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Cruise Drink Packages: The Break-Even Maths by Line
Short answer
What do you actually need to know?
Unlimited drink packages run $59 to $138 per person per day and require five to seven alcoholic drinks daily to break even. Every adult in the cabin must buy one, gratuities of 18 to 20 percent are added to the package price, and sea-day drinking must carry port-day abstinence. Most buyers lose money; heavy sea-day drinkers and cocktail drinkers can win.
Key takeaways
- Break-even runs five to seven alcoholic drinks per day, every day, including port days.
- Every adult sharing the cabin must buy the package on almost every line.
- An 18 to 20 percent gratuity is added to the package price itself.
- MSC and Carnival sell the cheapest packages; Norwegian's is the most expensive and most bundled.
- Buying pre-cruise saves 20 to 30 percent against onboard prices on most lines.
The drink package is cruising's most-debated purchase, and the debate ends with arithmetic. A package at $89 per day plus 20 percent gratuity costs $106.80. Cocktails aboard run $12 to $15 with gratuity. The break-even is seven to nine drinks, every single day of the cruise, including the day you spend eight hours ashore in Cozumel.
Cruise lines price packages precisely because most buyers fall short: the package converts uncertain bar revenue into certain upfront revenue, and the buyer converts a variable cost into a fixed one that usually exceeds it. That said, defined groups genuinely profit: sea-day-heavy itineraries, cocktail drinkers who never see a $9 beer, and anyone whose holiday tempo genuinely runs five-plus drinks daily.
This page carries the current prices, the honest break-evens, the rules that tilt the field, and the non-alcoholic packages that are quietly the better product.
Current package prices by line
The mainstream spread runs from MSC's Easy package at $59 to Norwegian's premium tiers at $138 with gratuities included in the comparison. Every price below is per person, per day, every day of the cruise: packages cannot be bought for only the sea days, which is precisely the product design.
Pre-cruise purchase discounts of 20 to 30 percent apply on most lines and represent the only genuine lever a buyer controls. Onboard, the same package costs full price plus the queue at guest services.
| Line | Package | Pre-cruise price | With gratuity | Drink limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSC | Easy Plus | $59 to $69 | About $71 to $83 | Drinks to $10 |
| Carnival | Cheers | $69.95 to $82.95 | About $84 to $99 | 15 alcoholic per day, to $20 |
| Royal Caribbean | Deluxe | $89 to $109 | About $107 to $131 | Drinks to $14 |
| Celebrity | Classic | Often bundled | In All Included fares | Drinks to $10 |
| Norwegian | Unlimited Open Bar | Via Free at Sea | About $175 per week in gratuities | Drinks to $15 |
| Princess | Plus package | $65 bundled | Included in bundle | Drinks to $15, with WiFi and tips |
The break-even, honestly computed
Count your actual holiday drinking: a beer at the pool, wine with dinner, two cocktails in the evening is four drinks and roughly $50, against a package day costing $107 on Royal Caribbean. That typical-cruiser day loses $57 to the package, daily.
The package day that wins: two coffees ($10), poolside cocktails ($28), water bottles ($9), wine at dinner ($26), evening cocktails ($42) totals $115 and beats the package by a little, provided it repeats every day including ashore days.
Port-heavy itineraries sabotage the maths structurally: six hours ashore is six hours of package you prepaid and cannot use. Sea-day-heavy itineraries, transatlantics and Caribbean routes with three sea days are where packages genuinely pay.
- Four drinks a day loses roughly $50 daily to a Royal Caribbean package.
- Seven-plus drinks daily, sustained, is where the deluxe packages break even.
- Port days are prepaid dead time; sea-day-heavy routes favour the package.
- Specialty coffee, water and juice count toward value on most premium packages.
- The bundles, Princess Plus and Celebrity All Included, break even at two to three drinks because WiFi and tips ride along.
The alternatives that usually win
Pay-as-you-go with the wine-bottle allowance: most lines let each adult carry one bottle aboard, and buying bottles rather than glasses at dinner cuts wine costs 40 percent. The moderate drinker's week lands at $250 to $350 against $750 packaged.
The non-alcoholic packages are quietly better products: soda packages at $9 to $13 daily for teenagers, and refreshment packages at $29 to $45 covering specialty coffee, fresh juice, smoothies and mocktails, break even at three to four items for people who would buy them anyway.
The bundles deserve their own note: Princess Plus at $65 including drinks, WiFi and gratuities beats buying those three separately at two drinks a day, which is why it is the rare package this site recommends by default.
- Pay-as-you-go plus the carry-on wine allowance suits most couples.
- Refreshment packages break even at three to four specialty coffees and juices.
- Soda packages for teenagers are the easiest yes on the menu.
- Bundled fare packages, where WiFi and tips ride along, beat standalone drink packages decisively.
- Bar prices themselves: beer $7 to $9, wine $9 to $14, cocktails $12 to $15 plus 18 to 20 percent.
Terms worth knowing
- Break-even
- The daily drink count where package cost equals pay-as-you-go spending: five to seven alcoholic drinks on most mainstream packages.
- Everyone-in-the-cabin rule
- The requirement that all adults sharing a cabin purchase the same drink package, preventing sharing and doubling package revenue per cabin.
- Drink limit
- The per-drink price ceiling a package covers; drinks above it incur the difference, and premium spirits routinely exceed mainstream limits.
- Refreshment package
- The non-alcoholic tier covering specialty coffee, juice, smoothies and mocktails, breaking even at three to four items daily.
| Strategy | Weekly cost | Assumes | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both buy Deluxe package | $1,495 | Both drink 7-plus daily, every day | Wins only for genuine heavy drinkers |
| Pay as you go | $500 to $700 | 3 to 4 drinks each daily | The typical couple's cheapest path |
| One drinks, cabin rule blocks split | $1,495 forced | Asymmetric couple | The rule's target; pay as you go instead |
Package or not, decided
Count honestly, then choose.
The deluxe package
Choose it when: You genuinely drink six-plus daily including port days, and your cabin partner does too.
Pay as you go
Choose it when: You drink two to four daily, like most people. Bank the $400.
Princess Plus or Celebrity All Included
Choose it when: Sailing those lines and drinking at all; WiFi and gratuities riding along change the equation.
The refreshment package
Choose it when: You are a coffee-and-smoothie person; three items daily pays it off without alcohol.
Pre-cruise purchase
Choose it when: Buying any package. The 20 to 30 percent discount is the only lever you control.
Put this research to work
Compare current fares against the numbers on this page, and check the related guides below before adding packages or excursions.
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Frequently asked questions
Are cruise drink packages worth it?
For most passengers, no. Break-even runs five to seven alcoholic drinks per day, every day including port days, and the requirement that every adult in the cabin buys the package doubles the cost for couples with different drinking habits. They pay off for genuine heavy drinkers on sea-day-heavy itineraries, and the bundled versions on Princess and Celebrity pay off far earlier.
How much are drink packages on cruises?
From $59 per day on MSC's entry tier to $109 on Royal Caribbean's Deluxe before the 18 to 20 percent gratuity, which brings the realistic daily range to $71 to $131. Norwegian's bundled version costs about $175 per person per week in gratuities on the notional package value. Pre-cruise purchase runs 20 to 30 percent below onboard pricing.
How many drinks a day to break even on a package?
Five to seven alcoholic drinks daily on the mainstream deluxe packages, sustained across every day of the cruise. A typical holiday pattern of three to four drinks loses $40 to $60 per person per day to the package. Counting specialty coffees, waters and juices, which premium packages include, lowers the bar somewhat for people who buy those anyway.
Does everyone in the cabin have to buy the drink package?
On almost every major line, yes: all adults sharing a cabin must purchase the same alcohol package, precisely to prevent sharing. The practical consequence is that couples with asymmetric drinking, one heavy, one light, are the package's worst customers and should pay as they go instead. Some lines allow exceptions for documented medical reasons.
Can you bring your own alcohol on a cruise?
Most lines allow one bottle of wine or champagne per adult at embarkation, subject to corkage of $15 to $25 if drunk in venues. Spirits and beer are confiscated until the cruise ends, and port purchases are held the same way. The wine allowance meaningfully improves pay-as-you-go maths for couples who drink wine with dinner.
Which cruise line has the cheapest drink package?
MSC, whose Easy Plus package at $59 to $69 per day is the lowest unlimited tier among major lines, consistent with its bar prices being the lowest afloat. Carnival's Cheers at $69.95 to $82.95 follows. At the other end, Royal Caribbean's Deluxe reaches $131 with gratuity, and Norwegian's bundling makes its true cost the least transparent.
About the author
Cruise Pricing Analyst
Daniel Okafor tracks cruise fares for a living. He maintains the price series behind every cost page on this site, sampling lead-in fares across the fifteen lines we cover on a fixed weekly schedule so the numbers we publish are comparable month to month rather than screenshotted once and forgotten.
34 sailings logged across 8 cruise lines.
This page was fact-checked by Mara Vance, senior cruise editor, on . Prices and policies are re-checked against cruise line sources at least every 90 days. Read our editorial policy.