Please tell me about the "free" basic food on cruises...

[dpswift]

I don’t drink alcohol, my DH rarely does. I'm mainly think of sodas. I'm not crazy about them, but enjoy them whenever I'm on vacation.

In your case I would buy the soda package. You can get a soda anywhere on the ship including the dining room. Unless you are into drinking several fancy drinks a day the alcohol package is not worth it. I have always wanted a drink package but my husband doesn’t drink. I drink several beers a day on a cruise and break even not getting it. Last cruise I got seasick.and spent very little on alcohol

 

[CynBeth]

We do not drink alcohol but usually get the refreshment package as it is called on Royal. You can get all sorts of drinks including bottled water, soda, and fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast. Usually at certain times such as Black Friday they have good deals on the drink and internet packages.

 

[sam_gordon]

They add a tip at booking. It’s a big tip, of course depending on length of cruise. Like $100, and everyone in the stateroom has to get it if one gets it . We don’t drink a lot so the tip would cost more than any drinks we might purchase.

OP, there is usually a soda package you can buy.

*IF* you drink enough to make a drink package worth it, the amount you pay in tips is the same is my point. I think, at least on RCI, the number of drinks to break even on a package is 4-5 every day (not sure on this, worth double checking).

The tip doesn't make enough of a difference to change the math. For whatever your drink of choice (alcohol, non-alcohol, soda):
A) What's the cost of the package per day?
B) How many of those drinks would you realistically get each day?
C) What's the ala carte cost of the drinks?

Multiply B & C. Is it more, less or about the same as A? THAT'S how you decide whether or not to get the drink package.
Also keep in mind, the package average is EVERY day. If you're on a port intensive cruise, and off the ship for eight hours/day, that cuts down on the number of drinks you'd consume. You need to factor that in.

Royal Caribbean's official stance is everyone over 21 in a cabin needs to purchase an alcohol package if one person does. But there's a LOT of folks on Cruise Critic who say they've been able to get a refreshment (non-alcoholic) package along with an alcohol package if they called to order them. I've only heard one person say this didn't work for them.

 

[mjkacmom]

We sail on NCL, what I like about it is they are the best with freestyle dining, there aren’t any set dining times or tables, it’s just like restaurants on land, show up when you want (you can make reservations but we’ve never done that). You have MDR’s, buffet, and a 24 hour pub restaurant. Depending on the ship, there are other options in addition to specialty dining which costs extra. You will never go hungry on a cruise, even sit down restaurants are usually all you can eat.

 

[antmaril]

I was on the Sky Princess the week of January 13th (Caribbean cruise). This was my 12th cruise and fifth time on Princess. Of course, the Main Dining Room (there are three, same food) is always included. The massive Buffet is available until about 10:00 p.m. Some parts of the buffet close between meals, but there is always food available (until 10). There is pizza by the slice available on Deck 16, as well as hamburgers, hotdogs and tacos available at the Salty Dog also on Deck 16. We had the Plus Package which included (among other things) drinks and two Casual Dining meals at either Alfredo’s, a Sushi place or Vines (a wine bar that offered charcuterie). We chose to have lunch at Alfredo’s twice. We also had 24 hour sandwiches and pastries available from the International Cafe on Deck 5 (the Piazza). We spent no money for food on our cruise. There were three Specialty Dining restaurants on board (Steakhouse, Italian and Seafood), but we didn’t really feel the need.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[kymom99]

*IF* you drink enough to make a drink package worth it, the amount you pay in tips is the same is my point. I think, at least on RCI, the number of drinks to break even on a package is 4-5 every day (not sure on this, worth double checking).

The tip doesn't make enough of a difference to change the math. For whatever your drink of choice (alcohol, non-alcohol, soda):
A) What's the cost of the package per day?
B) How many of those drinks would you realistically get each day?
C) What's the ala carte cost of the drinks?

Multiply B & C. Is it more, less or about the same as A? THAT'S how you decide whether or not to get the drink package.
Also keep in mind, the package average is EVERY day. If you're on a port intensive cruise, and off the ship for eight hours/day, that cuts down on the number of drinks you'd consume. You need to factor that in.

Royal Caribbean's official stance is everyone over 21 in a cabin needs to purchase an alcohol package if one person does. But there's a LOT of folks on Cruise Critic who say they've been able to get a refreshment (non-alcoholic) package along with an alcohol package if they called to order them. I've only heard one person say this didn't work for them.

I get what you are saying. I was referring to the free drink packages offered by NCL. You might think oh I’ll have a couple drinks. But the tips are based off of, who knows what. You can always refuse the free package but many wouldn’t think about the fact they might be paying tips on much more than they would drink. Like me 58 year old me vs 28 year old me.

 

[sam_gordon]

I get what you are saying. I was referring to the free drink packages offered by NCL. You might think oh I’ll have a couple drinks. But the tips are based off of, who knows what. You can always refuse the free package but many wouldn’t think about the fact they might be paying tips on much more than they would drink. Like me 58 year old me vs 28 year old me.

Ah, sorry, wasn't familiar with NCL. So they give you the drink package for free, you just need to pay the tips (on the package price)? Yea, if you don't drink much that's not worth it.

 

[hertamaniac]

We never did specialty dining and were more than happy with the included dining options on Celebrity and NCL. NCL, which was our last cruise, I did enjoy the late-night food at their 24-hour pub (nothing fancy but satisfying).

 

[ford family]

I was on the Sky Princess the week of January 13th (Caribbean cruise). This was my 12th cruise and fifth time on Princess. Of course, the Main Dining Room (there are three, same food) is always included. The massive Buffet is available until about 10:00 p.m. Some parts of the buffet close between meals, but there is always food available (until 10). There is pizza by the slice available on Deck 16, as well as hamburgers, hotdogs and tacos available at the Salty Dog also on Deck 16. We had the Plus Package which included (among other things) drinks and two Casual Dining meals at either Alfredo’s, a Sushi place or Vines (a wine bar that offered charcuterie). We chose to have lunch at Alfredo’s twice. We also had 24 hour sandwiches and pastries available from the International Cafe on Deck 5 (the Piazza). We spent no money for food on our cruise. There were three Specialty Dining restaurants on board (Steakhouse, Italian and Seafood), but we didn’t really feel the need.

I hope this is helpful.

We are happy to pay for one of the speciality restaurants on formal nights because we don't do the dressing up stuff but don't feel comfortable just ignoring it.

ford family

 

[antmaril]

We are happy to pay for one of the speciality restaurants on formal nights because we don't do the dressing up stuff but don't feel comfortable just ignoring it.

ford family

My friend and I enjoy dressing up a little, so we were fine going to one of the Main Dining Rooms.

 

[jimmymc]

On the major cruiselines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, or Norwegian, the buffet and main dining room will be included with your cruise fare. Some ships may have multiple main dining rooms, grab and go/quick service options, or some themed restaurants included as well. But you'll at least get the buffet and a sit down restaurant on pretty much every ship.

The buffet usually opens at 6 am for breakfast and doesn't close until well after dinner. If you want something at 1 am, then some ships will have a 24 hour restaurant or quick service location, while others will only have room service, which may cost extra. Sometimes bars and lounges will also have snacks free to take.

The only time I've ever heard of getting food being an issue was on a Viking Ocean cruise. After 9 pm, the only food option on the ship was room service, which seems very early to completely close all the other options.

 

[mjkacmom]

I get what you are saying. I was referring to the free drink packages offered by NCL. You might think oh I’ll have a couple drinks. But the tips are based off of, who knows what. You can always refuse the free package but many wouldn’t think about the fact they might be paying tips on much more than they would drink. Like me 58 year old me vs 28 year old me.

NCL’s free at sea gratuities are based on the actual cost of the package, which ends up being $21 pp pd, a cocktail runs around $14, so if you drink more than one drink a day, you come out ahead (or in our case, WAY ahead).

 

[Disneyland1084]

In your case I would buy the soda package. You can get a soda anywhere on the ship including the dining room. Unless you are into drinking several fancy drinks a day the alcohol package is not worth it. I have always wanted a drink package but my husband doesn’t drink. I drink several beers a day on a cruise and break even not getting it. Last cruise I got seasick.and spent very little on alcohol

I just assumed the drink package included all drinks not included in the regular price. This is good to know, thanks.

 

[sam_gordon]

I just assumed the drink package included all drinks not included in the regular price. This is good to know, thanks.

On RCI, there are multiple drink packages available...

Water (you get 12 or 24 bottles of water delivered to your cabin on embarkation day)
Coffee Card (you get 15 specialty coffees).
Soda (unlimited soda)
Refreshment Package (unlimited water, soda, specialty coffee, fresh squeezed juice, basically any drink other than alcohol).
Deluxe (Everything, including alcohol. Supposedly a $14/drink limit).

Prices vary by ship/cruise. Regardless of which package you get (if any), you can always buy a drink.

 

[mjkacmom]

Ah, sorry, wasn't familiar with NCL. So they give you the drink package for free, you just need to pay the tips (on the package price)? Yea, if you don't drink much that's not worth it.

If you drink more than one alcoholic drink a day, it’s worth it.

 

[dpswift]

I just assumed the drink package included all drinks not included in the regular price. This is good to know, thanks.

The full drink package does, however I have found the soda package is a great value if you don’t want 6 or mor drinks a day

 

[sam_gordon]

The full drink package does, however I have found the soda package is a great value if you don’t want 6 or mor drinks a day

The soda package would only be a great value if you drink soda. I'm not sure how many drinks you need each day, but I'm guessing if it's just 1-2, it would probably be better to pay for each drink individually.

 

[tvguy]

We sail on NCL, what I like about it is they are the best with freestyle dining, there aren’t any set dining times or tables, it’s just like restaurants on land, show up when you want (you can make reservations but we’ve never done that). You have MDR’s, buffet, and a 24 hour pub restaurant. Depending on the ship, there are other options in addition to specialty dining which costs extra. You will never go hungry on a cruise, even sit down restaurants are usually all you can eat.

Different strokes. We've done three NCL cruises, two before Freestyle, one with. WHAT A DISASTER. Ever spend 90 minutes waiting for a table with hungry children? That was our first night. We quickly learned you can make a reservation for the next night in the MDR. You can only make reservations 24 hours in advance in the MDR. So when we got there for dinner each night the rest of the cruise we made our reservation for the NEXT night with the SAME server team. So you can Un-freestyle Freestyle with a little work. And apparently having guests ask for the same server team puts them in good standing with the Head Server and the cruise line. The last night our server and assistant server made a point of telling us how much they appreciated that we made a point of requesting their table with our reservation.

 

[Deb]

If you drink more than one alcoholic drink a day, it’s worth it.

but is "free at sea" really "free"? Or are you paying a premium for "free at sea" and then the gratuity if you choose to accept the "free" booze?

 

[mjkacmom]

but is "free at sea" really "free"? Or are you paying a premium for "free at sea" and then the gratuity if you choose to accept the "free" booze?

The only way to tell is to compare similar itineraries, but having sailed the same week in different years, before they had a beverage package vs. purchasing a beverage package vs. free at sea, I didn’t notice a significant price difference. RCCL’s package costs around $80 pp pd.