What Types Of Beverages Are Available On A Cruise
From sustainable wines by the bottle to sparkling water, morning coffee to iced tea, Celebrity beverage packages hydrate, delight, and surprise our guests day after day. Fresh-squeezed orange juice, chilled fountain sodas, and charming, classic cocktails are all readily available at nearly every onboard restaurant, bar, or venue.
Alcohol Policy By Cruise Line
Adventure Smith Explorations
Alcoholic beverages other than wine and beer can be purchased with lunch and dinner.
AmaWaterways
Europe: Alcoholic beverages are available at additional cost. During dinner, local wines soft drinks and beer are available on a complimentary basis.
Russia: Alcoholic beverages are available at additional cost. Complimentary wine and beer included with every dinner on board the ship
Vietnam & Cambodia: Complimentary house brand spirits and local beers available during the cruise. Free flowing wine with every lunch and dinner on board. Imported wine and premium alcoholic beverages are available to purchase at an additional cost.
Africa: Complimentary wine and beer is served with all lunch and dinners on board. Premium alcoholic beverages as well as drinks outside of meal times are available at the bar for additional cost.
American Cruise Lines
American Cruise Lines provides complimentary wine and beer during lunch and dinner service. A complimentary cocktail hour with full bar is hosted each evening before dinner.
American Queen Steamboat Company
Select wines and beer are included with dinner.
Alaskan Dream Cruises
A selection of fine alcoholic beverages, beer and wine are available aboard ship for independent purchase, but not included in your cruise fare. There is a good selection of wine available aboard, and you may purchase a bottle and have the unfinished portion capped and held for you.
A-ROSA Cruises
Avalon Waterways
Azamara Club Cruises
Smuggling Alcohol On Board
Smuggle at your own risk!
- There are currently no retributions other than the alcohol being confiscated if you get caught. The confiscated alcohol will even be returned to you at the end of the cruise if it is confiscated in the original manufacturer sealed container. All other containers will not be returned.
- Carnival confiscates dozens of water/soda/wine bottles that have been refilled with liquor prior to almost every cruise. Its been this way for a long time. You have a VERY LOW chance of getting smuggled liquor on this way. In 2015 Carnival began banning all bottles from being brought onboard, exception being one bottle of wine or champagne 750ml in size or less per person in their carry-on luggage.
- People tend to smuggle because purchasing liquor through the Fun Shops / Bon Voyage is 2-3 times more expensive than buying it at their local liquor store. You should also need to weigh in the convenience of having it waiting for you in your cabin versus having to go to the store to purchase it, repackageing it to smuggle, transporting it to the ship and then hope it doesn’t get caught. When you weigh in all the factors purchasing through the Fun Shops / Bon Voyage is a pretty good option. Don’t forget to also check out the “Cheers” Beverage Program that Carnival is now offering.
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Enjoy Free Champagne At The Art Auction
If youd like to sip on a complimentary glass of champagne, then head on over to the art gallery. Nearly all ships will have multiple art auctions during the cruise, which usually extends a free glass of sparkling wine. Youre not required to bid. So just sit back, learn something about the art, and watch others fight for those limited release prints.
It can be an entertaining experience. But if you get bored, theres no shame in making a quiet exit. So perhaps be sure to pick an aisle seat in case you do want to leave early.
Carnival Cruise Line Non
Bottomless Bubbles is Carnival Cruise Lines unlimited soda package. For one flat fee, cruisers can enjoy all the fountain soda and juices they want with this package.
The pricing of this package is $8.50 for adults and $5.95 for children aged 17 or under .
Like the alcoholic drink package, you can only order one drink at a time, either a 16 ounce glass of soda or a 10 ounce glass of juice. Soda choices on the Carnival drink menu for 2020 include Pepsi products, Tonic Water, and Club Soda. Similarly, for juices, cruisers have the option of Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Tomato Juice, Pineapple Juice, and Grapefruit Juice.
Again, like the Cheers Program, this package does NOT work off the ship, even at Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays. Bottled water and specialty coffee are also not part of this package. Other exclusions include beverages sold in souvenir glasses, beverages sold at the gangway, and room services orders.
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Norwegian Non Alcoholic And Soda Packages
There are 2 soda packages available on a Norwegian Cruise Lines, one for children 12 and under, and one for adults and kids 13 and over. The pop package includes these fountain sodas: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Sierra Mist, Mt. Dew, Ginger Ale, Tonic water, Club Pop.
If youre likely to drink 2 sodas a day or more, this is 100% worth the money. A glass of soda or pop is over $4 per drink.
What The Premium Beverage Package Does Not Include
The Premium Beverage Package does not include room service, package sales, daily cocktail specials or buckets of beer. Also not included are the designated Super Premium brands , bottled wine, mini bar purchases, bottled water and fresh squeezed juices.
Lavazza coffee beverages, energy drinks and drinks from vending machines are also not part of the package.
Guests are allowed to buy two beverages per person per transaction.
The good news is that you can take advantage of this package at all restaurants, lounges, bars and Great Stirrup Cay.
If you buy an item over $15 USD, the overage plus 20% gratuity and service charge will be applied to your onboard account.
COST: $99 per person per day plus 20% gratuity and beverage service charge.
Package cost for a seven-day cruise: $831.60 per person out the door.
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Which Cruise Lines Include Drinks
MSC Cruises
It also includes multiple draft and bottled beers, more spirits and wines, and energy drinks. This package is available in specialty restaurants, in addition to bars, buffets and restaurants onboard. The Premium Plus Package includes all drinks by the glass, and it costs $79 per person, per day.
Wines By The Bottle Packages
We created the Taste of the Vineyard program for wine aficionados and beginners alike to discover a new favorite wine during their sailing. Youll quickly gain a new appreciation for wines from all over the world.
With both Wines by the Bottle packages, sommeliers will deliver your bottle to any venue on board, including your stateroom. Sip in style from a glittering Riedel glass.
Premium Wines By the Bottle Package
Youll have three, five, or seven bottle selections in this package, which starts from $169. Our onboard sommeliers will introduce you to new flavor profiles from the worlds most celebrated wine regions.
Classic Wines By the Bottle Package
Youll have your pick of three, five, or seven bottle selections in the Classic Package, starting at $109. Choose from an array of wines ranging from a medium-bodied Australian Chardonnay to a rich, full Cabernet Sauvignon from California, and many more.
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Taking A Cruise: Recommendations And Resources
Book a Cruise:Have a specific cruise you want to book or just need some help and inspiration? Get a cruise quote through us: Cruise Quote Form.Not Sure What to Book?Learn everything you need to know to find and book the perfect cruise in my How to Cruise For Less cruise course.Dont Forget Your Travel Insurance:You could be stranded abroad, lose your entire cruise fare, or be hit with MASSIVE medical bills if you dont have cruise travel insurance. I use comparison websites to compare quotes: Compare Quotes Here.Our full list of travel recommendations can be found here.
Other Things To Know Before Purchasing
Before you pull the trigger on buying the drink package, you should know that just because you purchase the unlimited beverage package on your cruise doesn’t mean you can drink anything in sight.
- Most packages have limits on what’s available, excluding drinks that are above a certain price limit . If you are the sort of person that only drinks the highest-end beverages, then you might want to check and make sure your particular drink is included in the package. If you go over that amount, the per-drink limit will be deducted from the cost and you will need to pay the difference.
- If you are a wine drinker, you can’t have whole bottles of wine with the packages, although you can get wine by the glass. If you want to purchase the whole bottle, having the drink package usually entitles you to a significant discount off the purchase price.
- You can’t use the drink packages to buy whole bottles of liquor in the ship’s duty-free shops.
- Drink packages don’t apply to drinks from your in-room mini bar. You’ll be charged full price for those beverages.
- You can only get one or two drinks at a time with most drink packages. There is often a short waiting period in between buying drinks.
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What Alcohol Is Included On Celestyal Cruises
Celestyal Cruises include a variety of drinks including the following:
- Cocktails
- Spirits
- Wines
To see the full list of the drinks available on Celestyal cruises check out the post here: Celestyal Cruises All Inclusive Drinks List.
It is worth noting that soft drinks and coffees/teas are included in the cruise fare. On most cruise lines you have to pay extra if you want to have a variety of teas or coffees.
What Alcohol isnt included?
On Celestyal cruises, you will find that most bars have two menus. One includes included drinks and the other you have to pay extra for. During my cruise, I didnt order anything from the premium menu and instead always chose the drinks that were included.
The paid-for extra menu features premium spirits and a greater variety of beers, wines, and cocktails.
Are There Limits In How Many Drinks I Can Get
The only cruise lines we know to have any limits on the number of drinks you can order is Carnival and Princess . They have a 15-drink limit on alcoholic beverages during the 24-hour period that runs from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. Non-alcoholic drinks arent included in the 15-drink total.
So if you have 15 alcoholic drinks, you cant order another until the next day, but you can have all the waters or sodas that you want.
While other cruise lines may not set explicit limits, if you are obviously intoxicated then dont be surprised if you are cut off from ordering any more drinks.
As well, there are often waiting periods between drink purchases.
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Beer Drinkers Should Buy Buckets Of Beer To Save
Are you heading to the pool and want to kick back a few beers? Buy a bucket of five beers, which most cruises usually offer for the cost of four. Its a win-win by saving the server a few trips to deliver your beer while saving you a few bucks.
Beer buckets may not be the best drink deal out on the high seas, but it still saves the $6-$7 cost of a bottle of beer. Even if youre not planning to drink all of those beers in one sitting, it can be worth buying the bucket and bring whatever is left back to your cabin to put on ice or in the mini fridge.
The Most Inclusive Drinks Package
Most cruise beverage packages have limits, whether thats a limited number of drinks per day or a limit on the types of drinks you can have. For example, its common to exclude bottles of wine and instead request that guests order wine by the glass.
The table below shows the drinks package limitations for each cruise line.
| Cruise line | |
|---|---|
| $12 | no |
From the data in the table above, you can see that MSC Cruises Premium Plus beverage package is the most inclusive. This package includes unlimited drinks with no price limit, including drinks from the mini-bar.
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Is There A Limit On Royal Caribbean Drink Packages
There is no limit on a Royal Caribbean drink package in terms of how many drinks a guest may consume in a day or throughout the cruise.
The only limit on a drink package is that you may only order one drink per order, per drink package.
If multiple people are ordering a drink with a drink package, the bartender or waiter may take each guests’ SeaPass card to place the order.
There are a few other drink package rules that you should be aware of as well.
Can You Share Drink Packages On A Cruise
Its tempting with unlimited drinks to do what weve all thought one person buys the package and just gives a drink to the person they are traveling with.
Every cruise line has rules against this. If you are caught, you could lose your drink privilege.
That said, unless you are blatantly ordering drinks and then handing off to other people, its almost impossible for you to be caught sharing drinks. If you are discreet, the chances of your being caught are minimal.
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Is A Royal Caribbean Drink Package Worth It
In a nutshell, a Royal Caribbean drink package can be worth it, provided you drink enough every day of your cruise. The beverage packages definitely offer a value-savings proposition, but it is up to you to drink enough to make it worthwhile.
The basis of any drink package is that you will drink enough to “break even” each day to make the packages worth it. If you are not a big drinker, or someone that wants to indulge in many drinks, you may be better off paying for each drink individually.
If you are wondering what the break even point is, it is around 5-6 drinks per day, every day to recoup the cost of the unlimited alcohol drink package. The non-alcohol packages have a lower break-even point, that is closer to 3-4 drinks.
Even More Ways To Save Before You Cruise
Bon voyage! We sure hope this post has giving you lots of ways to save money on drinks during your next cruise. But before you go, here are a few more links to our other money-saving cruise articles and to our travel affiliate partners that you may find helpful:
Be sure to check out our huge list of cruise tips here:
If you need a hotel before or after your cruise, be sure to book early. All the best hotels in port cities tend to get reserved by cruise passengers in advance. We like using hotelscombined.com to compare all the top hotel sites and score the best deal before its too late.
Never go on an international cruise without travel insurance. Avoid having to shell out for medical emergencies, flight delays, trip cancelation, or lost baggage by getting a quick quote from RoamRight, which weve found to offer the best coverage for the price during our cruises. Enter your dates for a quick quote to protect your trip.
Lastly, to receive our latest travel tips and inspiration, as we continue this journey around the world, join us and the thousands of other drink-loving travelers over on our . Every #ThirstyThursday, we post about what were drinking from wherever in the world we currently are. So check out where in the world we are this week and whats on the drink menu!
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Attend Cruise Drink Tasting Events
Wine tastings, cocktail tastings, martini tastings, and even beer tastings can be some of the best drink deals at sea. Personally, its our favorite tip to partake in for cheap drinks on a cruise.
Specialty drinks, like fine martinis, typically cost $10-$15 , plus gratuity. Five fancy cocktails could easily cost a cruiser $75. But when you attend a tasting event, you often get five full-sized drinks for $25 per person. These tasting events can be incredible drinks bargains on a cruise. Plus you get to try a variety of different cocktails you may have never thought to try before.
During some cruise tasting events that weve attended, the drinks are smaller portions coming in at about 4-6 ounces. Yet other tasting events, weve been pleasantly surprised by full-sized drinks!
Weve found that drinks tastings on NCL to be of particularly good value, as theyve poured some large and strong drinks during their tastings. Norwegian usually does a martini tasting, margarita tasting, a beer tasting, and a wine tasting during their regular cruises. If you dont want to drink all five drinks, consider attending with a partner/friend and sharing the experience.
Tip: If you ever happen to cruise on the Norwegian Bliss, be sure to go the show Happy Hour Prohibition The Musical. It costs $25, but that fee includes five prohibition-era cocktails throughout the entire performance. Its great fun and great value!
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.
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