Lots of cruisers love the value and conveience that a Royal Caribbean drink package provides, but you certainly do not want to make a critical mistake with these packages and take full advantage of what they offer.

While the unlimited beverage package seems like an easy enough service to enjoy, there are at least four ways we often see guests missing out on maximizing the package value and unlocking some great benefits.

Sharing the drink package benefits with another guest

An absolute faux pas of any Royal Caribbean drink package is sharing your drink package benefits with another guest. It is strictly against the rules and arguably the single most important rule that comes with the drink package.

Royal Caribbean warns that guests who share a drink with someone who does not have a drink package can risk having their drink package benefits revoked with no refund.  

The package is intended for only the guest who buys the package.  If you want to buy a drink for someone else, you can do so and pay for it individually along side your drink package transaction.

Not buying a drink package as soon as possible

If you decide a Royal Caribbean unlimited drink package is worth it, do not wait to buy it onboard the ship. Heck, do not wait at all to buy it.

First, if you purchase it onboard you will have to spend time buying it.  Often there are lines on embarkation day to buy the drink package, and then there is a bit of paperwork associated with its purchase.

Second, if you buy the drink package online before your cruise, it will absolutely save you money on the total cost! There are discounts offered for the drink package if purchased prior to the cruise, which means money saved for something else on your vacation.

Third, the price of a drink package could drop... or it could rise.  Buying a drink package as soon as you know you want it means you can protect against a price increase.  If the price of the drink package drops before your cruise, you can always cancel and rebook the drink package with no penalty.

Not getting a bottle of water with any order

It is easy to get a bit of tunnel vision when it comes to using Royal Caribbean's unlimited alcohol package.  In addition to alcohol, the package provides unlimited soft drinks, fresh squeezed juices, coffees and bottled water.

The bottled water, in particular, is very useful.  Not only is it a good idea to drink a lot of water while enjoying alcohol (many of us learned that lesson in college), but stockpiling bottles of water in your stateroom means you have a supply for use on shore excursions.

When you order an alcoholic beverage, in our experience the waiters never have an issue with also providing you with a bottle of water as part of the same order.  This means you can take a few bottles back to your room for use onboard or onshore.  

While you can always just order a bottle of water to bring offshore, having a small reserve of bottled water means you can easily grab as much as you need.  This is very helpful with families or large groups.

Not specifying brand of liquor when ordering a drink

When you belly up to the bar and order a drink, often you simply ask for the drink you would like to order, often we just ask for the name of the drink.

"Can I please have a pina colada?"

What you ought to do, is instead order the drink and specify the liquor.  The deluxe beverage package includes many types of liquor, including some more desirable brands.  Choices in liquor can be subjective, but higher quality brands of liquor are typically smoother, stronger, or just plain taste better.

So when ordering a drink, be sure to specify what you want in it.

"Can I please have a pina colada with Kraken rum?"

Not trying signature cocktails at specialty restaurants

Many Royal Caribbean specialty restaurants have their own menu of cocktails that were created specifically for that restaurant and may not be available elsewhere on the ship.

Part of the appeal of the unlimited alcohol package is the opportunity to try new drinks without fear of wasting money on something you do not enjoy.  Since the unlimited alcohol package works at all specialty restaurants, you can feel free to try one of the restaurant's drinks.  You might just discover something you really love.

If the restaurant has a special cocktail, usually it is on the drink menu that also includes the wines and other beverages available.

Specialty restaurants with particularly good drinks of their own include Sabor, Jamie's Italian, 150 Central Park and Wonderland.

We want to hear from you! What is your best tip for avoiding a beverage package mistake? Leave a comment and share with us below!

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.

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?

Guests sailing on Royal Caribbean ships this week spotted a new souvenir Coca-Cola cup that celebrates Royal Caribbean's 50th birthday.

Photos by twangster

RoyalCaribbeanBlog readers Lovetocruise2002 and Twangster shared photos from Symphony of the Seas and Empress of the Seas of this new cup design available for guests.

Photo by Lovetocruise2002

These souvenir cups are compatible with the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. The Coca-Cola souvenir cup has a special chip in it which activates the machine. In addition, guests can hand the cup to a bartender to be refilled.

Days after a website glitch offered Royal Caribbean's popular drink package price for $18 per person, per day, Royal Caribbean has decided to honor the incorrect price.

In an email sent to guests, the cruise line accepted the mistake occurred, and decided to own the error and honor the price.

"This was a BIG mistake! It might have been bad code, a random computer glitch — or maybe we just need to reinstate our intern typing test.

Any which way, it was our error, and we’ll own it. Enjoy your deep, deep discount — while we go drown our sorrows.

Happy 4th of July!"

With this announcement, Royal Caribbean will not cancel the purchase and anyone that purchased the drink package during the time it was offered on July 1st will retain their purchase.

UPDATE July 3: Royal Caribbean has decided to honor the drink package glitch price.

For a few hours on Monday, some Royal Caribbean guests thought they were getting the deal of a lifetime on the cruise line's popular unlimited alcohol package.

Royal Caribbean's website listed the Deluxe Beverage Package for $18 per day, per person on select 2020 sailings that got a lot of people's attention.  Usually, the Deluxe Beverage Package runs somewhere between $40 - $52 per person, per day when purchased in advance.

For a short time, the $18 price was listed and the news spread like wildfire around the cruising community. Royal Caribbean subsequently noticed the pricing mistake and reverted the price back to its correct price.

The cruise line has since notified guests who have inquired that the $18 per day, per person rate was a mistake and will not be honored. Royal Caribbean apologized for the mistake, but would not be honoring the package at the incorrect prince. Instead, the package purchase will be canceled and refunds will be issued.

Pricing Mistakes

Pricing mistakes do occur from time to time in businesses these days, and in general, there is no law that requires companies to honor an advertised price if that price is wrong.

Typographical errors, miscommunication and other glitches can result in items being offered at what appear to be deep discounts – discounts that would be ruinous for the company if it were forced to honor them.

Laws against false or deceptive advertising require an intent to deceive on the part of the advertiser. If a company can demonstrate that an advertised price was simply a mistake, then it's not false advertising.

In 2012, the Department of Transportation established clear rules against changing the price of a ticket after purchase. According to provision 399.88(a):

“It is an unfair and deceptive practice within the meaning of 49 U.S.C. 41712 for any seller of scheduled air transportation within, to or from the United States, or of a tour (i.e., a combination of air transportation and ground or cruise accommodations), or tour component (e.g., a hotel stay) that includes scheduled air transportation within, to or from the United States, to increase the price of that air transportation, tour or tour component to a consumer, including but not limited to an increase in the price of the seat, an increase in the price for the carriage of passenger baggage, or an increase in an applicable fuel surcharge, after the air transportation has been purchased by the consumer, except in the case of an increase in a government-imposed tax or fee. A purchase is deemed to have occurred when the full amount agreed upon has been paid by the consumer.”

This rule wasn’t actually intended to cover mistake fares. Rather, it was put in place to ensure that airlines could not change the price of a ticket or add on fees post-purchase.

In light of a number of highly publicized incidents of mistake airline fares, the DOT posted an released its new policy for enforcing mistake fares, and here is the major change:

“As a matter of prosecutorial discretion, the Enforcement Office will not enforce the requirement of section 399.88 with regard to mistaken fares occurring on or after the date of this notice so long as the airline or seller of air transportation: (1) demonstrates that the fare was a mistaken fare; and (2) reimburses all consumers who purchased a mistaken fare ticket for any reasonable, actual, and verifiable out-of-pocket expenses that were made in reliance upon the ticket purchase, in addition to refunding the purchase price of the ticket. These expenses include, but are not limited to, non-refundable hotel reservations, destination tour packages or activities, cancellation fees for non-refundable connecting air travel and visa or other international travel fees. The airline may ask the consumer requesting out-of-pocket expenses to provide evidence (i.e. receipts or proof of cancellations) of actual costs incurred by the consumer. In essence, the airline or seller of air transportation is required to make the consumer “whole” by restoring the consumer to the position he or she was in prior to the purchase of the mistaken fare.”

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean has posted via social media it is reconsidering what to do about this situation.

Guests on some Royal Caribbean ships are reporting a new souvenir Coca-Cola cup that is included with Royal Caribbean's unlimited drink packages.

While not all Royal Caribbean ships have these new cups, some guests have begun posting photos of the new cup design on sailings departing this week. The most notcable difference is the addition of a handle and built-in straw to the top of the cup.

Photo by Brad Payne

Photo by Kate Larson

These cups have been reported as being on Adventure of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas. Special thanks to Karen Fraser, Kate Larson and Adam Rothschild for helping with this article.

From time to time, Royal Caribbean and its Coca-Cola partner update the design of their souvenir cups.

These souvenir cups are compatible with the self-serve soda machines on the pool deck as well as the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. The Coca-Cola souvenir cup has a special chip in it which activates the machine.

Do you like the design of these souvenir Coca-Cola cups? Tell us in the comments below!

Guests sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise in 2019 can get an idea of how much they are likely to spend on one of the popular unlimited drink packages with a recent update to Royal Caribbean's web site.

Royal Caribbean posted updated pricing for its three primary drink packages, which will see an increase in price for 2019 sailings when compared to 2018 sailings.

The Deluxe Beverage Package (commonly referred to as the unlimited alcohol package) has seen the largest jump, with a more than 10% increase from the 2018 price range. The Deluxe Beverage Package includes cocktails, beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, premium coffee, tea, fountain soda and bottled water. 

The non-alcoholic Royal Refreshment package will see a slight uptick in 2019 to $29 per person, per day.  The Refreshment Package includes premium coffees and teas, bottled water, fresh-squeezed juices, non-alcoholic cocktails and fountain soda. 

Likewise, the Classic Soda Package, which offers just soft drinks, will move up to $12.99 per person, per day.

How to get a discount on a Royal Caribbean 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.

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.

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.

To find the discounted rates, log into the My Cruises section of the Royal Caribbean web site, and navigate to the Cruise Planner section for the sailing you are interested in.

Once logged in, navigate to the Beverage Packages section and look for advertised rates. You will likely see something similar to this: 

If you are comfortable with the price, you can purchase the drink package.  Keep in mind that you will be charged in full for the drink package at the time of purchase.

It is also worth noting beverage package purchases made online can be canceled and full refunded at any time, up until about 3 days before your sail date.

More drink package info

Are you wondering if a Royal Caribbean drink package is worth it? Want to know what to think about before buying a drink package? Learn about how the drink packages work?  Check out our Royal Caribbean Drink Package Information and planning tips post for more helpful information.

Guests on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas shared photos of the new souvenir Coca-Cola cups that are included with Royal Caribbean's unlimited drink packages.

Royal Caribbean Blog reader Brian Robinson shared photos of the new cup design while on Oasis of the Seas this week.

The new design features the names of all of Royal Caribbean's ships in the art work.

These souvenir cups are compatible with the self-serve soda machines on the pool deck as well as the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. The Coca-Cola souvenir cup has a special chip in it which activates the machine.

Do you like the design of these souvenir Coca-Cola cups? Tell us in the comments below!

You may have heard about Royal Caribbean's drink packages and wondered if a drink package is right for you and which package would be a good fit. There are a few drink packages to choose from, and here is an easy guide to knowing what each package includes and if it will benefit you.

Deluxe Beverage Package

If you enjoy a having a few alcoholic drinks per day on your Royal Caribbean cruise, then the only choice to consider is the Deluxe Beverage Package.

For the person that wants it all, the deluxe beverage package includes virtually unlimited combinations of beverages on their Royal Caribbean cruise.  It includes 

• Cocktails / Spirits / Liqueurs / Beer
• Bottled still and sparkling water
• Wines by the glass
• Fresh squeezed juices
• Non-alcoholic cocktails
• Premium coffees and teas
• Fountain sodas
• Coca-Cola® souvenir cup and Coca-Cola Freestyle® beverages 
• Milkshakes at Johnny Rockets

The cost of the Deluxe Beverage Package varies from ship to ship and sailing to sailing.  That means there is no fleet wide price of the Deluxe Beverage Package, so exact pricing will depend on which sailing you book. At the time of drink package purchase, a service charge (18%) will be added that will cover gratuity on all drinks ordered with the drink package. 

It is important to note that Royal Caribbean requires if one person in a cabin purchases a Deluxe Beverage package, all others in the cabin aged 21 and over must purchase a package. 

It is worth noting that the Deluxe Beverage Package is very commonly discounted when purchased prior to the cruise, via Royal Caribbean's Cruise Planner.  Discounts of 20-30% off are regularly seen, and anyone considering a drink package would be well-served to pre-purchase the package instead of buying them onboard.

Unlimited beverage packages

If alcohol is not your thing or you are just not old enough to be drinking yet, then Royal Caribbean has a number of beverage packages perfect for you.

Refreshment Package - $26.00 per person, per day (plus gratuity)

With the Royal Refreshment package, you will get premium coffee, premium tea, bottled water (sparking or still), fresh squeezed juice, non-alcoholic cocktails and a Coca-Cola souvenir cup.

If the drinks Royal Caribbean provides complimentary aren't enough to quench your thirst, this is the best choice for how much you get.  It especially appeals to coffee drinkers because of the premium coffee and tea benefit.

The cost of $26 may not sound like a lot, but for a 7-night cruise it's still a few hundred dollars.  Just like the alcohol packages, it is ideal for those that enjoy having a number of drinks per day.

Classic Soda Package - $8.50 per person, per day (plus gratuity)

The Classic Soda package is simple, it is all the soft drinks you can drink during your cruise.

Coke, Sprite, root beer and all the other carbonated drinks that are available from the self-serve machines, restaurants and bars are at your disposal. 

To purchase a can of your favorite soft drink onboard otherwise, will cost you about $2, so the package requires the least commitment to get your moneys worth.

One more consideration

The basis for purchasing any drink package is to pay a fixed price for an unlimited amount of drinks, with the plan to drink enough over the course of the cruise to "break even" on the package cost.

When you look at the daily cost of any drink package, you will notice that you will need to drink more than just one or two drinks per day over the course of your cruise. With the  the significant up-front investment of a drink package, this means if you buy a drink package, you need to drink enough to make the packages worth it. 

That up-front investment can actually be a benefit for some, because it allows guests to break up the total cost of their cruise. Rather than end the cruise with a large bar bill, pre-purchasing a beverage package allows for spreading out the cruise cost over different billing cycles.

It's also worth noting these packages work best when you are onboard the ship, so port days when you spend a majority of the day off the ship result in less time to enjoy the package's benefits (excluding Royal Caribbean's private destinations of CocoCay and Labadee, where the drink package benefits work).

At a minimum, the unlimited alcohol package requires around a half dozen drinks per day, every day to be a good value for you.

Top reasons to get a drink package

Convenience of not worrying about drink costs onboard

Having a drink package means not worrying about the cost of individual drinks on your Royal Caribbean cruise.  Since so many cocktails, beers, premium coffees and more are included with the drink package, any concerns of running up a high bar tab are eliminated.  For a lot of guests, this is a very liberating experience.

Breaking up total cost of cruise

If you elect to buy a drink package before your cruise, you will be charged for the drink package at the time of purchase.  This helps reduce the total bill you will see at the end of your cruise.

For those that like to budget their cruise vacation and prefer smaller payments over time, buying a drink package in advance helps spread out the cost of the cruise, since you will not be paying for it (or any individual drinks) along with any other incidental charges to your SeaPass account.

Risk-free opportunity to try drinks

A great perk of having a drink package is being able to try drinks that you have never had previously without the concern of "wasting money" on something you do not enjoy. Royal Caribbean's drink menus offer a good variety of choices, and a drink package allows you to try any of them without any worry of not finishing the drink.

Top reasons not to get a drink package

You do not drink enough per day

If you are not interested in having a few drinks per day, every day of your cruise, than a drink package is likely not right for you.  While you do not need to drink enough to keep up with Bluto from Animal House, you should be having enough drinks per day to offset the daily cost compared to if you bought the same amount of drinks without a package.

Up front cost

When you purchase a drink package, Royal Caribbean will charge you for the full cost of the drink package.  For some guests, this can be a bit of sticker shock, especially with the Deluxe Beverage Package on longer sailings.

While we like the option to purchase a drink package in advance to help with budgeting for a cruise vacation, when you consider two adults on a seven night cruise will cost around $700-800, that is still a big charge.

Other adults in your room do not want a drink package

If there is one thing we hear a lot about from prospective drink package buyers that they struggle with, it is the rule of  if one person in a stateroom purchases a Deluxe Beverage package, all others in the stateroom aged 21 and over must purchase a package.

There is a little bit of wiggle room with this rule, if you call Royal Caribbean and mention your the other adult(s) in your stateroom do not drink (as much) alcohol, they will often let the other adult purchase the Royal Refreshment package instead (which costs significantly less per day).

Port intensive itinerary

Since Royal Caribbean's drink packages work only on their ships or private destinations, if your cruise vacation will take you to a lot of ports of call, that means less time to spend onboard to take advantage of the drink package benefits.  

In general, the less sea days and more days docked in a port, the more difficult it is to break even on the cost of a drink package.