Wanting to know the best cruise drink package hacks from pro cruisers? How to save money, only buy one drink package (or maybe how to sneak alcohol on the ship)? Read below for all of the tips and tricks you need to know!
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If you’re going on a cruise and wanting to make the most of your experience without breaking the bank, learning the art of cruise drink package hacks can be a game changer.
These smart tips and tricks can help you navigate the often-confusing world of beverage packages, so you get the best value for your money.
Whether you’re a cocktail connoisseur or a casual drinker, understanding how to maximize your drink package can enhance your vacation while keeping cost to a minimum.
Read this post to explore clever strategies to make every sip count on your next high-seas adventure (even a few tips at the end of how to sneak alcohol on a cruise!)
This post is all about cruise drink package hacks.
DRINK PACKAGE HACKS
1. Calling customer service so both people in the room don’t have to get the drink package with alcohol included
If you have been on a cruise before you’ll know that most lines have drink packages you can add onto your cruise for a set price. This could be a sale price before the cruise or the full price once on the ship.
A lot of people are upset that if one person in the room wants the drink package that includs alcohol, that both people in the room (if over 21) are required to get it. This is annoying because some people don’t want to buy a drink package.
Cruise lines do this because they were losing money from too many people just buying one package but sharing it with other people.
If you were to book the drink package online it will automatically add both people in the room. The drink package hack is to call the customer service line and tell them that one person can’t drink for medical reasons, religious reasons or they are sober.
This isn’t full proof, you may have some push back but it does work for a lot of people all of the time.
They will still force you to get a drink package, just a lower and cheaper one saving you some money!
2. Buying drinks like wine by the glass
Several cruise line’s drink packages will offer deals such as 20% off a bottle of wine if you have purchased the drink package.
However, this isn’t really a great deal if you’ve already spent tons of money buying a drink package to have to spend even MORE money on top of that just for a bottle.
I would suggest ordering the same drink but by the glass. Ordering by the glass is included in your package. It might be slightly inconvenient to have to keep ordering if you want a few glasses but it beats paying way more money for the bottle.
3. Get a corkscrew from your room steward
If you didn’t know, a lot of cruise lines will allow you to bring your own bottle of wine or champagne with you on a cruise ship.
Of course you probably wouldn’t be able to bring your own corkscrew through security as they might take it away as a “weapon”.
If you want to enjoy your bottle of wine with dinner in the main dining room most of the time you will be charged a re-corking fee if you would like it held there to finish.
To avoid such a fee you can ask your room steward for a bottle opener and they will give it to you free of charge!
RELATED CONTENT:
CRUISE DRINK PACKAGE: THE TRUTH ON IF THEY’RE WORTH IT OR NOT
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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MSC CRUISE DRINK PACKAGES
4. Buy the drink of the day for a cheaper price
This isn’t exactly a drink package hack since everything would be included when purchasing that. However, if you don’t purchase the package but want to enjoy a couple drinks and are looking for a discount this is the way to do it!
Sometimes you’ll be able to find the drink of the day offered for about 20% less than other cocktails. This way you can still enjoy a few drinks but save some dollars along the way!
5. Rebook for a better price
One of the best drink package hacks you NEED to be doing is rebooking your drink package when the price drops!
Some people will go ahead and buy all their add ons after they book their cruise and never think twice about it. To save some money, monitor the price of your drink package (and other add ons) every week or so to see what sales the cruise line could be offering.
I have heard a lot of people think that once they’ve booked the package, they’re locked in but that is not the case. If you see a better price than what you’ve paid you can cancel your current package and rebook it for the lower price.
As soon as you are okay with paying a price I would lock in the package as it could go higher after that. I have noticed the best sales around Black Friday but nothing is guaranteed.
6. Book a drink package a couple days into the cruise
This drink package hack is great for those who don’t want the drink package for the entire cruise.
Unfortunately when booking before your cruise you cannot just pick and choose certain days to pay for the package. You have to buy it for the entire duration of the cruise.
Some people will wait until they’re on the ship to buy the package on the second or third day. I do want to say this is not always offered and they can cut off offering the package for the rest of the cruise at any time so it is a risk but definitely worth it for some!
You should however compare the sale price before the cruise with whatever they say the full price is because the full price will be what it costs on the cruise. See which one is cheaper (booking before on sale for the whole cruise or booking 2 or 3 days into the cruise for full price) and go from there!
7. Gratuities are already added onto the drink package so you don’t have to tip more
I do want to start by saying if you would like to tip extra to anyone who works on the ship you 100% should! It is just not required is all I am saying.
When you book the drink package you will be automatically paying usually 18% for tips for the crew.
When you buy a drink without a drink package you recieve a drink on the cruise you’ll get a reciept (and most of the time even with the drink package) where you will see a line for gratuity.
If you read the reciept you will see there was already an automatic charge for a tip so it is not required to tip more. I’ve talked to tons of people on a cruise who didn’t realize this and would tip on every drink thinking the gratuity wasn’t included yet.
8. Find a bartender (or two) you like and stick with them the entire cruise
This one is not a guaranteed cruise drink package hack but does help on a lot of ships!
Cruisers will find a bartender that they like and continually go back to them.
Why is this helpful?
If the staff member has gotten to know you sometimes they will prioritize making your drink when it’s busy or even make your drink stronger.
Picking one bartender that you like also ensures that you will have your drink made how you like it instead of it being a little bit different every time.
9. Try new drinks (it’s free!)
If you’ve purchased the drink package it is a great time to try new drinks you’ve never tried before!
When you go on a cruise without a drink package you might not want to go out of your comfort zone and waste money if you hate the drink.
Cruise lines that have truly unlimited drink packages (not Carnival unfortunately) are a great opportunity to order new and exciting drinks. If you hate it you don’t have to drink it and money has not been thrown down the drain.
On the other hand, you might just find your new favorite drink!
10. Order top shelf
One of the top drink package hacks that lots of first time cruisers don’t know about is ordering drinks by the alcohol name for a better quality drink!
When you purchase a drink package you’re paying for lots of different brands. You should look at the list the ship offers and find what the highest quality that is still included.
If you were to order a vodka soda on the ship you’re going to be given their well liquor. However, if the cruise line includes grey goose in their package and you order a grey goose and soda you will be getting a much better liquor at no additional cost!
Save yourself the headache and order your drinks this way!
11. Ask the bartender not to open your beer or seltzer
I do want to say that this drink package hack doesn’t always work unfortunately.
If you want to save yourself some money in port since you’ve already paid so much money on a drink package you can ask the bartender for a beer or seltzer but ask them not to open it.
You can say that you want to drink it later on your balcony and usually they will give it to you.
This way you can rack up a couple drinks to bring in a bag off of the ship to have drinks in port that you don’t have to pay more money for.
SNEAKING ALCOHOL ON A CRUISE
I do have to start with a disclaimer that I am not recommending anyone do this and I am not responsible for anything that happens if you choose to do any of these things. I am simply sharing the top cruise drink package hacks if you do decide to try out of these hacks to sneak alcohol on a cruise ship.
I will say I have done a couple of these hacks in the past but again, it is your responsibility if you were to recieve a consequence for doing so.
1. Wine Bottle Resealers
The top product that I and many other cruisers have used are these wine bottle resealing shrink wraps.
As you know most cruise lines allow you to bring 1-2 bottles of wine onboard per person or per stateroom. To save money instead of buying the drink package many people will empty out wine bottles, put in their preferred liquor and then reseal them with these toppers.
A few tips for doing this:
1. Choose a wine bottle with darker glass (such as a darker red wine bottle).
2. Get a screw top bottle instead of one with a cork to be able to close the bottle after you open it. If you choose one with a cork you’ll be stuck with an open bottle for your entire cruise which is not easy to transport. They look about the same with the shrink wrap sealer on top.
3. Put red or blue food dye in your liquor if it’s clear to make it closer to a red wine look in the bottle. You don’t want it to look too light. The key is to make it belivable that there is untampered with wine in the bottle.
4. Once at the cruise terminal going through security I also suggest putting these in a bag. After you have had your bags scanned and usually they direct you to go to the wine bottle checking station. I would not. I would walk right onto the next part of check in/onto the ship.
Ways to seal it back up:
There are a number of ways to make sure this looks real and smooth. Personally the first option is my favorite. You’ll want to fill your wine bottle, put the screw cap back on and then place the shrink wrap on top of the bottle.
1. You can use a candle lighter to lightly burn the wrap as it will start to shrink up and form to the bottle. You want to be careful with this to not burn a hole in the cover. However, it may take a couple tries to get this right.
Thankfully, the packs come with A LOT of covers so you will have tons in case it takes more than one.
2. You can use lightly boiling water to seal the new cover onto your bottle as well. You don’t want too high of a boil or it will easily burn through the cover. Once your bottle is lightly boiling dunk the top of the bottle into the water very quickly and take it out to check on the progress to see if it is perfect or needs to be sealed more.
Again, with all of these methods you run the risk of burning holes in the cover so you have to be careful.
3. You can use a high powered hairdryer on the highest heat setting. I think this one is the hardest to achieve the sealed wrap but it does work for some people.
2. Fake Sunscreen Bottles
These are the sunscreen bottles I have personally used, although there are many options on Amazon.
Tips for these flasks:
1. Make sure you fill it up all of the way. You don’t want lots of air bubbles to show when these get scanned.
2. You’ll want to shake the bottles to see if you can hear any liquid moving. That isn’t something that normally you can hear with real sunscreen. If you can hear it, add a little more to the bottle.
3. These come with sealers to put on top of the bottles. You DEFINITELY want to use these so your bottles do not leak and it also helps get rid of any alcohol smell.
3. Rum Runners
Lots of people swear by these rum runner flasks for packing in your suitcase for a cruise!
These come with a funnel for easy pour of whatever liqour or wine you would like to put in them. This set also comes with different sizes for you to use.
This post was all about cruise drink package hacks.
