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A drinks package can easily add $1,000 or more to the cost of your seven-night cruise. They've become popular and cruise lines push cruisers hard to buy them, arguing they're great value, but are they really? And who exactly should, and should not, be buying them and why? I highlight how to avoid falling into traps that so many cruisers do with drinks packages.
Links mentioned in the video:
* Drinks Package calculators: https://www.cruzely.com/cruise-line-drink-package-calculator/ and https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/cruise-drinks-package-calculator/
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0:00
a drinks package can easily add $1,000
0:02
or more to the cost of your 7even night
0:04
cruise they become popular and cruise
0:06
lines push cruises hard to buy them
0:09
arguing their Great Value but are they
0:11
really and who exactly should and should
0:13
not be buying them and why I'm Gary rrid
0:17
I decided to make this after seeing how
0:18
much I was able to help Richard a new to
0:21
cruise friend planning a cruise on
0:22
Holland America to celebrate his wedding
0:24
anniversary I helped him avoid falling
0:27
into traps that so many Cruisers do when
0:30
it comes to drinks packages here's what
0:32
I told him to consider and those tricks
0:34
traps and mistakes to avoid overall I
0:36
advised he should be skeptical because
0:39
cruise lines are businesses and we've
0:41
got to assume that drinks packages bring
0:42
in more revenue and are more profitable
0:45
than passengers buying drinks at hoc or
0:47
of course they simply wouldn't offer
0:49
them however I said he should balance
0:52
that by consider if knowing exactly how
0:54
much you would be spending by paying for
0:56
drinks package up front and not having
0:57
the hassle of having to sign for drinks
0:59
every time would actually make his trip
1:01
more enjoyable with all that in mind
1:03
here's the specific traps I took Richard
1:06
through first I suggested a few checks
1:08
to see if a drinks package made sense
1:10
unlike falling the Trap the liines
1:12
project that it is the best and only
1:15
value option I encourage him to start
1:17
with an online drinks package calculator
1:20
there's one on Cru le.com and another on
1:23
Cru money.co.uk they're a great start
1:26
for thinking through how much he and his
1:29
wife will likely drink and then it
1:31
actually Compares if buying drinks
1:33
individually or a drinks package makes
1:35
most sense however they both tend to
1:39
compare the top tier packages and most
1:41
lines have a range of packages with
1:43
different inclusions and different
1:44
brands covered so I said he needed to
1:47
dive in deeper before he decided on
1:50
Hollow America he can choose from a
1:52
roughly $60 a day Elite package $55 a
1:55
day signature package $18 a day quench
1:58
package with only non color drinks and
2:01
so on so I suggested Richard nexi
2:03
considers the impact of the itinery on
2:06
what and how much they would use each of
2:08
those drinks packages that he chose
2:10
they're going on a port intensive
2:12
Western Mediterranean cruise with just
2:14
one Cay and will be doing 79h hour
2:17
excursions to Rome Florence so
2:21
he's likely to use less of the packages
2:24
because he's off the ship a lot possibly
2:25
lots of early nights after long tiring
2:27
days but if they were going on a
2:29
repositioning cruise with mostly SE days
2:31
they may end up drinking and using the
2:33
drinks package more as his wife drinks
2:36
less he was hoping to get different
2:37
packages for each of them but therein
2:40
lies another trap and problem Cruise
2:43
Lines require a standard that everybody
2:45
in the cabin of drinking age which is 21
2:48
for lies selling out of the US but 18 in
2:50
most other regions everybody has to buy
2:53
the same drinks package Holland America
2:56
certainly had this rule so if he wants
2:57
the elite package his wife must have the
2:59
the same usually however if one of the
3:03
party doesn't drink alcohol at all by
3:05
speaking to the line they will usually
3:07
allow that person to have the
3:10
non-alcoholic drinks package option
3:13
before deciding which package I also
3:15
strongly encourage them to look very
3:16
carefully at the rules and inclusions as
3:19
they include many tricks and traps
3:20
catching out even frequent cruises as
3:23
they do differ by line and do and can
3:26
change I even slipped up this year by
3:28
not double-checking the det
3:30
and making assumptions based on past
3:32
cruises you know I tend to go for the
3:34
non-alcoholic packages which I really
3:36
like because they include special
3:38
coffees from most of the cruise line
3:39
coffee shops but I hadn't double checked
3:41
and found once on board that Starbucks
3:44
was not covered by my drinks package on
3:47
neither my Norwegian Viva nor my RO
3:49
Caribbean Symphony Of The Sea cruises so
3:52
with the devil in the details here are a
3:54
few key things I told Richard to look
3:56
out for whenever he's looking at drinks
3:59
packages first of all they usually have
4:01
a set number of drinks covered by the
4:03
package per day for example Honda
4:05
America covers only 15 drinks per day
4:09
but proving that checking the specifics
4:10
is key on the elite package it's 15
4:13
alcoholic drinks and as many
4:15
nonalcoholic drinks but on the signature
4:18
package it's 15 of any type of drink in
4:21
total secondly those 15 drinks only
4:24
cover those on the menu up to a certain
4:26
price on holl America it covers drinks
4:29
on the menus up up to $15 for the leaked
4:31
package but only $11 on the signature
4:34
one and by the way you can then pay the
4:37
difference for drinks that you order
4:38
that cost above that on Celebrity by the
4:41
way it drinks up to $17 on Carnival $20
4:44
on roal Caribbean it's just $14 so you
4:46
do need to check some lines also offer
4:49
discounts for items that are not covered
4:51
by the package so more fancy wines for
4:53
example you get a discount on normally
4:56
thirdly I told Richard he can only order
4:58
one drink at a time lines do that to
5:00
stop Cruisers having one drinks package
5:02
and sharing it then with friends
5:04
fourthly like on most lines Holland
5:06
America packages do not include the
5:08
drinks in the mini bar those ordered
5:10
from room service freshly squeezed juice
5:13
nor on their Half Moon Key private
5:16
island of course the last one not
5:18
affecting him because they're doing a
5:19
Mediterranean cruise this time from what
5:22
I can see by the way the carnival
5:24
Corporation private islands do not let
5:26
you use drinks packages on their private
5:28
islands but on Royal Caribbean on some
5:30
of theirs they can so basically the
5:32
messages always check some packages
5:35
don't include bottles of water for
5:37
example so if you're looking to get
5:38
bottles of water for your room or to
5:41
take on an Excursion you also need to
5:43
check if those are or are not included
5:47
although it's not relevant to H in
5:48
America I also always recommend when
5:50
choosing between packages to check if
5:53
they include only house Brands and not
5:56
premium Brands because different
5:58
packages on different lines do and don't
6:00
include those if you're fussy about the
6:02
brand of beer Spirit or wine that could
6:04
be a deciding factor in which of the
6:06
packages on the line is right for you
6:09
some lines I feel are better at listing
6:11
those for example I think the Norwegian
6:13
Cruise Lines online flyer is excellent
6:15
because it shows all of the brands that
6:16
are covered in the drinks package
6:18
fifthly I told Richard to check if the
6:20
price quoted per day includes service
6:22
charge gratuity or not most including
6:25
holl America do not and so the price
6:27
charge will be increased by 18% % or 20%
6:30
depending on the line I stressed of
6:33
course that means he will not get
6:34
charged gratuity every time he orders a
6:36
drink because he already paid it if he
6:38
was buying drinks at Hawk 18% would be
6:40
Auto added Holland America like several
6:44
other lines these days offers a more
6:45
all-inclusive bundle there is called
6:47
have it all and it combines a drinks
6:49
package with other amenities Wi-Fi
6:51
specially dining and Excursion credits
6:53
Richard wondered if that was going to be
6:55
a better option than buying the drinks
6:57
and other items in individually by the
7:00
way celebrity has always included
7:01
princess as Princess plus and Princess
7:03
Premier Norwegian has just as I record
7:05
this revamp there to what's now called
7:07
Mor at C package but many many lines
7:10
have these kind of allinclusive packages
7:12
so the watch out I had for Richard
7:14
though is never assumed that the drinks
7:16
package included in those bundles are
7:18
what he needs as many of the lines don't
7:21
have the best and most comprehensive
7:22
package you must check what the specific
7:25
package that is included in his case the
7:28
H America habit all package while having
7:29
any basic Wi-Fi does have the best
7:32
package the elite drinks package but I'm
7:35
just back off celebrity eclips Canada
7:37
and New England cruise where they always
7:38
included bundle that I bought just had
7:40
the classic and not the premium drinks
7:43
package which actually was fine for me
7:45
and my needs but others people on the
7:46
trip with me they didn't find it superal
7:49
and actually had to then pay for an
7:50
upgrade to the better package another
7:53
thing that I mentioned to him for future
7:55
cruises because it didn't affect him on
7:56
this cruise is before committing to a
7:58
drinks package is to check what perks or
8:01
included drinks are going to be within
8:03
their fair and don't get trapped into
8:05
buying a package if you actually not
8:07
going to need it he's actually going in
8:09
a balcony cabin and doesn't have any
8:10
loyalty perks but in the future how he
8:13
cruises May mean there is no need for a
8:16
package for example when I went on those
8:18
raw Caribbean Symphony the Seas cruises
8:20
I mentioned as I was Diamond level
8:22
thanks to Raw Caribbean group combining
8:24
loyalty points I got four drinks per day
8:27
as a perk which is more than enough for
8:29
what I needed on that cruise so I didn't
8:31
really need a drinks package when going
8:33
on more premium lines like say Viking
8:35
they include soft drinks especially
8:37
coffees and wine and beer with meals so
8:39
it may not be worth getting a package
8:41
unless the included beers and wines are
8:42
not to your liking but especially I
8:45
mentioned him if he's ever cruising a
8:46
suite the in Suite or lounge inclusions
8:49
may be enough too for example on COD
8:51
Queen's Grill Suites while the drinks
8:53
are not included in standard in the fair
8:56
they are in some promotion office what
8:57
you do get is a mini bar with with soft
8:59
drinks and mixes and you can choose to
9:01
have two large bottle of spirits within
9:04
your fair so that may be enough and you
9:06
just then buy occasional ad hoc drinks
9:08
when you're out and about after
9:10
reviewing this Richard decided drinks
9:12
package was right for them my next
9:14
advice was to buy it before the cruise
9:17
via the cruise personalizer and not get
9:19
trapped into paying more once on board
9:22
Cruise Lines discount the drinks package
9:24
if it's bought before boarding it looks
9:26
like this could be up to 20% in his case
9:29
having decided to get one I encourag
9:31
Richard to get their money's worth out
9:33
of the package now I wasn't encouraging
9:35
them to get drunk every day and to do
9:39
excess every day but like most Cruisers
9:41
he was focusing on the alcoholic drink
9:44
side of the package but it reminded him
9:46
he could get bottled sodas he could get
9:48
energy drinks especially teas coffee
9:51
smoothies in his case bottles of water
9:53
hot chocolates fancy coffees after
9:55
dinner like Irish coffee so to get the
9:58
most I Sugg Ed that he makes sure to use
10:01
the full range of the package and not
10:03
just focus on the alcoholic drinks now
10:05
if you have any other tips and watchs of
10:07
drinks packages leave them in the
10:09
comments and join me over in this video
10:11
where I explore the incredible resources
10:14
that I use to make every trip epic
10:16
including the one indispensable resource
10:18
that hardly anyone knows about see you
10:20
over there
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