Cruise Ship Drink Packages

Ordering cocktails, wine and speciality coffees at sea can quickly turn a dream holiday into a painful bar bill. That’s why cruise ship drink packages are so popular: you pay a fixed daily rate and mostly stop thinking about each round you order. But prices and inclusions vary wildly between cruise lines, and the rules on what’s genuinely “unlimited” can be confusing.

In this guide, we walk you through how cruise ship drink packages work, what they typically cost on major lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Princess, and how premium operators such as Saga, Regent Seven Seas and river line AmaWaterways handle drinks. We’ll also show you how to decide if a package is worth it for your own habits and itinerary.

If you’re still in the planning phase, you might also like our ultimate cruise tips, our guide to finding the best cruise deals, and our free Cruise Budget Planner to keep track of your onboard spending.

Plan & Book Your Next Cruise

Before you decide whether a cruise ship drink package is right for you, it helps to have the rest of your trip planned out. These are the tools we personally use to book and manage our cruises:

• Cruises: Compare cruise lines, cabins and itineraries (including drinks package options) on CruiseDirect. It’s an easy way to see deals across multiple cruise lines in one place.
• Flights: Search flexible flights to and from your embarkation port with KAYAK, which includes many budget carriers and smaller sites other search engines miss.
• Hotels: Book pre- and post-cruise hotels near the port or in the city centre through Booking.com, usually with a large range of properties and flexible cancellation.
• Tours & activities: Compare ship excursions with independent tours on GetYourGuide. You’ll often find small-group or skip-the-line options at lower prices than booking on board.
• Travel insurance: Protect your cruise, flights and prepaid excursions with cover from VisitorsCoverage, which offers flexible policies for cruise travellers.
• Spending money: Avoid poor exchange rates and high foreign transaction fees by using a Wise travel card for drinks, tips and purchases in port.

Cruise ship drink packages: how they work

Cruise ship drink packages let you swap pay‑as‑you‑go bar bills for a fixed daily fee. In practice, that usually means:

• Unlimited or high‑limit alcoholic drinks up to a menu price cap
• Unlimited soft drinks, still and sparkling water
• Speciality coffees and teas
• Mocktails and sometimes smoothies or energy drinks

On most mainstream brands, packages are priced per person, per day and must be bought for the entire length of the cruise. Many lines also require every adult in the same cabin to buy a package if one person does, to prevent sharing.

If you’re completely new to cruising and want a broader overview of what’s included in the fare versus what costs extra, our ultimate cruise tips article walks through onboard spending categories like drinks, gratuities and shore excursions in more detail.

Important pricing note: live price checks weren’t available while writing this, and cruise lines frequently adjust rates and run promotions. Use the figures below as typical ranges and always verify current prices on the cruise line’s official website before you book.

Types of cruise drink packages

Soft‑drink and coffee packages

Many lines sell non‑alcoholic options:

• Soda packages – usually under $$–\$$15 per person, per day, for unlimited fountain soda or selected soft drinks.
• Coffee cards or café packages – pre‑paid bundles of speciality coffees at a discount.

These can be cost‑effective if you don’t drink alcohol but enjoy sodas or lattes throughout the day.

Classic and premium alcohol packages

Alcohol‑inclusive packages are usually split into tiers:

• Classic / Standard – includes beers, house wine by the glass and basic mixed drinks up to a lower price cap.
• Premium / Deluxe – adds higher‑end spirits, cocktails, and better wines by the glass, up to a higher cap.

On big‑ship lines, expect alcohol‑inclusive packages to sit roughly in the $$–\$$100+ per person, per day range before gratuities, depending on the brand and itinerary.

Whichever type of package you’re considering, it’s worth running the numbers in advance. Our free Cruise Budget Planner makes it easy to plug in daily drink package costs alongside tips, excursions and other extras so you can see the full picture before you commit.

Cruise ship drink packages

This section gives an overview of cruise ship drink packages on major ocean lines, then looks at how Saga, Regent and AmaWaterways differ.

Typical prices on major ocean cruise lines

Exact numbers change regularly, but for context:

prices are US dollars

• Carnival – the Cheers! package is typically around the 8$–10$0 per person, per day mark once service charges are factored in, with a daily cap on alcoholic drinks and a per‑drink price limit.
• Royal Caribbean – the Deluxe Beverage Package is dynamically priced; sales can bring it into the $–$90+ range per day before gratuities, with a per‑drink price ceiling.
• Celebrity Cruises – classic and premium packages are often in the high $o$100+ per day including the automatic gratuity, depending on tier and promotions.
• Princess Cruises – the Premier Beverage Package is commonly in the $–$90s per day range, with a per‑drink limit and a cap on alcoholic drinks per day.
• Norwegian Cruise Line – the current More at Sea package structure typically values alcoholic beverage coverage at around $–$100 per day once fees are included, though it’s often bundled in promotional fares.
• Holland America Line – the Elite Beverage Package usually prices in the $–$70 per day band before the 18% service charge.

• MSC Cruises – Premium Extra often falls in the $–$100 per day range, depending on cruise length and whether you buy in advance.
• Viking (ocean and river) – Silver Spirits is relatively modest and one of the best-value drinks packages around. It’s currently around $27 per person, per day and includes wine, beer, spirits, cocktails and mocktails both during and outside of lunch and dinner. Viking already includes beer and wine with lunch and dinner for everyone, but if you enjoy a few pre- or post-dinner drinks, then the Silver Spirits package is excellent value. It only takes around 3–4 drinks per day to cover the package cost. For a more in-depth breakdown, see our detailed Viking Silver Spirits Drinks Package review.

Again, those are typical ballparks only. Always check the latest figure on the cruise line’s own site—for example, Royal Caribbean lists current package pricing under its beverage package section at
https://www.royalcaribbean.com

Once you have a rough idea of what your preferred cruise line charges, you can plug the numbers into our free Cruise Budget Planner to see how a drinks package fits alongside the rest of your cruise expenses.

What’s included on Premium or Luxury cruise ships like Saga, Regent and AmaWaterways

Saga Cruises: near‑fully inclusive drinks

Saga’s ocean cruises (for UK guests over 50) are marketed as largely all‑inclusive:

• House wines, beers, and spirits are generally included throughout the ship.
• Many soft drinks and basic speciality coffees are also covered.
• Ultra‑premium spirits, high‑end Champagnes and fine wines may still cost extra.

Bottom line: Most guests won’t need a separate “drink package” on Saga; your everyday beer, wine and mixed drinks are already wrapped into the fare.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises: ultra‑all‑inclusive

Regent Seven Seas is one of the most inclusive lines at sea:

• Unlimited premium drinks, including many brand‑name spirits, cocktails, and wines by the glass, are included in your cruise fare.
• Soft drinks, speciality coffees and bottled water are also included.
• Only very top‑tier Champagnes, rare whiskies and premium wine bottles usually carry a surcharge.

Bottom line: There’s no need to buy a beverage package on Regent. For most guests, the only potential extras are rare labels and connoisseur‑level wines.

Because so much is wrapped into the fare with Saga, it’s especially important to look at the total package rather than just the daily rate. Our free Cruise Budget Planner can help you compare an inclusive line like Saga with a mainstream cruise where you’d pay separately for drinks and extras.

AmaWaterways (river): wine, beer and more with meals

AmaWaterways takes a different approach typical of European river cruises:

• Wine, beer and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner.
• You’ll often find regional wines that change as you move along the river.
• Coffee, tea and some self‑serve beverage stations are available throughout the day.
• Outside mealtimes, full bar service is typically pay‑as‑you‑go, though many itineraries feature a complimentary “Sip & Sail” cocktail hour.

AmaWaterways does not typically sell big‑ship‑style all‑day alcohol packages. Instead, the model assumes moderate consumption, with inclusive drinks at meals and reasonable bar prices at other times.

If you’re comparing how drinks are handled across different cruise lines more broadly, our complete guide to the best cruise lines for seniors breaks down inclusions, pricing models and overall value across premium and luxury brands.

How to decide if a drink package is worth it

Step 1: Estimate your realistic daily consumption

Work out what you’d comfortably drink on a sea day:

• 2–4 alcoholic drinks (beer, wine, cocktails)?
• Several speciality coffees?
• Bottled water and sodas by the pool?

Multiply that by typical onboard prices:

• Beer: $–$9
• Wine by the glass: $–$15+
• Cocktails: $–$16+
• Speciality coffee: $–$6
• Bottled water / soda: $–$4

It can be helpful to write down a realistic sea-day and port-day estimate rather than guessing. We like to use a simple spreadsheet or our own Cruise Budget Planner to see whether the package cost still makes sense once gratuities and port days are factored in.

If the total exceeds the daily package price (plus gratuities) by a comfortable margin, a package can be worthwhile. If it’s close—or only makes sense on sea days—it might not be.

Step 2: Consider your itinerary and habits

• Port‑heavy cruises – You’ll be ashore much of the time, so you’ll use the package less.
• Sea‑day‑heavy cruises – More time by the pool or in lounges often means more drinks.
• Early risers and spa fans – You may drink less alcohol and more water or smoothies.
• Night owls and bar lovers – You’re more likely to extract value from a package.

If you’re not sure where you sit on that spectrum, think about your last holiday on land. How often did you buy coffees, sodas, beers and cocktails per day? That can give you a realistic starting point for your cruise ship drink package calculations.

Step 3: Factor in promotions and “included drinks”

Some lines discount packages if you buy in advance or include them in bundled fares. Others, such as Saga, Regent and many river lines, already have drinks baked into the fare, reducing or eliminating the need for a separate package.

In our own planning, we often compare two scenarios in the Cruise Budget Planner: one where we buy the drink package, and one where we pay per drink. Seeing the total for the whole cruise (not just the daily figure) usually makes the decision much clearer.

Tips for getting the best value from cruise drink packages

Buy early and watch for sales

Many cruise lines run pre‑cruise sales in the online planner. Buying early can:

• Lock in a lower rate before a price rise
• Allow you to cancel and rebook if a better sale appears (line‑dependent)

If you book through a cruise specialist such as CruiseDirect, an experienced agent can also flag typical sale patterns for your cruise line and itinerary, helping you decide whether to buy a package immediately or wait for a promotion.

Check what’s already included

Before you buy:

• Confirm whether wine, beer and soft drinks at meals are already included (common on river cruises and premium lines).
• See if your loyalty status earns free drinks during a nightly happy hour or at selected bars.

If you already receive generous loyalty perks, a full drink package may be redundant.

Know the fine print

Always skim the current terms for:

• Per‑drink price caps – Anything above the cap may incur a surcharge.
• Daily drink limits – Some lines such as Carnival cap alcoholic drinks at around 15 per day but should not be an issue for most.
• Sharing rules – Most explicitly prohibit sharing; many require all adults in a cabin to buy the same package.
• Private islands and specialty venues – Some packages work on private islands; some don’t apply in certain branded cafés or venues.

Because drink packages are a significant part of your onboard spending, we always make sure they’re included in our overall cruise budget and protected by good travel insurance. We typically compare policies through VisitorsCoverage and pay our final cruise balance and onboard account with a low-fee card like Wise to avoid extra foreign transaction charges on a large bar bill.

More Cruise Planning Guides

• Ultimate Cruise Tips: 15 Essential Tricks for a Stress-Free Voyage
• How to Find the Best Cruise Deals: 5 Top Websites Compared
• 10 Essential First Viking Cruise Tips To Avoid Costly Mistakes
• Viking Ocean Cruise Tips: How to Plan, Save Money and Get the Most from Your Trip
• Free Cruise Budget Planner (Google Sheets Template)