For North American MSC sailings, the only alcoholic drink package available is the Premium Extra at $85/day (4+ nights) or $95/day (3-night cruises) — all-in with the 18% service charge. It's worth it if you drink 5+ cocktails or mixed drinks per day, but light drinkers will likely overpay.
Photo: MSC Cruises
The Easy Plus package you may have seen mentioned online? It's dead — discontinued for North American sailings in December 2024, and killed globally in August 2025. If you're sailing from a U.S. or Canadian port, there is exactly one alcoholic drink package on offer: the Premium Extra Package. Here's whether it's actually worth your money.
The Only Alcoholic Option for North American Sailings: Premium Extra
MSC simplified (some would say streamlined, others would say take-it-or-leave-it) the beverage package lineup for Caribbean, Alaska, and Canada/New England sailings. There is no mid-tier option anymore. You either buy the Premium Extra, the Alcohol-Free Package, or the Minors Package — or you pay per drink.
| Package | Who It's For | Pre-Cruise Price (4+ nights) | Pre-Cruise Price (3 nights) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Extra | Adults who want alcohol | $85/day | $95/day |
| Alcohol-Free | Non-drinkers, designated drivers | $33/day | $35/day |
| Minors (Ages 3–20) | Kids/teens (requires adult package) | $22/day | $25/day |
Critical note on pricing: All figures above already include the mandatory 18% service charge. Buy before you board — the onboard price is 15% higher than the pre-cruise rate. That's not a typo. Buy it in advance through your cruise planner.
What the Premium Extra Package Actually Covers
- Cocktails and spirits up to $16/drink (covers the vast majority of the standard menu)
- Wine and champagne by the glass (up to $16)
- Draft and bottled beers
- Specialty coffees — cappuccinos, lattes, espresso, the works
- Sodas, juices, smoothies, energy drinks, still and sparkling water (all unlimited, no daily cap)
- Works at all bars, the buffet, the main dining room, specialty restaurants, and at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve
What It Does NOT Cover
- Venchi 1878 chocolate/gelato or Jean-Philippe specialty venues
- Room service
- Minibar
- Anything over $16/drink (you pay the difference)
One more thing: There's a 15-drink daily alcohol limit. That limit applies fleet-wide for regular cabin guests. Yacht Club guests get Premium Extra included automatically — and that 15-drink cap doesn't apply inside Yacht Club areas.
Photo: MSC Cruises
The Real Break-Even Math
Here's the honest calculation. At $85/day (pre-cruise, 4+ night sailing), you need to extract $85 of drink value every single day to break even.
| Drink Type | Typical Onboard Price (before package) | Package Covers? |
|---|---|---|
| Cocktail / mixed drink | ~$13–$15 | ✅ Yes (up to $16) |
| Premium cocktail | ~$15–$16 | ✅ Yes (up to $16) |
| Draft beer | ~$7–$9 | ✅ Yes |
| Wine by the glass | ~$10–$14 | ✅ Yes (up to $16) |
| Specialty coffee (latte, cappuccino) | ~$5–$7 | ✅ Yes |
| Energy drink | ~$5–$6 | ✅ Yes |
| Bottled water / soda | ~$3–$4 | ✅ Yes (unlimited) |
The break-even point is roughly 5 cocktails per day at an average of $14 each, plus a couple of specialty coffees. If you're someone who has a mimosa at breakfast, cocktails at the pool, wine at dinner, and a nightcap — you'll likely come out ahead or close to even.
If you're a 2-drink-a-day person who sticks to beer, you will not break even. Pay as you go instead.
Photo: MSC Cruises
Key Factors That Determine If It's Worth It
Itinerary matters a lot. Sea-heavy Caribbean itineraries — 4+ sea days — are where drink packages shine. You're on the ship, at the pool bar, all day. Port-heavy itineraries (many stops, long hours off the ship exploring) naturally reduce your consumption and make the package harder to justify.
Your drinking style is everything. Cocktail and wine drinkers with a coffee habit will break even faster than beer-only drinkers. A $14 cocktail plus a $6 cappuccino is $20 in value before noon.
The per-cabin flexibility is actually a genuine MSC advantage. Unlike most cruise lines, MSC does NOT require every adult in the same cabin to purchase the same package. If one partner drinks and one doesn't, the drinker can buy Premium Extra ($85/day) and the non-drinker can buy Alcohol-Free ($33/day) or nothing. That's unusual in the cruise industry and worth factoring in.
Yacht Club guests should skip this calculation entirely. Premium Extra is included in your Yacht Club fare. Don't buy it separately.
The 25% wine bottle discount is a sleeper perk. If you're a wine person who likes a bottle at dinner rather than by-the-glass, that discount on bottled wine purchases stacks on top of the package's by-the-glass coverage.
Practical Tips to Get the Most Value
Buy pre-cruise, always. The 15% onboard markup is real. At $85/day, buying at the pier costs you roughly $12.75/day more than buying in advance. On a 7-night cruise, that's nearly $90 extra for the exact same package.
Watch for sales. MSC periodically discounts packages, especially around Black Friday or during early booking promotions. Check your cruise planner regularly in the weeks leading up to sailing.
Don't overlook the non-alcoholic value. Specialty coffees, energy drinks, and unlimited bottled water are legitimately included. If you'd normally buy 2 lattes and 2 bottles of water per day, that's ~$18–$20/day in value even before a single cocktail.
Skip the minibar. It's not covered. Don't start your vacation cracking open a $9 Diet Coke from your cabin fridge on autopilot.
If you're on the fence, calculate your last cruise spend. Pull your onboard statement from a past cruise and divide your drink total by the number of days. If you averaged over $85/day in drinks (including coffees and non-alcoholic), buy the package. If you averaged $40/day, skip it.
Who Should Buy It vs. Who Should Skip It
| Traveler Type | Verdict | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Cocktail lovers, 5+ drinks/day | Buy it | Breaks even easily; wine + coffee pushes well into value territory |
| Wine-at-dinner-only crowd | Borderline | Run the math on your actual consumption |
| Beer drinkers, 2–3/day | Skip it | $85/day is hard to justify on 2-3 beers |
| Non-drinkers | Alcohol-Free at $33/day | Specialty coffees + unlimited water/juice makes it reasonable |
| Families with teens | Minors package | $22/day is fair for sodas, mocktails, and specialty drinks |
| Yacht Club guests | Already included | Don't buy separately |
| Mixed couples (one drinks, one doesn't) | Split packages | MSC's no-matching-cabin rule saves you real money here |
The Premium Extra Package is a genuinely solid package when it matches your drinking habits — the $16 drink cap covers almost everything on the standard menu, the service charge is baked in, and the flexibility to mix-and-match within a cabin is a real differentiator. But at $85/day, it demands honest self-assessment. Don't buy it because it feels like a vacation splurge — buy it because the math works out.
Use CruiseMutiny to model your exact cruise costs before you commit — including whether the Premium Extra package makes financial sense for your sailing length and drinking habits.