Answered: Which Cruise Line Has The Cheapest Drink Package
Cruising and drinking go together like peanut butter and jelly. Sure, you dont have to drink if you dont want to, but its by far one of the most popular things to do on the ship. You only need to look to the dozen or more bars that dot a modern cruise ship to know that having a drink is a popular pastime at sea.
The one drawback of that love of drinking is that it can get extremely expensive. Beers on a ship can cost about $8 after gratuity. Want a cocktail? Expect to spend $10-12 each. It would be simple to rack up a $100 bar tab on a single evening.
Enter cruise line drink packages. For those that plan to drink heavily on their cruise, these packages are the perfect solution. You simply pay one set daily price and then you get pretty much anything you want to drink on the ship . So instead of worrying about your bar tab, you know exactly what youve spent and can just enjoy yourself.
Now, you should know that cruise lines wouldnt have these packages if they couldnt make money on them. There are a few rules around the packages that can make them more expensive for passengers.
First, drink packages have to be bought for the entirety of the trip. While you are charged on a per-day basis, you have to purchase them for every day of the cruise. Second, if one adult in a cabin purchases the drink package, then usually all adults have to buy it as well. This prevents people from buying one package and sharing it.
Drink Charges On Cruise Ships: The Big Picture
The cost of both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks varies significantly from ship to ship.
Many higher-end lines that play in the luxury travel space dont charge a single dollar for most drinks on their vessels. Even premium liquors and wines are included in the fare, with just a few ultrapremium spirits and rare wines coming with an extra charge. Among cruise operators that take such an all-inclusive approach are luxury operators Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea, Crystal Cruises and Seabourn.
Other high-end cruise sellers that have an all-inclusive formula when it comes to drinks on ships include tour company Tauck, which markets a number of river ships Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, which operates both river and ocean ships and river cruise-focused Uniworld.
There also are several cruise lines that include complimentary beer and wine with lunch and dinner, but still charge for drinks ordered during the day and evening at bars. Viking is one example. It has such a policy on both its ocean and river ships. River cruise line Avalon Waterways has a similar policy.
Some lines offer a slight variation on the drinks-with-lunch-and-dinner theme. River line AmaWaterways, for instance, has begun including select alcoholic drinks at no extra charge during predinner happy hours on its ships. Thats on top of beer and wine with lunch and dinner.
Celebrity Cruises Premium Drinks Package
How Much Is The Non-Alcoholic Premium Drinks Package
All carbonated drinks, premium bottled water, freshly squeezed and bottled/canned juices, San Pellegrino, Red Bull, Vitaminwater, Honest Iced Teas and premium coffees and teas at a cost of $22.00 per person.
What Does The Premium Drinks Package Cost And Include
The premium package provides all the benefits of our Premium soft drinks package. Plus beer, spirits, cocktails and wines by the glass up to $15 per serving. There is a full list here.
This will include some upgraded cocktail and brands of spirits including gin and martinis. Plus, an increased discount of 20% on all wines by the bottle purchased on board, for $69.00 per person, per day.
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How Much Does The Cheers Package Cost
You can purchase the CHEERS! package before your cruise or once onboard.
Carnivals drink package runs $51.95 per person, per day, plus an 18 percent gratuity added at the time of purchase . If you pre-purchase the package, this price is 10 percent cheaper than if you buy CHEERS! onboard. The program can be pre-purchased up until 10 p.m. on the night before you board the ship.
READ MORE: Pros and Cons of Carnivals Drink Package
Carnival also offers a non-alcoholic program called Bottomless Bubbles which covers unlimited sodas and juices. This program runs $8.50 per person, per day for adults, and $5.95 per person, per day for kids, with an 18 percent gratuity automatically added at the time of purchase.
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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What Are The Beverage Packages On Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean offers three primary drink packages on its cruises.
The Deluxe Package includes unlimited:
- Cocktails
- Bottled still and sparking water
- Wine by the glass
- Milkshakes at Johnny Rockets
The Deluxe Package includes any single beverage item with a value up to $12. Plus, receive a 40% discount on bottled wines priced up to $100, and 20% discount on wines priced above $100.
- Bottled still and sparkling water
- Fresh squeezed orange juice
- Fountain sodas / Coca-Cola Freestyle beverages
- Coca-Cola souvenir cup included
- Milkshakes at Johnny Rockets
The Classic Soda Package includes unlimited fountain soda and refills in any venue, Coca-Cola Freestyle beverages, and a Coca-Cola souvenir cup.
Cruise Line Drink Packages 2022
If you plan on hitting up the bar a lot on your upcoming cruise, it can pay off to sign up for a drink package offered by your cruise line. Many cruise lines offer different levels of drink packages, so you can enjoy unlimited beverages without worrying about breaking the bank on your relaxing cruise.
Also look out for promotions. With NCL, Celebrity and even Holland, you can often get a beverage package includes in the price of the cruise fare which is a substantial savings.
Here is a great guide to cruise line drink packages for 6 popular cruise lines for the 2022 cruise season. Please note that these prices are subject to change without notice.
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Gratuities Are Added Onto The Price
Its important to remember that gratuities may be added to the prices of the drinks on the Menus. This is a very common practice and is added by almost all cruise lines.
The gratuity automatically added to drinks is usually around 15% of the price listed on the menu.
The gratuities go towards the tips for the staff and are designed so that passengers dont have to tip in cash. That said, many people still prefer to tip in cash.
The gratuities which are automatically added onto the price of drinks cannot be removed.
On a lot of cruise lines, youll also find that a daily gratuity is added to your cabin account per person per night. This is usually around $15 per person per night and goes towards paying housekeeping, waiters, bartenders, and various other behind-the-scenes roles such as the laundry. It is usually possible to remove this but I would strongly encourage against it as many crew members rely on this source of income.
To learn more about gratuities, including how they also affect drinks and spa treatments, check out this post so that you dont have any nasty surprises on your cruise:
The below gratuities are added to all drinks. The prices on the menus dont include gratuities.
| 15% |
Royal Caribbean Drink Prices
Whether you want Royal Caribbean alcohol prices or Royal Caribbean drink prices, here is your complete list to know how much they will cost before they get onboard.
We present here our list of Royal Caribbean drink prices that are regularly updated to give you the best idea of how much enjoying a drink will cost you.
Keep in mind Royal Caribbean adds an 18% gratuity charge to each drink order.
This information last updated: December 27, 2019
This information is valid for Adventure of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Legend of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Splendour of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Vision of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas.
In our experience, drink prices tend to be a bit higher on Oasis and Quantum class ships than the rest of the fleet, because those ships have premium pricing associated with them.
If you are looking for ballpark Royal Caribbean drink prices, here is what you can reasonably expect
| Drink | |
| Bottle of water | $3.25 |
Here is the full drink menu
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Should You Buy The Drinks Package
Now, the million-dollar question
To decide if you should buy the cruise drinks package or not, youll need to do a bit of maths to estimate how much you would spend on drinks if you didnt have the package.
If you would spend more on drinks without a beverage package, then the package is worth it. However, it could be the case that you drink as much as you like and still dont break even on the drinks package cost.
I created a handy drinks package calculator tool which will help you to work out how much you would spend on drinks per day with no drinks package. You can then compare that with the cost of the all-inclusive package to see if its worth it or not.
Can You Bring Your Own Drinks On A Cruise
There are many reasons you might want to bring your own drinks on a cruise ship.
The first is money saving. If youre on a budget, you could decide to bring your own drinks instead of getting a drinks package. We brought a litre of gin, a litre of rum and a lot of lemonade in our luggage on-board P& O Britannia which saved us around £400 compared to buying these drinks at the bar.
P& O Cruises are very generous in allowing each guest to bring a litre of any alcohol and unlimited soft drinks. Many other cruise lines allow you to bring bottles of wine. This varies by cruise line so click the link below to see exactly what youre allowed on each ship.
Read more:Can you take drinks on a cruise ship
If you have a drinks package, should you bring your own drinks too? Ordinarily, no. But there are times when you might want to do this. Perhaps you have a special bottle of champagne that youve been saving for your anniversary? Maybe the ship doesnt stock your favourite tipple? Or maybe you have dietary requirements and are concerned about whether you can get vegan wine or gluten-free beer on the ship.
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Cheapest Sale Package: Norwegian Cruise Lines
While Carnival offers the cheapest drink package in terms of the upfront price, you can find cheaper packages via sales. Case in Point: Norwegians Free at Sea offer.
Heres the gist when you book this sale, you get a number of free perks with your cruise. The number of perks you can choose depends on the type of cabin you choose. More expensive cabins get passengers more perks.
One of the perks is a free beverage package. That means if you book the Free at Sea offer, you can get the drink package at no additional charge.
Now there is some fine print you should know about.
First, just because the drink package is free doesnt mean you wont pay anything for it. Norwegian charges a 20% gratuity on the value of the package. Right now it is priced at $99 per day, so with the 20% gratuity, youll spend $19.80 per day for the free beverage package.
One other thing weve noticed is that booking the offer that gives you the beverage perk actually means youll pay a higher cruise fare. Fares can be hundreds of dollars cheaper when you book a Sail Away room, which arent eligible for the Free at Sea offer.
In other words, that free beverage package can end up costing quite a bit. Thats why we consider Carnivals CHEERS! package to be the cheapest drink package from a cruise line.
The Msc Non Alcoholic Minors Package For Kids
MSC Non alcoholic Minors package for kids gives complete freedom. Kids can enjoy their choice of alcohol- free cocktails, sodas, energy drinks, bottled mineral water, flavoured water and fruit juices, Which also includes a wide range of coffee drinks, hot chocolate delights, organic tea and soft ice cream. These can be consumed in all onboard bars, as well as self-service buffet and restaurants, excluding specialty restaurants. This package offer is only available to CHILDREN AGED 3-17 YEARS who are part of a group/family purchasing an ADULT package.
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Disney Cruise Beer Mug
If you enjoy a beer once in a while this is a great deal. You pay $16.95 for a Disney Cruise line glass beer mug. This includes 22 oz of whatever beer you want. Once you have paid for this you can get it refilled for the cost of a 16-ounce beer. So you are getting a free 6 ounces every time.
Dont worry. You dont have to carry around your beer glass. You have a token which you show at the bar so they know you bought the deal.
The glass mug makes a nice souvenir.
Cruise Line Drink Packages Guide
Perhaps few offerings by the cruise lines in recent memory have reverborated so positively with guests than the unlimited drink package.
Cruise lines offer a fixed charge for all-you-can-drink packages that include alcohol drinks. Mainstream cruise lines all offer them these days and you might be wondering what it includes, how much it costs and if it makes sense.
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What Drinks Are Free On Royal Caribbean
Your Royal Caribbean cruise will come with certain beverages included in your cruise fare, which means you can enjoy as much of these beverages as you like throughout your cruise at no additional cost.
The free drinks on your Royal Caribbean cruise include:
- tap water
- juices
- Hot chocolate
These drinks are available throughout your cruise at a number of locations, so there will always be somewhere to get something to drink for free.
You Should Probably Skip The Drinks Package If You Are Primarily Interested In Non
If you are only interested in a non-alcoholic drinks package, you are unlikely to get full value for your purchase. First, some cruise lines dont even offer a separate non-alcoholic drinks package. In which case, you would be paying the same price for a package whether you are ordering smoothies and specialty coffees or ordering Mai Tais and scotch on the rocks.
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For cruise lines that offer non-alcoholic versions of a drink package, you need to pay close attention to what is actually included. Does it include items such as bottled water, smoothies, shakes, or specialty coffees? And how about mock-tails ? Or, does it only include soda and other carbonated beverages?
For example, Carnivals main drinks package covers all different kinds of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. This includes smoothies, specialty coffees, sodas etc. But, the only non-alcoholic package available is the Bottomless Bubbles program which covers only sodas and juice. So if you will primarily be drinking smoothies and cappuccinos, then you will not save money buying this package.
Non-alcoholic drinks typically run about $3-5 each. Daily prices for most non-alcohol packages or soda packages run about $8-15 per day. So you, or the package holder, would need to drink 3-5 beverages each day to break even. This may be easy to do if the package covers all non-alcoholic beverages. Less easy if it only covers soda. .
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Consider Skipping It If All Adults Must Purchase Same Packages
Many cruise lines now require that all adults in a stateroom purchase the same package, if any package is to be purchased. Presumably to cut down on folks trying to game the system. Thus, if one adult buys the full alcoholic package, any other adults traveling in the same cabin must also purchase one. So, unless both/all adults are going to consume more than 3-5 drinks each day, then on a per cabin price, you will not get full value for your money.
Do I Have To Pay Gratuity On The Drink Package
Gratuity is added on to the cost of the package. So when you purchase the package, you’ll see an additional gratuity charge tacked on to the total . So a $60 package will end up costing around $71 per day.
When you use the package at the bar, you aren’t charged an additional gratuity. It’s already taken care of with the cost you paid for the package. There may be a line for an additional tip on the receipt if you are feeling generous.
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