Costa Cruises Drinks Packages Guide (2026)

You’ll pay for water on a Costa cruise. Even at dinner.

That’s usually the moment people start asking me about Costa’s drinks packages. And honestly, I get it. When even tap water isn’t included with your meal, the maths suddenly matters a lot more.

On the surface, the packages look simple enough. A few tiers, different inclusions, problem solved. But most people don’t realise how easy it is to pick the wrong one, or to assume something’s included when it isn’t.

I’ve looked closely at how Costa structures its drinks packages, what’s actually covered, and where the small print catches people out. Some options look like a bargain. Others only make sense in very specific situations.

Before you book, there’s one detail about Costa’s drinks policy that can completely change which package makes sense for you…

Costa Fare Types Explained (And How Drinks Actually Work)

Costa’s drinks packages can feel confusing because they’re often bundled into the fare rather than shown as a simple add-on.

When you book, you’ll usually see three main fare options.

My Cruise is the basic fare. It includes your accommodation, full board dining, entertainment and port taxes. Drinks are not included, but you can still add a drinks package later in MyCosta or pay as you go onboard.

Comfort Plus includes everything in My Cruise, plus the My Drinks package. This gives you unlimited selected alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Essentially, you’re paying for the cruise and the standard drinks package together.

Super Comfort Plus includes the same drinks package as Comfort Plus, but also adds a My Explorations excursion bundle.

If you book a suite, My Drinks Plus is included automatically. This is the upgraded package with premium labels, minibar access and unlimited bottled water.

So drinks packages haven’t disappeared. They’re just built into certain fare types.

And yes, you can still buy drinks packages separately after booking. If you choose the My Cruise fare, you’ll be able to log into MyCosta and add My Drinks, My Drinks Plus, soft drink packages or other limited beverage bundles.

If you’re booking an Inside, Ocean View or Balcony stateroom, upgrading to Comfort Plus is typically around £30 per person, per night (shown in your local currency), although this varies by sailing and promotion.

The key is working out whether it’s cheaper to bundle drinks into your fare upfront or add a package later.

Now let’s break down exactly what each drinks package includes.

Costa Cruises Drink Package Prices

Drinks Package	Description	Price Per Night (Buy Pre Cruise)	Price Per Night (Buy On Board)
My Drinks Plus	All Drinks	€48	€57
My Drinks	Selected Drinks	€35	€42
My Soft Drinks	Non-alcoholic Drinks	€23	€27

Note: These prices were correct at the time I sailed with Costa, but they have likely increased since then. As Costa does not publicly publish its drinks package prices, exact figures can vary by sailing and booking market, so treat these as a guide rather than a fixed cost.

As well as these options, which give you an unlimited number of drinks each day, Costa Cruises has some more drinks packages that give you a certain number of drinks to enjoy throughout your cruise, such as 20 beers or 5 glasses of wine.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of the packages so you can decide which is the best for you…

1. My Drinks Plus

This drinks package is included in the price of a suite, or can be added in ‘My Costa’ after booking for around €48 Per Night

Costa Cruises’ top drinks package includes pretty much everything you could want. You’ll get unlimited hot and cold drinks, bottled water, soft drinks, fruit juices, premium cocktails, glasses of wine and prestigious brands of liquor.

The My Drinks Plus package also includes access to your minibar – if you have one, not all cabins do.

There are some limitations, even with this premium package. You can use it almost everywhere on the ship, but not in the Archipelago or Casanova speciality restaurants. This applies to all of the other packages, too.

The beers mentioned on the website are only draught Heineken and bottled Corona and Becks. There is no mention of other beers in the package, so watch out there. You may wish to check with the bartender before ordering.

I expect that some of the more expensive wines and spirits won’t be included. The Costa Cruises website doesn’t give any details, so if you have expensive tastes, this package may not be for you.

2. My Drinks

This is the drinks package that’s included if you upgrade to the Comfort Plus fare; however, it can also be added in ‘My Costa’ after booking and costs around €35 Per Night.

This package is slightly cheaper and has a few more limitations. But, it’s a good value drink package if you like to drink alcoholic drinks but don’t want to spend too much.

Firstly, when it comes to water, you can get unlimited water by the glass, but only one 500ml bottle per person, per day. So you may wish to save this to take on your excursions or to have by your bed.

You don’t get any fruit juice included in this package. Bottled beers are off the cards too, so draught Heineken may be your only beer option.

Cocktails are limited to ‘classic’ cocktails like mojitos. You’ll have to check the menu to see which ones you can have. 

And the premium spirits aren’t included either, so you’ll have to stick to house brands.

Lastly, the My Drinks package doesn’t cover anything in your mini bar.

So, while this drink package seems like a good deal, it could be annoying if you have to always check if your drink is included. I don’t like the stress of that on a cruise, particularly if it isn’t obvious from the menu. So I’d probably avoid this package for that reason.

My Drinks vs. My Drinks Plus

This table shows what’s included in each package:-

	My Drinks	My Drinks Plus
HOT DRINKS: Vergnano coffee, cappuccino, herbal teas and hot chocolate	Yes	Yes
WATER: Water by the glass from the bar, whenever you want	Yes	Yes
San Benedetto 0.5-litre bottles, ideal for days out	One per day	Unlimited
BEVERAGES WITH MEALS:   White, red or rosé wine, sparkling water, soft drinks and draught beer	Unlimited	Unlimited
SOFT DRINKS:   Pepsi, 7UP, orangeade, iced tea	Yes	Yes
Looza fruit juices	No	Yes
BEERS: Draught Heineken	Yes	Yes
Bottled Corona and Beck’s	No	Yes
APERITIFS:   Mocktails, Aperol Spritz and Crodino	Yes	Yes
Classic cocktails (from gin and tonic to mojito and Bacardi Breezer)	Yes	Yes
Premium and molecular cocktails	No	Yes
BITTER LIQUEURS, LIQUORS AND SPIRITS: Brandy, whisky and cognac	Yes	Yes
Amaro Averna, Disaronno, Sambuca or Amaro Del Capo	Yes	Yes
Other prestigious brands	No	Yes
IN YOUR CABIN:   Minibar beverages (if the minibar is available in the cabin)	No	Yes

3. My Soft Drinks

This package can be added after booking your cruise and costs around €23 Per Night.

If you don’t drink a lot of alcohol, then the My Soft Drinks package could be for you.

This package includes a selection of non-alcoholic beverages like water, coffee, herbal teas, hot chocolate, iced teas, fruit juices, soft drinks by the glass, Crodino and classic non-alcoholic cocktails.

Again, the website doesn’t specify what’s not included. I suspect that canned soft drinks won’t be, and as there’s no mention of milkshakes and smoothies, they may not be either.

4. 100% Alcohol-Free (40 beverages)

Again, this package can be added after booking your cruise and costs around €135.

With this package, and the next ones, you’ll pay a set fee to enjoy a limited number of drinks over the course of your cruise. 

So, for €135 you’ll get 40 non-alcoholic drinks like fruit juices, cold teas, cordials, and non-alcoholic long drinks.

That works out at €3.38 per drink. Most soft drinks cost €3.70, and some are cheaper at just €3.10 fruit juice or herbal tea, so it’s not exactly a great deal. Plus, water is cheaper still, so it won’t help you with your drinking water bill.

The good thing about this package is that you can split it between as many people as you like. This might sound handy if you have a lot of kids, for example.

But it also has its pitfalls – you might worry that if one person buys the package, but the other person goes to the bar, then the drinks won’t be assigned to the account with the package.

So for those reasons, I’d definitely avoid this one.

5. 100% Alcohol-Free (20 beverages)

This package can be added after booking your cruise and costs around €79.

This is similar to the 40 drink package, but just for 20 drinks, making it more suitable for shorter cruises.

However, this makes the cost of drinks now €3.95, so it’s virtually impossible to break even.

This package may seem like a good idea, but in reality, I can’t see how it makes sense for anyone to buy it. Unless, of course, they haven’t done their research, which you have – so good on you.

6. Classic Package

This package can be added after booking your cruise and costs around €155.

Costa Cruises’ Classic Package includes 7 bottles of water, 3 bottles of red wine and 3 bottles of white wine.

This seems perfect for a couple on a 7-night cruise who like to share a bottle of wine and a bottle of water over dinner each evening.

But is it worth it?

Well, each 1-litre bottle of water costs €3.50, each bottle of house white wine costs €25.50 and each bottle of house red costs €38.

So the total cost of the drinks if you bought them individually would be €215. 

You’re therefore saving €60.

That’s not a bad saving, if you would have purchased those drinks anyway. If you don’t like those particular wines or don’t always want a bottle, then it could make it feel a bit restrictive.

7. Draught Beers

This package can be added after booking your cruise and costs around €105.

Costa Cruises’ beer package entitles you to twenty beers during your cruise. You’re allowed to share it with as many people as you like.

The beers are 40cl draught Heineken (that’s about ¾ of a pint each).

So, is it a good deal for beer drinkers?

Well, each beer costs €4.80 when purchased individually. So 20 beers would cost you €96. That’s less than the package price!

According to Costa Cruises, a 15% service charge is added to all drinks bills, so when you factor that in, you’d pay €110.

Still, it’s definitely not worth getting the package and powering through 20 beers to save yourself 25 cents on each one. Avoid.

8. Water, Coffee & Beer Package

This package can be added after booking your cruise and costs around €89.

This next package includes 7 bottles of water (1-litre), 7 draught beers (40cl) and 14 coffees (espresso or decaf) for €89.

So on a 7-night cruise, you could enjoy a morning coffee, an afternoon beer, water with dinner and a coffee afterwards each day. Sounds nice, right?

Let’s do the maths on that to work out the savings…

• Water: 7 x €3.50
• Beer: 7 x €4.80
• Coffee: 14 x €2.20

Total = €88.90

It’s almost exactly the same price! Of course, there’s the 15% service charge to factor in, but still, it’s hardly a bargain. Especially when you consider that sometimes you might want a fancier coffee, or a wine instead of a beer.

9. Bottled Mineral Water Package

This package can be added after booking your cruise and costs around €42.

If you hate the idea of having to pay for water with meals, then you may be thinking about Costa Cruises’ bottled water package.

This package gives you 13 bottles of water (1-litre each). You can enjoy these during meals, at any time on board, or you can take them off the ship on your excursions.

At €3.50 each, 13 bottles will cost you €45.50. So really, what you’re getting is buy 12, get one free with this deal.

10.  Super Vitamin Package

This package can be added after booking your cruise and costs around €33.

If you love freshly squeezed fruit juice every day, then this isn’t a bad deal. You’re getting 7 drinks for the price of 5. So if you know you’re going to drink a lot of these, then this could be a handy package to buy in advance to save a few Euros.

Note, these are the prices for my cruise on Costa Smeralda. They may vary slightly for different cruises, so be sure to check your own My Costa cruise planner for accurate prices.

Things to Know About Costa Cruises Drink Packages

Before you go ahead and buy your package, there are a few things you should know.

1. Every Guest Must Have a Package

Everyone sharing a cabin or on the same reservation number must have the same package. (Only for the unlimited drinks packages, not for the set number of drinks ones.)

This includes children aged 4 and up. Of course, under-18s can’t have any alcoholic drinks, so if you upgrade to Comfort Plus, children will get unlimited soft drinks and fruit juices. This package is free for those under 18 if purchased while booking the cruise. On the contrary, if you buy it on board, it will cost €18 per day for every child.

2. You Should Buy Your Package Before Your Cruise

Just as with most cruise lines, with Costa Cruises, if you wait until you’re on the ship to buy your drinks package, you’ll end up paying more for it.

Ideally, wait until after you book to log into My Costa and you’ll see the greatest choice of packages.

3. You Can Get Free Water in the buffet

The buffet isn’t open all the time, but when it is, you may wish to fill up on the free water.

Refilling your own water bottle from the water machine in the buffet isn’t very hygienic, as the rim of your used bottle could accidentally touch the water spout.

However, if you pour yourself glasses of water and then carefully decant them into your own bottle, there should be no issues.

I’d suggest doing this at breakfast time so that you have water to take with you on your excursions.

4. Some Drinks Are Free At Breakfast

If you want to make the most of free drinks, breakfast is the time to do it. Either in the main dining room or the buffet, you’ll find a selection of fruit juices, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, water, milk and plant milks (if you ask for them).

5. The Drinks on Costa Cruises Are Pretty Cheap

You may decide that, as the drinks are so reasonably priced, you may not need a drink package. I find them to be similar to a standard pub or restaurant on land.

Here are some example drinks prices:

• Cocktails – €5.70 – €10.30
• Mocktails – €6.70 – €7.30
• Sprit & mixer – €7.80 – €12.40
• Glass of wine – €5.70 – €10.30
• Large draught beer – €6.10
• Bottled beer – €4
• Soft drinks = €3.70
• Energy drinks – €4.70
• Fruit juices – €3.10 – 5.70
• Bottled water – €3.50 (litre) or €2.20 (500ml)
• Glass of water – €1
• Coffee – €2.20 – €6.70

However, one thing to be aware of if you pay as you go is that there will be a 15% service charge added to the cost of individual drinks, payable at the end of your cruise.

Final Word

So, is a Costa Cruises drinks package actually worth it?

When I sailed on Costa Smeralda, I chose not to buy one. At the time, the My Drinks package was around €35 per day, which was competitive compared to many other cruise lines. But the individual drink prices were reasonable too, which made it harder to justify.

Instead, I relied on free buffet water, complimentary breakfast drinks and paid for the occasional beer or cocktail. On a port-heavy itinerary, I found it difficult to see how I’d consistently drink each day enough to break even.

That said, Costa’s pricing and fare structure does evolve, and drink package costs can vary by sailing. If your cruise has more sea days, or you enjoy multiple cocktails, speciality coffees and bottled water daily, the maths may work out very differently for you.

The key isn’t whether the package sounds good – it’s whether it fits your actual drinking habits.

And that’s where most people get caught out.

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• The REAL Reasons Costa Cruises Are So Cheap!
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