How Does The P&O Cruises Drinks Package Work… And How Can I Buy It?
We’ve been fielding questions for some time from guests wondering when P&O Cruises might launch their own drinks package and the good news is, it’s arrived! Drinks packages aren’t that complicated, but if you do have any questions about how it’s going to work, you can find all your answers here…
How does P&O Cruises Drinks Package work?
You can purchase your drinks package at any bar on board, in the first two days of your cruise holiday. Every adult in your cabin must purchase the same package and there’s no sharing. But the packages are such great value you won’t need to and of course, if you’re a member of P&O Cruises Peninsular Club, you’ll also get a discount depending on your tier.
Each package is available on any cruise holiday of five nights or more.
What are the different packages?
There are four packages in total, each one designed with different drinking habits in place. Coffee aficionada or cocktail-lover, there’s something for everyone and of course, P&O Cruises have thought of the kids too!
| Quick guide | |
| The Ultimate drinks package | £39.95pp per day |
| The Non-alcoholic drinks package | £19.95pp per day |
| The Hot drinks package | £10.95pp per day |
| The Children’s drinks package | £7.95 per day |
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The Ultimate Drinks Package*
For just £39.95pp per day say ‘yes’ to a cocktail or simply sip your ‘usual’. Enjoy fantastic value and the choice of nearly every drink served on board. A Children’s package is included too
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The Non-alcoholic drinks package
For just £19.95pp per day, you can enjoy everything from a poolside mocktail to a primo Costa coffee, take your pick from a huge range of refreshing soft drinks.
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The Hot drinks package
Unlimited Costa coffees, teapigs teas and hot chocolates, all for just £10.95pp per day.
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The Children’s drinks package
Relax with unlimited selected soft drinks for the kids for just £7.95pp per day (Also included with the Ultimate package.)
When are drinks packages available from?
Drinks packages are being rolled out across the P&O Cruises fleet, ship by ship. To find out when you’ll be able to purchase drinks packages on your P&O Cruises favourite, see below:
- Azura: 26 March 2019
- Britannia: 7 April 2019
- Aurora: 8 April 2019
- Oceana: 18 April 2019
- Ventura: 23 April 2019
- Arcadia: 5 May 2019
So, there you go, all your drinks package questions answered in one place. And with service charges no longer required on any P&O Cruises holiday from May 2019, you can book today rest assured that you’ll get great service and great value as standard on every sailing.
So, what will it be…?
P&O Cruises Drinks packages, terms and conditions
*The Ultimate drinks package includes up to 15 alcoholic drinks per day up to a value of £6.95 per drink. It doesn’t include room service or Mini-Bar items. All adults in the same cabin are required to purchase the same drinks package. The Ultimate drinks package is available on selected cruises of five nights or more and must be purchased for every day of the cruise.
The package can be purchased on the first two days of the cruise and is not refundable or transferable once purchased on board. For safety reasons, we reserve the right to refuse service of alcohol to anyone who is, or appears to be, intoxicated. Full terms and conditions are available and can be obtained in any on-board bar or lounge where you can also purchase any of the P&O Cruises Drinks packages.
No good for us my wife doesn’t drink so buying two packages for one of us to have a drink.
Is there a service charge on top of the drinks package prices?
Drinks package s expensive.thats about 10 pints a day.
What a rip off !
What a rip off!
If 1 person in a cabin does not drink alcohol and 1 does why do I have to buy 2 ultimate drinks packages instead of 1 and I soft drink package.
They all seem very expensive.
The Government, NHS and Social Services will be most annoyed if The Children’s Drinks’ Package fails to take account of the national policy of REDUCING CHILDRENS CONSUMPTION OF SUGARY DRINKS.
P&O’s record of taking account of national health policies has been poor to date, as shown by the continued promotion of tobacco products and the prime retail position occupied by them on some ships. Together with a totally disproportionate allocated area of decks to smoke them. This even with the evidence of a reducing numbers of cruisers who use them.
And what if one likes his wine and I am a tea drinker Does that mean we need separate cabins !!!!
The way P&O are going it will be hard to differentiate between cruise lines and so loyalty will be lost
No way would majority of people be drinking 15 alcoholic drinks per day. Why can’t there be a reasonably priced drinks package that reflects the normal drinking habits of the average person. Probably about 5 drinks per day plus 4 teas or coffees?
I totally agree. These drink packages prices are ridiculous!
Well we won’t be purchasing. I’m teetotal but my husband isn’t so we are being discriminated against as I can’t buy a different package. Also there is no way we would drink this much – our usual spend is around £20 per day for my husband’s beer and around £12 a day for my drinks – we’ve just come back from a cruise so we know!
Our feeling is that P&O are encouraging cruisers to become alcoholics. The wrong clientel is already sailing on ships. We are seriously wondering if we want to sail with P&O in the future. Things have already changed too much!
I agree with you about the clientel. we have been on 10 cruises with P&O and wont go on any more the last one we went on January 2017 on the Britannia it was terrible people using foul language in the bars and shouting and not one member of the staff spoke to them about it. It really spoilt our holiday
I agree because some people will want to get their monies worth. I remember hearing about the Christmas cruise of 2008 on Ventura when the Christmas Tree was set on fire.
What a ripoff! Anyone taking this needs help!
Do P & O think everybody can drink that much per day? You would need to be an alcoholic I think!
If it is the intention of P& O to make alcoholics of the people who purchase the alcohol package they are well on the way to succeeding, to obtain any real value from the package then a couple who purchase the mandatory packages would each have to drink far more than any medical expert would recommend. What would be the loss to the company if they charged the same price for a couple to purchase with limit of daily allowance halved. Are P&O prepared to disclose the views of their medical staff on the terms of the package? if not why not?
Although we think drink packages are a good idea we think the prices on p&O are way too high
With regards to your new drinks package I am absolutely bewildered by your policy of both adults sharing a cabin are required to purchase the same drink package.As is the case for myself ,I am a non drinking adult married to a drinker so your package does nothing for us as a couple. We travel regularly with Celebrity cruises whose drinks packages allow us as individuals to purchase packages that we want,I would suggest to you in this competitive market you rethink your strategies.
Are you saying that Celebrity allow just one person in a cabin to buy a drinks package or both have to buy a drinks package, but they do not have to be of the same type?
We are going on our first cruise in September, there is no way we could drink that amount in a day. We want to enjoy our holiday not spending it in our room nursing a hangover. Is this to replace the tips that no longer apply after May.
The ultimate drinks package is ludicrously high. There is no way most moderate drinkers are going to drink £39.95 worth of alcoholic drinks each and every day, even at P&O prices! The level has been set far too high and can only encourage excessive drinking for the sake of it. A more realistic level would be about half that price. Carnival greed shows itself once again.
Great idea but… how does it work if my husband drinks but I am tea total
I don’t feel it is fare if I have to purchase a drinks package when I don’t drink
Are these prices correct if so I think p and I will loose customers it works out so expensive if you have a non drinker and a drinker like we have you both have to have the packages you couldnt possibly drink it
Not very happy with the Ultimate Drinks Package terms. If I interpret it correctly, I am not allowed to buy my wife a drink from my package. She has to buy her own package. What couple is going to drink £80 of alcohol per day? It’s ridiculous. We won’t be taking it up.
P&O have lost the plot. They need to look at this again and come up with realistic prices. I agree with many of the above comments – the sensible, health conscious person will not be drinking 15 drinks per day unless they are heading towards alcoholism! Very disappointed with P&O. I do enjoy a drink and going on a 26 night cruise in a few weeks. If I were to buy the ultimate drinks package, my drinks bill would be £1,000. More the price of a short break cruise!!!!
Far too expensive and not competitive with other cruise companies. Are the existing wine packages still available?
I feel the same as others, I often travel with someone who doesn’t drink alcohol, also it’s too expensive.
I would love to know how P & O have arrived at the cost of their ultimate drinks package. Fred Olsen is less than half that, making it good value. Please think again. 😡
There hasn’t been in the past.
Scandalous prices, greed, greed greed by P & O. Standards are down, prices are up….
A step too far .Think again about money making ideas, we have noticed in the past few years standards have dropped little by little.,there is a limit to everything ,!
Absolutely ludicrous. Agree with all the above comments to the point that Ill be looking at other cruise lines in future. As a light drinker we would be wasting my compulsory package. Who spends £80 on alcohol a day when you are off the ship the majority of the time. Id be comatose all week !! P&O have definitely lost the plot with this!
Absolutely ludicrous! Agree with all the above comments to the point that we will choose another cruise line in future. As a light drinker I would completely waste my money on my compulsory package making £80 a ridiculous comatose amount especially when we will be off the ship majority of time. P&O have lost the plot!
I agree with all the above comments. How ridiculous that you have to buy 2 seperate packages and they both have to be the same and they are way too expensive.
I understand P&O May think they need to offer drinks packages to compete with other cruise companies but this is not the way. I’m not a drinker due to medical reasons so I don’t see why I should have to buy a drinks package because my husband wants a drink-it’s discriminatory!! The prices are very high too and if we both have to buy a package that’s nearly the price of another holiday. Are P&O doing this to claw back the gratuities they are losing?? I also think the coffee package is extortionate too-I normally buy a Costa card for £20 which is a lot cheaper than £11 a day!!
Have just read about the ultimate drinks package P and O are offering at nearly 40 pound each. Who dreamt this up?? That figure is ludicrous. That’s 80 quid a day not including bottles of wine. I’ve just finished a 20 night cruise to Dubai if people took that deal I would have been on an alcoholics outing. I would be amazed if many people took this up. I think P and O need to rethink this. I know it’s about profit and greed etc but this is a joke.
Is wine included ???? my wife only drinks wine , even if it is the price is still a rip off.
So on a 14 night cruise, my Wife and I would end up with a total of £1,186:60p. That is more than we spend on Alcohol per year. Whilst we don’t watch what we spend on board, this charge does seem excessive. Is P&O really trying to capture a new Cruise Market Category entitled ‘Drunk and Disorderly’? What is wrong in just paying for your drinks as you order them? After all, this is what you do in Bars, Restaurants, etc.
Alternatively, offer ‘All Inclusive’ cruises for those who want to drink 24hrs a day during their Cruise, but advertise them as such as you promote the ‘Adult Only’ or ‘Family Friendly’ cruises.
This ‘All Inclusive Booze Cruise’ could open a whole new category for cruising and enable those who strive to avoid “Drunken Sailors” to do just that.
We certainly will not be taking a drinks package as it is to expensive . Also I don’t drink and my husband would not drink £40 worth of alcohol per day never mind being forced to buy two packages as we are “naturally” in the same cabin
We are not impressed by P&O’s drink package policy it alienates moderate and non drinkers it does not appear to be proportionate or necessary in terms of customer service or consideration. I hope it doesn’t encourage a stag/hen party culture As long term loyal customers of P&O we are genuinely disillusioned with the introduction of these products with their attendant inhibiting rules.
Sadly in our view this issue shows that P&O’s normally high standards have slipped
We’re all agreed then! So ignore the outrageous package and pay as you drink. Simples!!!!