Travels With Bob: To Drink or Not to Drink Onboard a Cruise

By Bob Nesoff

Cruising can be one of the least expensive ways to travel, see a wide variety of exotic places, and do it in comfort. But that all depends on a bit of investigative work on your part. Depending on the line, cruise ships, can be affordable or very much unaffordable. That all depends on the accommodations, the itinerary and the ship itself.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have cruised the Caribbean, Mexico, the North Atlantic, China on the Yangtze, the Tahitian Islands, and a variety of other destinations. My first cruise, about 40-some-odd years ago, was on what was then, Norwegian Caribbean Lines—Now Norwegian Cruise Lines. That ship, the Starward, was big at the time, but today, could be a shuttle for the behemoths that ply the seas. More recently there have been several cruises on Celebrity ships that have become my personal choice for a cruise. On virtually every cruise ship you’ll find the crew and staff friendly and accommodating. After all, that’s directly connected to their livelihood. But you can tell the difference between an act and those who are truly friendly.

While the initial outlay for a cruise may seem a bit expensive, in fact, it is very reasonable. On a recent cruise to Mexico on the Celebrity Summit, we chose an upgrade to a concierge cabin. The cost was reasonable, and we decided to splurge a bit, save some money, and opt for an outside cabin. The ocean view will be spectacular.

Remember, as you go from port to port, your hotel is going with you. There is no need to pack, unpack, and repack every couple of days.

Now, you can spend a fortune while trying to be economical, but that takes some common sense on your part. You can pay extra on a night at an upscale dining room aboard the ship or you can go wild in the jewelry store, or you can stop and think. On a recent voyage, we brought several bottles of Kahlua in a port. They were particularly difficult to find and when we did, we grabbed a couple of bottles. It was a mistake. Back aboard we spotted a shop selling liquor. And there, on the display, were bottles of Kahlua at close to half the price of what we paid on shore.

Now Celebrity, as does virtually every cruise line, offers a pre-sailing “drink package.” Some confine it to booze while others include soft drinks and, believe it or not, some even include coffee and tea. Now most cruise lines don’t poke the pig by charging for caffeine, but soft drinks can put you back. And as for wine and hard liquor, paying by the drink can approximate the cost of the cruise. When you look at the “drink package,” try to consider several things: Are you an occasional drinker, a social drinker or a confirmed drinker (how’s that for putting it politely?)? Most drinks on board will run about the same as an upscale hotel, so you can approximate what you’ll be spending over the time on the cruise.

Will you want wine or a drink at lunch and dinner? What about in the lounge? You can order drinks at the show on board. What does that add up to? Now sit down with a calculator and determine what your per drink will cost and what that drink will cost as part of a package. You don’t want to overdo the drinking so that you get your value from the purchase of the package.

Also, will you be ashore in port? If so, that’s time away from drinking. In warm weather ports, you might be going fishing, scuba diving, baking in the sun on the beach, or wandering through shops ashore. You won’t be hitting the drink package during those times.

In most instances, drink packages are per person. That means you can’t put your cabinmate on the package tab. Well, you can, but that’s really not the right thing to do. Ships are well aware that some passengers will try to scam the system and get drinks for a partner or friend.

If you take the package, you will have to keep track of how many drinks you imbibe. But that can be a royal pain in “you know what.” A-la-carte drinks can add up, so if you intend to do serious drinking, by all means, purchase the package.

One last thing to keep in mind: don’t forget about the tips. Bartenders, much like waitstaff, depend very heavily on generous tips from customers. Individually you’ll leave tips for drinks. With a package, the gratuity is added to each drink, but that’s on top of the daily gratuity you pay for the cruise.

Have a great, sober, and enjoyable cruise.