Is it ok to share a beverage package?

[Onessa]

[quote=Can'tstopcruising;33010865]Den, the only reason I chime in is because it gets me how so many people see things as Black or White. There are so many variables, I think we should not judge others... /quote]

Lot's of grey areas here. And WAY too many people willing to cast stones. None of us are without some sin -- let's let others live with their own [FONT=Calibri]consciences.[/FONT]

[Grumpy100]

[quote name='NLH Arizona']So you don't think they are losing money. I guess the person you got the soda for on your card would not have purchased that soda otherwise. I guess we should all find someone with a drink card and ask them to buy us a drink, because, as you feel, Celebrity isn't losing any money. Yes, they are losing money and we are all paying for it. If you use the same scenario I used before, but figured drinks were $2 each instead of $6, Celebrity would be losing $1.5 million a year on those sodas that you don't feel they are losing any money on. Everything Celebrity brings on board costs us money.[/QUOTE]

You are not serious. They make so much money on sodas there is no way they would lose that much. They probably get a can of soda for like 20 cents and they make $2.00 on each soda so by me sharing an occasional soda with my spouse then that is fine. If it is too expensive I will just drink tea or coffee so better to buy one soda card for $70.00 than no soda card at all. Do the math.
The cruise lines don't make much money on us because we budget. We spend only a certain amount of money on gambling and when that is gone that is it. We have gone on 12-14 day cruises and buy no alcohol or even soda at all. We just go to the main dining room and eat there and never go to the specialty restaurants.
But then because we save money that way we will get the better excursions or go ahead and book another cruise. It all comes out in the wash. :eek::eek:

[dkjretired]

ARe we so bored that we have to bring up a two year old thread that has been discussed ad nauesem....

[NLH Arizona]

[quote name='Grumpy100']You are not serious. They make so much money on sodas there is no way they would lose that much. They probably get a can of soda for like 20 cents and they make $2.00 on each soda so by me sharing an occasional soda with my spouse then that is fine. If it is too expensive I will just drink tea or coffee so better to buy one soda card for $70.00 than no soda card at all. Do the math.
The cruise lines don't make much money on us because we budget. We spend only a certain amount of money on gambling and when that is gone that is it. We have gone on 12-14 day cruises and buy no alcohol or even soda at all. We just go to the main dining room and eat there and never go to the specialty restaurants.
But then because we save money that way we will get the better excursions or go ahead and book another cruise. It all comes out in the wash. :eek::eek:[/quote]
What they are losing is the revenue if they were to have sold each one of the sodas at $2, not what the soda costs them which is not relevant, because we are talking about someone getting it for free on someone elses card versus paying for it. Do they make a bundle on soda, you bet they do, so does that give people carte blanche to break the rules and share the drink packages. I'm sure the company that sells the watches on the ship makes a lot of money per watch sold, so is it okay to pay for one and lift another? Actually, if you think about it, it is the same except the items is higher priced. I am not purchasing a soda card on my next cruise, because I did the math and I would be drinking way more per day that I usually do. Yes, for you it is probably better to purchase one soda card for two people, for me I guess I just do things differently - thank goodness, because if we all did the same things it would be a very boring world.

[richard1s]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=royalblue][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=royalblue]sadly, the answer seems to be "yes". But it is a great question. The CC comments never cease to amaze me.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#4169e1]Why the endless criticisms of all cruise lines because they want to maximize profits? Isn't that a fundamental of the free enterprise system and what makes business work? [/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#4169e1]Share your beverage card and figure out a way to cheat the system; smuggle alcohol onboard, which violates expressed cruise line policy, but send CNN an Email because someone is breaking a rule of smoking a cigar on their balcony? Which rule do you want to follow? I believe that they are all important and are only intended to try to have some order in a temporary city of people from all over the world.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[/COLOR][/FONT]

[NLH Arizona]

[quote name='richard1s'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=royalblue][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=royalblue]sadly, the answer seems to be "yes". But it is a great question. The CC comments never cease to amaze me.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#4169e1]Why the endless criticisms of all cruise lines because they want to maximize profits? Isn't that a fundamental of the free enterprise system and what makes business work? [/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#4169e1]Share your beverage card and figure out a way to cheat the system; smuggle alcohol onboard, which violates expressed cruise line policy, but send CNN an Email because someone is breaking a rule of smoking a cigar on their balcony? Which rule do you want to follow? I believe that they are all important and are only intended to try to have some order in a temporary city of people from all over the world.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[/COLOR][/FONT][/quote]
Amen! Great post.

[CarolinaMamma]

Maybe Celebrity should offer a "shared" drinks package for somewhere slightly less than the cost of 2 drinks packages. I have seen this kind of marketing be successful with other products.

[sarafinadh]

[quote name='dkjretired']ARe we so bored that we have to bring up a two year old thread that has been discussed ad nauesem....[/quote]
At least they haven't begun a new thread to add to the search engine load ; -)

and the short answer to the op?

[COLOR=Red][I][B][FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=7]NO[/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/I][/COLOR][FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=7][COLOR=Black][I][B]![/B][/I][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT] Edited March 23, 2012 by sarafinadh

[sayvan]

Hmmmmm... I wonder ... which is the bigger crime? the work of the dreaded chair hog or the drink package villain who sneaks a few for their partner? :rolleyes:

[Fixit2010]

Even if one was to be a little dodgy and sneak their partner an occasional drink, it is still equated in to the price of the package. X are not actually losing out as they purchase in huge volumes and get very good price breaks. Much cheaper than you or I would pay .... combined. In a 2 week package they make a huge profit so the odd free drink that you pass to your partner is not really an issue. Yeah its breaking the rules but again not actually causing a loss.

[Fixit2010]

Most of you say you are very trust worthy and would never do something so sneaky as order the odd drink for someone else.

 

How many of you contest a parking fine? You parked there knowing you cant and took the risk. Yet when you get caught and fined you complain. Well I have no sympathy because appealing is just like trying to steal from the authorities.

 

How about bank charges. Anyone been charged unfairly for going in to overdraft or unfair interest on your credit card statement?

Calling your bank or lender, making some cobblers excuse as to why you should be let off is depriving your bank of additional revneus

[u2cruiser]

Maybe Celebrity should offer a "shared" drinks package for somewhere slightly less than the cost of 2 drinks packages. I have seen this kind of marketing be successful with other products.

 

Now that is a great idea.

We had 2 premium alcohol packages on a 14 night cruise and it cost us just under £1000 for the 2 of us. Much of the time I could hardly face another drink :o.

Wouldn't bother having one again for that reason, but I would consider a 'buy one get one reduced' sharing deal. :)

[Grumpy100]

Even if one was to be a little dodgy and sneak their partner an occasional drink, it is still equated in to the price of the package. X are not actually losing out as they purchase in huge volumes and get very good price breaks. Much cheaper than you or I would pay .... combined. In a 2 week package they make a huge profit so the odd free drink that you pass to your partner is not really an issue. Yeah its breaking the rules but again not actually causing a loss.

 

Yeah I agree with the above. They won't lose any money on us because if we share its no big deal. We are talking about a 20 cent soda not an alcoholic drink. I am sure alot of people do it that are not on cruise critic.

I never smuggle alcohol on board or even if allowed bring wine on board like some allow. So...my occasional free soda to my husband is no big deal.

Happy cruising....:p:p:p

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Even if one was to be a little dodgy and sneak their partner an occasional drink, it is still equated in to the price of the package. X are not actually losing out as they purchase in huge volumes and get very good price breaks. Much cheaper than you or I would pay .... combined. In a 2 week package they make a huge profit so the odd free drink that you pass to your partner is not really an issue. Yeah its breaking the rules but again not actually causing a loss.

 

Yes, and stores factor in losses from shoplifting when pricing their merchandise. I work for an online retailer where we have to put up with a certain amount of fraud from customers who claim not to have received their package-- overall, it's cheaper to take the customer's word for it and take the loss than it is to ship packages insured or with a signature required. Sad, but true. Who ultimately pays? The honest customers.

 

If they allow the "odd drink" and chalk it up to the cost of doing business, where do they draw the line? Eventually, everybody figures out that two people only have to pay for one beverage package. That "odd drink" multiplied by a couple of thousand passengers adds up quickly. It's why RCCL now requires both people in a cabin to purchase the package if one does. Since alcohol sales are one of the biggest profit centers on the ship, if even just 5% of the drinks that should be paid for are not, that has a major effect on revenue. What their markup is on the booze is immaterial.

 

I can't believe I got sucked into this topic again. Oh, well.:p

[Fixit2010]

Ok i have the solution

 

Buy one drinks package and with that get 5 additional guest drinks up to so many $ You could buy a top up those 5 guest drinks at guest relations

[NLH Arizona]

Ok i have the solution

 

Buy one drinks package and with that get 5 additional guest drinks up to so many $ You could buy a top up those 5 guest drinks at guest relations

How would that stop those that are sharing their drink packages; they are not going to pay more. The feel they are entitled to get free drinks for someone else because they don't feel that Celebrity is losing any money. They don't see that in the long run, Celebrity loses revenue (because they would have sold those drinks that they are giving away for free) and that we all pay for it in the end.

 

I would hope that these same people feel that it is okay to share their package, also feel that it is okay to hog chairs at the pool, cut in line in front of everyone waiting patiently, smuggle booze on board, smoke on balconies, save seats for the shows, etc. I bet you would never hear any one of them complaining about any of these things, because after all they are only rules and Celebrity is not losing any money on these things either!

 

So I say let's play by their rules and break any rule you want, but it has to be a rule that would not cost Celebrity revenue in your estimation.

Edited March 23, 2012 by NLH Arizona

[DiamondSuiteCruiser]

SERIOUSLY NOT!! :mad:

[Fixit2010]

Firstly I don't believe anyone will not, has not or would not break any rules that at the worst get a slap on the wrist and a word of caution.

 

In my humble opinion everyone is after a freebie and would take a chance if they knew they were more likely to get away with it. Yes theft is theft however we are talking inflation and not life imprisonment.

 

How many people if the saw £20 in the street would actually hand it in? What about £10? £5? I would say NOBODY here would hand it in and I SUSPECT you would all keep it. Be honest with yourselves. Don't justify it with an excuse, just how many would keep it? We all know it is technically theft and regardless if it were £1 or £1000000 the same principle should apply. This is no different than from scamming a few drinks.

 

The issue is that we have all been conditioned to cost management, i.e if your theft is less than the cost to replace the item, it becomes a write off and is tax deductible by the way so it does aid you with paying less tax.

 

This is where the line blurs. Because more people feel the ramifications of their actions is cheaper than the person suffering the lost trying to chase you for costs.

[Ma Bell]

Firstly I don't believe anyone will not, has not or would not break any rules that at the worst get a slap on the wrist and a word of caution.

 

In my humble opinion everyone is after a freebie and would take a chance if they knew they were more likely to get away with it. Yes theft is theft however we are talking inflation and not life imprisonment.

 

How many people if the saw £20 in the street would actually hand it in? What about £10? £5? I would say NOBODY here would hand it in and I SUSPECT you would all keep it. Be honest with yourselves. Don't justify it with an excuse, just how many would keep it? We all know it is technically theft and regardless if it were £1 or £1000000 the same principle should apply. This is no different than from scamming a few drinks.

 

The issue is that we have all been conditioned to cost management, i.e if your theft is less than the cost to replace the item, it becomes a write off and is tax deductible by the way so it does aid you with paying less tax.

 

This is where the line blurs. Because more people feel the ramifications of their actions is cheaper than the person suffering the lost trying to chase you for costs.

 

I guess you must be hanging around with the wrong people. Doesn't it get tiring trying to justify poor decisions?

[Dallas girl]

Ok i have the solution

 

Buy one drinks package and with that get 5 additional guest drinks up to so many $ You could buy a top up those 5 guest drinks at guest relations

 

Would you mind elaborating? I very, very seldom drink sodas (must with a burger) or coffee, but do love my cocktails. However, I can't imagine drinking enough to make the alcohol package worth it for me. DH can't go without his daily sodaS so he will get the soda package. So, I'm curious about your post. Thanks!

[Fixit2010]

Ma Bell, everybody at some point has had a freebie when they have not really been entitled to one. We have all complained about something and have been given a freebie, everyone has and everyone will. I'm stating a fact about human nature, I don't need to justify anything. I don't believe anyone who says they haven't.

 

Dallas Girl, my idea was that with every drinks package sold, that package also came with lets say 5 vouchers or 5 free drinks credits for a guest. So if I owned a drinks voucher, sat down at a bar, I could fairly and within the rules acquire a drink for another person. Now if I used up all those vouchers, I could purchase 5 more. The idea is that the guest may find they want a drinks package too, or not. The point is that by having guest vouchers, then couples with one drinks package can also get that occasional drink for their other person perfectly legally. This differentiates between the "occasional" abuser and the "persistent" abuser of the drinks packages and hopefully eliminates "occasional" abuse.

[Ma Bell]

Ma Bell, everybody at some point has had a freebie when they have not really been entitled to one. We have all complained about something and have been given a freebie, everyone has and everyone will. I'm stating a fact about human nature, I don't need to justify anything. I don't believe anyone who says they haven't.

 

Dallas Girl, my idea was that with every drinks package sold, that package also came with lets say 5 vouchers or 5 free drinks credits for a guest. So if I owned a drinks voucher, sat down at a bar, I could fairly and within the rules acquire a drink for another person. Now if I used up all those vouchers, I could purchase 5 more. The idea is that the guest may find they want a drinks package too, or not. The point is that by having guest vouchers, then couples with one drinks package can also get that occasional drink for their other person perfectly legally. This differentiates between the "occasional" abuser and the "persistent" abuser of the drinks packages and hopefully eliminates "occasional" abuse.

 

Being "given" a freebie by someone entitled to give it and taking one because someone feels entitled are two different things.

[NewSalt]

How would that stop those that are sharing their drink packages; they are not going to pay more. The feel they are entitled to get free drinks for someone else because they don't feel that Celebrity is losing any money. They don't see that in the long run, Celebrity loses revenue (because they would have sold those drinks that they are giving away for free) and that we all pay for it in the end.

 

 

DH and I don't drink a lot of any liquid; we don't buy a beverage package because if we replaced every ounce of liquid we drank during the day with $12 martinis, we still wouldn't come near breaking even.

 

But I do wish there were some other options available to us. If there was something like the five free drinks or a reduced price for a second beverage package, we would take another look at buying a package, and X would make more from us than the $2-300 we spend on alcohol on the trip.

 

Or if there was something along the lines of Princess's coffee card, which gives you a set amount of coffees (or another beverage, even alcoholic) for a fixed fee and which DH and I could both share, we would almost certainly take advantage of it.

 

There's a big, big difference between spending a few hundred dollars on alcohol and buying a beverage package for $870/$1220 for a 7/10-day cruise. That's a pretty big market that could be tapped with a little creative pricing.

[Waterlily777]

Yeah I agree with the above. They won't lose any money on us because if we share its no big deal. We are talking about a 20 cent soda not an alcoholic drink. I am sure alot of people do it that are not on cruise critic.

I never smuggle alcohol on board or even if allowed bring wine on board like some allow. So...my occasional free soda to my husband is no big deal.

Happy cruising....:p:p:p

 

A rationalization is a rationalization is a....

[Denny01]

ARe we so bored that we have to bring up a two year old thread that has been discussed ad nauesem....

Boy, I didn't realize this was an old thread. Yup, started in Aug 2010 with 86 posts for a few days, resurected in Mar 2011 and got 34 more posts, then restarted this week with an additional 53 posts and counting!

 

And I thought I was sooooo original in my post....not.

 

Den

Edited March 23, 2012 by Denny01