Windstar Drink Package or All-In Package: Worth It?
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If you’re planning a Windstar cruise, you’ll want the lowdown on Windstar’s beverage and all-inclusive packages.
We’ve recently returned from our fifth cruise with Windstar, this time on the Star Pride (see our Windstar Cruises’ review and Star Pride ship review).
And, for us, a fine dinner isn’t complete without a first-rate Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. Maybe you fancy cocktails by the pool or pre-dinner drinks too?
We’ve previously written about Holland America’s drinks packages, the cost of drinks on Star Clippers and Viking Cruises’ bar menu. We’re pretty adept at photographing or nipping menus and sniffing out value in cruise drinks packages!
So here’s our ultimate guide on the cost of drinks on Windstar Cruises – and whether a Windstar drink package (or their all-inclusive option) makes sense for you.
Featured reader comments
Contents: Windstar Cruises drink package and “All-In Package”
How much do drinks cost on Windstar Cruises?
Is it worth getting the Windstar drink package?
How much are drinks on Windstar Cruises?
Note: All prices are in U.S. dollars.
Non-alcoholic drinks
As a boutique cruise line, Windstar includes more in their cruise fare than Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America and other major lines that feature big cruise ships.
Non-alcoholic beverages like bottled water, fruit juices, specialty coffees and soft drinks are complimentary on all six of their ships (both the sailing-style yachts and the Star Plus all-suite vessels).
So you don’t need a Windstar beverage package to enjoy a cappuccino with breakfast or to drink purified mineral Natura water in your stateroom. These drinks are already included in the cruise rates.
Wine, beer and alcoholic drinks
The prices for alcoholic drinks on Windstar Cruises range as follows:
- Beer: $5.95 to $7.95 (Average $7)
- Cocktails: $8.75 to $13.00 (Average $10 to $11)
- Wine by the glass: $8.00 to $13.00 (Average $10 to $11)
- Wine by the bottle: $30 to (a whopping) $1,200
Note: An 18% beverage service charge is automatically added to all onboard alcohol purchases.
Beer
You have 14 choices of beer. These are the Windstar drink prices for beer:
- Miller Lite, Bud Light, Budweiser and Coors Light: $5.95
- Amstel Light, Corona, Beck’s, Heineken, Carlsberg and Stella Artois: $6.95
- Paulaner, Guinness, Strongbow Cider: $7.95
- Heineken non-alcoholic: $5.95
Cocktails
Cocktails are crafted using a combination of house and select brands. You can choose from a selection of over 40 liquors, including Grey Goose, Hendricks, Johnny Walker Black, Ketel One, Glenfiddich and Hennessy.
The specific brands shown on the Windstar drink menu may vary periodically, depending on availability, and so different alternative options may sometimes be offered.
See: The cocktail menu from our recent cruise on Windstar’s Star Pride cruise ship.
Wine on the Windstar drinks menu
The full menu of wines by the glass includes:
- 12 choices of white wine by the glass
- 15 choices of red wine by the glass
- 3 choices of blush and rosé wines by the glass
- 4 choices of sparkling wine and Prosecco
Janice is the white (and rosé drinker) in our marriage – she typically went for a glass (or two!) of the Amavi Cellars Semillon from Walla Walla, Washington.
George prefers his wine red. And when he spotted the Hangtime Pinot Noir from California on the Windstar Cruises wine list, that became his go-to wine by the glass.
You can also choose from a large selection of bottles of wine.
Of course, the wines are swapped out from time to time, depending on availability or to upgrade the selection. So what’s on the menu on your cruise could be different than what we were offered.
See: The menu of red and white wines by the glass on our recent Windstar cruise.
Windstar white wine by the glass menu
Windstar red wine by the glass menu
Windstar beverage packages
Fancy, say, sipping a Strawberry Pimm’s at sunset, a scotch every night under the stars or a cocktail or glass of wine whenever you want?
Windstar offers two alcoholic drinks packages:
- Captain’s Exclusive Beverage Package (aka Ultimate Beverage Package)
- Windstar’s All-In Package
There’s no daily limit on how many drinks you can have with either package.
But Windstar encourages the “responsible use of alcohol” and they may limit serving drinks to guests to avoid intoxication (we’ve never noticed them having to do this though).
Captain’s Exclusive Beverage Package
This drinks package on Windstar Cruises costs $79 per person per day if you buy it at least 5 days before your cruise. (It’s $89 onboard.)
It includes:
- Unlimited beer (domestic and imported)
- At least 33 varieties of wine by the glass
- Unlimited cocktails (based on house and select brands), liqueurs, cordials and aperitifs
- Mini-bar beverages
An 18% beverage service charge (amounting to $14.22 a day) is extra.
The total cost of this drinks package? $93.22 p.p. a day (assuming you buy it in advance).
So, is this Windstar drink package worth it?
By our calculations, you’d have to drink 6 to 8 cocktails or glasses of wine a day to meet the break-even point.
So if you’re leaning toward getting a drinks package, read on, because the better package, in our view, is the all-inclusive package.
Windstar’s All-In Package
Windstar’s all-inclusive cruise package (called the “All-In Package”) costs $99 per person per day (if bought in advance). It includes:
- Unlimited beer and wine (and, of course, non-alcoholic drinks, which are complimentary anyway)
- Unlimited cocktails and hard liquor, based on house and select brands (you can choose from more than 40 liquors such as Grey Goose, Hendrick’s, Johnny Walker Black, Ketel One, Glenfiddich, Hennessy)
- Mini-bar drinks
- Unlimited WiFi
- All gratuities
For details: See here on Windstar’s website.
Cost differs for pre-purchase vs. purchase onboard
To get the all-in package for a daily $99 a person, you have to book it at least 5 days before your cruise departure.
You can still buy it if you decide to wait until you’re onboard the ship, but the cost will be $109 p.p. a day.
Why Windstar Cruises’ all-inclusive package is better than just a drinks package
The all-inclusive package makes more sense to us because of what you’d otherwise have to pay for gratuities and WiFi.
The cruise gratuities for Windstar are $16 per person a night (for your stateroom attendant, dining room servers and other staff). For a 7-night cruise, these Windstar gratuities amount to $112.
As well, there’s an 18% service charge that’s automatically added to the drinks package (and the bar bill for all alcoholic drink purchases).
As for WiFi, the cost is $35 a day for service that’s good enough for email, social media and Internet browsing.
This cost can be shared if you’re okay with logging out to allow your partner to log in (and vice-versa). But this may end up being a bit of a pain. (We know, we tried it.)
So the gratuities and WiFi alone cost:
- $51 day p.p. – For your own WiFi
- $33.50 a day p.p. – If you split the WiFi
Drinks portion of All-In Package
This means the drinks part of the $99 All-In Package p.p. per day is only:
- $48 a day per person (if you get your own WiFi) – $99 less $51 for gratuities and WiFi ($16 gratuities and $35 for your own WiFi = $51.00)
- $65.50 a day per person (if you share the WiFi) – $99 less $33.50 for gratuities and WiFi ($16 gratuities and $17.50 shared WiFi = $33.50)
Comparing this to the Captain’s Exclusive Package
- If you get your own WiFi – The drinks portion alone of the All-In Package ($48) is considerably less than the Captain’s Exclusive Package ($79 + 18% service charge = $93.22).
- If you share a WiFi package – The drinks portion ($65.50) is still less than the Captain’s Exclusive Package ($93.22 with service charge).
Result?
Financially, you save money on drinks by getting the All-In Package rather than just the beverage package alone.
Break-even point: If you get your own WiFi, you’d break even with the All-In Package at 4 to 5 drinks a day.
Package details
Some of the details you’ll want to know for both packages:
- The minimum drinking age on Windstar Cruises is 21 years old.
- The Captain’s Exclusive and All-In Packages are sold per person and must be bought in advance or within the first 2 days of your cruise.
- You have to buy the package for the entire duration of your cruise. (You can’t get it for, say, certain days.)
- You can buy a drinks package just for one person. (We love this!) Unlike some other cruise lines, both guests in the same cabin don’t have to buy the package. This is especially useful if one of you doesn’t drink alcohol, for example.
- An 18% beverage service charge is added to the Captain’s Exclusive Packages (but not to the All-In Package).
- All beverage packages work anywhere throughout the ship – at all onboard bars and lounges, the Amphora main dining room and specialty restaurants. (Check if room service in your cabin is excluded, however.)
- Buy any package and you’ll save 30% on all bottles of wine priced $100 or less.
Windstar alcohol policy
Can you bring alcohol on Windstar Cruises?
Yes. You’re allowed to bring onboard two bottles of wine or champagne for a 7-day cruise or three bottles for cruises 8 days or longer.
You’re free to drink them (no charge) in your cabin or suite. But if you want to drink one of the bottles, say, in one of the dining rooms on the ship, a corkage fee (about $15 USD) plus an 18% beverage gratuity will be charged.
If you buy wine or alcohol at ports-of-call on your cruise, it will be taken away and returned to you the last night of your cruise.
Bottom line: Is Windstar’s All-In Package worth it?
The All-In Package can be a smart deal.
It includes the Captain’s Exclusive Beverage Package plus WiFi and gratuities – things you’re likely to pay for anyway.
And we already mentioned that the drinks alone in the All-In Package cost less than the beverage package by itself. Even if you plan to split a WiFi plan, the math usually favors going all-in vs. just the beverage package.
Obviously, if you know that the most you’ll drink is maybe one or two glasses of wine with dinner, then the All-In Package is not for you.
But if you’d like to have a drink or two by the pool, a pre-dinner cocktail and wine with dinner (and maybe with lunch too), then the All-In Package can be a money saver.
Plus, having the package means not stressing about your onboard account when your cruise wraps up. Cheers to that!
What’s your view?
Have you bought one of Windstar’s packages?
Drop us a line and let us know what you think of it! You can share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
More cruising inspo!
- What’s it Like to Sail on Windstar Cruises?
- Dreamy Tahiti Cruises: Windstar vs. Paul Gauguin
- What’s Luxury Like on Seabourn Cruises?
- 7 Reasons to Take a Quiet Season Mediterranean Cruise
- Ooh La La! We’re Going French-Style on Ponant!
Save this Windstar package and drinks guide for later on Pinterest!
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