Buying classic beverage pkg onboard?

Hi! Haven’t sailed Celebrity in many years, but I keep seeing references/recommendation about waiting to buy your drinks pkg until you are onboard. Is there a $$savings to doing this? Counting the hours, now!

Check your Celebrity account online and see if the beverage package is discounted there. They have been known to offer a slight reduction before sailing. Sometimes, there are promotions offered on embarkation. Have a great cruise!

I find that if you are paying in a currency other than US dollars . It can be cheaper especially if you know the exchange rate on the booking versus the exchange on the card (currently).

As a general rule there are no special price deals aboard...although we have sometimes seen an exception. But Celebrity occasionally has a 20% Off Sale (pre cruise) where you can save on some purchases including beverage and meal plans. But you have to be aware of those sales (watch your e-mails and routinely check the Celebrity blog (here) and immediately make the purchase. If you do not already have a beverage package (as part of a booking promotion) then we would suggest waiting to see if there is a better promotion or a 20% off sale. Worse case is you could always purchase the beverage package (from any bar tender or waiter) once aboard.

Hank

Thanks for the information.

One tip if you buy onboard is to wait until you've sailed away and are in international waters, otherwise they charge you tax, besides the 18% gratuity, on the purchase or upgrade price. We learned this tip several years ago. We've done it two different ways...1) just wait about an hour after sailaway or 2)If you can't wait, just make sure to do it with a bar tender who takes the upgrade or package purchase with a hand written receipt because they are not inputted until late that night. If you do it at a bar and they swipe your card, then you will be charged the tax if still docked.

Hope this helps.

One tip if you buy onboard is to wait until you've sailed away and are in international waters, otherwise they charge you tax, besides the 18% gratuity, on the purchase or upgrade price. We learned this tip several years ago. We've done it two different ways...1) just wait about an hour after sailaway or 2)If you can't wait, just make sure to do it with a bar tender who takes the upgrade or package purchase with a hand written receipt because they are not inputted until late that night. If you do it at a bar and they swipe your card, then you will be charged the tax if still docked.

 

Hope this helps.

Many have been charged the tax on the purchase with a hand written receipt. Whether or not there is a tax depends on where you are cruising from it isn’t the case in many parts of the world. Sailing from Barcelona there is a VAT tax and probably a few other places.

If you intend to purchase onboard do your research before you leave. If you are sailing from a place where VAT could be charged you would be better off to purchase it online before the cruise.