123 Go - Beverage Package

[mjohnson]

We just got off the Silhouette yesterday. The drink package was awesome. We had a large group of 11. Most the time we handed the bartender or waiter 3 or 4 cards at one time. The person didn't actually have to be there. It worked great. The bottled water was an added bonus. We were able to get a bottle of water and a beverage at the same time. I have read about having to wait for 10 mins, but didn't ever experience that.

[Sun lover 123]

Thanks for the update Marianne. We have a drinks package with our upcoming cruise and wasn't sure:)

[kanamurva]

Thanks for the good information concerning drink paggages. One question: does irish coffee or other alcoholic coffee drinks exist on these ships and are the prices under 12$? I didn't find any such on the menus.

[rbsmithpaige]

Thanks for the good information concerning drink paggages. One question: does irish coffee or other alcoholic coffee drinks exist on these ships and are the prices under 12$? I didn't find any such on the menus.

 

Yes and yes. Cova Cafe or Cafe al Bacio, depending on which class ship.

Edited April 8, 2014 by rbsmithpaige

[msboilerman84]

All our specialty coffee's where covered under the 1,2,3 .... Never encounter any extra charges. Celebrity has the best beverage package.

 

 

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[Lsimon]

Thanks for the good information concerning drink paggages. One question: does irish coffee or other alcoholic coffee drinks exist on these ships and are the prices under 12$? I didn't find any such on the menus.

 

Yes they do. Café al Bacio is also a full bar and can make coffee drinks. Unfortunately they stopped listing these in the menu a few years back so you have to ask for them. The servers there do know how to make them and most are priced low enough to be available under the classic package let alone the premium package.

 

I know that some of the other bars also have coffee available and can make coffee drinks as well. I've seen an espresso machine at the Passport bar on S class and Rendezvous on M class. I don't know which other bars might also have coffee offhand.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Lsimon

[jagoffee]

All our specialty coffee's where covered under the 1,2,3 .... Never encounter any extra charges. Celebrity has the best beverage package.

 

 

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Curious statement. Have you tried the new Princess one? I thing the Celebrity package is great, but I am not sure that it is the best. It is certainly the least expensive when it is part of a PYP. I will let you know in August how they compare.

[Prewelli]

Does anyone know if the 1,2,3 go package is per room i.e 2 persons or if it is just for one person - I am refering to the drinks package option here.

[Lsimon]

Does anyone know if the 1,2,3 go package is per room i.e 2 persons or if it is just for one person - I am refering to the drinks package option here.

 

If you are referring to the booking perk which gives a "free" package as a promotion then the promo benefit is for two packages for each of two cabin occupants. If there are more than two in a cabin then different rules apply depending on the promotion but it generally does not cover more than two alcoholic packages per cabin.

Edited June 26, 2014 by Lsimon

[Prewelli]

Many thanks for advice - yes it was the promotion I was referring to - we have gone for the onboard credit- but the drinks package would seem to be better vale - if you drink!

We will have to work out how much we drink dont want to be tempted to be alcoholics!

:)

[firstcruiserDB]

A great thread....thanks!

 

We'd like to add on the classic beverage package with our reservation, but I have a question that I cannot find the answer to....I'm hoping someone here can help!

 

I know the Classic package is a limit of $6 for beer and $8 for wine and hard liquor. I have found the drink/bar menus and think this package will work for us. I'm not sure, though, if my husbands drink of choice would qualify for $8.

 

He drinks top shelf gin (Tanguaray, Beefeater, etc.) on the rocks. Not a martini...just on the rocks. Would that qualify for $8 or under???

 

Can anyone help? Thanks!!!

[lovetotraveltx]

Someone posted a list for me of liquors included and tanqueray is on there. My husband drinks that too. So a tanqueray just on the rocks should be fine for classic.

 

Just guessing as haven't cruised yet.

 

If the drinks aren't working up to 3 days before your cruise ends you can upgrade to premium. And, just one of you can. We might consider that for my husband.

[bighairtexan]

Beefeaters is also included on the classic package.

The top shelf gin is on the Premium package would be Bombay Sapphire. I don't know if they even carry Tanqueray No. 10, but am guessing if so it wouldn't be on the classic.

[Jenna109]

Beefeaters is also included on the classic package.

The top shelf gin is on the Premium package would be Bombay Sapphire. I don't know if they even carry Tanqueray No. 10, but am guessing if so it wouldn't be on the classic.

Bombay is on the classic package - my drink!

[Pilgrim70]

A great thread....thanks!

 

 

 

We'd like to add on the classic beverage package with our reservation, but I have a question that I cannot find the answer to....I'm hoping someone here can help!

 

 

 

I know the Classic package is a limit of $6 for beer and $8 for wine and hard liquor. I have found the drink/bar menus and think this package will work for us. I'm not sure, though, if my husbands drink of choice would qualify for $8.

 

 

 

He drinks top shelf gin (Tanguaray, Beefeater, etc.) on the rocks. Not a martini...just on the rocks. Would that qualify for $8 or under???

 

 

 

Can anyone help? Thanks!!!

 

 

Beefeater on the rocks is included in Classic. You can get Beefeater martini at bars except the Martini Bar as they make the bigger martinis. At least that was our experience on the Equinox last month. You can order a Beefeater on the rocks at the Martini Bar but not a martini which was weird. The limits for us were 6$ for beer, 8$ for cocktails and 9$ for wine. With the Classic we generally went to the Ensemble Bar and got everything we wanted including Absolute or Beefeater Martinis.

 

 

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[Fjord4Fun]

Does anyone have a definitive answer as to what is being included in the Classic drinks packages for Celebrity for 2015?

 

The general area of the website (http://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/life-on-board/wine-and-beverage-packages/premium-and-classic-packages/) states beers up to $6, cocktails up to $8 and wines up to $9.

 

The FAQ section (http://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/) on their site has beers $6, cocktails and wines $8 and a leaflet received from http://www.cruise.co.uk in the post yesterday says beers $5 and cocktails and wine up to $8. The wines we were allowed on our classic package in the MDF recently were actually priced at $10 and given that there are no beers at $5 or less nor wines at $8 of less on board I'm a little (OK a lot!) confused.

 

BTW we found that there were NO cocktail menus on board Celebrity in August. We eventually managed to get the page of mixing instructions given to bar staff but these did not identify which were included in each package and did not include some on a list we obtained from Celebrity UK before we sailed.

 

I have emailed Celebrity Customer Services in the UK but they are rather slow to answer and on past form give conflicting information. Perhaps someone else can fare better.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Does anyone have a definitive answer as to what is being included in the Classic drinks packages for Celebrity for 2015?

 

The general area of the website (http://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/life-on-board/wine-and-beverage-packages/premium-and-classic-packages/) states beers up to $6, cocktails up to $8 and wines up to $9.

 

The FAQ section (http://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/) on their site has beers $6, cocktails and wines $8 and a leaflet received from http://www.cruise.co.uk in the post yesterday says beers $5 and cocktails and wine up to $8. The wines we were allowed on our classic package in the MDF recently were actually priced at $10 and given that there are no beers at $5 or less nor wines at $8 of less on board I'm a little (OK a lot!) confused.

 

BTW we found that there were NO cocktail menus on board Celebrity in August. We eventually managed to get the page of mixing instructions given to bar staff but these did not identify which were included in each package and did not include some on a list we obtained from Celebrity UK before we sailed.

 

I have emailed Celebrity Customer Services in the UK but they are rather slow to answer and on past form give conflicting information. Perhaps someone else can fare better.

 

I hear you... It is confusing. And you are not the first to find it so.

 

As I understand it the problem lies in how Drink Prices (and hence the Menus) are handled in the UK vs North America (a legal issue ?)

 

In NA we list prices before taxes, not taxes included (a quaint custom we started after the Stamp Tax imposed by Britian in the 1700s... As now we all very much want to know who is taxing us, how much & why)

 

So for us if the Menu says a Glass of Wine is $ 10 we know that there will be an additional 15% added for the Grats

 

I take it from posts others have made on this issue Menus showing correct all in pricing for UK Sailings are sorely lacking

 

And even the crew finds themselves working often times with just some notes scribbled out alongside a US Drink List

 

Cheers!

[Fjord4Fun]

I hear you... It is confusing. And you are not the first to find it so.

 

As I understand it the problem lies in how Drink Prices (and hence the Menus) are handled in the UK vs North America (a legal issue ?)

 

In NA we list prices before taxes, not taxes included (a quaint custom we started after the Stamp Tax imposed by Britian in the 1700s... As now we all very much want to know who is taxing us, how much & why)

 

So for us if the Menu says a Glass of Wine is $ 10 we know that there will be an additional 15% added for the Grats

 

I take it from posts others have made on this issue Menus showing correct all in pricing for UK Sailings are sorely lacking

 

And even the crew finds themselves working often times with just some notes scribbled out alongside a US Drink List

 

Cheers!

 

Hi, Thanks for the input. Even though we're in the UK and Celebrity are marketing to us as UK people everything is still priced in dollars on the website that we see.

Re the $10 drinks, it was odd that either wine in our classic package was up to $9 or up to £8 dollars (excl of tax) depending where on their website you read, the wine were were allowed was priced at $10 (excl taxes).

I'm very conscious of the fact that having signed up to a drinks package with no actual list, they could simply offer one wine, one beer and one cocktail that fall within the package limits and hence meet their contractual obligations. When we're paying £4000-£5000 for the two of us for a two week holiday I want to be clear what I'm signing up for.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Hi, Thanks for the input. Even though we're in the UK and Celebrity are marketing to us as UK people everything is still priced in dollars on the website that we see.

Re the $10 drinks, it was odd that either wine in our classic package was up to $9 or up to £8 dollars (excl of tax) depending where on their website you read, the wine were were allowed was priced at $10 (excl taxes).

I'm very conscious of the fact that having signed up to a drinks package with no actual list, they could simply offer one wine, one beer and one cocktail that fall within the package limits and hence meet their contractual obligations. When we're paying £4000-£5000 for the two of us for a two week holiday I want to be clear what I'm signing up for.

 

In that case...

 

You probably want to look at the most recent Alcohol Pkgs and what is included in each as posted by the CC CELEBRITY CRUISES official rep back in May 2014

 

The American Parameters are listed (Max Pour Cost) as well as the items so it will at least give you the full spectrum of what to expect

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2048745

 

Cheers!

[Fjord4Fun]

In that case...

 

You probably want to look at the most recent Alcohol Pkgs and what is included in each as posted by the CC CELEBRITY CRUISES official rep back in May 2014

 

The American Parameters are listed (Max Pour Cost) as well as the items so it will at least give you the full spectrum of what to expect

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2048745

 

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the link but even on there the information from 'Celebrity Official' differs from information given on ship! eg they state on that thread "We can now confirm that if you have the Premium Beverage Package, that you will only pay the difference for a beverage that is not included." That being the case someone needs to tell the bar staff on board.

The thread didn't list the cocktails available though - nor do they on ship.

Still a way to go on this issue Celebrity.

[Lsimon]

Fjord4Fun:

 

I can understand the confusion but a few bits of insight might be helpful.

 

First off, last spring Celebrity started to dramatically reduce the offerings available on the classic package on at least a couple of cruises. there was a tremendous outcry about this change and Celebrity quickly responded by reversing most of the changes. This resulted in the thread linked to in Sloop-JohnB's post #94 above. The thread referenced started out with a post by an official Celebrity representative who posted the revised information on the package limits, a short description and the post also had two detailed listings of the items included in the Classic and Premium package. This remains the most recent definitive statement from Celebrity on what is included in the packages.

 

As far as the price limits: There can be two issues which might confuse this. First off there was a change earlier in the year increasing the limits on the packages for some categories. The current limits are those listed in the post referred to above (Classic $9 wine and $8 other and Premium $13 for all). Unfortunately there are portions of Celebrity's web site and promotional materials circulating that have the old limits but from what I've read on these boards the new limits are in place on sailings. The second issue is the issue of gratuies being included in pricing on certain sailings embarking in the UK. The limits discussed above are before a standard 15% gratuity add on (which really only applies to non-package purchases since the packages include the 15% surcharge). However on certain sailings from the UK, including the closed loop cruises on Eclipse sailing round trip from Southampton, all the menu prices on board are adjusted upward to include the 15% service charge and the package limits are increased correspondingly so it all comes out even. This is done to ease issues relating to differing tipping customs in the UK and USA on those cruises principally targeted at the UK market and sailing from the UK.

 

On the issue of drink menus: There is no definitive drink menu for the packages just as there is no definitive drink menu for cocktails on the ship which is common practice in the USA overall. The bar tenders can make any drink you'd like as long as they know how to make it or you can tell them. As a result a comprehensive cocktail menu would be difficult to create. For the most part the cocktail pricing, and direction of what is included in which package, is based more on the spirits used in the cocktail than the cocktail itself. For example a gin and tonic is included in the classic package as long as it is made with any of the gins included in that package. Make it with a top shelf premium gin included in only the premium package, such as Tanqueray 10 and the premium package is required. So for the most part the bar menus are only suggestions. There are a few notable exceptions: A lot of the more involved craft cocktails, including those served at the Molecular Bar on S class, are only included in the premium package. Also, the larger martinis offered at the martini bar are not available on the classic package - but the classic package does include smaller more basic martinis made with the non-premium spirits.

 

One final bit of information: The most recent collection of beverage menus I've seen on these boards was posted last May by ~Cruisenut~ in this post: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2042016

 

Hope all this helps!

Edited September 9, 2014 by Lsimon

[Fjord4Fun]

Fjord4Fun:

 

I can understand the confusion but a few bits of insight might be helpful.

 

First off, last spring Celebrity started to dramatically reduce the offerings available on the classic package on at least a couple of cruises. there was a tremendous outcry about this change and Celebrity quickly responded by reversing most of the changes. This resulted in the thread linked to in Sloop-JohnB's post #94 above. The thread referenced started out with a post by an official Celebrity representative who posted the revised information on the package limits, a short description and the post also had two detailed listings of the items included in the Classic and Premium package. This remains the most recent definitive statement from Celebrity on what is included in the packages.

 

As far as the price limits: There can be two issues which might confuse this. First off there was a change earlier in the year increasing the limits on the packages for some categories. The current limits are those listed in the post referred to above (Classic $9 wine and $8 other and Premium $13 for all). Unfortunately there are portions of Celebrity's web site and promotional materials circulating that have the old limits but from what I've read on these boards the new limits are in place on sailings. The second issue is the issue of gratuies being included in pricing on certain sailings embarking in the UK. The limits discussed above are before a standard 15% gratuity add on (which really only applies to non-package purchases since the packages include the 15% surcharge). However on certain sailings from the UK, including the closed loop cruises on Eclipse sailing round trip from Southampton, all the menu prices on board are adjusted upward to include the 15% service charge and the package limits are increased correspondingly so it all comes out even. This is done to ease issues relating to differing tipping customs in the UK and USA on those cruises principally targeted at the UK market and sailing from the UK.

 

On the issue of drink menus: There is no definitive drink menu for the packages just as there is no definitive drink menu for cocktails on the ship which is common practice in the USA overall. The bar tenders can make any drink you'd like as long as they know how to make it or you can tell them. As a result a comprehensive cocktail menu would be difficult to create. For the most part the cocktail pricing, and direction of what is included in which package, is based more on the spirits used in the cocktail than the cocktail itself. For example a gin and tonic is included in the classic package as long as it is made with any of the gins included in that package. Make it with a top shelf premium gin included in only the premium package, such as Tanqueray 10 and the premium package is required. So for the most part the bar menus are only suggestions. There are a few notable exceptions: A lot of the more involved craft cocktails, including those served at the Molecular Bar on S class, are only included in the premium package. Also, the larger martinis offered at the martini bar are not available on the classic package - but the classic package does include smaller more basic martinis made with the non-premium spirits.

 

One final bit of information: The most recent collection of beverage menus I've seen on these boards was posted last May by ~Cruisenut~ in this post: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2042016

 

Hope all this helps!

 

Last year Celebrity managed to widely display illustrated cocktail menus (see attachment for sample page from Eclispe- with acknowledgement to Mike Preisman - http://www.thepreismans.com - Infinity had the same).

 

It may be OK that "The bar tenders can make any drink you'd like" but what about if you are not a seasoned cocktail drinker? Do you ask the bar tender to list all the cocktails that are available to you in your package for you to choose one that takes your fancy? Do you take notes as he speaks? Will he list them all? Will he give you the necessary attention in the run up to dinner when the bar is crowded? You see my point?

 

A cruise is meant to be a special occasion and part of the occasion is to be able to sample cocktails that may be unfamiliar to you. Celebrity got it so right last year which was one reason why we booked again with them this year but were disappointed and on a couple of occasions embarrassed by 'The cocktail issue'. Would it be so difficult for them to re-introduce the menus? Why so coy Celebrity?

 

As a workaround I intend to print my own from the Mike Preisman's website and make a point of referring to it conspicuously when next on board

[Lsimon]

Fjord4Fun:

I do find it strange that there were no cocktail menus at all on board. Sorry I missed that in your prior post - I'd been focusing on your question about a listing of what was included in the packages.

 

They've always had these menus in the past which not only gave some ideas for cocktails but also let patrons know which wines and beers were available at that bar (not every bar has every wine and beer). Same thing with some higher end spirits such as whisky and cognac. Thinking about this, I don't think I've ever been on a cruise where a bar didn't have some sort of a bar menu of one type or another. Only bar I can think of which doesn't normally have this is Café al Bacio which is a full service bar but only has coffees listed on their menu.

[thejman]

Can somebody tell me if I have this correct:

 

Classic Package: If your drink exceeds the limits imposed by the package, you pay the full price. I.E. $15 glass of wine, you pay $15.

 

Premium Package: If your drink exceeds the limits imposed by the package, you pay the difference. I.E. $15 glass of wine, you pay $2.

 

Is it possible to order both wine and sparkling water such as Perrier in the dining room with dinner at the same time?

[SNJCruisers]

Can somebody tell me if I have this correct:

 

Classic Package: If your drink exceeds the limits imposed by the package, you pay the full price. I.E. $15 glass of wine, you pay $15.

 

Premium Package: If your drink exceeds the limits imposed by the package, you pay the difference. I.E. $15 glass of wine, you pay $2.

 

Is it possible to order both wine and sparkling water such as Perrier in the dining room with dinner at the same time?

Yes, that can be done just like you can order a fresh squeezed juice with your espresso for breakfast. But its easier in the buffet area. They usually copy an attitude in the MDR if you want the fresh squeezed juice. That's the reason we always ate at the buffet for breakfast since they have so many made to order options anyway it just makes sense and it's quicker.