Drink Packages Worth It?

5 day Drink Package value.


  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .

Nicka92

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 24, 2018
So I’m going away with a bunch of family, one of which is my father who has access to a members clubs with free drinks from 4pm-7pm. He claims I won’t need the drink package and it’s a waste of money. Ill be on Mariner of the Seas for a 5 day Bahamian cruise, and I’ve only been on one other cruise when I was 16. Now that I’m 25 I was think of getting the full liquor package. I have no clue how much drinks are on the ship, nor when and where the drink package can be used. With a $50 on board credit I’ve seen I can get the whole package for $172... is this a good deal? Or should I not bother? As for the amount I can drink I could probably have 5-6 beers and 3-4 cocktails a day if I wanted to drink all day long. Thank you everyone for what ever help you can lend.
 
The drink package is a good deal at about 5-6 drinks a day. Plus don't forget, the package includes sodas, bottled water and specialty coffees that would normally cost extra. In addition your package works on either of Royal Caribbean's private islands (Labadee and Cococay) if your cruise stops at either one. Also, I am not sure if you are talking about the Diamond Lounge as far as the lounge access, but if that is the case, they will only let the Diamond member into the lounge, not any non-diamond travelling companions...although if he made Diamond before you turned 18 you may be diamond already even with only 2 cruises!

For me, $172 is a pretty good deal. I was just on the Mariner last weekend and beers were $5.50-6.50 each (plus 18% gratuity) and cocktails and wine were anywhere from $8.5 - $16ish (again, plus 18%). If you pre-purchase the package, you will have already paid the gratuities so you won't have that to worry about.

As far as where the drink package can be used: it can be used at any bar and restaurant on the ship. In fact, on the Mariner, the only place it does not work is the stand alone Starbucks. But you can get a latte, cappuccino, mocha, etc. at the coffee shop on the Promenade that is included so for me its no big deal.
 
$172 for 5 days is like $ 34 a day. I don't know your habits, but my cruise ship drinking would kill $ 34 by noon.

Drinks are about on par with a night club. (Figure $5ish a beer $8+ a cocktail).
 
Based on your criteria, and if you were traveling solo, I think the drink package would work for you.

(yes there's a but coming)

But if you are traveling with others, all adults in the cabin must buy at least the refreshment package. RCI actually requires that if one adult gets the drink package all adults in the cabin need to buy it, but based on anecdotal evidence you should be able to bargain them down to refreshment package.

If you're a wine drinker, take advantage of the 2 bottle allowance during embarkation. Even if you're not, it's not a bad time to try it out.

Also, I am not sure if you are talking about the Diamond Lounge as far as the lounge access, but if that is the case, they will only let the Diamond member into the lounge, not any non-diamond travelling companions...although if he made Diamond before you turned 18 you may be diamond already even with only 2 cruises!
And then there is your dad's status. I concur that it sounds like he has Diamond lounge access. He might not be able to get you in but he can probably get some drinks out to you - not a bad thing. But that eats into your effective savings with the drink package.
 


I won't cruise again without it and I rarely drink at home.

The prices are so inflated that if I had to pay per drink, I wouldn't drink. Been there done that.

Get on ship, find a bar and kick off our cruise with first night celebrating.
Breakfast in dining room ....... a few delicious bloody marys.
Bottled water all day, probably take 4-5 per day, keep some in room, use in bathroom.
During day at pool, or walks or day shows, or visiting one of the bars 4-5 frozen cocktails.
Before dinner, champagne.
During dinner, I usually don't drink but others in group did.
After dinner at the shows, the clubs, sitting on the deck 2-3 drinks.
I don't do casino but those in our group did and had drinks.
If on the cruise line beach, drinks all day long.
Do the math - GREAT deal.

If you drink frozen, they melt, don't finish it - if you want to try something and don't like it, don't finish it.
 
Last edited:
That’s a lot of drinking. But I guess you can handle it, so good on ya.

Spread out over 15+ hours, lots of eating too, drinking lots of water and not finishing most the frozen since they melted. It really becomes diluted. I was never “drunk“.
 


Yes it's definitely worth it imo

I'm not sure if they offer it but sometimes you can pre-order a bottle and 6-pack for your room. Sometimes that's a decent deal but lacks variety
 
We're cruising for the first time over Halloween. We've gone back and forth regarding the drink package. The best price we've seen is $47pp a day. I really not much of a drinker (just the occasional fru fru drink, no beer or wine) and with 2 of those days being in ports where we know we can get cheap drinks... At this point, we've bought the refreshment package for 18 pp day and figure I can always order the virgin drink and then pay for a shot. I've also heard that on board they sell $75 drink cards good for 10 drinks and can share the card. That might make more sense for us.
 
@Terri yes, those drink cards are a good deal but i'm thinking you can't get them until later in the cruise. i may be wrong about that tho. Also, every day there's a "Cocktail of the Day" that's only like $8 and it's usually some "fru fru" drink
 
Yup, even if the drink card isn't offered, I figure between an $8 drink special or "irishing up" drink I can probably fulfill my drinking desires for $30 or less -- the difference between the refreshment and deluxe (ie alcohol) packages. Sadly, between coffee and bottled water, I know there will no problem making my $18/day package worth it.
 
Btw I’m not entirely certain where the phrase “made Irish” is from but I know I can blame Tom Hanks and Family Ties for using it.
 
Much like PP... our schedule went something like this:

-Bloody Mary or a specialty coffee at breakfast
-bottled water in our bags for our excursions
-a drink or two after returning to the ship to unwind
-glass of wine at dinner
-a drink or two after dinner
-bottled water for the room

If it was a sea day, throw in another drink or two and likely a soda at lunch. I would say we broke even or came out slighly ahead with the drink package. Even if we lost money on the drink package, I would still buy it again because of the convenience of it and not having to stress about budgeting for drinks on-board.
 
We decided to get the deluxe package when it was $42 per day. I figured it was only $24 more than the $18 refreshment package and that is 2 nice drinks per day. I usually don't drink much at home, but on vacation, I like a drink with lunch and dinner and something by the pool or on the beach. I also like the convenience of not worrying about what I order. We will definitely get our money's worth of coffee and bottled water as we both drink a lot of that!
 
Much like PP... our schedule went something like this:

-Bloody Mary or a specialty coffee at breakfast
-bottled water in our bags for our excursions
-a drink or two after returning to the ship to unwind
-glass of wine at dinner
-a drink or two after dinner
-bottled water for the room

If it was a sea day, throw in another drink or two and likely a soda at lunch. I would say we broke even or came out slighly ahead with the drink package. Even if we lost money on the drink package, I would still buy it again because of the convenience of it and not having to stress about budgeting for drinks on-board.
I do think that if you get close to the break even point then convenience wins out. I don’t think I’d ever hit that close so it wouldn’t work for me. Mind you, if Starbucks were part of the package on Allure I’d get it and pound back iced double espressos all day.

Current cruise update - It’s currently day 3 and thus far I’ve paid for one drink. My dad is Diamond and we get some of his (and my moms) happy hour drinks. We brought 8 bottles of wine and the Central Park balcony package includes a bottle of red. So 12 bottles for 8 adults - not bad!

Drink of the day runs around $8, so a little more than a beer. It’s a pre-mix and not worth your time if you’ve got the drink package imo.

No drink card yet - I’ll keep asking but I feel like this cruise has hit its quota of drink packages so it might not show up.
 
Definitely worth it because of the automatic gratuity.

The every adult in-room must purchase the Deluxe policy change is a bummer though. There were a few of us being honest about a spouse who doesn't drink much if any.
 
Definitely worth it because of the automatic gratuity.

The every adult in-room must purchase the Deluxe policy change is a bummer though. There were a few of us being honest about a spouse who doesn't drink much if any.
I take it you mean the 18% gratuity tacked on when you purchase the package? Yeah I guess that could be construed as savings.

FYI Day 4, just got back in from Cozumel and they’re advertising the drink card. 10 for $79 (+ 18%). Considering getting it.
 
Definitely worth it because of the automatic gratuity.

The every adult in-room must purchase the Deluxe policy change is a bummer though. There were a few of us being honest about a spouse who doesn't drink much if any.

You can get around this by calling in and pleading your case.
 

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