You picture a coffee on deck, something cold by the pool and a glass of wine with dinner. Then checkout asks whether you want to pay for all of it in advance. The difficult part is not counting drinks. It is remembering that a day exploring a port will look nothing like a day beside the pool.
Buy on the strength of your ordinary spending: the final package price must beat the covered drinks everyone required to buy it would otherwise purchase. Our drinks package calculator separates days aboard from days ashore and compares the whole party. Put your own habits into it; the package should fit the holiday you want.
Collect four numbers
You need the final package total, the number of people required to buy it, the chargeable days, and a realistic daily pay-as-you-go basket. Take these from your sailing’s current checkout and menus. We do not publish a universal package price because a figure without the right sailing and terms can mislead.
For Royal Caribbean, the current FAQ says an alcoholic package must be purchased for all guests of legal drinking age in the same stateroom. Packages are individual and cannot be shared. Room service and minibar are excluded from the general package coverage described there. Read the current package FAQ.
That is a whole-cabin decision. A calculation for the person who drinks most can make an unsuitable purchase look attractive.
Include service charges once
Royal Caribbean’s package gratuity FAQ currently specifies an 18% addition except where prohibited by law. Check whether your displayed final checkout total already includes it before adding anything. Do not use an old downloadable flyer as current policy: older material can remain searchable after terms change. Current gratuity FAQ.
For any other operator, repeat the check with its own terms. Currency, legal market and product wording matter. A UK-priced offer must be checked on its own checkout rather than converted from a US promotional screenshot.
The break-even calculation
Daily package cost for the party ÷ average inclusive price per eligible drink = drinks needed per day to break even. This shortcut works only if the drinks have similar prices and all are covered. A basket is more accurate when one person prefers coffee, another soft drinks and another cocktails.
Here is a hypothetical USD example dated 19 September 2026, not a current offer. A package costs $70 per person per day before a hypothetical 18% charge. The complete cost is $82.60. With two required buyers and seven days, the cabin pays $1,156.40. If their realistic drinks together cost $110 per day including charges, pay-as-you-go would total $770. The package costs $386.40 more.
In a separate hypothetical GBP example, a final package price of £50 per person per day for two people over seven days totals £700. If their likely drinks cost £85 per day together, pay-as-you-go totals £595. The package costs £105 more. The two examples are independent and imply no exchange rate.
Build a sea-day and port-day basket
Consider this hypothetical seven-day GBP example. Two travellers expect to spend £100 together on each of three days aboard, but only £50 on each of four port days. That is £500 across the trip. A £700 package costs £200 more—even though it breaks even against their sea-day basket. Treating every day as a sea day would hide the difference.
| Their itinerary | Party spending per day | Trip spending |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days mainly aboard | £100 | £300 |
| 4 days mainly ashore | £50 onboard | £200 |
| Total planned purchases | £500 | |
| Final package price | £700 |
They would need £200 of additional eligible purchases to reach the package price: 40% more than they planned. That gap is a useful test of an estimate, not a target to spend toward.
Write down what each person would normally buy on a day spent aboard. Then create a separate basket for a long day ashore. Multiply by the number of each day type and add embarkation/disembarkation spending only if applicable.
| Basket item | What to check |
|---|---|
| Coffee and tea | Is your preferred drink already included without a package? |
| Water and soft drinks | Are the size, bottle type and venue covered? |
| Wine, beer or cocktails | Is the exact choice under the package’s price limit? |
| Port spending | Will you buy these ashore instead? |
| Existing benefits | Do loyalty, fare or cabin benefits already cover any purchases? |
Do not count “unlimited” as unlimited value. A list of included products is useful only if you want them and can use the package under its rules.
Read the restrictions before paying
Check any per-drink cap, daily limits, package start and end times, included venues, excluded destinations, cancellation terms and rules for other cabin occupants. Ask the operator directly about exceptional circumstances; do not assume a past traveller’s exception will be granted again.
A port-heavy itinerary can reduce onboard use. A sea-day-heavy sailing may make convenience more valuable. Neither automatically decides the purchase: your basket still matters.
Compare two versions of your cruise
In the total-trip calculator, create one quote with the full package cost and one with your realistic pay-as-you-go total. Keep every other entry identical. The difference shows what you pay for convenience or save on planned purchases.
If the result is close, consider predictable spending, choice restrictions and whether prepaying feels helpful. If it is far apart, the arithmetic should be visible before you commit. Save the quote date and recheck the terms if the price changes.
Sources and verification
Primary-source checks completed 19 September 2026. Confirm current terms for your own booking.
- Royal Caribbean: Beverage package gratuitiesAccessed 2026-09-22
- Royal Caribbean: Beverage package rulesAccessed 2026-09-22
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Correction history: no substantive corrections recorded. Report a correction. This is research-based guidance, not a firsthand sailing review.