Hey Mark and Linz. Another brilliant video of your recent 14 nighter on P&O Iona. Even though £880 I think you said you spent is still a heft amount, it isnt as hefty as the drinks package itself, and as I was listening to your video, I was thinking , what a stress free way to enjoy your cruise : not having to work your way through each drinks menu, to see what you could and couldn't have not having to compromise on what you would otherwise want to try - because it wasn't in the package Being able to have absolutely whatever you fancied at the time And I would be exactly the same as Mark, my calculations would have been deducting each drink from what would have spent had we got the package lol. Not being able to have a Hendricks and fever tree gin! for example ...absolut nightmare This is the one and only drinks package I have spent time deliberating. last time we took the package, but found ourselves sticking to drinks we wouldnt ordinarily stick to. And also, because of their meager offerings on singles only watch, if you got a glass of Prosecco - the amount you got int he glass was less than a third of the glass flute! just ridiculous. I really do think that P&O need to up their game with this Hope you two are doing great x x
Thank you Terry, we really do hope that P&O do overhaul the offer at some point as we do still prefer a package (even after our comparison) but it has to be one that let's us just order what we fancy and not have to spend time figuring out if we can have it or not. And who only wants a third of a glass of Prosecco. Lol. Take Care Terry. Linzi and Mark
After watching this im debating but they’ve told us kids drinks are free with 2 adults drinks package so i think it would make sense for us to pay the 1k for the 4 of us 14 nights
As ex P&O customers, our best best advice is try Celebrity cruises with the ultimate drinks package, no measures and bar people serve you 1st as quicker and cuts waiting times. Happy cruising !
Hi Shaun, we love celebrity too, the drinks package works exactly how we want it to. And we really love The Martini Bar and World Class Bar. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Great stuff. As you say calling it the “ ultimate” is just ridiculous, as it’s so limited. We never consider the drinks package on p&o and you have confirmed what we think, saving of over £400 to drink what you want. Thanks for sharing
You are very welcome. We genuinely weren't sure if it would work out financially better or not before the cruise, but we did know from previous experience that the package didn't work for us personally with the limited and restricted choices. Then it worked out over £400 cheaper was even better. Linzi and Mark
I keep sharing this on fb cruise posts when people are talking about if to have the package or not. We def wont have it now, thanks for the brilliant comparison xx
Thank you Vicky, that is so kind of you to do that. We are a bit rubbish at sharing our stuff on Facebook, so we really appreciate that. Linzi and Mark
Just back from 2 weeks on the Arvia. Purchased the drinks package for 2 which was well worth the money. Even had half a dozen of the more expensive cocktails with 20% off and then another 5% off member discount. I think quite a few people get confused by the comments on here thinking it's only alcoholic drinks. I'd estimate about £10 a day each was on non alcohol drinks , leaving £30 a day for alcohol. Depending on your holiday, but if your having a couple of drinks in the day and a few in the evening I cant see how the package doesn't pay.
Really glad the Drinks package worked for you Christopher. As we've said before we absolutely love a drinks package, P&O's just doesn't work out good value for us personally. Have a lovely evening. Linzi and Mark
Thank Kimberley, what lovely comment. We are so glad you enjoyed our videos, and we hope you have an amazing first cruise next year. WARNING, and speaking from experience. Cruising is addictive 😂 Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
Great review. We did the same, a family of 4, took package on IONA and then didn't on Ventura. We saved about £500 by NOT taking the packagae and we had more of the drinks that we actually wanted!
Just back from 2 weeks on Arvia, drinking what we wanted when we wanted not worrying about cost. On alcohol, we spent £355 (which I still think is a lot) but shows how we would have completely wasted money on a drinks package. But its horses for courses! I only drank John Smiths or Coke ... my fiancé had wine/port/cocktails/g&t when she wanted it, but neither of us are big drinkers. Although I did spend £195 on a bottle of Don Perignon champagne in Epicurean on the night I proposed ... but that wouldnt have been covered by a package! ❤😂
Congratulations Andrew 🍾 so happy for you both and what a great location for the proposal. Did the staff or anyone else notice? And yes you would have definitely wasted money on the drinks package, for a fortnight you would have been over a £1000 worse off! Again massive congratulations on the engagement 💍 Linzi and Mark
What a great video- thank you! We are off on Iona in August, and have decided not to take the drinks package for exactly these reasons. It is lovely to have our suspicions confirmed! Just a quick note though- we think you would have actually saved a lot more than if you had the 'ultimate'(!!!) drinks package, because if you had the package AND drunk the same drinks, you would have paid ON TOP of your package price- this being the drinks price-20%. So all in all, you would have saved even more! Either way, it does come across as P&O taking money off of people who can't be arsed to do maths whilst on holiday- a real shame. Thanks again- love you and you videos! xx
Thank you, we are so glad you've enjoyed our videos 😀 We did discuss this onboard, as when we were on Ventura and had the package that extra costs (less th 20%), as you said makes it even more expensive and we did consider mentioning it in the comparison but we didn't want people thinking we had an agenda to make it seem even worse for us, so just reported it as a direct comparison instead. But you are absolutely right, if we had have drank what we drank on the ship and compared it, then it would have been hundreds more expensive still for the package plus our up-priced drinks. Thanks for taking time to comment and have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
I think your savings may be even higher - you would need to look at all of your drinks that cost more than the package allowance and add that difference to the package cost. You did even better!
You are absolutely right Kevin. And we did debate doing the comparison that way, as it was even more as the cost of then package went up a lot when we worked it out We did have the approximate number of an additional £480 would have gone onto the price of the package. We decided though to just do it as a very simple, this cost this compared to this flat figure so it didn't come across as we were trying to make it look even more against the package. And we know a lot of people who take the package tend to stay within the package prices and rules, and probably wouldn't buy it and then get most of the drinks not covered by it. And when we had the package of ourselves we stay within it too virtually all the time. But as you said, it did, make the savings even more for us personally by comparison. Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
Thank you for this! We're going on Arvia next year for a fortnight. Neither of us is a drinker so we'd never have a package but I have to admit I'd be in shock to end up with an £800 bill for alcohol for two weeks. I guess it's horses for courses and I think my bank account is glad I prefer tea! 😂
Thanks Andrew. To be fair there was £80 of teas and coffees over the two weeks! So only £720 in alcohol between us over 14 nights 🤣 If are totally honest we expected it to be more. Linzi and Mark
I found this very interesting and helpful am going on my first cruise 🚢 ever this summer me and my son he’s 20 and we’ve been debating on wether or not to get the drinks 🍸 package or not , this has really given me food for thought 💭. Thanks so much for taking the time to work out what you spent compared to the DP ❤. I’ve just subscribed and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your adventures xxx 😘
You are very welcome Sarah, and we hope you have an amazing time on your first cruise with you son, we are sure he'll love it too. Hope you have plenty of adventures too. Let us know how you get on with the first cruise. Linzi & Mark
Funnily enought this evening I was comparing a 10 night Cunard with a 4 night where we couldn't buy the package (receipt was found !)... We worked out that on 3 of the 4 nights of the 4 nighter, the package would have cheaper (and was cheaper overall) and we're now no longer sailing on the Cunard cruises under 5 ni (ie, where they don't offer it). The crazy thing was this was despite this we felt we were drinking "less" without the package and noticably hadn't been drinking enough non-alcoholic drinks. I can fully say honestly that the drinks package on P&O is one of the reasons we have so far refused to sail with them, with our like of doubles for nightcaps being ruled out on the P&O package, ditto many Martini cocktails.. That said, both lines should remove the stupid pay 100% of drinks over package and make it a pay the difference system ...
We completely agree about removing the pay in full (less a small discount) if you go over the drinks limits. We simply don't understand the logic of this at all. We would have absolutely spent more money on cruises that have had this policy, to get the drinks we wanted, when we wanted. So many other cruise lines just let you pay the difference, and that is how it should be. We didn't let the drinks package put us off going on P&O the 2nd time (Iona) we just didn't take the drinks package, and as you saw, it worked out better. We still prefer a drinks package, to not having one, but it has to be one that works for us. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
Great video, we have been on two P&O cruises (Britannia and Iona). My wife does not drink alcohol so we would not go for any "drinks packages". I am not a big drinker and would say a couple of beers and a glass of wine is all I would drink every 24 hrs. £21 a day verses almost £80 a night. No brainer, our next two cruises (P&O and Princess) will also be pay as you go.
Thanks Mark. Glad you enjoyed it. It is absolutely not worth it at all if one of you doesn't drink alcohol, you'd struggle to drink your monies worth in soft drinks or coffees. For us Princess actually worked out as it was included in the fare as a special offer and then we paid £20 each for the premier package upgrade which raised the drink limit to £18 and included two speciality restaurants, wifi and photo package so very different to P&O ultimate offering. Linzi and Mark
We’re going on Iona soon so are doing our homework. We don’t think we’re going to take it. There seem to be a lot of do’s and don’ts and we’d spend our time frustrated. I think we’ve worked out it will be cheaper without for us! We’ll be checking out some more of your cruise vids for sure. Cheers 🍻
Slightly of topic we had a Greek hotel holiday and we paid for our drinks as we went, come the end of the holiday an invoice was posted under our hotel room door for over £70.00 for drinks. Luckily we kept every receipt for drinks ( not always given readily ) to prove we had paid. Nice little earner for someone if you ask me. BTW the beer was awful for those that had paid for the drinks package, we chose a named beer not available to the drinks package clients. Great video. PAYG every time unless you drink loads !!
Oh wow. That's so cheeky of them to try that on. We hate it when all inclusives or drinks packages give really cheap bad tasting brands. You just end up spending more money getting what you really wanted. Thanks for taking time to drop us a comment, and watching our video. Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
Great video. We’re on Iona next month and have been debating PAYG v DP. Historically we’ve always gone for the Packages (albeit never cruised with P&O before), but I based on this video I think on next months cruise we’ll go for PAYG……and take Yorkshire Tea with us 😊
Thank you Zak & Thomas for such a lovely comment, and of course we are so glad it was useful for you. We are sure you will have a great cruise on Iona, there is a lot to love on there, and even more if you take some Yorkshire Tea with you 😂 Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
I'm on Arvia in March and had already decided the drinks package probably wasnt for me but your video has confirmed what I'd suspected. I do love a glass of wine or three and an occasional cocktail but, with P&O allowing you to take a litre of spirits on board with you (I do like a little something whilst getting ready for dinner!) I dont think I could drink the best part of £40 per day in alcohol. Thanks for the review.
Thank you Valerie, we are glad it helped you firm up what we suspect you'd already decided. It is a lot to drink to break even and it's even more when you are limited to the lower priced drinks, rather than the more expensive cocktails or wines which you could break even on easily. Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
We have just come back from a 6 week cruise with p o drink package was 3000 pounds! You are only a,allowed a single measure and a wait of 15 mins between drinks,we didnt take it and saved over1500 pounds,also we were allowed to take alcahol on board at each port. The trouble is most people were drinking in their cabins bars were empty. Never p o again ,give me Princess all drinks and wifi included
Wow, £3,000 for a drinks package is an incredible amount, you would think they would reduce down the charge per day on longer cruises, as you simply couldn't keep up a drinking pace of a shorter cruise on a much longer one. We do love Princesses Drinks package, and the Premier one our last cruise was fantastic, and included some speciality dining, photos and such too, so whilst more expensive, it seemed better value for money. Linzi & Mark
Good video. We were going to book a P and O cruise the other month but due to the drinks package being so restrictive we decided to go with MSC instead. I know you saved money going “pay as you go” but that only amounts to about 5 drinks a day. I’d probably get through that just sitting around the pool in the afternoon, albeit not the more expensive cocktails. Thanks for the video.
Thank you David, glad you enjoyed it. Some days we had much more than five drinks, but on others, especially long port days, we might have only had one or two. Generally speaking we still would pick a drinks package for reasons we've talked about on other videos, and especially on those pool day afternoons 😀 It's just P&O's right now that is not working for us. Thanks for watching and taking time to drop us a comment too. Linzi and Mark
I am going on Arvia in July with my disabled son. He doesn’t drink so we’d be wasting a lot of money as we’d have to take the drinks package for both of us. Unlike Celebrity they don’t let you pay the difference either between the package drinks and the more expensive drinks which I feel isn’t a great move. I don’t go for loads of cocktails so hopefully PAYG will work out fine and we’ve got OBC to use. Thanks!
Hi Alexis, that absolutely sounds like the right plan to go PAYG for your Arvia cruise in July. Having to both get a package, when one can't take full advantage of it, pretty much always rules out purchasing it. And if you do have OBC too, even more reason not to. Have an amazing cruise in July, and thanks for taking time to watch our stuff, and for leaving a comment too. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
we sail on her in March, no drinks package bought but we got our TA to get us £560 room credit, so if we drink like you 2 (we dont do cocktails just Peroni or Brew dog our end bill will be tiny. good vid again
Hi Rhona, we are glad it was useful for you. "Officially" P&O allow you to bring on a litre of alcohol per adult in a cabin at the start of the cruise for drinking in the cabin. However, we can speak first hand, that any alcohol we.bought in port we were allowed to just take back to the cabin. We didn't have to put it in security storage until the last night which other cruise lines tend to do. Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
They haven't been taking booze away since returning to cruises but it may come back We worked out couldn't drink that much But do like to have wine with our meal But they have stopped, keeping half bottles in the mdr till next night so annoyingly have to take back to cabin fridge which isn't as cold Thanks again for video
hi guys, very informative. we were on iona at the same time it seems. we did buy the drinks package last minute (as we have 2 kids & soda package was free for them)..... i mean last minute.... purchased on the ship!! and kept a running score throughout. bear in mind we pretty much kept to the "included" drinks, which was very disappointing towards the end of the cruise, we spent approx £820. i won't be doing it again on any ship (unless the whole drinks menu is included), as i believe it did impact the "holiday vibe" not being able to sample the whole menu. i did have the "smoked" cocktail.... very nice, & savoured that one for as long as possible. £49.95 per day = 10-12 beers (pint) / 7 cocktails / 19 tea/coffee / 17 soft drinks..... or a mixture of. for all thinking of the package.... will you drink this much on a sea day? think this way..... if you rack up a PAYG bar bill of £1100 on a 14 night cruise, at least you have had the drinks you want & a good time!!😏 P.S. i got asked to leave andersons bar & was escorted to the library as i was wearing (smart) shorts that night.😂
Thanks Mark. We do love a drinks package, as long as it doesn't impact that holiday vibe, which P&O did for us, and for you. It absolutely worked out better for us on this particular cruise and unless P&O massively change it, we wouldn't take the package with them again. Princess & Cunards packages worked out much better for us, and we managed to have everything we fancied. If we happen to be on the same cruise again, come and say hi, and we can grab a smoked cocktail together. We definitely didn't see anyone get escorted out of Andersons 😂. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
The wife & I are going on the MS Iona. She doesn't drink but we'd have to buy her an ultimate drinks package. I drink beer and i've worked out i'd have to drink 14 pints a night, every night, for 14 nights, to break even or 'beat the package'.
It definitely sounds like you would be better on a pay as you go option 😂 wow 14 pint every day for 14 nights! Have an amazing cruise on Iona. Linzi and Mark
Captivating and entertaining... On AZURA it made no sense for me to buy the package .. even a small glass of Macon was over... and they don't just charge the extra .. they give a miserly 20% discount... All the P&O prices have gone up and there is a new package i think so we will just have to do it all again!! Cheers 😅
Cheers Richard, we were looking for an excuse to go on a P&O cruise, and a new drinks package review is always a tempting one, although given its now even more expensive than it was on our comparison it's likely we would day very similar, but the Deluxe package does seem to cover pretty much everything we would want and that is part of the attraction of a pre-paidnand budgetted package it lets you just get on with enjoying the cruise. We have the package on our Celebrity Apex cruise in November and will be keen to see if that remains as good as last time we were on them. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
We never get the drinks packages, especially as some of the rules have changed to how many and what drinks are available in each package. We pay as we go and it works out far cheaper having what we want when we want it and that goes for any cruise line.
It's the same for us too now on P&O Paul, unless they massively change the packages. Celebrity and others though do work out better value for us, mainly because the drinks (cocktails in particular) are very expensive, and it only takes three or four a day to break even.
Great video as usual, we were actually on the same cruise but I never saw you. You may have seen me in my wheelchair with the big metal framework on my leg
We found on Iona ( with the drinks package ) that most bars would make the drinks package cocktails whether or not they were on their menu. The same with some spirits.
We found the same Julie, it was where we wanted, say a negroni (not on drinks package or menu) that we struggled occasionally. Having said that on MSC recently (outside of the Yacht Club) at the Buffet Bar, we were refused a Gin & Ginger, as it wasn't on the menu, despite them having both Gin & Ginger behind the bar. Madness. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
Look for an all inclusive deal. Its all about timing and cross checking different travel agents. Often parking and on board spends can be negotiated too.
Thank you Colin, hope it has helped you in deciding whether to take the package or not. If you've any questions though you are welcome to ask us here. Linzi & Mark
Prices are definitely great for P&O and it's always been quite a bit cheaper than Royal and a lot cheaper than Norwegian on the Cruises we've checked at least. We still have a big soft spot for Royal though being the first cruises we ever did. Linzi and Mark
Went on brittania end last year... decided not to get drink package, trying to get someone to serve you was a joke at all the bars ,so glad did not waste money.
Hi Ray, unfortunately bar service, in particular, seems to have been a big challenge for cruise lines since the restart, and is getting better but very slowly. Worst we saw was on Enchanted Princess with 30 minute bar queues not unusual at all. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
This is really interesting, we are used to Princess plus and we’re in two minds about the package. We’re on Azura in feb. We both like trying different cocktails and wine with dinner. So I think we’d be better to pay as you go. Thanks for this. 👍
Thank you Lorraine. As much as we love drinks packages, unless there's a major change, we wouldn't bother with P&Os package again. Especially after seeing the difference and price savings for ourselves. Especially given we had exactly what we wanted when we wanted and still worked out so much cheaper. If it was more like the Princess Plus or Premier packages that would be different. Linzi and Mark
Just back from 15 fabulous days on Arvia and did NOT take the drinks package. Let me emphasise we are both big holiday drinkers but, given that there’s an exclusion on any drink over £6.95 (you get 20% off), it simply wasn’t worth it. The premium cocktails in the Amber Lounge were sensational and worth every penny of the £8.75 charge (but would not have been covered by the package). We both drank to our hearts content (shipboard prices are UK equivalent plus there’s no annoying service charge on top) and our bar bill was way less than the £1200 the package would have cost us. I’d say, if you’re a big drinker, a package is worth considering on a cruise of less than 7 days but even the most hardened boozers would struggle to keep going over 15 days to get their ‘money’s worth’ (if beer was your tipple you’d have to drink 8 pints a day every day to break even). One couple actually admitted over dinner, in our hearing, that they were drinking far more than they wanted to to get ‘value for money’. So unless you’re in the Oliver Reed/ George Best league of drinking, don’t bother.
Hi Gerard, We completely agree. And those extra special cocktails at Amber or Emerald Lounges are well worth it. For us personally we don't think we can make the drinks package work for us (in its current form) because we prefer those fancier cocktails; it would be so bad if you could just pay the difference, but you can't. Hope you had an amazing cruise and have a lovely Easter weekend. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured forgot to mention a friend of ours saw one pair order two late drinks and barely take a sip before leaving them (clearly didn’t want to go to bed under the £40 mark). Keep up the good work M&L 👍
Having gone with p&o in the summer you can get a litre of vodka sent to your room it was £20 and they don't take any drink of you when you can back on after a stop
You are not the first person to mention about P&O not taking the drink off you after come back from port where you've bought it. We didn't actually try it, but it does seem to be a thing. Any other cruise line we have been on where we have brought alcohol back onboard from a port stop, has taken it and put it into safe keeping until the last night. We took advantage our 1 litre of drink each allowance too, a bottle of wine, and a big bottle of baileys, which was perfect for a night cap. P&O is really good when it comes to drink allowances to bring on board. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured I'm not a big drinker but the measures and price wasn't to bad for a large vodka I don't drink beer but I thought the measures on the royal Caribbean were better
We thought Royal we more generous on the measures too, although Virgin Voyages, are by far the most generous with the pours, although your liver might not thank you afterwards. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
Hi Anna, thank you. In answer to your question. Yes and No. If you want a drink at the bars (non-alcoholic) or speciality coffee shops, then it is pay as you go. But if you are in the buffet or main dining rooms then there are complementary drinks such teas and coffees and water with the meals. Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
We normally buy the wine package in advance on P&O which on current prices works out at £329 for 12 bottles. So would have to take that into consideration before looking at the ultimate drinks package. Im leaning towards trying the ultimate drinks package and then concentrating on wine glasses at 175mill.. so on a 14 night cruise that would mean £1118 spent on the ultimate drinks package less the £329 i would normally pay which makes it £790 more . If we go the same way as normal its £329 on wine then pay for all drinks....
We looked at that as an option before we went on Iona but decided to just try the pay as you go approach instead. If the wines we wanted were available we might have taken it. Maybe next time. We also had the same dilemma on the drinks package the first time we took it. Most of our favourite wines were just over the drinks package limit. Even for a smaller glass, which was why this time we went on the pay as you go. We also took a nice bottle with us as part of the 1 litre per adult per cabin allowance too. Whichever way you go; have a fantastic cruise and a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured Thank you, Had so many holidays cancelled (along with many others no doubt) over the last three years im just hoping we manage to board the Azura in September. Regarding the drinks we are handicapped in the fact neither of us drinks white and from the drinks menus ive seen including the one on your excellent video there is a definate limited choice available. We will probably give the ultimate package a go as 2 175 mil glasses each both at lunchtime and dinner at £6 would mean just "£16 each per day spent on alcohol elsewhere which is 5 drinks between us and I reckon we will do that. (Glass on the balcony, Glass before dinner each) is 4... will be a close run thing but think we will go down this route...
We will be keeping our fingers crossed for you that you do manage to board Azura in September. After the cruise, let us know how you got on with the package, really interested to see how it stacks up for you. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
An update on this. we did the 14 night cruise on the Azura at the end of last September and did the deluxe package.( £49.45 PPPD less peninsula club discount) With discount the cost was £1293. We didnt order the wine package. Sad person that I am i kept a virtual score of how much it would have cost had we paid as we went for each drink ordered. That worked out to approximately £1940 which saved us £648. We did enjoy a Charles Smith velvet devil merlot which was £12.50 for a 250mil glass..I accept as all drinks were paid for in advance we probab;ly drank more than had we used our OBC or bought the 12 bottles of wine for evening restaurant use. But the deluxe package certainly worked for us and will do it again when we do a 12 day Norwegian fjords cruise at the end of May. We are not massive drinkers and apart from after having had a very strong 42.5% double gin after lunch early on in the trip i wasnt at all "worse for wear".
Thank god I found this video! Going on Britannia in august with family of 4 and was dreading paying the for drinks package at over £1k. Having seen this I think we’ll pay and go and use our on board spending money to cover most of it. Quick question - I was thinking of taking a 1l bottle of squash for the kids day drinks, have you heard/seen of this being done? I’m aware we can take a spirit on board for our cabin but didn’t want it being confiscated! Thanks again for this video!
Hi Karen. Thank you, we are so glad it was useful for you. In answer to the squash question. Yes. You can take a litre of alcohol or non alcoholic drinks (such as squash) per adult in each cabin with P&O. We have seen plenty of people doing this for the children. Only thing to bear in mind is that you won't be able to bring the bottle out of your cabin with you on the ship to make up at the water stations. So probably best to bring a water flask /Tervis type mug you can take out with you and put the squash in you need before you head out of the cabin. We would also recommend you take it on via your hand luggage (same for alcohol too) as we've seen it delay baggage delivery more than once when it goes through scanning. You'll often see people having to go down and open up the suitcase to show what is inside. Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
Would you recommend purchasing the Refresh or non-alcoholic drinks packages and just buying everything else? My wife cannot drink alcohol anyway (for medical reasons) so we certainly wouldn't be buying any form of "alcohol included" package just for my benefit.
If you drink plenty of soft drinks (refresh) and speciality teas & coffees (non-alcoholic package) can be decent value but you do need to be having about 4 soft drinks each + at least two coffees/teas to break even. Bearing in mind you can get teas/coffees and water/flavoured drinks in the buffet included without needing a package. Hope this helps. Linzi & Mark
pay as you go works best on a long cruise for health reasons where just a week long booze blitz is survivable just. I mean 15 pints a day plus shots and several Long Island Teas is damaging.
Tend to agree, there is no way we could keep up 15 beers everyday on long cruise and the lack of cocktail options don't make the P&O package, currently, good value for us even on shorter ones.
Until yesterday (7th May) Phil, you were allowed to take up to 1L of spirits per person on P&O but they've changed that for, "Health & Safety Reasons" so you can now only.take 1L of wine or champagne. No spirits, including Martini.
Thanks for commenting Paul, and we agree, if you are on the more reasonably priced drinks (not cocktails or spirits) and yu don't drink too much then pay as you go is going to be better value. Have a lovely weekend. Linzi and Mark
Hi there, thank you for the review and Linzi, you have a lovely accent!! We are going on P&O for our 2nd time this time next year to the Fjords of Norway on Iona. Wrt the package, can you use parts of it to pay for the drinks not included? So for instance if you saw a drink for £10, and the package covers drinks of £7, would it not cost you £3 or can this not be done?
Hi Mark Thank you for watching and so glad it was useful and for liking our Yorkshire accents 😀 No it doesn't let you do that and it is one of the most annoying things. If you go over the limit by 1p you pay the full amount less 20% discount. So for example a £10 drink, even though you have a £6.95 limit would cost you £8. Whereas we and everyone else feels it should only cost £3.05. It stops people spending more to try newer drinks, and why would you want people to not spend more money. Crazy. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
We’re on Aurora soon and like you are going pay-as-you-go this time. We think it may save us a little but the main reason for us is to stop us obsessing over the drinks menus all day….. 😂
H Viv, it was so much better on P&O Iona not having to obsess about the drinks menus which really wasn't fun when we took the package on Ventura. The fact we saved money and had exactly what we wanted anytime we wanted was proof enough for us that the Ultimate Package doesn't work for us on P&O. Fingers crossed they improve it in the future. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
New subscriber. You both seem like great fun. I'm taking my first p and o cruise this summer to the fjords so this was really helpful. I would expect ultimate to mean everything or very close to. I'm going to pass on the drinks package and put the money into the cabin upgrade instead. ❤
Hi Louise, thank you for subscribing 😀 We really do wish that Ultimate meant that too, hopefully one day it will. As a drinks package, it is so far behind other cruise lines now, it makes very little sense taking it. There are exceptions, if you are going with a couple of children in your cabin, they get the soft drinks package included, which if there were 4 of you brings it down to £20 a day each, which is more reasonable, and if you have a few speciality coffees, and juices, it is probably just about worth it. Maybe.... 😂 Again thanks for subscribing and enjoy your first P&O cruise and let us know how it went when you come back. If you haven't already, and you are on Facebook, maybe consider joining our Suite Natured Facebook Group too, as there are lots of seasoned cruisers on there (as well as quite a lot of first timers) so it's a great place to ask questions if you need to. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
My partner and I are cruising Azura in August, neither of us drink. Would you recommend Pay-as-you-go or the soft drinks package? We’re stuck as to which option to choose.
Hi Chloe, that's a tricky question and really comes down to how many soft drinks or speciality coffees you are going to have. The kids soft drink package is pretty cheap and available to adults but is very limited and it's only draught soft drinks so not bottled/cans of Cola or such. The non alcoholic package is nearly three times the price but a bit more flexible and does includes speciality teas and coffees. Unless you drink a lot of soft drinks we wild probably go with Pay As You Go. Draught soda is quite cheap anyway on P&O. Linzi and Mark
H Chris. We definitely didn't cut down. However we did have quite a lot of port stops on the cruise where we were off the ship. Although we guess it worked out the same (six on a 14 night compared to three on the seven)? We also got whatever we wanted when we fancied them, which meant we had quite a lot of stronger cocktails that are not made up with as much filler (like their "favourite cocktails") and we had things such as the wine flights too. So on some days we probably did have fewer but stronger drinks, so we wouldn't have had as many those days. There were also speciality coffees in there too. Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
Hi thanks so much for this comparison. We are not big drinkers but thinking at £39.95 for the drinks package it's only just over 5 drinks a day (@ £6.95 each) which isn't much inlcuding teas and coffees (unless we pack a box of Yorkshire too!) So with a coffee in the morning and a tea in the afternoon, glass of wine with dinner and a couple of drinks in the evening would we not make up the £39.95? Going on Iona in the summer so would be grateful for your advice. Thank you.
Hi Helen, you are very welcome and we are glad it was useful for you. In answer to your question. The maths does work out. It doesn't take many drinks to cover the £39.95, and if you add speciality teas and coffees you get to that figure easier. The problem for us personally were the drinks we wanted weren't available on the package and if you have to get them you only get a 20% discoubt but still then pay the £39.95 a day. The choices of wines thst were inclusive of the package, in the restaurants, was very limited. Hope this helps a bit. Linzi and Mark
Hi thank you for your reply. Sorry to message again but I’m not sure I worded my question correctly. If you were drinking the drinks you wanted (which were probably more expensive than the package) and had maybe at least 6 drinks a day, including tea and coffee, I couldn’t work out how your pay as you go average daily spend was significantly less than £39.95. Surely all that would have added up to more than the price of the drinks package? Does it make a difference that you were on a 2 week cruise and it averages out over the time. Sorry to ask again but I’m just a bit confused. Thank you.
@@helengoode4223 we suspect we misread your question Helen. The fourteen day cruise did make a difference as some days we drank more than others. But it's not just the alcoholic drinks where the drinks package didn't work for us. For instance if we want a large bottle of San Pelligrino Water with a meal, that's not included. We would have to order 2 small cans. So often it's things like that which are not hugely expensive (4.95 if memory serves) but were not on the package. We drank pretty much the same as when we were on the package, so probably three cocktails a day plus water and a coffee or tea, but this averaged out much less than the package. Hope this makes sense. Linzi and Mark
Thanks so much for coming back to me again. I think we have decided to pay as you go for our drinks and will definitely pack a box of tea bags. Thank you for your advice.
@@SuiteNatured Nordic cruise from Southampton end of June! On the brittania which has had a refurb so fingers crossed! My partner and mother in law are worried about the motion of the boat on the sea, we were middle cabin but have had a free upgrade to nearer the front or bow is it?? Lol
Britannia is a lovely ship, which so many people say is there favourite P&O ship to date, so fingers crossed you will all love it. Free upgrade on your first cruise! Wow. Bow or Front work for us, we've heard passengers refer to it as the pointy end before too😂 Nordic cruises, especially in Summer are generally good from a sea/motion perspective, so you should be good, even with a forward cabin, but just in case. maybe take some Kwells, and the Ginger capsules. We have them for rough seas and they work a treat.
So ...if I am correct from your video....£39.95 per person per day....but that only includes drinks up to a price of £6.95. ?? That seems to be pretty poor. Would a Hendricks and FT be under £6.95? Bottle of Corona? What branded red wined under £6.95?
Hi G H. Yep a maximum single drink of £6.95. But can only be singles. Even if a double was less than £6.95. Or small glasses of wine (125ml) up to same price. No larger glasses of wine again even if less than £6.95 You also can't thing such as a large bottle of sparkling water at £5. You can only have smaller bottles or cans for one person! Not exactly ultimate. No a henrciks and Fever tree would be over the limit £4.50 for a single gin and £2.65 for the tonic. Technically you could order the gin and then order a tonic 15 mins later. There's quite a lot of red and white win under £6.95 for a small glass but nothing exciting label wise. Most of those are over £7. Bottle of Corona is in the package though 👍 Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
We are going with Arvia 14 nights in September and Azuar 14 nights in February 20 24 if we don’t use up our a allowance on our first cruise is the remainder transferred to the next trip with P & O ?
Just want to make sure we are reading your question right Stuart. Do you mean, if you have a drinks package, and didn't use the 15 drinks a day allowance would it carry over to another cruise? Or do you mean if you have On Board Credit does that carry over to another cruise, or something different? If you did mean the first, a package carrying over, then no, the drinks package, no matter how little, or much you have, it is for that cruise only. Let us know if we have misunderstood though. Linzi & Mark
Hi Anna, on P&O the Ultimate drinks package covers both alcoholic and non alcoholic such as tea, coffee and juice/soda up to £6.95 (but some drinks have size restrictions even if larger ones are still under £6.95). If you don’t drink much Alcohol though they do non-alcoholic packages that are quite a lot cheaper. Hope this helps but if you’ve any other questions let us know or join our live chat / Q&A next Sunday (5th) at 5 pm. Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
Thanks Mark. It is worth bearing in mind on our 14 night cruise we had 9 port days, and an overnight, so we probably spent more time off the ship than usual, which meant we drank less, it also means we would have drank less with the package too. We normally have more than 4 drinks a day, which you will have seen if you watch any of our other drinks package videos (such as Celebrity).
We are booked on a 19 night cruise on Arcadia in May for my Wife's Birthday & had considered the drinks package but at £1500+ seemed an obscene price. To make things worse for us is that I don't drink alcohol,soda,tea or coffee so it would almost be £1500 for one person!
Hi Peter, 19 nights on Arcadia will be amazing we are sure. For you, not drinking Alcohol, soda, tea or coffee, would not be worth spending anything on a package; and as you said, when you've both got to get it, if one of you wants it, there is no way you could possibly drink enough (and not need some medical intervention by day 10) to get your moneys worth at £1,500. Have an absolutely fantastic cruise in May, and let us know how you got on when you get back. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
Thanks gys,our last cruise was out East in October 2019 which was a similar duration,we paid as we went then & paid surprisingly little even though we had a great time & that was with Royal Caribbean whose drinks are somewhat dearer than P&O!
As long time Royal sailors (they were our first, and still most cruised line), we completely agree, the drinks are more expensive on the ships, however we found that the measures appear more generous, and so we tend to not drink as much for some reason when we are on Royal ships compared to others (Virgin excluded, whose measures are HUGE). Linzi & Mark
We have only done the one Royal Caribbean cruise,should have been more but they have changed the itinerary on every one we have booked which is annoying,sad 'cos the one we did we really enjoyed,it was on Quantum OTS,such a beautiful ship,so light & airy with funky artwork,we loved it & it has made us reluctant to try another ship.
Great Video. I’d be interested to know if the qty consumed was less because you had no package. That extra last rum and coke or beer buy the pool, oh well I have the package so why not ? Was is cheaper because continuously you knew you where paying ? Also if your drink was say ten pound could you pay the extra for that drink ? Or was it excluded period. ? 😃
Thank you, we are so happy you enjoyed it. We definitely didn't consume less alcoholic drinks, we may have had a few less speciality coffees and juices (albeit not that many). Whilst we were conscious that we were paying for each one rather than being on a package it didn't stop us having a drink any time we fancied one, exactly the same as when we were on the package. If you drink was 1p over the limit (6.95 for that package) then you pay the full amount less 20% discount. So in your example at £10 drink would mean you being charged £8. Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
Hi Michael, you don't have to have a drink if yu don't want one on the package, however you still get charged for each day whether you do or don't. If you think you are likely to have a day (or more) where you just have soft drinks or water, then most likely the drinks package will be more expensive than paying as you go and the value not there. Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
Thanks that’s helpful to hear. We’ve never had a dinks package as I don’t think we drink enough to warrant it but we once met a guy on Queen Elizabeth who, by the end of the trip was force feeding himself beer to get his moneys worth!
I'm not really a drinker do not like wine, so the drinks package would not be for me. going on my first cruise next year for a week and might have 1 drink a night maybe 2.
If you don't drink a good amount you will never get value for money on them Carolyn, obviously if they included them for free, then that's different, or if it was on such an amazing offer it was cheaper than two drinks, then again that's different.. You also get the speciality teas & coffees so it depends how many of them you'd have too, but we doubt you'd have enough to warrant the drinks package price.
Great video we’re looking at our 1st ever cruise the 14 night Caribbean next March So the cocktails not in the drinks package do you pay the difference what’s over the £6.95 or do you get charged for the whole drink I would have expected that you’d just get charged whatever is over the £6.95 per drink
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. No, and it's one of the really annoying things about the package, if you go 1p over, you get charged for the full thing, less a 20% discount. So if you bought a drink for £7 rather than paying 5p (which would be sensible), you would pay £5.60. We don't get why they do it this way, as it does not encourage people to spend more money. We were hoping when they updated the packages they would sort this part out, but they didn't. Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured yeah it’s crazy as you already prepaid for part of the drink so it’s anything over that they should be charging , So think I’ll pass on the deal and drink what we want and just budget a grand to cover the drinks and the odd none included meals
@@SuiteNatured I’ve just been doing some more comparisons using that drink calculator and I’ve changed my mind I think the £55 package would work out better for us as that’s like price of 4 beers 4 cocktails 1 coffee 1 fruit juice and 1 soft drink and that’s over £55 so will easily work out better for us with the top package one thing I’d like to know is on shore days is it ok to just go off onto the local beaches ? or have you got to pay for the trips ?
It is such a shame that the drinks package on P&O is so behind others. For us it's not the £39.99 a day (others can be more expensive), it's that is simply doesn't work and if you are going call something "Ultimate" then you need to make sure it lives up to that. Thanks for watching and have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Just got off arvia and we only spent £450 between us for 2 weeks, defo not worth the drinks package, most of the other people on board also hadn’t bought the over rated package
If you don't drink Alcohol, the two higher packages (Classic, which was previously Ultimate, and the new Deluxe will not be worth it). They do a Alcohol-free drinks package and The Refresh drinks package (formally the soda package), which might work for you, but the chances are unless you drink a lot of premium teas/coffees and soda they might work out more expensive. Hope this helps, Linzi & Mark
Im going on p&o , I was gunna put £80 per day on my ship card & see what the total was at the end of the cruise & if i didn't spend the £560 I would get a refund of what was left over. Would this be possible, haven't been on a cruise b4. Thanks
Hi Colin, When you say you are putting £80 a day, do you mean you are going to ask them to debit your card, or put £80 cash on in advance? We've never actually done this ourselves, we just give our credit/debit card, and then it automatically debits on the final morning. You can change how you are paying up to the evening of the final night at guest services, and we have certainly done that in the past. Put a credit card on file for the cruise, then swapped it to pay the final balance via our debit card. Although we have not done what you are asking, any money that you put on the account would be credited back at the end, only cruise or Onboard credit is not refunded, so always make sure you spend that. If we can help more just let us know or join one of our live chats (next one is first Sunday of Feb). Linzi & Mark
How can P&O charge you £80 per day for a drinks package but only drinks under £6.95 are included and most drinks are over that fee - what the hell are these people thinking. NOT GOING.
Hi Scally Trader; Just in case we weren't clear or mixed anything up for you, there are plenty of drinks under £6.95 just not the ones we wanted, nor can you have doubles or large glasses or wine, even if it is still under £6.95, and the choice of cocktails is very limited. As is getting a premium spirit with a premium mixer (as it takes it over £6.95). As we are typing we are probably not making this more attractive for you 😂 We really want P&O to have a great drinks package that works for us and others more than it does now. Thanks for taking time to watch our video and to comment. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Drinks (Alcoholic) packages generally don't work if one of the cabin party doesn't drink Joyce, as virtually all cruise lines have the same policy that everyone in the cabin has to take it. Most however will allow one of the party to take a non-alcoholic or soda package instead. They don't advertise it but if you ring up the customer services teams they will sort it. Having said that P&Os package specifically didn't work for us at all. Linzi and Mark
There are quite a lot of similarities to Cunard's Stephen. Although for us, whilst it was more expensive on Cunard, the range of drinks available was far greater and suited our personal taste more (from cocktail perspective). Although on our next Cunard trip, QM2 In August, we won't be taking the package and will be doing a direct comparison of the Cunard package to pay as you go. Linzi and Mark
Sorry Arfa. It is something we continue to work on but is the problem of unscripted, live, conversational videos. We do try not to though. Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
Thank you for taking time to get in touch. Sorry you felt it was too long for you, but that is why we also put chapters in so you can skip to the end if you don't want to hear our thoughts. But we do like to show, and find most people prefer, to know the reasons behind our opinions. Have a lovely day Linzi and Mark
Hey Mark and Linz. Another brilliant video of your recent 14 nighter on P&O Iona.
Even though £880 I think you said you spent is still a heft amount, it isnt as hefty as the drinks package itself, and as I was listening to your video, I was thinking , what a stress free way to enjoy your cruise :
not having to work your way through each drinks menu, to see what you could and couldn't have
not having to compromise on what you would otherwise want to try - because it wasn't in the package
Being able to have absolutely whatever you fancied at the time
And I would be exactly the same as Mark, my calculations would have been deducting each drink from what would have spent had we got the package lol.
Not being able to have a Hendricks and fever tree gin! for example ...absolut nightmare
This is the one and only drinks package I have spent time deliberating. last time we took the package, but found ourselves sticking to drinks we wouldnt ordinarily stick to. And also, because of their meager offerings on singles only watch, if you got a glass of Prosecco - the amount you got int he glass was less than a third of the glass flute! just ridiculous.
I really do think that P&O need to up their game with this
Hope you two are doing great x x
Thank you Terry, we really do hope that P&O do overhaul the offer at some point as we do still prefer a package (even after our comparison) but it has to be one that let's us just order what we fancy and not have to spend time figuring out if we can have it or not. And who only wants a third of a glass of Prosecco. Lol.
Take Care Terry. Linzi and Mark
After watching this im debating but they’ve told us kids drinks are free with 2 adults drinks package so i think it would make sense for us to pay the 1k for the 4 of us 14 nights
As ex P&O customers, our best best advice is try Celebrity cruises with the ultimate drinks package, no measures and bar people serve you 1st as quicker and cuts waiting times. Happy cruising !
Hi Shaun, we love celebrity too, the drinks package works exactly how we want it to. And we really love The Martini Bar and World Class Bar.
Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured please watch 8 videos of Jim Nduruchi
Great stuff. As you say calling it the “ ultimate” is just ridiculous, as it’s so limited. We never consider the drinks package on p&o and you have confirmed what we think, saving of over £400 to drink what you want. Thanks for sharing
You are very welcome. We genuinely weren't sure if it would work out financially better or not before the cruise, but we did know from previous experience that the package didn't work for us personally with the limited and restricted choices. Then it worked out over £400 cheaper was even better. Linzi and Mark
I keep sharing this on fb cruise posts when people are talking about if to have the package or not.
We def wont have it now, thanks for the brilliant comparison xx
Thank you Vicky, that is so kind of you to do that. We are a bit rubbish at sharing our stuff on Facebook, so we really appreciate that. Linzi and Mark
Just back from 2 weeks on the Arvia.
Purchased the drinks package for 2 which was well worth the money.
Even had half a dozen of the more expensive cocktails with 20% off and then another 5% off member discount.
I think quite a few people get confused by the comments on here thinking it's only alcoholic drinks.
I'd estimate about £10 a day each was on non alcohol drinks , leaving £30 a day for alcohol.
Depending on your holiday, but if your having a couple of drinks in the day and a few in the evening I cant see how the package doesn't pay.
Really glad the Drinks package worked for you Christopher. As we've said before we absolutely love a drinks package, P&O's just doesn't work out good value for us personally.
Have a lovely evening. Linzi and Mark
Amazing review and you guys are refreshingly normal and bubbly. Definitely confirmed our thinking for our first cruise booked for next year. 👌
Thank Kimberley, what lovely comment.
We are so glad you enjoyed our videos, and we hope you have an amazing first cruise next year. WARNING, and speaking from experience. Cruising is addictive 😂
Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
Great review. We did the same, a family of 4, took package on IONA and then didn't on Ventura. We saved about £500 by NOT taking the packagae and we had more of the drinks that we actually wanted!
Good to hear it worked out the same for you too Chris :)
Linzi & Mark
Thank you guys this has been the most helpful video yet I seen when deciding if I'm going to take out the drinks package 👍🏻 roll on arvia
You are very welcome and we are glad it was helpful for you.
Have a great cruise on Arvia when it comes around.
Linzi and Mark
Just back from 2 weeks on Arvia, drinking what we wanted when we wanted not worrying about cost. On alcohol, we spent £355 (which I still think is a lot) but shows how we would have completely wasted money on a drinks package. But its horses for courses! I only drank John Smiths or Coke ... my fiancé had wine/port/cocktails/g&t when she wanted it, but neither of us are big drinkers.
Although I did spend £195 on a bottle of Don Perignon champagne in Epicurean on the night I proposed ... but that wouldnt have been covered by a package! ❤😂
Congratulations Andrew 🍾 so happy for you both and what a great location for the proposal. Did the staff or anyone else notice?
And yes you would have definitely wasted money on the drinks package, for a fortnight you would have been over a £1000 worse off!
Again massive congratulations on the engagement 💍
Linzi and Mark
What a great video- thank you! We are off on Iona in August, and have decided not to take the drinks package for exactly these reasons. It is lovely to have our suspicions confirmed!
Just a quick note though- we think you would have actually saved a lot more than if you had the 'ultimate'(!!!) drinks package, because if you had the package AND drunk the same drinks, you would have paid ON TOP of your package price- this being the drinks price-20%. So all in all, you would have saved even more!
Either way, it does come across as P&O taking money off of people who can't be arsed to do maths whilst on holiday- a real shame.
Thanks again- love you and you videos! xx
Thank you, we are so glad you've enjoyed our videos 😀
We did discuss this onboard, as when we were on Ventura and had the package that extra costs (less th 20%), as you said makes it even more expensive and we did consider mentioning it in the comparison but we didn't want people thinking we had an agenda to make it seem even worse for us, so just reported it as a direct comparison instead. But you are absolutely right, if we had have drank what we drank on the ship and compared it, then it would have been hundreds more expensive still for the package plus our up-priced drinks.
Thanks for taking time to comment and have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
I think your savings may be even higher - you would need to look at all of your drinks that cost more than the package allowance and add that difference to the package cost. You did even better!
You are absolutely right Kevin. And we did debate doing the comparison that way, as it was even more as the cost of then package went up a lot when we worked it out We did have the approximate number of an additional £480 would have gone onto the price of the package. We decided though to just do it as a very simple, this cost this compared to this flat figure so it didn't come across as we were trying to make it look even more against the package. And we know a lot of people who take the package tend to stay within the package prices and rules, and probably wouldn't buy it and then get most of the drinks not covered by it. And when we had the package of ourselves we stay within it too virtually all the time.
But as you said, it did, make the savings even more for us personally by comparison.
Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
Thank you for this! We're going on Arvia next year for a fortnight. Neither of us is a drinker so we'd never have a package but I have to admit I'd be in shock to end up with an £800 bill for alcohol for two weeks. I guess it's horses for courses and I think my bank account is glad I prefer tea! 😂
Thanks Andrew. To be fair there was £80 of teas and coffees over the two weeks! So only £720 in alcohol between us over 14 nights 🤣
If are totally honest we expected it to be more.
Linzi and Mark
Well I don't play bingo so won't be buying a giant book of bingo tickets ,but then again I don't think I would have posted about it in the first place
I found this very interesting and helpful am going on my first cruise 🚢 ever this summer me and my son he’s 20 and we’ve been debating on wether or not to get the drinks 🍸 package or not , this has really given me food for thought 💭. Thanks so much for taking the time to work out what you spent compared to the DP ❤. I’ve just subscribed and I’m looking forward to seeing more of your adventures xxx 😘
You are very welcome Sarah, and we hope you have an amazing time on your first cruise with you son, we are sure he'll love it too. Hope you have plenty of adventures too. Let us know how you get on with the first cruise.
Linzi & Mark
Funnily enought this evening I was comparing a 10 night Cunard with a 4 night where we couldn't buy the package (receipt was found !)... We worked out that on 3 of the 4 nights of the 4 nighter, the package would have cheaper (and was cheaper overall) and we're now no longer sailing on the Cunard cruises under 5 ni (ie, where they don't offer it). The crazy thing was this was despite this we felt we were drinking "less" without the package and noticably hadn't been drinking enough non-alcoholic drinks. I can fully say honestly that the drinks package on P&O is one of the reasons we have so far refused to sail with them, with our like of doubles for nightcaps being ruled out on the P&O package, ditto many Martini cocktails.. That said, both lines should remove the stupid pay 100% of drinks over package and make it a pay the difference system ...
We completely agree about removing the pay in full (less a small discount) if you go over the drinks limits. We simply don't understand the logic of this at all. We would have absolutely spent more money on cruises that have had this policy, to get the drinks we wanted, when we wanted. So many other cruise lines just let you pay the difference, and that is how it should be.
We didn't let the drinks package put us off going on P&O the 2nd time (Iona) we just didn't take the drinks package, and as you saw, it worked out better. We still prefer a drinks package, to not having one, but it has to be one that works for us.
Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
Our first cruise coming up! Thanks for sharing ❤
You are very welcome Tracey. How much longer do you have to wait? Linzi and Mark
Great video, we have been on two P&O cruises (Britannia and Iona). My wife does not drink alcohol so we would not go for any "drinks packages". I am not a big drinker and would say a couple of beers and a glass of wine is all I would drink every 24 hrs. £21 a day verses almost £80 a night. No brainer, our next two cruises (P&O and Princess) will also be pay as you go.
Thanks Mark. Glad you enjoyed it.
It is absolutely not worth it at all if one of you doesn't drink alcohol, you'd struggle to drink your monies worth in soft drinks or coffees.
For us Princess actually worked out as it was included in the fare as a special offer and then we paid £20 each for the premier package upgrade which raised the drink limit to £18 and included two speciality restaurants, wifi and photo package so very different to P&O ultimate offering.
Linzi and Mark
We’re going on Iona soon so are doing our homework. We don’t think we’re going to take it. There seem to be a lot of do’s and don’ts and we’d spend our time frustrated. I think we’ve worked out it will be cheaper without for us! We’ll be checking out some more of your cruise vids for sure. Cheers 🍻
We found the same and nobody wants to spend a cruise frustrated by t&cs and maths 😂
Have a lovely day.
Linzi and Mark
Slightly of topic we had a Greek hotel holiday and we paid for our drinks as we went, come the end of the holiday an invoice was posted under our hotel room door for over £70.00 for drinks. Luckily we kept every receipt for drinks ( not always given readily ) to prove we had paid. Nice little earner for someone if you ask me. BTW the beer was awful for those that had paid for the drinks package, we chose a named beer not available to the drinks package clients. Great video. PAYG every time unless you drink loads !!
Oh wow. That's so cheeky of them to try that on.
We hate it when all inclusives or drinks packages give really cheap bad tasting brands. You just end up spending more money getting what you really wanted.
Thanks for taking time to drop us a comment, and watching our video. Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
Great video.
We’re on Iona next month and have been debating PAYG v DP.
Historically we’ve always gone for the Packages (albeit never cruised with P&O before), but I based on this video I think on next months cruise we’ll go for PAYG……and take Yorkshire Tea with us 😊
Thank you Zak & Thomas for such a lovely comment, and of course we are so glad it was useful for you. We are sure you will have a great cruise on Iona, there is a lot to love on there, and even more if you take some Yorkshire Tea with you 😂
Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Good luck with actually getting served
I'm on Arvia in March and had already decided the drinks package probably wasnt for me but your video has confirmed what I'd suspected. I do love a glass of wine or three and an occasional cocktail but, with P&O allowing you to take a litre of spirits on board with you (I do like a little something whilst getting ready for dinner!) I dont think I could drink the best part of £40 per day in alcohol. Thanks for the review.
Thank you Valerie, we are glad it helped you firm up what we suspect you'd already decided. It is a lot to drink to break even and it's even more when you are limited to the lower priced drinks, rather than the more expensive cocktails or wines which you could break even on easily.
Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
We have just come back from a 6 week cruise with p o drink package was 3000 pounds! You are only a,allowed a single measure and a wait of 15 mins between drinks,we didnt take it and saved over1500 pounds,also we were allowed to take alcahol on board at each port. The trouble is most people were drinking in their cabins bars were empty. Never p o again ,give me Princess all drinks and wifi included
Wow, £3,000 for a drinks package is an incredible amount, you would think they would reduce down the charge per day on longer cruises, as you simply couldn't keep up a drinking pace of a shorter cruise on a much longer one. We do love Princesses Drinks package, and the Premier one our last cruise was fantastic, and included some speciality dining, photos and such too, so whilst more expensive, it seemed better value for money. Linzi & Mark
Great video & love the Chumbawamba lyrics reference! 😎
Thanks Nidge, and thanks for noticing the reference 😉you are the first person to comment on it👍
Linzi and Mark
Good video. We were going to book a P and O cruise the other month but due to the drinks package being so restrictive we decided to go with MSC instead. I know you saved money going “pay as you go” but that only amounts to about 5 drinks a day. I’d probably get through that just sitting around the pool in the afternoon, albeit not the more expensive cocktails. Thanks for the video.
Thank you David, glad you enjoyed it. Some days we had much more than five drinks, but on others, especially long port days, we might have only had one or two. Generally speaking we still would pick a drinks package for reasons we've talked about on other videos, and especially on those pool day afternoons 😀
It's just P&O's right now that is not working for us.
Thanks for watching and taking time to drop us a comment too. Linzi and Mark
I am going on Arvia in July with my disabled son. He doesn’t drink so we’d be wasting a lot of money as we’d have to take the drinks package for both of us. Unlike Celebrity they don’t let you pay the difference either between the package drinks and the more expensive drinks which I feel isn’t a great move. I don’t go for loads of cocktails so hopefully PAYG will work out fine and we’ve got OBC to use. Thanks!
Hi Alexis, that absolutely sounds like the right plan to go PAYG for your Arvia cruise in July. Having to both get a package, when one can't take full advantage of it, pretty much always rules out purchasing it. And if you do have OBC too, even more reason not to. Have an amazing cruise in July, and thanks for taking time to watch our stuff, and for leaving a comment too. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
we sail on her in March, no drinks package bought but we got our TA to get us £560 room credit, so if we drink like you 2 (we dont do cocktails just Peroni or Brew dog our end bill will be tiny. good vid again
Dave, If you don't do cocktails like us then your drinks bill will definitely be low 😂😂😂
Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Love ur videos, was an the fence about the drinks package 😊
Thank you Elizabeth, so glad it's helped you decided whether it was right for you or not.
Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Interesting, thanks - will help form an opinion for Iona in Mar. '23 !
You are very welcome Clive. Let us know how the cruise went when you get back in March. Have a great Christmas. Linzi and Mark
Made my mind up to not need the package Thanks, Can we bring a bottle of wine aboard from every port and drink it in our cabin.
Hi Rhona, we are glad it was useful for you. "Officially" P&O allow you to bring on a litre of alcohol per adult in a cabin at the start of the cruise for drinking in the cabin. However, we can speak first hand, that any alcohol we.bought in port we were allowed to just take back to the cabin. We didn't have to put it in security storage until the last night which other cruise lines tend to do. Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
They haven't been taking booze away since returning to cruises but it may come back We worked out couldn't drink that much But do like to have wine with our meal But they have stopped, keeping half bottles in the mdr till next night so annoyingly have to take back to cabin fridge which isn't as cold Thanks again for video
hi guys, very informative. we were on iona at the same time it seems. we did buy the drinks package last minute (as we have 2 kids & soda package was free for them)..... i mean last minute.... purchased on the ship!! and kept a running score throughout. bear in mind we pretty much kept to the "included" drinks, which was very disappointing towards the end of the cruise, we spent approx £820. i won't be doing it again on any ship (unless the whole drinks menu is included), as i believe it did impact the "holiday vibe" not being able to sample the whole menu. i did have the "smoked" cocktail.... very nice, & savoured that one for as long as possible. £49.95 per day = 10-12 beers (pint) / 7 cocktails / 19 tea/coffee / 17 soft drinks..... or a mixture of. for all thinking of the package.... will you drink this much on a sea day? think this way..... if you rack up a PAYG bar bill of £1100 on a 14 night cruise, at least you have had the drinks you want & a good time!!😏 P.S. i got asked to leave andersons bar & was escorted to the library as i was wearing (smart) shorts that night.😂
Thanks Mark. We do love a drinks package, as long as it doesn't impact that holiday vibe, which P&O did for us, and for you. It absolutely worked out better for us on this particular cruise and unless P&O massively change it, we wouldn't take the package with them again. Princess & Cunards packages worked out much better for us, and we managed to have everything we fancied.
If we happen to be on the same cruise again, come and say hi, and we can grab a smoked cocktail together.
We definitely didn't see anyone get escorted out of Andersons 😂.
Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
The wife & I are going on the MS Iona. She doesn't drink but we'd have to buy her an ultimate drinks package. I drink beer and i've worked out i'd have to drink 14 pints a night, every night, for 14 nights, to break even or 'beat the package'.
It definitely sounds like you would be better on a pay as you go option 😂 wow 14 pint every day for 14 nights!
Have an amazing cruise on Iona.
Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured Yes we will definitely be doing pay as you go for drinks :D
Captivating and entertaining... On AZURA it made no sense for me to buy the package .. even a small glass of Macon was over... and they don't just charge the extra .. they give a miserly 20% discount... All the P&O prices have gone up and there is a new package i think so we will just have to do it all again!! Cheers 😅
Cheers Richard, we were looking for an excuse to go on a P&O cruise, and a new drinks package review is always a tempting one, although given its now even more expensive than it was on our comparison it's likely we would day very similar, but the Deluxe package does seem to cover pretty much everything we would want and that is part of the attraction of a pre-paidnand budgetted package it lets you just get on with enjoying the cruise.
We have the package on our Celebrity Apex cruise in November and will be keen to see if that remains as good as last time we were on them.
Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
If you are going on an apex ship Wow!!
We never get the drinks packages, especially as some of the rules have changed to how many and what drinks are available in each package. We pay as we go and it works out far cheaper having what we want when we want it and that goes for any cruise line.
It's the same for us too now on P&O Paul, unless they massively change the packages. Celebrity and others though do work out better value for us, mainly because the drinks (cocktails in particular) are very expensive, and it only takes three or four a day to break even.
Yes
Thank you, that was really helpful 😊
Thank you CyeOutsider, so glad that it was helpful for you.
Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
Great video as usual, we were actually on the same cruise but I never saw you. You may have seen me in my wheelchair with the big metal framework on my leg
Thank You Stephen. What a shame we didn't see you on Iona. Fingers crossed on a future cruise. Have a lovely evening. Linzi and Mark
We found on Iona ( with the drinks package ) that most bars would make the drinks package cocktails whether or not they were on their menu. The same with some spirits.
We found the same Julie, it was where we wanted, say a negroni (not on drinks package or menu) that we struggled occasionally. Having said that on MSC recently (outside of the Yacht Club) at the Buffet Bar, we were refused a Gin & Ginger, as it wasn't on the menu, despite them having both Gin & Ginger behind the bar. Madness.
Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
Look for an all inclusive deal. Its all about timing and cross checking different travel agents.
Often parking and on board spends can be negotiated too.
Absolutely Jim, the good all inclusive deals can be fantastic value. We love a deal! Linzi & Mark
Thanks so much for the information
Thank you Colin, hope it has helped you in deciding whether to take the package or not. If you've any questions though you are welcome to ask us here. Linzi & Mark
We’ve never sailed with P&O. It looks like a great line and prices are very good compared to Royal or Norwegian.
Prices are definitely great for P&O and it's always been quite a bit cheaper than Royal and a lot cheaper than Norwegian on the Cruises we've checked at least. We still have a big soft spot for Royal though being the first cruises we ever did. Linzi and Mark
Great video 👍
Thank you @OurDandyAdventures.
Linzi & Mark
Went on brittania end last year... decided not to get drink package, trying to get someone to serve you was a joke at all the bars ,so glad did not waste money.
Hi Ray, unfortunately bar service, in particular, seems to have been a big challenge for cruise lines since the restart, and is getting better but very slowly. Worst we saw was on Enchanted Princess with 30 minute bar queues not unusual at all.
Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
This is really interesting, we are used to Princess plus and we’re in two minds about the package. We’re on Azura in feb. We both like trying different cocktails and wine with dinner. So I think we’d be better to pay as you go. Thanks for this. 👍
Thank you Lorraine. As much as we love drinks packages, unless there's a major change, we wouldn't bother with P&Os package again. Especially after seeing the difference and price savings for ourselves. Especially given we had exactly what we wanted when we wanted and still worked out so much cheaper. If it was more like the Princess Plus or Premier packages that would be different.
Linzi and Mark
Just back from 15 fabulous days on Arvia and did NOT take the drinks package. Let me emphasise we are both big holiday drinkers but, given that there’s an exclusion on any drink over £6.95 (you get 20% off), it simply wasn’t worth it. The premium cocktails in the Amber Lounge were sensational and worth every penny of the £8.75 charge (but would not have been covered by the package). We both drank to our hearts content (shipboard prices are UK equivalent plus there’s no annoying service charge on top) and our bar bill was way less than the £1200 the package would have cost us. I’d say, if you’re a big drinker, a package is worth considering on a cruise of less than 7 days but even the most hardened boozers would struggle to keep going over 15 days to get their ‘money’s worth’ (if beer was your tipple you’d have to drink 8 pints a day every day to break even). One couple actually admitted over dinner, in our hearing, that they were drinking far more than they wanted to to get ‘value for money’. So unless you’re in the Oliver Reed/ George Best league of drinking, don’t bother.
Hi Gerard,
We completely agree. And those extra special cocktails at Amber or Emerald Lounges are well worth it. For us personally we don't think we can make the drinks package work for us (in its current form) because we prefer those fancier cocktails; it would be so bad if you could just pay the difference, but you can't.
Hope you had an amazing cruise and have a lovely Easter weekend. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured all the best to you both
@@SuiteNatured forgot to mention a friend of ours saw one pair order two late drinks and barely take a sip before leaving them (clearly didn’t want to go to bed under the £40 mark). Keep up the good work M&L 👍
Having gone with p&o in the summer you can get a litre of vodka sent to your room it was £20 and they don't take any drink of you when you can back on after a stop
You are not the first person to mention about P&O not taking the drink off you after come back from port where you've bought it. We didn't actually try it, but it does seem to be a thing. Any other cruise line we have been on where we have brought alcohol back onboard from a port stop, has taken it and put it into safe keeping until the last night.
We took advantage our 1 litre of drink each allowance too, a bottle of wine, and a big bottle of baileys, which was perfect for a night cap. P&O is really good when it comes to drink allowances to bring on board.
Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured I'm not a big drinker but the measures and price wasn't to bad for a large vodka I don't drink beer but I thought the measures on the royal Caribbean were better
We thought Royal we more generous on the measures too, although Virgin Voyages, are by far the most generous with the pours, although your liver might not thank you afterwards. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
thank you for the very informative vid :)
Thank you Sonia, glad you enjoyed it. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured i did your vids are really good and oddly, calming too🤣 Linzi has a voice perfect for ASMR!
@@soniat6750 don't go giving her ideas for another channel 😂
Thats really interesting. I am glad we dont drink alcohol.
If you are not on any drinks package is it just pay as you go?
Hi Anna, thank you.
In answer to your question.
Yes and No. If you want a drink at the bars (non-alcoholic) or speciality coffee shops, then it is pay as you go. But if you are in the buffet or main dining rooms then there are complementary drinks such teas and coffees and water with the meals.
Hope this helps.
Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured Thank you.
We normally buy the wine package in advance on P&O which on current prices works out at £329 for 12 bottles. So would have to take that into consideration before looking at the ultimate drinks package. Im leaning towards trying the ultimate drinks package and then concentrating on wine glasses at 175mill.. so on a 14 night cruise that would mean £1118 spent on the ultimate drinks package less the £329 i would normally pay which makes it £790 more . If we go the same way as normal its £329 on wine then pay for all drinks....
We looked at that as an option before we went on Iona but decided to just try the pay as you go approach instead. If the wines we wanted were available we might have taken it. Maybe next time. We also had the same dilemma on the drinks package the first time we took it. Most of our favourite wines were just over the drinks package limit. Even for a smaller glass, which was why this time we went on the pay as you go. We also took a nice bottle with us as part of the 1 litre per adult per cabin allowance too. Whichever way you go; have a fantastic cruise and a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured Thank you, Had so many holidays cancelled (along with many others no doubt) over the last three years im just hoping we manage to board the Azura in September. Regarding the drinks we are handicapped in the fact neither of us drinks white and from the drinks menus ive seen including the one on your excellent video there is a definate limited choice available. We will probably give the ultimate package a go as 2 175 mil glasses each both at lunchtime and dinner at £6 would mean just "£16 each per day spent on alcohol elsewhere which is 5 drinks between us and I reckon we will do that. (Glass on the balcony, Glass before dinner each) is 4... will be a close run thing but think we will go down this route...
We will be keeping our fingers crossed for you that you do manage to board Azura in September. After the cruise, let us know how you got on with the package, really interested to see how it stacks up for you. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
An update on this. we did the 14 night cruise on the Azura at the end of last September and did the deluxe package.( £49.45 PPPD less peninsula club discount) With discount the cost was £1293. We didnt order the wine package. Sad person that I am i kept a virtual score of how much it would have cost had we paid as we went for each drink ordered. That worked out to approximately £1940 which saved us £648. We did enjoy a Charles Smith velvet devil merlot which was £12.50 for a 250mil glass..I accept as all drinks were paid for in advance we probab;ly drank more than had we used our OBC or bought the 12 bottles of wine for evening restaurant use. But the deluxe package certainly worked for us and will do it again when we do a 12 day Norwegian fjords cruise at the end of May. We are not massive drinkers and apart from after having had a very strong 42.5% double gin after lunch early on in the trip i wasnt at all "worse for wear".
Thank god I found this video! Going on Britannia in august with family of 4 and was dreading paying the for drinks package at over £1k. Having seen this I think we’ll pay and go and use our on board spending money to cover most of it. Quick question - I was thinking of taking a 1l bottle of squash for the kids day drinks, have you heard/seen of this being done? I’m aware we can take a spirit on board for our cabin but didn’t want it being confiscated! Thanks again for this video!
Hi Karen. Thank you, we are so glad it was useful for you.
In answer to the squash question. Yes. You can take a litre of alcohol or non alcoholic drinks (such as squash) per adult in each cabin with P&O.
We have seen plenty of people doing this for the children. Only thing to bear in mind is that you won't be able to bring the bottle out of your cabin with you on the ship to make up at the water stations. So probably best to bring a water flask /Tervis type mug you can take out with you and put the squash in you need before you head out of the cabin. We would also recommend you take it on via your hand luggage (same for alcohol too) as we've seen it delay baggage delivery more than once when it goes through scanning. You'll often see people having to go down and open up the suitcase to show what is inside.
Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
Is coffee/tea available all day in the buffet? Or only at meal times?
Yes Tea & Coffee is available all the time in the Buffet area, and at meal times in the other restaurants. Linzi & Mark
Would you recommend purchasing the Refresh or non-alcoholic drinks packages and just buying everything else? My wife cannot drink alcohol anyway (for medical reasons) so we certainly wouldn't be buying any form of "alcohol included" package just for my benefit.
If you drink plenty of soft drinks (refresh) and speciality teas & coffees (non-alcoholic package) can be decent value but you do need to be having about 4 soft drinks each + at least two coffees/teas to break even. Bearing in mind you can get teas/coffees and water/flavoured drinks in the buffet included without needing a package.
Hope this helps.
Linzi & Mark
pay as you go works best on a long cruise for health reasons where just a week long booze blitz is survivable just. I mean 15 pints a day plus shots and several Long Island Teas is damaging.
Tend to agree, there is no way we could keep up 15 beers everyday on long cruise and the lack of cocktail options don't make the P&O package, currently, good value for us even on shorter ones.
Hi when you first board the ship are you allowed to bring a bottle of martini on board or is that classed as spirit's
Until yesterday (7th May) Phil, you were allowed to take up to 1L of spirits per person on P&O but they've changed that for, "Health & Safety Reasons" so you can now only.take 1L of wine or champagne. No spirits, including Martini.
we only drink larger not much though so think paying as you go will be alot better as my partner has a couple then she prefers a latte of pop
Thanks for commenting Paul, and we agree, if you are on the more reasonably priced drinks (not cocktails or spirits) and yu don't drink too much then pay as you go is going to be better value.
Have a lovely weekend. Linzi and Mark
Msc soda pkgs is $50 a day. 14 day cruise costs more than cruise no thx.going on Iona to Norway next spring ,good change.
Yes it is definitely not worth 50 per day.
Iona to Norway in Spring will be fantastic.
Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Hi there, thank you for the review and Linzi, you have a lovely accent!! We are going on P&O for our 2nd time this time next year to the Fjords of Norway on Iona.
Wrt the package, can you use parts of it to pay for the drinks not included? So for instance if you saw a drink for £10, and the package covers drinks of £7, would it not cost you £3 or can this not be done?
Hi Mark
Thank you for watching and so glad it was useful and for liking our Yorkshire accents 😀
No it doesn't let you do that and it is one of the most annoying things. If you go over the limit by 1p you pay the full amount less 20% discount. So for example a £10 drink, even though you have a £6.95 limit would cost you £8. Whereas we and everyone else feels it should only cost £3.05. It stops people spending more to try newer drinks, and why would you want people to not spend more money. Crazy.
Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
We’re on Aurora soon and like you are going pay-as-you-go this time. We think it may save us a little but the main reason for us is to stop us obsessing over the drinks menus all day….. 😂
H Viv, it was so much better on P&O Iona not having to obsess about the drinks menus which really wasn't fun when we took the package on Ventura. The fact we saved money and had exactly what we wanted anytime we wanted was proof enough for us that the Ultimate Package doesn't work for us on P&O. Fingers crossed they improve it in the future. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
New subscriber. You both seem like great fun. I'm taking my first p and o cruise this summer to the fjords so this was really helpful. I would expect ultimate to mean everything or very close to. I'm going to pass on the drinks package and put the money into the cabin upgrade instead. ❤
Hi Louise, thank you for subscribing 😀
We really do wish that Ultimate meant that too, hopefully one day it will. As a drinks package, it is so far behind other cruise lines now, it makes very little sense taking it. There are exceptions, if you are going with a couple of children in your cabin, they get the soft drinks package included, which if there were 4 of you brings it down to £20 a day each, which is more reasonable, and if you have a few speciality coffees, and juices, it is probably just about worth it. Maybe.... 😂
Again thanks for subscribing and enjoy your first P&O cruise and let us know how it went when you come back. If you haven't already, and you are on Facebook, maybe consider joining our Suite Natured Facebook Group too, as there are lots of seasoned cruisers on there (as well as quite a lot of first timers) so it's a great place to ask questions if you need to.
Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
My partner and I are cruising Azura in August, neither of us drink. Would you recommend Pay-as-you-go or the soft drinks package? We’re stuck as to which option to choose.
Hi Chloe, that's a tricky question and really comes down to how many soft drinks or speciality coffees you are going to have. The kids soft drink package is pretty cheap and available to adults but is very limited and it's only draught soft drinks so not bottled/cans of Cola or such. The non alcoholic package is nearly three times the price but a bit more flexible and does includes speciality teas and coffees.
Unless you drink a lot of soft drinks we wild probably go with Pay As You Go. Draught soda is quite cheap anyway on P&O.
Linzi and Mark
Can I ask if you cut back on your drinks ,because you wasn't on the drinks package?
I'm assuming at £28 a day each you had about 5 drinks a day?
H Chris. We definitely didn't cut down. However we did have quite a lot of port stops on the cruise where we were off the ship. Although we guess it worked out the same (six on a 14 night compared to three on the seven)?
We also got whatever we wanted when we fancied them, which meant we had quite a lot of stronger cocktails that are not made up with as much filler (like their "favourite cocktails") and we had things such as the wine flights too. So on some days we probably did have fewer but stronger drinks, so we wouldn't have had as many those days. There were also speciality coffees in there too.
Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
Hi thanks so much for this comparison. We are not big drinkers but thinking at £39.95 for the drinks package it's only just over 5 drinks a day (@ £6.95 each) which isn't much inlcuding teas and coffees (unless we pack a box of Yorkshire too!) So with a coffee in the morning and a tea in the afternoon, glass of wine with dinner and a couple of drinks in the evening would we not make up the £39.95? Going on Iona in the summer so would be grateful for your advice. Thank you.
Hi Helen, you are very welcome and we are glad it was useful for you.
In answer to your question. The maths does work out. It doesn't take many drinks to cover the £39.95, and if you add speciality teas and coffees you get to that figure easier. The problem for us personally were the drinks we wanted weren't available on the package and if you have to get them you only get a 20% discoubt but still then pay the £39.95 a day.
The choices of wines thst were inclusive of the package, in the restaurants, was very limited.
Hope this helps a bit. Linzi and Mark
Hi thank you for your reply. Sorry to message again but I’m not sure I worded my question correctly. If you were drinking the drinks you wanted (which were probably more expensive than the package) and had maybe at least 6 drinks a day, including tea and coffee, I couldn’t work out how your pay as you go average daily spend was significantly less than £39.95. Surely all that would have added up to more than the price of the drinks package? Does it make a difference that you were on a 2 week cruise and it averages out over the time. Sorry to ask again but I’m just a bit confused. Thank you.
@@helengoode4223 we suspect we misread your question Helen. The fourteen day cruise did make a difference as some days we drank more than others. But it's not just the alcoholic drinks where the drinks package didn't work for us. For instance if we want a large bottle of San Pelligrino Water with a meal, that's not included. We would have to order 2 small cans. So often it's things like that which are not hugely expensive (4.95 if memory serves) but were not on the package. We drank pretty much the same as when we were on the package, so probably three cocktails a day plus water and a coffee or tea, but this averaged out much less than the package. Hope this makes sense. Linzi and Mark
Thanks so much for coming back to me again. I think we have decided to pay as you go for our drinks and will definitely pack a box of tea bags. Thank you for your advice.
You are very welcome Helen (sorry for late reply), and let us know how you get on. Linzi & Mark
Love it😂 Yorkshire gold!
Can't beat the Yorkshire Gold
@@SuiteNatured going on our first cruise this month loved your video very helpful, thanks
You are very welcome, what cruise are you going on?
@@SuiteNatured Nordic cruise from Southampton end of June! On the brittania which has had a refurb so fingers crossed! My partner and mother in law are worried about the motion of the boat on the sea, we were middle cabin but have had a free upgrade to nearer the front or bow is it?? Lol
Britannia is a lovely ship, which so many people say is there favourite P&O ship to date, so fingers crossed you will all love it.
Free upgrade on your first cruise! Wow. Bow or Front work for us, we've heard passengers refer to it as the pointy end before too😂
Nordic cruises, especially in Summer are generally good from a sea/motion perspective, so you should be good, even with a forward cabin, but just in case. maybe take some Kwells, and the Ginger capsules. We have them for rough seas and they work a treat.
So ...if I am correct from your video....£39.95 per person per day....but that only includes drinks up to a price of £6.95. ??
That seems to be pretty poor.
Would a Hendricks and FT be under £6.95?
Bottle of Corona?
What branded red wined under £6.95?
Hi G H. Yep a maximum single drink of £6.95. But can only be singles. Even if a double was less than £6.95. Or small glasses of wine (125ml) up to same price. No larger glasses of wine again even if less than £6.95
You also can't thing such as a large bottle of sparkling water at £5. You can only have smaller bottles or cans for one person!
Not exactly ultimate.
No a henrciks and Fever tree would be over the limit £4.50 for a single gin and £2.65 for the tonic. Technically you could order the gin and then order a tonic 15 mins later.
There's quite a lot of red and white win under £6.95 for a small glass but nothing exciting label wise. Most of those are over £7.
Bottle of Corona is in the package though 👍
Hope this helps. Linzi and Mark
We are going with Arvia 14 nights in September and Azuar 14 nights in February 20 24 if we don’t use up our a allowance on our first cruise is the remainder transferred to the next trip with P & O ?
Just want to make sure we are reading your question right Stuart. Do you mean, if you have a drinks package, and didn't use the 15 drinks a day allowance would it carry over to another cruise? Or do you mean if you have On Board Credit does that carry over to another cruise, or something different? If you did mean the first, a package carrying over, then no, the drinks package, no matter how little, or much you have, it is for that cruise only. Let us know if we have misunderstood though.
Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured Hi, sorry the credit we get
@@SuiteNatured h
Hi, it was on board credit
Is a drinks package for all types of drinks ie coffee,tea non alcoholic,juice etc. Asking as Ive never been on a cruise.
Hi Anna, on P&O the Ultimate drinks package covers both alcoholic and non alcoholic such as tea, coffee and juice/soda up to £6.95 (but some drinks have size restrictions even if larger ones are still under £6.95). If you don’t drink much Alcohol though they do non-alcoholic packages that are quite a lot cheaper.
Hope this helps but if you’ve any other questions let us know or join our live chat / Q&A next Sunday (5th) at 5 pm. Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured Thanks for the quick reply that helps a lot.
Good video but pay as you go, at 8 quid a drink (cocktail) you only had 3.5 drinks each in 24 hours ? 28.77 a day each? Not holiday drinking really.
Thanks Mark. It is worth bearing in mind on our 14 night cruise we had 9 port days, and an overnight, so we probably spent more time off the ship than usual, which meant we drank less, it also means we would have drank less with the package too. We normally have more than 4 drinks a day, which you will have seen if you watch any of our other drinks package videos (such as Celebrity).
We are booked on a 19 night cruise on Arcadia in May for my Wife's Birthday & had considered the drinks package but at £1500+ seemed an obscene price.
To make things worse for us is that I don't drink alcohol,soda,tea or coffee so it would almost be £1500 for one person!
Hi Peter, 19 nights on Arcadia will be amazing we are sure. For you, not drinking Alcohol, soda, tea or coffee, would not be worth spending anything on a package; and as you said, when you've both got to get it, if one of you wants it, there is no way you could possibly drink enough (and not need some medical intervention by day 10) to get your moneys worth at £1,500.
Have an absolutely fantastic cruise in May, and let us know how you got on when you get back. Have a lovely day, Linzi & Mark
Thanks gys,our last cruise was out East in October 2019 which was a similar duration,we paid as we went then & paid surprisingly little even though we had a great time & that was with Royal Caribbean whose drinks are somewhat dearer than P&O!
As long time Royal sailors (they were our first, and still most cruised line), we completely agree, the drinks are more expensive on the ships, however we found that the measures appear more generous, and so we tend to not drink as much for some reason when we are on Royal ships compared to others (Virgin excluded, whose measures are HUGE). Linzi & Mark
We have only done the one Royal Caribbean cruise,should have been more but they have changed the itinerary on every one we have booked which is annoying,sad 'cos the one we did we really enjoyed,it was on Quantum OTS,such a beautiful ship,so light & airy with funky artwork,we loved it & it has made us reluctant to try another ship.
Great Video. I’d be interested to know if the qty consumed was less because you had no package.
That extra last rum and coke or beer buy the pool, oh well I have the package so why not ?
Was is cheaper because continuously you knew you where paying ?
Also if your drink was say ten pound could you pay the extra for that drink ? Or was it excluded period. ? 😃
Thank you, we are so happy you enjoyed it.
We definitely didn't consume less alcoholic drinks, we may have had a few less speciality coffees and juices (albeit not that many). Whilst we were conscious that we were paying for each one rather than being on a package it didn't stop us having a drink any time we fancied one, exactly the same as when we were on the package.
If you drink was 1p over the limit (6.95 for that package) then you pay the full amount less 20% discount. So in your example at £10 drink would mean you being charged £8.
Hope this helps.
Linzi and Mark
If you have opted into a drinks package but don’t fancy having a drink one day, do you still have to have one?
Hi Michael, you don't have to have a drink if yu don't want one on the package, however you still get charged for each day whether you do or don't. If you think you are likely to have a day (or more) where you just have soft drinks or water, then most likely the drinks package will be more expensive than paying as you go and the value not there.
Hope this helps.
Linzi and Mark
Thanks that’s helpful to hear. We’ve never had a dinks package as I don’t think we drink enough to warrant it but we once met a guy on Queen Elizabeth who, by the end of the trip was force feeding himself beer to get his moneys worth!
I'm not really a drinker do not like wine, so the drinks package would not be for me. going on my first cruise next year for a week and might have 1 drink a night maybe 2.
If you don't drink a good amount you will never get value for money on them Carolyn, obviously if they included them for free, then that's different, or if it was on such an amazing offer it was cheaper than two drinks, then again that's different.. You also get the speciality teas & coffees so it depends how many of them you'd have too, but we doubt you'd have enough to warrant the drinks package price.
Great video we’re looking at our 1st ever cruise the 14 night Caribbean next March
So the cocktails not in the drinks package do you pay the difference what’s over the £6.95 or do you get charged for the whole drink I would have expected that you’d just get charged whatever is over the £6.95 per drink
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
No, and it's one of the really annoying things about the package, if you go 1p over, you get charged for the full thing, less a 20% discount. So if you bought a drink for £7 rather than paying 5p (which would be sensible), you would pay £5.60. We don't get why they do it this way, as it does not encourage people to spend more money. We were hoping when they updated the packages they would sort this part out, but they didn't.
Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured yeah it’s crazy as you already prepaid for part of the drink so it’s anything over that they should be charging ,
So think I’ll pass on the deal and drink what we want and just budget a grand to cover the drinks and the odd none included meals
@@SuiteNatured just booked for next March 14 night 👍👍
@@tintin69rr oh that is fantastic, you'll have the most amazing time we are sure. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured I’ve just been doing some more comparisons using that drink calculator and I’ve changed my mind I think the £55 package would work out better for us as that’s like price of 4 beers 4 cocktails 1 coffee 1 fruit juice and 1 soft drink and that’s over £55 so will easily work out better for us with the top package one thing I’d like to know is on shore days is it ok to just go off onto the local beaches ? or have you got to pay for the trips ?
It’s P&O terrible options for drink packages that has stopped us cruising with them so far. Compared to NCL and others they are well behind the curve.
It is such a shame that the drinks package on P&O is so behind others. For us it's not the £39.99 a day (others can be more expensive), it's that is simply doesn't work and if you are going call something "Ultimate" then you need to make sure it lives up to that. Thanks for watching and have a lovely day.
Linzi and Mark
Just got off arvia and we only spent £450 between us for 2 weeks, defo not worth the drinks package, most of the other people on board also hadn’t bought the over rated package
Well done MD, you saved a small fortune not buying it for a two week cruise then.
Linzi & Mark
What about if you don’t drink alcohol?
If you don't drink Alcohol, the two higher packages (Classic, which was previously Ultimate, and the new Deluxe will not be worth it). They do a Alcohol-free drinks package and The Refresh drinks package (formally the soda package), which might work for you, but the chances are unless you drink a lot of premium teas/coffees and soda they might work out more expensive.
Hope this helps,
Linzi & Mark
Im going on p&o , I was gunna put £80 per day on my ship card & see what the total was at the end of the cruise & if i didn't spend the £560 I would get a refund of what was left over. Would this be possible, haven't been on a cruise b4. Thanks
Hi Colin,
When you say you are putting £80 a day, do you mean you are going to ask them to debit your card, or put £80 cash on in advance? We've never actually done this ourselves, we just give our credit/debit card, and then it automatically debits on the final morning. You can change how you are paying up to the evening of the final night at guest services, and we have certainly done that in the past. Put a credit card on file for the cruise, then swapped it to pay the final balance via our debit card.
Although we have not done what you are asking, any money that you put on the account would be credited back at the end, only cruise or Onboard credit is not refunded, so always make sure you spend that.
If we can help more just let us know or join one of our live chats (next one is first Sunday of Feb). Linzi & Mark
Going to put 80 cash every day & see how it goes,s then get a refund. Thanks,
Let us know how it goes Colin. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured will do. Not going till August
We never buy the drinks package on P & O as we can't get the drinks we enjoy on the package
We won't be buying the drinks package again on P&O Ken unless they massively change it for exactly the same reason.
Linzi and Mark
How can P&O charge you £80 per day for a drinks package but only drinks under £6.95 are included and most drinks are over that fee - what the hell are these people thinking. NOT GOING.
Hi Scally Trader; Just in case we weren't clear or mixed anything up for you, there are plenty of drinks under £6.95 just not the ones we wanted, nor can you have doubles or large glasses or wine, even if it is still under £6.95, and the choice of cocktails is very limited. As is getting a premium spirit with a premium mixer (as it takes it over £6.95).
As we are typing we are probably not making this more attractive for you 😂
We really want P&O to have a great drinks package that works for us and others more than it does now.
Thanks for taking time to watch our video and to comment. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Omg where is the cheese from?
It was in the Keel and Cow Steakhouse Rachel. Think it was Tunston cheese. It was so good and even better with a drink or two :)
Linzi and Mark
Hi this is Steve. The drinks package on RCI is £88 per day
Thanks for that Steve, wow. Not cheap at £88 per day but is th drinks choice wide? We are on Icon next year and will have the package.
Linzi and Mark
I thought this was a drink comparison. Not a confused and mixed-up talk out. Complete wasted effort.🥵🥵
Thanks for taking the time to get in touch and sorry it wasn't for you.
Have a lovely evening.
Linzi and Mark
What if one person doesn’t drink.? P&o drinks package is daylight robbery.
Drinks (Alcoholic) packages generally don't work if one of the cabin party doesn't drink Joyce, as virtually all cruise lines have the same policy that everyone in the cabin has to take it. Most however will allow one of the party to take a non-alcoholic or soda package instead. They don't advertise it but if you ring up the customer services teams they will sort it.
Having said that P&Os package specifically didn't work for us at all.
Linzi and Mark
i pay as i go all the time i end up saving so much money
It's Pay As You Go for us too on P&O at the moment Jake, the package just doesn't work out for us, and it has gone up again since we made this video
Akin to Cunard…
There are quite a lot of similarities to Cunard's Stephen. Although for us, whilst it was more expensive on Cunard, the range of drinks available was far greater and suited our personal taste more (from cocktail perspective). Although on our next Cunard trip, QM2 In August, we won't be taking the package and will be doing a direct comparison of the Cunard package to pay as you go.
Linzi and Mark
10:12 mins. Thank me later.
Spoilers 😂
It would be a much better vid if you both didnt talk at the same time 🤔
Sorry Arfa. It is something we continue to work on but is the problem of unscripted, live, conversational videos. We do try not to though. Have a lovely day, Linzi and Mark
A long drawn out video for something that was ultimately common sense .
Thank you for taking time to get in touch.
Sorry you felt it was too long for you, but that is why we also put chapters in so you can skip to the end if you don't want to hear our thoughts.
But we do like to show, and find most people prefer, to know the reasons behind our opinions.
Have a lovely day
Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNaturedIgnore my OH Linzi, he’s turning into Victor Meldrew lately 😂😂