Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean's drink packages are a very popular option that many guests purchase for their cruise vacations. Beverage packages offer an unlimited assortment of cocktails, beers, sodas and more for a fixed cost.  That means a predictable cost to indulging onboard, as well as a convenient means of enjoying beverages without worrying about extra costs.  

If you are wondering what the Royal Caribbean drink package prices are, then check out this easy to understand guide for pricing basics.

Drink Package

It is worth noting that these price changes are reflective of the onboard pricing, and many guests are able to take advantage of discounts provided by the cruise line via the Cruise Planner site.

Deluxe Beverage Package

Onboard costs $63 - $89 per guest, per day (before gratuity). The exact price will vary from sailing to sailing.

Commonly referred to as the unlimited alcohol package, it includes beer, wine by the glass (up to $12 value or $13 on Oasis/Quantum Class ships), frozen cocktails, house and premium cocktails (up to $12 value or $13 on Oasis/Quantum Class ships), non-alcoholic cocktails, premium coffee and tea, bottled still and sparkling water, fresh-squeezed juice, fountain sodas with a souvenir Coca-Cola cup and a 40% percent discount on wine bottle purchases under $100 (wines above $100 will receive a 20% discount).

Royal Refreshment Package

Onboard cost is $29.00 - $38.00 per guest, per day (before gratuity). 

The non-alcoholic drink package includes premium coffees and teas, bottled water, fresh-squeezed juices, non-alcoholic cocktails and fountain soda. 

Classic Soda Package

Onboard cost is $12.99 - $15.00 per guest, per day (before gratuity). 

Drink package discounts

From time to time, Royal Caribbean will discount its drink packages if purchased prior to the cruise via Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner site.

The exact discount will vary, although it is common to see up to a 20% discount off the daily rate. Royal Caribbean has been known to run even more lucrative discounts from time to time. The intriguing aspect to that discount is the daily price for a drink package seems to vary from ship to ship, and sailing to sailing. If you have more than one cruise booked on different ships, you may find different sale prices.

There is no guarantee your sailing will have a discount on drink packages via the Cruise Planner, but the pre-cruise discounts seem to be widely available.

Not all sailings have discounts available, but if they are available, guests can log into their My Cruises section of the Royal Caribbean web site, navigate to the Cruise Planner section for their sailing and check if there are any discounts available on the Royal Caribbean drink package prices.

Is a drink package worth it?

Royal Caribbean's drink packages can absolutely save you money when compared to ordering a similar amount of drinks without a drink package, but it is up to you to consume enough throughout your sailing to "break even" on the package investment.

The basis of these unlimited alcohol packages is the premise that you will drink enough to "break even" each day to make the packages worth it.  

Generally speaking, the Deluxe Beverage Package takes about 5-6 drinks per day to reach the daily cost of the drink package. The non-alcohol packages have a lower break-even point, that is closer to 3-4 drinks.  Of course, the deluxe beverage package includes drinks besides alcohol, which does help with that math.

Keep in mind that you must consume enough drinks every day of your cruise to recoup the cost of the package, and the longer the cruise, the more difficult it could be to maintain that amount of drinking.

No one likes to think about when your cruise vacation will come to an end, but inevitably planning for that last morning is a necessity to ensure you can get to work, school or flight on time.

The docking time listed is not the time you get off the ship

A very common misconception among first time cruisers is looking at the scheduled time a ship returns to port and assuming that is the first opportunity to disembark their Royal Caribbean ship.

Often, Royal Caribbean ships return to port in the early morning, around 6:00am or so.  Just because the ship returns at this time, does not mean it is ready to let passengers off the ship.  A couple steps need to be completed first:

• The ship must dock at the pier and be tied up properly.
• Local officials must inspect and clear the ship

There is no set time how long each of those steps can take, and that is why answering the question of what time someone can disembark the ship is so difficult. Moreover, the inspection by local officials is completely out of Royal Caribbean's hands.

Disembarkation process

There are two main groups who can disembark from a cruise once it is over: guests carrying their own luggage and guests picking up their luggage.

Carrying own luggage

The first group who may disembark the ship once the ship is cleared by local officials is guests who carry their own luggage off the ship (sometimes referred to as Express Departure). This means anyone that elects to not rely on Royal Caribbean to deliver their luggage to the cruise terminal and is capable of carrying their own luggage may disembark the ship. Guests who elect to carry their own luggage off the ship will be required to take their luggage from their stateroom, and take it all the way off the ship and through customs.

Most often, the Express Departure option is preferred by guests who want to depart as early as possible due to travel plans, work requirements, or other needs.  However, if you opt to carry your own luggage off the ship, you may depart at any time.  On disembarkation day, an announcement will be made once the gangway is opened and cleared by local authorities, and at that time, guests carrying their own luggage may depart the ship.

As stated earlier, the exact time of when self-assist begins will depend on certain factors, but usually it will commence around 7:00 or 7:30am. Keep in mind these times are generalizations and it will vary.

Luggage Pickup

To make things easier and simpler for guests, Royal Caribbean offers to deliver guest luggage to the terminal for pickup.  This is a very popular option, and most guests elect for this option.

Royal Caribbean gives every cruiser luggage tags with a number at the end of the cruise in sequential order.  The number corresponds to what time your luggage will be ready for you to  get off the ship.  

Do not worry if your number seems high because you can always go to Guest Relations and get a lower number if you need to be one of the first off the ship.

If you elect to have Royal Caribbean take your luggage, you need to have your luggage packed and in the hallway outside of your stateroom by a certain time (usually 11:00pm).

The advantage of picking your luggage up in the terminal building is it makes the disembarkation process simpler.  Guests can enjoy breakfast on the last morning and wait comfortably in a lounge or restaurant until their luggage tag number is called.

Just like guests carrying their own luggage off the ship, the exact time luggage pickup begins will vary, but it usually begins 30-60 minutes after guests carrying their own luggage are able to start walking off the ship.  Keep in mind that it takes time for Royal Caribbean to deliver all the luggage from the ship to the cruise terminal.

Happy Sunday! We hope you are having a great weekend! Now it is time to sit back, relax, and catch up on all the Royal Caribbean news from the week!

Royal Caribbean altered its Thrill Waterpark policy this week by lowering the unaccompanied guest age to 14 years old.

Previously, unaccomapnied guests needed to be 18 years old, but effective August 3, the cruise line's policy has shifted.

This new rule change allows for adults to forgo purchasing water park admission in situations where teenagers want to enjoy thrills on their own.

Royal Caribbean News

• Our readers shared their best tips for having fun with kids on a cruise.
• We reviewed the Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort.
• Check out the best Perfect Day at CocoCay secrets.
• We shared our readers' favorite cruise photos.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 314th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available, where Matt discusses the differences between Royal Caribbean's ship classes.

Royal Caribbean categorizes its cruise ships based on a variety of characteristics, and on this episode, Matt talks about what makes each class different and what makes each class stand out.

Please subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! 

New RCB Video: Royal Caribbean Drink Package Review

Have you subscribed to the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel? We share some great videos there regularly, all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise! This week, we are sharing our latest video — Royal Caribbean Drink Package Review — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Food Network listed the best food on every major cruise line.

Travel Weekly debunked the viral video of a crew member waving at a couple who missed the ship.

One Good Dad wrote about how he took his kids on a Royal Caribbean cruise for self-care.

Cruise Fever reported that Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships are at an 18 year low.

Drunk on Disney Podcast recorded a podcast about their recent Oasis of the Seas cruise.

Cruising with kids on Royal Caribbean means ample opportunity to share in exciting and fun activities. While Royal Caribbean ships are designed with families in mind, we asked our readers for their best tips for maximizing family time while onboard.

We received a lot of great ideas, including these top tips for families to consider before their next cruise vacation.

"At the pool, I create water games in the pool." - Kimberly Sawyer

"They loved movies by the pool every night. " - Kristina Michelle 

"We set rules/guidelines before we ever got on the ship so they always knew the expectations." - Amanda Stieferman  

"Use Adventure Ocean as much as possible! I remember when I was a kid I loved it! I would skip dessert at dinner just to get there early!" - Sean Hurab 

"We always plan "together" and "apart" time. When they were younger: morning in Adventure Ocean, afternoon  lunch and activities (pool, golf, rock climbing, etc.) with the family, dinner together, back to Adventure Ocean for them and entertainment for mom and dad!" - Gayla Steiner     

"Don’t stress, don’t try to do EVERYTHING. Let them go at their own pace and if they want to play putt putt 15 times instead of swimming...let them." - Suzanne Marshall Sexton 

"If they are 11+ and mature enough to check in on time, allow the freedom to explore on their own." - Philip Dickson

"If they are old enough to navigate the ship on their own (especially teens) make sure you talk about ground rules before you leave such as how often they need to check in with you, meal time arrangements, curfew (some of the teen activities may be late at night), are they allowed to go to others cabins with friends that they meet on the ship. It helps to talk about things like this before you go." - Lisa Davis Boetje

"Schedule some down time. So much fun easy to get burned out." - Chris Caulfield 

"When dining ask your waiter to bring the little kid’s food first. Then bring something for them to do while you eat!" - Pam Brown

"Utilize the Royal Tots room so they can run & play!" - Kristina White

What is your best tips for having fun with kids on a cruise? Share your tips in the comments below!

Every Friday, we ask our readers to send us their favorite Royal Caribbean photos so that we can showcase them here on the blog. After all, looking back on past cruise memories is always a great way to get excited for our next cruise!

First up is a photo by Tonya Backes of her kids watching the impending crossing below a bridge.

Joe Moran shares our next photo, which was sunset on his first night out from Bayonne on Anthem of the Seas as she headed to Bermuda.

Next up is a photo by Julie Hodgson of Ovation of the Seas, as seen from the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand.

Marc Linsey took this photo of the Boardwalk on Oasis of the Seas.

Ranán sent in this photo of North Star on Anthem of the Seas, as seen from the indoor pool deck.

Arnaud snapped this photo of breakfast on his balcony while on Jewel of the Seas.

Our final photo is by Patty V, and it is of the sunrise from her balcony on Adventure of the Seas.

That wraps up this week's edition of Friday Photos. Thank you to everyone that submitted their photos, and if you would like to, please feel free to share your Royal Caribbean photos with us for a future edition. Have a great weekend!

Before you visit Perfect Day at CocoCay, check out our favorite tips and tricks in our newest RoyalCaribbeanBlog video!

Royal Caribbean's private island in the Bahamas is taking the cruising world by storm, with some incredible enhancements and offerings.  To maximize your visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay, we have shared a dozen secrets that are sure to steer you in the right direction!

Did you love this video? We have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single video!

So check out the video and then let us know: What is your favorite tip or trick when visiting Perfect Day at CocoCay?

Another episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available for your listening pleasure!

Episode 314 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available for downloading and streaming.

On this week's episode, Matt compares the various classes of Royal Caribbean cruise ships to share the differences and similarities between each class.  

We will also share more listener feedback, including your questions and comments.

Here’s the podcast page for Episode 314. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via RSS or on iTunes!

Take a listen and as always, let us know what you think! Please rate and review the podcast on iTunes and leave your comments below!

We have a new RoyalCaribbeanBlog video to share today, which reviews Royal Caribbean's super popular unlimited alcohol package.

These days, perhaps no cruise purchase is more popular than an unlimited alcohol package, and we have a full review of what the drink package offers and what you should think about before purchasing one for yourself.

And if you love this video, we have lots of other great cruise videos to watch on our Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel!

By the way, have you subscribed yet? Be sure to subscribe to our channel and never miss a single video!

So check out the video and then let us know: What are your thoughts on buying an unlimited drink package for your cruise?

In our ongoing search for great hotels to stay in before or after your Royal Caribbean cruise, we spent a couple nights at the Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort after noticing it offered amenities that directly appealed to (large) families.

There is no shortage of hotels in the Port Canaveral area, but the Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort (previously Wakulla Suites) features luxurious two-bedroom suites along with a water park, situated within a short walk to the beach. Families looking for a pre- or post-cruise stay are sure to take notice, and it certainly caught my attention.

Renovated in 2018, this resort offers 120 two-bedroom villas in the heart of Cocoa Beach.  In addition to offering access to the beach, it stands out for its Polynesian theme and aqua park.

The true appeal of this resort is the aquatic experience, between its pool area, splash pad and lazy river features.

The pool is rather large and deep, maxing out at 7 and a half feet at its deepest point. There is also a splash pool for young children and a hot tub.

The Wakulla Falls Water Park (named after the resort's former name) features a large splash pad, and reminded us quite a bit of Splashaway Bay on Royal Caribbean ships. It has a large drench bucket, geysers, sprays, (very tame and small) water slides and pretty much any other way to hose yourself down.

At the rear of the pool area is a lazy river complete with floats and a few ways to get wet along the way. 

Both the lazy river and splash pad is included with your hotel admission.  The resort says each room qualifies up to six guests admission into the water park. Wristbands are distributed and requested to be worn, although during our stay no one checked if we had them on.

The pool area features a tiki bar, which serves drinks and food.

We booked a two-night stay at the Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort, and were greeted to one of the most well appointed hotel rooms I have stayed at that were not a villa or apartment. The 2018 renovation clearly resulted in upgraded furnishings that present a very contemporary feel.

The hotel is in a "U" shape, with all rooms facing the pool and aqua park areas. Even the most remote room is a very quick walk back to the lobby, so getting around is super simple.

The two bedroom unit has a large living room, kitchen and dining nook, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The room measures 812 sq feet of space. There are not laundry machines in the room, but there are self-service laundry machines in the resort.

The master bedroom has a king size bed, along with master suite bathroom. 

The shower features three(!) different shower heads: traditional, rain and hand-held.  You can only use one at a time, but there should be no issue satisfying the most ardent shower head aficionado.

The other bedroom has twin beds, along with a connecting bathroom.

We enjoyed the large amount of space to sprawl out, and the fact each bedroom and the living room had a large television set meant there was not much competing for personal space. 

The resort does offer direct beach access, which is a very short walk to the beach from the hotel.  Umbrellas and chairs are available to rent upon request.

The hotel does not provide complimentary or for-pay shuttle service to the port, but there are a variety of third-party options, including ride sharing services.

Of course, we need to talk about price and a resort with these kind of ammenities and location will not be a bottom-barrel value by any means. We stayed two nights, Saturday and Sunday nights, with the rate being $519 and $309 each night respectively. Again, not cheap, but then again we did get a two-bedroom unit and one of the best pool/aqua park features near Port Canaveral, along with direct beach access. 

The best part about the Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort is the room, both in living space and looks, along with the pool and water park. 

The price is what gives me the greatest pause about recommending staying here, and you may find better prices during other times of the year. We picked a random weekend during summer, which is high season for Cocoa Beach. 

While the water park was nice, I believe the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral Beach Resort offers a superior pool and aqua park, and we paid less on our last visit to stay there. Granted, the Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort Hotel is located much more centrally in Cocoa Beach, and it is very easy to walk to nearby attractions, restaruarants and more.

Just like the Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort, there is a low-pressure sales pitch to attend a timeshare presentation.  Regardless of whatever they offer you for the tour, do yourself a favor and skip this at all costs.

Overall, the room and pool area were up to our liking and it was a fun weekend in Cocoa Beach. The room update looks great, and the pool area was a focal point for my family during the weekend. While far from inexpensive, the Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort is a great choice if you are looking for a lot of living space in a hotel in the middle of Cocoa Beach that does not compromise on resort amenities.

Your thoughts

Have you stayed at the Westgate Cocoa Beach Resort? Are you a fan of it? Is this a hotel you’d consider? Please share your thoughts or questions in the comments section below!

Royal Caribbean has lowered the age of unaccompanied guests at Thrill Waterpark at Perfect Day at CocoCay from 18 to 14 years old.

Effective August 3, 2019, the cruise line confirmed via Twitter the policy had shifted, which allows most teenagers to enjoy the water park without an adult present. This new rule change allows for adults to forgo purchasing water park admission in situations where teenagers want to enjoy thrills on their own.

Hey, Robert. I'm sorry for the confusion. It was just changed to 14 years old effective today -Gwen

— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) August 3, 2019

The new rule states all guests under 14 years of age must be accompanied by a ticketed guest of age 14 or older to enter.