Royal Caribbean Just Made a Massive Change to a Popular Drink Package

Before you set sail on your next Royal Caribbean cruise, there's a policy change you should absolutely know about, especially if you're a fan of the cruise line's drink packages.

Avid cruisers likely know that for years now Royal Caribbean has implemented an "everyone must purchase" rule on guests of legal drinking age if one person in the cabin purchases the Deluxe Beverage Package. That particular package gets you bottomless beverages, including spirits, beer and wine. 

Many people were able to workaround the "everyone must purchase" policy by reaching out to Royal Caribbean directly via phone to tell them their situation. But according to Cruise Hive, beginning August 1, the cruise line is no longer granting any exceptions.

"Beginning August 1, Royal Caribbean will no longer be able to grant exceptions to our policy that both guests in a stateroom must purchase the Deluxe Beverage Package. This change allows us to ensure guests are consuming their beverage package responsibly. Over time, requests for exceptions have increased, and sharing of packages has continued, which led us to implement this policy change," Royal Caribbean shared with Cruise Hive.

The decision is getting a lot of reaction on social media where some cruisers feel that the policy change is all due to a few bad apples.

"This is a great example of a couple of people abusing a policy and therefore ruining it for everyone. I feel bad for all the pax who legitimately cannot drink for whatever reason because this policy change unanimously hurts them," one person shared on Reddit.

Others were so taken aback by the policy update that they're considering other cruise lines.

"My partner doesn't drink at all. Not a drop. No way in hell I'm paying for a drink package for them as well. It's already comically overpriced. I was seriously considering checking out other lines. Looks like this will get the ball rolling on that," read one comment.

Will you be making any changes to your next cruise as a result of the policy?