Alright, I’ll admit it here, sometimes I’m wrong about things. A while back I wrote a post suggesting that certain Royal Caribbean elites may no longer need to buy a drink package. OK, I wasn’t wrong about that, but a recent cruise experience reminded me that even a Diamond Plus like myself can sometimes justify buying a drink package. First, let’s refresh our memories on elite benefits when it comes to drinks for Crown & Anchor Society members.
Diamond and Higher Members with Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society Receive Some “Free” Drinks Each Day
Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society is one of the better loyalty programs in the cruise industry. Among its many benefits are the typical discounts on internet, specialty restaurants, and other onboard amenities. Uniquely, the Royal Caribbean Group cruise lines offer equivalent status matching across the company’s three primary brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity and SilverSea.
Uniquely, Royal Caribbean offers complimentary drinks to Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club members via an electronic “voucher” system. Diamond members receive 4 vouchers, Diamond Plus receive 5, and Pinnacle members receive 6. Each of these vouchers is good for a complimentary beverage up to $14 in value. If you happen to want something more expensive, you’ll just pay the difference. It’s a good deal, and one of many things that keeps me “Loyal to Royal.”
But Why Bother With a Drink Package?
My recent cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas (review coming soon, including a separate review of Coco Beach Club) was a great opportunity to test my hypothesis that I no longer needed to buy a drink package.
I spent my first voucher shortly after boarding Wonder on July 6th for an Amstel Light beer, my ceremonial first cocktail. OK, that really should’ve been a Miami Vice, but a beer seemed appropriate as I was warm and the beer was cold. This was around 12:30pm. I had one more drink with late lunch once we dropped our things off at the stateroom (available after 1:30pm). That meant I had three complimentary drinks left for the afternoon, dinner, and after dinner. That’s plenty when you’re sitting at home watching TV, but on your first day of vacation??? It really wasn’t as much as I thought…..at least on day 1. Yes, I spent all my vouchers and bought a few more drinks that evening. Judge me if you wish. It was my first cruise since August 2022 since we had to reschedule our 2023 Mediterranean cruise. How do I put this? I was ready to let loose.
It Isn’t Always About FREE
Yes, five drinks a day is a great benefit, and let’s say I got my money’s worth every day, and then some. Sometimes, that was all I needed, and other days…..Coco Cay…well, let’s just say I started the day by telling the bartender to fill my bucket of beer and DO NOT use my vouchers. Forgive me, but I let loose a bit at Coco Cay. I mean, I needed to read my book.
Sometimes, the decision about buying a drink package is knowing what your bill is going to be before you set sail. This cruise was unique for a lot of reasons. I’ll get into that in my full review. But this was never going to be a wake up at 8am, go to bed at 9pm, no partying, run of the mill kind of cruise. I could have just spent 5 vouchers a day, I just didn’t want to. In the end, that’s what it’s all about. I cruised like I wanted to.
At the end of the day, I could have purchased a drink package for 7 nights for just over $750. That price varies from cruise to cruise, and you can find them on sale if you stalk the Royal Caribbean website. When it was all said and done, I spent almost $1,000 on drinks on this cruise, but that does include two premium wine tastings. In the end, I would’ve come out better off if I’d purchased the premium drink package. I don’t think that would be the case on every cruise, but I could have predicted it would happen on this one.
The Bottom Line
Royal Caribbean offers some great benefits for its Crown and Anchor members and 5 complimentary drinks a day is worth real money. But all vacations aren’t equal. Sometimes, it can still make sense to purchase a drink package.
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