Budget question - bar bill

[TamaraH]

So what would you say I should realistically budget for a bar bill on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean Fantasy sail? It's our first DCL trip, well actually first cruise EVER. It will be myself, DH and 2 DDS (ages 8/6). I know it's kind of hard to come up with a number without knowing what our consumption is typically but here's a little bit about us. The girls don't drink soda (well older one is starting but I limit that). DH and I enjoy drinking wine (he also likes mixed drinks or beer occasionally but is also happy with just wine). We are planning on bringing some on board for in the room/verandah but we also enjoy wine with dinner so I'm thinking that we may purchase a wine package or order right at dinner, haven't decided yet...hmmm? That's another question I'd love some feedback on if you have some.

Of course we can't go crazy as we will have 2 kids with us. Now I'm strictly talking bar bill...I have an amount for excursions/spending but just need to figure out what would be a realistic number for the bar portion. Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[GoHabsGo]

Depending on the quality of the wine and complexity of the cocktail, count on $7-9 incl gratuity. That's an average per drink. The kids won't cost you anything unless you get room service or smoothies. (unless they're doing tequila shots in Oceaneer's Lab )

 

[nosnits]

7-9 dollars per drink? *faints*

 

[TamaraH]

The kids won't cost you anything unless you get room service or smoothies. (unless they're doing tequila shots in Oceaneer's Lab )

Hahahahahaha - Bite your tongue!! Oh, Lordy, I'm not ready for that yet. However, I work in the Juvenile court here so, sadly, I know that scenario could happen (not typically on a cruise though). Room service/smoothies is not out of the question but probably not an everyday thing. Thanks for that reminder.

 

[TamaraH]

Thank you, so seems like the $7 to $9 per drink is what I'm looking for. I appreciate the feedback!

 

[wiigirl]

7-9 dollars per drink? *faints*

Thats really not to bad when you think about it.

 

[neg58]

7-9 dollars per drink? *faints*

I was cured real fast with getting drinks from the guys on deck. Our 'sail away' drinks, one with alcohol, one without, were over $18 (we did get to keep the cheap plastic glasses).

So my bar bill for a 4 night cruise was $18.

On the second cruise, I did have a drink at dinner on Christmas and it was about $7 when the tip and taxes were added. That was it.

Nancy

 

[E ticket rider]

7-9 dollars per drink? *faints*

There are cheaper drinks onboard... One trick is to tell the bartender/server that you don't want the "Drink of the Day" in the DCL souvenir cup. Get it in a plain cup and it cuts the cost by about $2 per drink... If you drink higher end spirits or hit the clubs at night, all bets are off...

One more piece of advice... Not all DCL sodas are free!!! If you order a soda at a bar, they will charge you!!! Sodas are included in the dining rooms, Cabanas/Topsiders and at the self serve stations on the pool deck...

 

[nosnits]

Thats really not to bad when you think about it.

Oh but it is when you've envisioned yourself and DH lounging about the whole cruise with fruity drinks in your hand throughout the day lol.

 

[ImDMous]

Usually the clubs will have drink specials and sometimes the on-deck bars do as well. Sometimes there's an hour in the afternoon that they are two-for-one by the pools. We went into the Tube on the Fantasy one night and they were having two-for-one. O'Gills had a beer special going one night. I don't think these were mentioned in the Navigator's, just lucky timing.

 

[TamaraH]

Usually the clubs will have drink specials and sometimes the on-deck bars do as well. Sometimes there's an hour in the afternoon that they are two-for-one by the pools. We went into the Tube on the Fantasy one night and they were having two-for-one. O'Gills had a beer special going one night. I don't think these were mentioned in the Navigator's, just lucky timing.

Oooh, good to know...I'm sure it's easy to miss that info then if you don't know to look out for it. Thanks!

 

[Buckeye218]

Usually the clubs will have drink specials and sometimes the on-deck bars do as well. Sometimes there's an hour in the afternoon that they are two-for-one by the pools. We went into the Tube on the Fantasy one night and they were having two-for-one. O'Gills had a beer special going one night. I don't think these were mentioned in the Navigator's, just lucky timing.

Absolutely...one night they had 2-for-1 Long Island Iced Teas in The Tube and they were not watered down. Also, later in the day on Castaway Cay, they offer 2-for-1 on some drinks.

If you do the mixology tasting, you get 5 drinks for $15.00, a great deal! I'm sure the other tastings are similar deals, but I haven't done those.

 

[dizzi]

There are many options:

If you want wine at dinner, depending on the wine you want, conider bringing your own bottle for corkage fee of $10, depending on if the 2 of you would drink the whole bottle at dinner that could be a resonable savings.

Also, i believe that if you dont drink your whole bottle you canhave servers hold it for you for next dinner (someone ill correct me if amwrong on this)

And although controversial, i have seen more than several people just walk into dinner with a glass of wine.

Now if it is fruity drink you are wanting by the pool there are also several options.

Purchase them at $7-9 a pop.

(again controversial) make them in your room and bring them to the pool. i brought a Magic Bullet with me and you can find anything you want to make a drink with in that. ice cream (free on deck) fruit (free on deck) also some juices with breakfast. and ice of ourse free on deck at drink station. think ice, orange juice, and ice cream and peach schnapps blended. i have purchased a drink on the frst day and then just poured my own blended drink into the souvineir cup.

OR if you dont want to add your own alchohol, you can purchase a less expensive shot and add i to your own mix. You can also do this for the kids t have smoothies of tneir own.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.....lol drink for thougt

 

[nurse2011]

Actually every night in the Tube when they had the games or entertainers (around 10:30pm) They had a 2 for 1 drink special. I had these drinks on several different occasions and they were always good. They were not watered down at all. A few I remember are the Fun on the beach and mai tai. The cost of the 2 for 1s was a little less than $7 with tip, which I thought was very reasonable.

You can also purchase a beer mug (also shown in the pic). I think the cost is like $15 with beer then on every refill you pay for a 20 ounce but get 26 or something like that . I think the refills were around $7. They will also give you a beer mug card when you are done with your drink so you don't have to carry that mug around with you.

The mixology is also a really good deal, and it was super fun. We made 5 drinks for $15. It was really cool especially because we had a private mixology in the Outlook Bar for our DIS meet group. I am including a pic of the "squished frog" shooter that we made as our final drink. Sorry, not sure why the pics turned out SO big!!

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[dizzi]

my DH did the beer mug thing. We love the mug for at home.

 

[MikeAndNick]

Something me and my son learned the hard way. Go over with you children what is free and what cost money. Almost everything on the Disney ship the kids would get is free. On some of the other cruise lines they had Ice cream bars and my son (10 at the time) learned the hard way was not free. It was no a big deal other than he freaked when the person gave him the ice cream Sunday and asked for payment.

 

[Henlady]

DH is a "beer drinker" and has the DCL Mug. You pay for 16 oz and get 20 oz.
On the Cruise he usually drinks about 4-5 of those mugs a day, so for a 7 night cruise I budget $245 for him for beer. For me, I may have 1 glass of wine and maybe 1 mixed drink so for 7 days that comes to a total of about $105.
Total alcohol costs for us: $350 for a 7 night cruise.

 

[jaulty]

How much do you drink? That is the real question. I found our "tab" from 2010 for a 7 night cruise...

Wine Package (7 bottles): $217.35
Drinks during the day: $79.20
Drinks after dinner: $41.18

Total: $337.73

It was our honeymoon....!

Also, for reference, BINGO cost us $170! So you need to be careful there as well!

 

[rentayenta]

Depending on the quality of the wine and complexity of the cocktail, count on $7-9 incl gratuity. That's an average per drink. The kids won't cost you anything unless you get room service or smoothies. (unless they're doing tequila shots in Oceaneer's Lab )

Aside from alcohol and packaged items, I thought room service was free?

There are many options:

If you want wine at dinner, depending on the wine you want, conider bringing your own bottle for corkage fee of $10, depending on if the 2 of you would drink the whole bottle at dinner that could be a resonable savings.

Also, i believe that if you dont drink your whole bottle you canhave servers hold it for you for next dinner (someone ill correct me if amwrong on this)

And although controversial, i have seen more than several people just walk into dinner with a glass of wine.

Now if it is fruity drink you are wanting by the pool there are also several options.

Purchase them at $7-9 a pop.

(again controversial) make them in your room and bring them to the pool. i brought a Magic Bullet with me and you can find anything you want to make a drink with in that. ice cream (free on deck) fruit (free on deck) also some juices with breakfast. and ice of ourse free on deck at drink station. think ice, orange juice, and ice cream and peach schnapps blended. i have purchased a drink on the frst day and then just poured my own blended drink into the souvineir cup.

OR if you dont want to add your own alchohol, you can purchase a less expensive shot and add i to your own mix. You can also do this for the kids t have smoothies of tneir own.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.....lol drink for thougt

I heard the corkage was $20. Hmmm......I may have to bring some wine with my bottle of rum. Will they hold the opened bottled of wine for me?

 

[wendyoconnor]

Room service is free except for packaged snacks and alcohol. Bring singles for tips if you order room service.