12 BEST Cruise Drink Package Tips & Things to Know

It seems like during a super sale, you could purchase a 2nd stateroom (Level 1 or 2 inside cabin) for super-cheap money, then with one person listed there without a drink package, and the "drinker" of the couple registered in the regular cabin, with a drink package, that could potentially be cheaper than 2 drink packages. If the cruise line is making their money on the cheap cabin, and the 2nd person doesn't drink, wouldn't this work?

We always book 2 cabins so that our kids are separate. One adult is booked in each cabin but we switch around once onboard. Only one of us gets Cheers. This is good to know if sailing with kids.

I don't fly economy airlines which advertise a low, low price and then charge you ridiculous fees for everything, including carrying on your own bag. Similarly, we no longer cruise on the megaship cruise lines which advertise a low, low price and then want to charge you ridiculous fees for everything, including water, soft drinks specialty coffee, etc. Some cruise lines are even putting priced items on the menu in the main dining room. Fortunately there are still some cruise lines that include basic things in the price of the cruise, and we're giving them our business.

Been struggling with this decision for a while now.
Heading out next month, I am not a huge drinker, but I do enjoy tasting and over the years have passed on several due to that looming end of cruise tab, this girl can spend, not just on drinks.
Your tip about sampling and trying them non alcoholic can be beneficial.
Thanks for helping me get there!! 😊

Hi thank you for your video. Very informative. I am definitely going to get the drinks package. I wouldn't want the headache of a bill at the end. BTW I am about to go on my 1st cruise in January 2023.
My question is when I purchase the drinks package can I use it in the mdr? Love from trinidad and tobago 🇹🇹

A good drink package tip is if you only get a certain amount of drinks per day and you have some left at the end of the day, go to the bar and order some canned beer or seltzer. You can use these to hit your drink limit and just put them in your stateroom fridge.

I am getting the Signature bev HIA package on HAL Eurodam for 5-23 and wondered how do I get more than one beer to take back to my cabin as its only me. I don't want to run to the bar every hour or less. I keep reading they have to open them? Sounds like a waste of money for one person.

So I guess the moral of the story with the dream packages you want to get drunk get really drunk on the ship first then go on Shore into the town or the resorts and then when you need to refill on liquor go back onto the ship. Hehe lol jk

Hi! I got a question about the bottle of wine you can bring on board. Are you allowed to drink it outside of your room? Any restrictions? Thanks in advance

how strict is Carnival when it comes to ordering specialty coffees and such. Say I were to go get 2 Chi tea Lattes one for me and one for my daughter?

He covered everything except what I wanted to know . How much is an individual beer on board? If it's around $7 for a 16 Oz and I drink 5 ( $35 ), the $60 package is not for me .

Don’t be afraid to give an extra tip to your favourite bar team member. You will find that it is well worth it for great service, and a cheeky upgrade 😜

My husband and I don't drink much, so a drink package wouldn't pay off. But one way we saved on alcohol was to have a drink during happy hour. It was buy one, get one free.

I was wondering about the tips with the drink package. Thanks for clearing that up.

Hi going on my first cruise with carnival in 2024 and wondering I have opted to pay tips up front added to my cost so do I have to tip on board as well as what I have paid up front?

I'll be sailing on the Carnival Glory in Sept on a 7 day, out of New Orleans. I bought the Cheers package recently, $495. My liquor preference tends to be vodka. I'm not a heavy drinker (alcohol wise), so I can't see coming close to the 15 drink daily max. Any suggestions on what alcohol based drinks to possibly get, that would do a good job of eating up the $70/day expenditure? aka the "biggest bang for the buck"..per drink.

I understand the no sharing policy and the wife and I will both have to have the drink package. No problems there. The question is, what if the wife orders some drink to try and then doesn't like it? Can she give it to me even though there is no sharing? It would suck to just have to throw the drink away due to no sharing. She wouldn't share with someone who doesn't have the drink package, but she would be sharing with me who has the drink package.

I wish there was a package for 15 drinks on the entire cruise. My speed!

My friend went on a cruise several and they would just buy alcohol and have it sent to the ship it doesn't cost them anything other than for the alcohol they have it sent there

Does anyone know what the purple drink at 30 seconds is? Looks so refreshing!

My main complaint with the bottomless bubbles package on carnival cruise lines is that the drinks are hard to access even if you've already prepaid for them. You have to wait in line at the bar every time you get thirsty unless you're dining in an actual restaurant. I drink a lot! I drink like 2 gallons of water a day, I am THAT thirsty... and before you suggest the tap water - yes, I drink that as well, but on vacation I really enjoy sparkling water. (And yes, I have diabetes. Yes, I am trying to keep it in check.) The point is that you have to factor in how much time you will spend waiting for each drink and whether that will deter you from wanting to USE your bottomless bubbles package. I also found on multiple carnival ships that HALF the bars are closed. I was constantly searching for a bar that was open. They didn't post the hours for each bar and it seemed like the hours were randomly changing... so I could never predict which bar would be open. It felt like it was deliberate to keep you from getting the full value out of the package you paid for. For the bottomless bubbles you probably still will save money, but just expect that it might come with complications.  Lol

I know it's not much but! On Carnival, I know that I am at least going to get the "bubbles" package. When figuring if the cost of the "Cheers" package is worth it. I subtract the daily cost of the "Bubbles" from the "Cheers". This reduces the amount of Alcoholic beverages, and Specialty beverages not covered with "bubbles", that need to be consumed daily.

So we never get a drink package on cruises. We tend to only get a few drinks, typically the ones that are promotional with a souvenir cup. My wife loves those cups.
Our upcoming cruise, though, we're thinking of getting a drink package. We normally sail Royal Caribbean but this time going carnival. We haven't been on carnival for like 15 years. Anyways, we're thinking instead of constantly not getting any alcohol on our cruise, by purchasing the package, it'll actually force us to buy and enjoy things more so.
We both grew up very poor and have a real hard time spending excess money. So thought I would toss out there this suggestion.

Easiest way to save on a drink package…don’t buy it

Can you get a drink list? It's hard to know how to calculate if the package is worth it. I heard that there is a $ amount max for a drink...how would you know if you are ordering a $9.00 drink or a $20.00 drink?

when and if you take the drink package its never free $20 per day per person tips in your cabin also every drink is not included

I’m taking a cruise in may and it’s on carnival cruise.. any tips

Last Cruise we spent a good 250 just on tips DON'T BE CHEAP and the drink runner only gets 70 cent tip

You CAN easily consume the package, IF you're not planning to get off most days for the duration of your cruise - (do excursions. )...when I choose a cruise, I choose it mainly for the type of ship. I love being on-board and relaxing. If you're staying mainly on-board, you'll break even. No problem. Day time, we enjoy at least 2 frozen cocktails , virgin cocktails.. With lunch a beer or sodas. Evening, a glass of wine or 2 .. and later at the theatre or entertainment venues, a cocktail.. Remember- WE EAT MORE on cruises, therefore we don't get as drunk on a full stomach. You can easily break even on a package !

Royal Caribbean waived that rule for my wife and I because my wife doesn’t drink

my first cruise and before i step in it im already hating it. i have to buy 4 drink packages for kids and wife because i want to have one!!? 250 bucks! also no free soda refills on the boat?? wth

Taxes are added per drink until you are out a certain amount of miles from the coast. Like in New Orleans, you pay taxes until you are out of the river. Taxes also on non alcoholic drinks. Granted, this is usually under 25 cents, but still some people might not be aware.

For us, the Princess Plus is such a good deal, it's a no brainer. During their Best Sale Ever promotions, at least for us, staying with the plus level works really well! We also totally agree with you that it allows you to sample a massive variety of drinks and not feel guilty not finishing them should they not be to your liking. 👍👍👍

Also an added benefit is being able to get a drink just about anywhere on the ship. No need to go to another deck for your drink. This is not a financial savings but an enjoyment benefit.

Hey Cruzely, I guess you have never sailed out of Galveston. Cheers is not allowed on the first day due to some BS tax rules within Texas so they offer a much different inventory for purchase. How this can be enforced once out at sea is beyond my pay grade. Being forced to pay at 9pm when we're in international waters 80 miles from shore is the only thing I hate about sailing out of Galveston.

I noticed that for upcoming cruise it says the drink package starts on day 2. I thought it was from the start of your cruise. Anyone cruise recently that can verify this?

Embarrasing when you have a drink package, then whilst at dinner some other guests (paying drinks) give you a round of drinks
You can not reciprocate without paying for individual drinks, (which for financial reasons is why you took a drinks package)
Next if your partner does not drink much or no alcohol then you do not take a drink passage, only you will find one Soda and one Beer will be expensive not quite but also nearly as much as a double drinks passage
They should have a drinks passage for X amount of alcoholic drinks per cruise

I just don’t understand the gratuity for drinks, it’s like saying I’m paying the server the honour of charging me to pour a drink that takes a few seconds and then on top of that a daily gratuity. I just don’t get it.

My wife can't drink because of a medical condition, so I called and they wouldn't let just me purchase separately. Totally unwilling to work with me. It was Carnival

I cruise from my home port which is in NYC n u can use ur drink package as soon as u board

I’ve found with the cost of drinks package it’s more cost effective to sail with Celebrity. NCL has the always included but they don’t included bottled water.

Tight arse that I am ( Australian for being frugal) I don’t find the drinks package value for money. In your average pub in Australia you pay up to $20 for a cocktail. The cruise ships here charge the same amount. The Drinks package they charge here is an about $70 per day . Personally I don’t drink alcohol everyday but to make it worth it I would have to drink more than 4 alcoholic beverages a day to make it worthwhile. I can’t drink that much. So you have to work out how many alcoholic drinks you can safely consume per day and work out the math. I do enjoy a barista made coffee in the morning as a heart starter ( the cruise ships need to learn that Australians are coffee snobs ) but drink tea the rest of the day or water / juice so buying the soda drinks package wouldn’t be worth it either as you can bring 12 cans of soda on board also . Again you have to do the math and it’s not for me. FYI it looks like cruising won’t recommence in Australia until after April 2022 but this is still subject to change. All I can say is a lot of us are desperate to get back to travel and cruising but the federal government is arguing with state governments about vax rates to open up the states and the requirements for overseas double vax travellers to travel here .Don’t get too excited booking a trip to Australia. You may still need to quarantine in a hotel at your own expense.when you get here and we may still have to quarantine at home post overseas travel. No decisions have been made and are unlikely to re cruising at least until December 17 2021.

like it or not drink packages charge you about $20 per person per day do the math

If I don't have a (on board credit) I buy my drink package and pay my gratuities up front...But if I have a big enough (OBC) I pay both after I get on the ship...Now that's with CARNIVAL Check with other cruise lines to see if you can pay both or just one with OBC to be safe...MARK IN ARIZONA...

I always get the included drink package with NCL. I think I pay about the same in "tips and gratuities" as I would buying the package, but I do it for the convenience of not having to worry about the money. It's already paid for, and there will be no surprises at the end of the cruise. And yes, I have tossed a drink out when I didn't like it and ordered a different one. So convenient when you want to try something new and find out it's gross. LOL

Take a moment and think about it. Along the West coast of the United States of America 🇺🇸 and in areas of the Pacific Ocean where there are territories of the United States 🇺🇸 and the State of Hawaii. Cannabis is legal for medical and recreational uses. Also legal in Canada 🇨🇦 and Mexico 🇲🇽 cannabis is legal for medical and recreational usage. Lets not forget cannabis is also legal in Alaska for medical and recreational usage.

My understanding, on RCL at least, is that if you call and explain that the second passenger in a stateroom won’t use the Deluxe Beverage Package, they will allow them to purchase the Refreshment Package (non-alcoholic drinks) instead. Could definitely save some cash if needed.

Hi there...I just want to say how much I appreciate the way you speak on your videos. Too many people speak so fast, never taking a break and with yours I can actually listen and make sense of what you're saying. Thank you!