Mini-bar- Is it time to finally go?

[richsea]

If you have a drink package, & the contents of the mini bar are not included, then chances are you will not use it. We rarely have a drink pacakge, so I will partake of the Jack Daniels if I feel so inclined. The beer is too warm to drink from the mini bar, as it only chills it.

 

I think the prices are comparable to what you pay in a ship's bar for a comparable drink.

 

Completely off topic, but we were at a local winery wine tasting this weekend hosted by our insurance agents, & in a trivia segment about wine, they asked what markup by a restaurant for a bottle of wine would be considered price gouging: double, truple, or quadruple? According to them, anything up to triple markup is considered acceptable, while quadruple would be considered gouging, which I thought was interesting. My useless info for the day!

[Ontime Departure]

We sometimes use the minibar.

 

If I wake up thirsty at 2 or 3am (which I often do) and there is no juice or sodas in the room then I will raid the minibar.

 

I realise the markup on the minibar contents is high but Celebrity are a business and we're talking about few dollars extra-not hundreds.

 

We usually do pickup a couple of unopened cans of Coke Zero from one of the bars at the end of each evening but sometimes we do forget (or we're very thirsty and need more).

 

If I can spend thousands taking "Luxury"Cruises then I am not about to start loosing sleep over a couple of dollars extra that Coke Zero from the minibar just cost me:rolleyes:

[travelpeon]

Having stayed in many Japanese business hotels where the room is about size of a cruise cabin - a mini fridge is almost always present. Sometimes a bottle of complimentary water will be inside. Snacks, beer, and other drinks are usually available in vending machines for a reasonable price as a convenience or you can usually find a convenience store a short walk away if you want larger Liter sizes or more variety. Yes, no human needed to check mini-bar inventory and no erroneous charges! Just get someone to refill the vending machine instead of going from room to room. Put those budgets towards something else that really is luxurious. Guests in high spending vacation mode could always have room service deliver it, instead.

 

I know I've seen vending machines on NCL Epic, for example, where a room card works as the charge card. I've also noticed some of the newer ships building hand washing stations at the entrance of buffets which I think is a great idea.

 

Vegas hotel + casinos have gotten rid of the in room mini bar & coffee machine to entice their guests to get out of their rooms. If they're in their rooms, they're less likely to be spending at the casino. So while a cruise guest might have a soda or drink in their room, wouldn't they spend more at a bar? Then possibly hit the casino or shopping?

[spendless]

Mini bar -who cares?

[madmedic]

We have purchased the bottles of champagne from the mini bar and have made ourselves mixed drinks from the mini bar

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

How much is the champagne? Would like a glass each but do not need a full bottle as we have a drinks package.

[SPacificbound]

We do occasionally use something, but would certainly not miss it if they took it away.

[mommajo22]

On our last cruise, we were pleasantly surprised to find our mini fridge completely empty. We thought maybe it was something new but our friends in another room said that their fridge was completely filled. I later realized we had no robes or slippers so it was probably just a room steward mistake but we loved having the room in the fridge for extra waters and pop.

[FlamingJune1967]

On my very first (RCCL) cruise - after reading CC extensively for about 8 months - I shook our cabin stewards hand and very nicely asked if he could empty our refrigerator. He told us "no". Said there wasn't any place to put it. I was dumbfounded.

On a subsequent RCCL cruise my husband did the asking - and got the same response.

On our first Carnival cruise, my husband asked the room attendant to empty the fridge and keep our ice bucket filled - then passed him a tip. He smiled and said yes - and he certainly kept our ice fresh - but not a single fridge item left our room.

I gave up asking after that.

So... anyone else have similar experience? And is Celebrity more likely to comply with our wishes?

Also - the refrig. temps on RCCL and Carnival were barely below room temp. Are the fridges on Celebrity any better?

[fleckle]

On my very first (RCCL) cruise - after reading CC extensively for about 8 months - I shook our cabin stewards hand and very nicely asked if he could empty our refrigerator. He told us "no". Said there wasn't any place to put it. I was dumbfounded.

On a subsequent RCCL cruise my husband did the asking - and got the same response.

On our first Carnival cruise, my husband asked the room attendant to empty the fridge and keep our ice bucket filled - then passed him a tip. He smiled and said yes - and he certainly kept our ice fresh - but not a single fridge item left our room.

I gave up asking after that.

So... anyone else have similar experience? And is Celebrity more likely to comply with our wishes?

Our experience has been the exact opposite of yours.

We always ask to have everything removed from the minibar/fridge on the first day, and they always empty it (usually when they come in to do the evening turndown).

 

The one exception was on our last cruise when we asked the stateroom attendant to empty the fridge when we met him on the first day, and he pointed out that it was already empty.

 

Like mommajo22, we thought perhaps that was a new policy, but apparently not, so I figure they probably had emptied it for the previous occupants and just didn't get around to re-stocking it.

 

I really wish they would let us specify in advance whether we want it stocked or empty, the same way that we can specify whether we want the beds together or apart and which dinner seating we want.

It would save them a lot of work, needing to stock it and empty it, and then re-stock it.

 

Also - the refrig. temps on RCCL and Carnival were barely below room temp. Are the fridges on Celebrity any better?

They get cool, but not icy cold.

If you leave the door to the cabinet open (not the door to the fridge itself, but the door to the cabinet in which it resides), it does keep the items inside cooler.

 

 

[rockdoctor]

I suspect that the cruise lines are at least looking a doing away with the mini bar. On our last two Princess cruises, the refrigerator was empty.

[jagoffee]

On my very first (RCCL) cruise - after reading CC extensively for about 8 months - I shook our cabin stewards hand and very nicely asked if he could empty our refrigerator. He told us "no". Said there wasn't any place to put it. I was dumbfounded.

On a subsequent RCCL cruise my husband did the asking - and got the same response.

On our first Carnival cruise, my husband asked the room attendant to empty the fridge and keep our ice bucket filled - then passed him a tip. He smiled and said yes - and he certainly kept our ice fresh - but not a single fridge item left our room.

I gave up asking after that.

So... anyone else have similar experience? And is Celebrity more likely to comply with our wishes?

Also - the refrig. temps on RCCL and Carnival were barely below room temp. Are the fridges on Celebrity any better?

 

You should not have any issue having the mini bar emptied. Based on our experience the items will be stored somewhere in your room. It has never been a problem. Worst case just empty it yourself.

I do not find the fridges to be any better than others.

 

I suspect that the cruise lines are at least looking a doing away with the mini bar. On our last two Princess cruises, the refrigerator was empty.

 

Except for the free Elite or Suite one time stock I have always found the Princess minibars to be empty. I believe they can be stocked by room service if requested. I am not sure when this Princess change was made, but I do not recall them ever being stocked.

When were they stocked for you?

[FlamingJune1967]

They get cool, but not icy cold.

If you leave the door to the cabinet open (not the door to the fridge itself, but the door to the cabinet in which it resides), it does keep the items inside cooler.

 

 

Thanks for the tip! I'll try that, as well as "using the heat from the fridge to help dry stuff" tip from the first page. And since this is a longer cruise, I'll be more insistent about the mini-bar purge. I already bring snacks and water aboard with us, and I've noticed that Eclipse cabins seem to have less storage than other cabins I have been in.

[davekathy]

[size=3

 

They get cool, but not icy cold.

If you leave the door to the cabinet open (not the door to the fridge itself, but the door to the cabinet in which it resides), it does keep the items inside cooler.

 

Great tip and have done it on most of our cruises. On our last Cruise we attempted do this but our cabin attendant kept closing the cabinet door. I guess he thought we were forgetting to close the cabinet door. ;o)

Edited October 2, 2016 by davekathy

[Banjo]

I don't think the mini bar going anywhere.

 

I don't really use the refrigerator other then keep my water bottle cold. For that I can just maneuver some of its contents. I never buy bottle water since I feel the water in the Oceanview is fine (I use proper precautions when filling my bottle). Also I don't drink soft drinks.

 

I do bring on board wine and for that I ask the room steward to provide me with an ice bucket filled with ice.