Optional dining, drink plans and upgrades

[FigmentSpark]

I'm trying to get my head around what's included and what has extra charges on RCCL.

These drink and dining plans are confusing me; mostly because I can't find a lot of info on them.

1. Drink plans:
There's the Deluxe all-inclusive, which includes alcohol - I don't need that (my wallet thanks me).

There's the soda package, which is all fountain pop, but only in your special souvenir cup - $8.50 a day/person? And if you lose your cup it's another $4.50 for a replacement?

Then there's the all-inclusive refreshment, which doesn't include alcohol, but does include fountain soda (like the soda package), coffee, tea, juice and bottled water for $26.00 a day/person?

That's a lot of coffee, tea, juice and bottled water for the up-charge from soda. Can you pick up multiple bottles of water in that plan or only one at a time? What is the price of an individual coffee or soda? I'd hate to pay a fortune for a package I won't use. (my DS and DH, on the other hand.... RCCL will be subsidizing their pop habits!)

2. Dining plans:
There are upcharge restaurants and you can buy 3, 5 or 6 nights, I think, right? Is it worth buying the package or can you pay individually, say, only do 2 for about the same per night charge? Do I want the upcharge places? Also, does the upcharge cover everything on their menus? How good or bad are the MDRs? Should I skip the MDRs and just buy the upcharge restaurants or do a mix?

3. Are there upcharge items on the MDR menus? I'd heard there are, which means it's not quite all inclusive. If we stayed away from those items, would we be disappointed? That is, to really have a good meal, will we want the upcharge items?

4. What about the other restaurants on board? What extra charges are there? I know there's a $7.50 charge for room service, but we probably wouldn't do that anyway. We might decide on a burger or pizza or ice cream during the day, though. What would I find and what's not included? Are there any 'free soft serve' places, like on DCL? That was my DS's go-to snack.

Other than the obvious - alcohol, and shop purchases - are there any other on-board purchases I should know about? Do any of the activities have costs (besides the casino and the arcade)? I'm thinking Oasis class, if that makes a difference.

Oh yes, 5. what about the internet? I can't seem to find any info on that, either. How are their charges structured?

And 6! Are there charges for any of the teen club venues? I know kids' clubs have some charges, but I would assume the teen area has less staff, so maybe fewer fees?

Thanks.

 

[nkereina]

I can only speak to Oasis of the Seas, which may have some minor things that differ from other RCCL ships. To give you perspective, we purchased internet and drink packages in advance. We did a specialty dining package, bought some ice cream ate at Johnny Rockets, played bingo, bought stuff at the store, etc. etc. and our final bill was about $200.

There's the soda package, which is all fountain pop, but only in your special souvenir cup - $8.50 a day/person? And if you lose your cup it's another $4.50 for a replacement?

I purchased this. I never even opened the souvenir cup. You can get soda from any bar or in any restaurant a regular glass with the package as well. The cup is only if you want to use the Coke free style machines around the ship. I never did.

Then there's the all-inclusive refreshment, which doesn't include alcohol, but does include fountain soda (like the soda package), coffee, tea, juice and bottled water for $26.00 a day/person?

Yes - I think this included specialty coffees, fresh squeezed juices, things like that. Not too familiar because it was of no interest to me.

That's a lot of coffee, tea, juice and bottled water for the up-charge from soda. Can you pick up multiple bottles of water in that plan or only one at a time? What is the price of an individual coffee or soda? I'd hate to pay a fortune for a package I won't use. (my DS and DH, on the other hand.... RCCL will be subsidizing their pop habits!)

DH and my parents had the deluxe plan and were able to get an alcoholic beverage and a bottle of water at the same time. I imagine it's up to the server or bartender's discretion if they will give you two bottles of water at once. If you and your travel partner both have the package and you go to a bar with both of your cards, they will definitely give you two bottles. In other words, you don't need to both be present if one of you has both of your cards in hand.

There are upcharge restaurants and you can buy 3, 5 or 6 nights, I think, right? Is it worth buying the package or can you pay individually, say, only do 2 for about the same per night charge? Do I want the upcharge places? Also, does the upcharge cover everything on their menus? How good or bad are the MDRs? Should I skip the MDRs and just buy the upcharge restaurants or do a mix?

It all varies. We purchased the 3 restaurant package for $85 per person, which covered Izumi hibachi, Chops, and gave us a $30 credit at Sabor which charges a la carte. If we did these individually without a package, Izumi Hibachi was about $45 and Chops was about $42, so it was definitely a savings. These were three of the best meals we had so I definitely think its worth the cost. As far as covering everything on their menus, no. Chops had some steaks you could pay to upgrade to. You could add lobster I believe. There are options beyond your cover charge you can pay for, but we never did. For dinners, we ate in the MDR three times, did 3 specialty restaurants, and ate at the buffet one other night. It was a good mix and felt the money was worth it.

3. Are there upcharge items on the MDR menus? I'd heard there are, which means it's not quite all inclusive. If we stayed away from those items, would we be disappointed? That is, to really have a good meal, will we want the upcharge items?

There's a small box on the menu with optional add-ons for a cost, maybe 3 or 4 options. Things like lobster or a porterhouse, for example. We never upgraded in the MDR. Never needed or wanted to.

4. What about the other restaurants on board? What extra charges are there? I know there's a $7.50 charge for room service, but we probably wouldn't do that anyway. We might decide on a burger or pizza or ice cream during the day, though. What would I find and what's not included? Are there any 'free soft serve' places, like on DCL? That was my DS's go-to snack.

Ben & Jerry's charges for ice cream and cupcakes, but there is a soft serve machine that's included on the pool deck. The hours are not great for it. Starbucks is an extra charge. Specialty coffees and desserts in Cafe Promenade and Park Cafe cost extra. Johnny Rockets also had a cover charge, and their shakes were also an extra cost. The $7.50 room service fee is not charged if you are just ordering coffee or continental breakfast. It's only charged if you're ordering entrees. We ordered just coffee every morning and were not charged the new fee for room service.

Other than the obvious - alcohol, and shop purchases - are there any other on-board purchases I should know about? Do any of the activities have costs (besides the casino and the arcade)? I'm thinking Oasis class, if that makes a difference.

Bingo costs money to play and spa services, naturally. That's about all I can think of.

Oh yes, 5. what about the internet? I can't seem to find any info on that, either. How are their charges structured?

We bought the one device VOOM internet package and paid about $100 I think? We bought it in advance and on sale. They give you an internet code, and DH and I shared it. When he was done browsing the internet, he'd log off and I'd connect with the code. If you want to be accessible and access the internet at the same time, you'd need the two device package which is more expensive. It worked pretty well, and we were able to communicate through iMessage with my parents on our iPhones as they had the same package. We were not able to text with people at home who did not have iPhones and we did activate wifi calling on our phones to dial out. But for regular internet browsing and sending photos, it worked well. Obviously it only works on the ship and not when you get off in the ports, so something to consider if you have several ports you are visiting.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Thanks. For a family of four, I could see those charges adding up, so I'd want to plan for them in my cruise pricing. It's been rather hard to find much information on their website about upcharges, etc until you've actually booked.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

We bought the one device VOOM internet package and paid about $100 I think? We bought it in advance and on sale. They give you an internet code, and DH and I shared it. When he was done browsing the internet, he'd log off and I'd connect with the code. If you want to be accessible and access the internet at the same time, you'd need the two device package which is more expensive. It worked pretty well, and we were able to communicate through iMessage with my parents on our iPhones as they had the same package. We were not able to text with people at home who did not have iPhones and we did activate wifi calling on our phones to dial out. But for regular internet browsing and sending photos, it worked well. Obviously it only works on the ship and not when you get off in the ports, so something to consider if you have several ports you are visiting.

So with VOOM package, people can share it? It just means only 1 person is on internet at a time? We are cruising RCL this summer for 13 days in Mediterranean and as OP mentioned, things are really starting to add up!

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

The refreshment package was on for 35% off recently in the cruise planner so was the ultimate dining pkg (I believe 60% off). We got the deluxe drink pkg and internet at 25% off. Anyway just keep checking your cruise planner, other than the soda pkg I've seen the rest go on sale.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

Specialty dining, drinks (other than soda) and internet are all things we have paid for on DCL too, so I wasn't too surpised the are also upcharges on RC. It just seems there are a lot more options on RC and more you can pre-pay.

 

[HopperFan]

In 2012 on Freedom we bought a minutes package for 1 device. A couple of us shared it by the log on, log off process.

In 2015 on Oasis I bought a package day one and bought all 7 days they discounted my package to about $75 for the trip. I was the only one with laptop so others would check their stuff a couple times BUT I would have to log in/off between my laptop and iPhone. I wanted to keep in touch with my other two kids. Worked out great as we talked via FB message and I was able to post photos for relatives of all to keep up with us.

This article explains the packages they offer now. Next time I'll get internet again, I don't need the streaming.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/category/category/internet-packages

OP thoughts on other questions -
- We never bought a drink package of any kind until last cruise.
- We opted to drink water, lemonade and ice tea that was free.
- Last trip we got the Alcohol Package for two of us, DS got nothing.
- Totally got our monies worth especially since bottled water included.
- Drinking water was important to do.
- We did 1 upcharge dinner, Chops. We had credit from TA but it was SO good I would have paid.
- Upcoming trip considering one or two.
- Upcharge meals completely UN-NECCESSARY!!
- I think they are great for those who cruise often and tired of the MDR.
- MDR food was just fine, service exceptional and we never paid for anything or saw anything you had to pay for.
- No reason to, plenty of options and you can order as much as you want.
- Other upcharges like Johnny Rockets, Cupcakes, Ice Cream - SKIPPED it all. Why pay when there is plenty for free.
- There are other restaurants that have good food, google which but we managed to eat our way around the ship to try as much as we could.
- There are always the arcades, adult games, casino, shops etc ... but that is easily controlled.
- I think for me the biggest hit are the excursions as they seem to almost double the cost of if you booked direct. Only through RCI are you guaranteed to not miss the ship. I've mostly booked my own but last trip DS and I did none, just enjoyed RCI beach and walked in the ports.

 

[FigmentSpark]

The refreshment package was on for 35% off recently in the cruise planner so was the ultimate dining pkg (I believe 60% off). We got the deluxe drink pkg and internet at 25% off. Anyway just keep checking your cruise planner, other than the soda pkg I've seen the rest go on sale.

Good tip to watch for sales on those things. I wouldn't have thought of that.

In 2012 on Freedom we bought a minutes package for 1 device. A couple of us shared it by the log on, log off process.

In 2015 on Oasis I bought a package day one and bought all 7 days they discounted my package to about $75 for the trip. I was the only one with laptop so others would check their stuff a couple times a day BUT I would have to log in/off between my laptop and iPhone. I wanted to keep in touch with my other two kids. Worked out great as we talked via FB message and I was able to post photos for relatives of all to keep up with us.

This article explains the packages they offer now. Next time I'll get internet again, I don't need the streaming.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/category/category/internet-packages

OP thoughts on other questions -
- We never bought a drink package of any kind until last cruise.
- We opted to drink water, lemonade and ice tea that was free.
- Last trip we got the Alcohol Package for two of us, DS got nothing.
- Totally got our monies worth especially since bottled water included.
- Drinking water was important to do.
- We did 1 upcharge dinner, Chops. We had credit from TA but it was SO good I would have paid.
- Upcoming trip considering one or two.
- Upcharge meals completely UN-NECCESSARY!!
- I think they are great for those who cruise often and tired of the MDR.
- MDR food was just fine, service exceptional and we never paid for anything or saw anything you had to pay for.
- No reason to, plenty of options and you can order as much as you want.
- Other upcharges like Johnny Rockets, Cupcakes, Ice Cream - SKIPPED it all. Why pay when there is plenty for free.
- There are other restaurants that have good food, google which but we managed to eat our way around the ship to try as much as we could.
- There are always the arcades, adult games, casino, shops etc ... but that is easily controlled.
- I think for me the biggest hit are the excursions as they see to almost double the cost of if you booked direct. Only through RCI are you guaranteed to not miss the ship. I've mostly booked my own but last trip DS and I did none, just enjoyed RCI beach and walked in the ports.

Glad to hear you can do it all and not miss out if you don't buy the upcharge items. I assume you can buy things like coffee or pop or water on an individual basis as well? Are they expensive (compared to buying the package)?

 

[HopperFan]

Good tip to watch for sales on those things. I wouldn't have thought of that.


Glad to hear you can do it all and not miss out if you don't buy the upcharge items. I assume you can buy things like coffee or pop or water on an individual basis as well? Are they expensive (compared to buying the package)?

In 2012 I think we bought some water bottles, but last time our Drink Package covered everything. I want to say water bottles were like $3-4 each, and we went through lots of that. At dinner we would each get two and take back for the fridge. The ship's water is not bad, they highly filter it all. Coffee will come with your meals in the dining room, and there are several coffee bars you can buy it from. Soda yes, but if you think you'll drink even 2 per day, the soda package is well worth it.

YES, watch for sales. We booked our cruise but not our add-ons. One of our group got her Deluxe Drink Package half price last fall, so we are hoping there will be a discount. When those show up we will add them on.

Also note on the Refreshment Package you can get the Frozen Cocktails minus the alcohol, those would be very refreshing. With the other items, bottled water. If you enjoy those types of drinks, you could get that and the others just get the soda packages. This way you can pick up bottles of water whenever and just take back to your cabin. ALSO on our last Oasis, not sure if it was getting on or off the ship but they handed us bottled water, no drink package needed. Might be tied to temperatures but I thought that was great.

But you can have a GREAT trip without feeling the least bit shortchanged by not doing any of the upgrades, especially the dining. If we hadn't had a credit we wouldn't have even booked.

Here is a Jan 2017 article about drinks with lots of prices for you to figure out what your best option is -

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-drink-prices

 

[mevelandry]

Thanks for this thread. Following.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Thanks for the link, @HopperFan

 

[nkereina]

So with VOOM package, people can share it? It just means only 1 person is on internet at a time? We are cruising RCL this summer for 13 days in Mediterranean and as OP mentioned, things are really starting to add up!

Yes, you can technically share it, but as mentioned, only person can access the wifi at a time. It was just DH and I so we bought the one device package. They gave us a unique wifi code at check-in, and we just had to enter that every time one of us connected to wifi. The only downside was that we were relying on wifi as a means of communication with my parents who we were traveling with. We all have iPhones, so we could iMessage over wifi and we had wifi calling enabled so people at home could call us in case of emergency. But if DH was signed onto wifi and my parents tried texting me, or someone tried calling me, I would not receive it because I was logged off wifi. Also, if you have one wifi code between your group, you wouldn't be able to communicate with your group if you split up, for example.

You can get a two device package for just slightly more, it's not the full cost times two.

 

[Frozen2014]

When we went on Allure, my husband got the soda package but no other drink package. You have to drink quite a bit to make it worthwhile (maybe 4-5 drinks a day for alcoholic ones). We just paid for other drinks when we wanted them (by 'paid' it gets charged for your sea card and you can use OBC or pay it off at the end). Also note that you are able to bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom, and your servers will store it for you for the next night if needed. This worked well for us.

Also, not sure if we are in the minority but we quite enjoyed the MDR and didn't feel a need to go to the specialty restaurants. We paid nothing extra. There is even one lobster night (maybe lobster was extra on other nights..not sure).

Not ship you are looking at (is it Oasis or Harmony from other post?), but if you have Park Cafe, that is a great place for lunch (free). Great sandwiches and salads, etc. There is also a pizza place (ok), Cafe Promenade, windjammer buffet, Solarium Cafe, Wipeout Cafe...so lots of variety included.

For burger, Wipeout and Windjammer have (both included). There is also Johnny Rockets which is a small charge for lunch/dinner.
There is free soft serve by the pools, and also an ice cream place for a fee.

These are all based on Allure but I imagine other Royal ships are similar.

 

[nkereina]

I'll add that if you're on the fence about the drink package, around day 3 or 4 of the cruise they start offering a drink card you can purchase. It's 10 drinks for $75 + 20% gratuity so it works out to be about $90. It's still a good savings considering most mixed or frozen drinks are around $13. We didn't look into it, but you may be able to buy one card and split it between two people if you wanted - I'm not certain though. Check the messages on the TV in your stateroom, that's how we found out it was now being offered on our sailing.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I think we're leaning towards the Harmony for the water slides for my younger DS.

 

[E&Cmom]

We didn't bother with the drink packages. I went back and forward about it decided it wasn't worth it for my family. We are not huge pop drinkers. We were fine with the lemonade, flavoured water, ice tea regular tea and coffee and juice in the morning. I was suprised that all though I get pop when we go out I didn't miss it at all. DH doesn't drink and I am just the odd drinker. I had 2 drinks paid out of pocket the whole cruise.

I did love the VOOM internet. I only got the one device package but I was the one that used it the most. When DH needed to check things at home I just logged off.

We did one speciality restaurant (150 Central Park) as a date night. Rest of the nights we were happy at the main dining room.

 

[msjprincess]

We easily came out ahead with the Deluxe package on Independence this past February. It was a 5 day cruise that went to Jamaica and Labadee. So we were able to use our package everywhere except in port at Jamaica. I mentally kept track and we didn't even have to drink much to come out ahead. Besides alcoholic drinks I also drank iced lattes, bottles of water, bottled sparking water an occasional soda. They all add up.

 

[nkereina]

We easily came out ahead with the Deluxe package on Independence this past February. It was a 5 day cruise that went to Jamaica and Labadee. So we were able to use our package everywhere except in port at Jamaica. I mentally kept track and we didn't even have to drink much to come out ahead. Besides alcoholic drinks I also drank iced lattes, bottles of water, bottled sparking water an occasional soda. They all add up.

I agree - my parents and DH came out ahead with the deluxe package on Oasis a few weeks ago. Between wine at dinner, mixed drinks by the pool, specialty coffee or even a bloody mary at breakfast, they easily saved money. We weren't trying to cheat the system, but there were times when they were able to get a bottle of water with their mixed drink and gave me the water. I had the soda package, but there were times I just wanted bottled water too so it worked out well.

 

[msjprincess]

I agree - my parents and DH came out ahead with the deluxe package on Oasis a few weeks ago. Between wine at dinner, mixed drinks by the pool, specialty coffee or even a bloody mary at breakfast, they easily saved money. We weren't trying to cheat the system, but there were times when they were able to get a bottle of water with their mixed drink and gave me the water. I had the soda package, but there were times I just wanted bottled water too so it worked out well.

I had bartenders give me things for my kids when I tried to pay on more than one occasion. We were in the Schooner bar for trivia. I ordered 2 strawberry daquiris for DH and me and one virgin drink for my daughter. The bartender told me not to worry about paying for my daughter's drink. A couple of times they gave me 5 bottles of water at a time even though the kids only had the soda package.

I probably wouldn't do it on a port intensive cruise.

 

[DisneyNurse19]

The refreshment package was on for 35% off recently in the cruise planner so was the ultimate dining pkg (I believe 60% off). We got the deluxe drink pkg and internet at 25% off. Anyway just keep checking your cruise planner, other than the soda pkg I've seen the rest go on sale.

That is funny as i had been checking the prices of the drinks package for a couple of months and then they did a special offer............. 20% off! I got very excited until i realised the actual difference was only $1. Someone even phoned RC up to ask who did the maths.