I don’t usually take a drink package as my partner no longer drinks and, as mentioned, everyone in the cabin has to have the package (I believe you can get a non alcoholic package for you or your cabin companion if one of you doesn’t drink if purchasing the package onboard) but these packages also include restaurant dining, desserts, gratuities etc.
I did a 4 day solo cruise on Royal Princess last November and decided to take the Princess Plus package as a trial. All prices on Princess ships sailing in AU are in AUD$. I kept a log of what I drank, rarely did I have to top up on red wine or any spirits/coughtails but I did pay the $8 difference for a glass of Veuve Clicquot. I don’t drink to excess and I’m not wasteful. I had a $100 OBC and I left the boat owing $7! I drank a lot of Veuve! By my calculation, I saved over $600 on drinks/dining alone by taking the package.
My partner and I are sailing out on Friday on the Royal Princess and we decided to both take the package. It worked out cheaper for my partner to take the Plus package than the basic non alcoholic package ($61) which did not include the dining privileges, gratuities etc or, after checking with Princess, zero alcohol beer! Go figure.
I’ll snap some bar menus/pricelists and post when possible.
Re Princess pricing, I sometimes find that Princess doesn’t always advertised obstructed view cabins (Oceanview or Balcony) in their categories, they are usually found in the lower category eg inside or oceanview. Depending on the cabin location, these can be great value for solo travellers especially.
So disappointed that Virgin Voyages have pulled out this year, I did a three day cruise in Feb - absolutely brilliant.
