The drink package is the single most-argued purchase in cruising, and most of the argument is conducted with the wrong numbers. People compare daily prices between lines. The daily price is rarely what decides it.
What decides it is a set of rules that differ sharply from line to line: whether the service charge is inside the price or added on top, whether everyone in your cabin has to buy one, what happens at the private island, and what the per-drink cap actually excludes. Get those right and the arithmetic is easy. Get them wrong and you can pay for a package that does not work on two of your seven days.
This guide deliberately avoids being a price table. Package prices change several times a year and every line prices dynamically by ship and sailing. The structure below does not.
Start with the arithmetic, not the brochure
The break-even calculation is one line:
Break-even drinks per day = (daily package price + service charge) ÷ the average menu price of the drinks you actually order.
Work an example. A package advertised at $70 a day with 20% added costs $84 a day. At a $14 cocktail that is six drinks a day, every day. At a $9 beer or house wine, closer to nine. Now apply three adjustments that most people skip:
- Count the non-alcoholic items. Most packages include specialty coffee, bottled water, fresh juice and energy drinks. If you would otherwise buy two lattes and three bottles of water a day, that is real money coming off the break-even.
- Do the maths for the couple, not the person. Because most lines require every adult in the cabin to buy, the question is your combined average. A heavy drinker paired with a light one frequently fails to break even together even when one of them clears it comfortably alone.
- Subtract the days you will not use it. A long excursion day, a beach day at a private island where the package does not apply, and the disembarkation morning are all days you pay for and barely drink on.
If you land within a drink or two of break-even, buy it anyway — the value of not thinking about a bar tab for a week is real. If you are three or four drinks short, you are subsidising someone else’s holiday.
What a package normally includes
Across the mainstream lines, an alcoholic package typically covers cocktails, spirits, beer and wine by the glass up to a per-drink price cap, plus the whole non-alcoholic range — specialty coffee, bottled water, juices, sodas and mocktails — and usually a discount on bottles of wine. It normally excludes the minibar, room service alcohol, souvenir glassware, bottle service and anything sold at a branded outlet the line does not operate itself.
The five rules that actually catch people out
1. The per-drink price cap
Every package has one, and the lines handle overage differently. Celebrity’s Classic package caps at $12 and its Premium at $19; Princess Plus caps at $15 and Premier at $20; Holland America runs $12 and $16; MSC roughly $10 and $16; Royal Caribbean’s Deluxe package is documented at up to $14 on select ships and sailings.
The difference that matters is what happens above the cap. MSC and Holland America let you pay only the difference. Royal Caribbean does not — an over-cap drink is charged in full. Carnival splits it: over its $20 cap you get 25% off rather than nothing. If you drink a specific single malt or a particular wine by the glass, check its menu price before you buy the package, not after.
2. Everyone in the cabin usually has to buy
This is the rule that most often makes a package the wrong purchase, and it is nearly universal:
- Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, Celebrity and Holland America all require every guest of legal drinking age in the stateroom to buy the same package
- MSC goes further — packages must be booked by everyone in the cabin, including minors, who take the Minors Package
- Princess is the exception. Standalone add-on packages do not require all adults in the cabin to buy. If you take the bundled Princess Plus or Premier fare, though, everyone on the booking is on that fare
- Virgin Voyages has no such rule, because it has no package — see below
Published exemptions are rare. Celebrity is the clearest, naming guests under 12, teenagers, pregnancy and medical or recovery-related restrictions in its own policy. Other lines handle exceptions case by case before sailing. Carnival has explicitly closed the obvious workaround: buying the Zero-Proof package for a non-drinking partner does not exempt them from the CHEERS! requirement.
3. The service charge is not always in the price
This is where a like-for-like comparison quietly breaks down.
- Included in the advertised price: Royal Caribbean (except where local law requires it to be shown separately) and MSC
- Added at purchase: Norwegian and Carnival add 20%, Princess adds 18% to standalone packages, Celebrity adds 20%
- Holland America treats the service charge as included for beverages covered by the package
- Virgin Voyages includes gratuities in the fare entirely — nothing is added at the bar
A $60 package with 20% added is more expensive than a $70 package with the charge already inside it. Compare the all-in daily figure or you are not comparing anything.
4. It is normally all-or-nothing for the whole voyage
Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and Princess all require the package for the entire sailing — no buying it for the three sea days and skipping the port days. Princess states this explicitly: no pro-rating, no segments. Several lines also will not sell a package on very short sailings of two days or less. Refund windows are narrow: Royal Caribbean allows cancellation within 48 hours of purchase, Celebrity up to two days before sailing, Carnival by the night before departure.
5. The private island is where packages go to die
This is the least-known rule and the most expensive:
- Carnival: the package does not work at Celebration Key, RelaxAway Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays. On a Bahamas sailing with two Celebration Key days that is a substantial share of your week
- Holland America: the package does not cover beverages at RelaxAway Half Moon Cay either
- Norwegian: valid at Great Stirrup Cay — the line announced its removal in late 2025, then fully reversed that in March 2026 — but not at Harvest Caye
- Royal Caribbean: valid at Perfect Day at CocoCay and at Labadee. Whether every venue on the island is covered, including the premium beach clubs, is worth confirming for your sailing
- MSC: Ocean Cay is covered by the Premium Extra package only — the lower tiers and the alcohol-free package are not honoured ashore
- Princess: valid at Princess Cays
Our guide to cruise line private islands covers what each destination actually offers; the point here is simply to check before you buy.
Line by line
Royal Caribbean
The Deluxe Beverage Package is the alcoholic tier, with the Refreshment and Classic Soda packages beneath it. Per-drink cap documented at up to $14 on select ships and sailings, no daily limit, one drink at a time. Gratuity is inside the price. It works in the specialty restaurants and at the casino bar, and it works at Perfect Day at CocoCay and Labadee. Wine bottles come at 40% off up to $100 and 20% above. Bring one sealed 750ml bottle per adult on embarkation day; $15 corkage if you drink it in a public area. More on the line in our Royal Caribbean guide.
Norwegian
Unlimited Open Bar is the standard package, with a Premium Plus upgrade adding higher-end pours and a bottle of wine with dinner. No daily cap, but a maximum of two drinks per transaction. The important one: the 20% service charge is added on top, not included — and that remains true when the drinks package arrives bundled with the fare through Norwegian’s promotional structure, where you still pay the daily service charge. Our guide to what Norwegian’s included-package promotion actually covers works through that in detail. Valid at Great Stirrup Cay; not at Harvest Caye. Corkage is waived if you hold a package.
Carnival
CHEERS! caps drinks at $20 with 25% off above that, limits you to fifteen alcoholic drinks per 24 hours measured 6am to 6am, and adds 20% to the purchase price. Non-alcoholic drinks are included and uncapped. Every adult 21 or over in the cabin must buy. And, as above, it does not work at any of Carnival’s private destinations. CHEERS! Zero-Proof and Bottomless Bubbles can be bought individually. Full detail in the Carnival guide.
MSC Cruises
Three tiers — Easy, Easy Plus and Premium Extra — with caps around $10 and $16 on the upper two, and the traveller-friendly rule that you pay only the difference on an over-cap drink. Gratuity is included in the advertised price, which makes MSC look more expensive than it is next to lines that add 20% later. MSC’s own terms cap Premium Extra at fifteen alcoholic drinks a day. Everyone in the cabin must be on a package, minors included. Specialty restaurants are covered on Easy Plus and above; Ocean Cay is covered on Premium Extra only; several branded outlets aboard are excluded outright. No bringing your own wine. See the MSC guide.
Celebrity Cruises
Classic caps at $12, Premium at $19, and Premium adds specialty coffee, craft beer and premium bottled water. No daily limit. A 20% gratuity is added to the package price. It works everywhere aboard including the specialty restaurants. Celebrity publishes the clearest exemption policy in the industry for the all-adults rule — under-12s, teenagers, pregnancy, and medical or recovery-related restrictions. Note that Celebrity’s All Included fare bundles the Classic package with basic Wi-Fi and tips, which is usually better value than buying the three separately. More in the Celebrity guide.
Princess Cruises
Plus caps at $15, Premier at $20. Plus is limited to fifteen alcoholic drinks per 24 hours; Premier’s published terms differ, so confirm the limit for the tier you are buying. Standalone packages carry an 18% service charge and — uniquely — do not require every adult in the cabin to buy one. The bundled Plus and Premier fares do apply to everyone on the booking, and they include gratuities.
Princess has also tightened enforcement: one drink per transaction, no sharing, and no double pours of spirits. Canned soda came out of the packages and was replaced with a discount, though fountain soda is still included. See the Princess guide.
Holland America
Signature caps at $12, Elite at $16, with fifteen beverages a day on both and the pay-the-difference rule above the cap. The service charge is treated as included for covered beverages. Every adult in the stateroom must buy the same package, and — the one to watch — it does not cover drinks at RelaxAway Half Moon Cay. The Have It All fare bundles Signature with dining, Wi-Fi and excursion credits, and Elite is the paid upgrade from there. More in the Holland America guide.
Virgin Voyages works differently — and it is not a package
Virgin does not sell an unlimited drink package at all, which trips up everyone comparing it against the mainstream lines. Its model has three parts:
- A lot is simply complimentary. Still and sparkling water, fountain sodas, non-pressed juices, drip coffee and tea cost nothing, all voyage
- Gratuities are inside the fare. Nothing is added at the bar, and there is no daily service charge to budget for — the single biggest structural difference from every other line here
- Bar Tab is a pre-paid credit, not unlimited drinking. You buy an amount before sailing and draw it down at menu price on anything a crew member makes you — cocktails, wine, beer, mocktails, fresh juices, smoothies, specialty coffee
The reason to pre-buy is the bonus tiers: Virgin currently adds value at set thresholds, so $200 becomes $225, $300 becomes $350, $500 becomes $600, $750 becomes $925 and $1,000 becomes $1,250. Below the first threshold there is no bonus at all, which makes a $100 Bar Tab pointless as a value play.
Two practical notes. Unused balance is forfeited at the end of the voyage — it is not refunded, transferred or converted to onboard credit, so buy to your realistic consumption rather than optimistically. And because there is no package, there is no all-adults rule: cabinmates can merge folios at Sailor Services and share one Bar Tab, or each keep their own. “Shake for Champagne” — shaking your phone in the app to have a bottle of Moët delivered wherever you are — is a paid bottle service, not an inclusion. Our guide to what Virgin Voyages includes covers the rest of the fare.
The rules at a glance
| Line | Daily limit | All adults in cabin must buy | Service charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Caribbean | None | Yes | Included in price |
| Norwegian | None (2 per order) | Yes | 20% added |
| Carnival | 15 per 24 hours | Yes | 20% added |
| MSC | 15 on Premium Extra | Yes — including minors | Included in price |
| Celebrity | None | Yes, with published exemptions | 20% added |
| Princess | 15 on Plus | No, for standalone packages | 18% added |
| Holland America | 15 | Yes | Included for covered drinks |
| Virgin Voyages | No package — pre-paid Bar Tab | No | Gratuities included in fare |
Caps, prices and terms change; confirm the ones attached to your sailing before you buy.
Soda, coffee and zero-proof packages
These sit roughly in the $10 to $30 per person per day range depending on line and tier, so break-even is typically three to five items a day. For a casual soda drinker they rarely pay off. The specialty-coffee tiers are the ones closest to worthwhile — if you drink two or three espresso drinks plus bottled water daily, the maths works.
There is also a non-economic reason to buy one. On several lines the zero-proof or soda package is what a non-drinking cabinmate takes to satisfy the all-adults rule, in which case its value is procedural rather than financial. Carnival is the exception that closed that door: its Zero-Proof package does not release the other adult from the CHEERS! requirement.
Bringing your own wine
Most lines allow some, and the corkage differs more than the allowance:
- Royal Caribbean — one sealed 750ml per adult at embarkation, $15 corkage in public areas
- Carnival — one 750ml per person, embarkation day only, $15 outside the cabin
- Norwegian — wine and Champagne, $15 per 750ml or $30 per magnum, waived if you hold a beverage package
- Celebrity — two bottles per cabin, $25 corkage
- Princess — one 750ml per adult, free in the cabin, roughly $20 in a venue
- Holland America — wine and Champagne, around $20 per bottle
- Virgin Voyages — two bottles per cabin, $25 outside the cabin
- MSC — not permitted
When paying as you go is the better call
Skip the package if any of these describe you:
- You drink two or three glasses of wine with dinner and nothing else
- Your itinerary is port-heavy, or includes two days at a private island where your line’s package does not apply
- You are one of two adults in a cabin and only one of you drinks meaningfully
- You are on a short sailing where the fixed daily cost has fewer days to spread across
- You would rather drink two excellent things than eight ordinary ones — the per-drink cap works against you
Buy it if you drink through the day rather than only at dinner, if you and your cabinmate drink at similar rates, if the itinerary is sea-day heavy, or simply if you value not watching a tab. That last one is a real reason and worth naming: plenty of people buy the package knowing they will not quite break even, because the week feels different when nothing is being counted.
Where drink packages sit in the total cost
A package for two adults on a seven-night sailing is frequently the second-largest line on the bill after the fare itself — ahead of excursions, ahead of Wi-Fi, ahead of gratuities. It deserves the same scrutiny as the cabin category. Our guide to what a cruise really costs puts it alongside everything else, and how the cruise lines differ covers where each one sits on inclusions generally.
Let us price it against your actual sailing
The honest answer to “is the package worth it” depends on your ship, your itinerary, how many private-island days you have, and what the two of you actually drink. That is a five-minute conversation and it regularly saves a few hundred dollars — sometimes by buying the package, sometimes by not.
We compare available supplier offers, agency promotions and added amenities to help you find strong overall value. Planning fees are $0. Package terms, prices and inclusions vary by line, ship and sailing.
Start with the Where2Next survey, or search available sailings and we will price the drinks alongside the fare.
Cruise drink package FAQs
Do both adults in a cabin have to buy a drink package?
On Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, Celebrity and Holland America, yes — every guest of legal drinking age in the stateroom must buy the same package. MSC requires everyone in the cabin, including minors on the Minors Package. Princess does not require it for standalone packages. Virgin Voyages has no package, so the question does not arise.
How many drinks a day do I need for a package to pay off?
Divide the all-in daily cost, including any service charge, by the average menu price of what you actually order. A $70 package with 20% added is $84; at $14 a cocktail that is six a day. Then subtract the value of the coffees, waters and juices you would have bought anyway.
Does my drink package work at the private island?
It depends on the line, and this is the most commonly missed rule. Carnival’s does not work at Celebration Key, Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays. Holland America’s does not work at Half Moon Cay. Norwegian’s works at Great Stirrup Cay but not Harvest Caye. Royal Caribbean’s works at CocoCay and Labadee, MSC’s only on the top tier at Ocean Cay, and Princess’s works at Princess Cays.
Is the gratuity included in the package price?
Sometimes. Royal Caribbean and MSC include it. Norwegian, Carnival and Celebrity add around 20%, Princess 18% on standalone packages. Holland America treats it as included for covered drinks. Virgin includes gratuities in the fare. Always compare the all-in number.
Can I buy a package for part of the cruise?
Generally no. Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and Princess all require it for the full voyage, and Princess explicitly rules out pro-rating or buying it for a segment.
Is it cheaper to buy before I sail?
Usually, and sometimes materially so — the lines discount pre-cruise purchases and run promotions on them. It is also the only way to secure a price before boarding. Check the cancellation window, which is often short.
What is Virgin Voyages Bar Tab?
A pre-paid drinks credit rather than an unlimited package. You buy an amount before sailing, Virgin adds bonus value at set thresholds, and you draw it down at menu price. Unused balance is forfeited at the end of the voyage, and gratuities are already included in Virgin’s fares.
Does the package cover specialty restaurants and the casino?
On most lines the package works in specialty restaurants. Royal Caribbean explicitly covers the casino bar. MSC restricts specialty-restaurant coverage to its two upper tiers, and excludes several branded outlets aboard entirely.