Vouchers vs elite happy hour

[I&J Cruisers]

Planning a December cruise on Reflection. Last time I was on allure they loaded vouchers each day to our key cards as well as having access to the lounge. Does X do that as well. It was nice having a choice of where to ha e our pre dinner cocktails. Not essential but it was a nice touch.

[keesar]

Location depends on how many Elites are on the cruise. On our last two cruises on Reflection, we had the Happy Hour in the Sky Lounge. There were very few people there each cruise. Another factor could be the popularity of the drink packages. We have never had vouchers on any of our cruises but they do exist!

Edited June 21, 2015 by keesar

[ECCruise]

Whether there is a lounge or vouchers (when there are a high number of Elite or above), no drinks will be loaded on you sea pass like RCL.

[cynbar]

Sometimes Celebrity has the Elite Happy Hour in a designated lounge, 5-7 pm I think it was, and only certain drinks are available. If there are too many Elites onboard for that, they give out vouchers that are good at most bars, but only on the designated day and same hours. I don't remember if this was limited to the same list of drinks, since I like a Cosmo before dinner and that was on the list. But either way, they are not preloaded onto your card. It's one or the other for your cruise, not both.

Edited June 21, 2015 by cynbar

[cruisestitch]

Whether vouchers or Sky Lounge Elite event, the choice of drinks is the same.

 

You won't know if your cruise will have the vouchers or the cocktail hour until you are on board, because it will depend on how many Elite/Elite+/Zeniths there are on that cruise.

 

Either way, instructions will be in your stateroom on your arrival. If you don't see the instruction sheet, consult the Captain's Club host/hostess as you were inadvertently overlooked.

 

The only thing that Celebrity pre-loads onto SeaPass cards is the Internet time.

[Tiggertastic]

We've found that the more people with drinks packages, the less people go to the event so we're going to make an effort

[Oxo]

If they use vouchers, only 3 drinks are alllowed per evening from 5-7PM. If vouchers are not used you go to the Elite Sky Lounge and they do not limit drinks to 3 per evening during 5-7PM.

Please, don't say you don't drink more than 3 or 3 is enough. I am just stating what they do if vouchers are not used.

[RodPat]

We've found that the more people with drinks packages, the less people go to the event so we're going to make an effort

 

The last couple of cruises we have had the drink package because of getting 1 2 3 offer but we still love going to the elite event in the evening. We just go to the bar and get what we like that is on our package. We enjoy the atmosphere up there. We had vouchers on on TA and to us it seemed a waste as we had paid for our bev. Package that cruise.

 

Pat

[Project_gal]

Just to add another variation into the mix, the Millennium transpacific have BOTH the Elite lounge AND vouchers. I did not ask but I assume that there were so many Elite on board they wanted to spread folk even more.

[UniPac]

We've found that the more people with drinks packages, the less people go to the event so we're going to make an effort

 

Yes, and vice versa: on our last cruise from Sydney to Hawai'i you could not get the classic package as a promotion for booking onboard, 123go etc. because it is called a transpacific/repositioning cruise.

Also, the 18days cruise seemed to be booked by experienced cruisers (guess only few start cruising with a 18days cruise featuring so many sea days) resulting in a higher number of Elites onboard.

However, no vouchers - but the Sky lounge was always full of people (which was pretty nice though) during Cocktail hour.

[go fish 44]

We were on the Equinox May TA and we had coupons and if we went to the Elite lounge we still had to use the coupons for drinks including soft drinks.

Yes, there were lots of people in the lounge every night.

[jsf]

Just to add another variation into the mix, the Millennium transpacific have BOTH the Elite lounge AND vouchers. I did not ask but I assume that there were so many Elite on board they wanted to spread folk even more.

 

Same was true on the Equinox T/A April/May.

J.

[I&J Cruisers]

Thanks for your answers. We are long time X cruisers. Took an allure cruise last summer only because X had no ships sailing out of Florida. It was a quick getaway because we live about 40 minutes from the port. I was surprised that RCL's offered both. You are all correct. Very few people in the lounge because of the drink packages. This will be our first X cruise since and wondered if both lines now had the same policy. Guess not.

[Hlitner]

The entire situation is in a state of flux. At one time the Elite cocktail parties were crowded every day and fun get-togethers. On some cruises there were so many Elites (and above) that they gave out drink vouchers (but still had a private cocktail party for those who wanted to attend). But now, with so many booking X with the drink packages the vouchers and parties can be redundant for so many folks. For example on our last 14 day Eclipse cruise we booked with a promotion that got us the drink package, tips, and a nice onboard credit. The first day we received all of our drink vouchers which could be used in many bars and also had an invitation to the daily Elite parties. We went to one party and the place was nearly empty. During the cruise we never used a single voucher since the drink package was a better option. With more and more X passengers booking with the drink promos the Elite parties are no longer what they were. Now, we find the best socialization are the Elite breakfasts :).

 

Hank

[cruisestitch]

Book an inside or ocean view stateroom with no special offers and that cocktail hour or those vouchers are a delightful Elite perk. It all just depends on the mix of who's on board and who has a package. Recently even though most of us had the package, we liked the cocktail hour as a good meeting point, enjoyed the passed hors d'oeuvres and the view from the Sky Lounge. Those with the package could expand their drink choices, those without made do with the Elite drinks menu.