5 Of The Best Ways To Get Free Alcoholic Beverages While On A Cruise

The only thing better than a cold beer is a free cold beer, and the only thing that beats that is a free cold beer enjoyed on a boat. However, scoring free drinks on cruises is not easy. Alcohol sales make up a large part of most cruise companies' overall revenue, and they know it. You'll have to think, plan, strategize, and maybe even gamble to get your fill of free drinks on the high seas. 

Gameplanning getting free booze onboard starts while deciding what to pack for your cruise vacation. While it doesn't count as one of our tips because it's not free, you might be surprised to find out that some cruises will allow you to bring a bottle or two onboard with you. (Typically, champagne or wine only.) While two bottles of wine aren't enough to get you through a week-long cruise, it's a great way to supplement some of the other tips on our list.  

As you're about to find out, there's no such thing as a free lunch or free beverages on a cruise. You'll always have to spend something. Our goal is to shift the currency exchange away from money and towards loyalty, enthusiasm, or (mostly) spending your time. But hey, this is a vacation, after all. You'll have more free time on a cruise than you normally do, and being at the right places at the right time can often be your ticket to a boozy afternoon on the starboard side.

If you're on board to drink, the first thing you should do after unpacking is split up your crew and send missionaries to every single onboard bar. The mission: Create an all-encompassing list of cruise ship happy hours. Not only are these great ways to save some money on drinks at key moments but they can also be used to stock your stateroom mini-fridge with free drinks down the line. The ultimate goal is to find a 2-for-1 special and ask for your second drink to be served unopened. Slide the free drink in your pocket and transport it back to your room to enjoy it later.

The most successful passengers have reported buying an entire case of beer at a 2-for-1 rate, reducing per-beer costs to less than $3. That's an extreme case of happy hour success, but even on a smaller scale, exploiting this special today can help you drink for free tomorrow. To make the most of these happy hour deals, you should build a slight rapport with your bartenders. Savvy passengers who've sailed the seas a time or two will quickly tell you that a few bucks in the right hands can go a long way. You should always be polite and tip your waitstaff, but think of this as an extra incentive. Tipping waiters, bartenders, or anyone who is frequently within 6 feet of happy hour specials can pay off in generous pours and greatly discounted alcoholic beverages. 

True cruise boozehounds should start every day with a cup of coffee and the daily cruise planner, inspecting opportunities to win bottles or enjoy a doorbuster glass of bubbly. Every day aboard a cruise ship brings special events and activities. Smart organizers and businesses that operate on deck know that the best way to build up interest in their event is by offering free drinks. Look for contests and activities where there may be prizes awarded, or look for events that want you to buy things. 

Perhaps the most famous event with free booze is a cruise ship art auction. The right auction might be your ticket to a few glasses of free champagne as long as you're willing to hang out in the room and look interested. Don't feel bad about showing up to these events with confidence and accepting a glass, even with no intention of bringing home a Monet. Per the New York Times, these art dealers are notorious for sketchy business practices, so drink up and get out of there.

The other main ticket to free booze in your cruise planner is competitions and activities with bubbly as a prize. People often cite too much time at sea as one of the reasons to avoid taking cruises, so operators look to spruce things up with activities. Look for more adult-themed contests, like a newlywed game or gameshow-style events, for your best chances of scoring a bottle as a prize.

Because if there's anything that goes well together, it's drinking and gambling. Several cruise lines will provide drink deals if you spend enough time at the table. One of the most prolific options for this is Celebrity Cruise Lines. All levels of the company's free-to-join Blue Chip Club include free drinks as long as you're actively gambling. Most of the other major companies will require you to reach a certain status level within the casino before you drink freely, but if you gamble enough aboard, they'll all start giving you free drinks soon enough. 

Of course, for this tip to really qualify as free, you'll have to start winning hands. And even though a cruise line is not a home, the idiom still applies here: If you gamble long enough, the house always wins. So, unless you were already planning on taking a cruise specifically for gambling, you're probably going to save money in the long haul by just buying a drinks package rather than hoping to bet your way to free rum and cokes. Still, if you're already searching for a cruise line with a casino, make sure your casino of choice offers free drinks. 

If you're a seasoned gambler, many major cruise carriers have programs to entice you onboard with discounts, upgrades, and even free drink packages. Before you're onboard, start the games by filling out a casino player inquiry and seeing what kinds of offers the ships present.

Unless there is one specific cruise you've been itching to take, it can pay to be flexible when picking your next vacation. If you search long enough, you might be able to find a deal that will throw on free drinks when you book your trip, most often in the form of discounted access to cruise drink packages. 

Typically, we advise thinking twice before buying a cruise drink package. It makes sense for certain voyages, but it'll add up to a waste of money on others (read: Most of them). Come up with a rough estimate of the number of drinks you'll want daily, find out how much those drinks cost on your cruise, and then compare that answer with the daily cost of a cruise drink package. Don't forget to factor in gratuity, which is typically not mentioned in the package's initial cost. At full price, cruise drink packages can reach $50-100 per day, but finding the right deal could pull your drinking costs down into the realm of possibility. 

The most famous example is Norwegian Cruise Line's Free At Sea promotion, which offers an unlimited open bar with certain voyage purchases. Carnival's Cheers! Package rarely goes on sale, but sometimes you can catch Royal Caribbean's Deluxe Beverage Package for up to 45% off.Find Facebook groups and websites dedicated to cruise deals and keep a Google alert activated for your preferred drink packages; these sales don't stick around for long.

The best way to get free alcoholic beverages on a cruise is loyalty. If you expect to spend your next decade cruising, pick one company and book with them every time. The more you cruise with one provider, the more benefits you reap. Some operators will start offering you a free glass to celebrate on your second trip. Book long enough, and you'll gain access to cocktail parties or even receive daily drink vouchers. The highest level of Royal Carribean's Crown and Anchor Society provides six free daily drinks.

The king of all loyalty offers is Royal Caribbean's $100,000 golden, diamond-encrusted chalice, which is a real thing (pictured) and comes with unlimited drinks for life. There's a catch here, though — the cup can only be filled with drinks that cost less than $14. Eventually, there might be none of those left, so drink up while you can. To decide if it's worth it, find the loyalty offer you want the most and figure out how many drinks it will cost before it pays off. In the case of the goblet, at 14 bucks a drink, it will cost you (roughly) 7,142 drinks to make up the price. Drinks number 7,143 and onward are on the house. 

For best results, show loyalty both to cruise operators and your cruise travel agent. They've been known to show loyal customers gratitude with bottles of wine waiting in staterooms and other perks that will lead to cheaper booze cruises.