Royal Caribbean has traditionally offered few adult-beverage deals for people who opt not to buy its Deluxe Beverage Package.
The deluxe package offers unlimited alcoholic beverages as well as soda, specialty coffee, fresh-squeezed juice, milkshakes and bottled water. It has generally gotten more expensive, although it’s priced in a very wide range.
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On a 3- or 4-day cruise it might cost $80 to $100 a day plus an 18% gratuity. On longer cruises it tends to be closer to a range of $60 to $80 a day, although that can vary.
But when most cocktails cost $14, beer coming in at $8 to $10, and wine being on the higher end of that scale as well, the Deluxe Beverage Package proves a deal for many passengers.Â
Some, however, opt not to buy the DBP before their cruises (or don’t realize they should), and that puts them in a difficult situation.
On many ships Royal Caribbean no longer offers any sort of deal on the DBP once you board. In other cases, it offers buy one, get one for 50% but at a top-level price of $110 per person per day before the discount plus the 18% gratuity.
People who don’t buy the package traditionally have had few ways to save money on drinks.
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Here’s how Royal Caribbean has handled drink discounts
Royal Caribbean offers members of its Crown and Anchor loyalty program free drinks each day. Each day Diamond members get four drinks priced up to $14, while Diamond Plus members get five and Pinnacle members get six.
In addition, some minor drink discounts on bottles of wine and other beverages are offered, again based on your loyalty tier.
Casino Royale players get free drinks in the casino when they hit Prime (which requires earning 2,500 points in the casino year). Those drinks can be claimed any time the casino is open, but only in the casino bar. You don’t have to be playing to get free casino drinks.
Other than these, Royal Caribbean has generally offered only one other drink deal. At the pool bars and sometimes select other bars it usually offers a drink of the day. That’s usually a tropical beverage sold for between $8 and $12, a discount over the typical $14 cocktail price.
And on rare occasions Royal Caribbean also offers a $99 10-drink card, again a savings for cocktail and wine drinkers.
Now, however, Royal Caribbean is offering two new adult beverage deals, which have appeared in select bars on select ships.
Image source: Daniel Kline/ComeCruiseWith.com
Royal Caribbean tests a new deal
On the Jan. 5 sailing of Wonder of the Seas the Cask & Clipper Pub displayed the two beverage deals noted above plus one more.
One offered $6 Happy Hour Margaritas from 4 to 6 p.m. while the second offered 2-for-1 draft beets in the pub all day. A third deal offered $5 glasses of wine from 4 to 6 p.m.
All three are massive savings compared to the typical deals Royal Caribbean offers with its Drink of the Day.
The beer offer excluded only the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, while the margarita offer specified that it was house margaritas “with no exceptions.” The wine deal was for Robert Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cask & Clipper, located on the Royal Promenade on Deck 5, tends to be a quiet spot during the day. In the morning it serves as overflow seating for people getting coffee and pastries at the nearby Cafe Promenade. In the afternoon, it might host a guest-led meeting for Alcoholics Anonymous, solo travelers, or LGBTQ+ cruisers.Â
At night, before the pub guitarist plays sets of acoustic music, the venue is filled largely with people eating pizza from Sorrento’s.
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This deal might be an attempt to draw traffic to an often-underused spot before 8 or 8:30 p.m. when the pub guitarist plays. The beer deal was still being offered at night when the pub on Wonder of the Seas was packed to see Ellie Finnerty, one of Royal Caribbean’s most popular pub guitarists.
Royal Caribbean did not immediately return a request for comment on the new beverage offer.
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