Cruise drink packages: what each line charges and when one is worth it

How cruise drink packages work

A drink package is a flat daily price for drinks on board. You pay for every day of the cruise, not only the days you drink, and most lines add a service charge on top of the package price. Carnival and Celebrity both add 20%.

Three rules apply on most big lines:

• Everyone in the cabin buys it. Carnival says each adult assigned to the same stateroom must buy CHEERS!. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity require every guest of legal drinking age in the cabin to buy the same package. Princess is the exception: its packages cover guests 1 and 2 on the booking, and the 3rd and 4th guests don’t have to buy them.
• There’s a cap per drink. A package covers drinks up to a set menu price. Above it, you pay the difference.
• There may be a daily limit. Carnival’s CHEERS! and Princess Plus both allow 15 alcoholic drinks a day.

Cruise drink packages by line

Prices are per person per day, as each line published them in October 2026. They change often, so check yours before you book.

Carnival CHEERS!

From $69.95 a day bought before the cruise (Carnival says that saves $5 a day against buying on board), plus a 20% service charge. Covers spirits, cocktails, and beer and wine by the glass up to $20, plus sodas, specialty coffee and bottled water. Up to 15 alcoholic drinks between 6am and 6am. Every adult in the cabin must buy it.

Royal Caribbean Deluxe Beverage Package

Every guest of drinking age in the cabin must buy it if one does. The Refreshment Package is the non-alcoholic version. Check the price for your own sailing before you book.

Norwegian Free at Sea

The open bar is part of the Free at Sea bundle, but you pay a daily drink gratuity. Since May 1, 2026, that is $32 a day on 2- to 5-night sailings and $28.50 on 6 nights or longer when paid before the cruise (higher if you add it on board).

Celebrity Classic and Premium

Classic covers drinks up to $12 a serving, Premium covers wine by the glass up to $19. A 20% gratuity is added. Celebrity's All Included fares already bundle the Classic package.

Princess Plus and Premier

Plus: $70 a day before the cruise ($75 on Sun Princess and Star Princess), drinks up to $15 each, 15 a day, plus Wi-Fi and crew tips. Premier: $105 a day ($110 on Sun and Star), drinks up to $20 each, plus more Wi-Fi and extras. Buying on board adds $5 a day.

Disney Cruise Line

No traditional drink package. Soft drinks are free with meals and at the beverage stations. Disney sells a limited number of beer and wine bundles, such as six-packs or sets of wine bottles, before the sailing.

Holland America sells its drinks package inside the Have It All bundle, with Wi-Fi and specialty dining. Virgin Voyages includes soft drinks, water, coffee and tea in every fare, but alcohol is extra.

Is a cruise drink package worth it?

Do the sum for your own drinking, not the brochure’s. Take Carnival: $69.95 plus 20% is about $84 a day. If your drinks average $12 each before the service charge, you need about six a day, every day, to break even, and because everyone in the cabin must buy it, a non-drinking partner pays too.

A package is usually worth it if:

• you drink cocktails or wine through the afternoon and evening on most days;
• you want specialty coffee, bottled water and sodas included as well;
• you’d rather not see a bar bill at the end of the week.

Skip it if:

• you have one or two drinks with dinner;
• your cruise has long port days and you’ll eat and drink ashore;
• you’re sailing a line whose fare already includes drinks.

On Celebrity and Princess, also compare the bundle with the drinks package alone. Celebrity’s All Included fare and Princess Plus add Wi-Fi, and Princess Plus adds crew tips, so the bundle can cost less than buying those parts one by one. Our all-inclusive cruise guide ranks the lines that include the most.

Carnival cruise drink package

Carnival’s package is called CHEERS!. It covers spirits, cocktails, beer and wine by the glass up to $20, and non-alcoholic drinks including sodas, zero-proof frozen drinks, specialty coffee and bottled water. Wine and champagne by the bottle, and drinks above $20, are 25% off. It doesn’t cover souvenir-glass drinks, bottles of liquor, room service or minibar drinks, or shared pitchers. You must be 21 to buy it. See our Carnival cruise guide for what else is extra on Carnival.

Drinking age on a cruise

On cruises from US ports the drinking age is 21 on the big lines: Carnival sells CHEERS! only to guests 21 and older, and Celebrity treats guests aged 13 to 20 on US sailings as teens who get a zero-proof package. Some lines allow drinking at 18 on sailings outside the US. Celebrity, for example, treats only guests aged 13 to 17 as teens in Europe, Asia and Australia. Check your line’s rules for your itinerary.

Cruise drink package FAQ

How much is the Carnival drink package?

From $69.95 per person per day before the cruise, plus a 20% service charge, so about $84 a day (checked October 2026). Buying on board costs $5 a day more.

Does Disney cruise have a drink package?

No. Disney doesn’t sell a traditional drink package. Soft drinks are free with meals and at beverage stations, and you can buy a limited number of beer and wine bundles before the cruise.

Do both people in a cabin have to buy the drink package?

On Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, yes: every adult of drinking age in the cabin buys the same package. On Princess, the packages cover guests 1 and 2 on the booking, and 3rd and 4th guests can choose.

Can you drink on a cruise at 18?

Not on sailings from US ports, where the big lines set the drinking age at 21. Some lines allow 18 on sailings in Europe, Asia or Australia; check your line and itinerary.

What drinks are free on a cruise?

On most mainstream lines: water, iced tea, and regular coffee and tea. Disney also includes soft drinks with meals and at beverage stations, and Virgin Voyages includes soft drinks in every fare. Sodas at the bar, specialty coffee, bottled water and alcohol usually cost extra.

Is the Princess drink package worth it?

Princess Plus at $70 a day before the cruise (checked October 2026) includes the drinks package, Wi-Fi and crew tips, so it’s often better value than paying for drinks, Wi-Fi and tips one by one if you’d use all three.

Planning what to pack as well? Our cruise packing list covers documents and banned items.