If you’ve ever been on a cruise, you know how quickly the little charges can add up. Sure, lots of things are included in the price of the cruise, but not everything. Drinks are one of the biggest culprits – especially alcoholic drinks, which do not come cheap and can add up very quickly. Some cruise lines are taking a shot at creating all-you-can-drink packages, which will allow customers to pay for their drinks up-front and eliminate the sticker shock some cruise-goers experience when they realize how much those drinks add up during the course of a cruise.
Carnival cruises offers a “Bottomless Bubbles” soda fountain package that runs $6 a day for adults and $4.50 a day for kids. Compare that to the $1.95 you pay for each can of soda. The cruise line’s new “My Awesome Bar” package, which has recently been expanded to four ships, costs $42.95 per day, plus 15% for gratuity, and includes wine, beer and cocktails that sell for under $10. Full bottles and drinks that are over $10 receive a 25% discount.
Norwegian has one beverage plan for soda and another for water. The soda plan is $6.25 per person per day for unlimited fountain sodas, or $4 a day for kids. The water package price varies depending on how many bottles you want; you can start at six large bottles for $21.95, and go all the way up to 24 large bottles for $69.95. Princess cruises offers an unlimited soda fountain package for $4.50 per person per day.
Holland America offers multiple drink cards in varying amounts. For example, their soda card costs $25 and allows the customer to buy $50 worth of soda. The beverage card and the nonalcoholic beverage card both cost $45 and allow the customer to purchase $50 worth of drinks. The nonalcoholic card applies only to beverages like coffee, tea, or water, while the beverage card can be used on any drink, including alcoholic beverages. The cruise line also offers a $90 beverage card that is good for $100 worth of drinks.
Celebrity Cruises offers a very wide array of drink packages, starting with the simple soda package, which is the cheapest, at $7 per day for fountain sodas or cans of soda. They also offer a bottled water package, two different nonalcoholic drink packages, and two packages that include all drinks. The most expensive package is the Premium Package, which costs $54 per day and includes all sodas, juices, smoothies, waters, energy drinks, beer, liquor, cocktails and wine.
One thing to remember about cruise line drink packages is that some are designed not to be shared. In these cases, everybody in the cabin may be required to purchase a drinks package if one person is planning to do so. The next time you plan on taking a cruise, check for drink packages. You may be able to save some money and avoid those drink charges sneaking up on you by the end of the journey.
