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Michel Verdure / © Michel Verdure
Royal Caribbean's all-you-can drink packages, which start at $29 per day, will no longer be offered aboard Independence of the Seas during the ship's new seasonal deployment in Florida.
Toast or tsk? The unlimited alcohol packages currently offered on the Britain-based Independence of the Seas won't be available during the ship's new seasonal deployment in Florida.
Royal Caribbean recently announced that "Indy," a year-round Southampton stalwart since 2010, will adopt a more traditional dual passport strategy: Starting in November 2012, it will split time between Southampton (spring, summer Europe cruises) and Fort Lauderdale (fall, winter Caribbean sailings). The alcoholic beverage packages won't be part of the redeployment. (It will, however, be offered on the transatlantic repositioning cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale.)
"As Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand, our ships' offerings are tailored to the markets from where they draw their guests," spokesman Harrison Liu explained in an e-mail. "Independence of the Seas [from] Southampton was primarily a British product. When the ship sails in the Caribbean, the onboard offering will be adjusted to cater to a more North American and international clientele, as well as reflect the cultural norms here."
The all-you-can drink packages, which start at $29 per day (all brews, house wine by the glass and a 25 percent discount on other liquors and wines) were launched in March 2011 on a trial basis. The program is available on Grandeur of the Seas, Legend of the Seas and Independence, three ships catering to predominantly non-U.S. passengers. Grandeur divides its time between South America (cruises from Colon, Panama, and Cartagena, Columbia) and the Mediterranean (from Palma De Mallorca, Spain and couple other homeports). Legend is Royal Caribbean's year-round Asia-based vessel.
"The drinks package will not be expanded to additional ships yet," added Liu.
Over the past two years, unlimited booze packages have firmly achieved trend status, with new offerings introduced by Celebrity Cruises, Oceania Cruises, MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean. Celebrity Cruises, a Royal Caribbean sister line catering to British, American and Australian passengers, offers all-you-can drink packages fleetwide, regardless of destination.
More from Cruise Critic
- The Low-Down on Independence of the Seas
The Ultimate Guide to Drinking at Sea
7 Ways to Score Free Drinks at Sea
Leave a Comment:
I wouldn't want to cruise with a bunch of all-you-can-drinkers, but that's me.
I wouldn't want to be trapped on a boat with 4000 of my closest friends WITHOUT all I can drink ;-)
The so-called all you can drink package in reality is limited to beer and wine. At a cost of $7 to $10 per drink, you are conservatively looking at needing to drink 3-4 glasses per day for this deal to pay off. That is a rather large amount of alcohol to consume daily particularly when you often spend the day visiting some port, not on the boat. For prices starting around $25, you can order a bottle of wine from the cruise line and get easily 5-6 drinks. Share it with a friend and you can each get 3 drinks a day for less than half the cost of the so-called deal. The math just doesn't add up. I suspect that in the vast majority of cases the only one that finds this deal financially beneficial is the cruise line. Good riddance.
100% Correct! The math does not add up! See ya!!!!
Oh, boy, more drunks. That is the reason I use Holland America Line. Better cruise with antique people than drunk people.
Antique people????LOL! Boy, isn't that the truth on HAL. But smaller ships and more personalized service .....it's worth it.
Excellent, sounds perfect.