13 Cruise Drink Package Traps That Cost Cruisers Hundreds
My friend Dana is the most organized person I know. She color codes her packing cubes. She has a spreadsheet for her spreadsheets. So when she told me she bought the drink package for her 7-night cruise, I figured she ran the numbers first.
She did not run the numbers.
Her cruise had five ports, and she was off the ship on excursions for almost all of them. By night five she realized she was way behind on drinks. So at 11:30 at night she ordered a frozen piña colada, in her pajamas, and drank it sitting on the balcony, in silence, because her husband was already asleep.
Honestly its not a bad way to spend an evening, but she didn’t even want a drink alone. When I asked her why, she said “it was for the math.”
It was not good math. She still paid more for that package than she would have spent just buying drinks as she went.
Dana isn’t the only one. Drink packages look so easy on the booking screen. One price, drinks all day, no scary bill at the end. But the fine print is where the money goes, and most people don’t read it until they’re already onboard.
So here’s every trap I know about. Including one that catches people who think their package is free.
Should You Even Get a Drink Package?
Here’s the quick answer before we get into the traps.
Buy it if:
- You’ll have about 6 or more alcoholic drinks a day, every day
- Your cruise has a lot of sea days
- Everyone in your cabin drinks about the same amount
- You like not thinking about prices at all
Skip it if:
- Your cruise is heavy on ports or long excursions
- Someone in your cabin barely drinks
- You get free drinks from loyalty status or the casino
- You mostly drink beer or a glass of wine with dinner
Cruise Drink Package Prices Compared (Updated October 2026)
Prices change all the time and most lines now price by sailing, so think of these as ballpark numbers. Always check your own cruise planner.
| Cruise Line | Package | Typical Price Per Day | Extra Charge | Per-Drink Limit | Daily Cap | Everyone in Cabin Must Buy? | Works on Private Island? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Caribbean | Deluxe Beverage | About $56 to $120 | 18% added | $14 | No set cap | Yes (no exceptions since Aug 2025) | Yes, CocoCay and Labadee |
| Carnival | CHEERS! | About $70, around $83 with 18% | 18% added | Varies by drink | 15 alcoholic drinks | Yes, all guests 21+ | Check before you sail |
| Norwegian | Included with promo fare | “Free,” but about $28.50 per person service charge | Service charge is the cost | Check menu | No set cap | Yes, all adults | Yes, Great Stirrup Cay |
| Celebrity | Classic / Premium | Classic from about $89 | 20% added | $12 Classic, $19 Premium | No daily limit | Check when booking | N/A |
1. The Break-Even Math Doesn’t Work for Most People
This is the big one. Let’s do real math with a Royal Caribbean Deluxe package.
Say you catch a pre-cruise sale and get Deluxe for $75 a day. Add the 18% gratuity and you’re at $88.50 a day.
A cocktail onboard runs about $13. Add 18% and its about $15.34.
So you need about 6 cocktails a day, every single day, just to break even in this example. A little less if you also drink a lot of specialty coffee and bottled water, since those are covered too.
Over a 7-night cruise that’s about $620 per person. For a couple, around $1,240. Now think about how many of those days you’ll actually be on the ship drinking.
Fix it: Write down what you really drink on a normal vacation day. Not your best day. A normal one.
2. Every Drink Has a Price Ceiling
“Unlimited” really means unlimited drinks up to a certain price. Anything over that, you pay the difference.
On Royal Caribbean the Deluxe package covers drinks up to $14. On Celebrity, the Classic package only covers drinks up to $12, and the Premium goes up to $19. Carnival’s CHEERS! covers drinks up to $20, and anything over that just gets 25% off.
That fancy cocktail with the smoke bubble on top? Probably not covered.
And on Royal Caribbean you pay the 18% gratuity on that difference too.
Fix it: Look at the bar menus for your ship before you buy. If your favorite drinks are all over the limit, the package might not be worth it.
3. Everyone in Your Cabin Has to Buy It
If one adult in the cabin buys the package, every adult in that cabin usually has to buy it too. This is to stop people from sharing.
Royal Caribbean used to let people call and get an exception, like if one person was pregnant or didn’t drink. Not anymore. Royal Caribbean ended those exceptions on August 1, 2025, so both guests in a cabin now have to buy Deluxe if one does. Carnival makes every guest 21 and older in the cabin buy CHEERS!, and Norwegian has the same kind of rule for adults.
So if your partner has two glasses of wine all week, you’re still paying for two full packages.
Fix it: If one person in your cabin is a light drinker, price it out as two packages. Not one.
4. You Pay for Every Night, Even the First and Last
Most packages charge you for every night of the cruise. That includes embarkation day, when you don’t get onboard until lunch. And the last night, when your packing and trying to go to bed early because you have to be off the ship early the next morning.
Some sailings are even worse. On Carnival sailings from Galveston, New York and Norfolk, alcohol benefits don’t start until 6 a.m. on day two.
Fix it: Count the days you’ll actually get full use out of the package. It’s usually less than the number of nights.
5. Port Days Drain the Value Fast
If you’re off the ship for 8 hours at a port, your package isn’t doing anything for you. You’re still paying full price for that day though.
Private islands are a little different, and it depends on the line:
- Royal Caribbean: Deluxe works at Perfect Day at CocoCay and Labadee.
- Norwegian: After a lot of backlash, Norwegian reversed its plan and packages still work on Great Stirrup Cay.
- Carnival: CHEERS! only works on the ship. It doesn’t cover drinks at Celebration Key, Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays.
If you’re trying to decide between islands, here’s how Celebration Key compares to Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Fix it: Count your sea days. A port-heavy cruise is the worst time to buy a package.
6. “Unlimited” Has a Daily Cap (and a Timer)
Carnival’s CHEERS! package caps you at 15 alcoholic drinks a day. That sounds like plenty, and for most people it is. But there’s more.
You can only order one drink at a time. And Carnival doubled the wait between orders to 10 minutes, and that applies to every drink, even soda. Want a beer and a water at the same time? Technically you have to wait. Carnival has also made it clear it’s staying firm on its CHEERS! limits.
Celebrity is the opposite, there’s no daily drink limit.
Fix it: If you like to grab two drinks at once for the pool, know the rules before you buy.
7. Gratuities Add 18% to 20% on Top
The price you see in big letters usually isn’t the final price. Royal Caribbean adds 18% to its drink packages. Carnival and Celebrity add 20%, and Norwegian adds 20% when you buy a package on its own.
Norwegian’s promo fares work a little different. The drink package is included, but you pay a flat service charge of about $28.50 per person, per day instead of a percentage. (More on that in trap #8.)
On a $90 a day package, a 20% charge adds $18 a day. Over a week, that’s $126 more per person you might not of planned for. Here’s how Royal Caribbean gratuities and Carnival gratuities work in general.
Fix it: Always multiply the daily price by 1.18 or 1.20 before you decide.
8. “Free” Drink Packages Aren’t Free
This is the one that gets people who think they found a loophole.
Norwegian is famous for including a drink package with its promo fares. But you still pay a daily service charge on it, about $28.50 per person, per day as of 2026. For a couple on a 7-night cruise, that’s almost $400 for a package that was called “free.”
Celebrity’s All Included fare is similar. The drink package is included, but the fare costs more than the cruise-only fare. You’re still paying for it, just in a different spot.
Fix it: Compare the cruise-only price to the “free drinks” price. The difference is what you’re really paying.
9. Some Drinks Aren’t Covered at All
Even a top package has gaps. Here’s what catches people:
- Starbucks: Royal Caribbean packages don’t cover the licensed Starbucks onboard.
- Freestyle soda machines: Starting March 15, 2026, Royal Caribbean stopped including the Coca-Cola Freestyle cup with Deluxe. It’s now $4.99 extra.
- Minibar and room service: Norwegian’s package doesn’t cover these.
Also remember that some drinks are already free with your fare. Here’s what drinks are free on Royal Caribbean.
Fix it: If you live on Starbucks or room service, don’t count those drinks when you do your math.
10. Sharing Can Get Your Package Taken Away
Drink packages are for one person only, and sharing is against the rules. If you order a cocktail on your package and hand it to a friend who doesn’t have one, you could lose your package. Carnival’s CHEERS! rules flat out say sharing isn’t allowed, and Royal Caribbean said sharing was one of the reasons it stopped making exceptions to its cabin rule.
Fix it: Your package is for you only. Don’t risk it for your friend’s margarita.
11. The Drinking Age Is Usually 21
On most cruises from US ports, you have to be 21 to drink, even if the ship visits places where the age is 18. That means your 19 year old can’t get the alcohol package, and they might need a soda or refreshment package instead. Here’s more on whether you can drink at 18 on a cruise.
Fix it: Check the age rule for your exact sailing before you plan drinks for the whole family.
12. You Might Already Be Getting Free Drinks
If you have loyalty status, a casino offer or onboard credit, you might be paying for drinks you would of gotten free.
Royal Caribbean Diamond members get 4 free drink vouchers every day of the cruise, Diamond Plus members get 5, and Pinnacle Club members get 6. Each one covers a drink up to $14, and you can use them all day long, not just at happy hour (Starbucks and the Bionic Bar don’t count). If your a Diamond member, that’s 4 of the roughly 6 drinks a day you’d need to break even on the Deluxe package. Here’s more on Royal Caribbean Diamond benefits.
Casino players often get free drinks while they play, and some get offers through programs like Casino Royale. And if you have onboard credit, you can use it to pay for drinks as you go.
Fix it: Add up the free drinks you already get. Take them out of your math.
13. You’ll Feel Like You Have to Keep Drinking
Nobody talks about this one enough. Once you’ve paid hundreds of dollars upfront, you start keeping score in your head.
Did I drink enough today? Am I behind? Should I get one more? (Hi Dana.)
You end up ordering drinks you don’t really want, and you feel worse the next morning on your excursion. That’s not what a vacation is supposed to feel like.
Fix it: If you know your the type who keeps score, paying as you go might actually be more relaxing.
Booking Mistakes That Cost You Money
If you decide a package is right for you, how you buy it matters too.
- Buy before you sail. Pre-cruise sales are common. Royal Caribbean sometimes runs up to 50% off in the Cruise Planner.
- Keep checking the price. If it drops before your cruise, you can usually cancel and rebook at the lower price.
- Watch out for onboard “deals.” A buy one, get one sale onboard is usually based on a higher price than you would of paid before the cruise.
- Carnival cruisers, pay attention. Starting December 1, 2026, Carnival is switching drink packages to dynamic pricing, so prices will change by sailing. FunPacks can only be bought through October 30, 2026.
- You usually can’t cancel once you board. Most lines lock you in after the first day.
Cheaper Alternatives to a Full Drink Package
You don’t have to choose between a full package and nothing.
- Carnival CHEERS! Social: Three alcoholic drinks a day plus unlimited non-alcoholic drinks. It’s only sold in the Social FunPack at $60 a day.
- Non-alcoholic packages: Carnival now has a package for non-drinkers, and Royal Caribbean has the Refreshment package.
- Bring your own wine: Many lines let you bring wine onboard. Here’s which cruise lines let you bring alcohol.
- Pay as you go: Look for drink of the day specials and happy hours.
- Use onboard credit: Both Carnival onboard credit and Royal Caribbean onboard credit can pay for drinks.
Cruise Drink Package FAQ
Is a drink package worth it on a 3 or 4 night cruise?
It can be. If your short cruise is mostly sea days, or stops at a private island where your package works like CocoCay, a package can pay off if you drink a lot. Just remember embarkation day counts as a full day even though you board around lunch, and on a 3 night cruise that’s a third of what you pay. If you’ll be off the ship most of the time or only have a couple drinks at night, paying as you go is probably cheaper.
Can my spouse skip the package if I buy one?
On Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian, usually no. All adults in the cabin have to buy it.
Does the drink package cover Starbucks?
Not on Royal Caribbean. The licensed Starbucks locations are not included.
Can I buy a drink package for just part of my cruise?
Most lines don’t allow it. You have to buy it for the whole sailing.
Are drink packages cheaper before the cruise?
Yes, almost always. Onboard prices are usually the highest you’ll see.
Do drink packages work on private islands?
On Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, yes. On Carnival, no. CHEERS! only works on the ship.
Final Word
A drink package isn’t a good deal or a bad deal by itself. It depends on how you actually cruise. If you love sea days and like a cocktail in your hand from noon to midnight, go for it. If your a port day person who’s in bed by 10, keep your money.
Just don’t be Dana drinking solo in silence at 11:30 to play catch up.
So tell me in the comments: do you buy the drink package, or pay as you go? 🍹
