P&O Cruises Drinks Packages 2025 – Are they Worth It? Prices, Tips and Reviews

Thinking about the drinks package for your P&O Cruise? Is it a money saver or a way to drain your bank account quicker than the slot machines in the casino.

Cruise forums love a P&O Cruises drinks package review (or debate) almost as much as they love arguing over dress codes. Some people swear it’s a money-saver. Others claim it’s a waste unless you’re committed to a cruise-long happy hour or a budding alcohol addiction. With P&O Cruises drinks packages in 2025, the truth is… it depends on your habits, your sailing, and your patience for mental maths.

I’ve sailed with P&O Cruises both with and without a drinks package, so here’s a full breakdown and my thoughts, including how it works, the different options, what’s actually included, and whether it’s worth your money.

🍹 What Drinks Cost on P&O Cruises Without a Package

One of the first things to know about P&O drinks prices is that bar prices are in pounds, with no automatic gratuities added - unlike most American cruise lines where the final bill can make your eyes water more than the tequila. The drinks prices on the P&O Cruises drinks menu are roughly similar to UK pub prices, with cocktails usually £7.00 - £9.00, wines anywhere from £6.00 - £12.00 a glass, and beers from about £4.00.

Soft drinks aren’t free unless you’re grabbing water, tea, or coffee from the buffet, so if you’re ordering Diet Coke all day, it will add up.

🥤 The Drinks Packages

P&O currently offers four main options (prices correct as of August 2025):

1) P&O Refresh Package (£14.45 per person, per day)

Unlimited soft drinks. Great for kids, non-drinkers, or those who just want endless Sprite on tap, but apparently have managed to get through life without ever requiring water.

2) P&O Alcohol-Free Package (£26.95 per person, per day)

Everything in the Refresh Package plus Costa coffee, hot chocolates, teapigs teas, non-alcoholic beers, still and sparkling waters and a few non-alcoholic cocktails.

3) P&O Classic Drinks Package (£48.85 per person, per day)

This includes everything in the Alcohol-Free Package, plus spirits, selected cocktails, wines, and beers up to £7.95 each. Anything above that price gets a discount, but instead of paying the difference (as you would with other cruise lines’ packages), you pay the amount in full with that discount.

4) P&O Deluxe Drinks Package (£60.50 per person, per day)

Same as Classic but with a higher price limit - drinks up to £10. This covers most of the P&O Cruises wine list, premium spirits, and fancy cocktails (but more on that later…). It also means that the spirit pours are, by default, doubles, and glasses of wine are default at 250ml.

💡 Tip: Is it overcomplicated? No comment. But if you book in advance of the cruise you do get 10% off.

📜 The Fine Print (and the Eyerolls)

• 🗓️ All Holiday Long: The packages are available for all cruises over 5 days long and must be bought for the whole cruise - no picking just a few days.
• 🛏️ Cabin rule: All adults in the same stateroom must buy the same package. If one of you doesn’t drink, you’re out of luck. Having said that, I do understand that there are some exceptions to this rule for medical reasons or pregnancy; however, I’m not sure how consistently this is provided and certainly don’t believe it to be standard practice.
• 👧 Kids Packages: If the adults in a cabin have an alcoholic drinks package, the under 18s in the cabin get the Refresh package included. However, if they’re anything like my teen cousins they’ll be fuming that the package doesn’t include mocktails and will be demanding the Alcohol-Free package - and you’d have to pay for that separately rather than pay the difference.
• 🥂 Daily limit: The packages only include up to 15 alcoholic drinks in 24 hours. No round-buying allowed, so if you’re trying to make friends with the whole bar you’ll need another tactic.
• 🚫 Not included: There are quite a few things which are simply not included in any package. This includes room service, mini-bar items, self-serve wine/beer machines, Anderson’s exclusives, and certain cocktails and spirits. This includes, annoyingly, the entire Amber Lounge cocktail menu - none of which are within either of the drinks packages anymore. It definitely used to be…!
• 🍾 Bring-on options: You can bring 1 litre of wine/champagne and extra soft drinks, but the rest gets confiscated. A corkage fee applies if you drink it in public areas.
• 💳 Onboard credit: Onboard credit can only be used once on the ship; so if you have good OBC then you can’t also make use of the 10% discount from buying in advance. Bit sneaky, that one.
• 🥤 The Diet Coke mystery: in some menus on my latest Arvia cruise, it appeared that Diet Coke and Coke Zero were only included in the deluxe package. Now, to me this seems a little restrictive, but equally it could have just been a printing error.

💡 Tip: If you’re sitting on onboard credit, weigh up whether to buy the package on board (use OBC) or pre-cruise (use the 10% discount). You can’t stack both.

🤔 So, is it worth it?

A drinks package can be good value if:

• ☕ You regularly have a speciality coffee in the morning, wine or beer at lunch, cocktails by the pool, and a drink or two with dinner.
• 🌊 Your sailing has a lot of sea days, where you see yourself lounging with a cocktail in hand.
• 🧪 You like trying different drinks without worrying about the price.
• 🧾 You don’t want to think about your onboard bill.

The Classic Package tends to be the sweet spot for most people, as long as your daily drinks add up to more than £49.00 - which, with a couple of cocktails, a coffee, and a wine with dinner, isn’t hard.

However, it might not be worth it if:

• 🥛 You simply don’t drink much - paying individually could be smarter.
• 🗺️ You’re off the ship most days in port and won’t be drinking much onboard.
• ☕ You prefer the buffet coffee (although, I am a coffee snob so I do judge you for that…)
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 You’re travelling with people who don’t drink much and don’t want to be forced to buy the same package.

Drop your own maths in the comments - I’d love to know your personal break-even point.

🎭 Choose Your Fighter

• 🍷 The Wine-Loving Couple - If you and your partner have two glasses each with lunch and dinner, plus a pre-dinner cocktail, and get quickly bored of the same Sauvignon night after night, the Deluxe package is for you.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Family with One Drinker - If one adult doesn’t drink at all, you can’t just put them on a cheaper package unless there’s a medical or pregnancy exemption, so you’d be better off paying as you go rather than paying over the odds for extra packages.
• 🍸 Cocktail-Only Cruiser - If you love elaborate cocktails, the Classic cap will sting and the Deluxe package does extend your options. Having said that, if you truly love a fancy cocktail then the Amber Lounge is your den - and the cocktails there aren’t included in any packages at all.
• 🥤 Soft Drink & Coffee Addict - If you’re knocking back Sprite and Costa flat whites all day, the non-alcoholic package might work for you. Although by day four your caffeine intake may rival the ship’s engine room.
• 🥂 The Spritzer Socialite - You like a fizz at sailaway, a wine at dinner, and a limoncello to round it off. You’ll likely scrape value from the Classic package, but only if you remember to visit the café for a few coffees.
• 📚 The All-Day Lounger - You’ve got a book, a sun lounger, and the ambition to work your way through the cocktail menu, but you’re not picky about wines or double spirits. The Classic will suit you.
• ☕🍷 The Coffee-to-Cabernet Cruiser - Your day starts with a flat white from Costa and ends with a robust red from the Glass House. Deluxe is the one that will keep you caffeinated and content.
• 🚰 The “I’ll Just Have Water” Wanderer - You’re rarely on board, live off buffet tea, and drink your wine on land. Skip the package, spend it on excursions.

👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 My Take

If you’re sailing somewhere hot, with plenty of sea days, and you enjoy a mix of coffees, cocktails, and soft drinks, a package is a stress-free way to avoid mental arithmetic every time you order. On the other hand, if you’re on a port-heavy cruise, or chasing small children around the splash park instead of the bar, you might struggle to get full value - especially if nap schedules keep you away from the late-night entertainment.

For us, with a toddler and a baby in tow, I typically go for the package, but only because I tend not to cram my days, even on port days, with lots of adventures. Read my blog here about why I don’t always get off the ship. This means I’m typically pretty comfortable that I’ve had my money’s worth on the Classic package. If I feel like splurging, I might also go for the Deluxe package just to enjoy a real treat holiday, especially for more luxury wine options in the Glass House.

Bottom line? The drinks package isn’t about getting the most booze for your buck - it’s about whether you want to spend your cruise doing long division or long sipping.

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