Drink me! Unlock the mystery of drinks packages…
Often one of the most confusing quandaries in which cruisers find themselves, is in making the decision over whether or not to opt for a drinks package. With drinks packages often amounting to hundreds of pounds, weighing up the pros and cons can be rather dizzying, so in an effort to make things more simple let’s venture down the rabbit hole and unlock the mystery of drinks packages…
There are in fact some very simple questions that will help point you in the right direction when it comes to how best to handle your drink-spending on board.
Firstly, do you prefer to not have to worry about what you are spending each day? One of the benefits of a drinks package is that you can sip away on a variety of beverages throughout the day, without the mental gymnastics of totting up your potential drinks bill (which can prove rather more difficult as the evening progresses).
Similarly if you like to partake in the vibrant array of cocktails for example, a drinks package enables you to sample whatever takes your fancy, safe in the knowledge that it is included within your package… and with cocktails generally priced at anywhere between $8-$12 each, you are sure to be making the most value of your drinks package when enjoying a carefully crafted mojito or sex on the beach.
Hand on heart in answering this one; are you the type of person who likes to always have a drink in your hand? I am not necessarily talking alcoholic concoctions here, but also speciality coffees, hot chocolates, milkshakes, mocktails, juices, sodas… If like me, you tend to have a drink beside you throughout the day; whether that be a caffeine fix, soda boost, a nice glass of red or a JD on the rocks, dependent on the time of day, you will likely benefit from the value of a drinks package.
With a port-heavy cruise, it may be more difficult to get value from your package on days spent exploring new ports of call, however if you factor in your morning speciality coffee (or 2), perhaps an afternoon cocktail on returning to the ship, the obligatory pre-dinner drink, as well as soft drinks to quench your thirst, the costs soon add up… and alongside your evening drinks, even on port days, you may likely find that the cost of buying drinks à la carte may turn out to be more expensive than the package.
So how do you know if it’s time to buy a drinks package?
When weighing up the cost and validity of any drinks package, be sure to understand exactly what is included within the package and make sure you factor in all of your drinks; not just the alcoholic varieties… it can often be surprising how quickly speciality coffees, milkshakes and drinks throughout the day can impact your spending.
My advice is to check the details of the prepaid drinks packages available for your cruise, grab yourself an online copy of the onboard price list for drinks, and quickly tot up your likely spend per day. A short exercise like this can be extremely beneficial in ensuring you do not overspend on a package that you may barely use, and may just surprise you in the value you may gain from prepaid packages vs. à la carte drink purchases… either way, with this simple exercise you can be sure that you are making the most of your drinks budget and for the best value in drinks packages, be sure to book them prior to sailing for the best rates.
13 Comments on “Drink me! Unlock the mystery of drinks packages…”
Leave a Reply
About Me
As an island-girl, originally from Guernsey, seeing the giant cruise ships alongside historic Castle Cornet sparked my passion for travel and fueled my hunger for exploring new destinations. Working in travel allows me to use my knowledge and experience to piece together the ideal holiday experience for you, and I…
Read more
Thank you for subscribing!
I am going on a RC Cruise at the end of June on the Vision of the Seas how much is a drinks package with all drinks in it ?
My opinion is they should be FREE on all ships, the price for cruise is a lot more expensive than it used to be when you are on board you are going through lots of sun and you need to know you can go and get a drink when ever you want one.if they can do all inclusive abroad WHY can’t they do it on board cruises.
Also I loved to go on cruises but they are so so expensive, in the mail I get loads of stuff regarding up and coming cruises but when you read them they want anything from £4,000 to £19,000 pp we can’t afford this
Bring the prices down so we can come back to cruising.
Going to celebrate a very special wedding anniversary in a few years and would love to do another cruise.
But not if prices keep going up.
I always have the drink packages it works out that if you enjoy about 6 drinks a day it’s worth having.even special coffees can add up to a shock bill at the end of a cruise.its nice to have a few different cocktails that you wouldn’t, normally have.chocolate martinis or mudslides go down very nice.a few glasses of wine with your dinner.a beer or two and coffee to finish the evening pushes you well over the daily cost of a package.look for deals you can get drink packages up to half price on certain days or a lot of cruise lines now add the package in.
We always get the drinks package on Royal Caribbean… if you have at least 4 alcoholic drinks , bottled water & a speciality coffee it works out cheaper .
We pay this before we travel so it means we have no big bill at the end of the holiday .
forget p/o drinks package worst on the planet readthe terms
max drinks in any 24hrs 15
cannot have another drink within 15 mins of last one
it goes on and on
only p/o could dream these rules up
It’s 15 alcoholic drinks. Coffee and soft drinks are unlimited. A 15 min gap between the drinks isn’t very long when you factor in the time starts when you order not when you receive the drink. We had it on our last cruise and it worked well.
Yeah why would you want another drink within 15 mins unless you are an alcoholic or a drunk.
We go on the Ventura next week actually! It’s strange to have rules with the package. Still think it will be worth it, but after having them on our last few NCL cruises it is an odd thing to factor in. But like most people have said 15 mins wait is more than enough, unless you knock them back straight away. I doubt I’ll reach the 15 drinks limit…but we will see ?
I agree. Someone has not done the sums from the P & O. Or have they, trying to con people at £80 per day for 2 persons
Im going on RC Voyager of the sea in the middle of February next year how much are the drink packages for two people never been on RC before
Did a P&O cruise two weeks ago. Purchased the drinks package knowing there would be little or no saving but wanted to do away with all the signing for every drink twice. Shock horror they still wanted us to sign two slips of paper for each drink. Also only allowed to have small glasses of wine each drink rather than large.
On RC the savings are substantial as the drinks are soooo pricey, I think if you purchase the package on board you still get charged gratuities which doesn’t apply to packages bought beforehand.
Cruise.co.uk is brilliant
i have just bought drinks package on rc and was charge gratuities