When Are Cruise Drink Packages Cheapest?

Cruise drink packages are cheapest when you buy them ahead of time online, ideally during a pre-cruise promotion. The price you see in the cruise planner before you sail is almost always lower than the same package bought at a bar onboard, where it’s at its most expensive. Watching for a sale and prebooking is the reliable way to pay the least.

Pre-cruise beats onboard

Once you’ve booked your cruise, the line’s website or app lets you add a drink package in advance. This pre-cruise rate is typically the lowest offered, and lines run periodic sales, often around holidays or during Wave season in the first quarter, that knock the daily price down further. If you see a discount you like, it’s usually safe to grab it, since most lines let you cancel and rebook a package before sailing if the price drops again.

Buying the same package once you’re onboard means paying full sticker price with no promotional discount, plus the gratuity added on top. That’s the most expensive way to do it. Before you lock in any price, run it through our drink package break-even calculator to confirm the package is worth buying at all.

How to time it

A simple approach to landing the lowest price:

• Book your cruise, then check the planner price as a baseline.
• Watch for a pre-cruise sale in the weeks that follow, and buy when the per-day rate drops.
• Rebook if it dips again before your sailing, since pre-purchases can usually be canceled and repurchased.

Does it get cheaper closer to the date?

Not reliably. Unlike last-minute cabin fares, drink packages don’t consistently fall as the sail date nears, and waiting risks missing a better promo you already saw. The smarter move is to buy when you spot a genuine sale rather than gambling on a late price drop.

Prebook during a promotion, keep an eye out for a lower rate before you board, and skip buying onboard. That sequence gets you the cheapest drink package nearly every time.

Related guides

Part of our Cruise Costs & Money hub.