Cruising (and drinking)

Cheesey

Sorry crossed posts with V3ra who is saying the same thing.

Yes what you describe is what we've found Cheesey.

I can't say I've ever had wine served by a 125ml glass, it's normally free-poured at the table! 🍷

We prefer Marella (TUI) cruises.
Their all-inclusive drinks package also includes freshly made to order Lavazza coffee at the dedicated coffee shop onboard.
We certainly got our money's worth from there during our eight days at sea on our Transatlantic crossing last November!

River cruises we’ve been on provide included wine or beer with meals, even a Buck’s Fizz with breakfast if you want. We’ve never bought a drinks package, but we frequently get offered one as an incentive to book within 30 days of getting back from the cruise we’ve just been on.
We usually accept that and make use of it IME evening for things like Pernod, daiquiris, or other cocktails that we’d never drink at home. I reckon they offer it us for free because they know we’ll never drink the number of drinks the package covers.

We never bought a drinks package. We are not not big drinkers so we ordered a drink when we fancied one- which was not very often.

We opted against the drinks package, but alcohol was expensive. The house wine was awful and so we were glad we hadn’t bought the package. Our cruise line did allow passengers to bring in alcohol to drink in their cabins and provided ice! I would look carefully at the restrictions for the package. You can usually only order 125ml of wine at a time, no doubles of spirits, drinks are served at a table or consumed at the bar and as you’ve found, the package must be booked per cabin. As has been suggested, maybe 2 cabins have the package for the bigger drinkers and the other cabin doesn’t to take into consideration the smaller drinkers, then split the cost? However you do it, it’s how they make their profit.

Sorry crossed posts with V3ra who is saying the same thing.

We have been on 3 cruises over the past 2 years with Fred Olsen and always went with friends. Their rules were that all people in the same cabin (not table) had to have the drinks package (or not of course). We just ordered drinks per couple and you had to show your room card from which they could tell if you had the package or not. This worked perfectly well when we were with a couple who didn’t have it and we did. Their drinks were charged to their room account and nothing was charged to ours. This seems a lot fairer.
Are you sure with your cruise it applies per table and not per room? Hope that makes sense.

It is obvious why the whole party needs to buy the package otherwise it is open to abuse.

Any cruise we have been on sells the drinks package per cabin, so usually per couple. A table of six could easily have some with the package and some on pay as you go.
You present your cruise card when you order a drink and it's scanned to your account. The waiters will be aware of any attempts to abuse the system.
And they certainly wouldn't force anyone to drink fifteen drinks a day, it's not compulsory so don't worry on that score!

Loobs can you tell us what cruise line you are sailing with?

We never have the drinks package and would not go on a cruise line where it was included in the price. It is unhealthy and encourages people to drink far more than they would at home. Many cruise ships include an on board spend and we use some of this to buy the few alcoholic drinks we would enjoy.It is obvious why the whole party needs to buy the package otherwise it is open to abuse.

We typically cruise twice a year, river cruises.

For us drink package does not work out well.

Coffee, fizzy water are available all day and night. Wine and beer offered with lunch and dinner. All that is included is all we need.

Perhaps enquire as to the standard for all day, all meals?

That’s probably how they make their profit. knowing most people, wouldn’t ever drink that amount.
Last day of my cruise, Cunard there were empty whiskey, gin, & vodka bottles all lined up outside the cabins: suites.
So people obviously took their own booze.
We never bothered with a drinks package as I rarely drink.
Plenty of tea & coffee at meal times.
My bill was 79p for a packet of rennies 😂

Is it all alchohol or do you get cappuccinos etc, soft drinks, bottled water?

The included coffee is awful 😱 and having bottled water to take out with you or by your bed at night is handy rather than water from the tap which also tastes bad. I prefer to clean teeth in bottled water too.

I guess they’ve had problems where a couple of people in the group buy the package and then share the drinks around the table.

Firstly when you buy the drinks package, it limits you to a maximum of 15 alcoholic drinks a day. It does not mean that you are expected to drink that many alcoholic drinks a day! In fact the cruise operator would much rather you didn't for quite a number of different reasons.

On the one cruise I have been on, with DH and DD, we decided against the alcoholic drinks package. We are not heavy drinkers, rarely touching alcohol before 6.00pm, and then having an aperitif before dinner and sharing a bottle of wine between us at dinner. Our total bill for all on board expenditure came to well below the cost of three drinks packages. This was also a six day cruise,