Purchase Deluxe Beverage now or wait until onboard?

savage1117

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
I procrastinated on purchasing the deluxe beverage package for our cruise on 11/24/19 and I'm wondering if I would get a better deal if I waited to buy it onboard now. It is currently showing $56 per day which is $462 for the week. It is just me and my daughter who is not old enough to drink so the buy one get one 50% off isn't a deal for me. Should i just wait or will the prices be even higher onboard? Thanks!
 
The prices are the regular price onboard ( at boarding) but day three, they offer a card for 10 drinks at a discount.
Enjoy ur cruise!
 
Please don’t count on a drink card! On a 7 day cruise it MIGHT show up on the FIFTH day. We were just on a 9 day cruise. We bought our drink package during the Labor Day sale- about 2 weeks prior to sailing. So glad we did- the drink card never came out!!!!
 
I would buy now. If the price goes down in the future, it's very easy to cancel and rebook at the lower price on the cruise planner.
 


The prices are the regular price onboard ( at boarding) but day three, they offer a card for 10 drinks at a discount.
Enjoy ur cruise!
Please don’t count on a drink card! On a 7 day cruise it MIGHT show up on the FIFTH day. We were just on a 9 day cruise. We bought our drink package during the Labor Day sale- about 2 weeks prior to sailing. So glad we did- the drink card never came out!!!!
Drink card came out on day 4 of the past 3 7-day cruises I've been on. I guess the ships (all Oasis class, all in late August, fwiw) did not hit whatever package quota they expected on the cruise.

I procrastinated on purchasing the deluxe beverage package for our cruise on 11/24/19 and I'm wondering if I would get a better deal if I waited to buy it onboard now. It is currently showing $56 per day which is $462 for the week. It is just me and my daughter who is not old enough to drink so the buy one get one 50% off isn't a deal for me. Should i just wait or will the prices be even higher onboard? Thanks!
Prices onboard (according to the RC Blog) range from $63 to $70 per day, with the higher end reserved for Oasis/Quantum class. They will generally offer the package until day 2.

So the prices onboard for Day 1 is $63*7*1.18 = 520.38 or $70*7*1.18 = 578.20 (O/Q)
For Day 2 you get $63*6*1.18 = 446.04 or $70*6*1.18 = 495.60 (O/Q)

So I think overall, buying in advance is the better option. But if you procrastinate further and decide to buy while on board it's best to wait a day.

Final thing to consider is what ports you're hitting. If you're in the Mediterranean, it's quite port intensive and I don't know that you'll ever "make your money back" with a package there. If you're hitting Labadee or Coco Cay (or both), that is effectively the same as staying on the boat, since the package applies to the private locations.
 
wrt to package price: it is very unlikely that the on board price will be less IME. The on line price will probably change several times between now and your purchase cut off date. The only way I know to be aware is to log in and check daily. As mentioned one purchased on line, if the price goes down you can cancel and buy at the lower price at no charge (up to the cutoff day; there may be a slight time b4 you get the refund so both charges can be on your CC) (I consider anything under $50 a good deal and under $54 not bad}

The drink card is NOT a standard feature. When sales are slow for a cruise they sometimes begin offering this. In our last 3 RCL trips we've not seen it. We tend to cruise Royal during holiday periods .... higher volume ... and on the OASIS class out of Canav or Laderdale
 
Definitely buy it now. It will never be cheaper onboard. And like others have posted a drink card is not a guarantee.
 



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