Are Cruise Drink Packages Worth It?

A cruise drink package is worth buying when it costs less than the drinks you would otherwise purchase over the whole sailing. There is no universal six drinks a day rule. Coffee, gratuities, your cabin mate's package and drinks already included in your fare can change the answer substantially.

Start with the final checkout total for your sailing. Fathom Fares tracks cabin fares across 13 cruise lines, not live drink package checkout prices. The calculations below are examples, not booking quotes.

Calculate the cost on both sides

Compare package spending with individual drink spending using the same basis. Include required service charges on both sides, plus any applicable taxes. Adding gratuities to the package while dividing by a cocktail's menu price overstates how many drinks you need.

For a hypothetical seven night cruise, suppose a package costs $70 per person daily before a 20 percent service charge. That becomes $84 daily, or $588 for one person and $1,176 if two adults must buy it.

Suppose a cocktail costs $14 before the same charge, or $16.80 total. Five cocktails cost $84, exactly matching one day's package. If you would also buy $12 of covered coffee, water and soda including service charges, the remaining $72 equals about 4.3 cocktails. Four cocktails plus those extras cost $79.20; five plus extras cost $96.

That is a budget comparison, not a drinking target. Count only drinks you would buy anyway, and only those the package covers. Free tap water and ordinary coffee do not become savings because you switch to bottled water and lattes.

A real published reference, checked October 4, 2026, is Carnival's US CHEERS! help page: $83.94 per person daily before sailing and $89.94 onboard, including its 20 percent service charge. Royal Caribbean's package FAQ instead specifies an 18 percent added gratuity where permitted. Use your own sailing's terms; neither percentage is universal. Beverage charges are separate from daily crew gratuities.

Use the whole itinerary and the whole cabin

Write an estimate for every charged day, including embarkation and port days. In another hypothetical seven day example, three days at $100 of covered drinks and four at $40 total $460. A $588 package would cost $128 more, even though it saves money on the busiest days.

Apply the same exercise to everyone required to purchase. Two $588 packages cost $1,176; if one person would spend $700 and the other $150, paying individually costs $850. The first person's savings do not rescue the cabin's total.

• Carnival and Royal Caribbean: Carnival requires other adults aged 21 or older in the cabin to buy CHEERS! Royal uses the legal drinking age for its cabin purchase rule, which can differ by departure region.
• Celebrity: its FAQ requires the same alcohol package for guests of legal drinking age, but lists Zero Proof substitutions for pregnancy, recovery and medical restrictions. Arrange an exception before paying.
• MSC: matching package requirements can extend to guests dining together, with age appropriate packages for minors. Check the conditions for your booking market.

Check each destination separately. Carnival excludes drinks ashore, including Celebration Key and Half Moon Cay, from CHEERS! A private island belonging to your cruise company does not automatically accept your package.

Bundles need a different calculation

Princess Plus and Premier combine drinks with other benefits, including wifi and crew appreciation. Subtract only the extras you would otherwise purchase from the bundle's additional cost. An included restaurant meal has no cash saving if you planned to eat in the complimentary dining room. Princess Plus counts certain nonalcoholic drinks, including soda and mocktails, toward its daily beverage limit; coffee, tea and its separate water allowance follow different rules. Compare the two in our Princess package guide.

Holland America's Have It All combines its drinks package with excursions, specialty dining and wifi. Compare that fare with the fare without those benefits. Its Have It All terms count qualifying alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks toward the Signature daily allowance. A separate general beverage FAQ describes an alcoholic drink limit instead. Confirm the allowance attached to your purchase, including how coffee is counted, before calculating its value.

Norwegian's Free at Sea also needs a comparison of the complete booking totals with and without the selected offer. Its current Free at Sea FAQ tells guests to prepay the gratuities. Review the associated charges in your complete booking total; do not assume the word free means no additional cost. Older More at Sea reservations can retain different terms. Our Norwegian guide explains the distinction.

Some lines already include drinks

Regent, Silversea and Explora include a broad selection of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages in their fares. Check the included selection before budgeting for upgrades or special bottles. An expensive label can still cost extra; there is no need to add a mainstream drinks package allowance automatically.

Oceania is different. Its current Your World Included offer includes specialty coffee, soda and other nonalcoholic drinks, with a choice of wine and beer during lunch and dinner restaurant hours or shore excursion credit on qualifying bookings. That is not unlimited cocktails all day. Value the benefit you actually selected.

Disney and Virgin offer alternatives

Disney does not sell a conventional unlimited alcohol package. Its official planDisney guidance describes wine bottle packages and a beer mug savings option instead. Soft drinks at meals and beverage stations are included, while bar purchases can cost extra. Compare those options with your expected orders.

Virgin has no standard daily alcohol allotment. Basic nonalcoholic drinks are included; premium drinks can be bought individually or with prepaid Bar Tab credit. Bar Tab can pay for other people's drinks, and cabin mates need not each buy one. Unused credit is not refundable, so a bonus only saves money if you would spend enough to use it.

Check the exclusions before purchasing

Review the price ceiling per drink, daily limits, participating venues and whether bottles, room service or your preferred coffee outlet are excluded. Compare the final price rather than the sale percentage. Keep that amount alongside the rest of your cruise budget, and save the terms that apply to your purchase.