Cruises

Discussions relating to Cruising holidays
AI Drinks
172 Posts
Reply
Hi,

We are travelling on the Jewels of the Med Cruise on 20th October onboard the Destiny. We are a party of 3 with one child. At the time of booking Cruise Control did not offer the AI upgrade and I only found out it was available when I discovered this site.

I have enquired about upgrading to AI and have been quoted £130 per adult / £65 child. Is this value for money compared to paying ad-hoc for your drinks? I am assuming that we will be quite thirsty on board and I am quite partial to a cocktail or two in the evening. My sister is also found of a glass of wine (or 6).

Can anyone confirm what happens if you buy alcohol duty free or at local prices when you disembark in port - is it confiscated and returned at the end of the voyage?

Final question - if not all inclusive, do you pay cash for your drinks each round or is there an onboard charge account set up?

Many thanks in advance if you are able to reply.
Reply
Hi Cinderella44.

AI can be worth it but it depends on what you drink. It works out that you need to drink about £20 per day. The price for a pint of beer is £2.40 ish so you would need to drink 10 pints a day, a bit much for some. But if you drink cocktails ( £2.95 ) or wine ( £2.30 ) a glass, then it doesn't take long to reach the £20 mark. Also consider the coffees, Espresso,cafe latte, cappuccino etc all priced at £1.60 ish, and cans of soft drink, coke etc at About £1.

Have never seen anyone have anything confiscated and returned at the end like some cruises.

You have an on board account, payable by cash or credit card, a cashless ship( except the casino)

I always go AI, don't make a masive profit like some :D , but find I break even or make a small profit, but the biggest advantage is having paid up in front, all you do is sign for your drinks, and the result comes up zero, no thinking how much have I spent is it worth another one ie freedom of choice. Well worth it for me. If you are very low consumers or teetotal then I would say it would not be worth it.

Cheers

Dave
Reply
I think you also need to take the itinery of your cruise into account as well, because on some cruises you are ashore for the whole day on excersions and will not be using your all inclusive drinks.
Reply
We debated long and hard last year over whether to take the AI. It was £99 then. Again we calculated how many drinks, how long you would be off ship etc etc. I am not a big drinker, and hubby will enjoy a beer or 3 if I am sunbathing and wine with his meal. Eventually we made a decision just to buy the AI as at least that way you have paid up front.

I probably did drink more than I normally do, in fact no probably about it, I did drink more than ususal and it was excellent going for pre dinner gin and tonics!! Then we would have wine (by the glass of course) with our meal, onto the show after so a couple more drinks. Then after the show into the disco so even a couple more!!!!

At the end of the week we added up all our pink receipts. Total cost £260 :shock: so we saved ourselves £60.
Reply
We are not drinkers but I think for the 5 of us on soft drinks for the 2 weeks the AI was well worth it.The bar waiters were always hovering asking if you wanted a drink and of course the kids could just present their cruise card at the bar and get cokes etc.We were always around the ship from lunchtime for the rest of the day and night as we did not do any long exursions.
Reply
Hi All,

Many thanks for your replies. I think we will go for it as we will probably not be on excursions all day, every day and my sister drinks like a fish!Pre-dinner drinks and cocktails sound like a good idea to soak up some of the expenditure. My daughter can knock back a few cokes when she is ready so it will be good she can go to the bar by herslef and not need me to sign a bar reciept.

Hopefully the weather will still be warm enough to make us hot and thirsty so we get our moneys worth. Now the decision has been made I will take on the hurdle of getting through to Cruise Control to add on the upgrade.
Reply
The AI Package is well worth it! Whether you are by the pool or in the show lounge you can just get a drink without worrying bout how much it will cost etc! and its great for the kids too! They just hand in their card and sign the paper slip! easy! xxx
Reply
AI
I always try and get the free AI by booking early, this year I have had to pay for it, but when you think a soft drink costs almost a pound, it soon adds up if you are a soft drink junkie.

I like an alcoholic drink too, but find the money really goes on soft drinks.

Its definately worth it, and it looks good when the ship bill is posted under your door looking at all those zero's whereas normally they would be costing you.

Andy
Reply
Very true andy! and certainly on a hot day you wouldnt want to be spending loads on soft drinks when you could have the AI Package and have as much as you want without worrying about the cost!! xxx
Reply
lol
and then still get bladdered in the evening

:twisted:
Reply
hic
:glynis
:tut :sulk :tut

:yuck :yuck :yuck :yuck

:whoops

Would cover the experience
Reply
lol :roll:
  • Edited by Nat* 2006-03-11 18:07:59
Reply
Just back from the destiny and yes the ai is definalty worth it as its so hot during the day and you need to keep up the fluid intake.

Maureen
Reply
We had the AI and i would recommend it as you dont worry about how much the drinks cost. The children ordered their own drinks and enjoyed trying the kids cocktails and as it was hot went through alot of coke etc.

I am sure you drink more when you go AI but it was nice trying the cocktail of the day and having a glass of wine with meals.
Most drinks are included.
Reply
I agree well worth it. I think i must of drunk at least 100 pints over the 2 weeks plus god knows how many cocktails and wine (starting to sound like an alcoholic now, lol)
Reply
Worth every penny
Reply
Just remeber to order your wine by the glass not the bottle. Our son clocked up at least £100 worth of soft drinks that included many of the virgin cocktails which were delicious.

You wil find that you will drink a lot of soft drinks through the day and at £1 a time they will soon tally up. You need to pay for your water (bottled) hope you have a great cruise we did.

Maureen :glynis :sun
Reply
The virgin cocktails are delicious!! :lol: 8) and as you say Maureen, whilst sitting by the pool you will want a few drinks and it could be an expensive holiday without the AI!!!
Reply
Holiday Truths Forum

Post a Reply

Please sign in or register an account to reply to this post.

Sign in / Register

Holiday Truths Forum Ship image

Get the best deals!

from our cruise, ski and holiday partners

You can change your email preferences at any time.

Yes, I want to save money by receiving personalised travel emails with awesome deals from Holiday Truths group companies which are hotholidays.co.uk,getrcuising.co.uk and getskiing.co.uk. By subscribing I agree to the Privacy Policy

No, thank you.