A bit of a side note as it has nothing to do with cruises, but I’ve been to many all-inclusive Caribbean resorts, mostly in Jamaica, which really did include everything – all on-site amenities, all meals (which were mostly excellent – one place had the largest outdoor grill I’ve ever seen!) and all liquor. The liquor list included lots of decent offerings like Grand Marnier, Drambuie, and good scotches, ports, and brandies. My friend and I were capable of drinking enough to clean them out, which in fact we did – and that was the catch. At some point in the night they would “run out”, at least of the more expensive liqueurs. The next night of course they had more, and the process repeated. So at least some of the more costly stuff was subject to an unpublicized quota limitation.
Personally, I consider alcoholic drinks at a restaurant to be overpriced, too (but I realise I’m in a minority).
I’ve been on some specialty small-ship cruises with free alcohol, soda, and juice or iced tea at the table, but not the big lines.
Unfortunately, for the most part small specialty small-ship cruises are more expensive and are probably including the cost of the drinks in the price of the cruise.
Probably, but it was how we could get to Galapagos, or on the Danube. If a person wanted the cheapest cruise and lots of people drinking, Carnival is a good bet.
This is really the answer. Be honest with yourself about how much you will drink (and don’t forget that some part of several days may include shore excursions, which cuts into your daily drinking time), and then do the math on what you’d spend buying drinks individually, vs. the daily package cost.
I pretty much always get a package, because I like to drink on vacation. I’ll have beers throughout the day, I get at least one Fancy Fruity Drink per day, and in the evenings, I’ll have a few various mixed drinks and whisk(e)y. The higher-end drinks add up quickly.
I think there is also an advantage to not having to add up how many drinks you have each day to watch costs and not being handed a hefty bill at the end of the cruise. It is more relaxing to just have it taken care of and not worrying about it. Of course, this assumes you will drink enough to come somewhere at least close to the cost of the package.
Many thanks! Love it!
Yes, this is also a factor, particularly if you’re just on the cusp of making it worthwhile. You can just order whatever you want, and not worry about the cost.
The last time we cruised on Royal Caribbean, my husband got the soda package and I didn’t. He was issued a special cup with a chip in the bottom that allowed him to fill it at any of the soda machines aboard or at any bar. I didn’t get one because there’s no way I’d drink enough soft drinks to be worth it, and I was fine with lemonade or tea which was available pretty much all the time. And other than one or two sips from his cup, we didn’t cheat.
Last year on our Princess cruise, he got the package again - they would give him a can and a glass of ice. I think once they even gave him 2 cans at once. I didn’t have to buy the package and again, except for a sip to realize I didn’t like that particular version of diet coke, I stuck with water, tea, and lemonade.
This year, tho, we’re booked with a package that includes wi-fi, money towards excursions, 3 dinners in their fancy restaurants, and drink packages that include beer, wine, soft drinks, and maybe some mixed drinks - I can’t recall all the details. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but we’re worth it! 
I was on a Celebrity cruise about two months ago, and we did the premium drink package. That covered a higher cost of alcohol than the standard package, and my friend has some expensive tastes. It also covered things like specialty coffees and bottles of water.
We each would have a cappuccino with breakfast. Sometimes a cocktail or two by the pool or elsewhere on deck. A drink before dinner. A glass of wine with dinner. Something at the theater. Perhaps something at the club after the theater.
Now, some of that would have been free for me anyway, because I have Elite Plus status. But she doesn’t, and since we were in the same cabin, I ended up buying the package too. It still was worth it, but it did make the math a little closer. In the end, we erred on the side of “I don’t want to have to think about it every time I might want something”. We went through a LOT of bottles of Aqua Panna!
Tips were included in the cost. Although we did give some extra to a few staff members who were especially attentive.
On NCL, the drink package also included soda, so even if you don’t drink alcohol a lot it can still be worth it to just walk up anytime to get a soft drink.
My brother and his girlfriend go for the drinks package for a similar reason. They WANT to drink and enjoy themselves as much as possible (which correlates for them). If they had a $35 bill for drinks at dinner or $45 for the drinks at an afternoon by the pool, it’s going to annoy them. Better to plunk down $1300 at the beginning of the trip and then think every drink is “free”.
Yeah. Cruising is self-indulgent fun. If you’re trying to penny-pinch, you’re going against the spirit of the experience.
I generally get a good sized drinks package and fully understand there will be a bill at debarkation for tips, wifi, BS, etc. It’s simply part of the reality of cruise pricing that the cabin fare is not the full price of the full experience. Just expect that.
When you would like to go on a cruise but have a limited budget, things like this matter.
I like cruises because it’s a relatively cost-effective way of seeing 5 or 6 different places in a short time span. Getting plastered in a (floating) hotel is not my idea of a fun vacation, but to each their own.
I understand the limited budget makes things like drink packages matter - but the larger, mass-market cruises tend to have a lot of optional spending. Just so you know. It’s really hard to avoid getting an invoice at the end of the cruise even if you prepay service charges. If you don’t get a drink package and the invoice is for a drink or two a day, it won’t be much. But I just booked a 19 day cruise with 8 ports - that means I will almost certainly be booking 8 excursions through the cruise ship and I know my husband will play bingo and those are of course not included in the cruise fare ( the excursions are on some of the really expensive lines)
That’s really the point. I wasn’t trying to pull a “let them eat cake” play there.
My point was solely that they will get you coming or going, and whatever your budget is, it needs to include the idea that the base fare is not the whole cost.
Lots of new homeowners make the mistake of thinking it’s just like renting, so if you can swing an e.g. $1500/month apartment rent, you can swing a $1500/month. house payment. Strictly speaking you can.
But the reality of home ownership is that whatever your monthly mortgage, insurance, and taxes payment comes up to, you’ll not only pay that much 12x month directly, but maintenance costs equal to 1 or 2x that much on top. Which “on top” was an ugly surprise to a lot of first time homeowners and was arguably a decent fraction of the total trigger for the 2008 subprime crisis.
But you get that tax break on the mortgage! May not offset it all…but it might. Depends.