A significant number of individuals looking to embark on a Royal Caribbean cruise may question whether opting for the Royal Caribbean drink package is a wise option. Prior to determining the value of the Royal Caribbean drink package, it is essential to consider these crucial inquiries:
- How much do drinks costs on the Royal Caribbean bar menu?
- How much does the Royal Caribbean drink package cost?
- How many drinks am I planning to have daily?
Once you have some more insight, you will be able to determine whether the Royal Caribbean drink package is worth it or if you’d be better off paying for your drinks individually.
Royal Caribbean Drink Prices
Given the high-end nature of the Royal Caribbean ships, it comes as no surprise that the prices on the Royal Caribbean drink menus are set on the higher end of the scale.
Here are some estimated prices of both non-alcoholic drinks and alcoholic drinks aboard the Royal Caribbean ships:
- Regular coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are free
- Milk is free
- Fruit juices and lemonade are free
- Flavored water is free
- A glass of wine ranges between $9 and $20
- A beer ranges between $7 and $8
- Cocktails can be anything between $8 and $13
- Bottled water is $3
- Soft drinks are $3
- Specialty coffee and tea are $4
2022 Prices for Royal Caribbean Drink Packages
Deluxe Beverage Package
From $63 to $89 daily
Of all the Royal Caribbean’s drink packages, the Deluxe Beverage Package is undoubtedly the ultimate drink package, as it is the only drinks package that includes every beverage you can think of, both alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks.
Cruisers often refer to the Deluxe Beverage Package as the unlimited drink package.
The price of the Deluxe Beverage Package varies between the Royal Caribbean ships, the itinerary, and the dates.
The newer ships may charge a bit more than others, and the time of year also plays a role in the Royal Caribbean drink package prices.
It is worth noting that the Royal Caribbean drink packages do not include any beverages ordered via room service or consumed from the minibar.
The Deluxe Beverage Package only covers drinks under the price of $13. Any higher than that, and you’ll have to pay the difference between the drink prices and the allowance.
However, the $13 allowance is enough to cover almost any drink on the Royal Caribbean drink menu, including cocktails, beers, spirits, liquors, and wines.
An extra benefit of the Deluxe drinks package is that it offers a 40% discount on all the bottled wines priced at $100 or less and an additional 20% discount on all bottled wines priced at more than $100.
On average, you will have to consume between six and ten drinks every day to make the most of the Deluxe Beverage Package, depending on what you drink.
The precise amount of drinks you’ll have to drink per day is based on your choice of alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and specialty coffee and tea.
The Deluxe Beverage Package comes with a refillable coca cola souvenir cup, giving you the benefit of the Classic Soda Package too.
However, the souvenir cup is only valid on that cruise ship, and the chip inside only works for a certain amount of time before it expires.
The Deluxe Beverage Package includes:
- Cocktails and non-alcoholic cocktails
- Wine by glass
- Beer
- Liquors and spirits
- Soft drinks and sodas
- Specialty coffee and tea
- Fresh juice
- Bottled water
Refreshment Package
From $29 to $38 daily
The Refreshment Package is perfect for those who prefer non-alcoholic drinks or those who are willing to pay extra for alcoholic beverages.
Everything except alcoholic drinks is included in the Refreshment Package offered by Royal Caribbean Cruise. Bottled water, juices, specialty coffee and teas, sodas, and even mocktails are all available.
With the Refreshment Package, you can enjoy nearly any non-alcoholic beverage priced up to $13. Starbucks beverages are among the exclusions.
You can get an excellent value with this package if you don’t drink alcohol. You only need to consume six to eight drinks per day to recoup your investment.
The Refreshment Package comes with a refillable coca cola souvenir cup, giving you the benefit of the Classic Soda Package too.
However, the souvenir cup is only valid on that cruise ship, and the chip inside only works for a certain amount of time before it expires.
The Refreshment Package is the Royal Caribbean beverage package for non-alcoholic drinks and includes:
- Soft drinks and sodas
- Bottled water
- Fresh juice
- Non-alcoholic cocktails
- Specialty coffee and tea
Classic Soda Package
From $13 to $15 daily
With this non-alcoholic drink package, you can enjoy just about any non-alcoholic drink that goes for $13 per drink. Starbucks is among the exceptions.
You will get an excellent value with this package. To recoup your purchase, you should consume six to eight drinks per day.
The least expensive of the three traditional drink packages is the Classic Soda Package. You’ve probably figured out that with this package, you can drink as much soda as you want during your voyage.
However, juices, bottled water, specialty coffees, and alcoholic drinks are not included in the unlimited soda Royal Caribbean drinks package.
The Classic Soda Package does not cover sodas ordered via room service or taken from the minibar.
With this package, you can make as many crazy soda concoctions as you want using the onboard Coke Freestyle machines that dispense more than a hundred flavors. You also get a Coca-Cola souvenir cup.
The Classic Soda Package includes:
- Coca-Cola (includes caffeine-free, diet, zero, and various flavors)
- Vitamin water, Powerade, and Hi C
- Sprite, Fanta, and Dr. Pepper
- Ginger ale
- Dasani sparkling and flavored water
- Cream soda and root beer
- Minute Maid lemonade and orange
The Caribbean Coffee Package
If you are a big coffee lover like me, you might consider getting the Cafe Select Coffee Card, which costs $31 and allows you to choose between fifteen different specialty coffee options on your cruise. The card effectively reduces your coffee spending from $4 to $2 for each cup.
However, consider this before opting for the Cafe Select Coffee Card:
The Windjammer buffet offers free brewed coffee anyway, your Cafe Select Coffee Card is not valid at the onboard Starbucks Cafes on the Royal Caribbean ship, and you will get free specialty coffee when you buy both the non-alcoholic drinks package and the alcoholic drinks packages.
If you plan on having a few drinks other than coffee, you might as well go for the other Royal Caribbean drink packages that include coffee anyway.
Royal Caribbean Water Package
Although the tap water aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise is completely safe to drink and doesn’t taste too bad, it won’t always be nice and cool. You can order cans of water, which comes in packs of six, twelve, or 24 if you like having some bottled water in your room.
Where bottled water costs $29 for a pack of 24, this package discounts that expense.
Does The Royal Caribbean Offer Free Drinks Packages?
The Royal Caribbean cruise does not offer free drink packages, but there are various all-inclusive packages, which include drinks.
You’ll come to find that the Royal Caribbean frequently promotes a special offer of some kind to get people to book their spot on a cruise. This comes in all kinds of forms, including buying one cruise fare and getting the second at half price, children cruising for free, or free gratuities.
Cruise lines generally steer clear of the word “free” and rather use the word “included,” as there really aren’t any free drinks packages, but some tickets include the drink expenses.
Free Drinks Onboard
Although you won’t find any free drink packages, there are certainly some onboard occasions where free drinks are available:
- Attend the Captain’s Toast, which takes place on the first night of the journey, and you’ll receive a glass of champagne for free.
- Go to the duty-free shop and ask for a liquor tasting, where you’ll get a free shot of fine liquor.
- Champagne will keep coming for free and art auctions.
- Passengers who have been on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship for over 80 nights get free drinks during Happy Hour, which runs from five to 8:30.
- Passengers who have been in the Royal Caribbean for over 30 nights are invited to the Welcome Back Party, where they’ll receive free rum punch or champagne.
Are Drinks Free If You Have A Suite?
Guests with suites have access to the Suite Lounge, provided that particular Royal Caribbean cruise ship has one. Here, drinks are generally free between the hours of 11:30 am and 11 pm daily. The Royal Caribbean suite lounge offers drinks such as beer, wine, and soft drinks.
Suite Lounges are found on Royal Caribbean ships like Oasis of the Seas and Symphony and Harmony of the Seas. During the later hours of the night, liquors and spirits will also be free of charge.
Oasis of the Seas Bar Menus
Although the menu items may vary depending on a number of factors, here is a general overview of what your find on the Oasis of the Seas bar menus at the Suite Lounge:
Wines:
- Souvignon blanc
- Chardonnay
- Merlot
- Pinot Grigio
- Carmenere
- Carbenet sauvignon
- Sparkling wine
- White Zinfandel Berringer
Beers:
- Miller Lite
- Budweiser
- Heineken
- Bud Light
- Amstel Light
- Strong Bow cider
Non-Alcoholic Drinks:
- Coca Cola
- Diet coke
- Sprite
- Sprite zero
- Soda water
- Tonic water
- Still water
Cocktails:
- Beefeater
- Bacardi rum
- Jack Daniels
- Camerina Gold
- Jameson
- Irish cream
- Captain Morgan
- Campari
- Sandeman Port Wine
- Cognac Hennessey VC
- Glenfiddich
- New Amsterdam vodka
- Sweet & dry Vermouth
Royal Caribbean International: Lounge Suite – www.royalcaribbean.com
Royal Caribbean Cruise Sea Days vs Port Days
Another thing to consider when you’re deciding whether a Royal Caribbean Drink Package is worth your while is how much time you’ll actually spend on the ship.
When you’re lounging out by the pool, it’s easy to consume four or more cocktails and a few more drinks in the evening, but what if the ship ports and you’re off the cruise the whole day?
When you’re planning to spend eight hours exploring the port, you likely won’t want to suffer from a terrible hangover, so you might restrict your drinking on some days. Therefore, a drink package is well suited for a cruise where there are many more ship days than there are port days.
FAQs About The Royal Caribbean Drink Packages
Can passengers share a specific drinks package?
Royal Caribbean ships do not allow passengers to share Royal Caribbean drink packages. If the staff catches you sharing your drinks package with someone who did not purchase any one of the Royal Caribbean drinks packages, they reserve the right to cancel your drink package without refunding your purchase.
Where can I buy a Royal Caribbean drink package?
You can buy a drinks package online on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner, or you can purchase a drinks package onboard by asking any staff member to help you.
Can people in a group buy different drinks packages?
If you’re cruising in a group who’s up for drinking alcoholic beverages, every passenger of the legal drinking age has to purchase an alcoholic drinks package.
For instance, if two adults share a cabin, both adults need to buy the same package. One person cannot purchase the Royal Caribbean Deluxe Beverage Package while the other buys the Soda Package.
However, there are some exceptions, where one passenger can buy a Refreshment Package while the other buys a Deluxe Beverage Package. Such exceptions apply when medical conditions play a role, when one guest is pregnant, when a guest’s religion doesn’t allow drinking, and when a guest has an alcohol addiction.
Can the Royal Caribbean Deluxe Beverage Package really be called “unlimited”?
Certain cruise lines set a limitation on the number of drinks you’re allowed to consume within a day. This limit is usually set as 15.
However, Royal Caribbean cruises do not set any such limit on their deluxe drink package, so it truly is an unlimited drinks package. The staff will judge your state, and if you appear to be way too intoxicated, they will cut you off before you have one drink too many.
Do I have to pay tips if I have a Royal Caribbean Drink Package?
All of the Royal Caribbean beverage packages have the tip included. A gratuity charge of 18% is commonly included in the drinks package you buy online.
When I’m on the Royal Caribbean cruise line, how much will I really use my Deluxe Beverage Package?
With the Deluxe drinks package, you can use it as many times as you like. You don’t have to drink alcoholic drinks exclusively, as the deluxe package isn’t just an alcoholic package but includes non-alcoholic beverages as well.
You can also use your package to enjoy some specialty coffee and soft drinks before moving on to the Schooner bar drinks menu later in the day to make the most of your alcohol package.
Do I have to buy a drinks package for the kids?
Passengers under the legal drinking age are not required to have any kind of drinks package onboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Adults can still opt for a drinks package without getting one for their children.
