The drinks package question follows every cruise booking like a shadow. The cruise line markets it hard, your fellow passengers debate it on the forums, and the numbers look simple on the surface: pay a fixed daily rate, drink whatever you like. In practice, whether a package saves you money depends almost entirely on how much you drink, how many sea days your itinerary has, and whether everyone in your cabin crosses the threshold together.
This guide sets out the actual break-even calculation, a line-by-line breakdown of what each major cruise line charges, and the circumstances in which a package earns its cost. It also shows where it quietly costs you more than paying as you go.
What a Drinks Package Covers (and What It Doesn’t)
Most cruise drinks packages work on a per-drink price cap model. The package covers any individual drink up to a set value, typically between £10 and £20 depending on the line and tier. Within that cap, you can order cocktails, spirits, beer, wine by the glass, soft drinks, specialty coffees, bottled water, and juices. Anything you order above the cap, such as a premium aged whisky, a bottle of Champagne, or a drink that costs £22 in a venue where the cap is £14, attracts the difference as a charge to your account.
Standard inclusions across most packages: house spirits, cocktails, draught and bottled beer, wines by the glass (usually house to mid-range), soft drinks, bottled water, specialty coffees (espresso, cappuccino, latte), fresh juices and smoothies, and non-alcoholic cocktails. Standard exclusions: minibar items, room service beverages, wine or Champagne by the bottle, premium or aged spirits above the price cap, and drinks purchased in select speciality venues. On P&O, for example, the ornate Anderson’s Bar falls partly outside the standard package.
One important structural point: on most mainstream lines, drinks packages must be purchased for the entire voyage. You cannot buy a package for three days and pay as you go for the rest. On Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, MSC, and P&O, all adults sharing a cabin are required to buy the same package. One partner cannot hold a package while the other pays individually.
Royal Caribbean enforces this strictly with no exceptions as of August 2025. The rule applies even for medical reasons, sobriety, or pregnancy. If one adult in your cabin barely drinks, factor their cost into your total calculation: the package needs to cover both of you.
The Break-Even Calculation
The break-even point is the number of drinks per day you need to consume for the package to pay for itself. It is higher than most people instinctively expect, because the package price tends to reflect generous drinkers rather than average ones.
Take a package costing around £55 per person per day, roughly P&O’s Classic rate or Royal Caribbean’s mid-range pre-cruise price after converting and adding gratuity. Cocktails at £9–£12 each require you to drink five or six per day to break even on alcohol alone. Beer at £5–£7 a pint would require eight to eleven pints. In practice, most people reach break-even through a blend: two specialty coffees (£4–£6 each), two or three cocktails or glasses of wine at lunch and dinner, and a couple of drinks in the evening, with bottled water throughout the day. That combination adds up to £55–£65 at individual prices, at which point the package starts to make sense.
The honest answer for most moderate drinkers, meaning two or three alcoholic drinks per day, coffee in the mornings, and soft drinks with meals, is that they will not break even. The package is designed for people who drink consistently throughout the day across multiple venues. If a long lunch with wine, afternoon cocktails, and a couple of drinks with dinner is a description of your natural holiday rhythm, the maths works. If you have a beer before dinner and a glass of wine with it, it almost certainly does not.
Estimate honestly: how many alcoholic drinks did you consume on your last beach holiday? Add coffees (at £4–£6 each on most ships) and bottled water to that total. Multiply by the per-drink average (roughly £8–£10) and compare to the package daily rate including any gratuity. If your honest daily spend comes to less than the package price, pay as you go.
Drinks Package Prices by Cruise Line
Prices change frequently and are often dynamic, particularly on US-based lines. The figures below are representative for 2026 sailings from Southampton and European itineraries. Treat them as a guide and verify before booking.
P&O Cruises drinks packages
P&O offers four package tiers, all priced in GBP with no service charge added. That is a significant advantage over US lines, where gratuity inflates the headline price by 18–20%. The Refresh package (soft drinks and juices only) costs £16 per person per day onboard, or £14.40 pre-cruise. The Alcohol-Free package costs £29 onboard. The Classic package, the most popular, is £50 per day onboard across all voyage lengths, with a flat 10% saving when booked in advance (around £45 for voyages of 15 nights or longer). The Deluxe package is £60 onboard, covering premium spirits in 50ml measures, 250ml wines, craft beers, and a 20% discount on anything above the package.
P&O individual drink prices for comparison: pints around £5 to £6.50, house wine by the glass £5.75 to £9, cocktails £7.25 to £10.95. The Classic package break-even is roughly six drinks per day. P&O does not run Black Friday or Wave Season discounts on packages. The pre-cruise 10% saving is the main discount available, and it typically closes three days before departure.
Cunard cruise drinks package
Cunard’s pricing is quoted in USD even for UK guests, which adds some currency uncertainty. The standalone Beverage Collection costs $105 per person per day for voyages up to six nights, $85 for 7–14 nights, and $70 for voyages of 15 nights or more, with a 10% saving when booked in advance through My Cunard. The drink value cap is $13.50–$20 per serving depending on tier. For 2026 sailings, Cunard has introduced Signature Packages bundling drinks, Wi-Fi, and a up to $100 dining credit from around £60 per day on 14-night voyages. These bundles may represent better value than pricing the components separately.
Cunard’s premium positioning means individual drink prices are generally higher than P&O, which improves the relative value of a package. The longer voyage discounts (15+ nights, $70/day) make Atlantic crossings and extended voyages the best candidates for a Cunard package.
Royal Caribbean drinks package
Royal Caribbean’s Deluxe Beverage Package is dynamically priced and varies significantly by ship, itinerary, and booking timing. The fleet median sits around $72 per person per day pre-cruise, but ranges from around $55 on older ships to $90–$110 on newer vessels such as Utopia of the Seas. An 18% gratuity is added on top, so at the median the true all-in cost is approximately $85 per day (around £67). Onboard prices are substantially higher.
Royal Caribbean runs the most aggressive package sales of any line. Black Friday 2025 saw packages available from $27.99 per day, roughly £22, which fundamentally changes the break-even calculation. Wave Season (January to March) often advertises around 30–40% off, though the baseline price the discount applies to fluctuates and the real saving is usually more modest than the headline. If you are considering a Royal Caribbean package, checking the price regularly and purchasing during a sale period can save several hundred pounds on a seven-night sailing.
MSC Cruises drinks packages
MSC’s Premium Extra package is the main option on European sailings since Easy Plus was discontinued in August 2025. The standard rate is around £60–£64 per person per day on European sailings (gratuities included). Pre-cruise promotional pricing can drop as low as £26 per day during sale periods, so check the MSC website before booking onboard. It covers drinks up to £14 per serving. MSC introduced a daily cap of 15 alcoholic drinks per person in April 2025. The European pricing structure is more straightforward than US lines, with no gratuity added on top, which makes the comparison to pay-as-you-go cleaner.
Celebrity Cruises drinks packages
Celebrity offers two main tiers. The Classic package starts at around $89–$99 per person per day plus a 20% service charge. The Premium package runs $105–$125 per day plus 20%, extending to top-shelf spirits and a wider wine selection. European sailings booked pre-cruise can be considerably cheaper. The same Premium package that costs $125 onboard has appeared at under $60 pre-cruise on some Celebrity Ascent Europe sailings. Celebrity’s premium product positioning means individual drink prices are high enough that moderate drinkers can find packages competitive.
Princess Cruises drinks packages
Princess Cruises sells drinks differently from most lines: rather than a standalone beverage package, drinks are bundled into the broader Princess Plus and Princess Premier fare upgrades, which also include Wi-Fi, gratuities and other extras. Princess Plus typically covers drinks up to a per-drink cap; Princess Premier sits above it with a higher cap and more inclusions. Because the package is bundled into the fare, a like-for-like break-even versus pay-as-you-go is harder to calculate than with the standalone packages above. The rule of thumb is the same: track your spending on the first sea day before committing if your itinerary allows it.
Norwegian Cruise Line drinks package
NCL’s Unlimited Open Bar package retails at around $109 per person per day plus a mandatory 20% gratuity (some onboard mid-cruise discounts have been observed at around $45 per day plus gratuity), typically around $28.50 per day, bringing the true cost to roughly $115–$140 per day. NCL’s Free at Sea promotion bundles this package as a perk, but the gratuity remains payable. A Premium Plus tier runs approximately $138 per day plus gratuity. NCL also offers a Starbucks-only package at around $16.50 per day plus tip, and a standalone soda package. Both are worth considering for non-drinkers sharing a cabin with a package holder.
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When a Drinks Package Is Worth It
A drinks package earns its cost in fairly specific circumstances. The clearest case is a regular drinker on a sea-day-heavy itinerary, such as a transatlantic crossing, a long Norwegian fjords sailing, or any cruise with three or more sea days. When you are on the ship for the full day, the hours available for drinking increase substantially, and the break-even point becomes easier to reach without drinking more than you normally would.
A package also makes sense if the alternative is constant mental accounting. For some passengers, the appeal of a package is not the savings but the freedom: the ability to order without looking at prices, to try a different cocktail without calculating whether it is worth it, to have wine with every meal without a bill arriving at the end of the week. That peace of mind has genuine value, even if the strict maths do not always support it.
The sale-price case is the strongest financial argument. A Royal Caribbean package bought at Black Friday pricing of £22–£37 per day has a break-even point of just two or three drinks, which practically any regular drinker will clear. If you are considering a Royal Caribbean or Celebrity sailing and can tolerate some booking flexibility, monitoring package prices and buying during a sale can make the decision straightforward.
- Sea-day-heavy itinerary. Three or more full days at sea means more drinking time, which is the most reliable predictor of package value
- Regular drinker. Five or more drinks daily including coffees, soft drinks and water, so the package covers your natural holiday rhythm
- Premium spirits drinker. If you regularly order aged whiskies, premium gins, or wines above the house tier, packages protect against high per-drink costs
- Bought on sale. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity packages at Black Friday or Wave Season pricing change the break-even dramatically
- Long voyage. Cunard’s 15+ night rate and P&O’s discount for longer sailings make packages better value on extended itineraries
When to Skip the Package
The case against a package is just as clear. Port-intensive Mediterranean itineraries, with six or seven ports in seven nights, mean six to eight hours off the ship each day, on top of time at dinner and sleep. The window for drinking shrinks significantly, and a moderate drinker will struggle to reach break-even even if they try.
The all-adults rule is the most common reason packages fail the calculation for couples. If one partner drinks regularly and the other barely drinks, the total cost of both packages needs to be justified by one person’s consumption. At £55 per person per day for a couple, you need to spend £110 per day on drinks as a household for the package to pay, which works out at roughly ten to twelve individual drinks between two people, every day.
P&O and Cunard pay-as-you-go pricing is also relatively moderate compared to American or international lines. P&O does not add automatic service charges to individual drinks, so a couple sharing a bottle of wine at dinner and having a beer each before are spending perhaps £25–£30, far below the package threshold. Careful, conscious drinkers on P&O often find they spend less paying individually than they would on a package.
- Port-heavy itinerary. Six or more hours ashore each day cuts available drinking time, so moderate drinkers rarely break even
- Mixed-drinking couple. The all-adults rule means one person’s package must carry the cost for both, and the numbers rarely stack up
- Beer-and-house-wine drinkers. The cheapest drinks have the worst package value, so you need higher volume to break even than premium spirit drinkers
- P&O or Cunard moderate drinkers. Individual drink prices are lower than US lines and no service charge applies, so pay-as-you-go often wins
- Short cruise. Three to four nights leaves limited time to recover the upfront package cost, especially on a port-intensive sailing
How to Buy Smartly
Pre-cruise pricing beats onboard pricing on every line, often significantly. For Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, buying before sailing can save 20–40% compared to the onboard price. For P&O and Cunard, the saving is a flat 10%, which closes three days before departure. Buy as soon as you are sure you want a package rather than waiting until the last minute.
For US-based lines, monitor prices after booking. Royal Caribbean’s package prices fluctuate, and if you buy early and the price drops, you can usually cancel and rebook the package up to a certain point before sailing. Black Friday (late November) is the most reliable window for genuine discounts: Royal Caribbean packages appeared at $27.99–$46.99 per day in 2025, and Celebrity runs similar promotions. Wave Season (January through March) also brings meaningful reductions.
If you decide not to buy a full package, consider partial options. P&O’s Alcohol-Free package at £29 per day covers specialty coffees, mocktails, soft drinks, and non-alcoholic beer. If you are spending £6 on two coffees and £4–£5 on soft drinks each day, this pays for itself quickly. NCL’s Starbucks package and standalone soda packages serve a similar purpose for non-drinkers on US lines.
- Check the price weekly after booking. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity use dynamic pricing, so the pre-cruise package price can drop 30–40% if you book early and monitor it. You can usually cancel and rebook if a better price appears
- Buy during Black Friday or Wave Season for US lines. November and January–March are the best windows. Royal Caribbean packages at under £25/day change the break-even calculation entirely
- Calculate the true daily cost including gratuity. For US lines, add 18–20% to any quoted price. A $72/day Royal Caribbean package costs around $85/day all-in, and that is the figure to compare against pay-as-you-go, not the headline rate
- Consider the non-alcoholic package if one person barely drinks. NCL’s Starbucks package (~$16.50/day + tip) or P&O’s Alcohol-Free package (£29/day) give the non-drinker something without buying a full beverage package
- Do not wait until embarkation day. Packages are available at a higher onboard price from day one of the cruise. Buy pre-cruise to lock in the saving, and do it before the window closes (3 days for P&O; varies for US lines)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, on every mainstream line: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, MSC, P&O, Cunard and NCL all require both adults sharing a cabin to buy the same drinks package. Royal Caribbean and Cunard enforce this strictly with no exceptions, and the other lines apply the policy at booking and check-in. The intent is to prevent one passenger from sharing their package with another, which voids the package entirely. Check your specific line’s current terms before booking.
It depends on the line. On Royal Caribbean an 18% gratuity is automatically added to the package price at purchase (shown as a separate line at checkout); Celebrity and NCL apply similar service charges in addition to the headline price. P&O quotes its drinks packages inclusive of service in the GBP price, and P&O fares also include daily cabin gratuities. Cunard works differently: the drinks package gratuity is best checked at booking, and Cunard’s daily cabin gratuities (around USD 18.50 per person per day in 2026) are added separately to your onboard account during the cruise.
Generally yes on most packages above the basic tier. P&O’s Classic and Deluxe packages include specialty coffees. Royal Caribbean’s Deluxe Beverage Package includes specialty coffees from venues such as Cafe Promenade, but explicitly excludes drinks from licensed Starbucks stores onboard, which you pay in full even with the package. Check your specific package inclusions, as lower-tier options may exclude coffees or limit them to standard filter coffee.
Most mainstream lines operate a pay-the-difference rule on their top-tier package: if your package cap is around £14 per drink and you order a cocktail at £18, the package covers the first £14 and you are charged the £4 difference. The exact cap varies by line and package tier, so check your specific terms for premium spirits, high-end wines, and specialty cocktails.
Black Friday (late November) for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and NCL. Packages have reached £22/day in recent years, versus the usual £55–£80. Wave Season (January to March) is the second-best window. P&O and Cunard typically offer a pre-cruise saving (often around 10%) and tier benefits via World Club / Peninsular Club rather than the heavy Black Friday discounting seen on US lines.
Almost everywhere, but not quite. Most packages work in the main bars, dining rooms, pool deck, and buffet. Exclusions vary by line: P&O’s Anderson’s Bar has some drinks outside the standard package, and some speciality restaurant wine lists fall partly outside the cap. Check your specific package terms, and ask a bartender on the first day if you are unsure about a particular venue.
The passengers who get the best value from drinks packages are those who drink consistently throughout the day, with coffees in the morning, wine at lunch, and cocktails in the evening, and who are sailing with sea days rather than back-to-back ports. If that is not your usual holiday rhythm, the package is likely to cost more than paying as you go.
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- Berth and terminal details, including whether the port is walkable or requires a transfer
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Typical Sources
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