Beverage Packages-Are they worth it?

[shoney]

Bottled water is not free. You have to pay.

 

[gdrj]

We did not purchase drink package. We did bring a few bottled waters with us. While we do drink alcohol and on vacation more than at home, it would not have served a purpose for us, and it would not have saved us money.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you don't have a package, can you get free bottled water from the bars? Are these the smaller water bottles that would be convenient to take back to the room or carry off the ship?

There is no free bottled water.

If you buy bottled water one bottle at a time they are, I believe, 500ml bottles of Evian at a premium price.

If you buy a water package, it's still not cheap, but it's 1L bottles (and I think the basic package is 12 of those delivered to your room on the first day), and you can then decant those into whatever size bottle you want to bring to carry around.

If you buy a beverage package that has bottled water in it, you get 500mL bottles of NOT evian, but less of a brand-name spring water from bars after showing your card with the indication of the package on it.



Edited....did NOT mean evian in that last sentence, holy heck how did I do that? It's going to be something like Crystal Geyser spring water, not evian. Important part is that it's SPRING water, not municipal water put into a bottle (like Dasani or Aquafina, ick). But it's not spring water from Switzerland.

Sorry about that error!

 

[Lesverts]

I cruise on Royal's sister and they have the most expensive drink packages currently at close to $70/night for the premium package. But for me it is worth it. Just in Evian I would have been spending 22/day. Add in two glasses of dinner wine and morning coffees and I was already at 50.

Also just a tip, if you and people in your group have different packages. You cannot use your package to pay for their drink, if you get caught by a crew person you could lose your package and still have to pay for it.

 

[LemonNeko]

I'm normally picky about my water but I found the free "tap" water tasted pretty decent.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm normally picky about my water but I found the free "tap" water tasted pretty decent.

Lucky!

It makes DH and me swell like crazy. When we do NOT touch the tap water (and we know it's used in cooking, but that's a constant) but eat normally, we don't swell. When we drink the tap water and eat normally, we swell terribly. There's something funky about the way they make the water (and it's the same on DCL) where either "desalination" doesn't mean UNsalination, or it gets rid of ALL minerals and throws our electrolytes out of whack, or something... So we really appreciate the spring water available for purchase.

 

[CMDTA]

Trying to decide if I should get a package. I thought I read that they include drinks up to $10, but now I can't find it. I'm from the DC area so going out, the average drink price is right around $10 if not more. So I'm thinking we would need to order 5-6 alcoholic beverages a day to make the package worth it. Is this right? How much does the average wine or beer cost and how much does the average cocktail cost, providing you request top shelf liquor. We are only going for 3 days to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, so I can easily see us drinking 5-6 a day, but no more than 8 a day. Also, can you bring the bottles of water off the boat with you?

Just in case I want to get the ultimate package for my husband, how much is the coffee and juice? Is it worth an extra ten dollars a day if he would only have one cup of each?

If you want "worth it" then you might want to consider this - book a GS or higher. The price is going to be high, but it gets you into the lounge where you get real coffee in the morning and as much as you can drink every day during serving hours. You also get a ton of other benes with this.

You might not want to spend this much every time but for your 10th it's worth it.

 

[aharbin88]

Very interested in this thread! Subbing. My DH and I can't quite decide if it's worth it or not, but I think that if we feel like it even just *might* be worth it, the idea of the fixed cost might make our decision for us.

 

[msjprincess]

You can buy a beverage package onboard up until you have 4 days left on the cruise. So if you're unsure you can pay cash for a day or two, add up how much you've spent and figure out if the package is a better deal. That's what DH and I did on our last cruise and it turned out that we spent less than the package would have cost so we didn't buy it.

 

[aharbin88]

You can buy a beverage package onboard up until you have 4 days left on the cruise. So if you're unsure you can pay cash for a day or two, add up how much you've spent and figure out if the package is a better deal. That's what DH and I did on our last cruise and it turned out that we spent less than the package would have cost so we didn't buy it.

That's a good tip!

 

[bumbershoot]

If you get the package on the first Royal cruise and don't/can't break even with it, then at least you know for the future. That's how I'm viewing my two times buying Replenish for me.

DH nearly breaks even and he loves the convenience that he sees in it.

For me, though, it just doesn't work. Tonight I worked out the water package for me and DS, then a latte a day for me (and that's 8 lattes b/c I'll get embarkation day and then Freedom and Vision's coffee places were open the last morning as well), plus maybe two boozey drinks a day for me (plus I'm bringing two bottles of wine! I, personally, will be tipsy all day if I have 3 drinks a day!) (or really cranky)...even adding in the drinks I don't get to the total of Replenish, and of course the drinks aren't included in Replenish.

Took me two times of overpaying for me to get this knowledge, and it's well worth knowing.

 

[karmacats]

just a heads up that royal is currently having a sale on some of their beverage packages. 20% off certain packages (mostly the high-priced alcohol ones) on certain sailings - you have to log into your reservation to see if your sailing has it. if you've got a cruise booked and are considering a package, it may be worth taking a look.

 

[bumbershoot]

Now if only they had a Ben&Jerry's package for DS.

Just kidding. Very tasty ice cream every day and I think his bill came in at $40? $50? Not bad, considering that each individual time he went there it just seemed soooo expensive.

(he can't have the free ice cream or soft serve on any cruise line, b/c of the ingredients, but we know the B&J ingredients and most are fine for him...therefore, an ice cream budget is important!)

 

[aharbin88]

just a heads up that royal is currently having a sale on some of their beverage packages. 20% off certain packages (mostly the high-priced alcohol ones) on certain sailings - you have to log into your reservation to see if your sailing has it. if you've got a cruise booked and are considering a package, it may be worth taking a look.

Oh wow! That would be nice. I don't see it on my cruise planner, so I guess we're not one of the chosen ones!

 

[karmacats]

Now if only they had a Ben&Jerry's package for DS.

Just kidding. Very tasty ice cream every day and I think his bill came in at $40? $50? Not bad, considering that each individual time he went there it just seemed soooo expensive.

(he can't have the free ice cream or soft serve on any cruise line, b/c of the ingredients, but we know the B&J ingredients and most are fine for him...therefore, an ice cream budget is important!)

"an ice cream budget is important" is the story of my life!

Oh wow! That would be nice. I don't see it on my cruise planner, so I guess we're not one of the chosen ones!

if your cruise is a ways off, keep checking. it sounds like for now it might be for closer-in cruises (like my may 15 allure cruise has it), but maybe they'll extend it if it increases drink package sales.

also, if anyone is higher up in royal's crown and anchor program, diamond level and above sometimes get discounts on the packages if you buy them onboard. again, doesn't seem to happen on all cruises, but sometimes you luck out!

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

The juice that's covered by Replenish and ULtimate is the fresh squeezed OJ in Windjammer (and maybe MDR) in the *mornings*. It's a solid $4 at least, for a glass of it.

The espresso drinks (aka "specialty coffee) is an average Starbucks-type of price. Not NYC Starbucks, but a middle of the road cost.

Yes you can take the included still water (that's the normal spring water in a bottle) off the ship. Doubt sparkling can be taken off.


http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/beverage_packages.pdf


The still water is going to be something like Crystal Geyser with the packages that include water, and it's 500ml bottles. If you get a WATER package, then THAT is Evian and it's either 750ml bottles or 1L bottles (we got 1L, but we were told on the ship that we should have gotten 750ml, so who knows?). With the water-only package, they deliver the boxes to you first day and they are yours to do with what you will.

We are doing the 12 day Mediterranean cruise and I'm hoping you can help me. I believe that we are doing the $19 Replenish package (we enjoy bottled water, juice, coffee and soda). Can you tell me about milk? My DD's are teens but still drink a lot of milk. I see Replenish includes juices, so that's great, but what about milk? TIA

 

[kathleendsm]

We were torn on the drink package, but are ultimately very glad we didn't get it. Between the suite lounge (LOVE concierge), free champagne at events like the art auction (which we enjoyed and bought a few things at), and other discounts, it wasn't worth it even at 4-5 drinks most days. The last 2 days on Liberty they offered a $72 10 drink card good for drinks up to $12, and you were allowed to share it. It was a great deal for us!

 

[aharbin88]

if your cruise is a ways off, keep checking. it sounds like for now it might be for closer-in cruises (like my may 15 allure cruise has it), but maybe they'll extend it if it increases drink package sales.

Good tip! I'll keep checking.

 

[karmacats]

We are doing the 12 day Mediterranean cruise and I'm hoping you can help me. I believe that we are doing the $19 Replenish package (we enjoy bottled water, juice, coffee and soda). Can you tell me about milk? My DD's are teens but still drink a lot of milk. I see Replenish includes juices, so that's great, but what about milk? TIA

milk and chocolate milk are free (well, included) on royal cruises. you can get it in the MDR and from room service, and the buffet in the morning (not sure about buffet at other times, but someone else may know). also not sure where else you can get it, like bars, but i'm sure someone will know that, too. but rest assured, it's available.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

milk and chocolate milk are free (well, included) on royal cruises. you can get it in the MDR and from room service, and the buffet in the morning (not sure about buffet at other times, but someone else may know). also not sure where else you can get it, like bars, but i'm sure someone will know that, too. but rest assured, it's available.

Thank you! We've cruised with DCL twice, but this will be our first RCCL vacation.