Is Booking a Drink Package on a Cruise Ship Worth It?

The cruise industry is sailing ahead at full speed after a rough few years.

Boats are at full capacity and cruise passengers are flying to ports across the country to travel to the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, scenic inland rivers and more.

But one question remains before you board that long-awaited cruise and unwind with a fancy umbrella drink: Are you paying too much for that drink? And if you bought a drink package, will you get your money’s worth? Every veteran cruiser has weighed those questions, and the short answer is that it depends on how much — and what — you drink.

Another thing to consider is that drink packages also cover a variety of non-alcoholic drinks and most include gratuities, which may tip the math in your favor.

If you want lots of options, a drinks package may be right for you and could help you save money on a cruise. You might also see some savings if you select a drink package before you set sail.

What Is a Cruise Drink Package?

When it comes to drinks on a cruise, not everything is included in your fare. Most cruise lines offer complimentary tap water, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk and some basic juices.

Outside of that, you’re paying (with the exception of Disney, which offers free soft drinks). If you’d like a little more variety, you can purchase basic beverage packages that include soft drinks for a fairly cheap price. Things start to get more expensive if you’re eyeing cruise line drink packages that include alcohol.

How Much Is a Cruise Drink Package?

While some luxury cruise lines include drinks in the ticket price, most do not. How much you pay for your drink package will depend on which cruise line and package you choose. The prices listed below are what you pay per person. And the general rule for cruise lines is that if one adult purchases an (alcohol-included) package, then all the other adults in the room have to, as well. Here are your options on four of the largest cruise lines.

Royal Caribbean

• Classic Soda Package: Royal Caribbean offers a soda package that includes fountain drinks and refills at any venue on the ship, drinks from the Coca-Cola freestyle machine and a Coca-Cola souvenir cup. Bottled water, juices and alcoholic drinks aren’t included.
  Current pricing is $13.50 per day, plus 18% gratuity (or $9 plus gratuity if booked ahead of time) for 2025 cruises.

• Refreshment Package: If you want to up your alcohol-free beverage game, the refreshment package might be your choice. This option includes everything in the soda package plus non-alcoholic cocktails, still and sparkling water, premium coffees and teas and fresh-squeezed juices.
  Current pricing is $34 per day, plus 18% gratuity (or $28 plus gratuity if booked ahead of time).

• Deluxe Beverage Package: Consider this package if you want access to every drink a Royal Caribbean cruise ship offers. The deluxe beverage package includes everything in the cheaper packages plus cocktails, spirits, liquor, beer and wine by the glass. You’ll also receive a 40% discount on select bottled wines.
  Current pricing is $94 per day plus 18% gratuity (or $74.99 plus gratuity if booked ahead of time).

Keep in mind: all the Royal Caribbean drink packages exclude room service drinks, mini-bar items, specialty beers, drinks that are more than $14 (before gratuity) per glass, duty-free shop bottles of liquor and any beverages served inside any licensed Starbucks you might find on the ship. Fortunately, most of the drinks you’ll find are below this limit — and if not, you’ll still get a discount.

Carnival

• Bottomless Bubbles: No, that’s not endless champagne. The Bottomless Bubbles package from Carnival includes unlimited soft drinks during your cruise.
  Current pricing starts at $8.20 per day for kids and $11.21 per day for adults.

• Cheers! Carnival’s Cheers! premium beverage package includes all soft drinks plus all spirits, cocktails, beer and wine by the glass with a $20 or lower menu price. It also includes zero-proof frozen cocktails, energy drinks, specialty coffee, hot tea, bottled water and other non-alcoholic beverages. You’ll receive a 25% discount on spirits or wines by the glass over $20, wine and champagne by the bottle and beverage seminars and classes. You can also save 10% by purchasing before you sail.
  Current pricing is $82.54 per day.

Keep in mind: A gratuity fee, which Carnival calls a “service fee,” is included in the price of these packages. So, you won’t be charged any additional, surprise gratuity fees when you get a drink (that’s how they used to do it).

Norwegian

Norwegian Cruise Line offers a different structure of drink packages than some of its competitors. If you want soda, it only comes in the soda package, the alcoholic drinks only come in the open bar package and the coffee only comes in the Starbucks package. This way, you can pick and choose which drinks you’re more likely to purchase and potentially save a little bit of money.

• Soda Package: Norwegian’s soda package covers an array of Coke products, including Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, ginger ale, tonic water, Fanta and soda water.
  Current pricing is $12.50 per day.

• Unlimited Starbucks Package: This package includes everything from Starbucks classic coffees and teas to the Frappuccino favorites and other specialty beverages.
  Current pricing is $16.50 per day.

• Unlimited Open Bar Package: The alcohol package. It includes bottled and draft beer, wine by the glass, spirits and cocktails. This package only covers drinks that cost $15 or less. You’ll also receive 20% off bottles of champagne and wine.
  Current pricing is between $23 and $30 per day, depending on the length of the cruise you booked (the more days, the cheaper the per-day price).

Keep in mind: All of Norwegian’s drink packages include a 20% gratuity.

Disney

Disney Cruises doesn’t offer an unlimited drinks package. Instead, you can purchase wine and beer packages that offer 25% off for a set number of drinks. There isn’t a drink package for spirits or mixed drinks, which can be purchased individually. The good news is that Disney offers complimentary water, soft drinks, juices, coffees and teas onboard.

• Water Package: You can get free water if you order it by the glass or head to one of the many water refill stations. But bottled water costs $3.25 per bottle. If you really love Dasani, you can purchase one of these water packages and get a tiny, little discount.
  • 6 bottles for $16.50
  • 6 packs of water for $28.50

• Classic Wine Package: Disney offers some standard bottles of red and white wines in its classic package. You can purchase:
  • 3 bottles for $123
  • 4 bottles for $158
  • 5 bottles for $188
  • 7 bottles for $259

• Premium Wine Package: If you enjoy higher-end wines, you might consider this package. You can purchase:
  • 3 bottles for $183
  • 4 bottles for $241
  • 5 bottles for $295
  • 7 bottles for $388

• Survival Beer Package: You can purchase three differently priced tiers of beer packages, including Survival Classic, Survival Signature Beers, or Survival Premium Beers. The price range below shows the range between the cheapest (Survival Classic), and the most expensive (Survival Premium Beers) packages.
  • 6 bottles for between $49.25 and $64.75
  • 12 bottles for between $86.25 and $118.25
  • 24 bottles for between $160.25 and $225.50
  • You can also purchase a “refillable” beer mug in any bar onboard for $15.25 (you’ll get a 21 oz. refill for the price of a 16 oz beer).

• Cove Fanatic Card: This isn’t a drink package, but if you head over to The Cove, the adults-only coffee bar, ask for a Cove Fanatic stamp card. Get the card stamped every time you order a specialty coffee, and after five drinks, your sixth will be free.

Keep in mind: While soft drinks are included at no extra cost, you can only find them for free on certain decks of the ship. You’ll be charged for sodas at bars and most of the lounges on board. There’s also an 18% gratuity added to each of the drink prices listed above.

Are Cruise Drink Packages Worth the Price?

For your own cruise, think about how much and what you like to drink on vacation and look at the individual drink prices on cruise lines. Cruzely offers a cruise drink calculator to help you decide if a beverage package could save you money.

Keep in mind that if you get a drink package with alcohol, everyone staying in the same cabin as you will also need to fork up for a drink package.

Last piece of advice: If you’re still having a hard time deciding, remember that you made an effort to dig a little deeper into the value of drink packages — give yourself some respect points for that. Limit how much time you want to stress-plan for what’s going to be a relaxing vacation at sea! Once you make your decision, know that you’ll be able to stick with it confidently.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What else do you need to know about cruise drink packages? Well, it’s in the fine print. Rules and restrictions vary by cruise line. But, for the most part, the major lines adhere to the same restrictions. As always, check with your specific cruise line before traveling

Robert Bruce is a senior staff writer at The Penny Hoarder covering earning, saving and managing money. He has written about personal finance for more than a decade.