Cruise Drink Packages: Sip Smart or Skip It?

Cruises and booze go hand in hand.

Picture it.

You’re on the Lido deck, a chilled umbrella drink or ice cold beer firmly in hand.

You finish one and raise your hand to lure a steward, intent on ordering another.

And another.

Before you know it, you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on beer, wine, and alcohol over the course of your cruise vacation.

Of course, you don’t realize until the end of your cruise, when you pick up your bill, and your hangover headache goes from bad to worse.

Drink Packages – the Financial Life Saver

To prevent you from overspending at the bar on your next cruise, most major lines offer drink packages.

We’re not talking soda packages here – we mean the good stuff.

The specialty drinks, bloody Mary’s on Sunday morning, bottles of wine at dinner, and buckets of the finest beer.

These adult drink packages promise to save you hundreds of dollars.

But do they? Let’s break it down.

What’s Included (Or Not)?

Before signing up for a drink package, become familiar with what drinks are included and which ones are not. Drinks that come with collectible cups, for instance, are usually omitted from drink packages. But all other specialty drinks, beer, and wine are usually fair game.

As a side note, be aware of drink limits. Some cruise lines will limit the number of alcoholic drinks you can order by twelve to fifteen per day. While that sounds generous, heavy drinkers may find it limiting. Paying out of pocket may be more beneficial if you are an over the limit drinker. Something to keep in mind.

Pros

Drink packages are convenient, there’s no doubt about it. You don’t have to do math while you’re listening to the conga band or watching a magic show in the lounge. You simply sign and drink.

Because your total bill at the end of the cruise will be predictable.

You can switch things up – from beer to wine to frozen cocktails – without thinking twice.

Cons

Heavy drinkers may balk at the twelve to fifteen drink limit. If you tend to put them away, paying out of pocket for each drink may benefit you.

Cruisers on port-heavy vacations would get little value from a drink package. Something else to think about. Any drinks you have outside of the ship’s quarters are considered an added expense. Your drink package only works on-deck.

Finally, read the fine print so that you don’t get hit with added charges, such as gratuity added to every drink package to compensate staff.

It should be noted that, while added expenses you were previously unaware of can be annoying, make sure you do tip your bartenders and stewards who work hard to serve you.

The bottom line is that, yes, a cruise ship drink package can be worth the money, but not if you’re a heavy drinker or tend to spend more time off the ship than on.

But at least now you have enough information to make a wise decision.

Happy cruising and bottoms up!