Everything That Is And Isn’t Included In Fred. Olsen Drinks Package (2026)

Fred. Olsen’s Premium Drinks Package sounds like a no-brainer… until you factor in what you now get for free.

I’ve tried it, and the real value is very different from what most cruisers expect. With selected drinks already included at mealtimes on Freedom Fare, the maths has quietly shifted, and a lot of people are paying for far more than they actually need.

If you’re torn between going all-inclusive or paying as you go, there’s one detail that completely changes the calculation.

Fred. Olsen Cruises Now Include Selected Drinks With Lunch And Dinner

Fred. Olsen Cruises Now Include Selected Drinks With Lunch and Dinner

From January 2026 onwards, Fred. Olsen’s Freedom Fare includes selected drinks with lunch and dinner, making the cruise fare more generous than it used to be.

What’s included is:

• House beer
• House wine
• Draught soft drinks

These are available by the glass in the main dining venues at lunch and dinner.

Fred. Olsen originally suggested in a press release that house spirits might also be included, but their Guest Experience Director later clarified in a video that the free drinks with meals are beer, wine and draught soft drinks only. That means drinks like gin and tonic, vodka and coke, or brandy after dinner are not included and would still need to be paid for, unless you have the Premium Drinks Package.

Even with that limitation, this is a big upgrade from how Fred. Olsen used to operate. In the past, even a small glass of house wine typically cost around £6, so having it included with meals can save a surprising amount over a week-long cruise.

You Can Go Fully All-Inclusive

If you’d like free rein to order whatever you like outside of meal times without worrying about the cost, then the Premium Drinks Package is for you.

Fred Olsen Drinks Package Prices

The package price varies depending on the date of your cruise, how long your cruise is, and whether you buy the package in advance or onboard. Prices are shown per person, per night.

	Price
70+ nights, pre-booked	£32
70+ nights, onboard	£36
28-69 nights, pre-booked	£36
28-69 nights, onboard	£40
6-27 nights, pre-booked	£40
6-27 nights, onboard	£44
1-5 nights, pre-booked	£44
1-5 nights, onboard	£48

What this change means, is that for a 7-night cruise, the drink package is increasing from £25 to £40!

However, you do get more drinks included in the new 2026 package.

What’s Included in Fred. Olsen’s Drinks Package

Prior to 2026, the All Inclusive Upgrade included selected house wines and house spirits, selected beers and ciders, a cocktail or mocktail of the day and a selection of soft drinks by the glass. Tea and coffee were included in the restaurants and buffet areas too.

For Fred. Olsen cruises in 2026 and beyond, you’ll also get the full cocktail and signature cocktail range.

I love that all cocktails are now included in the drink package. Previously, it was just one particular cocktail each day, and that really put me off getting the package. After all, it would be really annoying to have a package and not be able to get a strawberry daiquiri when you want one!

Whether the Drinks Package Is Worth It

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 drinks 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 drinks 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:

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 (175ml)

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

House Spirits (25ml)

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

Cocktails

• Cocktail and mocktail of the day (2025 cruises)
• All cocktails and mocktails (2026 cruises)

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 and coffee

What’s Not Included in Fred. Olsen’s Drinks Package

It’s important to know what isn’t included when you buy the Premium Drinks Package.

You will have to pay extra for:

• Wines by the bottle (you get 25% all red, white and rose)
• 750 ml Glass Bottled Water
• Red Bull
• Champagne and Prosecco by the bottle and dessert wines (you get 10% discount)
• Dessert Wine (you get 10% discount)
• Premium Whiskies and Brandies (you get 25% discount)
• Speciality Coffee
• Drinks from the Bookmark Café and Serenity Tea Room
• Mini bar drinks

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 at a cost of £3 per bottle.

Things to Know Before You Buy a Package

Ready to buy a package? Great! Make sure you do it before you board as you’ll get a significant discount.

Here are some more things you should be aware of…

1. You have to get the package for the duration of your cruise

This is the same with all cruise lines. You have to buy it every day, not just some days.

2. You both need to buy a package – no sharing!

All adults sharing a cabin have to book the drink package 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. It’s probably not worth buying a package for kids, as it would be virtually impossible to drink enough soft drinks and mocktails to make it cost-effective.

3. There’s a cap of 15 drinks per day

The limit on how many drinks you can have resets at 6 am each day. After that, any drinks will be chargeable.

4. Spirits Are Served In Single Measures

With Fred. Olsen’s drinks package, house spirits are served in 25ml measures, which is the standard single measure. That means you can’t order a double using the package, and you won’t get 50ml pours unless you pay extra outside of the package.

You’re also limited to one drink per person per transaction, which is designed to stop people ordering multiple drinks at once and sharing them. In practice, this means each guest needs to use their own card at the bar and order their drink separately, rather than trying to get multiple drinks on one card.

Champagne and Wine Packages on Fred. Olsen

If you prefer to buy your wines by the bottle, or you like a more premium wine option than those included on the All Inclusive Upgrade, you can 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 between 13 weeks and one day before embarkation, 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.

The Bookmark Cafe has its own drinks package, if you want to take advantage of a special offer. It works similar to the Champagne and wine packages, in that you pay upfront and enjoy a set amount of drinks onboard.

The Bookmark Bestseller costs £25. That gets you seven hot drinks along with a bag of truffles – either milk chocolate or mixed.

Most hot drinks at the Bookmark Café, such as Americanos and Cappuccinos, cost around £3 to £4 each. The Bookmark Bestseller card gives you seven standard hot drinks, but it does not include liqueur coffees or other alcoholic café drinks, which are usually more expensive. That means the savings are fairly small, but you do also get the bag of truffles or milk included, which adds a bit of extra value.

You can view the full Bookmark Cafe drinks menu here. 

The Cost of Drinks on Fred. Olsen Cruises

Prices for drinks on Fred. Olsen cruises depend on the brand you choose. Expect a glass of wine to cost from £6, a pint of lager to cost from £6, and soft drinks to cost around £2.50. Most coffees are priced at around £3-£4.

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

Cocktails and Mocktails

• Cocktails – £7.25
• Mocktails – £5

Wines

• House wine (selection of whites, reds and a rose, 175ml) – £6
• House wine (250ml) – £9
• Other bar wines not included in drinks package (175ml) – £6 to £9
• Other bar wines (250ml) – £9 to £13
• Prosecco (175ml) – £9
• Cava (175ml) – £6.50

Lager, Ale and Cider

• Heineken draught – £3 half, £5 pint
• Stella Artois draught – £4 half, £6 pint
• Birra Moretti draught – £4 half, £6 pint
• Heineken 0.0% 330ml can – £4.50
• Newcastle Brown Ale draught – £4 half, £6 pint
• Spitfire 500ml can – £5 
• Strongbow draught – £4 half, £6 pint
• Somersby 500ml can – £4
• Koppaberg cider – £6

Spirits

• House vodka – £4 single, £7 double
• Premium vodka – £5
• House gin – £4 single, £7 double
• Premium gin – £5
• House rum – £4 single, £7 double
• Premium rum – £4.50 to £6
• House whisky – £4 single, £7 double
• Premium whisky – £4.50 to £15
• House brandy – £4 single, £7 double
• Premium brandy and cognac – £5 to £290
• Draught mixers – £1
• Mini can mixers – £2.25
• House irish cream – £4 single, £7 double
• Liqueurs and 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 – £3
• Red Bull – £4
• Juice cans (150ml) – £2.25
• Pineapple juice bottle (200ml) – £2.50

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

• Champagne – £28 to £260
• Premium white wines – £28 to £65
• Premium rose wines – £28 to £42
• Premium red wines – £27 to £70
• Dessert wine (small bottle) – £35 to £40
• Alcohol-free wine – £23

Free Drinks on Fred. Olsen Cruises

You can always get free tap water on a Fred. Olsen cruises at any of the bars or restaurants. At the buffet, you can also enjoy free 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 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, you’ll need to pay for them.

Whether the Fred. Olsen Drinks Package Is Worth It

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

If you’re purely a beer drinker, a pint on Fred. Olsen costs around £6. On a 7-night cruise, the Premium Drinks Package costs £40 per person, per night when booked in advance, so £280 for the week. To get your money’s worth on beer alone, you’d need to drink about 47 pints over the week, which works out at just under 7 pints per day.

However, if you prefer wine, spirits or cocktails, the package becomes a much better value, as those drinks cost more individually and quickly close the gap.

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

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’re likely to spend if you buy the drinks separately, and whether or not 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 making your original booking or call the Guest Services Team to add it on.

You’ll also be able to log in to your booking online to add it to your cruise. 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.

You can book the Champagne and Wine packages and the Bookmark Bestseller package 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

With house wine, house beer and draught soft drinks now included with lunch and dinner on Fred. Olsen’s Freedom Fare, the Premium Drinks Package, is no longer about covering every single drink you have on board. It’s about whether you want your evening cocktails, spirits, bottled drinks and bar drinks outside mealtimes included too.

If you’re happy sticking to the free drinks at meals and only having the odd paid-for drink in the bar, you’ll probably spend less by paying as you go. But if you enjoy cocktails before dinner, wine or spirits in the lounge, or a few beers during the day, the package can still work out better value, especially over a full week or longer.

There’s also the convenience factor. With the package, you don’t have to think about what’s included and what isn’t. You can just order what you fancy and relax, knowing it’s already paid for, which for many people is part of what makes a cruise feel truly all-inclusive.

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• How Old Do You Have To Be To Drink on a Cruise?
• Fred. Olsen Cruises Now Come With Drinks Included