Royal Caribbean Brings Back Drink Package Exceptions

For anyone who’s ever cruised the Caribbean with a mixed crowd of drinkers and non-drinkers in the same cabin, Royal Caribbean’s beverage package rules have long been a source of quiet frustration. Now, after more than a year of an all-or-nothing policy, the cruise line is loosening its grip — but not by much.

Royal Caribbean has reopened the door to drink package exceptions, allowing some guests sharing a stateroom to skip the requirement that everyone of legal drinking age buy the same alcohol package. But this isn’t a return to the old, loosely enforced system. The new process is narrower, more paperwork-driven, and squarely aimed at travelers with legitimate medical needs rather than those simply looking to save money on a Caribbean sailing.

A Popular Workaround Meets Its End

Royal Caribbean’s core policy has stayed consistent for years: if one adult in a cabin purchases the unlimited Deluxe Beverage Package, every other adult in that same room is required to buy it too. The logic is straightforward from a revenue standpoint — the line doesn’t want two people effectively splitting one all-inclusive drink package meant for a single guest.

For travelers heading to hotspots like Perfect Day CocoCay in The Bahamas, or itineraries stopping in St. Thomas, San Juan, or Cozumel, that rule mattered. Plenty of couples and families include one drinker and one non-drinker, and for years, a simple phone call to Royal Caribbean could get the non-drinking guest switched to the much less expensive Royal Refreshment package instead of paying full freight for alcohol they didn’t want.

That flexibility disappeared on August 1, 2025, when Royal Caribbean eliminated exceptions altogether. The company said at the time that requests had surged, and that the exception process was increasingly being used by pairs of guests to effectively share a single alcohol package rather than each buying — or forgoing — their own.

What’s Changed: Medical Accommodations Only

The policy shift came to light after Matt Hochberg of Royal Caribbean Blog called the cruise line directly to inquire about an exception for an upcoming sailing. Rather than a flat refusal, he says he was told about a new process and sent a form on the spot: a “Beverage Package Accommodation Request.”

Unlike the old system, this isn’t open to anyone who simply prefers not to drink. Royal Caribbean will now only consider exceptions tied to disability, a medical condition, or pregnancy. Guests can choose to submit a brief supporting statement from a credible source — without needing to disclose specific medical details — and the cruise line says it will respond to requests within 10 business days.

That timeline is worth flagging for anyone booking a Caribbean cruise close to departure: travelers who think they may qualify should submit the form well ahead of their sail date rather than waiting until the final days before boarding.

Even guests who are approved aren’t off the hook entirely. They’re still required to purchase the non-alcoholic Royal Refreshment package rather than being exempted from a beverage package altogether.

The Cost of Gaming the System

Royal Caribbean is pairing the reopened exception process with unusually specific warnings about fraud. According to the terms of the new accommodation request, any guest found to have submitted false or misleading information will be retroactively billed for the full cost of the Deluxe Beverage Package for their entire sailing, with the exemption revoked.

The cruise line also says it may report suspected fraud to law enforcement, remove offending guests from the ship at their own expense, and ban them from sailing again — not just on Royal Caribbean, but across sister brands Celebrity Cruises and Silversea. For a policy area that used to be handled with a simple phone call, that’s a notably firm stance.

The Caribbean remains Royal Caribbean’s bread-and-butter region, home to its private destinations, its busiest port cities, and the majority of its sailings out of Florida. Beverage packages are a significant revenue driver for cruise lines across the board, and the Caribbean — with its rum bars, swim-up pools, and all-day sun — is where those packages get the most use.

That’s exactly why the all-or-nothing rule stung so many travelers in the first place. A parent who wants a cocktail by the pool at CocoCay while traveling with a pregnant partner, or a couple where one person is managing a health condition that rules out alcohol, faced paying for a full alcohol package neither person would actually use.

The reinstated exception process won’t help every mismatched pair of travelers, but it does address the more sympathetic cases that made the original all-or-nothing crackdown feel heavy-handed. Guests planning multigenerational Caribbean trips, honeymoons, or wellness-focused getaways where one traveler has a documented reason not to drink now have a legitimate path forward, even if it comes with more red tape than before.

“Until last year, allowing exemptions is something Royal Caribbean always did for people who have family members who can’t drink alcohol,” said Dennis Post, co-owner of Postcard Travel Planning. “This is a change we know some of our clients will be happy about.”

How This Compares Across the Industry

Beverage package rules vary by cruise line, and Royal Caribbean isn’t alone in requiring cabinmates to match alcohol packages — it’s a fairly standard practice across major lines sailing the Caribbean. What sets this update apart is the specificity of the new accommodation process, including the written option for third-party verification and the unusually detailed fraud penalties. It signals that cruise lines are getting more sophisticated about closing loopholes while still trying to preserve goodwill with guests who have genuine medical needs.

Planning a Caribbean Cruise? What to Know Before You Book

Travelers weighing a Deluxe Beverage Package for an upcoming Caribbean sailing should factor in both the per-person cost and the strict same-cabin requirement before assuming a workaround exists. Anyone who believes they may qualify for a medical, disability, or pregnancy-related exception should request the Beverage Package Accommodation Request form as early as possible, given the 10-business-day response window. A travel advisor familiar with Royal Caribbean’s policies can also help determine whether a booking might qualify and whether the beverage package makes financial sense in the first place.

Royal Caribbean’s willingness to reopen exceptions — even in a limited form — suggests the cruise line is still calibrating how strictly to enforce its beverage rules without alienating loyal Caribbean cruisers. As onboard spending remains a key profit center for cruise lines, expect more fine-tuning of packages, pricing, and eligibility rules in the seasons ahead, particularly as demand for Caribbean itineraries continues to climb heading into 2027 booking season. For now, the message for cruisers is clear: the old, easy workaround is gone for good, but a real accommodation is once again on the table for those who genuinely need it.

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