10 Big Drink Package Mistakes NOT to Make on a Cruise

All cruisers want to get the best value and avoid common beverage package mistakes. Cruise drink packages are not cheap! Whether you have a free drink package perk or are thinking about purchasing a drink package on a cruise, these cruise tips will save you money and ensure that you use your drink package well!

This video is full of cruise drink package tips, tricks and mistakes to avoid on a cruise vacation. Great cruise information and advice for new cruisers as well as cruise veterans. If you are cruising with Carnival and the CHEERS package, Royal Caribbean or have Princess Plus or Celebrity's drink package, this video will help! Information about cruise drink packages.

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ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Ilana! I live in Montreal, Canada with my husband Frank. We can often be found dreaming about and planning future cruises, ideally to hot and sunny destinations! I believe in having fun, being kind and that you are never too old, or too young, to live the life of your dreams!

Please note that I do not sell cruises on Life Well Cruised. This and all other videos are for entertainment purposes only. I share my own opinions, personal experiences and information with other cruise travellers, which I hope can be helpful. Please contact your travel agent or the cruise line directly for advice and any information specific to your booking.
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Some video footage courtesy of RCCL,Celebrity Cruise and Princess Cruises
Music Credit: Surf Time by Lux-InspiraMusic

[anthonydavidson]

Another big tip, if you are traveling with another couple and one of spouses are not drinking for each couple then just book the two drinkers for the same room and the two non drinkers in the other room. That way when you both have to have the drink package then it’s on the right two people and not wasted on the non drinkers. No one is going to care which room you actually sleep in

[sdega]

What stops me from buying a drinks package is having to pay for every adult in your room. My wife is not a drinker, so it is just a waste. I really wish it was per person.

[tonyle]

One the first day, find a bar that is convenient to get to. Go up to the bartender and introduce yourself. Then drop a $20 tip on the bar with your first drink. They will be your best friend for the entire cruise. (We got the drink package knowing full well we already tipped, but this was to get the extra special service.) You'll get extra special treatment - less wait time to get served during peak hours. Extra pours. Always premium liquors. And the best of all, the extra smiles and convos when you order. My guy saw me out at the port and ran up to me to take a photo for our group (and we got a selfie with him for the memories.) Best $20 tip spent. We also gave him an extra few bucks later on because we appreciated him.

[paulschaeffer]

One of the principle reasons I buy the drink package is to reduce stress while cruising...What stress you might ask...the stress of constantly looking at how much did I charge today and what is my bill going to be at the end of the cruise. If I have prepaid for everything, there usually isn't a bill at the end of the cruise and I rarely check my account...only checking really to ensure there are not erroneous charges on the account. I have found that this simply makes for a more enjoyable trip.

[sandraruss]

I’ve been on 19 cruises and only had the drink package once! It was nice to not have to worry about accumulating a tab at the end of the voyage. If I don’t plan on having at least 5-6 drinks a day EVERYDAY, then it’s not worth it to get the package. I’ve learned to order a bottle of wine on day one and have them store it in the cellar and bring it to me the next night during dinner. And Royal and NCL allow you to bring two bottles to keep in your room. 👍🏽 These tricks allow me to keep my bill low.

[danielleon-uukp]

Drink package is an absolute must for me. About 3-4 drinks morning to noon, then about 4-6 drinks afternoon to evening. Plus shots of tequila on the side with some of my pina colodas. After a week of drinking like this just need to be careful we dont turn into a alcoholics returning home.

[michaelcain]

Definitely do the math first! Drink packages for me are a total rip-off. On Celebrity, here's a sea day of maximum drinking for me: Coffee and juices at breakfast for free. Specialty coffee in the morning ($5), soda at the pool ($3), beer at lunch ($7), afternoon cocktail ($12), soda ($3), dinner cocktail ($12), evening show cocktail ($12). Grand total for all drinks is $54 + gratuity; $11 for just the non-alchohol drinks. Booking early, the classic beverage package is $81/day and the Zero Proof package is $27/day. Going a la carte, I save $27/day on alcohol or $16/day on nonalcohol. I also save about $10/day on the 20% automatic gratuity. We drink free water using our Brita filtered water bottles that we can fill in our room. On port days, 1/2 those drinks wouldn't happen when off the ship. I'd have to drink at least 4 or 5 additional beers or 3 - 4 cocktails per day to make that a good deal. Or, I'd have to drink 5 or 6 additional coffees and sodas to break even on the nonalcoholic package. I would have to that every single day of the entire cruise, including port days. Not going to happen!

[marilynflanagan]

We had the drink package included when we sailed on The Celebrity Edge last summer in Europe and we enjoyed not being stressed out ordering drinks. We like having several mimosas with breakfast, then several drinks by the pool. Drinks before dinner, wine at dinner than a few after. We both drink especially on vacation so it really works out for us. We are now going on an 8-day cruise with only 3 port days. We got the classic beverage package for $59 a person, it was on a flash sale. For us that is totally worth it, with coffees, waters, and alcoholic beverages! We leave in 37 days, we can't wait!!!

[marybisagno]

I echo the water bottle tip. Every time we pass a bar on our way up to the room, we grab water from the bartender. We are used to drinking a lot of water each day. It saves us money in port, and we don't have to worry about drinking water in a place where it could make us sick.

[timothyh]

My wife and I cruised on Princess back in December. Our drink package included 15 drinks per person per day and unlimited non alcoholic drinks and premium coffee drinks. It also included gratuity and internet. We made friends with the bartenders the first day, tipped them a little extra, and every time they saw us they made sure we wanted for nothing, and only got the best quality every time.

[lindahunt]

I'm sailing transatlantic on Virgin Voyages in April. I like the way they work it. Instead of a per day charge, you buy a bar tab and they throw in a bonus. I bought a $300 tab for 15 days and got $350. Also, the tab can be shared--you don't have to buy for each person in the cabin.

[alsoDrew]

The hidden/unknown costs are often what keeps me from vacationing. I’d rather pay extra ahead of time to never see a charge while in vacation mode. Nothing takes me out of relaxation faster than spending money. So I always get the premium drink package and just get what I want when I want when on the ship. Do I always get my full value? Maybe? I don’t care. I was relaxed and that’s all I care about.

[joshuajean]

Remembering to order the top shelf liquor by name is the BEST tip. So glad I watched this

[brandyhudson]

We purchased just the soda package for 2 adults on RC before the cruise, it was cheap! We are non alcoholic drinkers. Something we learned the first day was that you did not need to carry around the special plastic cups with the kiosk reader in the bottom if you’re going to a show or at all. If you don’t want to stand in line at the Coke machine you can literally use your soda package in / at any bar on the ship and you get a real glass. Just show them your sea pass card.

[fixlana]

We didn’t get a package on our first cruise we ended up drinking 100$ worth of alcohol in the first hour! Lol so we buy one now everytime🎉

[kekuiper]

As for tipping. Even if I get the Deluxe drink package, I still tip the bar tender $5.00 - $10.00 at a sitting. So, if I am at the bar for a long time, I tip $10.00. Have have learned that they appreciate it and they will take VERY good care of you. Many of the bar tenders are from different countries. My daughter asked each bar tender to make a favorite drink from their country. They were all good (4 of them)

[reneesendlessstyle]

Our past 7 cruises (and two upcoming this year) have been on Celebrity. Even though my husband isn’t much of a drinker (a mimosa, a beer, and maybe a scotch before bed), we always have the Premium package for these reasons:
There is no need to stress over a bill at the end of the trip.
Having morning mimosas and specialty coffees each day is wonderful! As you said, we are on vacation!
I enjoy a workout most mornings in the gym, and the I head to the Spa Café in the Solarium for a detox smoothie (included).
I drink wine, and the better brands are $15 and up a glass. If I drink 3 glasses a day, that adds up quickly.
Water. All the water (sparkling and still) that’s included. We drink a lot of water each day. We take water off the ship for all the ports. As we disembark the ship, there’s always a team handing out water. If you have a package, take as many as you like with no worries. On Celebrity, the water is in cans. I bring empties back to the ship to be recycled.
As you mentioned, we always bring water back to the room each night. I drink another glass or two before bed.
For us, it’s worth the price to have an stress-free vacation.
While we know that gratuities are included in drink packages, we still bring small bills ($1, $5) to pass to bartenders and baristas on the ship.

[tonedef]

On my last cruise, I saved about $200 on RCL’s best price for their premium package by skipping the beverage package and buying a la carte. We got the refreshment package and made good use of that, but we just didn’t drink enough alcohol to warrant the price difference.

[rickcudmore]

The drinks package depends on how port intense the schedule will be and how many sea day there are. We did a 12 night Med cruise without a drinks package, drank everyday, wine with supper and spent only $400. The package would have cost $1200+.

[vxfbhjd]

I’ve been on 19 cruises and only had the drink package once! It was nice to not have to worry about accumulating a tab at the end of the voyage. If I don’t plan on having at least 5-6 drinks a day EVERYDAY, then it’s not worth it to get the package. I’ve learned to order a bottle of wine on day one and have them store it in the cellar and bring it to me the next night during dinner. And Royal and NCL allow you to bring two bottles to keep in your room. These tricks allow me to keep my bill low.