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Specialty Restaurant & Upgrading Premium Beverage Packages

taylortime05

By taylortime05,
in Celebrity Cruises

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taylortime05

taylortime05

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Hi,

 

This is our 3rd cruise but first on Celebrity. We are on Eclipse Dec 11 for 10 nights. I have another post where I asked some questions and I have a few more. Everyone is so helpful on these posts. Thank you.

 

1) We may or may not go to a specialty restaurant or buy a package. We are not super picky but enjoy a good meal. Do you recommend a specialty restaurant not to be missed?

 

2) It sounds like fun to go to the World Class Bar and the Martini Bar (can't remember if this is the name) but I think you can only go with premium unless you want to pay out of pocket. I liked one suggestion I read which was go few days with the classic and then upgrade for the last 5 days. Just wondering who always upgrades to premium and why?

 

3) For the shows we do not need to sign up ahead of time like RCCL. Is there enough room to accommodate everyone that shows up? How early do you need to get to a show.

 

Thank you again for all your help. :)

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killsport Great Review Rare

killsport

Posted
Posted

1) We may or may not go to a specialty restaurant or buy a package. We are not super picky but enjoy a good meal. Do you recommend a specialty restaurant not to be missed?

 

Really depends on your taste / desires. I'm not a huge fan of Qsine, as the food doesn't turn me on (however the presentation is creative and excellent); I like Tuscan, but others will tell you it isn't great; Murano is good, but is more fine french -- if that's your thing.

 

2) It sounds like fun to go to the World Class Bar and the Martini Bar (can't remember if this is the name) but I think you can only go with premium unless you want to pay out of pocket. I liked one suggestion I read which was go few days with the classic and then upgrade for the last 5 days. Just wondering who always upgrades to premium and why?

 

The Martini Bar used to make martinis for those with the classic package in a smaller glass with different brands (Absolut instead of Grey Goose). Not sure if they are still doing this. My wife and I always upgrade to premium for a few reasons. First, we like wine and much of the wine isn't under the classic limit; on the premium, you pay only the difference. Second, we like Pellegrino. Third, I like single malt scotch and small batch bourbon and the choices make a difference.

 

3) For the shows we do not need to sign up ahead of time like RCCL. Is there enough room to accommodate everyone that shows up? How early do you need to get to a show.

 

You can arrive at any time and get a seat for any show in the main theater. Never seen any one close to full. They aren't really that great. However, if there is a late night comedy in one of the smaller venues, you'll need to get there earlier as those do fill up!

 

Enjoy!

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Aus ATC

Aus ATC

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1) On Connie (our first Celebrity Cruise), we enjoyed the Tuscan Grille, Ocean Liners not so much (on balance). Don't be afraid to try and negotiate a discount on the upcharge. The wait staff seemed to enjoy the banter, and you might get 20-25% off the "list price".

 

2) We upgraded straight away. Meant we didn't really have to think about it after that. Open slather at the Martini Bar (and who wants a small martini!) and a much better selection of wines for dinner.

 

3) Similar to the previous post. Shows were not great (I'd have to say Royal Carribean were generally better) - we like to arrive about 10 mins before to get a reasonable seat and a drink...

Edited by Aus ATC
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Jarvijt

Jarvijt

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We didn't visit a speciality, although we intended to, as our waiting staff in the MDR were such fun. They made every evening a special occasion.

 

As we boarded the ship we upgraded to premium drinks as we like a selection of wins with dinner, DH drinks British ale and the cocktails I like were not on the classic. They wanted $10 a day for the upgrade but we paid $90 each for a 10 night cruise. Well worth it for us as we also had a bottle of San pellegrino every evening with our meal.

 

Enjoy whatever you do

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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wallie5446

wallie5446

Posted
Posted (edited)
Hi,

 

This is our 3rd cruise but first on Celebrity. We are on Eclipse Dec 11 for 10 nights. I have another post where I asked some questions and I have a few more. Everyone is so helpful on these posts. Thank you.

 

1) We may or may not go to a specialty restaurant or buy a package. We are not super picky but enjoy a good meal. Do you recommend a specialty restaurant not to be missed?

 

2) It sounds like fun to go to the World Class Bar and the Martini Bar (can't remember if this is the name) but I think you can only go with premium unless you want to pay out of pocket. I liked one suggestion I read which was go few days with the classic and then upgrade for the last 5 days. Just wondering who always upgrades to premium and why?

 

3) For the shows we do not need to sign up ahead of time like RCCL. Is there enough room to accommodate everyone that shows up? How early do you need to get to a show.

 

Thank you again for all your help. :)

We have gotten the 3 dinner package on our last 3 cruises, Murano and Tuscan have been excellent each time we dinned there. We wait till on ship to buy the pkg.

 

We have upgraded our beverage pkg also. The bulk of the craft beers are over the classic limit, and the red wine my wife liked last yr was $13.50 a glass. With the Premium our cost was .59 cents.

 

There are 2 seating for the show's most evenings, and always have had open seats. This is one of the things we love about the S-class design. It never feels packed with people like our cruises on a Mariner or Freedom class with RCCL. We try to at least get there before they turn down the house lights :eek: as it is easier to "see" :D where to sit.

 

ps: you can go to any bar with or without a pkg, but with the Classic you will be out of pocket for most of the top shelf choices and 'special' drinks.

Edited by wallie5446
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CruiserRob

CruiserRob

Posted
Posted
We didn't visit a speciality, although we intended to, as our waiting staff in the MDR were such fun. They made every evening a special occasion.

 

As we boarded the ship we upgraded to premium drinks as we like a selection of wins with dinner, DH drinks British ale and the cocktails I like were not on the classic. They wanted $10 a day for the upgrade but we paid $90 each for a 10 night cruise. Well worth it for us as we also had a bottle of San pellegrino every evening with our meal.

 

Enjoy whatever you do

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I wasn't aware that you could negotiate the price of the upgrade to premium.

 

Robert

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4774Papa

4774Papa

Posted
Posted
Hi,

 

This is our 3rd cruise but first on Celebrity. We are on Eclipse Dec 11 for 10 nights. I have another post where I asked some questions and I have a few more. Everyone is so helpful on these posts. Thank you.

 

1) We may or may not go to a specialty restaurant or buy a package. We are not super picky but enjoy a good meal. Do you recommend a specialty restaurant not to be missed?

 

2) It sounds like fun to go to the World Class Bar and the Martini Bar (can't remember if this is the name) but I think you can only go with premium unless you want to pay out of pocket. I liked one suggestion I read which was go few days with the classic and then upgrade for the last 5 days. Just wondering who always upgrades to premium and why?

 

3) For the shows we do not need to sign up ahead of time like RCCL. Is there enough room to accommodate everyone that shows up? How early do you need to get to a show.

 

Thank you again for all your help. :)

 

1) We rarely go to the specialty restaurants on Celebrity ships, since the MDR is so good. We did enjoy Qsine, but I recommend that you go as a group of four.

 

2) We don't go with the beverage packages, can't help you there.

 

3) We have never had a problem on any Celebrity cruise finding a seat for any show.

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Josie2

Josie2

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Posted

I had never heard one might be able to get a discount - of course we always knew we wanted an upgrade and went right away to the table to do so. Likely appeared too eager ....:D Anyway, next April we are travelling as a group of six and all of us want to upgrade. That should give us some good negotiation leverage!

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Sandtrap328

Sandtrap328

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I suggest establishing a good rapport and loyalty with a reputable travel agent as a way of getting a premium drink package. I have been using the same one for several years and she always includes the premium drink package and on-board gratuities as a standard feature as well as the best deal possible for the cruise.

 

The premium drink package sure beats the "old days" when we would try to beat the system by sneaking booze on board! Who remembers the "rum runners" or scotch in a Listerine bottle? Ah, the days of Carnival.

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Champagne Cruiser

Champagne Cruiser

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I always upgrade for the wines, DH occasionally upgrades. My advice is to try the wines in the Classic Pkg and then make your decision. It's always fun to go bar hopping in the name of research:):)

 

I believe the smaller martinis (which are included in the Classic Bev Pkg) apply to the Classic and the Appletini (my favorite!) and you can always have more than one.

 

We rarely dine at the specialty restaurants because the food in the MDR and Blu are very good.

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Full90

Full90

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The Tuscan grill is excellent, I think. Qsine is fun but I way over eat there so I avoid it.

 

We always upgrade to the premium package simply because we don't want to make any decisions about can we or can we not order a certain drink. The world class bar is our favorite for pre dinner cocktails. The premium package is not cost effective for us but I am not on vacation to save a penny.

 

You will enjoy the Eclipse!

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taylortime05

taylortime05

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I suggest establishing a good rapport and loyalty with a reputable travel agent as a way of getting a premium drink package. I have been using the same one for several years and she always includes the premium drink package and on-board gratuities as a standard feature as well as the best deal possible for the cruise.

 

The premium drink package sure beats the "old days" when we would try to beat the system by sneaking booze on board! Who remembers the "rum runners" or scotch in a Listerine bottle? Ah, the days of Carnival.

 

Can you give me any hints who your travel agent is? Are they local?

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CaroleSS

CaroleSS

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Posted

Ok, so I'm confused.

 

I have heard that you can negotiate a discount on the specialty restaurants, but never heard about negotiating for upgrading to premium. Did I get them confused??

 

Is it possible to negotiate upgrading to premium from classic? If the normal price is $11 (+tip)pp/day, what would be considered appropriate? Can we do that with any bartender or do we do that at guest services?

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