Comments on: All-you-can-drink cruising — big bargain or bad idea?

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:23:46 +0000

All of you “Nanny State” controllers should sail on Seabourn, Silverseas or Regent as I have (12 voyages on these lines) and see that you are incorrect about acohol abuse. They are NOT “party” ships and the level of the drinking varies, but I have yet to see or experience the kind of behavior cited here.

Some people, whether the booze if inclusive or not, will behave in a boorish fashion, but it’s usually hardly ever done on the higher priced cruise lines. Perhaps it’s because the cruise staff would quietly take an offender aside and let them know that their behavior is unbecoming. Book and find out!

By: Nobody

Nobody — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:04:58 +0000

The high prices will ensure that the partaker will want to get his money’s worth.
“beer – domestic and imported – $34 a day;” @ $6 a beer, any drinker would consider he’s has an obligation to drink at least six beers to benefit. And if he missed his minimum quota, make up for it the next day.
I’ll pay $10 to $1 that each price quoted does not include a mandatory 15% gratuity, so add that to your final total of your account.
Celebrity is a good candidate for this experiment. They have the most restrictive policy of smuggling beer/liquor on board, even in checked luggage: kicking you off the ship. Inspecting/xraying all carry-ons for contraband at each port has eliminated smuggling duty-free. Celebrity DOES now let you bring on two bottles of wine once, only at the port of departure, to drink in the privacy of your stateroom. I haven’t been able to talk the cruiseline provided shuttle from the airport to stop at a wine store on the way to the ship. This may be a benefit for those who are not boarding straight from the airport, if they are aware of the policy.

A very good program I’ve used on Holland Amrerica: Wine by the glass punch cards, available in ten or 20 glass increments. Got the house brands (very tasty) down to around $5/ glass, cards were usable through the entire cruise, and not tied to a single person (if you lost it–you lost it like a $100 bill) where it was scanned. You may have guessed it, you pay a mandatory 15% gratuity on the card when you buy it. Now how the person who sells the cards divies up the gratuities with all the waiters who serve you….

Memorial to the tourist
Lost at sea
Slipped on the vomit from
Cruise binge fraternity
RIP
Nobody was faster

By: ledris

ledris — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:10:31 +0000

Awful idea. There are enough “drunks” on board the ship when they have to pay high prices for their drinks. Unlimited for a price would even make matters worse. RCCI is my favorite cruise line and we cruise very often and are up there in our C&A society. This is just not a swift idea. Can you imagine how many people will fall overboard/get into fights etc. UGH!!!

By: Less Junk Food Equals Better Kid Nutrition | Food Health Wisdom

Less Junk Food Equals Better Kid Nutrition | Food Health Wisdom — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:24:26 +0000

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By: Joel Wechsler

Joel Wechsler — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:53:26 +0000

There is a big difrference between an all-inclisuve resort or even a line like Regent that includes drinks in their fares and a separate all-you-can-drink charge. In the former cases it’s part of the deal but with no real indication of what it may cost. In the latter case you know exactly what you are paying and therefore the temptation (incentive?) to get what you paid for is, in my opinion, too great. This is a BAD idea.

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Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:57:31 +0000

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By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:06:55 +0000

Honestly, I’m OK with it. It seems that any time I’ve been in a “drinks inclusive” environment, there are fewer bad drunks. Some weird reverse psychology thing perhaps? People more aware of pacing themselves knowing there is no “limit” or financial constraint.

By: MeaMeosh

MeaMeosh — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:56:35 +0000

Bad idea if you ask me. You said it best – I can guarantee that if I pay $51 for a day’s worth of drinks, you better believe I’m going to be doing the math to make sure I get my money’s worth. On the flip side, there’s going to be lots of people getting ripped off; they think they’re getting a deal by paying $51 a day for unlimited liquor, without realizing that for a moderate drinker who might have 2-3 throughout the day, you’re getting royally screwed at that price. It’s kind of like the prepaid fuel option at the rental car counter – the price looks great, until you realize, how many times do you actually bring the car back with exactly zero gas left in the tank?

By: SirWired

SirWired — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:50:11 +0000

Yes, this is a horrible, horrible idea. With a separate charge for the all-you-can-drink, people will certainly be over-indulging to get their money’s worth. The charge is too high to discourage over-drinking, but lowering it would cause it to be a money-loser.

Including in the cruise price makes sense, a separate all-you-can-drink fee does not. I hope they change their minds.

SirWired

By: Bodega

Bodega — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:11:40 +0000

Laura’s last line was my first thought when I saw the title of this article.

On our last cruise, we hung around the pool only once. The behavior of the drunks by 11am was tiring. It wasn’t funny when they were age 18 and it certainly isn’t funny at age 40 or 50 or 60 or…!

Interesting comparison for us was that at an all inclusive in Costa Rica, we never saw this behavior. What does a cruise do to make people act like idiots?