Should You Buy a Cruise Drink Package? Do the Math Before You Sail
The package might be $79 a day. That doesn't tell you whether it's a good deal for you.
Someone posts a screenshot in a cruise group:
“Drink package is $79 a day. Is that a good deal?”
Within minutes, the answers arrive.
“BUY IT!”
“That's a great price.”
“Wait for Black Friday.”
“I wouldn't pay more than $65.”
“We always get our money's worth.”
There's just one problem.
None of those people know how much you drink.
They don't know whether you start the morning with two specialty coffees. They don't know whether you drink bottled water all day, order wine with dinner, enjoy a couple of cocktails by the pool or barely drink alcohol at all.
And they may not know the rules or inclusions for the package being offered on your particular cruise.
So is $79 a good deal?
Maybe.
But instead of asking a Facebook group, you can figure it out yourself.
First, There May Not Be One Drink Package Price
Don't assume the price someone else paid is the price you should expect.
Cruise beverage-package pricing and promotions can vary by cruise line, sailing and when you buy. Royal Caribbean, for example, directs booked passengers to their cruise account for available pre-cruise beverage packages, and its published package information specifically notes that prices are subject to change. Royal Caribbean
A package offered for a late-April sailing might therefore be priced differently from one offered for a New Year's cruise.
And don't get hypnotized by the percentage on the sale banner.
20% OFF!
30% OFF!
BUY ONE, GET ONE 50% OFF!
For our calculation, there's a much more useful number:
What will the package actually cost you per person, per day?
That's where we start.
The Formula Is Surprisingly Simple
Start with the package's actual cost to you.
Include any required gratuities or service charges that aren't already included in the displayed price.
Then calculate what you would realistically spend on drinks without it.
Not what you could consume.
Not how much you'd have to drink to “get your money's worth.”
What would you actually order?
That might include:
Cocktails, beer and wine
Specialty coffee
Bottled water
Soda
Mocktails
Fresh juice or other specialty beverages
Then compare the numbers.
Package Cost vs. What You'd Actually Spend
Suppose your final package price works out to $79 per person, per day.
For illustration, we'll use some simple example drink prices. Your ship's prices will be different, so substitute the actual prices for your sailing.
The Occasional Drinker
Specialty coffee: $6
Two bottled waters: $8
Cocktail by the pool: $14
Glass of wine with dinner: $14
Estimated total: $42
🔴 At roughly $42 in normal spending, a $79 package isn't saving this traveler money.
Ordering another three cocktails simply because they're included doesn't make the package a better deal.
It means the package changed the traveler's behavior.
The Vacation Drinker
Two specialty coffees: $12
Four bottled waters: $16
Two beers: $18
Three cocktails: $42
Glass of wine with dinner: $14
Estimated total: $102
🟢 If that's what you'd realistically buy anyway, a $79 package starts looking pretty good.
There's also a benefit that doesn't fit neatly into the spreadsheet: convenience.
Some travelers genuinely value ordering what they want without mentally adding another charge to the onboard account.
That's worth something.
It just isn't the same thing as saving money.
The Coffee-and-Water Person
Two specialty coffees: $12
Four bottled waters: $16
Two sodas: $8
Two mocktails: $20
One cocktail: $14
Estimated total: $70
Now we're getting interesting.
Someone who says, “I hardly drink alcohol, so I'd never buy a drink package,” might actually be much closer to break-even than expected.
🟡 Count everything included in the package that you would otherwise buy.
Royal Caribbean's Deluxe Beverage Package, for example, currently includes not only alcoholic drinks but also mocktails, premium coffee and tea, bottled still and sparkling water, fresh-squeezed juices and other beverages, subject to its package terms. Royal Caribbean
A beverage package isn't necessarily just an alcohol package.
Your Itinerary Can Change the Answer
A simple daily average can fool you.
Imagine a seven-night cruise with several busy port days.
On a sea day, you might have coffee in the morning, bottled water by the pool, drinks during the afternoon, wine with dinner and a cocktail at a show.
But in Cozumel, you leave the ship in the morning and spend most of the day ashore.
You're probably buying fewer drinks covered by your onboard package.
Yet you've still paid for the package for that portion of the cruise.
🟡 Calculate based on the cruise you're actually taking, not your biggest sea day.
A port-heavy itinerary can produce a very different result from a cruise with several sea days.
The Other Person in Your Cabin Matters Too
This can completely flip the math.
Royal Caribbean currently requires guests purchasing its Deluxe Beverage Package to purchase it for all guests of legal drinking age in the same stateroom. Royal Caribbean
Carnival's CHEERS! rules likewise require each adult assigned to the same stateroom to purchase the program when CHEERS! is purchased, subject to its current terms. Carnival also currently limits CHEERS! users to 15 alcoholic drinks during its defined 24-hour period. Carnival
So don't just ask:
“Will I drink enough to justify $79?”
If two people must buy the package, the useful question becomes:
“Will the package make financial sense for both of us?”
One enthusiastic cocktail drinker paired with someone who has one glass of wine at dinner can change the equation dramatically.
Know What You're Actually Buying
This is where comparing cruise lines gets messy.
Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Princess don't structure their beverage offerings identically.
Norwegian currently offers beverage benefits through its Free at Sea program, with its own inclusions, exclusions and package rules. Its terms can also vary depending on the promotion and sailing. Norwegian Cruise Line
Princess adds another wrinkle. Its Plus and Premier products bundle beverages with other benefits. Princess Plus, for example, currently includes its beverage package along with Wi-Fi and crew appreciation, among other benefits. Cruise Vacations
If you'd otherwise buy those things separately, assigning the entire bundle price to drinks gives you bad math.
You don't need to memorize every cruise line's beverage-package rules.
You need to read the rules for your package, on your sailing, at the price you're actually being offered.
Don't Give “Free” Benefits Value You Wouldn't Use
This principle applies to almost every travel bundle.
If you'd never buy specialty coffee, including specialty coffee doesn't save you money.
If you normally drink the ship's included beverages, premium bottled water isn't automatically worth whatever retail price appears on a menu.
If your fare, loyalty benefits or another promotion already provides some of what you'd otherwise buy, account for that too.
🔴 Don't assign savings to something you wouldn't have purchased in the first place.
The same applies to alcohol.
If you'd normally have two cocktails, drinking five because you bought a package doesn't prove the package saved you money.
It proves you drank three extra cocktails.
So, Is $79 a Day a Good Deal?
We can finally answer the original question.
We still don't know.
But now you do.
If you'd realistically spend $45 a day on covered drinks, $79 probably isn't a bargain.
If you'd realistically spend $105, it might be.
If your calculation lands around $75 or $80, factors such as convenience, port days, cabin rules and knowing your beverage cost in advance may break the tie.
That's the entire exercise.
🟢 Use the actual package price for your sailing.
🟢 Count the drinks you'd genuinely buy.
🟡 Consider port days, cabin rules and convenience.
🔴 Don't drink more simply to beat the package.
And don't let someone else's vacation decide whether the package works for yours.
The Curated Upgrades Take
Drink packages aren't automatically a rip-off.
They're not automatically a bargain either.
They're a math problem.
The cruise line supplies one side of the equation: the price, inclusions and rules.
You supply the other: what you actually drink and what you'd otherwise spend.
Run those numbers before you sail.
Then, when someone asks whether $79 a day is a good deal, you'll know why there's only one useful response:
Have you done the math?