Topic: Are Brits enjoying a tipple too many? Indy drinks packages axed!

Reports are coming in that Royal Caribbean’s new all-you-can-drink packages, which only launched last month [on three ships], have been suspended for the current sailing on Independence of the Seas.



Apparently the packages were stopped on Indy's 11-nt Canary Islands cruise, which departed from Southampton on 5 April "in order to make some changes based on guest feedback."

It will be reinstated for the cruise departing on 16 April.

As it happens, the drinks packages have remained available aboard the other Royal Caribbean cruise ships based in other parts of the world [South America and Asia].

So I guess it’s just this Southampton sailing that’s been affected then? Hmmm…

Apparently the line may put a rule in place to ensure that those sharing a cabin with passengers under the legal drinking age, cannot purchase an all-you-can-drink package.

Has anyone been on Indy since the drinks packages were launched?

So they are thinking of implementing a policy that discriminates against families on a ship that is aimed at families

I was warming to the thought of trying Indie because the AI packages would mean that my expenses would be finite, If they make this change though they'll go back to being on the no-way pile....

Is anyone surprised?

QUOTE:

Reports are coming in that Royal Caribbean’s new all-you-can-drink packages, which only launched last month [on three ships], have been suspended for the current sailing on Independence of the Seas.



Apparently the packages were stopped on Indy's 11-nt Canary Islands cruise, which departed from Southampton on 5 April "in order to make some changes based on guest feedback."

It will be reinstated for the cruise departing on 16 April.

As it happens, the drinks packages have remained available aboard the other Royal Caribbean cruise ships based in other parts of the world [South America and Asia].

So I guess it’s just this Southampton sailing that’s been affected then? Hmmm…

Apparently the line may put a rule in place to ensure that those sharing a cabin with passengers under the legal drinking age, cannot purchase an all-you-can-drink package.

Has anyone been on Indy since the drinks packages were launched?

Nothing would surprise me on this score. We recently witnessed a number of scams under way on this ship, one particular one in Boleros Bar, with the guy buying a drink and asking the barman for an extra glass and a bit of decanting going on in the corner.

On a lighter note, on returning onboard I had my particularly fine Chianti confiscated.

I consoled myself with the amusing thought that 'did they really think I would drink that level of fine wine with their level of food quality'.

Hi all
How can they get away with it?
They say you can buy drinks package on board (only when you get on board) so you book the cruise,get on board,only to find RCL have cancelled it for that cruise!!!!Would you be upset/angry or just say "Ah well,you know what cruise lines are like".
With the cancelled Xmas/NY cruises,Noro and now this,,,,,,Surely another case for BBC Watchdog.
JC

QUOTE:

So they are thinking of implementing a policy that discriminates against families on a ship that is aimed at families

I was warming to the thought of trying Indie because the AI packages would mean that my expenses would be finite, If they make this change though they'll go back to being on the no-way pile....

I agree, definetly back to the bottom of the pile.

I recently cruised on the IOTS (25th March-5th April) and just after boarding we signed up for the basic package ($29 per day). This covered house wine, beer, cider and lager. I understood that the packages were only launched the week before we sailed and we assumed it would save us money. My other half also had the same package and we did the soda package for our 4 yr old.

The $29 was charged everyday for the cruise and could not be paid for daily as and when required, so it cost us $319 each. Bearing in mind that bottled beer was $5.50, Pint and a half cans of Fosters were $7.95 and wine was about $6-8 a glass, you would need a good 5 drinks everyday to get your money's worth. I thought I could handle this, and I’m not moaning about drinks prices, (we knew these before we booked) but on some days I only had one or two alcoholic drinks so I kind of begrudged knowing that I was being charged $29 (I know, my fault, I should have drunk more!) but never mind. It’s nice to have ‘blow out’ on alcohol on holiday from time to time, but I just couldn’t hack it everyday (maybe I’m getting old! Lol!). So I would only recommend the package if you know you are going to drink at least 5 alcoholic drinks every day.

Also, once you had paid for the package you just got a small centimetre square sticker with BP in the centre and a tiny number on the bottom of the sticker. At no point when we ordered drinks did any of the bar tenders swipe our cards to verify the package; you literally just held up your card and they’d nod when they saw the little sticker. This did make us wonder how they can have control over drinks sales, stock levels/wastage if they served in such a manner, and also given the hush hush practice of some waiters giving out free drinks (we met several passengers who openly bragged that they did not pay for drinks in certain bars, they just tipped well at the end, and there was even one group of 8 who sat near us in the shows drinking cocktail after cocktail and I heard them whispering to the waiter that they’d ‘sort him out as usual at the end of the cruise’!) We were pretty disgusted by this to be honest.

Anyway, sorry I’m rambling, but back to the subject of the beer package being suspended, I’m not really surprised as it was very clear that some fellow cruisers were abusing it… One afternoon a lady went into the pyramid bar with her beach bag and asked for 6 cans of Fosters to be put into her bag. She had one card with the beer package on it and the bar tender did as she asked… We also saw couples and groups, where only one person, or part of the group had the package, and others were benefiting from free drinks by sending the person with the beer package to the bar… we also saw a lot of people ‘sharing drinks’. We even sat with some groups who were making 2 and 3 trips to different bars to use their stickered cards to get drinks in for other people (without the package) so they didn’t have to pay…

Given the above, it was clear to us that RCI must have no stock control whatsoever, and perhaps this explains the higher than average drinks prices as they must have to cover the ‘shrinkage’ somehow?

QUOTE:

Hi all
How can they get away with it?
They say you can buy drinks package on board (only when you get on board) so you book the cruise,get on board,only to find RCL have cancelled it for that cruise!!!!Would you be upset/angry or just say "Ah well,you know what cruise lines are like".
With the cancelled Xmas/NY cruises,Noro and now this,,,,,,Surely another case for BBC Watchdog.
JC

I don't think so JC

RCI stated they were Trialling the packages on 3 ships, but it seems already that the system has been abused.

I would blame the abusers not the cruise line at this stage.

It was a test run, and the deciding factor is like everything else, can they make a profit from those packages... evidently not.
Surprise Surprise.

I have read all the comments on the topic and they are true. I have sailed with RCI for 11 years and have always found the drinks to be expensive and the addition of the 15 percent makes it even outrageous. Do they charge the gratuity on the all inclusive package?

I suspect that they will have worked out the total for each sailing with or without the AI and decided its not profitable for them! they are I must say the best cruise line for getting money out of cruises I have sailed on! I have only sailed out of Florida so wonder why they have not introduced it for those ships? or do they think us Brits like a beer or 3!...... I cant decide.

It will be very interesting to see how it does roll out, or will they just do the higher tier prices in the future?

It is a good deal for those who like a sherbert to two, but very open to abuse and like I said RCI dont miss a trick when it comes to squeezing the last drop out of us.....

They are the best cruise line for family cruising so the rule about under age cruises and not being able to take the package does beg a serious question, I would have been dissapointed to learn this if we had wanted the package. I know they confiscate any take on drinks until the end so with families that is out of the question to have a drink in your cabin on the balcony like we do on P & O. On a funnier note our 18 year old son and his "friends" drank some of our vodka from the cabin and filled it up with water thinking we would not notice!!!!! as if..........
Look forward to hearing some other points of view on this one how we feel it will pan out on future cruise