More on drinks packages

[cruiselike]

So,

E9.60 for X1 package (a day) will allowed to have unlimited drinks (wine, beer, soft drinks) during lunch or dinner in MDR or buffet and must be booked before departure. everyone in the cabin has to buy this package?

 

thank you

[alwaysfrantic]

So,

E9.60 for X1 package (a day) will allowed to have unlimited drinks (wine, beer, soft drinks) during lunch or dinner in MDR or buffet and must be booked before departure. everyone in the cabin has to buy this package?

 

thank you

 

Although one poster keeps saying all passengers in the cabin must book the X1, I did not find that to be the case recently. I booked the package in the last months for a cruise this spring. But yes, unlimited wine, soft drink and water during meals in the dining room and the buffet.

[j2ink]

Having read the posts on this board for the past year or more concerning the X-1 and X-2 packages, it seems clear to me that the confusion is caused by the Costa customer service reps in each country having different descriptions of what is included in the packages, when they can be used, and the restrictions on their sale. I have no idea why this occurs, because the concept is not that complex. (After the X-2 was introduced, there was even more confusion relating to the X-1.) In any event, if you book your cruise through a country that has more restrictions on these packages, there is probably not much you can do about it.

 

You could try calling customer service two or three times to see if you get a different answer, but after that, you probably are out of luck.

[Ozza Alf]

So,

E9.60 for X1 package (a day) will allowed to have unlimited drinks (wine, beer, soft drinks) during lunch or dinner in MDR or buffet and must be booked before departure. everyone in the cabin has to buy this package?

 

thank you

 

Correct!

[Ozza Alf]

Having read the posts on this board for the past year or more concerning the X-1 and X-2 packages, it seems clear to me that the confusion is caused by the Costa customer service reps in each country having different descriptions of what is included in the packages, when they can be used, and the restrictions on their sale. I have no idea why this occurs, because the concept is not that complex. (After the X-2 was introduced, there was even more confusion relating to the X-1.) In any event, if you book your cruise through a country that has more restrictions on these packages, there is probably not much you can do about it.

 

You could try calling customer service two or three times to see if you get a different answer, but after that, you probably are out of luck.

 

Yes, as I said, I spoke to 5 different advisors and they all told me the same thing. If someone in the cabin wants a X1 or J2 drinks package then all in same cabin must purchase either the alcoholic or non alcoholic version. Soft drinks vouchers can be purchased in advance either on their own or on top of X1 at £18.40 per book of 10 but this can't be instead of a non alcoholic X1 or J2.

 

To stop abuse of the system and to avoid confusion I say pre paid alcoholic drinks vouchers are the way forward!

[Cloudybay]

I am going on the Luminosa from Dubai in March. Does anyone know how much the fancy cocktails onboard cost? I want to get the J2 package, but not if all the fancy cocktails are over 6.99euros? I'm sure the vodka and soda are under that price, but what about martinis and margaritas? Do the specials of the day fall under 6.99euros? Any wines other than the house wines fall under 6.99?

Thanks

[Cash123]

I have been looking into the Costa Romantica cruise for next year and of course been reading with interest these threads re the drinks package, one thing i've not seen is anyone commenting on the cost of the J2 package, at £32.80 per day per passenger for me and the wife we are talking £918 for a 14 day cruise, I cant see even us getting through that much booze !!!!, has anyone gone for this package and did they find it value for money ???

[talkone]

yes thats what ive been told £918 for two of us on a 14 nighter seems way over the top,cant seem to get a sraight answer from anyone on if its worth that amount......................bumps the cost of the cruise up at that price

[snips]

yes thats what ive been told £918 for two of us on a 14 nighter seems way over the top,cant seem to get a sraight answer from anyone on if its worth that amount......................bumps the cost of the cruise up at that price

 

got back from the Serena 18th Jan we had the J2 package and our total bar bill for 10 days as we missed the first day was 1150 euros for the two of us and we are not big drinkers.

[blueboo]

question for Tenpin if I may ? J2 package..what is forfeit wine please, any idea ? Also any idea if the J2 covers all the coffees like cappucino and lattes all the time as well ?

thanks so much :)

[TOMCAT22]

Hi All

For all those wondering about the J2 package.We are currently on the Luminosa on the J2 package.All cocktails except those with champagne are within the 6.95 limit.All coffee is included including espresso,chocolate fruit in chocolate bar also included.

If you want a vodaka and coke then you have to order a vodka and a seperate can as I think an Absolute vodka + coke = 7.30 euros which is too much for the J2.

Bit dissapointing on the wine choice at dinner as they only give a choice of one red or one white (both of which are quite poor in our opinion),not sure if we should have more choice so might query this.

Ship is ok but very different from our 1st Costa experience on Serena.On Serena we thought the food was very good but here there is little choice and portions are small,cost cutting is evident in all areras and it's not good for Costa. No evening buffet on this cruise and very limited food after dining room closes,basically pizza and thats it. Pizza on Serena was fantastic thin crust Italian with lovely mozzarella but on here it's thick crust stodgy crap basically(sorry but it is...:mad:)

Anyway if anyone has any questions then please post and I will try to reply whilst on the cruise.:)

[BrucieNB]

Great to have someone aboard to answer questions online! Perhaps Costa might consider that?

 

Regarding J2, which we had a couple of weeks ago on Deliziosa, perhaps the key thing is to ask whether returning passengers, were they to book the trip again, would take the J2?

 

100% of our party [the two of us!] would say NO.

 

We had a £120 shortfall on the £450 we paid for two J2 packages for 7 days. Now sure, we are not heavy drinkers, and after sampling the cocktails, decided not to have any more [not good], but we did successfully get glasses of champagne on the package for several days to try and get value from the package - champagne is 9 euros so not formally covered, but we had been encouraged by bar staff to have the drinks on the package - and we were not charged. Eventually staff were apologetic and showed us a letter from management...

[deanlo]

Great info folks,we travel on the Deliziosa on the 25th April around the Middle East and have just booked the x1 package anyone have any info on the package and how best to maximise its value.Info is very sketchy on how and when to use from Costa.Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Dean

[Cruisequeenoz]

Great info folks,we travel on the Deliziosa on the 25th April around the Middle East and have just booked the x1 package anyone have any info on the package and how best to maximise its value.Info is very sketchy on how and when to use from Costa.Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Dean

 

Hi Dean

 

I travelled on the Costa Allegra with family last year. This is how we maximised the value of the X1.

 

We were able to order the "default" wine and beer, mineral water (flat or sparkling), and softdrink/soda from the waiters in the dining room and at the buffet but only during the time that meals were served. We were not able to use the X1 at the pool bar or any of the other bars.

 

I'm not a wine drinker so I purchased the boys&girls softdrink booklet for myself.

However my other 4 fellow-passengers were certainly wine drinkers and they seemed (:D) to enjoy the "default" wine very much.

 

The mineral waters on Allegra were the San Pellegrino brand and came in large (1ltr I think?) bottles with screw top seals. We took them (and the wine too if we hadn't finished it) with us after we had finished our meal, either with us to the show or out on deck if we weren't going to the show. We also took a bottle of water each back to our cabins. We used the flat mineral water to make cups of tea or coffee or the flat and sparkling to drink just as cold water. We did that each meal.

 

We also took in our luggage empty plastic water bottles and filled them from the flat mineral water bottles to take with us whenever we went ashore and found that to be extremely economical.

 

In fact, by the time we counted up the cost of the water each day, it alone came to more than the cost of the X1 package without any of the alcohol, so to that end the package was well worth it.

 

If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

Hope you have a great cruise.

[deanlo]

Hi Cruisequeen

Thanks for the info really appreciate it,just one more thing if you dont mind we have been told that in Dubai the Cruise ships dock in the commercial area and are quite a way from the attractions and we are planning on visiting the Atlantis resort would anyone know how far the Atlantis resort would be from the cruise dock either in mileage or in time to travel there.

 

ta again

 

Dean

[BrucieNB]

we are planning on visiting the Atlantis resort would anyone know how far the Atlantis resort would be from the cruise dock either in mileage or in time to travel there.

 

as part of our Virgin/Costa package we stayed our first 2 nights at Atlantis, and then delayed leaving - extending our stay by half a day by paying a bit more - until about 5pm to go to Deliziosa, rather than leaving before lunch.

 

This was a Sunday, so a normal working day in Dubai. The taxi journey took about 40 minutes and we had quite a bit of traffic.

 

The Burj Khalifa is fairly close to the docks, Burj al Arab is a fair way further on [maybe halfway], and Atlantis is at the furthest extremity of the Palm. I have no idea where the two main Malls are in comparison.

 

We paid about £20 for the taxi, in Dhirams.

 

Atlantis is fantastic, but visitors only get into certain parts. The Aquapark is about the best I've seen.

[cruiselike]

Hi,

 

Can anyone tell me if you are much better off having a bottle of red or white wine on the dining room than buying the 1x or other packages? how much are red and white bottles of wine in the restaurants?

 

Thank you

[Bextar78]

Hi,

 

Can anyone tell me if you are much better off having a bottle of red or white wine on the dining room than buying the 1x or other packages? how much are red and white bottles of wine in the restaurants?

 

Thank you

 

Minimum price was 18 euros plus 15% service charge. We had the J2 drinks package - red wine wasn't the best (but didn't expect it to be because no italian red wine is!!). The best bottle we had all holiday was the one we won in the quiz!!!!

[BrucieNB]

I was on J2 in March but the list in Muscadins buffet was

 

click on the image to get a fractionally larger image. The site seems to have stopped images being shown decent size.

[travlingal64]

Minimum price was 18 euros plus 15% service charge. We had the J2 drinks package - red wine wasn't the best (but didn't expect it to be because no italian red wine is!!). The best bottle we had all holiday was the one we won in the quiz!!!!

 

I am assuming since it's an Italian ship all they sell is Italian wine? I am not a big fan of Italian wines either. I prefer French or Spanish wines.

I am going to take the J2 but maybe order a bottle of wine with dinner and pay the extra costs.

[alwaysfrantic]

With the X1 oddly it always California wines

[j2ink]

First, it is silly to say there are no good Italian wines. Some Italian wines sell for hundreds of dollars per bottle and are excellent.

 

Second, on all of the five Costa cruises I've been on, they sell many types of wines from many parts of the world, and some are fairly/very expensive.

 

Third, the wines served in connection with the X-1 are not always California. Most of the cruises I've been on had Italian wines in the packages. However, I believe it varies by the itinerary. In the Caribbean, they probably do serve California wines rather than importing wine from Italy. In the Mediterranean, I would bet you would get Italian wines, unless the ship had recently repositioned from the Caribbean and had left-over California wines.

 

Generally, the quality of wine in the packages is about €18 to €23 per bottle. It's not great, but I found it to be pretty decent. The biggest problem for me was that on a 12 or 14 day cruise, drinking the same wine every night (or every other night if we alternated red and white wines) at dinner got old.

[glf2710]

I've seen a lot of helpful advice on drinks packages. I have booked the X1 for myself and hubby for our trip on the Atlantica on 5th May.

 

As we are not massive drinkers it seemed the most sensible option. However, I have seen some reviews of the X1 which suggest that the waiters will simply bring a bottle of wine rather than a glass - is that correct? Not that I am assuming they will but as we have just been upgraded to a balcony room it would be quite nice to sit on the balcony and finish off a bottle.

 

Thanks

[tenpin]

They will bring you bottles at the evening meal in MDR, you can order one each of a red and white, take one away or order another bottle before dessert. (but NOT at lunchtime. glasses only but you can take full glass to your cabin)

 

Best bet is to finish one if you like it then ask for another. You can also order bottled water 1 sparkling 1 still same result.

[luckycruzer]

I was interested in the pkgs...but my cabinmate dosent drink, and you both must...every one in same cabin, buy the package..2 ppl, 2 pkgs..4 ppl, 4 pkgs...$112.70 USD double, $225 is a little steep for me alone. Plan B