SillyTurkey

Thank you late2cruisin, that makes more sense. I couldn't imagine a package that included only one wine choice was correct.

I'm recently back from a 14 day cruise on the Eclipse, our 6th on Celebrity. On past cruises, I have experienced every variety of drink packages, including no package at all, a purchased drink package, and the "complimentary" (123Go/Go Big) Classic package, both upgraded to Premium and used as is. I've seen numerous posts about upgrading to Premium, but I haven't seen much information for people who have decided to stick with Classic.

 

First, a request before I begin: let's not turn this post into one of those "it's a no brainer, just upgrade to Premium" threads. It is NOT a no-brainer -- I choose to upgrade on some cruises and not others, depending on the length of the cruise, the people I'm with, etc. My hope is that this post will be helpful to others who don't plan to upgrade, for whatever reason. So let's get started...

 

When we first boarded the ship, there were constant efforts to upgrade people to premium, so you should brace yourself if you want to stay on Classic. Not only were there desks set up to sell and upgrade drink packages, but virtually every waiter, bartender, and sommelier asked. Each one was anxious to explain the features of the upgrade -- clearly they are "encouraged," through whatever means, to sell them. I responded that I understood all about the drink plans, but I'm going to stick with Classic for now and might upgrade later in the cruise. Note that if you change your mind and want to upgrade later, you can do so until there are at least three or four days left (depending on who you talk to - there seems to be no clear rule on this) in the sailing. You will only pay for the number of days left when you upgrade.

 

After a couple of days of cruising, the constant pressure to upgrade evaporated, and in fact it was never mentioned again. Our waiter and sommelier in the main dining room adapted quickly to our Classic plan, and we got to know several bartenders that we liked -- all of them were happy to keep our glasses filled. By the end of the cruise, our sommelier knew that we liked to start each dinner with a glass of Prosecco before moving on to other wines, and was ready to suggest options in our plan that matched well with our food.

 

For beer and wine, understanding the rules of the Classic Package is relatively simple -- just look at the beer and/or wine list, and order something that is at or below the relevant price limit. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I ordered Heineken and Corona on my recent cruise, along with a couple of different British brews that were available on my most recent UK-originated cruise. For wine, here are the wines by the glass offered in the main dining room on my sailing:

 

Please note that as a UK-based cruise, gratuities were included in both the menu prices and the price limit for the Classic Package. So the wine price limit for Classic was $11, which gave us a quite a few options for both white and red wines. I'm a wine nut, and while there were a few things missing (like a Pinot Noir), overall the wines were just fine.

 

For cocktails, things get complicated. Theoretically there is also a price limit ($8 per serving for non-UK cruises, $10 for UK cruises, I think), but it doesn't matter since virtually every cocktail shown on a bar menu is above the limit (please see my rant on this below). But really, the Package is supposed to be based on brands of liquor, which can be found here: https://secure.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/media/celebrity/shared_assets/pdf/Classic-Premium-Bev-Pckgs.pdf

 

I know, many people wish that Celebrity would simply give us a list of cocktails, but the problem is that the universe of cocktails is infinite. If you don't believe me, just Google "cocktail recipies" and see what you find. For me, one of the fun things about cruising is that you can try all kinds of cocktails and see what you like! I often like to do a little looking around the web and make a little list of new cocktails to try in advance of the cruise, to mix it up a bit.

 

On our cruise (again, UK-based Eclipse in July), they actually handed out this document.

Front Side:

 

Back Side:

 

 

It is a strange combination of brands of alcohol and a list of drinks (look at the end of the list on the back). I'm not sure why, but the brands of alcohol didn't even match Celebrity Web site -- for example, Ketel One vodka is included on the Classic list, but is listed as Premium on the Celebrity Web site. As all experienced Celebrity cruisers know, this is typical. I'm a huge Celebrity fan, but when it comes to details like this, don't expect precision. The bottom line is this: if you're not sure whether your desired drink, or brand, is on your drink package, just ask, and don't be surprised if you get different answers from different people. One of the reasons I love Celebrity is that the staff really want to be helpful -- so even if the answer is no, they will almost always find a way to make you happy.

 

When you order a cocktail, make sure to tell them brand you want, IF you care. If you don't tell them, they will typically use a "well" or house brand. I like watching the bartender make my drink, and it is amazing how much variation in brands you'll see if you don't specify. In my experience, they will often use a Well brand even if you are on the Premium package. If you don't care, just hand them your SeaPass and say, "Could I have a ______?" For example, I don't care what kind of rum is used to make my Mojito, but I do care what kind of gin or vodka is used for my martini -- so I ask, e.g., "I'll have a Ketel One Martini, please.".

 

Which leads me to the much-discussed Martini Bar. This is just one bar, it makes specialty Martinis in "special" large glasses, and those martinis are just not available to us poor Classic drinkers. However, you can order a non-martini cocktail at the Martini Bar on the Classic Package -- same process applies. You can also order a martini at the other bars on the ship -- no problem! They will be in a smaller glass - tragic!- but they are very good. On one prior cruise, they offered discounted, specific martinis during "happy hour" that were available on Classic, but on my most recent sailing, there was no happy hour at the Martini Bar that I could see. I've also heard legends of special small-glass Martinis offered to Classic drinkers there, but I've never actually seen it in practice. For me, if I'm on the Classic Package, I just drink elsewhere -- there are plenty of options.

 

The smaller martini glass brings to mind another tip -- don't worry about quantity. If I'm not mistaken, bartenders are tipped automatically as a % of the value of the drinks served, so they are happy to serve you as many drinks as you like (within reason I guess). They just can't serve you more than one in a single transaction on a single SeaPass. In my experience, bartenders like regular customers. So don't worry about the small martini glasses -- just enjoy one, and then order another!

 

Before I close, a couple of comments for Celebrity. First, I think Celebrity has done itself a great disservice by its handling of cocktail menus at the bars lately. In many cases they have simply removed the menus, or the menus only list drinks that are available on the Premium plan, and the menus have not changed for years. Here's a suggestion: why not structure the cocktail menu to show some ideas for Classic Package holders, and then an offering of enticing fancy Premium drinks? To me, this would make the Classic Package people happier, because of many of them just want a manageable list of things to choose from. But for Celebrity, it would serve as a constant reminder of the option to upgrade to Premium.

 

Second comment for Celebrity: what is up with the "World Class Bar?" I was always intrigued by the idea of the Molecular Bar, but it was gone by the time of my first S-Class cruise. And now, I totally don't get it -- I am a sucker for exotic cocktails, and in fact I probably would have upgraded to get access to some unusual drinks. But the World Class Bar is right in the middle of the ship, with no windows, and instead you look right into the art auction gallery and a major hallway. The menu was cryptic, with no prices shown, and the cocktails look pretty straightforward to me -- not very exotic except for their "rituals." To top it off, one day I passed by a table set up with a bartender from the World Class Bar, offering a large taste of a bright red cocktail. Of course I never pass up a free drink, so I took a sip and nearly spat it out -- it tasted like a warm mix of cough medicine and straight vodka. I actually couldn't drink it (and believe me, I'll drink anything). The bartender looked at my face and said, "normally it's served on the rocks." Um, so why are you serving it straight, at room temp? There were very few people making use of this venue on my sailing, and I could see why. I think a cutting-edge bar is a great idea, but this is terrible execution.

 

But enough of my soapbox. Overall, my view is that, despite a few tweaks to the program over the past couple of years, the Classic Drink Package is plenty generous, and has more than enough options for the average cruiser. So if you're thinking about resisting the urge to upgrade to Premium, I'd encourage you to give it a try -- you can always change your mind later. Cheers and happy cruising, everyone!

I am booked on Celebrity Eclipse's Baltic cruise next July, 2016. The Classic Package is included in the offer we booked, but it states wine up to $9 a glass. Surely that can't be right, as looking at this wine list, there is only one wine at this price.