Fred Olsen Drinks Package: What’s Included & Is It Worth it?

When you’re planning your Fred. Olsen cruise, one thing to consider is whether you should pay for your drinks as you go, or book yourself a drinks package that makes your cruise all-inclusive.

There’s a lot to consider – how much the package is, how much drinks cost if you buy them individually, and whether you’d get value from a package or not.

So let’s take a look.

How much is Fred Olsen’s drinks package?

The Fred. Olsen All Inclusive Upgrade costs £24.99 per person, per night on cruises lasting six nights or more. If you book a shorter cruise or a Speciality Sailing, the price increases to £35 per person, per night. You have to pay for the upgrade for the duration of your cruise.

Purely in terms of pricing, Fred. Olsen’s drinks package is pretty good. Many of the biggest cruise lines in the world charge upwards of £50 per person, per day for drinks. So your drink package can cost more than the cruise itself!

If you want to know whether it’s worth it or not, then you can use my drink package calculator.

Just enter what drinks you’ll have on an average day and it will do the maths for you.

Get it for free here…

There are a small number of cruise lines which have cheaper drinks packages than Fred Olsen, including Marella Cruises’ drinks package which costs just £10 per person, per day and includes similar drinks to the Fred. Olsen packages.

Overall though, whether a Fred. Olsen drinks package is good value doesn’t really depend on other cruise lines – it depends on what’s included, and whether it would save you money against buying your drinks separately.

It’s important to note that these prices only apply if you book your drinks package in advance. If you wait until you’re on the ship, then you’ll pay the higher price of £34.99 per night for cruises of six nights or more, or £45 for five-night cruises. You can’t book on the ship for cruises of four nights or less.

All adults sharing a cabin have to book the All Inclusive Upgrade if one guest wants it – you can’t have one adult buying it, and one not. Children don’t need to, but if you want them to enjoy all-inclusive drinks then they do need one, and they cost the same as adults.

However, on cruises of exactly five nights, the All Inclusive Upgrade is free for children if travelling with adults paying for it.

What’s included in Fred Olsen’s drinks package?

The All Inclusive Upgrade from Fred. Olsen includes selected house wines and house spirits, selected beers and ciders, a cocktail or mocktail of the day and a selection of soft drinks. Tea and coffee is included in the restaurants and buffet areas too.

Here’s a full look at everything that is included in the bars on the ship

Beers, lagers and ciders

• Ale draught
• Lager draught
• Cider draught (select bars only)
• Carlsberg cans – 330ml
• Heineken cans – 330ml
• Heineken 0.0% cans – 330ml
• Spitfire cans – 500ml
• Somersby cans – 440ml

House wines (all 175ml glasses)

• White
• Red
• Rose
• Sparkling
• Non-alcoholic

House spirits (25ml servings)

• Vodka
• Whisky
• Gin
• White Rum
• Brandy
• Irish Cream

Cocktails

• Cocktail and mocktail of the day

Soft drinks (by the glass)

• Pepsi
• Diet Pepsi
• Lemonade
• Diet lemonade
• Tango Orange
• Tonic water
• Low calorie tonic water
• Ginger ale

Juices (by the glass)

• Orange juice
• Apple juice
• Pineapple juice
• Cranberry juice
• Tomato juice

Not all of these drinks are available in the restaurants and buffet areas on the ship, but you will be able to enjoy:

• Soft drinks
• House wines
• Branded beers
• Tea & coffee

What’s NOT included in Fred Olsen’s drinks package?

It’s also important to know what isn’t included when you buy the All Inclusive Upgrade. You will have to pay extra for:

• Wines by the bottle
• Premium beers and wines
• The full range of cocktails and mocktails
• Bottled water
• Champagne, Prosecco and dessert wines

However, when you buy the All Inclusive Upgrade, you do get 50% off the premium beers and wines, cocktails and mocktails, and bottled water, so you can still make significant savings on those.

The tap water in your room is safe to drink and tastes fine, but if you prefer to drink bottled water then it will be provided for you at a cost of £3 per bottle.

Champagne & Wine Packages

If you prefer to buy your wines by the bottle – or you just like a more premium wine option than those included on the All Inclusive Upgrade, then you may prefer to instead buy one of the packages offered by Fred. Olsen.

These are available to buy once you’ve booked your cruise – all you need to do is log onto your account when you’re within 13 weeks of your cruise, but before the day before your cruise, and you can add one (or more) of these to your cruise.

The Platinum package is discounted to £130 if you have also booked the All-Inclusive Upgrade.

The Diamond package is discounted to £259 if you’ve also booked the All Inclusive Upgrade.

Hot Drinks Package – Bookmark Bestseller 

The Bookmark Cafe is a popular spot for guests to relax on a Fred. Olsen ship. It serves hot drinks, baked goods and even handmade chocolates for you to enjoy.

And guess what – it has its own drinks package, if you want to take advantage of a special offer.

It works similar to the Champagne and wine packages – pay upfront and you get to enjoy a set amount of drinks onboard.

The Bookmark Bestseller costs £20 and that gets you 7 hot drinks along with a bag of truffles – either milk chocolate or mixed.

Most drinks at the Bookmark Cafe cost £3 or £4 – there are some more expensive liqueur coffees but these aren’t included in the deal – so the savings aren’t huge, but you could save between £1 and £8 on the drinks alone and you get the truffles included too.

You can view the full Bookmark Cafe drinks menu here. 

How much are drinks on Fred Olsen cruises?

Prices for drinks on Fred. Olsen cruises depend on the brand you choose, but expect a glass of wine to cost from £6, a pint of lager to cost from £5, and soft drinks to cost around £2.50. Most coffees are priced at around £3.

You can view the full bar menu online, but here’s a breakdown for you:

Cocktails & mocktails

• Cocktails – £7
• Mocktails – £4

Wines

• House wine (175ml) – £6
• House wine (white and rose, 250ml) – £9
• House wine (red, 250ml) – £8 to £9
• Other bar wines (175ml) – £6 to £7
• Other bar wines (250ml) – £9 to £13
• Champagne – £9 to £16

Lager, ale and cider

• Heineken draught – £3 half, £5 pint
• Stella Artois draught – £3.50 half, £6 pint
• Birra Moretti draught – £3.50 half, £6 pint
• Heineken 0.0% 330ml can – £4 
• Newcastle Brown Ale draught – £3.50 half, £6 pint
• Spitfire 500ml can – £5 
• Strongbow draught – £3.50 half, £6 pint
• Somersby 440ml can – £5
• Koppaberg cider cans – £6

Spirits

• House vodka – £4 single, £8 double
• Premium vodka – £5
• House gin – £4 single, £8 double
• Premium gin – £4 to £5
• House rum – £4 single, £8 double
• Premium rum – £4 to £5
• House whisky – £4 single, £8 double
• Premium whisky – £4 to £5
• House brand – £4 single, £6 double
• Premium brandy & cognac – £5 to £6
• Draught mixers – £1
• Mini can mixers – £2
• House irish cream – £4 single, £8 double
• Liqueurs & other speciality spirits – £4 to £5
• Port, sherry, madeira and vermouth – £4

Soft drinks

• Draught soda – £2.50
• Soda cans (PepsiCo) – £3
• Still & sparkling water cans – £2
• Red Bull – £4
• Juice cans (150ml) – £2
• Pineapple juice bottle (200ml) – £2.50
• Milkshakes – £4

There’s also an extensive wine list if you want to order by the bottle.

• Champagne – £26 to £240
• Premium white wines – £23 to £43
• Premium rose wines – £23 to £29
• Premium red wines – £23 to £48
• Dessert wine (small bottle) – £40
• Alcohol-free wine – £20

What drinks are free on Fred Olsen cruises?

You can always enjoy free tap water on a Fred. Olsen cruise at any of the bars or restaurants. At the buffet, you can also enjoy tea, coffee and fresh fruit juices during breakfast, but the juices are not available free of charge at other times.

As a cruise line that primarily targets the British cruise market, Fred. Olsen knows how important a good cup of tea or coffee is in the morning. That’s why you’ll be able to find tea and coffee-making facilities in every cabin onboard – quite the rarity in the world of ocean cruising!

On my cruise on Borealis, the kettle and cups were inside a cupboard and looked like this…

Plus there are tea and coffee stations open 24/7 around the ship, so you don’t have to trek back to your room for a brew. If you want speciality teas and coffees then you’ll need to pay for them.

Is the Fred Olsen Drinks Package Worth It?

Whether or not the Fred. Olsen drinks package is worth it depends on how much you intend to drink on your cruise. It is one of the better value drinks packages, and most guests can recoup the cost for around 4-5 alcoholic drinks per day.

If you’re a beer drinker, then a pint costs you around £6 on a Fred. Olsen cruise. Having four pints per day would cost you £24, just £1 less than the price of the drinks package – which would also include any soft drinks you wanted throughout the day.

Of course, you’re tied into the upgrade for the entirety of your cruise, so that only applies if you’re going to have 4 pints every day of the sailing.

But also bear in mind that you get 50% off some of the premium drinks too. If you’re someone who drinks exclusively cocktails on a cruise, you’d be paying £7 each at full price – but if you pay £25 per day then you’ll only pay £3.50 per cocktail, and you’d be able to drink all the other included beverages too.

The best way to find out if the drinks package is worth it is to use my drinks package calculator. Use this to work out how much you’d likely spend if you bought the drinks separately and whether the package would be better value.

How To Book A Fred. Olsen Drinks Package

You can choose to book your All Inclusive Upgrade either before you sail or while you are onboard the ship, but you only get the lower price if you book before you sail.

Also, remember you can only book on the ship for cruises of five nights or more.

To book before you cruise, you can either add it on while you’re making your original booking, or you can call the Guest Services Team to add it on.

You’ll also be able to log into your booking online to add it to your cruise, before you’ve sailed. You can do this anytime before you cruise, up to six days before you sail. Any later than that, and you’ll be charged the onboard price.

If you want to book the All-Inclusive Upgrade while you’re on the ship, you’ll need to visit the Guest Services desk. You have to do this before the end of the second day of your cruise, otherwise, you won’t be allowed to book.

The All-Inclusive Upgrade is subject to availability, so if you wait until you’re on the ship, you might not be able to book it – bear that in mind.

You can book the Champagne & Wine packages, and the Bookmark Bestseller, before you sail as well. These can be booked from 13 weeks before your sailing date, up to the day before you sail.

Final word

The Fred. Olsen All Inclusive Upgrade is pretty good value when compared to many other cruise lines, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.

If you only have the occasional cocktail, and you otherwise stick to soft drinks, it probably isn’t good value.

But, if you are someone who enjoys glasses of wine with lunch and dinner, or a few beers in the afternoon, it might work out more cost-effective to get the package.

And it will mean you don’t have to worry about how much you’re spending on drinks – you’ll know the cost of the package in advance and can just budget for that.

Cheers!

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• Fred. Olsen Cruise Ships Compared
• How Old Do You Have To Be To Drink on a Cruise?