One of the most expensive things on cruise ships is definitely the beverages. For this reason, passengers are always on the lookout for discounts or special offers to purchase drink packages.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find them at affordable prices, and most passengers pay several hundred dollars each to get a standard drink package.
Interestingly, one cruise line has decided to offer free drinks on certain cruises departing in 2024 and 2025. Let’s find out which cruise line it is and how you can take advantage of this promotion.
The Cruise Line
The cruise line that will offer a free drinks package is Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard about it but it’s a British-based cruise line owned by the Olsen family, which also controls different ferry and tanker services.
The company currently owns 3 ships, two of which were transferred from Holland America’s fleet.
All 3 ships participate in the promotion with itineraries ranging from 5 to 22 nights.
The destinations are quite varied as well. You can choose between the Mediterranean, the Scottish islands, the Norwegian fjords, and the Canary Islands.
The Free Drinks Package
The free drinks package will be valid on selected itineraries. However, it’s interesting to note that more than 100 cruises will be available for the promotion so there’s definitely a lot of varieties to choose from.
The standard drinks package on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines costs $33 for cruises of more than five nights and $46 on sailings of less than five nights (obviously per day per person).
It means that on a 7-night cruise, you will save about $230 per person. And of course the savings double for 14-day cruises, and are even greater for longer cruises.
It’s definitely a good deal, but if you can’t take advantage of the offer I still recommend you check these 20 tips and tricks to save money on a cruise.
One thing to consider is also that this cruise line caters to the UK market so many of the cruises depart from British ports.
If you live in the States you may need a flight, but the price may be covered by the money you save on drinks. Therefore it might still be a good opportunity to explore Europe on a cruise.
If you are considering a drink package always read the 10 drink package mistakes you should never make on a cruise and remember that some drinks are free on every ship.
You can find the cruises with the free drinks here. On the selected cruises you will see a red sign that says “FREE DRINKS PACKAGE.”