Royal Caribbean Cruise - Is Drinks Package Worth It

mickrb30 on 27/10/2023 - 11:01
Last edited 27/10/2023 - 11:18 by 1 other user

RCC Cruise with Brillance of The Seas 11 nights deluxe drink package is $177 per day per person, which equals $1947per person, if you buy BEFORE cruise date, otherwise its more on ship for two is just under $4k more than our fare already paid. Cruise date 08/12/2023

Question advice please -
RCC have offered us 25% discount, BUT still expensive being nearly 3k 2 people for drinks.
Has anyone been offered a better deal?
Is it better to wait, hold back, they might sharpen the pencil for a better deal?
What is your experience on snagging a better deal?

Thanks to everyone that may be able to help.

Travel Cruise

Comments

    • morse on 27/10/2023 - 16:10
      +1

      I think this is the main point. How much are the drinks normally? so if it’s not much more for the package could be worth it. I do think you’d end up drinking too much to get value though which might not be the best.

  • AndyC1 on 27/10/2023 - 18:10
    +1

    Where is the poll?

  • JIMB0 on 27/10/2023 - 21:36
    +1

    It would be funny if you paid for it upfront and found that drinking makes you sea sick.

  • noob999 on 27/10/2023 - 22:31
    -1

    Not worth it… Half the time you are not on the ship so you then have to binge drink to make up for shore time!

  • mickrb30 on 27/10/2023 - 22:59

    thanks for all the comments
    i dont overdrink, but wife likes the bottle, cocktails, premium coffees etc
    i can go without, and pay as you go, but she must have her unlimited beverage package
    i suppose - happy wife - happy life - happy cruise, but a hole in my pocket

    • [Deactivated] on 28/10/2023 - 12:18
      +14

      lol

      I'm amused at how many times it's always the wife, gf, mistress, Karen, etc but never the male OP.

    • MrThing on 28/10/2023 - 16:36
      +7

      Happy wife….until she gets blasted drunk and starts fighting with the other bogans on the cruise.

    • spaceflight on 28/10/2023 - 19:54
      +2

      but she must have her unlimited beverage package

      She can still do that by simply paying for each drink instead of relying on a package

  • dan2k on 28/10/2023 - 07:48
    +5

    You’ll be able to buy one deluxe package and one refresh package by calling up. If you don’t want to drink alcoholic drinks and your wife does.

    Black Friday might come down to au$100 pp but as above you can buy, refund and rebuy up to about 3 days before you leave so if a better deal comes along you can take it.

    I’m not a big drinker ‘but’ (heh heh) I’ve never cruised without it. It’s resort pricing on the ship so a cocktail is about au$25.

    I figure with fresh juice, several coffee, 2co tails and a wine each day it’s cheaper to have the pack. On sea days with more drinks you’re way ahead.
    I’m cruising next month and it’s au$100 per day. So $2800 for the entire trip for my wife and I.

  • gromit on 28/10/2023 - 11:29

    generally not worth it unless you are someone that is going to drink a lot every day. It does have the added convenience of making drinks purchases faster though without having to think about any additional cost.

  • dono2 on 28/10/2023 - 11:48

    I been on a few RCL cruises, wait till black Friday sales mid November, you should be able to get the drinks package for around 100 per person per day. I did last year on a 7 night cruise, longer the cruise is cheaper the drinks package is normally.

    Definitely worth it at 100 a day, can get whatever drink you want Grey Goose, red ball, cocktails shots, freshly squeezed juices, bottled water etc unlimited as much as you want. As soon as your beer gets warm chuck it and get another one……

    Also don't get the kids a softdrink package, can get soda via your card for them.

  • Tr0jan on 28/10/2023 - 12:02

    That's very expensive. Admittedly going back a few years, but we did a 9 night South Pacific cruise with them and paid just under $68 a day each for the deluxe drinks package. Total for 2 of us was $1217 for the 9 nights. This was in 2019 of course, but still, to more than double in 4 years? Crazy.

    • dono2 on 28/10/2023 - 12:11
      +1

      Yep ur correct, used to be around 70-80 pre covid. Now RCL has a 20 billion dollar loan to repay.

      Now on the best sales of the year you should be able to get it for for around 100-110 pp per day.

  • Coffeedilmah on 28/10/2023 - 13:18

    Can you get the drinks package for a few days only or does it have to be for the whole cruise? If so i would pay for one day, get plastered and then dont have the package the next day so i can sober up then rinse and repeat!

    • dono2 on 28/10/2023 - 13:29
      +1

      nope whole thing only

  • witsa on 28/10/2023 - 14:15
    +3

    It's actually more like 10 days. The last day you get kicked out pretty early. Plus there are port days where you're off the boat anyway.

    So even if you're a massive alco who can smash them down for days on end, you'd still struggle to break even.

    I would just buy one drink at a time, bring your free two bottles per cabin and maybe drink it up a bit more on the port days.

  • brettley on 28/10/2023 - 14:25
    +1

    I cruised with RCC at the end of 2022 (Quantum from Brisbane) and the drinks package was ~$100 per person. I got my money's worth! I loved the simplicity of it all: could basically get any drink you wanted (soft drink, coffee, alcohol) and never had to worry or even think about the drinks tab.

    • Hangryuman on 28/10/2023 - 15:16
      +3

      'the drinks package was ~$100 per person' - per day ?

      So if you go as a couple on an 11-day cruise, that would be $2200 for two - just for drinks ?

      Wow.

      • dono2 on 28/10/2023 - 15:39

        Can stay happy for 11 days straight!!

        Drinks in the boat are in US dollars start from around 8 usd for beers, spirts $10, cocktails $12. They then add 20% service charge / gratuity.

        So you can spend 100 aud pretty fast.

      • brettley on 28/10/2023 - 23:04

        Yep! They also require that the both of you need to get the same drinks package.

        However, if you bullshit to them and say you have certain dietary requirements and can't consume alcohol for whatever reason then you can get separate packages.

  • Hangryuman on 28/10/2023 - 15:14
    -1

    never been on a cruise - I get seasick so that's an easy AVOID for me …

    but lemme guess - their charge for a 'deluxe drink package is $177 per day'

    and this works for them because you are not allowed to bring your own alcohol on board, (do they have fridges?)

    so hey - 'wanna drink !? - that's costya … !'

  • Poor Ass on 28/10/2023 - 15:30

    Is not really worth it unless you plan to drink that much regardless of a package then is OK

    You can't compare to Australian prices either as alcohol can be bought cheaper overseas

  • barratttc on 28/10/2023 - 16:11

    Just book the cruise and keep an eye online. They have big discounts all the time. Black Friday etc. Can get out for less than $100 a day.

  • MrThing on 28/10/2023 - 16:34
    +6

    So let me get this straight… a cruise is basically gluttony and alcoholism rolled into one

    And all the people who go are older versions of 20somethings who go to bali?

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 28/10/2023 - 17:02
    +8

    The entire cruise isn't worth it, let alone the drinks package

  • Triceratops on 28/10/2023 - 17:09

    We purchased the drinks package on one cruise and ended up drinking way more than we wanted to just to break even. On our last river cruise the total drinks bill for the 8 nights was only 65EUR for the 2 of us so we would have lost out big time if we purchased the package. However, I know others who drink enough that the drinks package is well worth it for them.

  • Bammers on 28/10/2023 - 17:39
    +1

    Fly to America, get drink package for $10 p/day… $$$$PROFIT$$$$$

  • jeka1103 on 28/10/2023 - 18:23

    We went on a RCC cruise earlier this year and the cheapest the package was offered to us was $106 per person per day. By the time we got on board it was sitting at about $125pp. I’ve seen rumours that the package got down to as cheap as $95pp in Black Friday sales last year, but who knows if with inflation and a poor exchange rate it’ll get that cheap again.

    Having said this, my husband and I never bother with the alcoholic drink packages. We get the soft drink packages and then pay as we go for alcohol drinks. It removes the pressure of trying to make sure you get your value for money out of the package every single day.

    On the 9 night cruise we did in January this year we ended up spending $900AUD for all our onboard expenses, including drinks and other extras. We had at least 1-2 cocktails each per day and bought a few bottles of wine at dinner too. Cocktails were $15USD each and bottles of wine started at about $40USD. Beers were about $10-12USD each I think. There was a cocktail of the day each day for $12USD, so we opted for those when we liked them too.

  • jrvb42 on 28/10/2023 - 18:28

    So, one person per cabin gets the package, and it's their round for the entire cruise. No problem.

  • ribze1 on 28/10/2023 - 22:09

    Can't you just do it for a certain number of days? So do it for 3-5 days, and just not drink on the other days.

    • gromit on 28/10/2023 - 22:57
      +1

      Drinks packages are all or nothing. Cant purchase just for a few days.

      • ribze1 on 29/10/2023 - 10:09

        Ok confirms that it's skewed to the cruise operator.

        • gromit on 29/10/2023 - 11:57
          +2

          of course. They are a business, everything they sell is aimed to benefit them. They rely on only a small percentage getting good value out of it. Whats really scary is the wine on cruises. They sell $15 and $20 bottles of plonk for $60-$70, e.g. Villa Maria. a bottle of Veuve Clicquot is $140

  • Seraphin7 on 28/10/2023 - 22:22
    +2

    As a rule, you need to be a "committed drinker" to get value out of these. While you'd need to compare it to alternative pricing, when you realise you are looking at (maybe) 12+ drinks per day to "break even" (so maybe 132-odd drinks over your travel) you may change your mind.

  • Fayble1212 on 28/10/2023 - 23:15

    Just remember the first day you usually sail off in the arvo, and you usually depart the ship in the early AM on the way back in, so you wouldn't really count the final day as a drinking day…

  • Brianqpr on 28/10/2023 - 23:50
    +5

    Who is drinking nearly 200 bucks a day of alcohol for 11 days straight?

    Other than my younger pre married self.

    • gromit on 29/10/2023 - 00:13
      +1

      Easy to do if lots of sea days and you are a cocktail drinker. Basically 8 drinks over the course of a day. Most cruises have quite a few port days though which is where you lose. Most people lose out or at best break even. We never pay for the drinks packages anymore after doing the math from our first few cruises.

    • Davo1111 on 29/10/2023 - 14:35
      +1

      Even then, "university Davo" would have to work pretty hard to break even

  • Kiro on 29/10/2023 - 01:08
    +1

    I did it on the raideance a while back and made it paid for itself.

    I started on the first page on the cocktail menu and went through the lists of 10 cocktails per type of alcohol and then the pirate island…. Wowzer, my liver.

    Individual drinks cost a lot but if you limit to a couple of drinks it's not worth it.

  • jtc13 on 29/10/2023 - 05:02
    +2

    Just buy as you go $177 a day is robbery.

    • srhardy on 29/10/2023 - 08:11

      So is the onboard drinks pricing!

  • Flying Ace on 29/10/2023 - 07:06

    I guess this is what happens when all the big cruise lines are owned by the same parent company (Carnival) - they can charge what they want.

  • LXE3 on 29/10/2023 - 07:48

    Do you know anyone else going that you could split the cost with?
    We’re just taking a couple of bottles of wine. I’ll have a glass on the balcony each night. Have a drink in port and buy a couple along the way. I doubt you’ll end up spending the amount the package will cost.

  • Breno785au on 29/10/2023 - 07:52
    -2

    Thinly veiled I'm going on a cruise thread.

  • Souljarh on 29/10/2023 - 09:39
    +1

    I have been on a Royal Caribbean Cruise once before from Sydney to New Caledonia.
    We went with a group of friends with our kids.
    Mums and dads took turns going out and having drinks.
    We never tried to be stingy, as the prices were ok.
    Was thinking at the time, gee lucky we did not buy the drinks package which was at some point offered at 50% off.

    pro-tip - if you drink nice spirits like single malts, tip the bartender before you order the drink and and ask for a bit extra, they will give you like double the amount for a small tip

  • webmonkey on 29/10/2023 - 14:10
    +1

    Having been on many cruises pre-covid, drinks packages are never worth it unless you're a hardcore drinker. At 177 you'll need to down minimum 7 cocktails a day or many more lighter drinks for the entire cruise to get your money's worth. If you can't see yourself doing this many forget it and buy them as you go.

    Remember you're gonna be full of food for the 24 hours too!

    • [Deactivated] on 29/10/2023 - 14:17
      +1

      Remember you're gonna be full of food for the 24 hours too!

      So, people go on cruises to eat & drink 24/7 when they can just do that on land

      • gromit on 29/10/2023 - 15:15

        It is more you have access to food and drink 24x7, whether you are lounging by the pool, watching a show or just sitting on your balcony watching the scenery. Wife and I find we definitely eat and drink a lot more while relaxing on cruise.

        • mickrb30 on 29/10/2023 - 16:39

          yeah most people usually put weight on on cruise, most meals included, unlimited food, big variety of most types of food, trying different foods, pizza bar open 24 hours etc

      • watwatwat on 31/10/2023 - 03:15
        -1

        The ship could just stay in port and probably no one would notice. But it isn't as much fun if you can't help destroy the environment by driving aimlessly around the ocean.

  • bobbieb on 29/10/2023 - 20:34
    +1

    I have some friends/colleagues who are quite enthusiastic fans of cruising.

    They take great pride at the lengths that they go to to avoid being gouged by the drinks packages. In addition to middling carry-on allocation of alcohol afforded to each passenger, they take great pride in their ability to bring along a great deal more.

    Their exploits are reminiscent of my trips to music festivals in my youth. Soft drink bottles emptied and refilled with scotch, along with any other receptacle that is unlikely to attract attention when boarding.

    • DiscountForThee on 30/10/2023 - 16:14
      +3

      I'd much rather the hour or two spent hiding alcohol than the $1-2k that a drinks package would cost

  • IdBuyThat4aDollar on 29/10/2023 - 22:25

    When I was in the US about 6 years ago I did cruise with Carnival from Miami.

    We got the drinks package, cant remember how much it was but it wasn't near the price posted by OP. Definitely under $100USD/day, I'm going to say somewhere between $50-$90. You had to get it for the full length of the cruise but ours was only a 5 day cruise.

    You could basically get any drink you wanted as long as the drink itself wasn't really expensive (like a $100 glass of wine). Basically I would try as many different cocktails as possible (which I don't normally drink). On the last few days, built a bit of rapport with one of the bartenders, and he would make me random really strong cocktails. Also because you can get as many drinks as you want, you become quite wasteful eg. if I didn't like the taste of one of the cocktails, instead of finishing it I'd just get another drink.

    One thing though if like me, you'll go really hard the first day. Then the next day you probably won't drink as much. So then after that you feel like you need to pick it up. But even on the days you don't drink as much, you can use it on coffee which was definitely needed on day 2. Also something else to factor in if doing a cruise from the US; I think I was still tipping about $1 a drink.

    It was the most fun I ever had on a holiday. First time on a cruise. Never done a cruise since then but have always wanted to.

    • Tleyx on 30/10/2023 - 17:18

      $99US is $155 Australian so not much difference

  • field1985 on 29/10/2023 - 22:54
    +2

    Worst story you'll ever hear is someone telling you about their cruise:
    https://youtu.be/qT74BjNMgiI?si=LG3jZKscaSILgLrf&t=95

  • mungas on 30/10/2023 - 09:16

    As said here numerous times, you're basically forced to drink substantial amounts to feel like you've broken even at circa $180 per day.

    I'm not a big drinker, but feeling lethargic from alcohol on a cruise all day is not what I want to feel like to enjoy my time on it.

  • Chrool on 30/10/2023 - 09:44

    Also don't bank on being able to get the barista coffees (at least in the morning). On my last trip there was only one barista stand and every time it was absolutely packed to the point you'd either have to wake up at 6am or wait 40+ minutes in line

    • kokita on 30/10/2023 - 11:11

      There are 2 stations at the Windjammer last time. So, there are 2 or 3 baristas when I was there.

  • kokita on 30/10/2023 - 10:58
    +2

    I did RC cruise this year and bought the Deluxe Beverage Package.

    When booked first in Oct 2022, I paid AU$134/day/person
    Then there's a promo in Nov 2022, which I paid AU$128/day/person.

    So, there's a better deal around Nov-Dec.

    The luxury of this Deluxe Beverage Package, you got unlimited:
    - Collect your Coca Cola tumbler that has RFID to dispense soda drinks at many locations.
    - Barista coffee
    - Fresh cold pressed orange juice
    - Cocktails = Pina Colada is my fave at the pool bar
    - Bottled waters at many locations = I prefer this rather than tap water
    - Beers
    - Experiment new liquors with your bartender
    - Have nice drink with on your royal dining and at the shows

    I did not regret buying this package for 4-day cruise, but I will think twice for a 10-day cruise.

    My calculations per day in AUD:
    - Fresh juice = $5
    - Barista coffee = $5
    - Bottled Water (2 x $5) = $10
    - Soda = $5
    - Cocktails (4 x $25) = $100
    - Dinner = $25
    Total = $150 AUD
    Remember that the prices on board are in USD

    • djkelly69 on 30/10/2023 - 17:18

      Collect your Coca Cola tumbler that has RFID to dispense soda drinks at many locations.

      Unfortunately OP is on Brilliance, which doesn't have Coke Freestyle machines.

      I believe the non-alcohol deluxe drinks package for around $65 has all the inclusions you mentioned bar alcohol obviously, so something else to weigh up.

  • SwarlesBarkley on 30/10/2023 - 17:49
    +1

    Unless you drink daily in your normal life, you're unlikely to breakeven with the drinks package and you definitely do not need the dining package if it's your first time on an RCC.

    The dining room food (included) is some of the best I've had on a cruise ship and one of the reasons I keep going back! One of the biggest tips I can give is to make sure you book a "My Time Dining" for the duration of the cruise, which will usually give you the same table/waitstaff each evening and you can skip the dinner queues.

    Unless you prefer fighting over the buffet, each to their own!

  • taser on 30/10/2023 - 19:47

    Going on a RCC in 3 weeks the drinks for me is $133 each so $2128 for the 8 days for two of us.
    Luckily we rarely drink alcohol so never considered it. If I feel like a beer will just pay as I go cant imagine getting anywhere close to $2128

    Just bought the 24 bottles of water and a 15 coffee card $120

  • watwatwat on 31/10/2023 - 03:58
    -2

    I love capitalism. You have this super high margin product and convince people to spend $177 aud per day in it.

    • Bottled Water (2 x $5) = $10
    • Soda = $5
    • Cocktails (4 x $25) = $100

    This is great. Soda… You can buy a whole bottle of it (and better quality than postmix) for $2 at woolies. If you had $30, go and buy all this soda on land and pretend you have unlimited soda for a day(s).

    I mean… Water is free. Saying it has a value of $5 makes no sense.

    Cocktails… It is a high margin product. You put 5 cents of soda, $1 of alcohol and suddenly people think it has a value of $25. Why? Because bartender poured a few things together in 30 seconds and put a slice of lime on there?

    I see how hard people work in other countries to earn their money and quite crazy that people are considering spending $2k on drinks packages. It is glorious capitalism and it is highly entertaining tbh.

    I can only try and imagine the reaction from people in poor countries on this topic. To the question of whether people in the West should spend the equivalent of 12 months of their salary on forcing themselves to consume high quantities of alcoholic beverages for 2 weeks, while they cruise around in a circle on a ship that is hugely polluting to the environment.

  • altitudinous on 31/10/2023 - 09:17
    -2

    Did my first cruise last year, one of my long term memories is miserable lonely drunk people stumbling around the ship trying to get value from their drinks package. See the same folk every day, always in the same state.

  • R4 on 31/10/2023 - 10:40
    -1

    The best solution to this is to not go on the cruise in the first place and spend the money on a real holiday instead.

    • itsme56 on 31/10/2023 - 17:39
      +2

      Cruises are stress free, you’re relaxing while travelling. Flying is stressful and wasted travel time.
      I like both but cruising is a great value and can be incredibly relaxing/enjoyable.

      • R4 on 31/10/2023 - 23:59

        Cool, enjoy.

        It's not for me.

        Different strokes for different folk.

    • djkelly69 on 31/10/2023 - 20:53

      Obviously randoms on the internet know a lot more about what the OP would enjoy on their holiday than they do.

      • R4 on 01/11/2023 - 00:01

        Oh, I'm sorry for having an opinion champ. Next time, I'll be sure to run it past you (a fellow random) first to be sure not to offend.

  • wallet72 on 31/10/2023 - 10:41

    We were in the lift heading to breakfast on a Royal Caribbean cruise a few years ago.
    Two very hung over lads were freaking out and looked very panicked.
    They had the basic drinks package, but the night before had got very drunk and started ordering anything and everything.
    They'd been called to reception to deal with a drinks bill of about $2k and were crapping themselves because they didn't have the money.

  • Dack Smith on 31/10/2023 - 14:57

    Definitely worth it

    The mark of a real man is how much they can drink

    You ain’t nobody if you can’t handle your alcohol

  • jrad0 on 31/10/2023 - 16:49

    Invest in a decent balcony room and order a bottle of spirits through room service to your room for ~$80 and enjoy watching the sunset over a few nights!

  • itsme56 on 31/10/2023 - 17:37
    +2

    Easily worth it. And no you don’t need to drink yourself stupid. You can find yourself breaking even with 4-5 drinks a day.

    Especially if you drink coffee. You get premium freshly brewed coffee included in the package (without you only get instant). Freshly squeezed juice is included. You also get Powerade by the bottle included. Think I drank 24 or so powerades last cruise.

    Think I did 100 odd drinks in 11 days (inc 2 coffee per day and 2 Powerade per day). Even the convenience of the package makes it worth it rather than having to go through a transaction process (getting a bill and signing) each time you buy. With the package is basically tap and go.

    It’s also a great opportunity to try new cocktails and not feel guilty for wasting $25 if you hated it, simply give it away to a friend or just don’t drink it and get something else. You’ll discover new likes and dislikes by trying things guilt and stress free, as a holiday should be.

    Wait for Black Friday. You’ll get closer 25% off the current price of the package.

  • discobean on 31/10/2023 - 20:57

    Not worth it, the first day you are only there half a day, and the last day you are kicked out early morning. Also shore days you are not there most of the day.

    Better to BYO using sneaky hidden packs (that you can buy from amazon) of alcohol. Never had issues bringing them in.

    • morse on 31/10/2023 - 21:38

      Care to share a link?

  • bobbified on 31/10/2023 - 22:53

    Can you get the unlimited drinks package for only one person? And can you take the drinks back to your room? (Of course, I'm not suggesting anything dodgy here.. 😋)

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