Royal Caribbean Cruising - Cruises Forum (2024)

Level Contributor

5 posts

11 reviews

3 helpful votes

Hi David;

This forum, the “TripAdvisor Support” forum, is for general questions and assistance using the TripAdvisor site itself. It is NOT a concierge service for every type of query that might occur while travelling.

As a new user of the forums, I would suggest before posting on any forum to read the "sticky" at the top of the forum’s page, if there is one. The sticky will explain the focus/purpose of the forum, important information, and other details. As an example, the sticky at the top of this forum is;

"PLEASE READ: How to use the Support forum!" and has a push-pin icon beside it.

I would suggest posting your question on the "Cruises" forum, which is here on TA;

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowForum-g1-i10703-Cruises.html

You might also consider posting your question on TripAdvisor's sister site, CruiseCritic.com

Best Regards

Destination Expert

All your food is supplied within the price. You only have to pay extra for speciality dining and alcohol if you’re not partaking of the alcohol package.

There is no need to pay extra for anything else other than tours but most people do their own thing.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that you have to take food/drink packages.

I've never heard of a cruise food package. Just take all your meals in the main restaurant or buffet and don't eat in any of the speciality restaurants that you pay extra for.

Pay for drinks as and when you have them.

Edited: 1 year ago

Tripadvisor staff removed this post because it did not meet Tripadvisor's forum guideline limiting each user to a single forums screen name.

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I was a newbie (solo) cruise passenger out of Tampa on RCCLs Serenade of the Seas. I did not opt for the expensive (to me) alcoholic drink packages (and I'm ore of a wine drinker these days than I am hard liquor). But I did buy 3 drinks from a pool-area bar during the 7 night journey.

However, what I did is bring onboard 2 bottles of good wine ... which is permitted by RCCL the first day, in a carry-on bag. Two bottles per stateroom per cruise, no matter the number of guests.

I could have eaten in the Main Dining Room, or at one of the other included venues but chose to eat all of my meals in the Windjammer buffet and was satisfied with the no-extra-charge non-carbonated beverages offered there and elsewhere onboard.

For many people cruising, I'll suggest cruising is the most expensive form of vacation one can take .. when you add-in the "extras: Internet/Wi-Fi, specialty dining, drink packages, excursions. In some ways, I'm envious of those who have the money to travel that way. Me? Few of those things are important. I'm fine with the way I travel.

Agree with the last paragraph of #5. Neither my husband and I drink much, so a drink package isn't worth it to us. We had it included on a recent trip and I didn't even consume I drink a day! My husband maybe had two beers each day. Paying $70-$90 per person each just doesn't make sense. The two specialty DR's on our ship were included in the price but required reservations. WIFI, which was also included, was terrible so we used our regular cellphone plan data package. We wouldn't have been happy if we had paid for WIFI separately.

I don't really worry about what others are doing or what cabin class they might be in. Bottom line is that with any cruise, you have to pick the things that matter most to you and what the associated costs are. Pay for the extras you want and if you don't want any of them, just go and enjoy.

In #5 I mentioned bringing aboard 2 bottles of wine when boarding. After I posted that comment I learned that RCCL is changing the policy to 1 bottle of wine per stateroom at boarding time. :-(

When we were on our last 10 day RCCL cruise we took our allocated wine and did not buy a drinks package of any sort. We don't drink soft drinks (soda) and I kept our water bottles filled from the soda machine which was free for water.

We did buy a coffee card for our daily latte fix and 3 specialty restaurants during one of the online sales.

Keep in mind that there is also an added 18% "gratuity" placed on top of the price for all drinks.