Ways Around Needing the Beverage Package While Cruising

When going on a cruise, do you need to purchase the beverage package? The deluxe beverage package on Royal Caribbean is nice to have because it allows for the freedom to order unlimited beverages without worrying about the cost since you have already paid for it. It also makes it so that you can try new drinks without having to worry if you are going to like it or not.  If you don’t like it, then just order something different.  But, the deluxe beverage package comes with a high price tag and often adds quite a large expense to what may already be an expensive vacation.  There are a number of ways to enjoy alcohol while on a cruise without having to purchase the beverage package.

       First, on Royal Caribbean, within the loyalty program, which offers more to its returning customers than any other cruise line, once you reach Diamond status, you will receive coupons for four alcoholic drinks a day.  You can use those drink coupons on any drink at any bar/restaurant on the ship.  That’s a savings of up to $60 a day while cruising, and we have found that it has made purchasing the drink package unnecessary.  Also, Diamond members get other discounts on alcohol such as 50% off wine and discounts on bottles of wine.  And, if you have reached a higher status with Celebrity, one of Royal Caribbean’s sister companies, then it will transfer over to Diamond level on Royal Caribbean, and vice versa.

     Also, Royal Caribbean allows for each adult of drinking age (21+) to bring one bottle of wine with them on their cruise.  So, if you are an adult in a room with three or four other adults, then that is a lot of wine that you can bring on the ship.  Because we like champagne and enjoy mimosas in the morning,  we bring on Chandon or Korbel as our two bottles. Then we request that orange juice be delivered to our room each morning through the complimentary room service so that we can make our own mimosas in our room.  If you prefer white wine, you could bring a bottle of Pinot Grigio and then pour yourself a glass to bring down to dinner each evening or even bring the bottle with you (sometimes they will charge a corking fee but rarely).  If you are flying in for your cruise and can’t put the wine in your checked luggage, you can have your Uber stop at a grocery store or liquor store at the port.  We usually put our wine in our checked luggage and wrap our bathing suits around it. To this date, we have not had any issues with the bottles breaking.

Champagne handed out while you shop

      Once on the ship, you will find that there are a variety of activities that include alcohol.  There are complimentary liquor tastings, champagne art auctions, champagne jewelry shopping opportunities or sometimes they just hand out glasses of champagne if there is a special occasion.  Aside from the complimentary experiences, we have found wine tastings, whiskey tastings, caribbean cocktail tastings that are offered at a fee.  If you are paying for the drink package, it doesn’t make sense to participate in these activities, but I have found them very enjoyable and worth the extra expense. There is a wine tasting called The Women of Wine and it costs $35 and offers 7 half glasses of wine paired with various cheeses and fruits and then at the end you can ask for more wine.  I highly recommend it, although sometimes it doesn’t happen if there aren’t enough people who make a reservation, so, if interested, I would call down to add my name to the list.

      Without the expensive purchase of the drink package, we have felt the freedom to book instead excursions that include alcoholic beverages.  Our New England cruise  had lots of pub crawls and beer tastings to choose from, some through the cruise line and some we could just do on our own.  On our most recent cruise, in Aruba, we went on an excursion titled Fun Sail and Open Bar. This was a great way to have fun on the island and get plenty of rum.  If you are unsure of which excursions might fit your needs, you can always ask your travel agent for advice, and you could look at websites such as Cruise Critic to see what other cruisers have thought of those excursions in the past. And, you can often find that beverages at the ports is much cheaper than what you can find on the ship.    

View from a really cheap bar that Chris found right at the port

      I have a couple of other tips that we have discovered since we have stopped purchasing the drink package.  Every day on the ship, there is a drink of the day such as Bahama Mama, Rum Runner or Painkiller and these drinks are offered at four or five dollars off the regular price.  On Sea Days especially, we like to order buckets of beer for our group to enjoy.  The deal is usually buy four beers and you get the fifth for free.  You can drink the beers up on the pool deck or bring them back to your room to keep in your fridge until later. For us, this has been a pretty good deal and lots of fun. Finally, we have found that since any alcohol that purchase while at a port or at the ship’s liquor is kept and then delivered to your room on the last night that it is fun to go ahead and open a bottle of what you have purchased once it is delivered. In fact, if you purchase something at the liquor store on the last day then usually they will go ahead and let you bring it back to the room yourself. We usually purchase something in the liquor store anyway so we find that there is no harm in opening a bottle and enjoying it on the last night.

       So, while it is nice to have the beverage package, there certainly are ways around needing to have it.  Hopefully, you will find our experiences of cruising without the drink package helpful.