Is this a good price for the EASY drink package?

[Happy New Cruiser]

The price for my 7 days cruise is $322 for the EASY drink package.  Is that a good deal?  (I'm not asking whether the drinks package is worth it for me.  I'm just wondering if that is lower than is typically offered).  If so I may need to decide soon while there is a good price.

 

Also, are gratuities included in that price?

[Até]

For US bookings the Easy package is priced pre-cruise at $46 per day on seven day and longer cruises so $322 is full price.   A gratuity is added to the package price only if purchased on board, there are no per drink gratuities unless buying individual drinks without a package. 

 

The only place MSC offers a discount to package prices is through the booking rate offer, such as "Drinks &WiFi Incuded".  With that booking rate offer you get the better Easy Plus package and also a Browse internet package for around $270 per person more than the base "Cruise Only" rate on a seven day US based sailing.

Edited June 11 by Até

[perakcruiser]

2 hours ago, Happy New Cruiser said:

The price for my 7 days cruise is $322 for the EASY drink package.  Is that a good deal?  

Absolutely not. 

[8420PR]

I have never seen drinks package discounted after you purchase the cruise, but you can always get a decent deal if you include the package when you book.

 

e.g. In Germany the easy package costs between €10 and €20 per day when included in the cruise fare.   e.g.: below a 7 night Caribbean cruise is €70 extra per person with the easy package.

 

So you might be better of cancelling and rebooking (as long as you can still cancel for free).

[Até]

3 hours ago, 8420PR said:

In Germany the easy package costs between €10 and €20 per day when included in the cruise fare.   e.g.: below a 7 night Caribbean cruise is €70 extra per person with the easy package.

Nice, we don't often see the inclusive rates that low on the US site.  That sailing on the US site is only $20 per day more, while normally it costs about $35 to $40 per day more depending on cruise length.  That matches the best I had seen in a while; this eight day was also at $20 per day.  Must be something about those NYC sailings needing more bookings.

 

[Illbcruzn4life]

We booked last minute, 2 weeks before the cruise date and got the easy plus and wifi for $140pp for a 7 day cruise. On the cruise right now.

[perakcruiser]

7 hours ago, Até said:

That sailing on the US site is only $20 per day more, while normally it costs about $35 to $40 per day more depending on cruise length.

20€ per day is the usual "best" offer in all markets I have seen. That does not mean, that a 10 € per day does not exist, but nobody should expect to get it. 

[JamieLogical]

I am not really clear on the circumstances under which someone would purchase the drink package(s) outright rather than booking the "Best Value" rate or whatever it is called in your country of origin. Assuming you intended to have a drink package that is. I suppose if you got a casino comp or purchased through a Flash Sale or something?

[GA Dave]

These are the prices for the packages purchased onboard as of May 5th. This was taken on the Magnifica.

[MyriamS]

The Easy package was 100€pp if chosen at the time of booking as part of the All-in fare for my December Mediterranean cruise (it is now 200€pp as an extra bookable separately). 14€ per person per day seems like a a great deal: if I drank any alcohol or even just liked fancy coffees and soft drinks, I would definitely have chosen it. 

[PTC DAWG]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I am not really clear on the circumstances under which someone would purchase the drink package(s) outright rather than booking the "Best Value" rate or whatever it is called in your country of origin. Assuming you intended to have a drink package that is. I suppose if you got a casino comp or purchased through a Flash Sale or something?

Agreed..

[Happy New Cruiser]

Thanks for the replies.  This is my first MSC cruise so I didn't really know how it worked when I booked.  I was looking for the least expensive trip out of the Northeast for the week I am on vacation and saw this as much less than RC or NCL and booked it.

 

In the past on RC I would book and keep checking for drink sales, although even with the sales I don't remember them being this low.  On NCL they usually offer it "free" but then you pay gratuities which is hundreds of dollars anyway.  I probably should have checked this forum before I booked so I would have understood how MSC works when it comes to the packages.

 

I'm on the fence about the drink package so if it means rebooking I probably would just do without.  

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, Happy New Cruiser said:

Thanks for the replies.  This is my first MSC cruise so I didn't really know how it worked when I booked.  I was looking for the least expensive trip out of the Northeast for the week I am on vacation and saw this as much less than RC or NCL and booked it.

 

In the past on RC I would book and keep checking for drink sales, although even with the sales I don't remember them being this low.  On NCL they usually offer it "free" but then you pay gratuities which is hundreds of dollars anyway.  I probably should have checked this forum before I booked so I would have understood how MSC works when it comes to the packages.

 

I'm on the fence about the drink package so if it means rebooking I probably would just do without.  

 

If it's outside of final payment and prices are similar to when you book, I would do the cancel/rebook option, because for a minimal increase in price, you get the Easy Plus package ( a big improvement over the Easy Package) as well as unlimited wifi for one device.

[Happy New Cruiser]

48 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

If it's outside of final payment and prices are similar to when you book, I would do the cancel/rebook option, because for a minimal increase in price, you get the Easy Plus package ( a big improvement over the Easy Package) as well as unlimited wifi for one device.

 

I guess I'm concerned because I booked a specific cabin that I don't want to lose.  I am traveling with my wife and two sons and we have an OV on facing the bow (my sons' favorite).  I feel like elsewhere I've read not to change anything unless you really need to, because everything can get really messed up.

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, Happy New Cruiser said:

 

I guess I'm concerned because I booked a specific cabin that I don't want to lose.  I am traveling with my wife and two sons and we have an OV on facing the bow (my sons' favorite).  I feel like elsewhere I've read not to change anything unless you really need to, because everything can get really messed up.

 

There are certainly no guarantees, but I will say that I have significantly better luck with MSC customer service in the past year or so. If you do decide to call to look into getting this changed, my advice would be to make sure you have the most current copy of your booking confirmation and then have the rep send you a new copy of your booking confirmation and compare them side-by-side after the change. That way you have documentation to refer to if you do have to try to get anything cleared up.

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 6/12/2024 at 8:40 AM, JamieLogical said:

I am not really clear on the circumstances under which someone would purchase the drink package(s) outright rather than booking the "Best Value" rate or whatever it is called in your country of origin. Assuming you intended to have a drink package that is. I suppose if you got a casino comp or purchased through a Flash Sale or something?

Yet I see so many people doing it since a lot are first time cruisers who don’t know what they are doing and book themselves and don’t use a TA. A lot see the cheap prices, book, and ask questions afterwards 

[Happy New Cruiser]

On 6/14/2024 at 2:48 AM, Illbcruzn4life said:

Yet I see so many people doing it since a lot are first time cruisers who don’t know what they are doing and book themselves and don’t use a TA. A lot see the cheap prices, book, and ask questions afterwards 

That would be me. Although I did use a TA.  When I booked I had just replaced my furnace and was extremely concerned with getting the lowest price. 

[Happy New Cruiser]

Thanks for the advice. I called my TA and she cancelled and rebooked the same stateroom today.  Its only an additional $400 for 2 Easy Plus drink packages, 2 Minor drink packages and 1 device internet package.  And we keep our room. 

[JamieLogical]

13 minutes ago, Happy New Cruiser said:

Thanks for the advice. I called my TA and she cancelled and rebooked the same stateroom today.  Its only an additional $400 for 2 Easy Plus drink packages, 2 Minor drink packages and 1 device internet package.  And we keep our room. 

 

Hooray! Glad you got it sorted out.

[Até]

13 minutes ago, Happy New Cruiser said:

I called my TA and she cancelled and rebooked the same stateroom today.

Did you have to pay a new deposit with the old deposit to be refunded in a few weeks?

[perakcruiser]

On 6/12/2024 at 10:25 AM, perakcruiser said:

20€ per day is the usual "best" offer in all markets I have seen. That does not mean, that a 10 € per day does not exist, but nobody should expect to get it. 

A few days after writing this I also saw this crazy offer way below 20€ per day. 

[Happy New Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Até said:

Did you have to pay a new deposit with the old deposit to be refunded in a few weeks?

I did have to pay a new deposit. I didn’t get an exact timeline on the refund from the original deposit. 

[JamieLogical]

4 minutes ago, Happy New Cruiser said:

I did have to pay a new deposit. I didn’t get an exact timeline on the refund from the original deposit. 

 

The one time I canceled and rebooked an MSC cruise to change cabins, I got my refund in under 48 hours. It may be a little slower for you since it is going through a TA?

[Happy New Cruiser]

I’ll post an update when I see the refund. 

Also, I didn’t realize, but I received $150 onboard credit as well. Not a bad deal. 

[JamieLogical]

So really only a $250 difference in the end!