Is it time for a drinks package P&O?

Many guests now, when booking their cruise, seem to expect to get a drinks package included. A lot of the web requests we receive have a comment insisting the cruise must be all inclusive.

Most cruise lines are currently offering the option of a ‘free’ drinks package included with their cruise. I use the word ‘free’ as a loose term as really when you break down the costs you are actually paying for the drinks package, it’s just the way the cruise line word it for their advertisements.

Currently you have Celebrity, Fred Olsen, Royal Caribbean and MSC offering drinks packages included in their cruises for their current promotions for 2018 sailings. Princess are offering a choice of prices with & without drinks for their summer 2019 sailings from Southampton. Norwegian Cruise Line and Marella Cruises are known now as all inclusive with drinks and gratuities always included in their sailings (some Marella  sailing’s it is not included but can be added for a cost).

If the cruise line is not offering a drinks package included in their promotion, then they do have the option to add on. Some, with the likes of Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess can be approx. $60 per person per day once the taxes have been added. Others such as MSC can be anywhere between £18-30 per person per day dependent on the sailing and length of cruise. I am happy to add the MSC drinks package to any of my MSC cruises as I find this is once of the best value added drinks packages at sea for what you get included.

So is it time that P&O  started offering an all inclusive drinks package? I know that you can purchase a wine package, so many bottles for a set price to be used on the ship, a coffee card with a limit to the amount of coffees and the same with a soft drinks card. But are they missing a trick by not introducing an all inclusive drinks package?

It can put guests off when they realise that the cost with P&O does not include a drinks package or gratuities, especially for those whom are fairly new to cruising or have sailed with other cruise lines that do offer drinks packages.

I suppose, like most people, guests are forward budgeting for their cruise holidays and do not want a ‘surprising’ bill at the end of the sailing.

P&O are in comparison to her American cousins, very reasonable to purchase drinks on board, with bar prices similar to those of a UK pub. But with the recent ban of bringing alcohol on board at ports of call (you can now only bring a bottle per cabin from embarkation for use in the cabin), do they need to revisit the all inclusive market?

Do you have thoughts on this? If so please comment below as I would love to hear if you think P&O should move into the all inclusive market too.

Dawn

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