Legally Bring Your Own Wine
Most cruise lines actually permit you to bring your own wine and champagne aboard the cruise ship. Usually, the wine allowance is one 750 ml bottles perperson or two 750 ml bottles per stateroom. This wine that you can legally bring aboard the cruise must be placed in your carry-on luggage only and is only limited to bringing on embarkation day.
Each cruise lines wine allowance policy is slightly different. So we outlined the alcohol policies of the most popular cruise lines below. As these beverage policies do change, be sure to check the up-to-date policy directly with the cruise line, which weve linked to in the chart.
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Royal Caribbean Drink Package Prices
The Deluxe Package is Royal Caribbean’s unlimited alcohol package and its prices begin at $57 per day, per person excluding gratuity.
The Refreshment Package offers unlimited non-alcoholic drinks and begins at $26 per person, per day excluding gratuity.
If you want just to have as much soda as you like, Royal Caribbean’s Classic Soda Package is for you. The price for the Classic Soda Package begins at $8.50 per day, per guest excluding gratuity.
You can pre-purchase your drink package online or via the phone. Onboard, the drink packages are available for purchase throughout the voyage with at least 4 days remaining. A drink package must be purchased for the duration of the cruise prorated price based on date of purchase.
Premium Plus Beverage Package
NCLs Premium Plus Beverage Package costs $128.00 per day. The package includes everything in the Premium Beverage Package, but the $15 menu price cap is lifted.
In addition, specialty coffees and teas, energy drinks, fresh-squeezed juices, bottled water and select bottles of wine are covered in this package. Dining room wine lists have an asterisk next to bottles that are included in the package.
NCL also publishes a list of brands included with Premium Plus, so you can have an idea of which brands are complimentary with the package. Brands are subject to change.
If you have a free Premium Beverage Package from Free at Sea, youll be able to upgrade to Premium Plus by paying the difference. On my last NCL cruise, we had the offer to upgrade for $29 per day without any extra gratuity charge.
For a 7-day cruise, this drink package would cost $1075.20.
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Common Questions About Ncl Drink Packages
If youve never cruised with Norwegian before, or its been a while since your last cruise, you probably have some general questions about how the drink packages work. Ill answer the most common ones here. If you have a question that I havent answered, just leave it in the comments and Ill answer it.
How To Snag A Free Drinks Package
Most big-ship lines offer one or more drinks packages for an extra charge but you might be able to get one of the packages for free. Some big-ship lines will throw in drinks packages for no extra cost as a perk during limited-time booking promotions.
The line perhaps best known for throwing in free drinks packages as a booking perk is Norwegian. Norwegian seemingly always is running some variation of its Free at Sea promotion that brings a choice of a free drinks package, free specialty dining, free excursions and other perks. Depending on the cabin category you book, you can get one or more of the freebies thrown in.
Other lines that sometimes run promotions with free drinks packages include Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Holland America.
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Can I Bring Soda Bottled Water Or Other Nonalcoholic Drinks Onboard
It depends on the cruise line. Norwegian and MSC prohibit all drinks in checked and carry-on luggage. In other cases, you can bring “reasonable quantities” of soda, juice, bottled water, iced tea or other sealed soft drinks onboard at embarkation. Check with your line to find out what amounts they deem reasonable. The range stretches from a 12-pack per person to cases.
Additional restrictions may also apply. Carnival, for example prohibits any drinks packaged in bottles, including water and sodas. All cruise lines allow or provide water that is to be used in a medical device or with infant formula. Also, if your line allows drinks to be brought on, double check whether you must carry it on yourself or if you’re able to check it in with luggage handlers.
All cruise lines prohibit passengers from bringing their own small coffeemakers onboard. If you must have your own coffee, consider packing a small French press and your own ground coffee and requesting hot water from room service or your cabin attendant.
Complete Guide To Drink Packages On Carnival Cruise Line
This Complete Guide to Carnival Cruise Line Drink Packages will help you decide whether a drink package is right for your next cruise.
Are you wondering if you should purchase one of the Carnival Cruise Line Drink Packages? You are not alone, as it is a question we get quite often from fellow cruisers. There are many factors involved in deciding if a beverage package is right for you. We have just returned from a cruise on Carnival Panorama and have put together this Complete Guide to Drink Packages on Carnival Cruise Line to help you decide whether a drink package is right for your next cruise.
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Do Ncl Drink Packages Work On Their Private Islands
If youre stopping for the day at one of Norwegians private islands, drink packages are accepted at Great Stirrup Cay but not at Harvest Caye. Wondering why? NCL developed Harvest Caye in a partnership with the government of Belize. Part of their deal was that visitors must pay for food and drinks ordered on the island.
Have Cheap Drinks On A Cruise But Dont Miss Out On The Fun
Part of the fun of drinking on a cruise is the social element, hanging out the numerous bars, lounges, and clubs on these awesome ships. The nightly parties can be a blast. Drunken karaoke sessions are hilarious.
Yet some of the aforementioned cruise tips for cheap drinks may confine passengers to drinking in their staterooms. Thats boring. Youre on a cruise go out and have fun!
So be sure to utilize those cruise happy hours, daily drink specials, tasting activities, and beverage package deals in order to truly make the most of your vacation, as you drink your way across the open seas!
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Cruises That Include Alcohol In Your Fare
running upward of $50 per day per passenger and individual drinks charged at restaurant prices.
Travelers who feel the pinch of every beer or margarita, or simply don’t want to be bothered with the nickel and diming, might want to explore cruises that include alcohol in their vacation cost.
Here are 17 cruise lines that offer free alcohol with your cruise year-round — no additional package purchase required. Caveat: Most are higher-end cruise lines, with several offering river cruises across the globe, so you’ll definitely pay a premium price for your all-inclusive vacation. Cheers!
Premier Coffee And Soda Package
Princess Cruises Premier Coffee and Soda Package is priced at $19.99 per person, per day plus 18% service charge . The package is AUD $29.99 per day which includes a service charge for all Australian based vessels.
The Premier Drink Package includes all specialty or premium coffees and teas, hot chocolate, fountain sodas, and fresh juices. It also includes Frappes at Coffee & Cones, mocktails, smoothies, Red Bull, and Milk Shakes.
The package provides a 25% discount on bottles of water of any size, canned soda, or bottled juices. Unlike some other cruise lines non-alcoholic drink packages, bottled water is not included in this package.
Further, it does not include any other bottled or canned items, mini-bar items, or vending machine items . Of course, the package also excludes all alcoholic items and does not provide a discount for any alcoholic drinks.
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Overview Of The Change In Packages Offered
Prior to the change, MSC offered three different alcoholic packages:
Easy Package : The least expensive option, which covered drinks up to $6 per glass, was known as the Easy Package. With this offer, you essentially received your option of a couple of beers, a selection of well drinks, house wines, coffees, and soda.
Premium Package : More comparable to the drink packages found on other cruise lines, the Premium Package offered drinks up to $12 per glass. That opened up your options to most of what was available on the ship, including a large lineup of beer, cocktails, and wine.
Premium Plus : While most drinks were available under the Premium Package, for those who simply wanted anything on the ship, they could upgrade to Premium Plus. With this offer there was no price limit, so if it was available, it was included in the package.
With the new rework of the packages, however, MSC is offering a different lineup of packages:
Easy Package : Just as before, the Easy Package is still there. You can still have this package and get an assortment of well drinks, house wines, coffees, and sodas. As before, there is a limited beer selection.
Is There Drink Limit With Norwegians Beverage Package
Unlike Carnival and Princess Cruises, there is no daily drink limit with any of Norwegians drink packages. However, you are limited to ordering 2 drinks at a time.
Drink package rules to know
There is no sharing of drink packages. As well, all passengers in a cabin or travel party, must purchase a package.
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Are Cruise Drink Packages Worth It
Whether or not a drink package is worth it depends on how much — and how often — you drink. We would guess that for most people, the cost don’t justify purchasing an all you can drink package.
You can use our drink package calculator to see if it’s worth it for you.
Consider that a beer on the ship costs between $6-8, including gratuity. For a drink package running $60 per day, you’d have to drink about 8-10 beers each and every day — including on days when you are in port — to get your money’s worth.
If you like more expensive drinks like cocktails, the math works a little more in your favor. A $10-14 cocktail means you’d have to drink about 5-7 drinks every day to make it worth your while.
Many people might be able to keep this sort of pace up for a couple of days, but it can be tough to do that for every day of your cruise. Also keep in mind if you have to spend more to purchase the drink package for everyone in the cabin, even if they don’t want it.
There is one benefit to consider, even if you don’t come out ahead financially. Some passengers love knowing exactly what they will spend with the package and not having to worry about every nickel and dime they spend on drinks.
With the drink package you aren’t going to be surprised by a high bill at the end of your cruise. You’ll know exactly what you’re spending right upfront.
Have you purchased a drink package before? Was it worth it? Let us know in the comments below.
Drinks In Disney Cruise Rotational Dining Restaurants
When you dine in one of the main restaurants such as Animators Palate or Tianas Place you will have a large selection of drinks to choose from some free and some for an extra charge.
The same also applies to Remy and Palo which are the adult only restaurants.
All of the soda types which are available on the pool deck for free are also not charged for in the restaurants. So for instance, if you want an iced tea or glass of Sprite this is complimentary.
If you want a soda that is not on that list, for example, a Root Beer, there will be a charge for this.
Your Server will very quickly learn your free drink preferences and these will usually be waiting for you when you arrive at your table.
Many people choose to drink wine at dinner. You can bring your own bottle , or order from your Wine Package. There is also a Wine List available with bottles or wines available by the glass.
You can order any cocktail you want, but there will also be a special selection on your menu each day with drinks chosen to compliment the food and theme of the restaurant.
There are always two which are alcoholic with another non-alcoholic choice.
There are also specialty coffees and liquors which are an extra charge.
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Skip The Package If You Can Be Satisfied With The Byob Allowance
You may have the option to bring onboard your own limited quantity of non-alcoholic and/or alcoholic beverages. This depends on which cruise line you sail. This could include limited amounts of sodas, beers, and bottles of wines. The types and amounts vary by cruise line, and some cruise lines will charge you a corkage fee for opening your wine at a restaurant. You should check with your specific cruise line for the most updated limits, but by way of example:
Sample Allowances
These BYOB allowances for alcohol typically only apply at embarkation. The crew will confiscate any alcohol purchased while you are in port after sailing. They will store it until the end of your cruise.
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Ordering Bottle Service In Your Stateroom Is A Good Deal
The previous cruise alcohol tip is great for a cheap bottle on the last cruise night. But what about the rest of the cruise?
Most cruise lines offer standard 750-ml bottles of liquor that theyll send to your room for a modest price. Theyll set it all up nicely with glasses and ice for you to use throughout your cruise. Sometimes, theyll even throw in some free mixers too! The price of these liquor bottles with set-up ranges around $40-$60, depending on the cruise line and your liquor preference.
While $50 for a bottle of liquor is much more than youd pay for it at your local liquor store, the cost still comes out to being much less expensive than you would pay for several drinks at the bar on a cruise.
Lets do the math on bottle service using a real-life example:
On a recent cruise aboard the Holland America Koningsdam, the cruise offered a Gin & Tonic package that includes a bottle of Bombay gin and three cans of tonic water for $46.25 + 15% service charge for a grand total of $53.19.
That $53 will yield at least 16 delicious gin & tonics that can be made and enjoyed right from the comfort of the stateroom throughout the entire cruise. This comes out to about $3.31 per drink.
Meanwhile at the Koningsdams bars, that same Bombay gin and tonic comes to $8.34, after the 15% service fee. So it would cost over $133 at the bar for 16 gin & tonics. So buying the bottle set-up for your stateroom ultimately results in a massive $80 savings! Heres the breakdown:
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Does Everyone In The Cabin Have To Purchase The Beverage Package
Often yes, if one person in a cabin buys the package, all adults will need to as well. That said, the rules do vary depending on the cruise line you are sailing.
Carnival requires that each adult in a stateroom purchase a drink package if one person does. So if a husband purchases the package but the wife doesn’t drink, she must still purchase the drink package as well.
Royal Caribbean requires adult passengers in a cabin to all purchase the package if one person does.
Norwegian Cruise Lines requires each adult in the stateroom to purchase the same drink package.
Princess does not specifically say that all passengers in a cabin have to purchase the drink package. Other sources confirm that other adults don’t have to buy the drink package.
Celebrity Cruises spells out detailed terms of their drink package, including age restrictions, and that packages may not be shared. However, it does not state that all adults in the cabin have to purchase the package. A phone call to the cruise line confirmed that you do not have to purchase for everyone in the cabin.
MSC Cruises requires each adult to purchase the drink package if one person does. If you are traveling with a minor, then they will need to have the non-alcoholic drink package.
Bottom line: Except for a few cases, you should expect everyone has to buy it if one person does.
Worth It Complete Guide To Msc Cruises Drink Packages
Sailing on MSC and ready to really go on vacation? Then you might start with a drink package. Instead of worrying about the price of your bar bill, you can pay one set daily fee and get your drinks included for the entire cruise.
On the surface, the MSC drink packages are pretty simple. You pay the cost, and you get to drink your fill of whatever you want. However, with any drink package there are a lot of options, fine print, and caveats.
To help you sort through the details and make sure you get the right deal for you, weve covered all the ins and outs of MSCs drink packages below. This includes how to figure if the package is worth it for your cruise.
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How Much Are Drinks On Cruises
Bottled water can range from $1.25 to $4.25, depending on bottle size and whether you buy a case pack or an individual bottle. Soda starts around $2.50, specialty waters like coconut water or vitamin water can be as high as $5, while energy drinks start at $5. Mocktails , non-alcoholic beer and smoothies can run around $5 to $7. Coffee drinks will be $2 to $9, depending on type and size.
Of course, prices vary by cruise line and can change at any time. Cruise lines will also tack on an automatic 15 to 20 percent gratuity to the price of each drink.