Drink Package was best cruise deal ever!

[kendracruises]

Did I read correctly that if I "gift" my spouse the drink package, or the soda package, by ordering it from the Gifts by Celebrity page, there is no 15% upcharge? Thanks.

 

If you try to select any of the drink packages for a gift it does show the 15% added to it from what I can see.

[B1G]

I will take the premium package for my gf and me. This will be our 3rd cruise in march 2013, 1st with celebrity. I think I will gain 10 pounds in 14 days lol.

 

I have a question, why a tea is $4, seems expensive :eek:

 

Thanks!|

[Lsimon]

...I have a question, why a tea is $4, seems expensive :eek:

 

They have standard quality tea (good selection) at no extra charge throughout the ship at all dining venues and from room service.

 

However, there is an extra charge for all the drinks served at the coffee bar (Cafe Al Bacio) so they brought on a higher end organic tea to sell there at the same price as the espresso based coffees.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Lsimon

[KristinTravels]

Alcohol beverage packages are only available on Celebrity right now. I have heard if this program works out well for them, they have plans to offer it on Royal Caribbean as well. Let's hope so!

 

Thank you! That is good news, as it sure seems popular. I am really thinking a Celebrity cruise for our next one.

[Spartan1771]

Thank you! That is good news, as it sure seems popular. I am really thinking a Celebrity cruise for our next one.

 

We are booked for an Eastern Panama Canal Cruise for 15 nights this coming October and we both got the premium alcohol package for the first time. We're so looking forward to not having to worry about our bar bill. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it works out for us. I plan to keep track of all that we drink and see how the package costs compares to the actual cost we would have paid without it.

[Babsey]

We are booked for an Eastern Panama Canal Cruise for 15 nights this coming October and we both got the premium alcohol package for the first time. We're so looking forward to not having to worry about our bar bill. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it works out for us. I plan to keep track of all that we drink and see how the package costs compares to the actual cost we would have paid without it.

You don't have to track all of your drinks yourself! The computer on board will do it for you and you have to do is go to the hotel front desk and ask for a print out a couple of times during the cruise or at the end of the cruise. I did this and laughed at how many pages were printed out(lol):)

Have a great cruise:

Gary & Norine

[Spartan1771]

You don't have to track all of your drinks yourself! The computer on board will do it for you and you have to do is go to the hotel front desk and ask for a print out a couple of times during the cruise or at the end of the cruise. I did this and laughed at how many pages were printed out(lol):)

Have a great cruise:

Gary & Norine

 

Thanks for the info!

[B1G]

March 2013, I will try all the beer that I never taste before, 14 days at sea, easy task :D

 

http://beyondships.com/files/Michael_s_Club_Menu.pdf

[B1G]

March 2013, I will try all the beer that I never taste before, 14 days at sea, easy task :D

 

http://beyondships.com/files/Michael_s_Club_Menu.pdf

 

They don't have it on Eclipse :(

[bdpnatl]

When we took the premium Beverage Package on the Millenium, our normal bill had every time we ordered (with a few exceptions) on it already, it was just invoiced at $0. I did have to remember what we had to drink, but it did allow me to estimate our actual cost versus the cost if we had paid per drink. We were up about $30 a person.

[gkny]

I will buy the soda package most likely.

[cruiser87654321]

We are wine and beer drinkers mainly, so if we purchased the classic package is it just the Martinis and anything over $8 that would be not included?

 

What about children could we use our package to get coke and juices for our son or is there a separate package?

 

What is the cost per day of the classic alcohol package as opposed to the premium package.

 

Many thanks

[Lsimon]

We are wine and beer drinkers mainly, so if we purchased the classic package is it just the Martinis and anything over $8 that would be not included?

 

What about children could we use our package to get coke and juices for our son or is there a separate package?

 

What is the cost per day of the classic alcohol package as opposed to the premium package.

 

Many thanks

 

The main difference between the classic and premium package is the maximum cost of alcoholic beverages $8 vs. $12. Also with the premium package if you order something over the limit you pay the difference but with the classic package you pay the entire amount. For wine the by-the-glass selection under $8 is pretty limited but there is a little variety with the premium package (but still no where near the wine by the bottle list). For liquor, most top self liquor brands are included in the premium package but just basic brands in the classic. There is a good listing of drinks and prices in the following thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=32406318

 

For non-alcoholic beverages the premium package includes brand name bottled water and sparkling water while the classic package only includes local or unbranded bottled water.

 

The packages are priced per person and no sharing is allowed so it would be against the rules to obtain soda for your son under your package. There is a soda only package available for $8/day vs. $2/can individual price. There is a variety of juices available at no extra charge included in the price of your cruise fare as well as fruit punch and lemonade but these are for items in dining rooms or buffet and do not include fresh squeezed OJ nor any bottled juices. So you don't need to worry about buying juice, nor many other basic non-alcoholic beverages.

 

The cost of the packages is on Celebrity's site click here. They'll add 15% service to the total price when you purchase the package.

Edited October 8, 2012 by Lsimon

[SeaBlu]

No the glasses aren't included, but everything else up to $12 is, including things not mentioned fresh squeezed juices, energy drinks, soda, smoothies, all specialty coffees. Loved trying out all those martinis.

 

Who needs the drink of the day when you can have anything you want? We are big water drinkers as well and it's worth it not having to bring our own water or soda onboard with us.

 

Have fun whatever you decide.

 

 

Where do you get the fresh squeezed orange juice? We did not see that. However, we too loved having the Premium Drink Package and have signed up for it again for our upcoming cruise in December. It is great and SO SO convenient and covered everything we wanted and more!

[miataman19]

The wine package is a pre purchase of a fixed number of bottles from a limited selection of similarly priced wine. Depending on which wines you choose it offers either a modest discount or no discount at all. I'm not sure if you can select the actual wines before boarding or not.

 

You have two other options: the Bon voyage "gift" selection mentioned by Chooze2cruz; or just wait until you are on board and order from room service. The advantage to the later option is that you can choose the the much larger, and more varied, wine lists offered on board.

 

Also, remember that you can bring on two bottles of wine with you on embarkation day to enjoy in your stateroom. You can also take one of these to the dining room but if you do there is a $25/bottle fee. There is no such fee for in cabin consumption.

 

Hi Larry, This will be my 45th cruise but my first with Celebrity. All cruise lines have a corkage fee. However, my last 10 or so cruises I've taken I would open the bottle in my cabin pour the wife and I a small amount in each glass and head on over to the dinning room. I would put the already opened bottle on the table along with the 2 glasses and have never been charged a fee. Do you think this would work on The Celebrity Reflection? :rolleyes:

[Lsimon]

Hi Larry, This will be my 45th cruise but my first with Celebrity. All cruise lines have a corkage fee. However, my last 10 or so cruises I've taken I would open the bottle in my cabin pour the wife and I a small amount in each glass and head on over to the dinning room. I would put the already opened bottle on the table along with the 2 glasses and have never been charged a fee. Do you think this would work on The Celebrity Reflection? :rolleyes:

 

It shouldn't work but who knows what enforcement will be like. Several years ago collection of the corkage fee seemed very inconsistent and usually a wine steward who you got along with well wouldn't charge the fee. But in recent years I've found them to be very consistent and strict about collecting the fee.

 

As for opening the bottle yourself: Some people believe, based on the name of the fee, that the corkage fee is a charge for opening the bottle. This is incorrect. The fee is a fee for consuming wine which one did not purchase from the establishment they are bringing it into and it is intended to recoup some of the lost profits that result from one bringing their own wine in rather than purchasing the establishments wine. So the fact that you've opened it ahead of time makes no difference. They will not charge a fee for a glass of wine brought into the dining room but that is due to the fact that they can not tell if the wine was purchased elsewhere on the ship or not so it is a practical enforcement issue and not an actual exception from the corkage policy.

Edited November 1, 2012 by Lsimon

[kjwinston]

For the ultimate in value and convenience, our premium package provides all the benefits of our Premium Non-Alcoholic Package. In addition, you can enjoy our entire selection of Beers as well as Spirits, Cocktails and Wines by the Glass up to $12 per serving.

*Starting from: 54.00 USD Per Night

 

Dose this mean stateroom, or individual??? What stops a person ordering 2 drinks for the stateroom?

 

Thoughts?

 

KJ

[Leviathan2772]

For the ultimate in value and convenience, our premium package provides all the benefits of our Premium Non-Alcoholic Package. In addition, you can enjoy our entire selection of Beers as well as Spirits, Cocktails and Wines by the Glass up to $12 per serving.

*Starting from: 54.00 USD Per Night

 

Dose this mean stateroom, or individual??? What stops a person ordering 2 drinks for the stateroom?

 

Thoughts?

 

KJ

 

Nope, 1 package - 1 person.;) They generally only wil serve you 1 drink at a time. I generally drink quite a bit, my wife - no so much. So I get a Premium Pkg and she buys her drinks 1 at a time. I guess you could say it's "scout's honor". If too many people cheat the system, the alcohol package priviledge will be taken away from everyone. Last time I checked, taking something without paying for it is stealing.:mad:

 

P.S. I am not directing this at you, just social commentary:)

[Lsimon]

For the ultimate in value and convenience, our premium package provides all the benefits of our Premium Non-Alcoholic Package. In addition, you can enjoy our entire selection of Beers as well as Spirits, Cocktails and Wines by the Glass up to $12 per serving.

*Starting from: 54.00 USD Per Night

 

Dose this mean stateroom, or individual??? What stops a person ordering 2 drinks for the stateroom?

 

Thoughts?

 

KJ

 

The prices are per person.

 

What stops a person from sharing a package? I can think of a couple of things:

 

1. Honesty!

Are you a thief? If you don't normally steal things from others or shoplift then why would you want to steal beverages for others when you've only paid for yourself? But if you are the sort that doesn't give theft a second thought then that brings us to #2:

 

2. Ship's prevention measures. The ship is aware that some may try to cheat the system in place. I'm sure that they have some prevention measures in place to detect just as any business subject to theft might. I don't know exactly what they are but I do know that every drink one obtains with their package is logged onto the computer system so usage can be monitored and they only allow one to obtain a single beverage at a time. I'm sure no one really wants to take a chance on their cruise ending prematurely, along with other consequences, because they got caught stealing a few dollars worth of drinks.

Edited November 2, 2012 by Lsimon

[Paddy41]

My husband and I are going on a Carnival Cruise in March. Carnival has introduced the all you can drink package but all adults in the cabin must purchase it. Sounds reasonable as it means you can't buy one package and share. But what if one person drinks a variety of beverages and the other one has mainly water? Is there a way around this? Are other cruise lines different?

[steveweese]

We have bought the packages before also and pre booked spec.dining.

 

I had to get a ring for my wife at the end of the cruise just to use up our OBC.

 

Yes we will do it again

[jkgourmet]

Hi Larry, This will be my 45th cruise but my first with Celebrity. All cruise lines have a corkage fee. However, my last 10 or so cruises I've taken I would open the bottle in my cabin pour the wife and I a small amount in each glass and head on over to the dinning room. I would put the already opened bottle on the table along with the 2 glasses and have never been charged a fee. Do you think this would work on The Celebrity Reflection? :rolleyes:

 

Why not just pour your wine into a Gatorade bottle so you can be sure to get away with this. Sheesh.

[Lsimon]

My husband and I are going on a Carnival Cruise in March. Carnival has introduced the all you can drink package but all adults in the cabin must purchase it. Sounds reasonable as it means you can't buy one package and share. But what if one person drinks a variety of beverages and the other one has mainly water? Is there a way around this? Are other cruise lines different?

Is there any way around this?

Yes! Either the package works for you or it doesn't. If it doesn't then just buy by the glass, ala carte, like we all did before the packages. This solution works on any cruise line whose package doesn't work for a particular person or couple.

 

 

Why not just pour your wine into a Gatorade bottle so you can be sure to get away with this. Sheesh.

Are you seriously suggesting the best way to sneak wine into the dining room on a cruise ship is in a Gatorade bottle? :eek:

When you're sitting at the dining room table do you drink your wine out of the Gatorade bottle or do you ask the waiter for wine glasses to pour it into? :confused:

Edited November 2, 2012 by Lsimon

[Valentine Girl]

You mentioned specialty coffees. I have had the drink package three times and everytime I ask for a specialty coffee after dinner I am refused at the main dining room. Any suggestions?

[MellaYella]

You mentioned specialty coffees. I have had the drink package three times and everytime I ask for a specialty coffee after dinner I am refused at the main dining room. Any suggestions?

 

when was this? We were on the Solstice in 2010 and had cappuccinos and lattes in the MDR at breakfast and dinner every day. Is this not available anymore?? :confused: