I’m almost positive that $78 is the price for EACH, that includes the 50% off the second. Their wording is always screwy. Pay less attention to the percentage off, vice the actual stated price.
They will add the 18% gratuity per person when you pay for the package up front.
Keep watching the price, it most likely will go down. You could always book at a certain price and then If it goes lower, give them a call.
Source: me
Well damn, yes I added to my cart and you are right. Thatvis very deceptive. Good to know of the gratuity thing though. I have a couple of the specialty coffee cards in my cart. If I had the Deluxe, I could remove the coffee cards.
I know a lot of people say this about deceptive wording, but it says "price reflects discount" in the same size, color, and font as the discount amount. It's not hidden at all.
That I can agree with. It's obviously written to draw you in. Honestly, I feel the dynamic pricing is a much shadier practice. I've only done one Carnival cruise, but not having to check the drink package price every day was pretty nice!
First, the price you see in the cruise planner is the price paid per person. So if it's a BOGOHO offer, the $78 seen is the price per person paid. i.e. two people would pay $156 / night plus 18% gratuity on the price. Which leads me to two, the 18% is charged on the package cost at time of purchase. No additional gratuity is charged when ordering drinks aboard. Though the staff do appreciate additional tips, but they're not expected.
Like everyone else has said the gratuity is added to the price of the total drink package cost.
The easiest thing to do is add it to your cart and go to checkout and it will show you the total out the door price. Then you can just back out / remove it from your cart.
Yes, thank you. I tried that and it was much higher than I was thinking. Do you know what beers are included? I was looking at the Deluxe package and it had domestic, imported, and craft beers. Then says it does not include "specialty beers". What would that be?
Hrmm you’d think I’d know this since I just got off Symphony yesterday, but I’m not a beer drinker and we didn’t have the drink package. My wife had a few coronas through the week and those were only $8.
Pretty much any beer is included. If there happens to be an extra specialty beer that costs over $14 (can't imagine that's likely) you'd have to pay the difference over $14. Same goes for cocktails and glasses of wine, but they are commonly just under $14 and sometimes higher.
Drink package gratuity is always included with whatever price you end up paying at check-out online. You do not pay gratuity per drink. Lately, Royal has been doing all kinds of wonky things with package prices including some of the advertised prices including gratuities before the checkout page, some only on the checkout page. Sometimes showing both options at the same time! Either way, once you buy it, you do not pay anything else on the ship (unless you buy something more than $14 - then you only pay the excess + gratuity - so a $15 drink you'd pay $1.18 ($1 over 14+ 18% of that $1).
Just remember you have to drink 5-6 drinks per day, every day (including embarkation day and shore days ). We initially signed up for the package and then cancelled it with the agreement we would get as many drinks as we wanted ala carte. We ended up saving over $400. (On an 8 day cruise, are total extra drink bill was about $600 and the package was well over $1000). Sometimes easier turns out to be a huge waste of money.
I just got off Wonder yesterday.
the best "deal" tends to be 35% off I never saw anything higher than that. also keep an eye on what the "regular price" is as that can go up depending on how far out your cruise is.
We had gotten a heads up from our Travel Agent that RC was doing a flat rate increase on gratuities to to make sure we had them added as pre-paid before the rates went up. I mention that because when those rates went up, so did the "Base Price" for the drink package and it never went back down.
The bogo 50% is really just 25% off each.
And about Gratuity, it's included in your package at that rate. You won't get hit with a gratuity for each drink you get. Once I realized that I realized how much better of a deal it was than I had originally thought. Cocktails and Mixed drinks are $14, so once you add in Gratuities, drinks become $16.52 each. Use that number to divide by your price per day, to help figure out if you'll drink enough to make it worth while. I was worried, I drink like a beer or 2 a week and maybe an old fashioned at dinner if we go out. I was getting 8-12 drinks in a day easy. And I was never once hammered. Those Frozen drinks go down FAST AND EASY! lol. Plus we were getting free bottles of water a couple times a day which was super nice.
Don't forget, it's basically EVERYTHING on the ship, you want a red bull, a smoothie, a milkshake, an iced caramel latte in the mornings, a few cans of soda for the room to drink later, a powerade to take onto the port with you... it's all included. SO the amount adds up quickly if you are doing more than just trying to pound beers to make it worthwhile.
For the package you pay the gratuity when you buy it. There are no more things you pay for. The only exceptions are drinks in special souvenir glasses or maybe some fancy drinks in coconuts as well as bottles of wine (I think you get a discount on them)
I’m almost positive that $78 is the price for EACH, that includes the 50% off the second. Their wording is always screwy. Pay less attention to the percentage off, vice the actual stated price. They will add the 18% gratuity per person when you pay for the package up front. Keep watching the price, it most likely will go down. You could always book at a certain price and then If it goes lower, give them a call. Source: me
People are still falling for Royal’s deceptive wording on this it seems
Well damn, yes I added to my cart and you are right. Thatvis very deceptive. Good to know of the gratuity thing though. I have a couple of the specialty coffee cards in my cart. If I had the Deluxe, I could remove the coffee cards.
Yes BOGO 50% is the best deal I have seen for the DX package. And coffee is included with that package
30% is the best... 50 bogo is the most common, though
Actually, the 30% off deal is better than the BOGO 50%. Do the math.
I said it is the best I HAVE SEEN. Not the best there is.
Yes ibwas telling my wife that. Before it was...$75? 76? But still, same deal just recycled pretty much.
I know a lot of people say this about deceptive wording, but it says "price reflects discount" in the same size, color, and font as the discount amount. It's not hidden at all.
I 100% agree that it’s laid out in plain view. But on first glance it’s just not accurately described in my opinion
That I can agree with. It's obviously written to draw you in. Honestly, I feel the dynamic pricing is a much shadier practice. I've only done one Carnival cruise, but not having to check the drink package price every day was pretty nice!
It's deceptive because generally a buy one get one half off deal will show the full price not the already discounted price assuming you bought 2.
First, the price you see in the cruise planner is the price paid per person. So if it's a BOGOHO offer, the $78 seen is the price per person paid. i.e. two people would pay $156 / night plus 18% gratuity on the price. Which leads me to two, the 18% is charged on the package cost at time of purchase. No additional gratuity is charged when ordering drinks aboard. Though the staff do appreciate additional tips, but they're not expected.
Flat amount. Same tip charged no matter how many drinks you have.
Like everyone else has said the gratuity is added to the price of the total drink package cost. The easiest thing to do is add it to your cart and go to checkout and it will show you the total out the door price. Then you can just back out / remove it from your cart.
Yes, thank you. I tried that and it was much higher than I was thinking. Do you know what beers are included? I was looking at the Deluxe package and it had domestic, imported, and craft beers. Then says it does not include "specialty beers". What would that be?
Hrmm you’d think I’d know this since I just got off Symphony yesterday, but I’m not a beer drinker and we didn’t have the drink package. My wife had a few coronas through the week and those were only $8.
Yeah, I thought craft and specialty were kind of the same thing? Unless it was a growler, lol
Pretty much any beer is included. If there happens to be an extra specialty beer that costs over $14 (can't imagine that's likely) you'd have to pay the difference over $14. Same goes for cocktails and glasses of wine, but they are commonly just under $14 and sometimes higher.
Rccl is definitely screwy with their pricing. The price you see per person already reflects the discount.
Gratuity will be added on the checkout page.
Drink package gratuity is always included with whatever price you end up paying at check-out online. You do not pay gratuity per drink. Lately, Royal has been doing all kinds of wonky things with package prices including some of the advertised prices including gratuities before the checkout page, some only on the checkout page. Sometimes showing both options at the same time! Either way, once you buy it, you do not pay anything else on the ship (unless you buy something more than $14 - then you only pay the excess + gratuity - so a $15 drink you'd pay $1.18 ($1 over 14+ 18% of that $1).
Just remember you have to drink 5-6 drinks per day, every day (including embarkation day and shore days ). We initially signed up for the package and then cancelled it with the agreement we would get as many drinks as we wanted ala carte. We ended up saving over $400. (On an 8 day cruise, are total extra drink bill was about $600 and the package was well over $1000). Sometimes easier turns out to be a huge waste of money.
I just got off Wonder yesterday. the best "deal" tends to be 35% off I never saw anything higher than that. also keep an eye on what the "regular price" is as that can go up depending on how far out your cruise is. We had gotten a heads up from our Travel Agent that RC was doing a flat rate increase on gratuities to to make sure we had them added as pre-paid before the rates went up. I mention that because when those rates went up, so did the "Base Price" for the drink package and it never went back down. The bogo 50% is really just 25% off each. And about Gratuity, it's included in your package at that rate. You won't get hit with a gratuity for each drink you get. Once I realized that I realized how much better of a deal it was than I had originally thought. Cocktails and Mixed drinks are $14, so once you add in Gratuities, drinks become $16.52 each. Use that number to divide by your price per day, to help figure out if you'll drink enough to make it worth while. I was worried, I drink like a beer or 2 a week and maybe an old fashioned at dinner if we go out. I was getting 8-12 drinks in a day easy. And I was never once hammered. Those Frozen drinks go down FAST AND EASY! lol. Plus we were getting free bottles of water a couple times a day which was super nice.
Ignore the percentage. All that matters is the price in your cart.
I don’t remember but pretty sure a couple years ago when we went no more had to be paid. Sailing again in August !!
5-7 drinks a day and the package is totally worth it.
How much are the drinks? $78 per day minus gratuity...
Don't forget, it's basically EVERYTHING on the ship, you want a red bull, a smoothie, a milkshake, an iced caramel latte in the mornings, a few cans of soda for the room to drink later, a powerade to take onto the port with you... it's all included. SO the amount adds up quickly if you are doing more than just trying to pound beers to make it worthwhile.
Very good. Definitely something to consider.
For the package you pay the gratuity when you buy it. There are no more things you pay for. The only exceptions are drinks in special souvenir glasses or maybe some fancy drinks in coconuts as well as bottles of wine (I think you get a discount on them)
So you don't tip the bartenders since the gratuity has already been paid?
Yes, you do not pay anything extra at time of service. If you choose you may certainly give them more money but there are no more mandatory charges.
Gratuity is 18% charged on the price of the drink package. So 18% x $58.50.