Is the MSC Drink Package Worth It?

One of the biggest questions people ask before sailing on the MSC Seaside is simple:

Should you buy the MSC drink package, or just pay as you go?

After my latest sailing aboard MSC Seaside, I collected the current onboard MSC bar menus and MSC drink prices to break down exactly what cocktails, beer, liquor, soda, and mocktails are currently costing onboard.

And honestly?
MSC’s onboard drink prices have climbed enough that the math now matters more than ever.

🍹 MSC Seaside Cocktail Prices

Most standard cocktails onboard currently range between:

• $14–$16 per cocktail
• Plus automatic gratuities if not already included

That pricing applies to many of the ship’s featured drinks, including:

Cruise Classics

• Piña Colada — $14
• Mojito — $14
• Strawberry Daiquiri — $14
• Bahama Mama — $14
• Blue Hawaiian — $14
• Mai Tai — $16

Highballs

• Moscow Mule — $14
• Bloody Mary — $14
• Peach on the Beach — $14
• Jack Daniel’s Lemonade — $16
• Jameson & Ginger — $16

Martinis

• Cosmopolitan — $14
• Appletini — $14
• Passion Fruit Martini — $14
• Espresso Martini — $16
• Hendrick’s Martini — $16

🥃 MSC Seaside Liquor Prices

Standard spirits onboard mostly fall into two categories:

Standard pours:

• Absolut
• Tito’s
• Bacardi
• Bombay Sapphire
• Beefeater
• Jameson
• Jack Daniel’s

➡ Usually around $14

Premium pours:

• Glenlivet
• Woodford Reserve
• Belvedere
• Grey Goose
• Don Julio
• Hendrick’s
• Talisker

➡ Usually around $15–$16

🍺 Beer Prices on MSC Seaside

Beer pricing is surprisingly straightforward onboard.

Bottled & canned beer:

• Budweiser — $9
• Corona — $9
• Heineken — $9
• Stella Artois — $9
• Guinness — $9

Draft beer:

• Heineken draft
  • Small — $6
  • Large — $9

Cider:

• Angry Orchard — $9

👉 Compared to land prices, this is definitely cruise pricing—but not outrageous by modern cruise standards.

🥤 Soda, Water & Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Soda:

• Fountain soda — ~$3
• Canned soda — ~$3.50

Energy drinks:

• Red Bull — $5

Water:

• Small bottle — ~$3.25
• Large bottle — ~$5.25

Mocktails:

• Virgin Piña Colada — $10
• Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri — $10
• Nojito — $10

📈 So… Is the MSC Drink Package Worth It?

This is where things get interesting.

MSC’s drink package pricing changes constantly depending on:

• promotions
• booking timing
• package level
• whether you prepay before the cruise

But generally:

• Easy Package often lands around $45–$65/day
• Premium packages can push $70–$90+/day

🧮 The Actual Math

Let’s use the real prices from this sailing.

If you drink cocktails:

At ~$14–$16 each:

• 3 cocktails = ~$42–$48
• 4 cocktails = ~$56–$64
• 5 cocktails = ~$70–$80

That means:
👉 Around 4–5 alcoholic drinks per day is usually the break-even point.

And that’s before:

• soda
• bottled water
• specialty coffee
• energy drinks
• gratuities

🍷 Wine Drinkers Hit the Break-Even Faster

From the wine menu:

• Most glasses cost ~$12–$16

So:

• 3 glasses of wine already pushes you close to package territory.

Wine drinkers honestly benefit from packages faster than beer drinkers.

Click here for a more detailed MSC Wine List 2026

🍺 Beer Drinkers Need More Volume

At ~$9 beers:

• 5 beers = ~$45
• 6 beers = ~$54
• 7 beers = ~$63

So beer drinkers need to drink noticeably more to fully justify the package.

🚢 My Honest Take After Sailing MSC Seaside

MSC’s pricing strategy is very intentional:

• Individual drinks are priced just high enough to make packages psychologically attractive.

And honestly?
It works.

Because once you add:

• a morning specialty coffee
• bottled water
• 3–4 cocktails
• maybe a soda or beer

…you’re already approaching package pricing.

💡 Who Should Buy the Drink Package?

The package is probably worth it if:

• You drink 4+ alcoholic drinks daily
• You enjoy cocktails instead of beer
• You drink wine regularly
• You like convenience and not thinking about pricing
• You drink bottled water, espresso drinks, Red Bull, etc.

💸 Pay-As-You-Go Is Better If:

• You only drink occasionally
• You mostly drink beer
• You stay in port most of the day
• You don’t drink every day of the cruise

⚠ Important Thing Many Cruisers Forget

Cruise drinks add up fast because people mentally underestimate:

• sea days
• pool drinks
• coffees
• gratuities
• bottled water

A “couple drinks here and there” can quietly become:
👉 $400–$700 by the end of the sailing.