Thread: Are you a fan of all-you-can-drink alcohol packages on a cruise?

im in favor of it.

for all the people complaining and saying they wont go on a "carnival" cruise with the all u can drink does this mean u wont go on the celebrity or royal cruise with the all you can drink?

I didn't read through all the posts, but can't imagine that having the all-inclusive would deter people from booking a cruise. We don't gamble, and we would never be able to cruise if we decided we could only cruise on ships without a casino. We don't cruise Carnival because the one time we did, the service was horrible, and several in our group agreed. Also, they only had 1 show a night and the magician was more of a rapper then anything else. But their Calzones were terrific!

Opposite question, though. Would you not book a cruise because they do not have the drink package? We know a couple that lives near us who are huge Green Bay Packer fans (Who isn't, right?). We talked to them about our cruise in March, which is a Packer Player Cruise. They were very interested and planned to book, but NCL has suspended their All-Inclusive for then because of Spring Break. I would agree with that for later in the month, but we always cruise the beginning of March and it has never been Spring Break. So now TA says it looks like they are not going to book. How do we convince them to sign up anyway?

I have sailed Celebrity twice (my favourite line so far).
I intend to try Carnival for the first time next March with our Grandkids at Spring Break !
However this is Canadian Spring Break at the begining of March. I carefully searched the holidays of US schools in the area of Baltimore / DC / Philly and saw their Spring Break was the end of March otherwise I wouldn't consider it.

Part of the question really centers on the users of the packages. I think the image of Carnival all you can drink drinkers is different from the Celebrity or Regent all you can drink drinkers. It would slightly influence my desire to cruise Carnival, not so much the other lines.

Originally Posted by nealberk

Part of the question really centers on the users of the packages. I think the image of Carnival all you can drink drinkers is different from the Celebrity or Regent all you can drink drinkers. It would slightly influence my desire to cruise Carnival, not so much the other lines.

I agree!

We went to a wedding reception a few years ago with an open bar. We witnessed people we've known for years who seldom drank getting extremely toasted. Some of them really embarrassed themselves. We could see this as a problem on some ships.

I haven’t sailed aboard a ship that offers all-you-can-drink. However, I have purchased drink packages on the ships I’ve sailed because I saw the value in them. For the amount my partner and I consume, it was worth it.
So, in response to your poll question regarding all-you-can-drink packages I chose: Yes, but it depends on costs. If the math works out, we do it.

For me, it’s based on how much we drink, if we purchase the all-you-can-drink package, would we be saving money? I wouldn’t purchase an all-you-can-drink package that required me to consume more than my usual.

This video about Celebrity’s drink packages is a good example of what I’m talking about. He talks about why he decided to go with a drink package rather than buying individual drinks on his cruise, and what kinds of drinks are included in these drink packages, among other things. Celebrity Cruises Drink Packages | Alaska Cruise

i couldn't find a video there Vanny ? It may be my computer though.

Tony, here's the direct link to the video on YouTube Celebrity Drink Packages with Cruise Expert Edward - YouTube

Originally Posted by KeithnRita

We went to a wedding reception a few years ago with an open bar. We witnessed people we've known for years who seldom drank getting extremely toasted. Some of them really embarrassed themselves. We could see this as a problem on some ships.

Whenever a place offers "All you can drink" it doesn't make me drink much more than I would usually drink. No more so than an "all you can eat" setup would tempt me eat ten pieces of cheesecake!

However, there is the party-til-you-drop cruise crowd who will drink themselves sick if given an "all you can drink" option. You find this crowd not on any particular cruiseline, but rather on a type of cruise. It's always the inexpensive cruise with a close to home itinerary that sails for a very short duration and has a focus on pure fun rather than relaxing or learning. If I see an inexpensive, three to five day, fun fun fun cruise...with an all-you-can-drink package - I know it's not for me.