At Cruise Offers we are often asked about drink packages aboard the ships. The questions are:
1. Which cruise lines have drinks packages?
2. And, are these drinks packages really worth the money?
When we talk drink packages we are talking here about the alcohol packages, because what is a cruise for, if not sitting back and enjoying a cocktail or two as the world sails by. Here we are going to discuss the four most common cruise lines in Australia; P&O, Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Princess Cruise Lines.
Buy a Drinks Package – Yes or No? The approximate cost of the package for each cruise line is below. The price is per person for each day of your cruise. The package allows for unlimited (*Subject to the responsible service of alcohol) drinks for any drink of $14 or less including gratuities. This means you would need to drink at a minimum of 5 drinks per day for each day of the cruise. Most cruises include days ashore in port.
So you need to ask am I going to drink about 5 drinks each day including port days?
Below is a list of the cruise lines and their drinks packages:
P&O Australia – Included in the Value Plus Fare or for sale via Cruise Personaliser on cruises 7 nights or longer. The drinks package is approximately $69 per person per day.
Carnival Cruise Lines – No drinks packages available for purchase.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines – Purchased via Cruise Personaliser prior to cruise in Australian dollars or on board in US dollars. The costs is somewhere between $60AUD-$90AUD per person per day approximately.
Princess Cruise Lines – In the process of changing their process. They can be purchased via the Cruise Personaliser for $87AUD per person per day on cruises of 7 nights duration or longer.
Each cruise line has their own set of rules and offers around drink packages, hopefully this has helped clear some of the confusion.