Is that ” Free ” Drinks Package Really Worth It?

All Inclusive holidays have been around now for a while. I think they probably started life in the Caribbean where sometimes it s difficult to get to many bars & restaurants, especially as some of the hotels are set on large, sprawling estates in quite remote areas.

I remember my first visit to the beautiful island of St Lucia being so excited about the All Inclusive Hotel which was the Beach Club! I imagined sitting by the bar drinking a pina colada with sparklers and a colourful parrot decorating the glass. The reality was a massive disappointment as the cocktail was ready made in a  bottle and the glass was plastic, with not a decoration in sight, not even a glace cherry ! Worse you had to pour your own beer from a machine into yet another plastic glass and all the other drinks were the local variety.

The concept soon spread to the Canary Islands, Spain and Greece where it seems really a bit unnecessary as there are so many good local bars and restaurants to choose from. Finally it arrived on cruises.

The six star cruises such as Regent, Seabourn and Silversea have always been fully inclusive of food and drinks. I`ve been lucky enough to sail on Regent Voyager and it was excellent. This is what I call ” proper ” all inclusive. If you like gin & tonic ( a I do ) there are literally dozens of types to choose from , no local brands in sight.

Today many more cruise lines offer drinks package of various varieties, some of them being free. Of course they are not really free, there is a cost inthere somewhere but they can be really good value. One of the best that is being included for bookings at the moment is the Norwegian Cruise Lines Ultimate Beverage Package. This give you an excellent choice of wines, beers, spirits and cocktails as well as soft drinks.

I`ve only been on one NCL ship, the lovely Norwegian Escape last year and I think this drinks package is really good value. When we arrived on the ship at lunchtime we decided to have a glass of wine to start the cruise off on the right foot. We had $ 25 each on board credit. All I can say is the $ 25 managed to buy two good, but small glasses of wine. We had blown the lot on our first lunch making this package a real bargain !