JCC(C)6 - Drink Prices

edited July 2015 in JoCo Cruise
Just a warning to let everyone know that RCI has upped the costs of
their drinks (probably because they're trying to get more people to buy
the packages?) so the prices from the drink menus that Hello, The Future! linked to on her latest cruise blog post are unfortunately no longer accurate.

Here's a link to a few of the more recent Freedom of the Seas drink menus from someone who just got off the ship last month - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=47009927&postcount=52

In general, it looks like most of the frou frou drinks will probably start at $10 instead of
$7-ish, non-alcoholic/"All Aboard" drinks have been bumped up to $4, and
beers have gone up to $5.5/$6 from $4.75/$5.25 so folks should make the
adjustments to their budgets accordingly.

Comments

  • Any idea if they actually have GOOD beer (imports, IPAs, etc) instead of just Bud Light?
  • There are usually some decent-ish choices in the faux-British pub in the promenade. Outside of that the choices get more limited in my experience (which is admittedly a couple years old at this point).

  • edited July 2015
    My most consumed drink during JCCC3 was... Crystal Light, which I mixed in a sports bottle in the privacy of my cabin. RCI won't let you bring liquid beverages on board, but didn't say a thing about the powder. Saved a ton of money.
  • Last time there was a selection of better beers at several of the bars, but that didn't seem to be common knowledge until partway through the sailing. I'm not sure whether that was special for us or just something they were trying.
  • Slight correction.... You can bring water and soda on to RCI ships, but you should be prepared to lug it on the ship and to your room. You can't bring alcohol other than wine (2 bottles per cabin or passenger--can't remember, as we only bring one).

    I just brought a growler of Rachel's Ginger Beer on to Jewel of the Seas for my RCI Alaska cruise this June (left from Seattle). I've also taken cases of water (before I learned to love the drink packages and sink water) on to Disney cruises at Port Canaveral. Worst part is lugging the darn things around until the cabin opened.

    I recommend the Royal Refreshment package, personally.
  • The wine limit is per cabin, which I think is a bit of a bother for some of my 11 roommates in the Presidential Suite. I believe there is (or was, last cruise?) a group of people in similar situations arranging for non-drinkers to bring in extra wine for them.

    I guess since non-alcoholic drinks have been brought up, I'd like to point out that you can absolutely stay hydrated and even simple-carbohydrated on the boat without buying or bringing any drinks; at the buffet there's free iced tea, lemonade and I think sometimes juice, at dinner, at the café, and even in the game room there's coffee and tea (though you have to pay for something fancy such as a cappuccino) and just about everywhere there's iced water. (Well, not everywhere; if it's everywhere, please grab your life jacket and make your way to your muster station.) I mention this because a friend of mine got a non-alcoholic drink package thinking it would be necessary to buy drinks otherwise.
  • If you're inclined to drink ( alcohol or sodas ) I suggest taking the package.  In the end, it's convenient.

    My work-around for daily hydration, since I just don't like "plain water" is to bring a few of those Water Enhancer dropper things with me.   
  • Carnival is putting more restrictions on bringing bottled water aboard apparently. Not particularly any reason to assume RCCL will, but you never know.



  • If Carnival did it, you can bet that RCCL will follow rapidly, especially if there isn't a lot of pushback. 

    To be clear -- Carnival's new policy is : CLOSED/sealed bottles of water or nonalcoholic drinks - max 12 16.2oz bottles, or 12 oz cans, or mix.   1L/2L/3L bottles will simply be tossed ( wastefully ).
  • Wow. It's not enough that cruise ship passengers are a captive audience; they're now practically strip-searching the captives!
  • Bring an empty water bottle and fill it up at the tap in your room. It should be safe to drink and if not then RCI should settle with you due to health violation.
  • Last year, for the first time, RCI actually stocked many more types of  beer (and whisky) than normal precisely because the home office requested it for our cruise, and we as a group had shown in prior years to be very interested in craft beer and higher-end whiskies.

    I hope this happens again, because it was awesome.
  • Just a heads up on this, I thought the math was going to work out in favor of the premium package (personally of course, your mileage may vary), but on top of $49 per day, there is also a $60ish service charge, which I think is supposed to be for gratuity.  That changes the numbers pretty drastically, so don't be caught off guard when that shows up.
  • edited August 2015
    BTW, since some conflicting information has been posted, RCI's policy regarding bringing beverages aboard is here:

    http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=260&faqSubjectId=333

    Essentially, they will not let you bring anything, alcoholic or not, except for two personal bottles of wine. They say they do not charge corkage.... If they don't, it's a change from JCCC3, where I heard from some snorks that they were hit with a corkage (snorkage?) charge.
  • There is no corkage fee any longer.

    They may hold the wine if it looks suspect, but you will get a call or notification to go someplace to claim the bottles.  Fortified wine may or may not be allowed, depending on who checks it and how big the word "fortified" is printed on the bottle. Mead(e) may or may not be recognized to be wine by the person checking the bottles, but will likely be cleared when you go claim it.

    You -may- be able to bypass the two bottle limit by carrying on two bottles at embarkation and having two bottles in checked luggage (cushion those bad boys!).

    also, the tiny little 30 ml sample bottles of hard liqueur, can be easily brought on board in a purse or backpack (also works at airport, put in your quart sized plastic bag), they don't have fancy scanners, pretty much just old school metal detectors.  Your mileage may vary, but those bottles are usually inexpensive enough to be no big deal in the off chance they are confiscated.  Excellent to add an extra splash to your piña colada.
  • edited September 2015
    At Port Everglades, between last year and this year, they updated the checked luggage scanners from bulk x-raying of the luggage skips to individual bag scans with a backscatter machine. Which will detect liquids in your checked bags and will require you to go to Bag Jail at some point on the first night to retrieve your luggage. You will be asked to show ship security the bottles of wine you have before you can take your bag with you.

    Note that ship security won't have the images from the shore-side backscatter machine for reference.

    Not sure how that impacts Port Canaveral for next year, but something to keep in mind.
  • If you are concerned that two bottles of wine is not enough, there will almost certainly be another wine mule program as some of our compatriots are not (wine) drinkers and thus have room in their two bottle allowance.  Keep an eye out on the forums and fb group.
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