Drink packages?

I can only offer my opinion from the Carnival perspective and no they are not worth it. We purchased it on our last cruise as we never had before and we found we spent more money with the package. Unless your a hardcore drinker, pay for what you drink really....

Not sure if I could even drink enough and still get up each morning to make it worthwhile to purchase a drink package. Besides, I really do wish to remember most of my cruise ;)

Best thing is to figure out what you think you will drink, how many drinks a day. Consider on port days when not on the ship for a good chunk of the day you will not be drinking (on the ship at least) but you will still be paying the full amount as the drink package is a per day charge for every day of the cruise.

My next cruise for the first time we have the drink package. But that is only because NCL is offering it as a freebie when booking.

Generally, 6 drinks, 8 beers or 10 waters will allow you to break even.

I am able to keep my drinking down if I do not have a package; I am also able to make a package worth it without getting falling down drunk (average 1 drink every 3 hours will keep you legally sober and will get you to the break even point).

My first 2 cruises, there was no booze drink packages, and I spent up to $500 on drinks (it adds up! The pool, the club, the post dinner shots). With some policies letting you carry on up to 2 bottles of wine, it could work for you to not buy. I personally get the package. It works out to about 6 drinks a day at max, which is amazingly easy... It all depends on you and the cruise line.

I do not drink enough for it to pay off for me. One of our table mates had the drink package and said you have to drink 10 drinks a day for it to pay out. Needless to say he made sure to get his money worth and was plastered for the entire trip. Most cruise lines also have the rule that everyone in the cabin has to have the same drink package, so unless both of you drink heavy it does not pay for itself.

I have noticed when some of the cruise lines offer perk's it is a choice between 1. drink package, 2. pre-paid tips or 3. a credit to your cabin charge account. For me the cabin credit is more then my bar tab would be so I go with the credit. (I get free cocktail hours on RCI and Celebrity so that takes care of most of my drinking)

My friends just came back from a cruise to the Med with HAL. They had a great time and enjoyed the month away. They had a drink package included in their whole package. Their limit was 15 drinks a day each. Now, they do not drink that much even after a bad round of golf, so for them it was way too much. They would not buy one for themselves for their next cruise. But some of the packages that the cruise lines are putting out, may be attractive.

We never take the beverage package and don't think that we could drink enough to make it worthwhile. But everyone is different. Look closely at what is included and see if it makes sense for you. Sometimes everyone in the cabin has to take the beverage package so check out if that is true on your cruise.

I'm not sure about the Booze Buddy thing. I wouldn't use it, but I can see where some would.

We’ve been on a number of cruises so we’re at the Elite level in Celebrity’s repeat cruiser program. One of the perks at that level is a lounge with free drinks (from a limited menu) for a couple hours most nights. Because we get that included, we never get the drink package ourselves.

However, on a recent Celebrity cruise a friend of ours who hasn’t been on as many cruises as we have got the drink package and, honestly, we were a little jealous. A lot of people had it really wasn’t about partying (at least on this cruise). During the day at the pool or and always before going ashore she would get a bottle of water (those can really add up!). At dinner they would poor the fancy bottled water for her while we drank the tap water. The first night the sommelier learned what types of wine she enjoyed and her glass was never empty during meals the entire cruise. Some drink packages also include the specialty coffee drinks so many people spend tons of money on.

While no one wants to waste their money, there is a certain comfort in knowing that everything is paid for in advance and you can just get whatever you want without thinking about the cost.

Make sure you do the math before you buy! This might help: http://cruiseline.com/bonvoyage/before-you-cruise/what-to-know/how-to-decide-if-a-drink-package-is-right-for-you