MSC Cruises Drink Packages Guide (2024) (2024)

The decision of whether or not to get the drinks package for your cruise is always a tricky one, but MSC Cruises makes this decision seem even more complicated than it has to be.

MSC Cruises has five drinks packages to choose from. And, they make it really hard to know how much they cost, and what you get for your money.

I’ve cruised with MSC Cruises four times. I usually buy the drink package and I’ve done lots of research to help you make the right decision.

MSC Drinks Package Prices 2024

MSC Cruises no longer publishes the prices of drink packages on the website. Instead, guests are asked to log in to see the prices for their cruise.

This makes things tricky for people who want to know how much the drinks package costs before they book a cruise. But don’t worry, I got you…

The package of your drinks package will vary depending on your destination, the length of your cruise, which package you choose and when you buy it. For alcoholic drinks, you can expect to pay $61 to $101 per person, per night.

See the tables below for all of the MSC drink package prices for 2024…

For Cruises in North America and the Caribbean

(USD Currency Onboard)

For ships with USD onboard currency sailing in the Caribbean or Northern America, a 18% drink package gratuity is included.

For Cruises in Europe and the Middle East

(EUR Currency Onboard)

For ships with EURO onboard currency, a 15% drink package gratuity is included.

For MSC Virtuosa Cruises from the UK in the Summer

(GBP Currency Onboard)

Discounted Drinks Packages

There may be other special offers on drinks packages available at the time of booking. For example, when I booked a cruise on MSC Euribia recently, I was able to add on the Premium Extra drink package for just £40 per person, per day.

Here are the prices for my two-night cruise without drinks and with drinks…

Whichever package you choose, you should always buy it before your cruise. If you wait until you’re onboard, you’ll pay 15% more.

Are MSC Drink Packages Worth the Expense?

Whether or not the MSC drink packages are worth it depends on how much you drink. To work out how many drinks it costs to ‘break even’ on your package, you need to know how much each drink costs.

And to work out which package is best for, you, you’ll need to know what’s included in each. And what happens if you order a drink that’s not included in your package.

Use The Drink Package Calculator

To make things really simple, you can use my drink package calculator. Just enter the drinks you plan to have, and it will tell you which is the best package for you, and how much that will save you.

Now, read on and I’ll explain what’s included in each package, how much the drinks cost without a package and the other vital things you should know…

What’s Included In MSC Drink Packages?

To help you decide which drinks package is the best, here are the menus of what’s included in each package on MSC Cruises…

1. MSC Premium Extra Package

Drinks can be consumed in all bars (except the Starship Club on MSC Virtuosa), the buffet, the main dining rooms and speciality restaurants. It can also be used on Ocean Cay MSC Reserve and in the Raj Polo Tea Room and The Coffee Emporium on board MSC World Europa.

This package doesn’t include drinks in the onboard Lavazza coffee shops and other signature venues.

2. MSC Easy Plus Package

With the Easy Plus package, drinks can be consumed in all bars (except the Starship Club on MSC Virtuosa), the buffet, the main dining room and ALSO in speciality restaurants. This is an important difference from the Easy package, which doesn’t allow you to order drinks in speciality restaurants.

It can also be used on MSC Cruises private islands, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and Sir Bani Yas, and in the Raj Polo Tea Room on board MSC World Europa (but not in The Coffee Emporium)

If you plan to dine in a few speciality restaurants during our cruise, this deal is probably a better choice than the Easy drinks package.

Read more about the Easy Plus Package

3. MSC Easy Package

Drinks can be consumed in all bars, the buffet and main dining rooms but NOT in speciality restaurants or the Starship Club.

This package offers great value for money and is ideal if you’re on a budget and happy to stick with drinking draft Heineken, the same wines each day or choose from a small list of co*cktails.

Here’s what the menu looks like on board so you can see exactly which drinks you can have…

Read more about the Easy Package

4. MSC Alcohol-Free Package

Drinks can be consumed in all bars (except the Starship Club on MSC Virtuosa), buffet, main dining room, Ocean Cay, but NOT speciality restaurants.

5. MSC Minors Package

This package is for children aged 3 to 17 on European cruises and aged 3 to 20 on North American and Caribbean cruises.

Drinks can be consumed in all bars (except the Starship Club on MSC Virtuosa), buffet, main dining room and Ocean Cay. They can only be consumed in speciality restaurants if the minor’s family purchased the Easy Plus or Premium Extra Packages.

Drinks Not Included in MSC Cruises Drink Packages

MSC drinks packages do not include drinks in souvenir glasses, drinks from your mini bar or drinks ordered via room service.

The drink packages also do not include drinks from ‘signature venues’. These include the MSC Virtuosa Starship Club, Venchi1878 establishments and Jean-Philippe Maury Venues.

Drinks in the MSC World Europa Raj Polo Tea Room are only included in the PremiumExtra and Easy Plus Packages. Drinks in the MSC World Europa Coffee Emporium are only included in the Premium Extra Package.

Charges for Additional Beverages Not Included in the Package

If you want to enjoy a drink that’s not included in your package, you can order it and will only pay the difference between the package limit and the price of the drink.

This is great, as some other cruise lines will charge you the full price for the drink.

MSC Bar Prices

MSC drinks packages can be a great deal, but of course, you’ll need to drink enough to ‘break even’ and get your money’s worth.

So let’s take a look at the drinks prices…

Here are some examples of the MSC bar prices:

I took photos of every drink menu on the ship, so if you’d like to see the prices of any specific drinks, you can see photos of MSC drink menus here.

What drinks are free on MSC Cruises?

Not all drinks are available for free in all bars. For the best selection of free drinks, head to the Main Dining Room or the casual (buffet) restaurant.

Wine Prices

A glass of wine on MSC Cruises costs $6 for a standard house wine, up to $14 for something nicer. Bear in mind that the servings can sometimes be small. This is what a glass of wine looks like (if you’re unlucky – sometimes they’re much bigger!)

If the ship is busy, the service can be pretty slow. So bear in mind that you may be either queueing at the bar or trying to catch the attention of a waiter quite often. If you don’t have a drink package, it makes sense to order wine by the bottle to avoid this issue.

Beer Prices

On MSC Cruises you won’t get a pint of beer. Instead, large beers are served in pilsner glasses which appear to be around three-quarters of a pint in size. And unless you’re in the British pub, you can only get Heineken. This costs $6 for a large glass or $3.50 for a small.

There is a wider selection of bottles lagers, craft beers, ales, pilsner, stout, cider and alcohol-free beer. These all cost $6.50 or $7.

Personally, I think that $6.50 for a small can of alcohol-free Heineken is a rip-off. It seems crazy that a large draft standard Heineken is cheaper!

Is water free on MSC Cruises?

Tap water is available free of charge on MSC Cruises and the water in your cabin is safe to drink. Bottled water costs $2.75 for a 17oz (500ml) bottle. Bottled water is free if you have a drinks package.

Are tea and coffee free on MSC Cruises?

On MSC Cruises, tea and coffee is available free of charge but only at the buffet area. You can get all kinds of teas and coffees such as cappuccino and espresso for free throughout the ship with a drinks package.

You’re entitled to speciality coffees like cappuccino with the drinks package, but sometimes if the staff were busy they would tell me that they could only make brewed coffee.

This is one of the many things that annoys me about MSC Cruises. You can read more on that in this article: Why Are MSC Cruises So Cheap?

If your cruise includes UK ports such as Southampton, you’ll find a kettle in your room with tea and coffee. Otherwise, you won’t.

Cabin stewards don’t always refill the tea and coffee, unless you ask them to. Which can be mildly annoying.

See Also

Onboard Experience | MSC Cruises

Are MSC Drink Packages Worth It?

Before you go ahead and buy a drinks package, it’s worth doing a little bit of maths to figure out how many drinks you’d need to have per day to ‘break even’ on your package.

Whichever MSC drink package you choose, you’ll need to drink around five drinks per day to break even. Of course, the exact number depends on what you like to drink and which package you choose.

When thinking about whether a package is good value or not, think about how much time you plan to spend on the ship. Whilst you might easily get through five or six drinks on a sea day, you might not have so many if you’re off the ship all day and only having a couple in the evening.

MSC Cruises Drinks Package Calculator

To help you work out whether the drinks package is worth it or not, I’ve built a handy calculator tool.

The calculator will show how much your bar bill will be if you don’t have a drinks package. You can then compare this to the price of the drinks package to decide whether it’s worth it or not.

Just pop your details in the form and you’ll receive an email with a link to the calculator…

Things To Know About MSC Drink Packages

Here are the answers to your most commonly-asked questions about drinks on MSC Cruises. If you have a question that isn’t covered here, please add it to the comments below and I will answer it for you.

1. Everyone must have the same drink package

On MSC Cruises, all passengers travelling together (sharing a cabin or a table) must have the same drink package, with the exception of children who must have the minor’s drinks package.

This rule applies to everyone aged three or over. You don’t need to purchase a package for children under three.

You can’t share a drinks package. If you give drinks to anyone who doesn’t have a package, you face having your package cancelled without a refund.

2. You can’t bring your own drinks

While most cruise lines let you bring a bottle of wine in your lugagge, MSC Cruises does not allow guests to bring any drinks on board. This includes alcohol, soft drinks and water. You may bring water if you have a medical need for it and you can bring unlimited baby milk.

Sneaking alcohol onto a cruise ship is not recommended and it can get you kicked off the cruise.

I accidentally brought on a 500ml bottle of Dr Pepper when I forgot it was in my bag. Nobody noticed, which shows that they don’t always check.

3. You don’t get free drinks with Fantastica or Aurea experiences any more

MSC Cruises offer three ‘experiences’ – Bella, Fantastica and Aurea. None of the experiences (Bella, Fantastica or Aurea) include drinks as standard.

MSC Aurea used to come with a free Easy drinks package, but this has been replaced with welcome prosecco and chocolates in your room since 2022.

There may be special MSC Cruises Promotions whereby you can get a free drinks package when you upgrade to a Fantastica experience.

Suggested read: MSC Bella Vs Fantastica Vs Aurea

4. You do get free drinks with the Yacht Club experience

MSC Yacht Club guests get a Premium Extra drink package as part of their exclusive benefits.

5. You’ll pay more if you buy the package on the ship

You can order your MSC drinks package before you cruise or on board your ship. It’s 15% cheaper to buy your drink package before your cruise. You can do this via the ‘Manage My Booking’ section of the MSC Cruises website.

6. The drinking age varies for different cruises

The drinking age on MSC Cruise ships depends on the itinerary, not the nationality of the passenger. It is generally 18 years old on European cruises and 21 years old on Caribbean cruises.

7. There’s no limit on how many drinks you can have

Unlike some other cruise lines that limit you to 15 drinks per day, MSC Cruises don’t have a set maximum number of drinks per day. However, if you appear to be intoxicated you are unlikely to be served more alcohol.

8. Drink packages aren’t available on every cruise

Drink packages are available on most MSC Cruises ships. But they’re not available on cruises from South Africa and China. Due to Saudi law, no alcohol will be served during calls in Saudi Arabian ports.

9. MSC drink packages work on private islands

Your MSC drink package can be used to get free drinks on MSC Cruises’ private island, Ocean Cay as well as the private resort of Sir Bani Yas in the UAE. However, there will not be as many different drinks available on the island as there are on the ship.

Drinks Package Special Offers

If you’re interested in the all-inclusive drinks package onMSC Cruises, you should be sure to look out for MSC all-inclusive deals whichare sometimes offered by specialist cruise travel agents.

Travel agents can package up cruises with flights, a pre-cruise hotel and all-inclusive drinks to create a great value all-inclusive package cruise holiday.

MSC Cruises Free Drinks Package Offer

One very popular offer is the MSC ‘ALL-IN drinks and Wi-Fi offer’ which is sometimes available on the MSC Cruises USA website. This offer includes free drinks, free Wi-Fi and free onboard credit.

Before you go ahead and book an all-inclusive deal with free drinks and wifi, I’d suggest working out how much it would cost to buy each part of the package separately to make sure that it’s actually good value. Consider whether you actually want the drinks and the wifi, or whether they just seem good because they’re packaged up in a deal.

If your all-inclusive MSC Cruise bundle comes with the Easy or Easy Plus package and you want to upgrade, you can do that either before your cruise or on board. As always, it’s cheaper to do it before you cruise.

• Easy to Easy Plus costs $15 per day onboard
• Easy to Premium Extra costs $44 per day onboard
• Easy Plus to Premium Extra costs $28 per day onboard

You’ll save 15% on these prices if you purchase the upgrade online or via your travel agent before your cruise.

Other Drinks Packages on MSC Cruises

MSC Yacht Club Drinks Package

The luxurious MSC Yacht Club gives guests many perks including:

• A luxury suite in the Yacht Club area of the ship
• Access to the Top Sail lounge
• Private dining in the Yacht Club restaurant
• Entry to the exclusive pool area
• Priority boarding
• Butler service
• Premium internet package
• Included drinks

MSC Yacht Club guests enjoy the equivalent of the Premium Extra drinks package which can be used in all bars and restaurants throughout the ship. Yacht Club guests also enjoy a free minibar.

MSC Dine & Drinks Package

On MSC World Cruises, the Dine & Drinks package is included as standard. With this, you get house wines, draught beer, soft drinks and mineral water during lunch and dinner in the main restaurants and in the buffet.

Discontinued Drink Packages

If you’ve cruised with MSC Cruises a few years ago, you may be familiar with some of the drinks packages which have now been discontinued. These include…

MSC Premium Drinks Package

For cruises departing from November 2021 onwards, the MSC Premium drinks package has been renamed to the MSC Easy Plus drink package.

MSC Premium Plus Drinks Package

For cruises departing from November 2021 onwards, the MSC Premium Plus package has been renamed to the MSC Premium Extra package.

MSC Aurea Drinks Package

MSC Cruises Aurea Experience is an upgrade that’s available to guests staying in balcony cabins or suites. The MSC Aurea experience used to come with a free Easy drink package but this is no longer the case. Other perks like the free massage have also been removed.

MSC Drink Vouchers

Until 2019, MSC Cruises used to regularly offer cruisers 12 free drinks vouchers when they booked a Fantastica cabin. These paper coupons could be exchanged for a glass of wine, pint or bottle of beer, spirit and mixer, non-premium co*cktail, soft drink, mineral water or hot drink. The coupons no longer exist.

MSC Allegrissimo Drinks Package

The MSC Allegrissimo drinks package is the name of a package that has been discontinued. The Allegrissimo offer was most similar to the Easy drinks package. The main difference is that the Allegrissimo drinks package also included ice cream.

MSC Mealtime Drinks Package

Another discontinued deal is the one where you could get free wine and beer with meals. The mealtime drinks package no longer exists, and now you can always get drinks at any time of day.

MSC Classic Drink Package

If you’re used to cruising with Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Cruises, you’ll be familiar with the term ‘classic drinks package’. MSC Cruises don’t call their main package the ‘classic package’. Instead, you can choose from Easy, Easy Plus or Premium Extra drinks packages.

Related Posts:

• MSC Cruises Drinks Menus with Prices
• How to Sneak Alcohol on a Cruise Ship
• Why Are MSC Cruises So Cheap?

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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