There’s not much that goes together better than a cruise and alcohol. Something about cruising along on the open water while sitting poolside makes it the perfect time to crack open a beer, or have a pina colada.
And if you’ve ever noticed that there are a lot of bars on a cruise ship, that’s not by accident. Selling drinks to passengers is a major part of the cruise line’s business. With beers costing between $5-7 and cocktails running $8-12, the revenue earned by bars on the ship can quickly add up.
For many people, the amount spent on alcohol while sailing will be the biggest expense they have during the trip — running even more than excursions and spending in port for some.
If you’ve ever wondered just how much your fellow passengers spend on alcohol, you aren’t alone. Cruzely recently completed a survey of 500 cruisers to get the scoop on all sorts of questions related to cruising, from the biggest frustrations to how much people pay for their average trip.
Included in our 2018 Cruiser’s Survey was also a question asking cruisers how much they spend per person on alcohol on a cruise. The numbers were surprising.
Passengers Spend Big Bucks on Alcohol
Above, you can see the results of our survey. In total, 85.1% of those surveyed — nearly nine out of ten people — said they spend at least some money on booze on their trip.
That said, not everyone is spending a fortune on alcohol. The largest group of respondents (25.5%) said they spend less than $50 on their trip. That equates to only a few drinks here and there over the course of cruise.
But on the other side of the coin are the big spenders. These are the people that say they spend more than $200 per person on alcohol on their average trip. And according to our survey, there are plenty of these folks on a cruise ship. In total, 22.2% of respondents said they break the $200 mark when it comes to drinks on a cruise.
Note: If you are one of those people that spend big on drinks, you might want a cruise line drink package. We have a handy Drink Package Calculator to help you see if a drink package will save you money on your trip.
You can view the entire 2018 Cruiser’s Survey here.
