on our most recent cruise, we decided to go with "pay as you go" and it was much cheaper than the package would have been. The package was so expensive, there was no way we were going to get that many drinks.
The older I get the more this makes sense for me. To break even I have to drink almost 10 drinks a day, even on port days. I find after hitting it somewhat hard on one day I am in not really in a drinking mood the next. That cuts my drinking to practically every other day with a drink pkg. in which case I really am losing money. Things made more sense in 2019 when it was just $65/day and cheaper.
@@eriksmith2567 I agree 100% with you. The first day or two of the cruise is when I get my money's worth. After that, the pace of my drinking is greatly diminished. I also find that meeting people and socializing can increase my alcohol consumption. But even with that, it reaches a point when the group is ordering cocktails, I might order a Gatorade or water. Too bad they don't let us purchase the drink package for 2 or 3 days at a time. 😎😎😎
I didn’t like that you both have to buy the drink package. For health reasons my husband can’t drink. I just paid as I wanted one. It was usually just a couple of glasses of wine a day.
@@csmith2435 I wouldn't mind a package that offered an average 4 drink per day average pricing. Like 20 drinks total for a 5 day cruise. You might have 6 drinks on your first day then slow down to 2 on a port day. Pricing for 12 drinks a day or 60 drink total for a 5 day cruise is getting too expensive.
@@danielwilson4544well then obviously the drink package ain’t for you? Like it’s not that hard a concept. If I drink 10-15 a day it more then pays for itself I promise that
@@adriangeller9140 but thats the problem, you have to drink that much every day or it ends up costing you more, that includes port days where you might be off the ship for half the day or more, it includes the last night where most people dont go as hard etc etc. Also, some lines (Not sure about RC) have soft caps on the drinks packages anyway.
@@TheJonas973 NCL is not much better. They are sneakier with how they market their products, but they have a lot of add on "GOTCHAS" if you are not careful. Meaning you signed up for Free at Sea and get on board to find out the things you thought were included in your package have to be added on for an extra charge.
We strayed from Royal Caribbean and did a Princess cruise in August. For $65 pp/pd, we got the drink pkg which included crew appreciation and wifi for one device.
I still need to try Princess. Ive done RCL, CCL, NCL, MSC, and recently Celebrity. I will say that even compared to food on ICON (which was very impressive) the food on Celebrity Beyond was still next level. Only did Oceanview Cafe (buffet) at lunch but the options there were very surprising. One day I noticed a line at one of the stations with mostly asian people there. I figured 'wow I gotta check this out'. They were making a steamed seafood soup that had shrimp, oysters and clams still in the shells, and octopus. I tried it and was amazed at the flavor. Never have I had included dining that had mollusks and cephalopod (octopus) without some kind of upcharge. How is Princess for non-specialty dining?
Did the Princess 7 day Alaska cruise out of Vancouver to Whittier. Paid $840 for 2 people which included drinks, crew appreciation and wifi for one device. This was a no brainer and made the cruise great. I can't imagine paying what RC is charging for the drink package alone. I'll probably stay with Princess on my next cruise. The food on the ship was great. I've been on RC once and we didn't get the drink package. Instead, I drank one night paying $10 per beer buying 5.
Get the medium (refreshments?) drink package. Order a mocktail (included in the package) and then just buy a shot of your preferred alcohol (rum, tequila, whisky, etc.) and then dump the shot into the mocktail. A cheaper way to have a drink.
Agree 100%. Even if you buy a full cocktail instead of a mocktail with a shot, the odds are each time you buy the cocktail still wont amount to the cost difference (roughly $50/day difference, if not more).
I agree the cost of the package is out of control. This year out of Southampton, beer was $8.25, wine $11.00, margarita $12.50, for next year the drink package is currently £108 a day, about $140 a day, so that’s 15 beers or 13 wines or 11 margaritas a day to break even, ridiculous!
Agree - given that you can only get any serious drinking done on a sea day. At which point the bars are rammed and it takes a while just to get served…. My first drinks package was about £45 each back then we only just broke even. Probably gonna be cheaper ? - definitely gonna be cheaper. Have to be downing drinks so fast to get moneys worth you won’t remember if you did or not because you’ll be wasted…😂
@@smsff7 PCL's Plus package is seriously good value. The other things are two free fitness classes and two free casual upcharge meals per cruise. If you go for the Premier package, which is about the same price as RCCL's premium package you also get unlimited casual and speciality dining, unlimited free fitness classes, photo package and reserved seating in the theatre.
That’s why I like Princess cruises. I can get Plus package for $60/day and that includes up to 15 alcohol drinks/day, all crew gratuity, WiFi, 2 specialty restaurants and several other added things.
We are Diamond, Matt, and we do exactly what you say...we rely on those four free drinks each day and pay for any others. When you add in the days that you are at a port and don't drink your daily allotment on the ship, it makes the drink package even less attractive. I think the drink card is a fantastic idea.
I wish Celebrity did similar with drink vouchers for Elite loyalty instead of limited beverage menu at limited bars for happy hour! No pina colada! We are trying Royal Caribbean in June and will see hour 4 vouchers per day benefits flexibility. At least there is the status match now.
@@carolcrawford5831 I agree! I so wish Celebrity adopted the Royal Caribbean Diamond drink voucher benefits. I do not like anything on their limited Captain’s Club drink menu and the “Happy Hour” times are inconvenient, as you can’t get drinks in the dining room. I hope you enjoy your Royal Caribbean cruise. I am two one week long cruises away from Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean and made Elite on Celebrity stand alone without status match.
I've done the drink package and pay as you go. Drink card I'd probably buy but won't be purchasing another drink package. We bring a 12 pack of soda and two bottles of wine. We buy a few beers or specialty cocktails during the cruise and are generally set. Way cheaper than ~$1,400 for a drink package on a 7-night cruise. We canceled our RCI cruise in December over Christmas, flights were out of control expensive and were more than the cruise. Saving for a trip through Europe next summer.
I don't care how much money I have at my disposal. It will nevvvvver be used for hundreds of dollars in alcohol, smoothies, soda and/or juice. I'm refuse to pay $1400 for drinks on a 7 day cruise for me and the hubs. Absolutely not. That is the price for another cruise!
Exactly, I've skipped the drink package all these years. Instead, I've opted to go on twice as many cruises as I would have, if I'd had purchased the pricey drink packages. Now, I'm Diamond Plus, and get the 5 free drink vouchers per day with that. More than enough for me.
Right RC drink package is more than the cruise itself. I wonder if you can buy bottles of liquor on the ship? I leave next Saturday on RC to grand cayman and Jamaica.
@@yahya4370 you can buy alcohol from those duty free shops, but you cannot take it to your cabin. they save it for you and you get it when you leave the ship at the end of the cruise. Same if you buy it on one of the excursions.
Also, keep in mind, many cruises have multiple ports. I normally spend most of my time exploring the port or going on an excursion. No way I can drink the required number of drinks to break even when returning to the ship at 5pm or later. So, I pay per drink.
We ditched the Royal Caribbean drink package over a year ago. Like you said, it simply got to be way too expensive. Even with the pre-cruise discounts and occasional sales, it was just too large an expense.
Problem with drink pack is that it becomes a challenge between you and the cruise ship. On a 7 day cruise , The cruise line is winning because most average people can not handle the amount of drinks intake by day 4. Pay as you go is the best way and it will do less harm to your liver.
I'd actually love to see Royal Caribbean bring back a smoking lounge, in exchange for a smoke free casino. It would allow for better containment of odors, and more gamblers than ever are asking for a smoke free casino.
Also, Crown & Anchor members get two 50% off coupons ( loaded on your sea pass) per sailing for any glass of wine, beer, or soda. Be sure to ask to use these. Don’t forget after Diamond members use their 4 free drinks in a day, you get 20% off any glass of wine, beer, or soda. Other levels receive different discount amounts. Diamond members, always remember to ask to use your free Diamond drinks when ordering. I don’t think it is automatically applied. My favorite part of Diamond drinks is I can share them unlike the drink package which you may not share drinks. Thanks Matt! Safe travels!
also never forget the 2 bottles of wine per stateroom. Its not per person its per stateroom per their guidelines. However port security has too much to do to keep track of this, they just look for bags and if its just 2 wine bottle shapes for the carry on it goes through no issue. We have a separate insulated wine carrier that holds two bottles. Never had an issue once putting that on the baggage scanner. On a 4 day sailing those drink coupons + bring your own wine helps out. Find myself only getting a couple drinks per day on the ala-carte method. A 7 day is a bit of a different story.
Personally I’m Pinnacle Club and 6 drinks every day is plenty. If I come across a party I can buy a couple more out of pocket and still not hit the drink package cost. Folks saying 10-15 drinks per day make the package worth it should also consider the port vs sea days. 10-15 on sea days is a lot but 10-15 on a port day is a boat load!
Honestly, I really like what MSC was doing on my first cruise with them. Not sure if this still happens but aside from the drink package they offered the option to purchase drink vouchers which were about $60 for 10 coupons to exchange for a drink up to $15.
That’s what RC should do. For people who want an occasional drink but don’t want to pay $16 each and won’t pay for a drink package because they’ll never break even.
the drink pkgs on MSC are more in-line with the pre-covid pricing too. The Easy pkg is not so great unless you are just a cheap domestic beer drinker. That will get you bottom level 'well' grade spirits or heineken on tap. The Easy Plus seemed to be the sweet spot. We were on MSC Seashore in April and went this route. I loved the fact that nearly every bar on MSC had a expresso machine so no lines to get specialty coffee. Just go to your nearest open bar and get what you want.
We don’t drink, but we’ve always purchased the non-alcohol “refreshment package.” However, I doubt we broke even on our last cruise despite my constant sipping on a soda. Also, the soda you get must come from a fountain source (not a fresh can of soda). Half of the fountain machines on Harmony were not working, so you wind up waiting at a bar to get a soda. Next time, we’ll just bring some cans with us and buy cans of fresh soda on board. We will probably save money, and we’ll certainly avoid carrying souvenir cups around with us everywhere we go.
We skipped the package on a cruise we took Oct 4th. I didn’t feel like we missed out. We did buy water bottles but the windjammer has juice and water that was more than we needed.
We typically get the refreshment package, but we tried the deluxe package on our recent Icon cruise as an anniversary gift to ourselves. I felt so much pressure to get drinks that do not have a nonalcoholic alternative because I get those drinks all the time with the refreshment package. It was a fun experiment, but I doubt we will ever get the deluxe package again. We can make good on the refreshment package and just buy single aloholic drinks if we want something specific
I think you missed one... The Gifts & Gear (aka Bon Voyage Dept). Granted, you're paying more for liquor compared to what it would be at a local liquor store. But still less than the per drink cost onboard. Not to mention it's waiting for you in your cabin when you board.
Does that mean you can buy a bottle of liquor on the ship then make your own drinks in the room? Or does a bar keep your bottle and make your drinks from your bottle? Didn't know. Thanks.
@@bingobecky1564you literally pre-order a bottle of liquor that will be waiting in your room. You can make your own drinks. Carnival does this as well. It's a good deal in the end
I also think that the length of the cruise and the time in ports are a big factor. If you are not on the ship, you are paying for something you can't use. You are also not going to hit your daily limit in a drink package of 12 to 14 drinks and then get up early the next morning to go ashore every day. My first cruise in 1987, before drink packages, I was scared of the unknown costs so I really didn't drink. I was barely able to afford the cruise so I was in favor of a drink package on my second cruise. My second cruise in 2011 to Alaska was 11 days and there was a lot of sea time and the package was very reasonable in cost. My 3rd cruise was 8 day New Years Eve cruise on Carnival. I had to drink 8 drinks a day to make the package worth it, but since it was a NYE party, I went for it and couldn't drink that much. I started questioning the package. My last cruise was a 15 day Panama Canal crossing. Bought the package after wrestling on what to do. My wife hardly drank on that cruise. The trip was too long to drink 4-5 hard liquor drinks a day let alone reach the break even point of 9 drinks (18 between the two of us). Totally not worth it. The cruise lines' websites do not list per drink pricing and sometimes they do not list what brands are in a premium drink package which makes it nearly impossible to determine if you are saving anything. You have to board the ship and ask the bartenders the drink prices to determine the break even point on the number of drinks. Plus wines and specialty restaurants have their own pricing that is sometimes not included. Unless it is a short party cruise, I will not be buying a package again.
with RCL the drink pricing is fairly stable. If the drink pkg says any drink up to $17 you can bank on every darn cocktail on the ship being $17. Beer is generally cheaper but varies based on brand. Wine is the one thing you can exceed the price cap if you dont pay attention. Scour the internet and youtube for videos or pics that show the menu's at various bars. I just did a Celebrity Beyond cruise, and it came with a promo that included the basic bev pkg. After upgrading to the premium, which had a cap of $17, there were still a lot of menu specialty cocktails in the $20-$26 range (esp at Eden).
Everyone talks about the deluxe drink package for alcoholic drinks, but it includes everything else too. I look at the whole picture. For me it's worth the price once I add in specialty coffee and bottled water with the cocktails.
Agreed! I say this all the time! The package includes alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks like specialty coffee soda energy drinks Powerade fruit smoothies etc. so to me, when you add in all the nonalcoholic drinks in throughout the day, it breaks even. ALSO, the drink package includes TOP shelf liquor for your cocktails sooooo you can’t beat that.
We got the deluxe drink package and it was worth it for us. Granted. It was back in 2019. When my husband found out that Red Bull was included, he was super excited. We got multiple bottles of water, Red Bull, and he got specialty coffees every day (I got one. Not a coffee drinker). In addition to our drinks we got, we got our $$$ worth.
My friend and I definitely got our moneys worth. Every time we left a bar we would get 2 bottles of water and 2 redbulls and we kept our stateroom fridge stocked. I was getting fresh smoothies, milkshakes, coffee drinks and bottled water etc in the mornings. Every night we drank, we ordered top shelf alcohol as well making it well worth it.
Did the "drink as you go" plan last time we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise. It was a European itinerary, and we were off the boat for most of the day, every day. I enjoy my drinks, but I figured that, between my wife and myself, we need to have upwards of six drinks each evening, before the plan became worth while. Instead, I took the money I would have spent on a drinks package, and put it on my credit card before we left, overpaying. That way, when I got back from vacation, the cost of the beverages were essentially already taken care of, with a little left over for the other expences.
Royal finally did Diamond members right and discounted the drink package for Diamond folks by 45% on most sailings for Black Friday. Too many Diamond and above probably relying on the free vouchers, so I guess they finally got less greedy and offered a solid deal. For my sailings it’s all $54.99/day…which is what it kind of used to be back in the day
Never had one since we would only drink at most, 2-3 drinks per day. They need a set # of drinks for a discount price option, that anyone in a cabin can use. I'd pay like $100 for say 10-12 drinks that can be used anytime during the cruise. That drink card would be perfect if offered more often. We'd probably spend more than we normally do if they offer it! 😂
Just got off 4 night Utopia…pre-cruise drink package was roughly $725 for 2 ppl, including gratuities. Onboard was over $1000 if you didn’t pre purchase the drink pkg. 4 freaking nights!! I skipped the package, drank as much as I wanted (a lot) and probably spent the same as buying the package pre-cruise. But I did have an extra sea day (and went to Labadee) bc of Hurricane Milton. Most of the cocktails were kind of weak and cost $14 ea.
We were on that Utopia cruise (extra day at Labadee). When the cruiselines stop at ports where local drinks and food are available, drinks are usually much cheaper than on the ship. Back on board or on the cruiselines private islands, we will pay as you go. We are sailing on NCL in May where the drinks are included. Last time on NCL we averaged three to five drinks per day, per person. Would not be worth it on RCL or other lines that sell the drink package.
As someone who drinks, I would never pay this type of money just to drink liquid. That being said, I have other ways of getting my "liquid" on to the ship, and its free :)
I usually order some beer/wine/liquor to my room through Royal prior to sailing. This allows me to have a couple of drinks while getting ready to go out for the evening. I also have been using the Royal credit card and then redeem the points for onboard credit. Usually it is plenty to cover what I drink around the ship.
Thanks for highlighting this. Just about to embark on a 12 night cruise and with the “discount”, they want £1530 / $2000 for two drinks packages - outrageous. We’ll stick with our 4 free diamond drinks and purchase 1/2 if required. We’ve also bought a water package and will have our coffees in the diamond lounge, instead of buying a coffee package. We’ll be diamond plus at the end of this cruise, so another free drink for future cruises. $100 OBC will help us along too. We all know what’ll happen tho, RCI will start removing or reducing this benefit in the future.
@@corgicastleadventures7861The good news is that by becoming knowledgeable about the Loyalty programme, everyone can maximise benefits, starting with big discounts on drinks even from the first level (Gold)....plus every passenger can enjoy FREE coffees, teas, water, juices, etc. No need to buy anything for extra money. So much is included in the cruisefare!
I just came off a cruise and I only spent about $25 on drinks, all speciality coffee. This time I didn't drink any alcohol at all but normally when I do it's usually only about two or three for the whole cruise because I'm just not a drinker and I don't drink pop so for me the cost just isn't worth it. However even if you're not like me and you do drink the overwhelming majority of people don't break even on the drink package which is why the cruise lines have them. They are just not going to put out a product they are going to lose money on so for every one person who beats the package they know 100 don't. Also, I've said this before but if you want to make sure you don't have a bill at the end put cash on your account. If you want to do an experiment take the same amount of cash that the package cost and put that on your account then see how much money you have left over that you can get back on the last night. However if the cash runs out then you know you need the package but I'm guessing only one or two percent will run out of cash.
@@burrob78 It's (now with the new More at Sea) it's $210/pp for 7 days.. So $30 / day, period.. There are no other tips paid on top of that.. The only thing you MAY get is sales taxes in certain ports while docked, but some lines are starting to include those also. So basically 3 drinks per day basically worst case to make it "worth the money"
@@DB-zp9un wow they lowered the pice on tips then. Wife and I did the free-at-sea upgrade on NCL Sun 5-day and it was almost $500 just for gratuities. They valued their premium so high that 20% gratiuties almost was the same cost as a drink pkg on carnival at the time ($47/day).
There are lots of online drink package calculators that will help you determine if your planned consumption warrants a deluxe package. I’ve always been able to get OBC that more than covers alcohol and opt for the refreshment package instead.
I just do the non-alcoholic package that includes the mocktails, sodas, etc. I couldn't do the deluxe, but my aunt got that package and that was too expensive.
My wife and I will be on Brilliance of Sea. We bought drink package with 30% discount. I did math basing $14 per and it come out 5.6 drinks per person per day. 2 expensive coffee drinks with 4-5 alcohol drinks. Not bad deal
The key is to buy in advance when they are having sales. We picked up an extremely cheap drink beverage package during “Black Friday” sale before we became Diamond. When we travel as a family with my daughters and their spouses, we get vouchers for 32 drinks a day as a group, which we often have problems using up, especially on port days.
@@MB-uy5kh Yeah, unfortunately the Black Friday sales have been quite underwhelming the last couple years. We always find the best deals on these weird one-day pop up sales, like "National Margarita Day" (which is in February), when I was able to cancel our decent price and rebook, saving us about $120 total (2 of us).
I agree it’s not just alcohol your buying. Coffee, Soda, Water, Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice and the fun of trying new drinks. There is also the 18% automatic gratuity added onto the bill not to mention the inconvenience of signing every time you get a drink. Discounted drink package before cruise is the way to go. Your on vacation enjoy treating yourself.
The beverage package is also more expensive than paying as you go. We were just on a Royal cruise. We were going to do pay as you go but found out that in the MDR you can get soda with your dinner at no extra charge. We just drank water, tea or juice with our breakfast and lunch. Saved a lot that way.
We buy it early and monitor for price changes regularly and cancel and repurchase as needed. A plus to the drink package imo is that it gives you the freedom to try out new drinks or the drink of the day and if you don’t like it you just order something else without incurring another ala carte charge and feeling like you need to finish a drink you don’t necessarily care for.
Exactly. Peace of mind. I'll try what I want, and not feel like I wasted money on a drink I don't want to finish. Plus, no surprises when the bill comes at the end of the cruise. It feels good to have all those drinks covered. And people who bring the topic up on social media always seem to ignore all the non-alcoholic options that are included as well. Those really add up!
@@brantthompson199 Why would you order a drink if you don't know if you will like it...that is kind of wasteful and makes zero sense. I have my own preferences, and am rarely tempted to try new drinks just because they are seen as trendy. Stick with what you know and then let the idiots play the cocktail roulette game, that way you win every time.
@@davidbreakspear8776sometimes people want to try one of the specialty drinks that every bar has. They might sound great, but not taste so great when it arrives. It allows you to try things that you’ve never had before. No harm if it’s not to your liking.
Taking my first royal Caribbean cruise November 1 through November 4. For me, the drink package was the perfect option. I guess the thing you have to consider is that you will be on a ship for most of the time and remembering that you will have lunch and dinner and possibly some nighttime activities as well. Going through six drinks a day is really not that hard to do if you think about it.
@@darontrevascus3547 It doesnt all have to be alcohol as the package covers more than that. But having two drinks at lunch around the pool, having 2 more at dinner and another 2 throughout the evening during vacation is not a big deal for most people. It's only a couple of days and most of the drinks dont have that much alcohol in them to begin with. Now if someone drank like that everyday or every weekend even, then yeah, sounds like maybe something else is going on there. As long as folks are having a good safe time, respecting their fellow cruisers during it, let folks enjoy their vacations if they drink 0 or 6 drinks a day.
@@tduck828 on my last cruise we got off at every stop in the morning. Spend time hiking and doing excursions and back on the ship about two or 3 o’clock in the afternoon
there is a way out on that. If you call in and tell them there is a religious/medical reason why your other cannot drink, they will sell you just the 1 providing the other purchase the $36/day refreshment pkg.
I was on Symphony of the Seas and in a Grand Suite. Suite Lounge offered free wine, beer, soda, water from 11am to 11pm. Mixed drinks from 5-7pm. I never used my Diamond vouchers once in the 7 days I was on board.
was there any limit on the wine? What would keep you from ordering frequently and banking it into a 750ml Corkcicle canteen? Then you could drink practically anywhere.
As a non-alcoholic drinker, I still get the mid-level drink Refreshment package when I sail on Oasis class ships because you get: * Bottles of Water (I always grab at the cart when exiting ship) * Energy Drinks (Redbull) * Smoothies at the fitness center * Fresh squeezed juices, like orange juice * Milkshakes at 50s diner * Coffee/Hot Chocolate at Promenade Cafe * All the virgin cocktails and mocktails you could want * Fountain Soda Great value for non-drinkers. Not as good of value on some ships though that do not have milkshakes, smoothie bar, and so on.
This is what we are doing this time instead of the deluxe drink package. My husband doesn't drink and even though I drink alot on the cruise there is no way I am getting my monies worth so for that we will do pay as you go.
We will be going on our first cruise in over 30 years (first was our honeymoon). We've decided on the refreshment package and my son is really looking forward to milkshakes being included!
On our next RCL cruise we are going to do the refreshment package and just buy alcohol as we go (we don’t drink a lot of alcohol). We used to do the DDP but I was all about making sure we hit the minimum drink number to not lose money and that wasn’t very fun.
Can you pay extra before the cruise to create a credit balance on your account? Then use this credit toward drink purchases? That way I would pay in advance and have a budgeted amount.
Although yes there was a discount if I bought the drink package ahead of the cruise, the reason I waited is because I wanted to use the substantial onboard credit we had received to purchase the package. It's my understanding you can't use a shipboard credit until you're on the ship, right?
A lot of onboard credit is available to use before you are on the ship. Typically available up to 2 days prior to boarding either through the app (under Beverages) or website (under Plan my Cruise, then Beverages)
Some cruise lines allow you to cellar the unfinished portion of a bottle of wine if you buy a bottle but have a glass with a meal and have some left over. We ended up sharing a bottle over several nights.
Going on my 1st ever cruise next month . We'll be sailing on Utopia of the Seas. Question, I have the refreshment package which includes mocktails. When at the bar can I just get my included mocktails and buy a shot of liquor to add to them?
I’ve heard that you can buy bottles of booze and mixer packages for your cabins. We were considering doing that for our next cruise, however, I’m not certain that it’s available in all cruises. If anyone knows please reply, thanks.
My strategy is to purchase the amenity gift of vodka, gin, or rum with associated coke or tonic. Have delivered to my room and make my own drink in the cabin. You can get 8 shots for about 45.00. Still cheaper than the drink pckage.
if your ship has a freestyle machine save on the coke/tonic. I found sparkling water aka club soda on there for sure. Get yourself a flask and you can just top off where ever you are instead of taking a trip to the cabin.
First comment! Going on my first Royal Caribbean cruise (as an adult), and my husbands first ever for our bday weekend 11/29-12/2 on utopia! Needed this video, as I have been trying to decide what to do about drinks
Depends on your habits, but I’d pass. You can always do the $99 10 drink package on the 2nd to last day. We ended out ahead bc half the bartenders kept forgetting to punch the card.
@@micaelaiphyswe’re only doing a 3 day weekend cruise for our birthday weekend, on utopia 😭 so I’m not sure if they’ll have the card unfortunately. We aren’t heavy drinkers at all, maybe 3-4 maybe 5 drinks a day, but we’re used to having the drink package on carnival, this one is just definitely more expensive
@@sylviafitzpatrick4228 my wife and I just got back from a five night to Bermuda. We figured that if we spent less on drinks than the cost of the drink package for one person we did well - which we did. We also brought two bottles of wine. They never charged us a corkage fee so that save us some money too.
We always stay in a Grande Suite or higher and cruise mostly Oasis class ships. We combine the free drinks from the lounge with our Diamond status which gives us 4 drinks each per day, so 8 in total and unlimited in lounge from 11am to 11pm. In the end we spend next to nothing on drinks. We are on day 6 of an 8 day cruise on Harmony right now, and our total for drinks so far is $34.
Another one is consider sailing in far asia. We're sailing on the spectrum next year and the deluxe drinks package is retailing for just $43 per day!!! We sailed on oasis this year around europe and the cruise + drinks + flights from uk came to $6000 for our family (2A 2C). Spectrum for an 8 day cruise from Shanghai to Japan with drinks and flights from UK came to $5000.
Just got off the wonder of seas, we got the refreshment package, that one was enough for us the NA drinks were good. Third day in they had the 10 drinks for $90 deal which you can share. But I see the appeal of buying the deluxe to not even worry about it. If you are traveling with someone who gets diamond level drinks they can share those with you.
Do the bar staff see any gratuity from diamond voucher drinks? No one I saw was tipping on the vouchers, to include me. I sign zero on the bill but give a tip at end of cruise.
We cruised with another couple who had the package. Pretty much had same amount of drinks. At the end of the cruise, our bill for drinks bought separately, was hundreds of dollars less than what they paid for a package.
I order the 375ml bottles (from Royal Gifts) to my room, 2 bottles of Gin and it comes with tonic. It's far less than buying from the bar, and I can always grab a Rum Runner every once in a while if I'm feeling it. Still insanely cheaper than the drink package.
We have been Diamond for several cruises but I used to go on the Royal Caribbean website and order one of the alcohol packages (small bottle of Bacardi and four cokes). It was a reasonable price and much cheaper considering how much I drink.
@@tiffanysanchez9184 agreed. I’m 27 and only drink on vacations and at weddings. I go hard when I’m cruising and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Think I averaged like 13 drinks per day last cruise
I’ve considered booking a junior suite for our next cruise. You get a lot of other things included. We paid for the key, unlimited regular drink package and the dining package. It might save us in the long run for one price
For now we pay as we go. Pretty soon we'll have diamond status, so that will be really nice. Generally we only do one cocktail a day with a couple non-alcoholic drinks. None of the packages make sense for our drinking preferences. We do often get the drink of the day too, so that keeps the cost down a bit.
Were Diamond soon to be Diamond Plus. Sometimes we don’t even use all our vouchers or we buy bottles of water. We never bought any drink package. We’re not soda or alcohol drinkers.
Go on I believe Royal Gifts and you can order either Rum, vodka or gin for your cabin. You get about 13 oz container of liquor and 4 cans of mixer for $45.00. Maximum of 2 bottles of liquor per cabin. Just did it on Odyssey on 12 night cruise. So figure about 25 drinks for $90.00.
I don't drink that much, so I pay a la carte and drink on shore. Even if I drink at the port bars it's usually cheaper than the onboard prices. But like I said, I don't drink much, so that works for me. I sailed Princess just this past New Year and they had a bundle with internet, drinks and some other stuff for $65 a day. I know those that can drink a bit would go for this.
With carnival yes the prices have gone up however, if you drink a mere 5 drinks a day it’s worth it to get the drink package. That doesn’t include all the specialty coffees and sodas/water you get. I have 5 drinks by lunch 😂.
You'd think they'd offer the 10 drink punch card at the beginning of every week if they really wanted to boost sales...not just when they're low and at the end of the cruise. I'd be more inclined to buy it early on. Offering it at the end of the cruise is their way hoping you won't have time to drink it all and they still get a profit. 😊
I saw on Facebook someone suggest getting the drink package one below the alcohol package and you can get every drink minus the alcohol for free and then just add a shot of whatever, and pay for that.
If you like wine, buy the unlimited dining package and you will get 40% off bottles under $100. If you don’t finish the bottle at dinner, the server will cork it and store it, and then you can request it at your next restaurant and they will bring it for you. Better quality wine and the bottle markups are more reasonable with the discount, plus you get unlimited specialty dining which is also well worth it!
People that complain it's too high obviously don't drink enough. So why would even consider buying it. My next cruise drink package is 105 AUD or roughly 70 USD including gratuities and taxes. This isn't expensive at all.
We get drinks off the ship where, at least in the Caribbean or Mexico, you can get really cheap margaritas and tequila and rum tastings. We also bring both soda and enhancers. The soda is usually 1 twelve pack of diet root beer so we can use the free ice cream and our root beer and have root beer floats. The other 12 pack is eirher a diet lemon lime along with a bottle of wine for wine coolers, or just a diet cola for drinking. We bring refillable water bottles with us as well. For us, paying for a drink pkg just doesn't make sense.
Going on our first cruise! We’re trying the non alcoholic drink package (cause I intend to drink my fill of lattes, smoothies, mocktails, and fresh juices), bringing bottles of wine ourselves, and then just buy the ad hoc shot of liquor to mix into our mocktail to make it a cocktail when the mood arrives. We’re not big drinkers, so ONE mimosa SOME mornings, a SINGLE glass of wine with SOME dinners, and maybe a cocktail in the afternoon once or twice is all we expect of our wished consumption. It’s mostly the mocktail/latte aspect that appeals to us
We were impressed with the food in MDR. I love salmon and it was on the menu every night of our 10 day cruise. Also smoked salmon at the breakfast buffet. I haven't seen it on Royal for awhile.
Rarely worth it for almost everyone to buy the drink package unless you are on NCL. I never understand people saying they like it for the convenience. It saves no time and just complicates things if you want to buy multiple at once.
NCL charges so much for their premium drink pkg that even when its 'free at sea' your gratuities on that freebie come out to be nearly $40/day. They valued their drink pkg upgrade on the NCL Sun 5-day cruise at $200/day. Then when you wanted to order not-crap quality wine like the brand Simi, they were always conveniently 'out'. But hey they still have Boones Farm for you.
@@eriksmith2567 nah, 375 for my 14 day sailing this winter. It’s better than any other cruise line package right now. And the More at sea now includes the premiums.
They will follow Carnival and all the other cruise lines and go to a 15 drink minimum, the prices are very expensive for drinks. Nowadays I average with a tip on for $20 a drink.
I brought a pre paid visa card on my first cruise (7 day) loaded with $300 and used that to settle up my account at the end of the cruise. I only used that for the drinks and found that I didn't even use all of it.
Matt, I am a Prime member and just came off Jewel of the Seas from Boston to Canada on 10/13/24 my. I purchased my drink in the casino and did not get it for free. My first Corona was over $9 and another beer I paid over $5 with some discount. If I go up to the bar tenders will I get it for free you are saying?.
We bring on our two bottles of wine and also pre~order two fruit and cheese plates with a bottle of each white and red wine. Giving us 2 bottles of each plus snacks in our room. Then pay for other drinks as we go.
That's one thing I prefer on Norwegian, they always run a promo which includes drink package (excluding tax gratuity). But I don't mind paying out of pocket especially with kids. I don't plan on getting out of pocket with them around versus an adult cruise
I'm getting it on longer cruises and enjoying it very much! I only buy when it's 30% off or more. And I call in to not have to buy two packages. I get the deluxe and my BF gets the refreshment. For our upcoming 7 night cruise, we are paying $790!!! Includes alcohol plus specialty coffees, smoothies, energy drinks, bottled water, totally worth it.
I buy the deluxe package everytime, last cruise, 2 weeks ago, i averaged 15 cocktails a day. I love to try new things, and if i dont like them, i dont feel bad throwing them away.
Our last cruise we did pay as you go. We bought the soda package and one coffee card and then since we had port stops for 5 of our days we just drank while in port and then had maybe one or two on board. There was no reason to get the package for us since we were off the boat until 5 every day and were never going to get our money's worth. If most of the cruise is at sea then it may be worth it.
I have taken cruises in the past when only one person needed to buy the package. I understand them requiring both people to buy the package. there was a lot of "sharing" going on in the past. However, after a particular surgery for my wife, she can handle 1 drink a day, at best and it makes no sense for us to buy the two packages. We always do the math in our head. But we usually opt for the Pay as you Go drinks.
Ob my recent Celebrity reflection cruise I ordered a martini flight. It was so weak I never ordered another drink. I heard someone who had the drink package say rhey were sticking to beer & wine because the mixed drinks were so weak. If Royal is the same(which they were great years ago with generous pours), I wont be wasting any money on alcohol.
We sometimes go to the suite lounge and get wine or drinks, and then bring the drinks with us to the Windjammer if we don't want to eat in Coastal Kitchen.
Just off a short 4 night MSC cruise. We opted to not purchase their drinks package at around $85 each pre cruise. There were 5 of us, so 4x5x85 = $1700. One sea day two port days. total bar bill for the 5 of us came to circa $900. It has made me realize drinks packages are just not worth the money.
On my Princess cruise the drink package I bought included internet and some other features which made it palatable. I enjoyed being able to try drinks and not feeling guilty if I didn’t like them.
on our most recent cruise, we decided to go with "pay as you go" and it was much cheaper than the package would have been. The package was so expensive, there was no way we were going to get that many drinks.
u basically have to be an alcoholic for it (the package) to be worth your while right? loll
The older I get the more this makes sense for me. To break even I have to drink almost 10 drinks a day, even on port days. I find after hitting it somewhat hard on one day I am in not really in a drinking mood the next. That cuts my drinking to practically every other day with a drink pkg. in which case I really am losing money. Things made more sense in 2019 when it was just $65/day and cheaper.
@@eriksmith2567 I agree 100% with you. The first day or two of the cruise is when I get my money's worth. After that, the pace of my drinking is greatly diminished. I also find that meeting people and socializing can increase my alcohol consumption. But even with that, it reaches a point when the group is ordering cocktails, I might order a Gatorade or water. Too bad they don't let us purchase the drink package for 2 or 3 days at a time. 😎😎😎
I didn’t like that you both have to buy the drink package. For health reasons my husband can’t drink. I just paid as I wanted one. It was usually just a couple of glasses of wine a day.
@@csmith2435 I wouldn't mind a package that offered an average 4 drink per day average pricing. Like 20 drinks total for a 5 day cruise. You might have 6 drinks on your first day then slow down to 2 on a port day. Pricing for 12 drinks a day or 60 drink total for a 5 day cruise is getting too expensive.
They need a package that is maybe 4 non alcoholic drinks and 2 alcoholic drinks per day. This would also be useful on port days
Just be diamond plus each person gets 5 free drinks a day
When the drink package is more expensive as the cruise, it's robbery
Not if your drinking right!
If you are a beer drinker, Playmakers will sell you a Pitcher of beer for ~ $20 which is 4 Pints, vs $9 per beer. The selection is pretty good too.
Can you buy buckets of beer at the pool bars?
This advice alone is a Playmaker in itself. Thanks for the tip!
Buckets of beer were over priced but the pitcher was worth it.
Define "pretty good"
What is playmakers?
We drink the free Tea and Lemonade. It works for us!
Seriously, you are discriminating against unattractive people who rely on drunks to get laid.
I bring concentrated little squeeze containers of numerous different flavors, squirt into water, done!
The prices are getting out of hand
Yep. I'm a casual drinker at best and no way I'm spending that $$. I don't need alcohol to have a good time.
@@danielwilson4544well then obviously the drink package ain’t for you? Like it’s not that hard a concept. If I drink 10-15 a day it more then pays for itself I promise that
@@adriangeller9140 but thats the problem, you have to drink that much every day or it ends up costing you more, that includes port days where you might be off the ship for half the day or more, it includes the last night where most people dont go as hard etc etc. Also, some lines (Not sure about RC) have soft caps on the drinks packages anyway.
@@GarethAUS it’s not just alcohol 🤷, anything you drink including water.
@@adriangeller9140 just get refreshment pkg for that perk
Royal prices all are getting out of control!
Indeed, I love Royal but these prices have got me sailing on NCL more and more as of late
Very true, but as long as people keep paying sky-high prices they’ll keep charging them!
@@TheJonas973 NCL is not much better. They are sneakier with how they market their products, but they have a lot of add on "GOTCHAS" if you are not careful. Meaning you signed up for Free at Sea and get on board to find out the things you thought were included in your package have to be added on for an extra charge.
I stopped cruising all together, those prices are rediciolus
MSC drink pkg is half the price of Royals. And you get more than one drink every 5 minutes. Want 3 to take the the room? Not a problem.
We strayed from Royal Caribbean and did a Princess cruise in August. For $65 pp/pd, we got the drink pkg which included crew appreciation and wifi for one device.
I still need to try Princess. Ive done RCL, CCL, NCL, MSC, and recently Celebrity. I will say that even compared to food on ICON (which was very impressive) the food on Celebrity Beyond was still next level. Only did Oceanview Cafe (buffet) at lunch but the options there were very surprising. One day I noticed a line at one of the stations with mostly asian people there. I figured 'wow I gotta check this out'. They were making a steamed seafood soup that had shrimp, oysters and clams still in the shells, and octopus. I tried it and was amazed at the flavor. Never have I had included dining that had mollusks and cephalopod (octopus) without some kind of upcharge. How is Princess for non-specialty dining?
Princess Plus package is wonderful!
Did the Princess 7 day Alaska cruise out of Vancouver to Whittier. Paid $840 for 2 people which included drinks, crew appreciation and wifi for one device. This was a no brainer and made the cruise great. I can't imagine paying what RC is charging for the drink package alone. I'll probably stay with Princess on my next cruise. The food on the ship was great. I've been on RC once and we didn't get the drink package. Instead, I drank one night paying $10 per beer buying 5.
Get the medium (refreshments?) drink package. Order a mocktail (included in the package) and then just buy a shot of your preferred alcohol (rum, tequila, whisky, etc.) and then dump the shot into the mocktail. A cheaper way to have a drink.
Agree 100%. Even if you buy a full cocktail instead of a mocktail with a shot, the odds are each time you buy the cocktail still wont amount to the cost difference (roughly $50/day difference, if not more).
Crazy question if you don't use all of your drink package do they give you a refund?
@@NJDREW222 Nope, no refunds!
@@NJDREW222No!!!!
.. No
I agree the cost of the package is out of control. This year out of Southampton, beer was $8.25, wine $11.00, margarita $12.50, for next year the drink package is currently £108 a day, about $140 a day, so that’s 15 beers or 13 wines or 11 margaritas a day to break even, ridiculous!
Princess is a great deal at $60/day, but it includes gratuities, internet, specialty desserts, room service/ocean now, and a few other things.
Agree - given that you can only get any serious drinking done on a sea day. At which point the bars are rammed and it takes a while just to get served…. My first drinks package was about £45 each back then we only just broke even. Probably gonna be cheaper ? - definitely gonna be cheaper. Have to be downing drinks so fast to get moneys worth you won’t remember if you did or not because you’ll be wasted…😂
@@smsff7 PCL's Plus package is seriously good value. The other things are two free fitness classes and two free casual upcharge meals per cruise. If you go for the Premier package, which is about the same price as RCCL's premium package you also get unlimited casual and speciality dining, unlimited free fitness classes, photo package and reserved seating in the theatre.
It might be ok if every adult in the cabin didn't have to buy it.
That’s why I like Princess cruises. I can get Plus package for $60/day and that includes up to 15 alcohol drinks/day, all crew gratuity, WiFi, 2 specialty restaurants and several other added things.
If you are on the package and you tip your bartenders they tend to not care that your over 15 drinks too, as long as you're not a stupid drunk idiot.
We are Diamond, Matt, and we do exactly what you say...we rely on those four free drinks each day and pay for any others. When you add in the days that you are at a port and don't drink your daily allotment on the ship, it makes the drink package even less attractive. I think the drink card is a fantastic idea.
I wish Celebrity did similar with drink vouchers for Elite loyalty instead of limited beverage menu at limited bars for happy hour! No pina colada! We are trying Royal Caribbean in June and will see hour 4 vouchers per day benefits flexibility. At least there is the status match now.
@@carolcrawford5831 I agree! I so wish Celebrity adopted the Royal Caribbean Diamond drink voucher benefits. I do not like anything on their limited Captain’s Club drink menu and the “Happy Hour” times are inconvenient, as you can’t get drinks in the dining room. I hope you enjoy your Royal Caribbean cruise. I am two one week long cruises away from Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean and made Elite on Celebrity stand alone without status match.
Remember also you get 50% a beer or wine on the cruise as a diamond and above. Plus 20% off after.
@@kirkl0766we have been Diamond for quite some time now… just trying to understand… How can get each beer for 20% off?
I've done the drink package and pay as you go. Drink card I'd probably buy but won't be purchasing another drink package. We bring a 12 pack of soda and two bottles of wine. We buy a few beers or specialty cocktails during the cruise and are generally set. Way cheaper than ~$1,400 for a drink package on a 7-night cruise. We canceled our RCI cruise in December over Christmas, flights were out of control expensive and were more than the cruise. Saving for a trip through Europe next summer.
I don't care how much money I have at my disposal. It will nevvvvver be used for hundreds of dollars in alcohol, smoothies, soda and/or juice. I'm refuse to pay $1400 for drinks on a 7 day cruise for me and the hubs. Absolutely not. That is the price for another cruise!
Exactly, I've skipped the drink package all these years. Instead, I've opted to go on twice as many cruises as I would have, if I'd had purchased the pricey drink packages. Now, I'm Diamond Plus, and get the 5 free drink vouchers per day with that. More than enough for me.
More costly than some cruises I've been on! No way i would pay that much for drinks. Ever.
Right!
Right RC drink package is more than the cruise itself. I wonder if you can buy bottles of liquor on the ship? I leave next Saturday on RC to grand cayman and Jamaica.
@@yahya4370 you can buy alcohol from those duty free shops, but you cannot take it to your cabin. they save it for you and you get it when you leave the ship at the end of the cruise. Same if you buy it on one of the excursions.
Also, keep in mind, many cruises have multiple ports. I normally spend most of my time exploring the port or going on an excursion. No way I can drink the required number of drinks to break even when returning to the ship at 5pm or later. So, I pay per drink.
Exactly!!!!
We ditched the Royal Caribbean drink package over a year ago. Like you said, it simply got to be way too expensive. Even with the pre-cruise discounts and occasional sales, it was just too large an expense.
Problem with drink pack is that it becomes a challenge between you and the cruise ship. On a 7 day cruise , The cruise line is winning because most average people can not handle the amount of drinks intake by day 4. Pay as you go is the best way and it will do less harm to your liver.
I'd actually love to see Royal Caribbean bring back a smoking lounge, in exchange for a smoke free casino. It would allow for better containment of odors, and more gamblers than ever are asking for a smoke free casino.
Agreed, i actually went IN casino to smoke and walked straight back out it smelled so bad lmao😂😂 id forgotten what tjat smelled like
Also, Crown & Anchor members get two 50% off coupons ( loaded on your sea pass) per sailing for any glass of wine, beer, or soda. Be sure to ask to use these. Don’t forget after Diamond members use their 4 free drinks in a day, you get 20% off any glass of wine, beer, or soda. Other levels receive different discount amounts. Diamond members, always remember to ask to use your free Diamond drinks when ordering. I don’t think it is automatically applied. My favorite part of Diamond drinks is I can share them unlike the drink package which you may not share drinks. Thanks Matt! Safe travels!
also never forget the 2 bottles of wine per stateroom. Its not per person its per stateroom per their guidelines. However port security has too much to do to keep track of this, they just look for bags and if its just 2 wine bottle shapes for the carry on it goes through no issue. We have a separate insulated wine carrier that holds two bottles. Never had an issue once putting that on the baggage scanner. On a 4 day sailing those drink coupons + bring your own wine helps out. Find myself only getting a couple drinks per day on the ala-carte method. A 7 day is a bit of a different story.
Personally I’m Pinnacle Club and 6 drinks every day is plenty. If I come across a party I can buy a couple more out of pocket and still not hit the drink package cost. Folks saying 10-15 drinks per day make the package worth it should also consider the port vs sea days. 10-15 on sea days is a lot but 10-15 on a port day is a boat load!
Honestly, I really like what MSC was doing on my first cruise with them. Not sure if this still happens but aside from the drink package they offered the option to purchase drink vouchers which were about $60 for 10 coupons to exchange for a drink up to $15.
That’s what RC should do. For people who want an occasional drink but don’t want to pay $16 each and won’t pay for a drink package because they’ll never break even.
the drink pkgs on MSC are more in-line with the pre-covid pricing too. The Easy pkg is not so great unless you are just a cheap domestic beer drinker. That will get you bottom level 'well' grade spirits or heineken on tap. The Easy Plus seemed to be the sweet spot. We were on MSC Seashore in April and went this route. I loved the fact that nearly every bar on MSC had a expresso machine so no lines to get specialty coffee. Just go to your nearest open bar and get what you want.
We don’t drink, but we’ve always purchased the non-alcohol “refreshment package.” However, I doubt we broke even on our last cruise despite my constant sipping on a soda. Also, the soda you get must come from a fountain source (not a fresh can of soda). Half of the fountain machines on Harmony were not working, so you wind up waiting at a bar to get a soda. Next time, we’ll just bring some cans with us and buy cans of fresh soda on board. We will probably save money, and we’ll certainly avoid carrying souvenir cups around with us everywhere we go.
We skipped the package on a cruise we took Oct 4th. I didn’t feel like we missed out. We did buy water bottles but the windjammer has juice and water that was more than we needed.
We typically get the refreshment package, but we tried the deluxe package on our recent Icon cruise as an anniversary gift to ourselves. I felt so much pressure to get drinks that do not have a nonalcoholic alternative because I get those drinks all the time with the refreshment package. It was a fun experiment, but I doubt we will ever get the deluxe package again. We can make good on the refreshment package and just buy single aloholic drinks if we want something specific
I think you missed one... The Gifts & Gear (aka Bon Voyage Dept). Granted, you're paying more for liquor compared to what it would be at a local liquor store. But still less than the per drink cost onboard. Not to mention it's waiting for you in your cabin when you board.
I didn’t think u could purchase bottles of liquior on ship to drink there
@NurseT1969 you can purchase up to 48 hours before your cruise
Does that mean you can buy a bottle of liquor on the ship then make your own drinks in the room? Or does a bar keep your bottle and make your drinks from your bottle? Didn't know. Thanks.
Can you explain this in detail? I have never seen or heard anything about this on RC. Thanks
@@bingobecky1564you literally pre-order a bottle of liquor that will be waiting in your room. You can make your own drinks. Carnival does this as well. It's a good deal in the end
I also think that the length of the cruise and the time in ports are a big factor. If you are not on the ship, you are paying for something you can't use. You are also not going to hit your daily limit in a drink package of 12 to 14 drinks and then get up early the next morning to go ashore every day.
My first cruise in 1987, before drink packages, I was scared of the unknown costs so I really didn't drink. I was barely able to afford the cruise so I was in favor of a drink package on my second cruise. My second cruise in 2011 to Alaska was 11 days and there was a lot of sea time and the package was very reasonable in cost. My 3rd cruise was 8 day New Years Eve cruise on Carnival. I had to drink 8 drinks a day to make the package worth it, but since it was a NYE party, I went for it and couldn't drink that much. I started questioning the package. My last cruise was a 15 day Panama Canal crossing. Bought the package after wrestling on what to do. My wife hardly drank on that cruise. The trip was too long to drink 4-5 hard liquor drinks a day let alone reach the break even point of 9 drinks (18 between the two of us). Totally not worth it.
The cruise lines' websites do not list per drink pricing and sometimes they do not list what brands are in a premium drink package which makes it nearly impossible to determine if you are saving anything. You have to board the ship and ask the bartenders the drink prices to determine the break even point on the number of drinks. Plus wines and specialty restaurants have their own pricing that is sometimes not included. Unless it is a short party cruise, I will not be buying a package again.
with RCL the drink pricing is fairly stable. If the drink pkg says any drink up to $17 you can bank on every darn cocktail on the ship being $17. Beer is generally cheaper but varies based on brand. Wine is the one thing you can exceed the price cap if you dont pay attention. Scour the internet and youtube for videos or pics that show the menu's at various bars. I just did a Celebrity Beyond cruise, and it came with a promo that included the basic bev pkg. After upgrading to the premium, which had a cap of $17, there were still a lot of menu specialty cocktails in the $20-$26 range (esp at Eden).
Everyone talks about the deluxe drink package for alcoholic drinks, but it includes everything else too. I look at the whole picture. For me it's worth the price once I add in specialty coffee and bottled water with the cocktails.
Agreed! I say this all the time! The package includes alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks like specialty coffee soda energy drinks Powerade fruit smoothies etc. so to me, when you add in all the nonalcoholic drinks in throughout the day, it breaks even. ALSO, the drink package includes TOP shelf liquor for your cocktails sooooo you can’t beat that.
We got the deluxe drink package and it was worth it for us. Granted. It was back in 2019. When my husband found out that Red Bull was included, he was super excited. We got multiple bottles of water, Red Bull, and he got specialty coffees every day (I got one. Not a coffee drinker). In addition to our drinks we got, we got our $$$ worth.
My friend and I definitely got our moneys worth. Every time we left a bar we would get 2 bottles of water and 2 redbulls and we kept our stateroom fridge stocked. I was getting fresh smoothies, milkshakes, coffee drinks and bottled water etc in the mornings. Every night we drank, we ordered top shelf alcohol as well making it well worth it.
Did the "drink as you go" plan last time we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise. It was a European itinerary, and we were off the boat for most of the day, every day. I enjoy my drinks, but I figured that, between my wife and myself, we need to have upwards of six drinks each evening, before the plan became worth while. Instead, I took the money I would have spent on a drinks package, and put it on my credit card before we left, overpaying. That way, when I got back from vacation, the cost of the beverages were essentially already taken care of, with a little left over for the other expences.
Royal finally did Diamond members right and discounted the drink package for Diamond folks by 45% on most sailings for Black Friday.
Too many Diamond and above probably relying on the free vouchers, so I guess they finally got less greedy and offered a solid deal. For my sailings it’s all $54.99/day…which is what it kind of used to be back in the day
Never had one since we would only drink at most, 2-3 drinks per day. They need a set # of drinks for a discount price option, that anyone in a cabin can use. I'd pay like $100 for say 10-12 drinks that can be used anytime during the cruise. That drink card would be perfect if offered more often. We'd probably spend more than we normally do if they offer it! 😂
Just got off 4 night Utopia…pre-cruise drink package was roughly $725 for 2 ppl, including gratuities. Onboard was over $1000 if you didn’t pre purchase the drink pkg. 4 freaking nights!! I skipped the package, drank as much as I wanted (a lot) and probably spent the same as buying the package pre-cruise. But I did have an extra sea day (and went to Labadee) bc of Hurricane Milton. Most of the cocktails were kind of weak and cost $14 ea.
We were on that Utopia cruise (extra day at Labadee). When the cruiselines stop at ports where local drinks and food are available, drinks are usually much cheaper than on the ship. Back on board or on the cruiselines private islands, we will pay as you go. We are sailing on NCL in May where the drinks are included. Last time on NCL we averaged three to five drinks per day, per person. Would not be worth it on RCL or other lines that sell the drink package.
As some one who doesn't drink it boggles my mind that people are dropping this kinda money on alcohol
as someone who does drink it's a no brainer to buy the package
It covers other things like cokes, bottled water, and latte type coffee drinks, and fresh juices.
@@sandygenier795 so does the refreshment package and thats a third the price
I drink but only day I do on cruises is days at sea and I’ll pay as I go….one or two days of drinking will only cost me $150-ish and it’s plenty
As someone who drinks, I would never pay this type of money just to drink liquid. That being said, I have other ways of getting my "liquid" on to the ship, and its free :)
I usually order some beer/wine/liquor to my room through Royal prior to sailing. This allows me to have a couple of drinks while getting ready to go out for the evening. I also have been using the Royal credit card and then redeem the points for onboard credit. Usually it is plenty to cover what I drink around the ship.
I'm Diamond. Will be Diamond Plus after my next cruise. I use these free drinks.
Thanks for highlighting this. Just about to embark on a 12 night cruise and with the “discount”, they want £1530 / $2000 for two drinks packages - outrageous. We’ll stick with our 4 free diamond drinks and purchase 1/2 if required. We’ve also bought a water package and will have our coffees in the diamond lounge, instead of buying a coffee package. We’ll be diamond plus at the end of this cruise, so another free drink for future cruises. $100 OBC will help us along too. We all know what’ll happen tho, RCI will start removing or reducing this benefit in the future.
the diff is that, you are diamond. and many of us are not.
@@corgicastleadventures7861The good news is that by becoming knowledgeable about the Loyalty programme, everyone can maximise benefits, starting with big discounts on drinks even from the first level (Gold)....plus every passenger can enjoy FREE coffees, teas, water, juices, etc. No need to buy anything for extra money. So much is included in the cruisefare!
The coffee card is actually a really good alternative to the 'refreshment' non-alcoholic pkg if the only thing you want is premium coffees.
I just came off a cruise and I only spent about $25 on drinks, all speciality coffee. This time I didn't drink any alcohol at all but normally when I do it's usually only about two or three for the whole cruise because I'm just not a drinker and I don't drink pop so for me the cost just isn't worth it. However even if you're not like me and you do drink the overwhelming majority of people don't break even on the drink package which is why the cruise lines have them. They are just not going to put out a product they are going to lose money on so for every one person who beats the package they know 100 don't.
Also, I've said this before but if you want to make sure you don't have a bill at the end put cash on your account. If you want to do an experiment take the same amount of cash that the package cost and put that on your account then see how much money you have left over that you can get back on the last night. However if the cash runs out then you know you need the package but I'm guessing only one or two percent will run out of cash.
Just before the end of the cruise do you go to guest services and get back the cash you did not use?
Have never purchased a drink package. Always buy as I go.
This is why me and my wife love Norwegian cause of the free at see offers which includes the drink package
Plus 18% gratuity on every drink? No thanks!
Still gotta pay the tips though. It can add up
@@burrob78 It's (now with the new More at Sea) it's $210/pp for 7 days.. So $30 / day, period.. There are no other tips paid on top of that.. The only thing you MAY get is sales taxes in certain ports while docked, but some lines are starting to include those also. So basically 3 drinks per day basically worst case to make it "worth the money"
@@DB-zp9un wow they lowered the pice on tips then. Wife and I did the free-at-sea upgrade on NCL Sun 5-day and it was almost $500 just for gratuities. They valued their premium so high that 20% gratiuties almost was the same cost as a drink pkg on carnival at the time ($47/day).
@@burrob78 You pay a flat tip on the cost of the package
Thank you!
Ya answered questions I didn't even know to ask.
You rock!
There are lots of online drink package calculators that will help you determine if your planned consumption warrants a deluxe package. I’ve always been able to get OBC that more than covers alcohol and opt for the refreshment package instead.
I just do the non-alcoholic package that includes the mocktails, sodas, etc. I couldn't do the deluxe, but my aunt got that package and that was too expensive.
My wife and I will be on Brilliance of Sea. We bought drink package with 30% discount. I did math basing $14 per and it come out 5.6 drinks per person per day. 2 expensive coffee drinks with 4-5 alcohol drinks. Not bad deal
The key is to buy in advance when they are having sales. We picked up an extremely cheap drink beverage package during “Black Friday” sale before we became Diamond. When we travel as a family with my daughters and their spouses, we get vouchers for 32 drinks a day as a group, which we often have problems using up, especially on port days.
@@MB-uy5kh Yeah, unfortunately the Black Friday sales have been quite underwhelming the last couple years. We always find the best deals on these weird one-day pop up sales, like "National Margarita Day" (which is in February), when I was able to cancel our decent price and rebook, saving us about $120 total (2 of us).
I agree it’s not just alcohol your buying. Coffee, Soda, Water, Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice and the fun of trying new drinks. There is also the 18% automatic gratuity added onto the bill not to mention the inconvenience of signing every time you get a drink. Discounted drink package before cruise is the way to go. Your on vacation enjoy treating yourself.
The beverage package is also more expensive than paying as you go. We were just on a Royal cruise. We were going to do pay as you go but found out that in the MDR you can get soda with your dinner at no extra charge. We just drank water, tea or juice with our breakfast and lunch. Saved a lot that way.
We buy it early and monitor for price changes regularly and cancel and repurchase as needed. A plus to the drink package imo is that it gives you the freedom to try out new drinks or the drink of the day and if you don’t like it you just order something else without incurring another ala carte charge and feeling like you need to finish a drink you don’t necessarily care for.
Exactly. Peace of mind. I'll try what I want, and not feel like I wasted money on a drink I don't want to finish. Plus, no surprises when the bill comes at the end of the cruise. It feels good to have all those drinks covered. And people who bring the topic up on social media always seem to ignore all the non-alcoholic options that are included as well. Those really add up!
Same
@@brantthompson199 Why would you order a drink if you don't know if you will like it...that is kind of wasteful and makes zero sense. I have my own preferences, and am rarely tempted to try new drinks just because they are seen as trendy. Stick with what you know and then let the idiots play the cocktail roulette game, that way you win every time.
@@davidbreakspear8776sometimes people want to try one of the specialty drinks that every bar has. They might sound great, but not taste so great when it arrives. It allows you to try things that you’ve never had before. No harm if it’s not to your liking.
Taking my first royal Caribbean cruise November 1 through November 4. For me, the drink package was the perfect option. I guess the thing you have to consider is that you will be on a ship for most of the time and remembering that you will have lunch and dinner and possibly some nighttime activities as well. Going through six drinks a day is really not that hard to do if you think about it.
Do you not get off to do excursions? My last was 15 days and 6 days we were off the ship most of the day on the island.
6 alcoholic drinks a day for 3/4/5 + days is bordering on having a problem.
@@darontrevascus3547 It doesnt all have to be alcohol as the package covers more than that. But having two drinks at lunch around the pool, having 2 more at dinner and another 2 throughout the evening during vacation is not a big deal for most people. It's only a couple of days and most of the drinks dont have that much alcohol in them to begin with. Now if someone drank like that everyday or every weekend even, then yeah, sounds like maybe something else is going on there. As long as folks are having a good safe time, respecting their fellow cruisers during it, let folks enjoy their vacations if they drink 0 or 6 drinks a day.
@@tduck828 on my last cruise we got off at every stop in the morning. Spend time hiking and doing excursions and back on the ship about two or 3 o’clock in the afternoon
@@darontrevascus35476 drinks over 16 hours a day isn’t bad at all.
One more thing to point out is if you get an alcoholic drink package, everyone guest in your room must get it which adds to the cost.
there is a way out on that. If you call in and tell them there is a religious/medical reason why your other cannot drink, they will sell you just the 1 providing the other purchase the $36/day refreshment pkg.
I was on Symphony of the Seas and in a Grand Suite. Suite Lounge offered free wine, beer, soda, water from 11am to 11pm. Mixed drinks from 5-7pm. I never used my Diamond vouchers once in the 7 days I was on board.
was there any limit on the wine? What would keep you from ordering frequently and banking it into a 750ml Corkcicle canteen? Then you could drink practically anywhere.
When spending that much money on a stateroom your drink should be included regardless.
Pay as you drink here. Couldn’t imagine the pressure to drink and break even
As a non-alcoholic drinker, I still get the mid-level drink Refreshment package when I sail on Oasis class ships because you get:
* Bottles of Water (I always grab at the cart when exiting ship)
* Energy Drinks (Redbull)
* Smoothies at the fitness center
* Fresh squeezed juices, like orange juice
* Milkshakes at 50s diner
* Coffee/Hot Chocolate at Promenade Cafe
* All the virgin cocktails and mocktails you could want
* Fountain Soda
Great value for non-drinkers. Not as good of value on some ships though that do not have milkshakes, smoothie bar, and so on.
I used to to that before becoming D+ and if I need an alcoholic drink just order a shot of whatever and add to my drink
Exactly problem is if you want both you can't have more than 3 or 4 alcoholic drinks all day. They get you regardless
This is what we are doing this time instead of the deluxe drink package. My husband doesn't drink and even though I drink alot on the cruise there is no way I am getting my monies worth so for that we will do pay as you go.
We will be going on our first cruise in over 30 years (first was our honeymoon). We've decided on the refreshment package and my son is really looking forward to milkshakes being included!
On our next RCL cruise we are going to do the refreshment package and just buy alcohol as we go (we don’t drink a lot of alcohol).
We used to do the DDP but I was all about making sure we hit the minimum drink number to not lose money and that wasn’t very fun.
Can you pay extra before the cruise to create a credit balance on your account? Then use this credit toward drink purchases? That way I would pay in advance and have a budgeted amount.
Although yes there was a discount if I bought the drink package ahead of the cruise, the reason I waited is because I wanted to use the substantial onboard credit we had received to purchase the package. It's my understanding you can't use a shipboard credit until you're on the ship, right?
A lot of onboard credit is available to use before you are on the ship. Typically available up to 2 days prior to boarding either through the app (under Beverages) or website (under Plan my Cruise, then Beverages)
Some cruise lines allow you to cellar the unfinished portion of a bottle of wine if you buy a bottle but have a glass with a meal and have some left over. We ended up sharing a bottle over several nights.
How would you have leftover wine?
@ I’m a one glass kind of guy.
@@markwestaway7207 My wife and I like to start dinner with a bottle of champagne. Then we get serious about drinking.
Going on my 1st ever cruise next month . We'll be sailing on Utopia of the Seas. Question, I have the refreshment package which includes mocktails. When at the bar can I just get my included mocktails and buy a shot of liquor to add to them?
so to be clear....on Oasis class ships, beer and wine is available for suite guests in the suite lounge from 11 to 11?
Yes
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog Thank you
I’ve heard that you can buy bottles of booze and mixer packages for your cabins. We were considering doing that for our next cruise, however, I’m not certain that it’s available in all cruises. If anyone knows please reply, thanks.
My strategy is to purchase the amenity gift of vodka, gin, or rum with associated coke or tonic. Have delivered to my room and make my own drink in the cabin. You can get 8 shots for about 45.00. Still cheaper than the drink pckage.
That saves a lot!
if your ship has a freestyle machine save on the coke/tonic. I found sparkling water aka club soda on there for sure. Get yourself a flask and you can just top off where ever you are instead of taking a trip to the cabin.
@@eriksmith2567 excellent idea. Thank you
First comment! Going on my first Royal Caribbean cruise (as an adult), and my husbands first ever for our bday weekend 11/29-12/2 on utopia! Needed this video, as I have been trying to decide what to do about drinks
Depends on your habits, but I’d pass. You can always do the $99 10 drink package on the 2nd to last day. We ended out ahead bc half the bartenders kept forgetting to punch the card.
@@micaelaiphyswe’re only doing a 3 day weekend cruise for our birthday weekend, on utopia 😭 so I’m not sure if they’ll have the card unfortunately. We aren’t heavy drinkers at all, maybe 3-4 maybe 5 drinks a day, but we’re used to having the drink package on carnival, this one is just definitely more expensive
@@sylviafitzpatrick4228 my wife and I just got back from a five night to Bermuda. We figured that if we spent less on drinks than the cost of the drink package for one person we did well - which we did. We also brought two bottles of wine. They never charged us a corkage fee so that save us some money too.
We always stay in a Grande Suite or higher and cruise mostly Oasis class ships. We combine the free drinks from the lounge with our Diamond status which gives us 4 drinks each per day, so 8 in total and unlimited in lounge from 11am to 11pm. In the end we spend next to nothing on drinks. We are on day 6 of an 8 day cruise on Harmony right now, and our total for drinks so far is $34.
Another one is consider sailing in far asia. We're sailing on the spectrum next year and the deluxe drinks package is retailing for just $43 per day!!!
We sailed on oasis this year around europe and the cruise + drinks + flights from uk came to $6000 for our family (2A 2C).
Spectrum for an 8 day cruise from Shanghai to Japan with drinks and flights from UK came to $5000.
Just got off the wonder of seas, we got the refreshment package, that one was enough for us the NA drinks were good. Third day in they had the 10 drinks for $90 deal which you can share. But I see the appeal of buying the deluxe to not even worry about it. If you are traveling with someone who gets diamond level drinks they can share those with you.
Do the bar staff see any gratuity from diamond voucher drinks? No one I saw was tipping on the vouchers, to include me. I sign zero on the bill but give a tip at end of cruise.
When you buy the liquor at the Duty Free store, are you allowed to drink it??? Can I use it to mix my own drinks in my room?
Do star class junior suite rooms get access to the suite lounge and suite deck for the free drinks on wonder of the seas?
We cruised with another couple who had the package. Pretty much had same amount of drinks. At the end of the cruise, our bill for drinks bought separately, was hundreds of dollars less than what they paid for a package.
I order the 375ml bottles (from Royal Gifts) to my room, 2 bottles of Gin and it comes with tonic. It's far less than buying from the bar, and I can always grab a Rum Runner every once in a while if I'm feeling it. Still insanely cheaper than the drink package.
We have been Diamond for several cruises but I used to go on the Royal Caribbean website and order one of the alcohol packages (small bottle of Bacardi and four cokes).
It was a reasonable price and much cheaper considering how much I drink.
I'm still getting the drink package, it's in my opinion the best option for me.
Always better for us too, we like everything that’s included
They make a fortune off of the drunks!
@@tiffanysanchez9184 agreed. I’m 27 and only drink on vacations and at weddings. I go hard when I’m cruising and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Think I averaged like 13 drinks per day last cruise
@@QueenKayKay47 Thats why we have to do our best to drink them under the table lol.
WOW girl, we have to party together
I’ve considered booking a junior suite for our next cruise. You get a lot of other things included. We paid for the key, unlimited regular drink package and the dining package. It might save us in the long run for one price
For now we pay as we go. Pretty soon we'll have diamond status, so that will be really nice. Generally we only do one cocktail a day with a couple non-alcoholic drinks. None of the packages make sense for our drinking preferences. We do often get the drink of the day too, so that keeps the cost down a bit.
Were Diamond soon to be Diamond Plus. Sometimes we don’t even use all our vouchers or we buy bottles of water. We never bought any drink package. We’re not soda or alcohol drinkers.
Go on I believe Royal Gifts and you can order either Rum, vodka or gin for your cabin. You get about 13 oz container of liquor and 4 cans of mixer for $45.00. Maximum of 2 bottles of liquor per cabin. Just did it on Odyssey on 12 night cruise. So figure about 25 drinks for $90.00.
I don't drink that much, so I pay a la carte and drink on shore. Even if I drink at the port bars it's usually cheaper than the onboard prices. But like I said, I don't drink much, so that works for me.
I sailed Princess just this past New Year and they had a bundle with internet, drinks and some other stuff for $65 a day. I know those that can drink a bit would go for this.
With carnival yes the prices have gone up however, if you drink a mere 5 drinks a day it’s worth it to get the drink package. That doesn’t include all the specialty coffees and sodas/water you get. I have 5 drinks by lunch 😂.
You'd think they'd offer the 10 drink punch card at the beginning of every week if they really wanted to boost sales...not just when they're low and at the end of the cruise. I'd be more inclined to buy it early on. Offering it at the end of the cruise is their way hoping you won't have time to drink it all and they still get a profit. 😊
I saw on Facebook someone suggest getting the drink package one below the alcohol package and you can get every drink minus the alcohol for free and then just add a shot of whatever, and pay for that.
If you like wine, buy the unlimited dining package and you will get 40% off bottles under $100. If you don’t finish the bottle at dinner, the server will cork it and store it, and then you can request it at your next restaurant and they will bring it for you. Better quality wine and the bottle markups are more reasonable with the discount, plus you get unlimited specialty dining which is also well worth it!
People that complain it's too high obviously don't drink enough. So why would even consider buying it. My next cruise drink package is 105 AUD or roughly 70 USD including gratuities and taxes. This isn't expensive at all.
We get drinks off the ship where, at least in the Caribbean or Mexico, you can get really cheap margaritas and tequila and rum tastings.
We also bring both soda and enhancers. The soda is usually 1 twelve pack of diet root beer so we can use the free ice cream and our root beer and have root beer floats. The other 12 pack is eirher a diet lemon lime along with a bottle of wine for wine coolers, or just a diet cola for drinking. We bring refillable water bottles with us as well. For us, paying for a drink pkg just doesn't make sense.
Going on our first cruise! We’re trying the non alcoholic drink package (cause I intend to drink my fill of lattes, smoothies, mocktails, and fresh juices), bringing bottles of wine ourselves, and then just buy the ad hoc shot of liquor to mix into our mocktail to make it a cocktail when the mood arrives. We’re not big drinkers, so ONE mimosa SOME mornings, a SINGLE glass of wine with SOME dinners, and maybe a cocktail in the afternoon once or twice is all we expect of our wished consumption. It’s mostly the mocktail/latte aspect that appeals to us
We were impressed with the food in MDR. I love salmon and it was on the menu every night of our 10 day cruise. Also smoked salmon at the breakfast buffet. I haven't seen it on Royal for awhile.
Rarely worth it for almost everyone to buy the drink package unless you are on NCL. I never understand people saying they like it for the convenience. It saves no time and just complicates things if you want to buy multiple at once.
NCL charges so much for their premium drink pkg that even when its 'free at sea' your gratuities on that freebie come out to be nearly $40/day. They valued their drink pkg upgrade on the NCL Sun 5-day cruise at $200/day. Then when you wanted to order not-crap quality wine like the brand Simi, they were always conveniently 'out'. But hey they still have Boones Farm for you.
@@eriksmith2567 nah, 375 for my 14 day sailing this winter. It’s better than any other cruise line package right now. And the More at sea now includes the premiums.
They will follow Carnival and all the other cruise lines and go to a 15 drink minimum, the prices are very expensive for drinks. Nowadays I average with a tip on for $20 a drink.
Are the Starbucks coffee drinks included in the deluxe beverage package
I brought a pre paid visa card on my first cruise (7 day) loaded with $300 and used that to settle up my account at the end of the cruise.
I only used that for the drinks and found that I didn't even use all of it.
That’s smart
Matt, I am a Prime member and just came off Jewel of the Seas from Boston to Canada on 10/13/24 my. I purchased my drink in the casino and did not get it for free. My first Corona was over $9 and another beer I paid over $5 with some discount. If I go up to the bar tenders will I get it for free you are saying?.
As a Prime member in the casino, the only place to get free drinks is the casino bar
My wife and I are cruising soon, and we did not get the drink package. WAAAAY TOO EXPENSIVE, for the 1 or 2 drinks a day we may get.
We bring on our two bottles of wine and also pre~order two fruit and cheese plates with a bottle of each white and red wine. Giving us 2 bottles of each plus snacks in our room. Then pay for other drinks as we go.
Do the drink cards expire or can you use them on another cruise ?
They expire after the sailing they are purchased on
That's one thing I prefer on Norwegian, they always run a promo which includes drink package (excluding tax gratuity). But I don't mind paying out of pocket especially with kids. I don't plan on getting out of pocket with them around versus an adult cruise
Matt in march 25 my cruise for that month i will be at diamond status . So do i get the benefits then or the following cruise
At the end of your cruise
I'm getting it on longer cruises and enjoying it very much! I only buy when it's 30% off or more. And I call in to not have to buy two packages. I get the deluxe and my BF gets the refreshment. For our upcoming 7 night cruise, we are paying $790!!! Includes alcohol plus specialty coffees, smoothies, energy drinks, bottled water, totally worth it.
I buy the deluxe package everytime, last cruise, 2 weeks ago, i averaged 15 cocktails a day. I love to try new things, and if i dont like them, i dont feel bad throwing them away.
On Princess, the package includes gratuity,internet, more restaurant choices. It’s more expensive than before the pandemic.
Our last cruise we did pay as you go. We bought the soda package and one coffee card and then since we had port stops for 5 of our days we just drank while in port and then had maybe one or two on board. There was no reason to get the package for us since we were off the boat until 5 every day and were never going to get our money's worth. If most of the cruise is at sea then it may be worth it.
I have taken cruises in the past when only one person needed to buy the package. I understand them requiring both people to buy the package. there was a lot of "sharing" going on in the past. However, after a particular surgery for my wife, she can handle 1 drink a day, at best and it makes no sense for us to buy the two packages. We always do the math in our head. But we usually opt for the Pay as you Go drinks.
Ob my recent Celebrity reflection cruise I ordered a martini flight. It was so weak I never ordered another drink. I heard someone who had the drink package say rhey were sticking to beer & wine because the mixed drinks were so weak. If Royal is the same(which they were great years ago with generous pours), I wont be wasting any money on alcohol.
We sometimes go to the suite lounge and get wine or drinks, and then bring the drinks with us to the Windjammer if we don't want to eat in Coastal Kitchen.
Just off a short 4 night MSC cruise. We opted to not purchase their drinks package at around $85 each pre cruise. There were 5 of us, so 4x5x85 = $1700. One sea day two port days. total bar bill for the 5 of us came to circa $900. It has made me realize drinks packages are just not worth the money.
On my Princess cruise the drink package I bought included internet and some other features which made it palatable. I enjoyed being able to try drinks and not feeling guilty if I didn’t like them.