Thank you Jamie and Matthew for such a comprehensive guide to the P&O drinks packages, so informative, this has made making the choice about purchasing a drinks package so much easier. Keep up the great work. In my opinion your one of the best travel bloggers 😊
This is exactly what I needed thank you! When I’ve looked at the P&O website I’ve only seen the prices per package and not the cost of the drinks but you and Matthew have shown us the menus to give a great overview of the costs. I would previously have opted for the top package just to be safe but now I feel we would be better off paying as we go and spending our money on a balcony instead. Thanks again for all the time and effort you put into your videos. 👏👏😊. Quick question, can you get decaffeinated tea and coffee in the coffee shop on board please?
I always take the drinks package but only the classic.... couple of glasses of wine with dinner, costa in a morning for hot chocolate and a few cocktails in the evening and it's covered. Plus I don't have to think about how much my bar bill will be at the end 😂 but to be fair I do have my P&O discount too so it's a yes from me. You really are a great blogger i love watching your video and its so lovely that you take the time to answer so many questions and help people with their travel plans ❤
Just gonna watch this again as we have had to change our cruise date which means a different ship shorter duration but 20% off the classic drinks package. We had paid for.the refresh . As its our first cruise and after watching nearly every blog of Jamies we feel we know quite a bit but by no means a lot so going to keep re watching. Thanks for such informative vlogs. Love the sound effects in some make us laugh😂
Definitely a pay as you go girl here. Last cruise I had 3 pina colada’s 1 disarono and three lemonade’s all cruise!!!! Water intake was up as I took my water bottle … P&O do seem really reasonable when I did purchase these individual drinks. Nice to hear Matthew on your Vlog too 😊
Jamie, that was so useful. Thank you! We were really debating whether the drinks package would be worth it and I now I'm happy to leave it and pay as we go!
Thank you Jamie and Matthew for this video, it’s been extremely helpful. You’ve both explained it clearly. Keep up the great work. Love your videos. I prefer watching you guys to tv now.
Really useful thank you. I am on Iona in 4 weeks time. I consider myself a no to low alcohol consumer. I purchased the kids drinks package at the old price a few months ago. But on holiday I do like an odd cocktail and made the decision to buy as I go. So pleased I seem to have made the right decision watching this. X
Thanks Jamie. We will take the package ( may go Deluxe as it's our Silver Wedding Anniversary on the next cruise) as we have a large amount of OBC and don't usually spend in the shops or go on many excursions so the value of the package will be really good for us on our next two cruises.
Pay as you go here for me, would never drink enough across the whole of the cruise to justify any of the drinks packages, especially as you have to take the same package for both occupants. I don’t know whether PO do it, but on Cunard as well as the drinks package offers, they also offer 2 wine collection packages of 6 or 12 bottles (Captain or the more premium Commodore.) I did the maths on these, and for us they definitely made sense. You effectively save the service charge by buying one of these options. The last time we did it, you could also include an aperitif such as a bottle of port in your selection.
Thank you! This has been very helpful for me. I'm looking at sailing with P&O for the first time. I've only been with NCL before and always get the free at sea pricing. I travel solo, so if I get the package at least it is only for one. 😊 Thanks again.
Thanks for this, so good to hear Maffoo too! I’ve already decided not to take the drinks packages - mainly because I rarely drink (no piety involved, it just upsets my stomach, skin and head!), but the other half is fond so it was great seeing your typical bar bill. The thing that puts me off most of all is that you have to buy the same package for both people, so for us it’s always going to be a non-starter. He’s mulling over which bottle he wants to take on board - and which I’ll be taking! - and I’m busy making collections of my fave herbal teas and laying in an extra box of Yorkshire tea as I don’t drink fizzies, squash or juice either 😅.
Superb video, the info many of us have been waiting for. I have thrown caution to the wind and prepaid for the delux for my upcoming August cruise to Spain & Portugal on board Aurora. I will be keeping a close eye on what I drink to see if it’s worth while for future P&O cruises.
Excellent video Jamie & Matthew. Very comprehensive information about the different drinks packages available and very helpful to know your daily spend. I think everyone who is considering purchasing one should watch this video. We have always found that we spend less than the cost of a drinks package per day and we do enjoy wine with dinner and cocktails. P&O is great that it allows you to take a litre of alcohol so I take a litre of gin and my fever tree tonics. Thank you!
We love being able to take our fav vodkas onboard for the cabin! ♥️ We are similar to you - like a drink but not quite as many as necessary to make a drinks package worthwhile each day.
At these prices there is no way I would purchase a package. I do SO wish they would reduce the number of drinks per package so that I could consider one... what I mean is.. I wouldn't drink 15 alcoholic drinks per day on any day, so if they were to offer say, 8 drinks at half the price, I might find it worth while. On Iona, the coffee in the buffet was quite decent, so I mostly drank that. The odd glass of wine with dinner, an occasional coctail, and a few special coffees dont add up to anything like a package price. So ... that's me. Thanks very much for the update Jamie and Maffoo :) Oh, by the way, I would have had drinks more often if a waiter had been in sight at any time on deck... 14 days and I didnt see one. In the past no sooner did you sit down on deck and three waiters would come honing in like sharks scenting blood, but not last time I cruised.
Excellent thanks Jamie and Matthew. I’m usually a pay as you go person with P&O as prices reasonable and I also take cabin drinks for pre dinner balcony drinks. I’m going on Celebrity this summer and took the always included package for classic drinks, Wi-Fi and tips as 12 night cruise with 4 sea days. I’ve since upgraded to premium drinks and Wi-Fi as had $800 on board credit and waited til they had their sale. I’ll definitely make use of that in the martini bar! On a side note, good to see P&O labelling more wines vegan as makes my life easier. Just spent an hour this morning checking all the Celebrity wines to research what’s vegan and got a good list now (I guarantee they won’t know on board) Just now got to hope GP doesn’t alter any of my medication to include anything you can’t drink with😆
Really useful to know this as I'm tempted to book Iona and do the Norwegian Fjords with my girlfriend over my birthday in July. I drink beer pretty much exclusively and she is a coffee/soft drink/non-alchy beer drinker. The beer prices are much less than in central London or tourist hotspots in London where we are based so this is good as I was expecting central London prices where if you find a pint for less than £7 your doing ok. There is no way I'd spend the required amount per day, every single day of the curise, especially as my g/f would be forced to purchase the 'classic' package if I get it. That's bonkers. At £90 per day for a week cruise (8 days) that's £720 which is ironically is just shy of what I spent in the Lake District last year for two weeks of drinks, food and travel!!! They really need to think about these packages as they are madly priced!
Thank you Jamie And Maffoo! A great explanation of the drinks packages. I’m for pay as you go as I couldn’t drink the amount needed to make it worthwhile. And this vlog is further evidence ( if any were needed!) of Maffooos star status!
PAYG here too. I don't get how anyone can drink enough to make any of these packages worth it. Maybe if you can buy a package for a single day and get completed face-melted it might work out good value. However, the T&Cs say "Drinks Packages must be purchased for the entire duration of your cruise. They cannot be purchased on a per-day basis."
Lovely to hear Maffoo on this one 😊 Like you we find P&O’s packages wouldn’t be worth while… and for me it wouldn’t be worth it on Iona or Arvia as the Emerald Bar and Amber Lounge cocktails are some of my favourites. Agree about bar service, we faced the same slowness on Britannia recently 😢
The P&O drinks package always has us umming and arring for months before our cruise. We're thinking that we'll get the Classic one for our upcoming week long cruise, and PAYG on our later fortnight one. I don't think i could physically manage two weeks of pre-paid drinks nowadays.... Great video mate.
I'd be torn as personally I would get some value from a premium drinks package (no judgment please!). It hasn't been an option as Lisa likes the premium cocktails and P&O only offer the 20% off anything outside of the package. Taking your full allowance onto the ship and picking up drinks in ports (more often than not they've not been took off us if disguised in other bags) also helps. Although, from the recent experience on Britannia it does make you wonder how many drinks you'd actually get due to the very slow service we experienced in most bars at most times. Goes without saying but the more port days you have, the less drinks you're likely to consume on those days. Edit - just realised I've commented on the previous version of the package!, but generally the same comments apply.
Thank you Jamie and Matthew for making this video. Very informative and it's made us realise we don't need a drinks package. Quick question, I know we are allowed to bring one lite of alcohol on board each, what are the rules regarding bringing our own soft drinks?
Good video, I would be inclined to go for the deluxe package (will be my first time traveling P&O) as it then allows me to drink what I want when I want without ever worrying about waking up the next day with a bill I wasn't expecting
Thanks for another absolutely excellent review video Jamie (and Maffoo 😍) This has to be the best review, comparison, and explanation of the drinks package changes that we have seen 😃 It is great to hear Maffoo's voice as well - is this the start of a more regular spot? 🤩 The changes definitely look to be an improvement on the old packages, which were seldom cost effective for most passengers. These days we don't get quite as much bar time as we used to pre-little ones, so it's not something we'd probably go for at the moment, but we would definitely be more open to a drinks package in the future 😊 And until then, praise be for balcony cabins and the 1L per person carry on allowance 😁
Our bar bill has certainly changed since having our son! Pre-baby the deluxe package would have been a go-er as Crow’s Nest cocktails are included, but with a child in tow we cannot spend our evenings in there any more… another factor when choosing a package or not 🙄
@@allthethreestravel absolutely! Alas our evenings of late night cocktails and hot tubs under the stars have had to go on hold for a bit, but they will be back one day 😁 We seem to spend more on ice cream these days as well 😁
brought drinks package 10 days before new one came out looks like we been put on the deluxe free of charge according to questions on the p&o site :) buzzing can't wait for Barbados in jan 2024
I notice from the new menus that prices have risen on drinks since January. I bought the ultimate drinks package for the transatlantic. It was worth it on sea days, but once in the Caribbean, it wasn’t worth my while. I won’t be purchasing the classic or deluxe as it isn’t worth it for me. I may do the non alcoholic one though, we’ll see. Thanks for going through the new packages.
Thanks for this guide. I am booking a cruise with my Daughter for 7 nights but was thinking of adding the classic package. Now it does not seem worth it.
What some new to cruising do not know is that P&O is one of the few operators that allows each passenger to take a litre of spirts or wine or beer on board at the port of departure (not at ports of call). The drink must be consumed in the cabin, not in public rooms. Combined with this and a few drinks bought at the bars or in one of the restaurants, this may save the expense of a package, if, like me, you give alcohol a rest now and then.
Great to hear Maffoo feature on this one! 🥂 For us on a recent FO cruise, there was only 2 days out of 7 that we spent anywhere near the £50 a drinks package would have cost us (for 2 adults), the rest of the days it was about £20-25 so definitely not worth it for us. But each to their own. We’re not massive drinkers on land anyways. Great video - thank you for you dedication as always x
In the past we've done the non-alcoholic package as neither me or my husband are big drinkers. I enjoy a drink but the husband doesn't drink at all but we don't want to worry about what we're spending. On our next cruise though we've decided that we're going to do the refresh package. The £15 a day difference will cover a couple of cocktails for me and a few mocktails for the husband and it's unlikely we'd have more than that anyway. The way we've seen it is that we'll easily spend £10 a day on soft drinks. My husband won't spend more than the extra £15 a day on mocktails most days and I wouldn't any day. I still think it's a shame that two people in the same cabin can't do different drinks packages if one person is a non-drinker. The daily limits would still apply and you wouldn't be able to order multiple alcoholic drinks at the same time so it makes no real difference.
We're on Iona to the fjords in September. First ever cruise and we'll be PAYG with drinks. I like the odd glass of wine but husband doesn't drink so PAYG is going to be considerably cheaper than 2 alcohol drinks packages. I'd rather put the money towards if we win upgrade I've bid for - standard balcony to deluxe balcony. I do have a question about Wifi - we need to have access to it for family reasons, but debating whether to buy the enhanced "Ultimate" version, rather than the basic "standard" version. Did you buy a Wifi package on Iona and if so, which one? How good was it? I've heard that the basic Wifi is not great on P&O so we are thinking of buying the enahnced version but its its an eye-watering £250 for both of us!
Had the standard Wifi Package for the week which worked very well apart from in port in Hellesylt and that day was refunded. Leaving Olden was patchy whilst deep in the fjords. Otherwise all good
@@TravelBlogJamie thank you! Its really helpful to know that the standard Wifi worked well. I do have unlimited data abroad on my mobile phone so 4g or 5g when on land shouldn't been an issue, assuming that you can get either in places like Olden.
Hi Jamie, great blog, thank you. We are off on Iona in August and are undecided on a package. 2 adults and a 16 year old. Do you know if, with the ultimate package, a double gin and tonic is classed as one drink, as both are listed separately on the menus and you can only purchase one drink at a time, or do you get the gin as part of the package and have to pay for the tonic? Similarly for a single, if you opted for the slightly cheaper package? Many thanks, Steve
Thankyou for this extremely concise and informative breakdown. We do like to enjoy a few drinks on our cruise holiday and would purchase the drinks package, however as P and O allow the 1ltr. each,(cost around £50.00 for the 2 bottles ) we now have to decide if we need a drinks package or 'pay as we go'. Decisions, decisions. Xx
Whether to buy a package or not has always been a vexed question. We cruise a fair bit on Marella so that solves the question. We have cruised on Ventura and Britannia and paid as we went, the individual prices are decent. When you look at US ships it is more of a problem. Princess is interesting because the gratuities and WIFI are included in the main package, on our 25 day to and from North America we paid £40 per day as a promotional price (as opposed to £50). That included $16 for gratuities and $9 for WIFI, in £ terms that was £20 per day. Total no brainer.
Even on Marella you need to decide whether you want the so-called all inc with exceptions or pay extra for the true all inc. A promotional price on princess works well but paying full price works out quite a lot too - however, drinks prices more expensive on princess for pay as you go.
We are first time cruises with P@O. There will be 4 for us travelling on a 4 night cruise, 3 adults and one child. One adult is tea total, one adult only drinks Guinness and one adult only drinks wine. Would it be better to just pay as you go.
Thanks for this video Jamie (and Mafoo!). I think we'll just stick to PAYG and buy a wine package before we get onboard as that gives us 6/12 bottles of wine/fizz and then we can buy other drinks as we see fit 🥂
Thank you so much for such a comprehensive vlog in what can be a divisive topic. I’m going for classic package as will be breaking my cruising virginity this weekend. A question if I may, when obtaining spirits through the drinks package are mixers counted as one drink or two from your allowance of 15 per day? Thank you so much again and #thankyoujesus
Love your vlogs, Can I ask, can you use your drink allowance (deluxe package) in the specialty restaurants, off their drink menu? Or do you need to pay when ordering your meal? X
Jamie, excellent video, very well explained on the packages and costs. We are about to go on our first full cruise and have been weighing up the drinks package against PAYG. At home and in general we are not drinkers, maybe a couple of gin/whisky glasses or a bottle of wine at the weekends but being our first cruise we feel we may well enjoy plenty of drinks, I can certainly expect to drink a couple of beers in the evening and 2 or 3 glasses of wine with dinner. With 7 sea days on our cruise we would be drinking coffee and soft drinks during the day lounging around. I did some calculations and the pricing is close, with the new package and prices it might tip us more for having the package on our first trip just so as not to worry how much our drinks bill could be.
@@TravelBlogJamie Hi Jamie, ust thought I let you know we have changed our thoughts, we were going to use our onboard allowance to contribute towards the cost and all my pricing was done based on like for like drinks. Having re-watched your video and the new P&O pricing means we can't use our onboard unless we pay the new increased cost as the discounted packaes is only available before boarding. Checking the drinks prices I re-did my costing based on buying a botlle of wine for dinner and buying doubles on spirits instead of 2 singles and it looks cheaper to buy as we go. Happy to check to update you once we get back also.
@@TravelBlogJamie We have had our cruise now and having decided not to have the drinks package we only spent about £750 on drinks overall. On the drinks package we may well have had more colas and Costa coffees, but I would have had to pay extra for Johnnie Walker Black Label or other drinks not inlcuded. Definitely the right choice not to have drinks package. 👍 PS food queuing not as bad on Ventura now as taken away virtual queuing.
As I’ve said before with pay as you go prices being so reasonable (certainly compared to the big American lines with gratuity on top) you have to drink like the proverbial fish to get your moneys worth. On top of this we found on Arvia in March in the Caribbean no one checked bags for booze on port days and we brought rum and gin into our cabin for our own little cocktail hour without any problem. Seriously unless you have the drinking capacity of Oliver Reed I wouldn’t bother.
Still in a quandry, its just myself and my son who will be 11, going for 2 weeks with 6 port days, I do like a few glasses of wine and a cocktail on holiday and if I purchase the classic I will get the refresh free for my son.
Thanks for posting this explanation of the drinks packages. I've watched it twice, and I'm still just as confused as ever! The whole "excluded drinks" part throws me off entirely.
Can you please tell me if i purchase the drinks before the cruise does the money come out of my bank account immediately or will it be on my onboard account 1:21
No point taking out a drinks package as my other half is teetotal. He wouldn't even drink alcohol-free beer. RC is the only cruise company I have come across which allowed us to have two separate packages. I'm very much looking forward to my fjourd cruise in just over 3 weeks. Yay!
Could you clarify please, is it 15 drinks total per 24hr period or is it 15 alcoholic drinks per day? I like a drink on holiday but I tend to drink a lot of Pepsi too around the pool. Would I be “wasting” my allocation by drinking fizzy drinks.
We were debating the drinks package as we are travelling with two children, however, looking at the maths I still don’t think it’s going to be worth it!
@@bozzy-101 I’m the worst to ask as we only live 25 mins away and often arrive by train. When we drive we use a multi-storey for up to a week. But to use cruise parking you need to book in advance
Are you sure about this? The list of what is included in the deluxe package tends to suggest that the large measures come as standard "✔ Extended range of 250ml wines ✔ Extended range of 50ml spirits", so surely would have to be classed as one drink. If the double measures are two drinks then why don't they allow those on the classic package as well?@@TravelBlogJamie
Another thought is that a large (250ml) serving of wine is not twice that of a standard 175ml one. It would seem unfair then to charge it as two drinks wouldn't it? Two standard glasses would be a better bet.
A helpful guide, but as a tee-totaller I found it difficult to keep up with you as you were quite rushed through all the soft drink and mixer sections.
I know you concentrated on the Alcoholic drinks, but the Refresh package doesn't include coke!! I think that's really bad for a soft drinks package to deliberately exclude the most popular soft drink in the world.
So what package do you purchase if you and your partner wish to drink alcohol but you have a 17 year old child sharing the cabin? Or (due to medical reasons) your partner cannot drink alcoholic drinks?
You and your partner buy the classics or deluxe alcoholic drinks package: your 17 year old gets the refresh for free. If only one of you wants / can have an alcoholic drinks package, you can’t unless the other adult in the cabin has it.
Awesome video amazed by the amouth of people who wouldn’t get a package I would easliy drink 10 cocktails a day also my partner would drink at least 5 and if we both just had five a day would be about 70 for both plus she loves costa coffee so no brainier
That won't neccessarily work if you drink and your travelling companion doesn't or like myself i'm sailing with 2 paid carers and am technically responsible for all onboard spends for all 3 of us. Also what if you are travelling with a child or someone who doesn't have the mental capability to manage their own money. Mentally disabled adults are allowed to have holidays/vacation.
Thank you Jamie and Matthew for such a comprehensive guide to the P&O drinks packages, so informative, this has made making the choice about purchasing a drinks package so much easier. Keep up the great work. In my opinion your one of the best travel bloggers 😊
Thank you sooo much for your lovely feedback ❤️❤️❤️
Very informative as always. Thanks Jamie and Maffoo!
Welcome 🙏
The dreaded drinks package dilemma is here! Pop those corks and enjoy the MOST comprehensive drinks package vlog out there for P&O Cruises!
Thank you Jamie and Matthew for this explanation.
We are in the PAYG bracket.
Same! And you’re very welcome as always ❤️
This is exactly what I needed thank you! When I’ve looked at the P&O website I’ve only seen the prices per package and not the cost of the drinks but you and Matthew have shown us the menus to give a great overview of the costs. I would previously have opted for the top package just to be safe but now I feel we would be better off paying as we go and spending our money on a balcony instead. Thanks again for all the time and effort you put into your videos. 👏👏😊. Quick question, can you get decaffeinated tea and coffee in the coffee shop on board please?
Decaf available, yes 😉
Thanks for this video. I was discussing the pros and cons of this with my wife last night and this will be useful in deciding
You’re very welcome 😊
Pay as you go for us for sure. Thank you very much for your detailed guide, very helpful and informative indeed. Fantastic!!
Very welcome 🤗
Loved your week in the Fjords your Blogs are hilarious poor Mathew
We are just back from this cruise it was Magic
😂😂😂
So pleased you enjoyed!
I always take the drinks package but only the classic.... couple of glasses of wine with dinner, costa in a morning for hot chocolate and a few cocktails in the evening and it's covered. Plus I don't have to think about how much my bar bill will be at the end 😂 but to be fair I do have my P&O discount too so it's a yes from me. You really are a great blogger i love watching your video and its so lovely that you take the time to answer so many questions and help people with their travel plans ❤
Thanks for your helpful feedback on the drinks package! ❤️❤️❤️
Just gonna watch this again as we have had to change our cruise date which means a different ship shorter duration but 20% off the classic drinks package. We had paid for.the refresh .
As its our first cruise and after watching nearly every blog of Jamies we feel we know quite a bit but by no means a lot so going to keep re watching.
Thanks for such informative vlogs. Love the sound effects in some make us laugh😂
Welcome - prices of drinks have gone up since this vlog so drinks package becoming better value
Definitely a pay as you go girl here. Last cruise I had 3 pina colada’s 1 disarono and three lemonade’s all cruise!!!! Water intake was up as I took my water bottle … P&O do seem really reasonable when I did purchase these individual drinks. Nice to hear Matthew on your Vlog too 😊
Yes they are already reasonably priced I think
Pay as you go and save the money for the Casino😂. Thank you for such great videos. They are the best
Thanks Sherry
Jamie, that was so useful. Thank you! We were really debating whether the drinks package would be worth it and I now I'm happy to leave it and pay as we go!
Pay as you go seems most popular option from those posting so far
Thank you Jamie and Matthew for this video, it’s been extremely helpful. You’ve both explained it clearly. Keep up the great work. Love your videos. I prefer watching you guys to tv now.
Aww that’s so lovely! Thank you so much 😊
@@TravelBlogJamie all I’m going to say is thank you Jesus for Jamie’s travel blog
@@vanquishpurr 😂😂😂
Really useful thank you. I am on Iona in 4 weeks time. I consider myself a no to low alcohol consumer. I purchased the kids drinks package at the old price a few months ago. But on holiday I do like an odd cocktail and made the decision to buy as I go. So pleased I seem to have made the right decision watching this. X
Thank you so much 😊
Thanks Jamie. We will take the package ( may go Deluxe as it's our Silver Wedding Anniversary on the next cruise) as we have a large amount of OBC and don't usually spend in the shops or go on many excursions so the value of the package will be really good for us on our next two cruises.
Oh with lots of OBC it makes perfect sense
Pay as you go here for me, would never drink enough across the whole of the cruise to justify any of the drinks packages, especially as you have to take the same package for both occupants. I don’t know whether PO do it, but on Cunard as well as the drinks package offers, they also offer 2 wine collection packages of 6 or 12 bottles (Captain or the more premium Commodore.) I did the maths on these, and for us they definitely made sense. You effectively save the service charge by buying one of these options. The last time we did it, you could also include an aperitif such as a bottle of port in your selection.
Yes indeed, wine packages on P&O too ❤️
Thank you! This has been very helpful for me. I'm looking at sailing with P&O for the first time. I've only been with NCL before and always get the free at sea pricing. I travel solo, so if I get the package at least it is only for one. 😊 Thanks again.
Very true indeed! Enjoy 😊
Thanks for this, so good to hear Maffoo too! I’ve already decided not to take the drinks packages - mainly because I rarely drink (no piety involved, it just upsets my stomach, skin and head!), but the other half is fond so it was great seeing your typical bar bill. The thing that puts me off most of all is that you have to buy the same package for both people, so for us it’s always going to be a non-starter. He’s mulling over which bottle he wants to take on board - and which I’ll be taking! - and I’m busy making collections of my fave herbal teas and laying in an extra box of Yorkshire tea as I don’t drink fizzies, squash or juice either 😅.
I think you’ve already made a very wise decision!
Superb video, the info many of us have been waiting for. I have thrown caution to the wind and prepaid for the delux for my upcoming August cruise to Spain & Portugal on board Aurora. I will be keeping a close eye on what I drink to see if it’s worth while for future P&O cruises.
Have a great cruise 🚢
Excellent video Jamie & Matthew. Very comprehensive information about the different drinks packages available and very helpful to know your daily spend. I think everyone who is considering purchasing one should watch this video. We have always found that we spend less than the cost of a drinks package per day and we do enjoy wine with dinner and cocktails. P&O is great that it allows you to take a litre of alcohol so I take a litre of gin and my fever tree tonics. Thank you!
We love being able to take our fav vodkas onboard for the cabin! ♥️ We are similar to you - like a drink but not quite as many as necessary to make a drinks package worthwhile each day.
Package suits us as we also like a few costas andpina coladas. Glad doubles are included and fever tree tonic.
👍👍👍
At these prices there is no way I would purchase a package. I do SO wish they would reduce the number of drinks per package so that I could consider one... what I mean is.. I wouldn't drink 15 alcoholic drinks per day on any day, so if they were to offer say, 8 drinks at half the price, I might find it worth while. On Iona, the coffee in the buffet was quite decent, so I mostly drank that. The odd glass of wine with dinner, an occasional coctail, and a few special coffees dont add up to anything like a package price. So ... that's me.
Thanks very much for the update Jamie and Maffoo :)
Oh, by the way, I would have had drinks more often if a waiter had been in sight at any time on deck... 14 days and I didnt see one. In the past no sooner did you sit down on deck and three waiters would come honing in like sharks scenting blood, but not last time I cruised.
I agree on every point you’ve made here!
Excellent thanks Jamie and Matthew. I’m usually a pay as you go person with P&O as prices reasonable and I also take cabin drinks for pre dinner balcony drinks. I’m going on Celebrity this summer and took the always included package for classic drinks, Wi-Fi and tips as 12 night cruise with 4 sea days. I’ve since upgraded to premium drinks and Wi-Fi as had $800 on board credit and waited til they had their sale. I’ll definitely make use of that in the martini bar!
On a side note, good to see P&O labelling more wines vegan as makes my life easier. Just spent an hour this morning checking all the Celebrity wines to research what’s vegan and got a good list now (I guarantee they won’t know on board) Just now got to hope GP doesn’t alter any of my medication to include anything you can’t drink with😆
Thanks for all this helpful feedback / tips for everyone too ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you jamie and mathew, thank you for that. We are defo a pay as you go. 😊
Same 💫💫💫
Really useful to know this as I'm tempted to book Iona and do the Norwegian Fjords with my girlfriend over my birthday in July. I drink beer pretty much exclusively and she is a coffee/soft drink/non-alchy beer drinker. The beer prices are much less than in central London or tourist hotspots in London where we are based so this is good as I was expecting central London prices where if you find a pint for less than £7 your doing ok. There is no way I'd spend the required amount per day, every single day of the curise, especially as my g/f would be forced to purchase the 'classic' package if I get it. That's bonkers. At £90 per day for a week cruise (8 days) that's £720 which is ironically is just shy of what I spent in the Lake District last year for two weeks of drinks, food and travel!!! They really need to think about these packages as they are madly priced!
Have a look at cost of drinks packages on some of the other cruise lines - they will really make your eyes water!
Woo hoo Maffoo too💕💕🥂🥂
💫💫💫💫💫
Thank you Jamie And Maffoo! A great explanation of the drinks packages. I’m for pay as you go as I couldn’t drink the amount needed to make it worthwhile. And this vlog is further evidence ( if any were needed!) of Maffooos star status!
😂😂😂
I’ll let him know
PAYG here too. I don't get how anyone can drink enough to make any of these packages worth it. Maybe if you can buy a package for a single day and get completed face-melted it might work out good value. However, the T&Cs say "Drinks Packages must be purchased for the entire duration of your cruise. They cannot be purchased on a per-day basis."
I’ve never sailed with P&O but if I did it would definitely be PAYG. Great video xx
PAYG a good start on P&O imo
Lovely to hear Maffoo on this one 😊
Like you we find P&O’s packages wouldn’t be worth while… and for me it wouldn’t be worth it on Iona or Arvia as the Emerald Bar and Amber Lounge cocktails are some of my favourites.
Agree about bar service, we faced the same slowness on Britannia recently 😢
Oh the slowness needs to be addressed - more crew and better systems pleeeease
The P&O drinks package always has us umming and arring for months before our cruise. We're thinking that we'll get the Classic one for our upcoming week long cruise, and PAYG on our later fortnight one. I don't think i could physically manage two weeks of pre-paid drinks nowadays....
Great video mate.
Ooof that’s a lot of booze over 2 weeks isn’t if - works for some folk though!
I'd be torn as personally I would get some value from a premium drinks package (no judgment please!). It hasn't been an option as Lisa likes the premium cocktails and P&O only offer the 20% off anything outside of the package. Taking your full allowance onto the ship and picking up drinks in ports (more often than not they've not been took off us if disguised in other bags) also helps. Although, from the recent experience on Britannia it does make you wonder how many drinks you'd actually get due to the very slow service we experienced in most bars at most times. Goes without saying but the more port days you have, the less drinks you're likely to consume on those days.
Edit - just realised I've commented on the previous version of the package!, but generally the same comments apply.
Oh we had some slow service too
Thank you Jamie and Matthew for making this video. Very informative and it's made us realise we don't need a drinks package. Quick question, I know we are allowed to bring one lite of alcohol on board each, what are the rules regarding bringing our own soft drinks?
As much as you can carry
Good video, I would be inclined to go for the deluxe package (will be my first time traveling P&O) as it then allows me to drink what I want when I want without ever worrying about waking up the next day with a bill I wasn't expecting
Whatever works for the individual!
Thanks for another absolutely excellent review video Jamie (and Maffoo 😍) This has to be the best review, comparison, and explanation of the drinks package changes that we have seen 😃 It is great to hear Maffoo's voice as well - is this the start of a more regular spot? 🤩
The changes definitely look to be an improvement on the old packages, which were seldom cost effective for most passengers.
These days we don't get quite as much bar time as we used to pre-little ones, so it's not something we'd probably go for at the moment, but we would definitely be more open to a drinks package in the future 😊
And until then, praise be for balcony cabins and the 1L per person carry on allowance 😁
Our bar bill has certainly changed since having our son! Pre-baby the deluxe package would have been a go-er as Crow’s Nest cocktails are included, but with a child in tow we cannot spend our evenings in there any more… another factor when choosing a package or not 🙄
@@allthethreestravel absolutely! Alas our evenings of late night cocktails and hot tubs under the stars have had to go on hold for a bit, but they will be back one day 😁
We seem to spend more on ice cream these days as well 😁
Oh yes I never considered this
Ice cream packages all the way
Thank you 🙏 I’m not sure maffoo will be a regular as he hated doing it 😂😂😂
Thank you, very helpful. We will definitely be PAYG.
No problem 😌
brought drinks package 10 days before new one came out looks like we been put on the deluxe free of charge according to questions on the p&o site :) buzzing can't wait for Barbados in jan 2024
Fab news!
I notice from the new menus that prices have risen on drinks since January. I bought the ultimate drinks package for the transatlantic. It was worth it on sea days, but once in the Caribbean, it wasn’t worth my while. I won’t be purchasing the classic or deluxe as it isn’t worth it for me. I may do the non alcoholic one though, we’ll see. Thanks for going through the new packages.
👍👍👍
Thanks for this guide. I am booking a cruise with my Daughter for 7 nights but was thinking of adding the classic package. Now it does not seem worth it.
You’re very welcome Anne
Thanks Jamie and Matthew. I only PAYG as don't drink that much.
So Matthew are you now going to start taking part in the vlogs??
He hated doing it 😂
He did it so well.
@@abiday5577 ❤️❤️❤️
What some new to cruising do not know is that P&O is one of the few operators that allows each passenger to take a litre of spirts or wine or beer on board at the port of departure (not at ports of call). The drink must be consumed in the cabin, not in public rooms. Combined with this and a few drinks bought at the bars or in one of the restaurants, this may save the expense of a package, if, like me, you give alcohol a rest now and then.
Absolutely - I cover this in the vlog and it’s one of the reasons some subscribers have said they wouldn’t need the package (ourselves included)
Great to hear Maffoo feature on this one! 🥂 For us on a recent FO cruise, there was only 2 days out of 7 that we spent anywhere near the £50 a drinks package would have cost us (for 2 adults), the rest of the days it was about £20-25 so definitely not worth it for us. But each to their own. We’re not massive drinkers on land anyways. Great video - thank you for you dedication as always x
Thank you 🙏
In the past we've done the non-alcoholic package as neither me or my husband are big drinkers. I enjoy a drink but the husband doesn't drink at all but we don't want to worry about what we're spending.
On our next cruise though we've decided that we're going to do the refresh package. The £15 a day difference will cover a couple of cocktails for me and a few mocktails for the husband and it's unlikely we'd have more than that anyway.
The way we've seen it is that we'll easily spend £10 a day on soft drinks. My husband won't spend more than the extra £15 a day on mocktails most days and I wouldn't any day.
I still think it's a shame that two people in the same cabin can't do different drinks packages if one person is a non-drinker. The daily limits would still apply and you wouldn't be able to order multiple alcoholic drinks at the same time so it makes no real difference.
Thanks for your comments and rationale 🙏🙏🙏
We're on Iona to the fjords in September. First ever cruise and we'll be PAYG with drinks. I like the odd glass of wine but husband doesn't drink so PAYG is going to be considerably cheaper than 2 alcohol drinks packages. I'd rather put the money towards if we win upgrade I've bid for - standard balcony to deluxe balcony. I do have a question about Wifi - we need to have access to it for family reasons, but debating whether to buy the enhanced "Ultimate" version, rather than the basic "standard" version. Did you buy a Wifi package on Iona and if so, which one? How good was it? I've heard that the basic Wifi is not great on P&O so we are thinking of buying the enahnced version but its its an eye-watering £250 for both of us!
Had the standard Wifi Package for the week which worked very well apart from in port in Hellesylt and that day was refunded. Leaving Olden was patchy whilst deep in the fjords. Otherwise all good
@@TravelBlogJamie thank you! Its really helpful to know that the standard Wifi worked well. I do have unlimited data abroad on my mobile phone so 4g or 5g when on land shouldn't been an issue, assuming that you can get either in places like Olden.
@@petshopgirl39 no problem using my phone ashore
Hi Jamie, great blog, thank you. We are off on Iona in August and are undecided on a package. 2 adults and a 16 year old. Do you know if, with the ultimate package, a double gin and tonic is classed as one drink, as both are listed separately on the menus and you can only purchase one drink at a time, or do you get the gin as part of the package and have to pay for the tonic? Similarly for a single, if you opted for the slightly cheaper package? Many thanks, Steve
That would be in the deluxe package for a double and tonic ❤️
Thankyou for this extremely concise and informative breakdown. We do like to enjoy a few drinks on our cruise holiday and would purchase the drinks package, however as P and O allow the 1ltr. each,(cost around £50.00 for the 2 bottles ) we now have to decide if we need a drinks package or 'pay as we go'. Decisions, decisions. Xx
All these decisions 😂😂😂
More Maffoo please. No offence Jamie!! 😁
More Tony please. No offence Lisa.
@@TravelBlogJamie Haha that would be an accident waiting to happen
Whether to buy a package or not has always been a vexed question. We cruise a fair bit on Marella so that solves the question. We have cruised on Ventura and Britannia and paid as we went, the individual prices are decent. When you look at US ships it is more of a problem. Princess is interesting because the gratuities and WIFI are included in the main package, on our 25 day to and from North America we paid £40 per day as a promotional price (as opposed to £50). That included $16 for gratuities and $9 for WIFI, in £ terms that was £20 per day. Total no brainer.
Even on Marella you need to decide whether you want the so-called all inc with exceptions or pay extra for the true all inc. A promotional price on princess works well but paying full price works out quite a lot too - however, drinks prices more expensive on princess for pay as you go.
We are first time cruises with P@O. There will be 4 for us travelling on a 4 night cruise, 3 adults and one child. One adult is tea total, one adult only drinks Guinness and one adult only drinks wine. Would it be better to just pay as you go.
Yes, it absolutely would imo
Thanks for this video Jamie (and Mafoo!). I think we'll just stick to PAYG and buy a wine package before we get onboard as that gives us 6/12 bottles of wine/fizz and then we can buy other drinks as we see fit 🥂
PAYG works perfectly for us too
Thank you so much for such a comprehensive vlog in what can be a divisive topic. I’m going for classic package as will be breaking my cruising virginity this weekend. A question if I may, when obtaining spirits through the drinks package are mixers counted as one drink or two from your allowance of 15 per day?
Thank you so much again
and #thankyoujesus
Mixers not part of the allowance as far as I’m aware 😊
@@TravelBlogJamie amazing, thank you very much
Great info on drinks packages, whats the best restaurants?
Ok you need to watch my vlogs for that / way too many to talk about in a message lol
Love your vlogs, Can I ask, can you use your drink allowance (deluxe package) in the specialty restaurants, off their drink menu? Or do you need to pay when ordering your meal? X
Yes, Drinks Package applies in all restaurants ♥️
Can you please tell me if there is any restrictions on the amount of soft drinks or mocktails canned drinks etc on the deluxe package ?
Not that I’m aware of - restrictions on the alcohol
Jamie, excellent video, very well explained on the packages and costs.
We are about to go on our first full cruise and have been weighing up the drinks package against PAYG. At home and in general we are not drinkers, maybe a couple of gin/whisky glasses or a bottle of wine at the weekends but being our first cruise we feel we may well enjoy plenty of drinks, I can certainly expect to drink a couple of beers in the evening and 2 or 3 glasses of wine with dinner. With 7 sea days on our cruise we would be drinking coffee and soft drinks during the day lounging around. I did some calculations and the pricing is close, with the new package and prices it might tip us more for having the package on our first trip just so as not to worry how much our drinks bill could be.
I’d be very interested to know if you get your money’s worth!
@@TravelBlogJamie Hi Jamie, ust thought I let you know we have changed our thoughts, we were going to use our onboard allowance to contribute towards the cost and all my pricing was done based on like for like drinks. Having re-watched your video and the new P&O pricing means we can't use our onboard unless we pay the new increased cost as the discounted packaes is only available before boarding. Checking the drinks prices I re-did my costing based on buying a botlle of wine for dinner and buying doubles on spirits instead of 2 singles and it looks cheaper to buy as we go.
Happy to check to update you once we get back also.
@@pauljb yes let me know how you get on!
@@TravelBlogJamie We have had our cruise now and having decided not to have the drinks package we only spent about £750 on drinks overall. On the drinks package we may well have had more colas and Costa coffees, but I would have had to pay extra for Johnnie Walker Black Label or other drinks not inlcuded.
Definitely the right choice not to have drinks package. 👍
PS food queuing not as bad on Ventura now as taken away virtual queuing.
@@pauljb Relieved to hear all of this!
Hi Jamie do you have any tips to stop getting electric shocks on board? 😘
I didn’t know this was a thing?!
As I’ve said before with pay as you go prices being so reasonable (certainly compared to the big American lines with gratuity on top) you have to drink like the proverbial fish to get your moneys worth. On top of this we found on Arvia in March in the Caribbean no one checked bags for booze on port days and we brought rum and gin into our cabin for our own little cocktail hour without any problem. Seriously unless you have the drinking capacity of Oliver Reed I wouldn’t bother.
We wouldn’t be able to drink that much every day either
Top video thanks for posting
Thank you 🙏
Still in a quandry, its just myself and my son who will be 11, going for 2 weeks with 6 port days, I do like a few glasses of wine and a cocktail on holiday and if I purchase the classic I will get the refresh free for my son.
To be or not to be… 😂
@@TravelBlogJamie😂
fantastic video. still trying to calculate whether any drinks package will be worth it for us as a couple :(
Good luck 🤞🏼
Thanks for the info
Welcome 🙏
09.20. Looking at these menus can you confirm that Fevertree is the only tonic water brand served on Iona and Arvia ?
I think that’s all they have from memory (I drank blackcurrant and soda and this is what they gave me)
Do have to wait 15 to reorder a soft drink or is rule only for alcohol
Just for alcohol
Very useful video. If you get a bottle of water on a drinks package I imagine it is opened but do they give you the lid?
I don’t think they’d open it for you unless you asked and they’d certainly give you the lid
I think if travelling with children its potentially worth if travelling as a family if 4. If you include their drinks within the cost of the package
Yes agreed here
Thanks for posting this explanation of the drinks packages. I've watched it twice, and I'm still just as confused as ever! The whole "excluded drinks" part throws me off entirely.
Ah sorry I wasn’t clearer!
@TravelBlogJamie oh no- I think you did a good job of explaining a really difficult and confusing set of rules.
Thanks Jamie, deffo (for us) not worth the packages and we have onboard credit too! Thanks for doing the Mathsffo!
You’re very welcome 😊
If you purchase the full drinks package do you get a print out of each drink you have in the bars and restaurants?
I believe they still do this as everything is accounted for
I believe they still do this as everything had to be accounted for
4 of us are on Britain's in Sept. 3 of us will get the classic package. Is my 17yr old entitled to a complimentary soda package? Thanks
I believe so - I think it has changed to 17
🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾 ❤thanks great video
Thank you 🙏
Are you restricted to the 15 mins per drink and 15 drinks per day on the 'pay as you go'
Not on pay as you go, no
Can you please tell me if i purchase the drinks before the cruise does the money come out of my bank account immediately or will it be on my onboard account
1:21
For drinks package, comes out straight away but with discount
No point taking out a drinks package as my other half is teetotal. He wouldn't even drink alcohol-free beer. RC is the only cruise company I have come across which allowed us to have two separate packages. I'm very much looking forward to my fjourd cruise in just over 3 weeks. Yay!
Have a great cruise
Could you clarify please, is it 15 drinks total per 24hr period or is it 15 alcoholic drinks per day? I like a drink on holiday but I tend to drink a lot of Pepsi too around the pool. Would I be “wasting” my allocation by drinking fizzy drinks.
Also, if you get a gin with a fevertree mixer, does this count as 2 drinks or 1?
The limit is 15 alcoholic drinks so no problem with Pepsi
That should count as 1
Hi, can you upgrade the free kids included package to a higher one
I honestly don’t know - what package are you looking to upgrade to?
We were debating the drinks package as we are travelling with two children, however, looking at the maths I still don’t think it’s going to be worth it!
I haven’t needed one on P&O yet!
@@TravelBlogJamie Thanks for that. We’ll PAYG!
Out of interest, is it worth pre booking parking at Southampton port?
@@bozzy-101 I’m the worst to ask as we only live 25 mins away and often arrive by train. When we drive we use a multi-storey for up to a week. But to use cruise parking you need to book in advance
Hi Jamie, I am still undecided but with having six kids in tow I'm leaning towards it being worth it, pay for 2 and get 8.....what do you think
Sounds like a sensible idea to me!
One thing i'm still confused on...Does the drinks package start on embarkation day or do you have to wait till 6am the next day?
It’s starts once you board
What drinks are on the buffet pumps?
Wine and beer
We were going to get the coffee one then price went up 😮 so not now.
👍
Does fever tree t9nic come on the soft drink package ?
It should show you on the menus in the vlog I think?
Thanks think I will go on TUI
We travel on different lines - prefer the variety
Hi Jamie
Does a double measure count as 2 drinks out of your 15 allowed.
Thankyou.
Yes that’s 2 drinks
Are you sure about this? The list of what is included in the deluxe package tends to suggest that the large measures come as standard "✔ Extended range of 250ml wines
✔ Extended range of 50ml spirits", so surely would have to be classed as one drink. If the double measures are two drinks then why don't they allow those on the classic package as well?@@TravelBlogJamie
Another thought is that a large (250ml) serving of wine is not twice that of a standard 175ml one. It would seem unfair then to charge it as two drinks wouldn't it? Two standard glasses would be a better bet.
£5.50 for a pint :( not looking forward to that haha. I am used to wetherspoons prices lol
If only wetherspoons had cruise ships…
Can you use your drinks package in all bars and restaurants?
Yes
A helpful guide, but as a tee-totaller I found it difficult to keep up with you as you were quite rushed through all the soft drink and mixer sections.
Oh dear - you can just pause at any stage if you like
Best drinks package is MSC I've had 3 for free 🎉
It’s definitely not free on the MSC cruise I’m booked on!!
@@TravelBlogJamie yep I've had 3 free drinks packages on MSC Virtuosa along with my mum and daughter 🤩 and we loved it ❤
@@carmelshepherd6739 lucky you!
I know you concentrated on the Alcoholic drinks, but the Refresh package doesn't include coke!! I think that's really bad for a soft drinks package to deliberately exclude the most popular soft drink in the world.
Yes very odd indeed
It may be because it’s the drinks from the taps on the Refresh package, and it’s Pepsi they have on tap, which is included.
@@cocktailswithlisa and we’d always have the on tap as it’s 10000000 times cheaper than the bottles
So what package do you purchase if you and your partner wish to drink alcohol but you have a 17 year old child sharing the cabin? Or (due to medical reasons) your partner cannot drink alcoholic drinks?
You and your partner buy the classics or deluxe alcoholic drinks package: your 17 year old gets the refresh for free. If only one of you wants / can have an alcoholic drinks package, you can’t unless the other adult in the cabin has it.
No holy snail?
Not available on this cruise for some reason
☹️
Scrolling down the bar menu too fast
Pause it
If I took an (alcoholic) drinks package I’d have to be drunk all day most days for it to make financial sense.
Sounds like you have your answer!
Awesome video amazed by the amouth of people who wouldn’t get a package I would easliy drink 10 cocktails a day also my partner would drink at least 5 and if we both just had five a day would be about 70 for both plus she loves costa coffee so no brainier
Glad it works for you!
15 ALCOHOLIC drinks a day isn’t it? My understanding was you could still have as many soft drinks as you wanted
Correct ✅
But the type of alcoholic drinks depends on your package
Is there a limit on any packages?
Yes, this one has a limit
@@TravelBlogJamie Do you know what limitations are? Both alcoholic and non alcoholic?
@@katiepaoulacowdrey1963 I’m sure I mentioned the limitations in this vlog. From memory It’s 15 alcoholic drinks but no limits on non-alcoholic
Unnecessarily complex. Just a soda package, a coffee package and a fully inclusive alcohol package is all that is needed.
I wish it were that simple on other cruise lines too
Like 349😊❤❤❤❤❤
I wish i knew what this meant
That won't neccessarily work if you drink and your travelling companion doesn't or like myself i'm sailing with 2 paid carers and am technically responsible for all onboard spends for all 3 of us. Also what if you are travelling with a child or someone who doesn't have the mental capability to manage their own money. Mentally disabled adults are allowed to have holidays/vacation.
It’s the same for any person, able bodied or not, either all adults have it or none - pay as you go is what’s needed in those cases
Gradual increase getting greedy so won’t be taking out drink packages we are not big drinkers of alcohol maybe an odd one
But more included
@@TravelBlogJamie at £24.95 a day each over 14 days £700 the odd drink will do us with on board credit cheers Jamie
@@Ilkleyscot I wouldn’t have the Package either (but good to see more included now than previously)
@@TravelBlogJamie Thanks Jamie much as we want to enjoy the trip i fill we are being milked £ 20 two months ago such is life.
Also don’t you have to buy drinks with your lunch and dinner meals even if the food is included
No, with a drinks package you don’t need to buy drinks for lunch / dinner