Before we get cruising into each port, if you’re new to cruising or have not cruised with Royal Caribbean before, you’re probably wondering how much value a drinks package gives you, especially when some drinks, such as standard tea & coffee, lemonade (not soda) and juice (not freshly-squeezed) are free at meal times.

Drinks package options

Deluxe, Refreshment, Classic Soft Drinks and Water packages are all available both pre-and post boarding. Usually, there are offers on right up until a few days before sailing. If you have booked a package but find it cheaper later on, you can normally cancel and re-add for the cheaper price. But, is it worth it and do all of your party need to have one?

If you want to know before you board that all drinks (up to a certain value) are included in the price you pay for the package, beers, cocktails, soft drinks and coffees, then absolutely a drinks package is for you. If you’re also intending to stay on the ship whilst in port or simply drink a lot on holiday, it could be well worth buying. But what if you’re on a cruise with multiple ports, are getting off to explore for the majority of the 8 hours and want a few drinks on an evening. Is a package for you?

Deluxe

Beers and wine by the glass, spirits, cocktails, mocktails, soft drinks at any venue. Add in still water, premium teas and coffees (not all Starbucks onboard), fresh juices and a souvenir cup, it all sounds like a lot for your money. But these packages fluctuate in price and the value you’re going to get depends on how much you drink versus the price you pay.

We had this drinks package on our first Royal Caribbean cruise as new cruisers, we were unsure of many things. It worked well, for each drink they just scanned your sea pass and handed over the drink. There were no real restrictions and if you went over the drinks price included in the package, you just paid the small difference. Easy, no hassle. It was also a good buy at around £38.00 per person per day for all drinks.

However, on our Spain and Portugal cruise this summer, prices fluctuated between £55.00 and £80.00 per person, per day. That’s a massive £990.00 to £1440.00 (2 adults) for a 9 night cruise with 5 port days. Also, Royal state that for the premium drinks package, each adult in the cabin must buy it, therefore if you book online, it will automatically add for both adults. However, let’s say one of your party doesn’t drink alcohol - if you call Royal Caribbean you can add the package for only one adult.

So, let’s take the cheapest price from the example above, £55.00 per person, per day. Let’s also remember that prices here are in £ sterling - as we did a cruise departing the UK, prices were quoted in pounds, on the app. However, onboard, prices are in dollars. So let’s assume a rough calculation of £55 = $66.

At the time of writing, a beer is on average $8, a cocktail or a glass of wine $12 (wine range $9-16), so you would have to drink 8 beers, or over 5 glasses of wine / cocktails every single day, to break even. Let’s assume you’re not on the sauce at breakfast and spend 6 - 8 hours in port, that leaves you roughly 5 - 6 hours to get through your package. At the higher prices for the package, you’re going to have to drink considerably more to get a bang for your buck.

It’s not impossible and we all drink more on holiday but it’s worth asking the question of value, especially at the higher prices we saw this year. If you won't drink that much alcohol but would drink a lot of water and or soft drinks, it could be cheaper to buy an alternative package or pay as you go.

Refreshment & Classic Soft drinks

The refreshment package includes fountain soft drinks, Coca-Cola Freestyle, souvenir cup, cocktails, water (bottled), premium coffees and teas, freshly squeezed juices.

The Classic Soft drinks package just includes fountain soft drinks, Coca-Cola freestyle and your souvenir cup.

Are either of these packages for you?

Possibly. As the prices on the deluxe drinks package were high this year, we didn’t take one but we did purchase one Refreshment Package. It cost £ and was useful to get bottles of water for an evening. Then again, you can take your own re-fillable cup and use tap water - it’s perfectly safe and if you add in some Robinsons Mini juice, do you need bottled water?

As we’re also caffeine junkies, the Starbucks at La Patisserie and in the Windjammer buffet took a hit. But after coming home I reviewed all the drinks we had and it still would have worked out cheaper not to buy it.

Our kids don’t drink an awful lot of pop or soda so for us, the classic soft drinks package wouldn’t be worth it. For others it might be.

Pay as you go

Finally, it’s also worth remembering if your ship has a licensed Starbucks, they won’t be included in any package so you’ll be paying out of pocket over and above your package. Even the select coffee card won’t cover licensed outlets.

At the right price, the deluxe package covers everything, makes it easy and gives you peace of mind you don’t have to pay more once onboard. However, there are other options. Having experienced both a deluxe package and refreshment package, we’d only recommend buying it if the price hits the sweet spot. Otherwise, save your money.

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