A Complete Guide to Cruise Drink Packages

A Complete Guide to Cruise Drink Packages

When booking your cruise you have one very important decision to make: “Should I get the cruise drinks package or not?”

Cruise drinks packages are not cheap costing between £25 and £106 per day for all-inclusive alcoholic drinks. The price depends on which cruise line you sail with and which package you choose.

The following information will help you to decide if a drinks package is right for you.

How to decide if your cruise drinks package is worth it

To do the maths on your drinks package, you’ll want to know four things:

1. What different drinks packages are available on your cruise? – Some cruise lines offer up to five different packages with different things included

2. How much are the drinks packages? – Some cruise lines have fixed prices, for others, it varies by sailing and they can go up and down in price before the departure date

3. How much are drinks on your ship? – Some cruise lines charge pub prices, but others charge more than double that!

4. How many drinks do you plan to have each day? – You’ll drink more on sea days than days spent ashore, so factor this in.

There are  a couple of other things that you need to consider:

◊ What drinks are free on your cruise?

◊ What drinks are not included in a drinks package?

If tea, coffee, fruit juice, squash, iced tea, water, and milk are your drinks of choice, then it’s possible that you won’t spend a penny on drinks even without a package as certain drinks are always free of charge.

Beverage packages rarely cover everything. Don’t get caught out by ordering bottles of wine if your package only covers glasses. And don’t raid the minibar unless you know it’s included.

A Complete Guide to Cruise Drink Packages

Beverage packages by Cruise Line

I have only covered three Cruise Lines in this Blog but there will be three more each week until I have covered them all. If the one you are interested in is not included and you need it in a hurry just drop me an email and I will send you the details.

Also, remember that most drink packages are cheaper when purchased in advance rather than onboard. As a rule of thumb drinks packages can be booked up to 7 days prior to your departure date, after that you will be stuck with the higher onboard price! One final thing to bear in mind. If you do not book your drinks package in advance you must do so within 24 hours after boarding the ship otherwise the drinks package will not be available and you will be paying for each drink.

Ambassador Cruise Line

You are not allowed to bring alcoholic drinks onboard. Alcohol purchased while in ports of call will have to be handed to the security team as you board the ship again, for it to be stored until the cruise ends.

Here’s a quick summary of the prices: (Valid up to September 1st, 2023)

• Glass of wine (250ml) – £7.25 to £7.60
• Draught beer (pint) – £4.95
• Bottle of beer (330ml) – £3.55
• Spirit (40ml) – £4.25 to £6.05
• Mixer – £1.25
• Cocktail – £6.00
• Mocktail – £3.85
• Soft drink (330ml) – £2.55
• Fruit juice (250ml) – £2.55
• Coffee – £2.25 to £3.45
• Tea – £2.25
• Bottled water – £0.65

How many drinks to break even with an Ambassador Cruise Line drinks package?

It’s a complex question to answer since there are different drink packages and different costs depending on the length of your cruise. But as an example, let’s take a 7-night cruise as an example, and use those prices.

Do not forget that the drinks packages also include tips and gratuities which cost £6 per day. I have deducted this from the drinks package cost.

Ambassador Experience Package

To get your money’s worth on the non-alcoholic package, you’d need to spend more than £15 per day on drinks. Considering soft drinks cost around £2.55 per drink, that means you’d be looking at 6 drinks per day to really see the value.

However, if you drink mocktails or non-alcoholic beer, it’s around £3.55 a drink, so instead, 5 drinks would get you your money’s worth.

Ambassador Explorer Package

For a 7-night cruise, you’d be paying £38.95 per night for the Explorer Package. £6 of that goes to tips, remember?

It’s pretty much the same cost as 6 large glasses of wine, while 7 cocktails would also push you above the £39 level.

You may of course drink soft drinks during the day – so 6 soft drinks or regular teas and coffees, and then 4 large glasses of wine, 5 pints of beer or 4 cocktails would mean you got your money’s worth.

Ambassador Expedition Package

The Expedition Package is £44.95 per night on a 7-night cruise, meaning £39 of drink value. A lot of the premium drinks are around the £4 mark, including premium coffees, vodkas, brandy, and more. So overall you’d need to have 10 drinks during the day to get the value from the package.

Ambassador Adventurers Package

The Adventurers Package is £13 per night on a 7-night cruise for younger kids and £16 per night for older kids. So if your children drink more than 6 soft drinks during a day, it’s worth buying the package.

Conclusion

The Ambassador Cruise Line drinks package is usually worth it, especially when you remember that they include your tips too. But it’s an individual thing, and if you don’t tend to drink many bar drinks then it would be a waste of your money. The best thing about drinks packages is that they help to keep your spending whilst onboard in check. Despite Ambassador’s pricing being a little confusing on their shorter cruises, in my opinion, they are worth considering.

Cunard Cruise Line

Deciding on whether a Cunard drinks package is worth it or not depends on how much you drink – typically if you have around 7-8 alcoholic drinks per day then you will likely find that the drinks package is good value, although some drinks are cheaper than others.

There are four main drink packages available with Cunard. The drinks package with alcohol costs $70 per person, per day if bought before you sail. Non-alcoholic packages range from $10 to $30 per person, per day.

1. Soft Drinks Option

Cost when bought in advance: $10 per person, per day
Cost when bought onboard the ship: $12 per person, per day

This is the most basic drinks package you can buy, purely for soft drinks. It includes:

• All draught soft drinks

• Selected fruit juices

• Squash and cordial

It’s a good option if you’re traveling with kids, or if you’re not an alcohol drinker and you’re not too fussed about hot drinks. You’ll be able to get as many drinks as you want from that short list throughout the cruise, at any of the bars or restaurants.

2. Speciality Hot Drinks Option

Cost in advance: $12.50 per person, per day
Cost when bought on the ship: $15 per person, per day

This drinks package is exclusively for hot drinks, and it includes:

• All illy specialty coffees

• Tea Forte infusions

• Hot chocolates

Again these are available at any bar or restaurant where they are served, and there’s no limit on how many you can have.

3. Premium Soft Drinks Option

Cost in advance: $30 per person, per day
Cost when bought on the ship: $35 per person, per day

This package is for those who don’t want to drink alcohol (or who prefer to pay for their alcoholic drinks separately) but want as many other drink options included in their package as possible. You get:

• All draught soft drinks

• A selection of bottled soft drinks

• Small bottled waters (330ml and 500ml)

• Fresh juices

• Specialty hot drinks

• Non-alcoholic cocktails

• 20% discount on any non-alcoholic drinks not included in the package.

Here’s what that 20% discount actually applies to:

• Large bottles of water (750ml, 1 litre, 1.5 litre)

• Freshly squeezed deluxe juices

• Smoothies

• Hot and cold Godiva chocolate drinks

4. Beer, Wines and Spirits Options

Cost in advance: $70 per person, per day
Cost when bought on the ship: $75 per person, per day

The Beers, Wines, and Spirits Option doesn’t have a set list of drinks that it includes. Instead, you get all the benefits of the Premium Soft Drinks Option, as well as all alcoholic drinks up to the value of $13.

This includes:

• All beers and ciders

• All gins, tequilas, vodkas and liqueurs

• Many of the whisky, rums and cognacs

• All small glasses of wine

• Selected Champagne and prosecco glasses

• Most cocktails

As well as those drinks being completely included, you also get:

• 20% off most alcoholic drinks not included in the package

• 20% off some bottles of wine

• 20% off Cunard Wine Academy

• 20% off Cocktail Master Class

5. Wine Collections

There are a few options available for wine packages on a Cunard cruise. These let you buy bottles of wine in advance, to be used during the cruise.

Captain’s Collection

The Captain’s Collection is made up of a selection of white and red wines that are some of the most popular on the ship. There will also be a sweet wine option and a bottle of Prosecco available. You can choose any 6 or 12 from the list.

• 6 bottles – $310

• 12 bottles – $590

Commodore’s Collection

The Commodore’s Collection works in the same way as the Captain’s Collection, but it includes finer wines. Again there will be a mix of white and red wines, along with a couple of sparkling wine options and a rose.

• 6 bottles – $395

• 12 bottles – $725

Create your own Collection

Another option is to curate your own wine list from across both the Captain’s Collection and Commodore’s Collection, mixing your list between them. You’ll then be given a price for your custom list, which will be up to 20% cheaper than if you bought the wines separately.

If you like the idea of the collections, but can’t decide between them, then creating your own is the way to go.

Drink prices on Cunard ships are similar to many American-style cruise ships, in other words, quite expensive compared to on land, but not by a huge margin. Beers cost around $6, glasses of wine cost between $8 and $14, and cocktails range from around $10 to $13.

However – that’s before the 15% gratuity is added on. Every time you buy a drink on a Cunard ship, you’re charged a 15% service charge on top of the drink order. So really, beer doesn’t cost $6 – it’s closer to $7.

Remember that when you buy a drinks package, the service charge is included, so that does help to make it a lot better value for money – you’re not paying 15%  every time you have a drink!

Cunard Drinks Price List 2023