Are Cruise Drink Packages Worth It? 2026 Prices, Rules and the Break-Even Math

Cruise drink packages are worth it only for heavy drinkers, and for most passengers they are not. Carnival’s CHEERS! package costs $83.94 per person per day in 2026 once the 20 percent service charge is added, and at Carnival’s own menu prices you need about seven drinks every day of the cruise to break even. Most lines also make every adult in the cabin buy the same package, which doubles the cost when only one of you drinks.

The answer changes for heavy drinkers, for long voyages with many sea days, and for bundled fares where the drinks come with Wi-Fi and gratuities you would pay for anyway. Here is the arithmetic, line by line.

Drink package prices and rules by line (as of October 2026)

Figures come from Carnival’s CHEERS! FAQ, Royal Caribbean’s Deluxe package page, Norwegian’s Free at Sea comparison, Celebrity’s beverage FAQ and Princess’s Plus and Premier page. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and MSC set prices per sailing, so the number you see in the cruise planner is the one that counts, and sales move it.

The break-even sum

Carnival publishes its sample bar prices, which makes it the cleanest example. Before the 20 percent service charge:

• Beer from $6.50, mostly 16 ounces
• Wine by the glass from $9.50
• Mixed drinks $7.50 to $20.00
• Specialty cocktails from $10.50
• Specialty coffee $2.50 to $4.25
• Soft drinks $2.75
• Bottled water $1.50 to $5.00

With the 20 percent added, a typical alcoholic drink lands around $12. At $83.94 a day, that is about seven drinks every day to break even. Not seven on sea days and two in port: seven on average, including the embarkation afternoon, the days you spend ashore and the last night when you are packing.

A realistic heavy day shows how hard that is. Two specialty coffees, a bottle of water, two beers by the pool, two cocktails before dinner and two glasses of wine with it come to nine drinks and about $77 at Carnival’s starting prices with the service charge. That is a big day, and it still costs less than the package.

Seen as a weekly figure for a couple, the gap is clearer. Two CHEERS! packages for seven nights cost about $1,175. Two adults paying as they go for two drinks each a day spend about $340. Princess Plus for two runs $910 for the week, but that includes Wi-Fi and $252 of crew appreciation. Norwegian’s Free at Sea gratuities for two adults come to about $400, with the drinks themselves part of the fare.

The package does have a value that the arithmetic misses. It stops you weighing every second cocktail, and it caps a bill that the cruise card otherwise hides until the end. For some people that peace of mind is worth $20 a day. Just be honest about whether that is what you are buying.

When a drink package is worth it

• You reliably drink six or more alcoholic drinks a day and know it from past trips.
• You also drink specialty coffee, bottled water and soda throughout the day, which packages include.
• The voyage has many sea days, such as a transatlantic crossing or a Panama Canal cruise, when the daily average rises.
• The package comes bundled with Wi-Fi and gratuities you would buy anyway.
• You are on Norwegian’s Free at Sea fare, where the open bar costs $28.50 a day per adult, about the price of two or three cocktails.

When it is not

• You drink a glass or two of wine at dinner and little else.
• The itinerary is port-heavy and you will be ashore most days, where the package does not apply.
• Only one adult in the cabin drinks, and the line requires both to buy it.
• You are sailing from Texas or New York on Carnival, where state law means CHEERS! is not sold until 6:00 a.m. on the second day.

The rules people miss

Every adult in the cabin, usually. Carnival requires each adult in the same stateroom to buy CHEERS!. Royal Caribbean applies the Deluxe package to all guests of drinking age in the cabin. Celebrity requires every adult to take the same package, with exceptions for pregnant guests and those with medical restrictions, who get its Zero Proof package. Norwegian and MSC apply their packages to everyone on the reservation, with soda or minors packages for younger guests.

There is a price ceiling. Royal Caribbean covers drinks up to $14, Celebrity up to $12 on Classic and $19 on Premium, and Princess up to $15 on Plus and $20 on Premier. Anything pricier is not refused: you pay the difference, plus the service charge.

There is a daily limit on some lines. Carnival allows 15 alcoholic drinks per 24 hours, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., one drink per order and 10 minutes between orders. Princess Plus and MSC also stop at 15. Celebrity says it has no daily limit, but one drink per order.

No sharing. Buying a round on a package counts one drink to your package and charges the rest to your account, as Carnival spells out.

Refunds are limited. Carnival refunds a pre-purchased package only until 10:00 p.m. Eastern the evening before sailing, and price changes on sailing day replace the advertised price.

Bundles: where packages actually pay off

The best drink deals are often not drink packages at all, but fares that bundle drinks with things you would buy anyway.

Princess Plus costs $65 a day before sailing and includes up to 15 drinks a day up to $15 each, one Wi-Fi device and your crew appreciation. Princess’s standard crew appreciation is $18 a day and its Wi-Fi starts at $24.99, so if you would buy both, only about $22 a day is left for the drinks. That is two drinks. The detail is in our guides to cruise gratuities and cruise ship Wi-Fi costs.

Celebrity All Included fares include the Classic drink package and Basic Wi-Fi for everyone in the cabin, with the drink package gratuities covered. Staff gratuities are still charged separately.

Norwegian Free at Sea includes an open bar, but each guest 21 and over pays $28.50 a day in gratuities for it before sailing, and guests aged 3 to 20 pay $12.50 a day for soda and juice. Free at Sea Plus adds top-shelf drinks, Starbucks, streaming Wi-Fi and prepaid daily service charges.

To compare a bundled fare with a basic one fairly, add gratuities, Wi-Fi and drinks to the basic fare first. Our guide to what is included in a cruise fare shows the pattern line by line, and the cruise cost calculator lets you try both.

Cheaper ways to drink on a cruise

Use what is free. Tap water, lemonade, iced tea, regular coffee and tea are included on the big lines, in the buffet and dining room.

Buy a soft drink or coffee package instead. Norwegian sells unlimited fountain soda for $12.50 a day and an unlimited Starbucks package for $16.50, both plus 20 percent. Royal Caribbean has its Refreshment and Classic Soda packages, priced per sailing. For families, these are often the only packages that make sense, and our guide to cruising with kids covers the children’s options.

Bring a bottle of wine. Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Princess let each adult carry one sealed 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne aboard on embarkation day. It is free to drink in your cabin; in restaurants and bars, corkage is $15 on Carnival and Royal Caribbean and $20 on Princess. Norwegian charges $15 per bottle unless you have a drink package, and MSC’s US policy does not allow any alcohol to be brought aboard. Pack it in your carry-on, as our cruise packing list explains.

Drink ashore. A beer in a port bar is usually cheaper than on board, and packages do not cover it anyway.

Before you buy any package, count what you actually drank on your last vacation, multiply by the number of days, and price it at the ship’s menu plus the service charge. If the total does not beat the package by a clear margin, pay as you go. For how drinks fit the rest of the budget, see how much a cruise costs.