Viking drink package

[Lenbro1944]

Thinking whether it’s worth purchasing the drink package. Looking at their website they show a sample drink menu and prices. They seem unreasonably cheap. Are they current prices?i.e. a martini is 7.50. Is that dollars? What do you remember as to present drink prices. 
If you do have the drink practice does that prevent you from ordering a drink using your drink package for a companion in a different cabin who doesn’t have the package?

[CDR2001]

Here’s a link to a long discussion about the drink package. We’ve never purchased it,(non drinkers).  I know our friend was not allowed to use it for drinks other than for himself. 
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3011045-beverage-package/

 

Edited July 14 by CDR2001

[CCWineLover]

56 minutes ago, Lenbro1944 said:

Thinking whether it’s worth purchasing the drink package. Looking at their website they show a sample drink menu and prices. They seem unreasonably cheap. Are they current prices?i.e. a martini is 7.50. Is that dollars? What do you remember as to present drink prices. 
If you do have the drink practice does that prevent you from ordering a drink using your drink package for a companion in a different cabin who doesn’t have the package?

You are not allowed to order drinks for others who do not have the package.  Makes sense since otherwise one person would order for many many people!!   They do check your room number and picture on the hand helds or phones when you order.  (Unless they know you and remember your room number!)  But they still record that you ordered.

 

[CCWineLover]

If anyone is interested, I did take pictures of the wine list aboard Viking Mars last month (June 2024) and put the pics in a pdf.

 

Viking Mars Wine List - June 2024.pdf

[kctwinmommy]

It wasn't worth it for us. We were on a cruise that was very port heavy, so we were off the ship most of the day. Plus, I just don't drink enough to spend $600! I had a few cocktails, and my husband did as well, and we spent about $100 the entire cruise. With the included beers & wines at meals, that covers a large portion of the time we were onboard. Plus, they have no problem ordering one at the end of the meal to take with. There were also a few nights where they did a pool party and there were free cocktails that night. And don't forget, you can bring whatever liquor you want onto the ship. So my husband enjoyed a nice bottle of Limoncello.

[tarhoosier]

In North Carolina we have MANY alcohol laws and one major one is "Know Your Customer". Ordering for others or ordering multiples in order to share is prohibited. A proper bartender will suggest the best way to address this situation with the customer. One may not order for an empty stool. The second customer must be present and in sight. Lots more, of course, but some of the practices at sea follow the common sense practices on land.

[Lenbro1944]

Anybody have current hard liquor prices?

[CurlerRob]

6 hours ago, Lenbro1944 said:

Anybody have current hard liquor prices?

 

The search function on the main Viking board yielded this when I typed in "Bar Prices". With thanks (again) to @Clay Clayton. 🍺🥌

 

 

[mjmagee]

Thank you for the wine list.  Interesting.  Seems all glasses of wine are priced at $8.  So if you want a better glass of wine you do not have a choice to pay by the glass; you must buy the bottle.  Hmmm.

[CurlerRob]

13 minutes ago, mjmagee said:

Thank you for the wine list.  Interesting.  Seems all glasses of wine are priced at $8.  So if you want a better glass of wine you do not have a choice to pay by the glass; you must buy the bottle.  Hmmm.

 

That is correct. Or, you are welcome to bring wine of your choice onboard at any time without corkage. You can drink it anywhere on the ship, bar and restaurant staff will be happy to provide glasses and even store the bottle if you wish.

 

Your original question was about the drink package. Over many threads, people buy it for one of several reasons:

 

1) They do the math and determine that it makes economic sense based on what and/or how much they choose to drink.

2) They view it as a convenience and like not having to pay that bill at the end of the cruise.

3) Some people like to experiment with different drinks they might not like when under the package, as they feel more comfortable putting it aside when under the package.

 

All pax in a stateroom must by the package.

 

It's important to understand that the beverage package is simply a way to pay for drinks, nothing more - there's no "special" set of drinks that are not available to all pax all the time. 🍺🥌

Edited July 15 by CurlerRob

[ericosmith]

13 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

1) They do the math and determine that it makes economic sense based on what and/or how much they choose to drink.

2) They view it as a convenience and like not having to pay that bill at the end of the cruise.

3) Some people like to experiment with different drinks they might not like when under the package, as they feel more comfortable putting it aside when under the package.

 

I'll add number 4.  I'm a cheapskate.  I'll agonize as much over a 8.95 beer or mixed drink as I will a $600 up front expense.  I can bite the bullet one time and then don't have to think about it while I'm on the cruise.  I likely don't drink enough for it to make economic sense but I can enjoy whatever I want whenever I want without thinking about the cost.  Plus, I can feel free to drink half a beer if that's all I want.

[CDNPolar]

We used to always buy the SSBP on Viking.  I think that we thought we were getting greater value.

 

The fact is that we primarily drink wine and we are fine with most of the included wines at lunch and dinner, so we don't feel the need to move onto other wines that we must pay for.

 

Since wine and beer are included with lunch and dinner and you can literally ask for a top up to the brim of your wine glass before you leave the dining room at night, we just don't drink enough to warrant spending on the SSBP.

 

If you are a cocktail drinker, and you are having mid-afternoon, before dinner, and after dinner cocktails (no judgement) then the SSBP is probably for you.

 

Most all drinks are in the $8 USD range.  That is the number you should divide into the daily cost to see per person if this is worth it.  (You don't say in your profile where you are from and the cost is different depending on where you are buying the cruise and drinks package). If you are from the USA then you are paying $25 per night per person.

 

Because we do not buy the SSBP now, we don't hold back from ordering if we want something different, or a Cognac after dinner because we will never come close to the cost of the package.

[hutch1994]

Bought it again on our transatlantic cruise in March.  The choices for wine by the glass aren't that great.  The only positive is you don't have to buy something in port and haul it on to the ship and if you wanted to go the explorer's lounge before and after dinner you could order whatever you wanted.  Would never carry a glass out of the restaurant with wine in it and take it to another place to drink it where they are serving drinks.

[Lenbro1944]

Another question. Is Prosecco an included complimentary wine and hard cider a complimentary beer?

[RLK33853]

As with most questions, responses concerning the drink package are dependent upon the individual providing it and their circumstances.  We certainly valued the ideas of everyone on the board last year and then made our choice (to take the package) based on our circumstances and the information that was provided.

 

Point One in our decision - the fact that wine and beer are provided at lunch and dinner is definitely correct.  The comments that the hours of lunch and dinner can be stretched to the limit so that you have quite a time period to get free drinks, as well as your glass will be filled to the brim when you leave the venue are certainly correct.  The one thing though is that your choices of included wines are minimal.  My wife chooses her wines dependent on her mood, what the temperature is like, etc, etc, so the package worked for her.  I am definitely a beer snob but found my choices would have been fine. 

 

Point Two - Economics - the comments that you can pay per drink and come out ahead is no doubt correct for the majority of us, especially when you factor in that you can drink wine or beer at no cost during meals.  The same goes for bringing on your own alcohol at ports - Viking doesn't restrict or charge for you to do so.

 

Point Three - Convenience - This was the deciding point for our decision to buy the package.  The drink package for us works out to be more expensive - yet provided the opportunity to choose different wines, have drinks at off times, and we don't have to lug alcohol onto the ship (although in various ports if we find something local that we like we will bring a bottle of local beer/wine back to enjoy).  In the end we know we are paying more than we have to, but on the flipside we like the all inclusiveness of having the package - as another posted above, if my beer gets warm, I just get another.

 

Lenbro 1944 - hope this helps, we certainly had the same questions for our first Viking cruise.  The best part is that whatever you decide to do, if you are like the rest of us on this board you will enjoy Viking immensely.

[CDNPolar]

1 hour ago, Lenbro1944 said:

Another question. Is Prosecco an included complimentary wine and hard cider a complimentary beer?

 

Yes, there is an included Prosecco in the included wines.  It is rarely "carried around" by the servers, you have to ask for it.

 

I do not believe that there is a hard cider.  Hard cider is alcohol and alcohol is not complimentary at lunch and dinner.

[CDNPolar]

1 hour ago, RLK33853 said:

 

 

  The one thing though is that your choices of included wines are minimal.  My wife chooses her wines dependent on her mood, what the temperature is like, etc, etc, so the package worked for her.  I am definitely a beer snob but found my choices would have been fine. 

 

 

This may not have been enough for your wife, but we have found time and again that if they are walking around with one white or one red that we don't particularly enjoy, that if you ask, they come back with one or more other options.  You are not restricted to what is in their hand when they approach the table.  They don't advertise this, but it is a fact. 

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, RLK33853 said:

As with most questions, responses concerning the drink package are dependent upon the individual providing it and their circumstances.  We certainly valued the ideas of everyone on the board last year and then made our choice (to take the package) based on our circumstances and the information that was provided.

 

Point One in our decision - the fact that wine and beer are provided at lunch and dinner is definitely correct.  The comments that the hours of lunch and dinner can be stretched to the limit so that you have quite a time period to get free drinks, as well as your glass will be filled to the brim when you leave the venue are certainly correct.  The one thing though is that your choices of included wines are minimal.  My wife chooses her wines dependent on her mood, what the temperature is like, etc, etc, so the package worked for her.  I am definitely a beer snob but found my choices would have been fine. 

 

Point Two - Economics - the comments that you can pay per drink and come out ahead is no doubt correct for the majority of us, especially when you factor in that you can drink wine or beer at no cost during meals.  The same goes for bringing on your own alcohol at ports - Viking doesn't restrict or charge for you to do so.

 

Point Three - Convenience - This was the deciding point for our decision to buy the package.  The drink package for us works out to be more expensive - yet provided the opportunity to choose different wines, have drinks at off times, and we don't have to lug alcohol onto the ship (although in various ports if we find something local that we like we will bring a bottle of local beer/wine back to enjoy).  In the end we know we are paying more than we have to, but on the flipside we like the all inclusiveness of having the package - as another posted above, if my beer gets warm, I just get another.

 

Lenbro 1944 - hope this helps, we certainly had the same questions for our first Viking cruise.  The best part is that whatever you decide to do, if you are like the rest of us on this board you will enjoy Viking immensely.

 

Beer gets warm?

[Lenbro1944]

I do see that the bar menu list beers and hard ciders together. So I still wonder whether hard cider is complementary with lunch and dinner?

[duquephart]

Beer is complementary. Hard cider is not beer.

[LindaS272]

Be forewarned, Viking doesn’t have hard apple cider—it’s pear and a berry type. I thought it was awful. 😝

[RLK33853]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

This may not have been enough for your wife, but we have found time and again that if they are walking around with one white or one red that we don't particularly enjoy, that if you ask, they come back with one or more other options.  You are not restricted to what is in their hand when they approach the table.  They don't advertise this, but it is a fact. 

 

Good point and we saw people asking for other options when being offered the included wines.  While having another choice may meet the needs of some, it may still not be what we are looking for.  Each individual definitely has their own palate, and as with food, wine choice is subjective to the individual.  That is what is wonderful about whether to take the package or not - it is up to the individual to choose.

[RLK33853]

2 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Beer gets warm?

 

Excellent point!

[Mich3554]

8 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

We used to always buy the SSBP on Viking.  I think that we thought we were getting greater value.

 

The fact is that we primarily drink wine and we are fine with most of the included wines at lunch and dinner, so we don't feel the need to move onto other wines that we must pay for.

 

Since wine and beer are included with lunch and dinner and you can literally ask for a top up to the brim of your wine glass before you leave the dining room at night, we just don't drink enough to warrant spending on the SSBP.

 

If you are a cocktail drinker, and you are having mid-afternoon, before dinner, and after dinner cocktails (no judgement) then the SSBP is probably for you.

 

Most all drinks are in the $8 USD range.  That is the number you should divide into the daily cost to see per person if this is worth it.  (You don't say in your profile where you are from and the cost is different depending on where you are buying the cruise and drinks package). If you are from the USA then you are paying $25 per night per person.

 

Because we do not buy the SSBP now, we don't hold back from ordering if we want something different, or a Cognac after dinner because we will never come close to the cost of the package.

This is the way we work too.  Since we have started cruising with Viking, we have kept track of our alcohol consumption and the price we would need to pay for the SS package.  In about 12 or so cruises, we drink anywhere from 1/4-1/2 what the package would cost.  
On the world cruise, they actually did keep an accounting of our alcohol (inventory?) and got an accounting of our alcohol bill, even though we were not charged.  Despite the fact that we socialized a lot more and drank more, we were only at 1/2 the price.  Neither DH nor I hold back from what we drink.  He drinks high end single malt scotch and I do go for cognac myself.  
I think the catch is drinking every single day.  On a back to back to back we took before the WC, there were only 10 days out of 54 where both DH and I drank $25 or more in alcohol.  Even when we exceeded $25, it was only by $5 or so……not near enough to make up for the other 80% of days where we didn’t drink as much.

[Mich3554]

2 hours ago, Lenbro1944 said:

I do see that the bar menu list beers and hard ciders together. So I still wonder whether hard cider is complementary with lunch and dinner?

I had it at dinner one night on the last cruise.  I wasn’t charged for it.