Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Flip

Original poster

Drinks Packages

24 replies

hopeishere · 09/05/2019 13:51

Trying to work out if a drinks package is worth it... we both like two glasses of wine with dinner plus a G&T if people watching...

It's hard to calculate if it would be worth buying as we will be in ports most days but will be eating dinner on the ship every night.

I think I'd rather know in advance I could have what i wanted than get a big bill at the end...

OP posts:

purpleboy · 09/05/2019 14:02

Depends on the cost of the drinks package.

We didn't buy one on ours as we don't really drink, however 2 cocktails at happy hour £10 each and a glass of wine/beer with dinner £8-10 each and we found we were easily spending £60 a day! Holiday mode took over and sometimes we would have a couple more £100 a day! Would of worked out a lot cheaper for us to do the drinks package!

I always find TripAdvisor brilliant for information, people's reviews on prices of drinks will give you an idea of how much individual drinks cost compared to AI drinks package.

Original poster

hopeishere · 09/05/2019 17:25

Thanks. We can take two bottles of wine on. Will try and work it out. I know if we get it DH will be determined to get his money's worth!!

OP posts:

Pipandmum · 09/05/2019 17:30

I got one as part of the deal but wouldn’t buy one. I figured I’d have to start drinking at lunch and keep on going to make up the value they would have charged. Part of the package was also one non alcoholic drinks deal - same there and have to admit we did abuse it! My son would go to bar get a soft drink then a few minutes later get another for my daughter. It was on a card they must have thought he was thirsty! Still it wouldn’t have gone over the value of the package.

Original poster

hopeishere · 09/05/2019 17:56

The one I'm looking at includes soft drinks and speciality coffees. We do like a wee latte or similar to start the day!

OP posts:

Funf · 10/05/2019 10:50

We felt we would have to be bladdered every night to make it worth while, just smuggle spirits on the ship and make your own. We drink beer in the ports much more fun and cheaper

Oblomov19 · 10/05/2019 11:29

It doesn't sound like it would be worth it for you.

Dh and I both drink a lot, a lot of liquid, both non alcoholic and alcoholic. Endless teas, water, Diet Coke, coffees, cocktails, wine, beer, cider. And ds's drink tonnes too. So packages are fab for us.

notangelinajolie · 10/05/2019 11:36

Worth it for us if the price is right. Prices do fluctuate a lot so you need to buy when the price is low. We don't drink alcohol excessively on a cruise but if you add in a couple of bottles a water, a freshly squeezed orange juice and speciality coffee into the daily mix then yes a drinks package is worth it.

Original poster

hopeishere · 10/05/2019 12:01

I'm a serious diet coke addict so that was part of my wondering!!

Definitely not smuggling stuff on board. I'd be mortified if caught. Do they not check your bags??

OP posts:

TheCaddy · 10/05/2019 19:44

We got ours in the sale at £31 each plus tips.

We like a good coffee and proper fresh orange, not the syrup stuff

Cocktail by the pool and wine and a night cap. Definitely worth it for us.

Original poster

hopeishere · 10/05/2019 20:02

Do you get an email if there's a sale on? It's currently £33.44 (random)

OP posts:

TheCaddy · 10/05/2019 20:06

I didn’t. I just keep checking. We changed ours to include internet so happy with £37 each. Ours was at £33.44 but I cancelled and booked again.

MissPinkCakeyBun · 10/05/2019 20:24

We got the soft drinks package Nd the photo package in advance and made use if it. We had. Bottle of wine with dinner a couple of nights (club class on princess) and they recorked it so we could have the rest the following evening. Then a couple of nights we had drinks at the bar.....was still a Lot cheaper than the drinks package. How longs the cruise ?

MissPinkCakeyBun · 10/05/2019 20:26

And yes all bags are x-rayed for security reasons and they will remove all booze that people attempt to smuggle onboard.

MissPinkCakeyBun · 10/05/2019 20:26

Also on princess out of Australia to NZ and back they scan your bags out and back for each day trip

TheCaddy · 10/05/2019 20:29

Not unless you use rum runners!

LizzieMacQueen · 10/05/2019 20:38

I had no idea you weren't allowed to bring your own. Then charging £10 for a G & T. Wow.

Original poster

hopeishere · 10/05/2019 20:56

It's a week long. I know you can bring two bottles of wine on.

OP posts:

honeyrider · 15/05/2019 17:15

I've sailed with MSC and think €26 pppd is very good value as it also included soft drinks, water, speciality coffees and geleto.

TheCaddy · 15/05/2019 17:17

That’s two bottles per cabin, not per person if you are sailing RCI

ElyElyOy · 20/05/2019 20:27

£33 for a week is a bargain! Especially at ship drink prices (google the drinks list or look on cruise critic chat threads).

Seriously at that cost it’s a no brainier.

If it’s NCL and that’s per day even then it’s not bad. A cocktail during a show, a wine with dinner, an afternoon speciality coffee and 2 cokes a day by the pool would cost about that I think

Original poster

hopeishere · 20/05/2019 21:41

£33 per day... not for the whole week. It's actually sneaked up to £35 plus gratuities.

OP posts:

ElyElyOy · 20/05/2019 22:09

Is definitely look at the drinks price list and add up how much you think it will cost, and also look on Cruise Critic to see how likely it is that they offer a reduction or offer on it.

It’s also worth noting that you can take your own soft drinks on (on NCL people actually take on crates of cans of pop/bottles of water/cartons of juice etc). I would also consider how much Port time you have - if you are planning on spending all day in Port then you will probably have drinks there rather than on the ship.

Personally on a med cruise I would just pay per drink at that price, but then I only drink the free coffee and free water in the day and probably a cocktail and a glass of Prosecco at night.

Original poster

hopeishere · 21/05/2019 07:33

It's Royal Carribean.

OP posts:

budgiegirl · 23/05/2019 19:48

It’s also worth noting that you can take your own soft drinks on (on NCL people actually take on crates of cans of pop/bottles of water/cartons of juice etc)

It’s worth checking with the cruise line to see what their policy is. Some (including NCL who changed their policy a couple of years ago) don’t allow you to bring any soft drinks or water on board at all.

Flip