Thinking of taking a cruise?

Among the many extra purchase items you’ll be offered on some ships, in addition to numerous upscale dining options and shore excursions, is a drinks package, and about 50% of all passengers buy a package because they want to avoid sticker shock at the end of their cruise.

Many lines have these all-you-can-drink packages for adults as well as soft drinks and juice packages for kids.

And if you’re buying the drinks individually, it can add up, especially those soft drinks.

But for the alcohol packages, what does unlimited drinks for one price really mean, and does it add up?

For example, on Royal Caribbean, some drinks packages are as much as $115 per day.

On a seven day cruise, you’re talking about an additional charge of more than $800.

Soda packages for kids are about $125.

For $69, there’s even a bottled water package!

And an important note: if you’re sharing a cabincomma and one of you has bought a drinks package, you have to buy one too.