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If you plan to spend hours in the casino, a drink package might not be necessary. You can also bring one bottle of wine per person on board on embarkation day. There is a corkage fee for opening it in a restaurant, but none if you open it and keep it in your cabin. I recently found All Included upgrade prices as low as $35 per person, per night, which makes the drink package less than half price and Wi-Fi free.
The Value of the Drink Package Decreases Every Time You Add Someone Else to Your Cabin
However, if you're set on getting the most value from your package purchase, you'll want to be smart about which drinks you order. If you're not at least breaking even with your wine, beer, soda, coffee and cocktail orders, you might want to rethink whether you've chosen the right beverage package for your drinking style. Some lines, such as Carnival and Princess Cruises, limit passengers to 15 alcoholic drinks per day, which can make it harder to break even on the package costs. For alcoholic beverages, specialty coffees and other premium nonalcoholic drinks, guests may purchase drinks a la carte or buy a Bar Tab to cover drinks. In all cases, crew gratuities are already included so the price guests see is the price they pay.
Other Things to Know Before Purchasing
Even though you can get your fill of drinks, you can’t order multiples at once. According to the company’s website, additional drinks will be charged at the full menu price. In our opinion it’s still worth a call to the cruise line if you really don’t want two packages or have a circumstance where one person can’t drink.
Drink package fine print
Others worry that they won't get good service from bartenders if they have a package (or conversely, be considered "partiers" by other people). As the starting point for the Soda Package is just over $15 per person per day with the gratuity, you'll need to count on drinking a minimum of four sodas a day for it to be a good value. As with the Soda Package, you can order your non-alcoholic beverages, from sparkling water to fancy mocktails, from your pool lounger or blackjack table. I've been known to take a couple of 16-ounce bottles of soda on board with me, but carrying on much more than that is a big hassle. It's also great for older kids and teens who might be roaming the ship with friends. You can also order a glass of soda at any restaurant or bar on board.
Is There a Limit to the Number of Drinks You Can Buy?
Even the priciest drink packages might not include your favorite brand of whiskey or vodka, for instance. And many drink packages only apply to drinks on menus that cost under, say, $15. Note that in some cases, lines offer more than one drink package, with a pricier tier that gives you access to a broader range of brands and a higher per-drink cost limit. Even if you think you'll use a drink package every day, remember that you might be spending a significant amount of time off your ship during port days on your cruise.
Have a screwdriver with breakfast, enjoy drinks by the pool, and have a margarita as a nightcap. We mentioned earlier that while drink packages are simple to understand, the fine print behind them can get confusing. Instead of just having one set price, each drink package offers different prices, depending on your ship and the trip. The drink packages with alcohol come with a caveat — all passengers of legal drinking age in a cabin must buy the same package. So, if your roomie prefers premium spirits, you must also buy the premium package. Non-drinkers can request an exemption from the alcoholic packages but must purchase the Zero Proof package instead.
Some cruise lines will claim that they're offering a substantial discount when, in reality, there is hardly any difference between the discounted price and the typical one that’s usually offered. But be aware that prices can change at the drop of a hat -- and not always for the better. The packages make the most sense for passengers who consistently order a large number of drinks from day to day — even on port days.
15 Best Carnival Drink Package Tips (2024) Cruise.Blog - Cruise Blog
15 Best Carnival Drink Package Tips ( Cruise.Blog.
Posted: Tue, 05 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Celebrity Cruises drink package
But there is another way to buy, and that is with the Princess Plus and Princess Premier all-inclusive offers. These deals offer gratuities, wi-fi, a drink package, and more included in the cruise fare. See our section titled “Is it Better to Buy the Drink Package or Get it Through Princess Plus/Premier? Sure, you can't get all the same vintages by the glass as you can order by the bottle, and you might want a nice wine to celebrate a special occasion. If you intend to order several bottles of wine during your cruise, you might be better off with a wine-only package instead of a broader alcoholic beverage package.
If one person in a stateroom buys this package, everyone of legal drinking age in the stateroom must buy the same package, according to cruise line policy. If someone in your room does not drink alcohol, don't worry. I've encountered many people who have called customer service and downgraded one or more non-drinking adults to a Refreshment Package.
First, you need to think about how you will drink while on vacation. For some people, they have no problem drinking every day of a vacation. Others may have a couple of nights where they let loose, but enjoy having breaks in between.
For instance, CocoCay -- Royal Caribbean's private island -- allows you to use the package while in port. MSC's Ocean Cay also allows you to use your drink package in port. If you purchase the package, it is charged for every day you are on the ship.
Use your beverage package to sample new wines by the glass or a cocktail you've never tried. If you prepay a flat price for alcohol, you can order pricey specialty cocktails without worrying about paying $15 to $20 a pop. Hands down, the best drink you can order from a value standpoint is the most expensive cocktail that falls within your plan's limit. Royal Caribbean only lets you order one drink at a time with your drink package.
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