Hi when I went with Island Cruises - before Thomson took over I did not get the A/I drink's package, I missed the promotion, so I had to pay for drinks with the 'ship card' then settle the account at the end of the voyage. I did not find the drinks expensive, in fact I thought the cocktails reasonable. Of course I don't know what cruise you are going on, and have only been on this one.

Not sure if that helps. I suggest you contact the tour operator or cruise line and ask if you purchase on board, if thats what you prefer

i'm on the thomson destiny and was qouted around £150pp,

Well it depends if you can drink more than £150.00 of alcohol in a week, assuming you are going for a week. Don't forget when you dock at your destinations, you will probably go ashore and sample the local drinks, that's what I did and then had a tipple or two in the evenings, or even soft drinks if you prefer.

On board Thomson Destiny last year, my 16 year old was considered an adult and would have had to pay full price for the all inclusive drinks package although he would not have been permitted to purchase alcoholic drinks. I asked if the "real adults" could buy the package and would pay separately for my 16 year old but you can only buy this if the whole party does. In the end we decided not to buy it and on settling our bill at the end of the week found we were cheaper to "pay as you go". I do think Thomson were unreasonable expecting people to pay full price for someone to buy only soft drinks - perhaps a non-alcoholic package should be made available too as well as adult/child packages.

Kimi

Totally agree sounds unreasonable to expect a family to pay for a drinks package for their children, whilst children can get through quite a lot of fizzy pops I am not sure that they would be able to get through £150.00 over a week, and would you want them too. I did the same as you did it on a pay as you go, and didn't find them too unreasonable.

Have just priced a cruise on Island Escape in December with Thomsons web site and they are charging £49pp for AI upgrade. That is good value compared to what they charge individually for drinks.

That seems a lot better value than when I went on the Island Escape, albeit it was a few years ago if its only £49 then its a bargain

Hi, We do do Cruises for people who do do cruises and book early to get the free AI.
On The Thomson ships you cannot buy the AI upgrade on board ship any more.
The drink prices do vary between ships as Thomson own some a charter the others from Louis cruise lines in Thomson colours.
The Celebration is Thomsons and prices are a little higher the Spirit,Calypso and Destiny are Louis charters and due to the owner pricing the drinks is a little cheaper,don't know about the Island Escape.

Hi
Just back from Island Escape yesterday.We got free A/I but if you paid for it it was £169 witch works out @ approx £48 a day for two.If you drink a pint + spirit/mixer @ £6--£7 you only need 8 drinks a day,dont forget thats all day,drinks around pool/wine with lunch/dinner etc.
We had a few extras ie Pints of Guinness (£2.90) + Irish Coffee (£4.50).
The A/I was not in same league as Thomsons as regards branded spirits it was 10p extra if you wanted say Jamesons whisky or Smirnofff vodka which was on A/I on Thomson ships + if you want Espresso/Cappucino coffees its paying for it on Island Escape in Costa Coffee franchise on ship.
So if you want a good coffee + brandy after dinner it will cost you about £7.
But the best thing about A/I is the ability to budget.Our bill after a week on board was £40 (no trips !!) this was above extras/bingo/bottle water on first day in cabin (£2.25)/horse racing/on board lottery/laundry bill for £8 after spilling aftersun on 3 shirts + pair of trousers.
We thought A/I worth it but be vigilant when checking bill on 6th day was charged for drinks we never had + heard some horror stories from other people.
One last thing if you are pre booking cabin don't book 9508 the vibrations in bed were ridiculous.
Johnny C

does anyone know what cruises to the caribean do an all inclusive package for drinks please

Hi
In response to the original post , you won't be able to buy the AI upgrade on-board the Destiny , i think part of the reason they offer the free AI is to get early bookings , which works for us !!! , i'd agree that £169 pp is a bit much , but remember that's £24 per day for all drinks , be they soft drinks , lager , shorts or cocktails - i suppose it depends how much you drink , it's easy to have 5-6 beers over the course of the evening while your on holiday , which would cost £15-£18 alone, never mind whatever you may have drank during the rest of the day.
So you need to decided what suits you best.

Yep a tin of pop is £1.25. This you may be drinking loads of during the day. Add that to your glass of wine or 2 at Dinner, Then your wee G&T or Beer at night. I would say it is worth paying for the drinks package. Best Answer is - Book early and get it free or negotiate a better price for the AI. Thomson Travel Centre is always open to negotiation..
My bill for the Destiny in July 09. 2 Wks B2B. I added it all up and including all the Soft Drinks myself, Wife and Daughter (12) drunk, the whole bill would have come to approx £1500. We dont consider ourselves big drinkers but we did like the Cocktails and I like a G&T. So there you have it. The choice is yours myfriend.
I think Thomson Cruises are the only Cruise Company who do the AI Drinks Package. The rest of them charge rediculous prices and then the 15% on top of that. Thats why we stick to Thompsons. Would be very interested to hear if anyone knows another cruise company who do the AI. That would sway me away from Thompson's for 2011.:cheers
Colin - Northern Ireland

MSC are currently offering free A/I on two of their ships, the Splendida and the Fantasia. Even includes the cabin mini-bar!

Many cruise lines offer group AI so you will see AI offers.

Travel agents do AI groups on some RCI trips there are often 3-5 a year.

Thomson offer the best AI to individuals.

Remember the Topaz all AI often at £400pppw inc flight.

Hi- I've been reading posts on another forum from a lot of discontented Thomson customers about changes to the AI package that were announced in a letter to passengers on boarding. Apparently no more "international" brands of spirits, just local/house brands. No mention of coffees in the list of inclusive drinks. Very limited cocktails- just cocktail of the day, frozen coladas and long island iced tea. They are blaming the weak pound. Thing is, for people who paid the full price for AI upgrade, you don't seem to get a lot for your £180 pounds a week! And they certainly don't seem to be getting what was advertised.
We only had AI once, then decided it wasn't worth it for us as we don't drink spirits (though I do like the cocktails!)
kate

I would love to know the correct answer re this, we had AI drinks on Thomson Destiny at easter and it was fab,included loads of drinks,almost cocktails alcoholic and also non alcholic,cappucinos,hot choc etc, is it changing on all ships?, as I have my eye on a summer 2011 cruise on Celebration.

Is it ony thomson that offer the AI package thanks

Hi
I've been speaking to my TA over the last couple of days , who has called me back to confirm that the drinks package is as per last year on the Destiny , no surcharges for the likes of Smirnoff , Bells etc....also a large list of free cocktails and some also at a supplement as per last year , tea , coffee and soft drinks (not water) also free , she has a copy of the drinks list for the destint dated 10-05-10 which she has popped in the post to me , am now feeling a lot more relieved.

She was shocked when i contacted her over this but i gave her links to all the forums which she looked at and then got straight onto Tui Cruises , who (and i quote her directly) have advised that "the drink package on the Destiny has not changed from what was offered on last summers sailings"

Hope this helps.

I have always had AI on The Celebration and was perturbed at what i was reading in posts.
I rang Thomson Cruise customer services 15th May and asked what the situation was.
They told me they had been a trial for a week but with so many complaints had revered back to the old system .
If it was going to be just a few drinks on the AI i would have canceled it.