Cruising (and drinking)

We typically cruise twice a year, river cruises.

For us drink package does not work out well.

Coffee, fizzy water are available all day and night. Wine and beer offered with lunch and dinner. All that is included is all we need.

Perhaps enquire as to the standard for all day, all meals?

That’s probably how they make their profit. knowing most people, wouldn’t ever drink that amount.
Last day of my cruise, Cunard there were empty whiskey, gin, & vodka bottles all lined up outside the cabins: suites.
So people obviously took their own booze.
We never bothered with a drinks package as I rarely drink.
Plenty of tea & coffee at meal times.
My bill was 79p for a packet of rennies 😂

Is it all alchohol or do you get cappuccinos etc, soft drinks, bottled water?

The included coffee is awful 😱 and having bottled water to take out with you or by your bed at night is handy rather than water from the tap which also tastes bad. I prefer to clean teeth in bottled water too.

I guess they’ve had problems where a couple of people in the group buy the package and then share the drinks around the table.

Firstly when you buy the drinks package, it limits you to a maximum of 15 alcoholic drinks a day. It does not mean that you are expected to drink that many alcoholic drinks a day! In fact the cruise operator would much rather you didn't for quite a number of different reasons.

On the one cruise I have been on, with DH and DD, we decided against the alcoholic drinks package. We are not heavy drinkers, rarely touching alcohol before 6.00pm, and then having an aperitif before dinner and sharing a bottle of wine between us at dinner. Our total bill for all on board expenditure came to well below the cost of three drinks packages. This was also a six day cruise,