If you are taking your first cruise with Cunard you might be wondering how much drinks cost.

Cunard do have drinks packages but it’s impossible to work out if the drinks packages are worthwhile without first looking at how much the individual drinks cost.

We will be looking at drinks packages and prices of individual drinks.

Cunard Queen Mary 2 balcony formal night — Formal Night Onboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 – The last Ocean Liner at sea

How Much do Drinks Cost on a Cunard Cruise?

On a Cunard, cruise drinks cost similar to or a little more than they would in a bar or pub on land.

All bar purchases automatically have a 15% service fee added on top.

	Drink Cost *
Draught Pint of Beer	£6.50 ($8.30)
Glass of Wine	£12 ($16)
Soda	£3.40 ($4.50)
Cider	£4.80 ($6.50)
Lager Bottle	£4.90 ($6.50)
Mocktails	£11.50 ($8.60)
Cocktails	£8.60 ($11.50)
Coffee	£3 ($4)
Juice	£3 ($4)

* Please note drinks prices are examples from the Cunard menu, and drinks may cost more – depending on what you choose*

Cunard has a wide variety of drinks available including cocktails, spirits and speciality coffees and teas. All drinks packages are charged per person, per day

Drinks Package Terms and Conditions:

If one adult in a cabin has an alcoholic package all adults in the same cabin must purchase it.
Drinks packages must be bought within the first two days of a cruise and they must apply to the rest of the cruise.
Alcoholic drinks are limited to 15 within 24 hours
Only one drink at a time can be ordered (minimum 10 minutes between orders).

Cunard Drinks Package Overview

In the past you have only been able to buy a package for sailings of five nights or longer.

Cunard have recently changed all their drinks packages, you can now purchase a package for any length of voyage, all the new prices are listed below.

Drinks Package	Price (Per Person Per Day)	Includes:
Beer, Wine, and Spirits	$49.50-$85.50* /£30-£64*	Beers, spirits, liqueurs, cocktails and wines by the glass. Unlimited soft drinks and fruit juices and more.
Premium Non-Alcoholic Drinks Package	$40.50/£30	Non-alcoholic cocktails, premium canned or bottled soft drinks. Fruit juices, draft soft drinks, and more.
Soft Drinks Package	$15.75/ £11.80	Draught soft drinks, long-life juices, squash, and cordials
Hot Drinks Package	$15.75 / £11.80	Illy specialty coffees, tea Forté infusions, hot chocolates.

*Prices correct at time of writing

*Beers, Wines and Spirits, up to 5 nights $85.50 ($95) 5-14 nights $72 ($80) 15-84 nights $67.50 ($75) 85 nights+ $49.50 ($55) when booked prior to the cruise.

If you purchase once onboard, they will charge you a couple of dollars extra per day. It’s worth being organised and booking in advance if you know you will want a drinks package!

Beer, Wine and Spirits Package:

Image Cunard

Beers, Wines, and Spirits Option
Enjoy an array of beers, wines, spirits, liqueurs, and cocktails up to $13.50 per serving, as well as all the benefits of the Premium Soft Drinks Option. Plus, you’ll also receive a 20% discount on drinks retailing above $13.50, some bottles of wine and Cocktail Master Class activities.
Cunard

What Does Cunard’s Beer, Wine and Spirits Drinks Package Include?

Includes:

Beers, spirits, liqueurs, cocktails and wines by the glass.
Unlimited soft drinks and fruit juices
Non-alcoholic cocktails and small bottles of water (500ml)
Unlimited speciality coffees, teas and hot chocolates

Excludes:

Drinks costing over $13.50 (you’ll get a 20% discount on these by having the package) – $13.50 is roughly £10
Room service and mini-bar
Large bottles of water

It is worth noting that if you purchase a drink which costs over $13.50 you will have to pay the full price of the drink. On some cruise lines, you only pay the additional amount but this isn’t the case with Cunard.

Is The Package Good Value?

Based on the prices of beer, wine and spirits you’d really have to drink around 10 beers per day or 5 glasses of wine for the package to be worthwhile.

I know many people for which this package would make financial sense but the best way to decide is to estimate how many drinks you’ll have per day and see how much they’ll cost on the menu below.

This package is for people who drink regularly. It is worth remembering though that the package does limit you to 15 alcoholic drinks per day.

That said if you’re likely to have a few glasses of wine per day plus a few soft drinks and some speciality tea/coffee it may be worth booking this package.

Premium Non-Alcoholic Drinks Package:

Premium Non‑Alcoholic Option
Enjoy a range of soft drinks, small bottled waters, juices, speciality hot drinks, and non-alcoholic cocktails, and receive a 20% discount on any non-alcoholic drinks not already included.

For prices please consult the table below.
Cunard

Image Cunard

What Does Cunard’s Premium Non-Alcoholic Drinks Package Include?

Includes:

Non-alcoholic cocktails,
Premium canned or bottled soft drinks
Fruit juices
Draft soft drinks
Small bottles of water (500ml)
Speciality tea, coffee and hot chocolate

Excludes:

Room service and mini-bar
Freshly squeezed deluxe juices
Large bottles of water

This package costs approx. $40.50/£30 when bought prior to the cruise

Is The Package Good Value?

Soda or juice is roughly $3.50 so to make this package worthwhile you’d have to have 11 or 12 drinks per day.

I personally don’t think that I would be able to do this apart from if I had a cruise with lots of sea days. You don’t want to spend your cruise drinking to try and make back the money you’ve spent on the package!

That said if you are somebody who would like to drink premium teas/coffees, maybe start the day with a juice you might be able to have enough to make it worthwhile.

Soft Drinks Package:

Soft Drinks Option
Unlimited draught soft drinks, selected fruit juices, squash and cordials.
Cunard

The soft drink option costs $15.75/ £11.80 per day, when booked prior to the cruise

What Does Cunard’s Soft Drinks Package Include?

Includes:

Unlimited draught soft drinks
Long-life juices
Unlimited squash and cordials

Excludes:

Bottled water
Canned soft drinks
Room service and mini-bar

Is The Package Good Value?

To make this package good value you’d only have to drink 4 soft drinks per day. Personally, I drink a lot of soda when I cruise so I’d definitely be choosing this option.

I love that it includes squash too, for those of you who aren’t from the UK squash is a kind of diluting juice.

Emma cruises, squash — You might have seen me drinking Squash if you join my weekly livestreams!

If you are somebody who would like the speciality teas/coffees/juices mentioned in the premium soft drinks package it might be worth upgrading to that one.

If not I think that this drinks package is a great option for the majority of people who don’t drink alcohol.

Hot Drinks Package:

Speciality Hot Drinks Option
Savour unlimited speciality coffees, Tea Forté infusions and hot chocolates, whenever you please.
Cunard

This package costs $15.75 / £11.80 per day, if purchased prior to the cruise

What Does Cunard’s Hot Drinks Package Include?

Includes:

Unlimited illy specialty coffees
Unlimited Tea Forté infusions
Unlimited hot chocolates.

Excludes:

All hot and cold chocolate drinks made with Godiva chocolate
Liqueur coffees and hot chocolates
Room service and Mini-Bar

Is The Package Good Value?

Based on the price of an illy speciality tea or coffee which is around £3/$4 (plus 15% service charge) you would only have to drink three a day to make back the value of the package.

That said, there is already included tea and coffee onboard in the buffet and with meals. The speciality tea/coffee is available in the bars and lounges.

To learn more about what is included in the Cunard cruise fare, including where you’ll find food 24 hours per day, check out this post:

Do Cunard Cruises Include Meals? Your Guide To What Is Included

How do You Buy a Cunard Drinks Package?

The drinks package can be purchased from any bar onboard and when you board you’ll no doubt encounter people who are trying to sell the package. If you buy the package onboard, you will find it slightly more expensive.

You can buy a drinks package ahead of your sailing online. This is a better idea for most, as it is cheaper than buying it once you are onboard.

If you are mid-way through the cruise and would like to upgrade this is usually possible. New packages must be bought within the first two days of the cruise but if, for example, you wanted to upgrade the soda package to the non-alcoholic package this is usually okay.

cunard queen victoria conservatory — Conservatory of the Queen Victoria

Service Charges On Drinks

If you don’t buy a drinks package, and prefer to just “pay as you go” as I often do, be aware that their will be a 15% service charge added to any drink you buy.

This is very typical on American owned cruise lines, and Cunard is now owned by Carnival Corporation, like many other mainstream cruise lines.

Bar charges
A 15% service charge is automatically added to your on board account for each beverage purchase made in our bars or restaurants. This is then shared among all those who work in the beverage team.
Cunard

This is of course, on top of daily service charge of between $16 and $18 per person per night, depending on your cabin category.