Look at your cruise planner and see what it shows.  Onboard price examples:  $105 on Mariner per person per day, $90 on Explorer, $100 on Brilliance, $105 on Freedom. 

[Sunshine3601]

49 minutes ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

I guess I didnt explain my self correctly 

Once on the ship we will go to the front desk and move ourselves to be in the room with our husband's so they will buy the drink package for both of them i am just curious if anyone has an idea of what the package cost on the ship 

 

If you booked casino comps and plan on putting the couple into one cabin and then you and your husband into another cabin.   The sea passes used for charges will still show their original booked cabin, guest services will simply give key cards.    

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

I guess I didnt explain my self correctly 

Once on the ship we will go to the front desk and move ourselves to be in the room with our husband's so they will buy the drink package for both of them i am just curious if anyone has an idea of what the package cost on the ship 

 

Guest services will give you cards so you can change cabins how you wish, but they will not “officially” change your cabin assignments. As stated previously, there is no way to get around the requirement that you and your husband will have to at least buy the refreshment package for your friends to buy the deluxe beverage package. My recommendation, assuming your friends are cruising for free less taxes and port fees, is to have your friends pay for the refreshment package for you and your husband. They are still getting a great deal, assuming they are cruising for close to “free”. 
 

EDIT: I might have missed it, but do you and your husband drink? Casino offers do not include free drinks. You only get free drinks in the casino if you are Prime or higher. Additionally, you can only get free drinks in the casino when the casino is open. Depending on your itinerary, the casino could be closed for a significant portion of your cruise. Also, you wouldn’t get free drinks at Coco Cay if your cruise goes there, although the casino is open when the ship is there. 

Edited June 11 by PhillyFan33579

[PhillyFan33579]

5 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

If you booked casino comps and plan on putting the couple into one cabin and then you and your husband into another cabin.   The sea passes used for charges will still show their original booked cabin, guest services will simply give key cards.    

I get the impression the OP has not cruised on RCI too often and has not had too many casino offers from Casino Royale. 

[Ourusualbeach]

9 hours ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

I guess I didnt explain my self correctly 

Once on the ship we will go to the front desk and move ourselves to be in the room with our husband's so they will buy the drink package for both of them i am just curious if anyone has an idea of what the package cost on the ship 

 

That may vary by ship.  I've seen ships that will only give you extra leys and not physically move people from one room to another.

[dragontrainer]

I will defer to others on the administrative issues of having two drink packages. 

 

If there is a good likelihood you'll end up needing to go the route of Drink Package + Refreshment Package, I'd recommend checking the pre-cruise pricing as there is a good chance the buy-ahead Drink + Refreshment is the same price (+/- a few bucks) as the non-discounted Drink Package by itself. 

 

Even if you decide there is a chance you can make the Drink Packages only work onboard, it may end up about the same cost as just grabbing the Drink + Refreshment ahead of time and skipping some of the onboard headache.

[George C]

On 6/9/2024 at 11:59 AM, firefly333 said:

The price is always higher to buy once on the ship. If you want 1 person to buy the drink pkg and 1 to buy refreshment pkg  call and they will put it thru for you.

 

I read a post the bogo wasnt even offered when they boarded the ship, only full price. I assume they were  mistaken and it's a confusion but waiting until you board will just cost more than buying ahead. Idk how they figure bogo but it's off some full price and costs more than the planner price. Maybe the poster thought bogo wasnt offered because he thought you paid for one and the other was free. Idk. Sounds to me like he was confused. 

Not always true , we are diamond plus so we get 30 percent off price , on one cruise they were offering 20 or 25 percent off precruise so I bought it on board . Now I get 5 free drinks plus suite happy hour so I no longer buy package.

[karena1]

19 hours ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

I guess I didnt explain my self correctly 

Once on the ship we will go to the front desk and move ourselves to be in the room with our husband's so they will buy the drink package for both of them i am just curious if anyone has an idea of what the package cost on the ship 

 

Still will make all 4 buy because your husband's name will be on one cabin and yours will be on another.  You are better off buying now and getting the refreshment package for the 2 of you.  The card you will get to switch cabins will only be good for opening your cabin.  Your regular cabin card is your card to use for everything else.

 

[not-enough-cruising]

20 hours ago, ourfamilylovescruising said:

I guess I didnt explain my self correctly 

Once on the ship we will go to the front desk and move ourselves to be in the room with our husband's so they will buy the drink package for both of them i am just curious if anyone has an idea of what the package cost on the ship 

 

You can’t do that 

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, George C said:

Not always true , we are diamond plus so we get 30 percent off price , on one cruise they were offering 20 or 25 percent off precruise so I bought it on board . Now I get 5 free drinks plus suite happy hour so I no longer buy package.

You most likely would have still saved money purchasing pre cruise 

[George C]

3 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

You most likely would have still saved money purchasing pre cruise 

Wrong I watched the prices like I always do and because of my 30 percent off I got a cheaper price , this just happened once all previous cruises prebuy was cheaper .