I don’t know about other cruisers, but if I had 15 drinks a day on my ship, I would remain shipfaced the entire cruise. Man, that’s waaaay too much booze!
i would agree with that i am not a huge drinker myself but on the other hand the specialty coffees, sodas and mocktails included make the price also worth it
If you get a mixed drink it has 3/4 a shot in it. With 12 0z of sugar and juice. That's less than 12 shots spaced between 10 am and 12 pm is really not alot. It's how fast you drink. Unless you just get shots than it's 15 and wasted
For me it's two things. First I have tha package as it's easier. The second is I get it for say $60 per person. 2 beverages before lunch. Wine with this. 3 cocktail before changing for meal. Couple wines with meal. Go to a show and have 2 more cocktails. That's 10 drinks. That's avarage $122. So for me it's worth it
I’ve cruised with and without the drink package. I feel like I have a love hate relationship with it. It’s nice to not have to worry about paying but sometimes I feel pressured to get more drinks to get my moneys worth when I would have been fine without them. But then if I don’t purchase it and I end up drinking a lot I regret wasting money by not having it. I’m also an over tipper by personality so the bills do add up regardless. I’ve pretty much decided drink package for short cruises, no drink package for longer cruises. We’ll see if I stick to that 😂🙃. All of your points were great things to consider. I need to remember to ask for top shelf, I always forget.
Great points to consider for the drink package. Since I am not a big drinker, I sometimes don''t chose the "free" option and it works out fine just getting drinks as needed and on the island stops. It would be nice if the cruise lines allowed passengers to choose a "soda/soft drink package" as an alternative "free" option even for adults. My tip for a drink package is for the times when the seas get a little choppy and the ship starts to toss. Ginger is beneficial to minimize seasickness wooziness or motion sickness in cars or trains. So, I'll get the Ginger Beer from the bar and enjoy it in my cabin or in the middle ship lounges.
It's shocking how fast the drinks add up, especially when including water and coffee! I prefer to order the drink package to reduce the stress of purchasing the drinks individually.
We typically spend a bit more than $100/week on drinks, so the value is dubious. But we have a transpacific booked this fall, and the "discounted" drink package is $3,930 CAD (for 2 including mandatory gratuities)! However we were 7 nights short of diamond, so we booked an 8 night, southern Caribbean cruise which cost us $2734 CAD including fees (we spent $0 on drinks on that cruise) and that got us to diamond so we get 8 drinks per day on our transpacific! Saving $1196 (and getting another cruise).
I’m doing a carnival cruise for 7 days to Mexico. After I booked it, they gave me $200 on board credit. So I used it for the drink package. The drink package was $500.00 so I used the $200.00 obc towards the drink package. Which I paid $300.00 I think it was a good choice.
These are some great tips! I appreciate the recommendation to not forget that non alcoholic drinks can help "get my money's worth" and to try new things, because if I don't like it, it's free. Thanks!
Yes, most content creators who discuss the drink packages only talk about the alcoholic beverages, which is why I never thought it would be worth it for me but thanks to this channel, I have purchased the Cheers package on Carnival and have never been happier. And now I know what kinds of drinks I like because I was too afraid to waste money before.
I’m Diamond. That’s 8 free drinks between my wife and I. 6 for me and 2 for her 😁 Yes, we occasionally go beyond that by a couple of drinks. An extra $30 here are there is not a deal breaker. Beyond our Diamond drinks, I’ll usually get a bar tab of perhaps $100. $750-1,000 for a drink package is complete insanity IMO
Hey Sheri! To your point regarding other included beverages outside of alcohol, Celebrity (owned by Royal Caribbean Group, of course) includes their specialty coffees in their Premium Drink Package. So if you’re craving a specially made latte or espresso, it will be included in that Premium Package.
I just used your calculator NCl: I’m a solo traveler. I just need 1 good coffee, 2 bottle of water and 5 cocktails per day, maximum. I don’t think the package is worthy in my case, unless I can get a discount. Thank you!
@@boomboomboom4160 Please tell me how that turns out I did 2 mimosas at breakfast. 2 cocktail by the pool before lunch. 1 cocktail at lunch. 2 drinks by the pool. 1 pre dinner drink 1 drink at dinner. 3 drinks in the piano bar and 2 at karaoke. 🤣🤢🚽🤦🏾♀️
I made it to 14/15 before it struck me…I’m not in college anymore and I’m not a true drinker anymore 😂😂 I took a BC powder and drank a liquid IV the next morning and was good to go though.
That would be me, I have that mentality, if I'm paying for it, I'm gonna drink my $$ worth!!!! Regretted it every time!!! We canceled our NCL free at sea- saver $400 in tips alone!!!😳😳
i tried to drink 21 shots and 21 beers on my 21st birthday. Got the 21 shots of jameson down by 2pm (started at 6a) passed out for about 4 hours, woke up felt like garbage, then drank 10 beers b4 passing out again for good. My legacy shall live on in YT comments
I've never purchased a beverage package because I don't drink a lot of alcohol, but we're doing the HAL "Have it All" on our next cruise because with all the perks it was worth it.
I'm the same way. I'm not a big alcohol drinker at all. I much rather prefer the specialty coffees than any other drinks. If there was a drink package for just specialty coffees and smoothies I'd be all over that in a heartbeat lol 😁!
We usually never buy a drink package but my husband and I leave next Saturday on our first cruise alone without family/kids on Sky Princess. We bought the Plus Package. It made more sense bc included wifi and gratuities and we were just ready for one cruise or vacation where we weren't budgeting spending while onboard. The best part of cruising is the inclusive part of it and not having to budget while on vacation. Makes so much more stressful than should be. We can't wait to just be able to fully relax and enjoy, ALONE lol
Hey Sheri! Me and my husband usually get the deluxe drink package as long as it's on sale for a good price. We aren't big drinkers unless we are on vacation lol but we will have a few cocktails throughout the day and a couple of glasses of wine at night with dinner and love getting the specialty coffees for breakfast. We usually end up breaking even but we feel it's worth it for the peace of mind of not worrying about a big bill at the end.
Great tips Sheri. Watching this as I am about to head to the airport in a couple hours and fly to the NCL Escape for a week in the Eastern Caribbean with Premium Plus.
Great video!! On our recent Holland America cruise we were surprised that the Have it All (included in rate) bev package had a 15 drink limit for BOTH alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages! We were so used to all the other lines that incl the non alcoholic with no limit, and was surprised that our specialty coffee counted towards the 15. Like Sheri said, always check the fine print folks!!
When we traveled with HAL we kept track of our number of daily Alchoholic drinks and at the end of the evening we grabbed bottle water and canned soda to bring back to the room when we ordered our last two drinks. I brought a bag and put the drinks in there to carry back to our room.
We always buy the premier package as we always cruise with Princess. It’s worth it not only the beverage package but the wifi as it’s for multiple devices as my cruise it’s not just a vacation, also work. Loved the premier reserved seating for the shows in the theater. We can get up to 6-7 min before the show and we will have great seats. And my husband takes advantage of the top shelf drinks. Never paid extra for drinks. Tipping we still tip some of the bartenders as they are very friendly and take care of you. Also the room service for my drinks.❤
Great video! I will definitely give your calculator a try. We usually get Cheers on Carnival. It's so nice to order what you want and not worry about it. We get a lot of use out of it for things like specialty coffee, sparkling or coconut water etc. Things that might otherwise be a splurge it we were paying a la carte.
With me travel with P&O Australia and you can't pay the difference of a more expensive drink than what is on your package. You have to pay the full amount. Meaning if your dink package let's you have up to $15 and your drink is $19. You have to pay $19 for the drink and not the $4 difference.
I’m not a big drinker so never bought the drink package. But every cruise I wanted a mimosa or Bloody Mary at breakfast, wanted a cocktail at lunch and dinner and sometimes just wanted one between meals. I also wanted soda, wished I could get a gourmet coffee and always wanted a couple of milkshakes. Also mineral water at times. Maybe got two of these on each cruise because of the cost. Figured out using Sheri’s drink calculator that I could have enjoyed my cruises much more with the drink package. Last cruise, I drank at least 7 alcoholic drinks a day and all the milkshakes, coffees, etc, I wanted. Lesson: do not only think about alcohol when deciding whether to purchase the drink package.
my biggest blunder (in my opinion) is getting the Soda package on Royal on a ship that doesn't have the freestyle machines. Without the variety of the machines, Sprite, coke and water do not feel worth the daily cost.
That sucks that all inclusive cruises aren't actually all inclusive and so many rules around it unlike resorts where you get more bang for your buck but I still wanna go at least once..never been. Still a bummer and annoyance. They nickel and dime you at every turn.
Bought drink package for 7 days cruise. First two days of cruise drank a lot. Rest of cruise didn't want to touch anymore alcohol. My alcohol package blunder!
The only things I don't like is not being able to use it on the private island and everyone in the cabin has to buy one. My son is not a drinker and usually shares a room with us.
Just a side note: When you tip in advance for the drink package, you’re only tipping 18% of the cost if you were to break even. Maybe 5-7 drinks per day? So if you drink more than that, the prepaid amount would not be enough. That’s why we typically give more.
We take our own soda and bottled water. On princess you can take 2 bottles of wine with you, so I take 2 wine bottles and fill them with tequila and a little red food coloring and we drink that in our room.
Very interesting video! We are going on our first cruise and are very interested in the drink package sailing out of Texas on ruby princess for 7 days since you can't use the package till day 2 do they charge you for all 7 days or only 6?
Hey Norm! I wish I knew. One small line JUST dropped it, but no mass market lines just yet. I agree, it's hard to see the staff masked up at all times.
In order for an alcohol drink package to be worth it you have to be wasted for the entire cruise which is just not worth it for me so I instead get the soda/juice package and when I'm at port I do a bar crawl since I know prices will be cheaper in foreign ports.
Hello I am about to go on my rc 1st cruise in January 2023. Right now the deluxe drinks package is 90.00 including the vroom. I am looking out for a cheaper price. My question from your experience. Will the price go down before December?
I’m cruising with my daughter 12 and son 19 I still debating what drink packed to get. Any mom that can relate I’ll appreciate if you can give me any advice.
Going on RC cruise soon. Buying Delux bev package. 18% gratuity will be added. My question is whether the 18% is added to the price of the package OR if it is figured on “retail” price of the individual drinks actually ordered?
I was looking at a Carnival cruise and one of the offers available was a “free” drinks package with the booking. Of course it’s not free, because the price is higher, but is this better value than buying the package separately?
If you can try to price out the cruise without the drink package and take a look at the difference in the fares and then look at the total cost of the drink package you could probably decide if you think it’s worth it.
How do y’all‘s, I’m a new cruiser will be taking carnival panorama in October with my son and it’s just the two of us my question is should I buy the bubbles package for him since I don’t drink alcohol or sodas and question number two does anybody know if club soda or seltzer water is free or should I buy a bubbles package for myself as an adult
That’s a great question. It really depends on how much soda or seltzer you want to drink. You can also take one 12 pack of canned soda per person in the cabin. you may be able to skip the drink package and take your own and have the luxury of canned soda instead of bar Coke.
@@anakerose how do you get caught? I plan on sharing drinks with a friend by getting the drink then going in my room so she can drink it then going back for my own 😂😂😂
15 drinks is… well, a lot. That’s about 1 for every hour you’re awake and out of the cabin. On a port day there’s no way you’re having 15 drinks if you get off the ship. I can’t imagine drinking that much alcohol on a cruise lol I still think that drink packages pay for themselves if you have a few beverages every day
