Apologies for yet another Premium Drink Package question !!

[aycee]

I have searched for a definitive answer to this question but have found differing answers !!!

We will be sailing on the Solstice from Sydney in April for a short cruise. For the first time we have the Premium Drink Package. Can someone who has cruised in 2016 and has had the Premium Drink Package tell us if the price limit for drinks covered under this is $13, $14, $15 or $15.50 - all of these prices have been quoted in various threads !!!

 

Thanks in anticipation !!:)

[OzKiwiJJ]

I have searched for a definitive answer to this question but have found differing answers !!!

We will be sailing on the Solstice from Sydney in April for a short cruise. For the first time we have the Premium Drink Package. Can someone who has cruised in 2016 and has had the Premium Drink Package tell us if the price limit for drinks covered under this is $13, $14, $15 or $15.50 - all of these prices have been quoted in various threads !!!

 

Thanks in anticipation !!:)

 

$15.50 on Solstice on an NZ over Christmas. That price included the "service charge" as is usual when Celebrity and RCI ships cruise in our region. We never found a drink that we wanted that wasn't covered by the premium package, including all the drinks in the Molecular Bar. Possibly some fine cognacs or whiskies would be outside the package though. Edit - just realised that's not quite true. We did have some wine in Murano that cost us a couple of dollars extra per glass. For wines in the MDR we just asked the sommelier to recommend wines to match what we were eating, had excellent wines with no extra charges.

 

The difference in prices comes from US cruises where the drinks prices usually excludes the 18% gratuity, also the drinks prices (and the gratuity rate) have increased in the past year or so.

Edited January 24, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

[aycee]

Thanks for that. We were on the Transpacific last year when all the prices were increased considerably after Honolulu.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks for that. We were on the Transpacific last year when all the prices were increased considerably after Honolulu.

 

Yes, I heard about that, it was strange. But the drinks package price didn't increase did it?

[aycee]

Can't say one way or the other about the drink packages as we didn't have one for that cruise - according to the brochure we got on board it was $77US

for the Premium $65 US for the Classic and they introduced a Standard Package for $53.10 US. If I recall correctly quite ordinary wine offerings were between $11 and $15 per glass (US$)

[LuckiePuris]

Pricing for cruises departing from Australia or New Zealand $15.50 limit per drink. This includes the gratuities on each drink.

 

Pricing for other cruises are much less as they do not include the gratuity.

[aycee]

Thanks for that !!

[pattebrownell]

I have searched for a definitive answer to this question but have found differing answers !!!

We will be sailing on the Solstice from Sydney in April for a short cruise. For the first time we have the Premium Drink Package. Can someone who has cruised in 2016 and has had the Premium Drink Package tell us if the price limit for drinks covered under this is $13, $14, $15 or $15.50 - all of these prices have been quoted in various threads !!!

 

Thanks in anticipation !!:)

 

Can't remember if it was 15 or 15.50 but even at that - the best wines were above this price. The premium package does not give you true premium wines if you are a wine connoisseur.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Can't remember if it was 15 or 15.50 but even at that - the best wines were above this price. The premium package does not give you true premium wines if you are a wine connoisseur.

 

True but the wines we had under the package were very acceptable, and we could have chosen to buy premium wines by the bottle if we wanted. Actually I think we ended up having a few wines that weren't on the wine list thanks to our sommelier. Not sure how that worked though. We gave up even thinking of picking our own wines after the first couple of nights. The wine matches provided were perfect for the food we were eating. :)

[aycee]

We're not wine snobs so we'll probably go with the sommelier's recommendations - looking forward to some of the cocktails and specialty coffees that we were too mingy to buy on our last cruise !!!

 

The best wine is the one you enjoy not the most expensive !!!

[mr walker]

We were on the Transpacific last year when all the prices were increased considerably after Honolulu.

 

That's because the prices went from NOT including the T&G's to INCLUDING the T&G's, as 'Australian' cruises must have the 'total' price listed. On our transpacific in 2014, it was made very clear to us that a new drink's price list would apply from Honolulu on to Sydney. For example an $8 wine (without the 18%) became $9.50 with the 18% included ie it was the same, within a few cents.

[sonia2509]

We were on the Solstice with the premium package, we drank in every bar and had glasses of wine/prosecco at dinner and the limincello and amaretto after dinner in the MDR and then martinis after at the Martini Bar and always had bottled mineral water and coffees, we came off the ship with nothing on our bill! It was the best drink package for us. We are not wine snobs but I do like a decent red wine I found the Argentian Malbec perfect even better than our Aussie Pepperjack Shiraz.

 

 

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[OzKiwiJJ]

We're not wine snobs so we'll probably go with the sommelier's recommendations - looking forward to some of the cocktails and specialty coffees that we were too mingy to buy on our last cruise !!!

 

The best wine is the one you enjoy not the most expensive !!!

 

In that case I hope you get Komang as your sommelier. He's wonderful and, once he realises you really do appreciate his wine selections, he really seems to enjoy coming up with the perfect wines to suit your tastes. I can't drink sauvignon blanc or cabernet sauvignon so that was a challenge for him at times.

 

As for cocktails ... OMG, there are some beauties! Each bar has its specialities. :D

[OzKiwiJJ]

We were on the Solstice with the premium package, we drank in every bar and had glasses of wine/prosecco at dinner and the limincello and amaretto after dinner in the MDR and then martinis after at the Martini Bar and always had bottled mineral water and coffees, we came off the ship with nothing on our bill! It was the best drink package for us. We are not wine snobs but I do like a decent red wine I found the Argentian Malbec perfect even better than our Aussie Pepperjack Shiraz.

 

 

 

I remember that malbec, it was a very decent drop. But we had such a variety of wines, it was brilliant. We really enjoyed the cocktails, there were some amazing martinis at the Martini Bar especially. I love trying new cocktails.

[The_Big_M]

That's because the prices went from NOT including the T&G's to INCLUDING the T&G's, as 'Australian' cruises must have the 'total' price listed. On our transpacific in 2014, it was made very clear to us that a new drink's price list would apply from Honolulu on to Sydney. For example an $8 wine (without the 18%) became $9.50 with the 18% included ie it was the same, within a few cents.

 

Same thing happens each year.

 

Haven't heard big discussions going the other direction, complaining that prices fell once leaving Hawaii though! That's when they reverse the prices to being tips additional.