The drinks package is the most debated add-on in cruising, and the answer is arithmetic, not vibes. Here is the 2026 math, and the two situations where the package wins even when the math says no.
The prices
Mainstream packages run per person, per day, gratuity included:
- Carnival Cheers!: about $70/day, or roughly $84 with the 18% service charge — the break-even sits at 6 cocktails, 11 beers or 7 glasses of wine a day.
- Royal Caribbean Deluxe: $56–105/day depending on ship and sailing — check your sailing's price, because it varies.
- Norwegian's package structure and MSC's various tiers price similarly, and nearly every line requires that if one adult in a cabin buys the package, all adults in the cabin do — the rule that kills the deal for couples with one light drinker.
A seven-night week at $84/day is $588 per person. That is the number to beat.
The break-even math
Count honestly what you drink on a sea day versus a port day:
- 4–5 alcoholic drinks a day is the common break-even across the big lines — a cocktail by the pool, wine at lunch, a pre-dinner drink, wine at dinner, a nightcap. That is a holiday-drinking pace, not an excessive one, but it is every day for seven days.
- The undercounted side is non-alcoholic: packages include specialty coffee, bottled water, fresh juice and sodas, worth $15–25/day for people who actually buy those. A heavy coffee-and-water drinker breaks even at 3–4 alcoholic drinks.
Who should buy it
Buy the package if you drink 5+ alcoholic drinks most days, or 3–4 plus daily specialty coffee and bottled water — or if the psychological value of never signing a receipt is worth $100–200 to you, which for many people on holiday it honestly is.
Skip it if either adult in the cabin drinks lightly (the both-must-buy rule punishes you), if your itinerary is port-intensive (you are ashore 9 hours a day — you cannot drink the package on a Greek beach), or if you are happy with the included basics: drip coffee, tea, juice at breakfast and water are free everywhere.
The two workarounds
- The wine-bottle allowance: most lines let you bring one bottle of wine per adult at embarkation — two free bottles is three or four nights of dinner wine.
- Buy per drink, watch the specials: happy hours, drink-of-the-day pricing and the tasting events (wine, whiskey, martini flights at $15–30) cover the social drinking for far less than a package.
The five-minute version
- Packages: $56–105/day/person depending on line; a Carnival week runs about $588/person with gratuity.
- Break-even: 4–5 alcoholic drinks daily, or 3–4 plus specialty coffee and water.
- Both adults in a cabin usually must buy — the couple-killer clause.
- Port-heavy itineraries and light drinkers should skip it; heavy coffee drinkers should add $15–25/day to the value side.