Yet another drink package question, this time related to a TA

[cangelmd]

We are booking our first transatlantic cruise - yay!

 

Typically on a week long cruise we would take the Classic package as a perk and upgrade to the Premium for convenience.

 

I understand about no perks on TAs, but I also am told that packages can be booked on board, sometimes with a discount. Is that correct, typically? What kind of discount could I expect? A 15 night drink package would get pricy on a per day basis!

 

Also, I think that if we are trying to spend our money wisely, it would match our preferred drinks best if I did a Classic package and DH did a Premium. But those of you who have split like that - what happens at dinner if you are doing wines by the glass? Does the sommelier ask usually? Did you get the premium package wine and the classic person paid the difference? With the Premium package we did paired dinner - white usually with the first courses and white or red with the entree. The sommelier did a great job keeping our glasses topped off and stopping when we were finishing dinner - will that be hindered by one person not covering the complete cost of a glass? Might it be better to use the bottle discount and get bottles for dinner?

 

I think that both of us at least broke even with the Premium package on the 7 day cruise, but if we are paying the entire daily cost, I'm not sure I will drink $65 worth of coke, water and wine X 15 days

[SandG]

Interesting question. When I've had the classic package, I would pay extra for a better wine only in the bars, often getting a better glass of wine at Cellar Masters and carrying it to dinner. In the MDR, I would stick to ordering wines that are covered by the package. I did this for exact the point you brought up - making it easier for the somellier to keep topping off all evening.

 

We generally do the classic package for half of the cruise and then upgrade for the second half on longer cruises. Once we upgrade, then we are able to order better wines in the MDR.

 

Following this strategy, it would be easy to split classic and premium between a couple - each is restricted to the covered wines, and the sommelier is free to top off. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who pays for a wine upgrade in the MDR and how that works out for them.

 

Sue

[cangelmd]

Thanks for answering, Sue. Our last cruise was on Equinox, so there was no Cellar Masters. Frankly, I was disappointed in that, because it was hard to know what wines you were getting, how expensive it was, etc. The quality was fine, but you never learned what to ask for because the wine seemed different in every venue. I'd fine a wine I liked, but couldn't get it in this other bar.

 

Just looking at the info online, I would likely upgrade the wine I chose at dinner time, much as you have described. Then what I really need to take into consideration is do they charge the upcharge every time they top off your glass or not? Certainly many of those top-offs were not equal to a full glass of wine...I don't want to spend my special birthday celebration vacation worrying about the bar bill.

[jelayne]

DH & I often order different wines. The Sommelier brings both bottles when it is time to refill shouldn’t be a problem.

[jagoffee]

Thanks for answering, Sue. Our last cruise was on Equinox, so there was no Cellar Masters. Frankly, I was disappointed in that, because it was hard to know what wines you were getting, how expensive it was, etc. The quality was fine, but you never learned what to ask for because the wine seemed different in every venue. I'd fine a wine I liked, but couldn't get it in this other bar.

 

Just looking at the info online, I would likely upgrade the wine I chose at dinner time, much as you have described. Then what I really need to take into consideration is do they charge the upcharge every time they top off your glass or not? Certainly many of those top-offs were not equal to a full glass of wine...I don't want to spend my special birthday celebration vacation worrying about the bar bill.

 

Consider spending the $11.80 per day to upgrade and not order any wines over the Premium limit. Then you can relax and enjoy your birthday celebration.

 

But if you did order a wine over the limit, I doubt that they would be topping off your wine unless someone else in your group had the Premium package. If not, my experience is that they would ask you if you want another glass instead of topping off. If they did just poured a little bit in your glass, I am sure they would not charge you.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[ghstudio]

Ordering "in the package" wine at dinner can be a challenge...you never seem to know what wine is in what package. I have sat with folks on the classic package when I had the premium package and asked the sommelier what wines are on my "premium" package....and then he brought the same wine for the person on the classic package. If the person on the classic package asked first, then I asked what "better" wine they have for premium package folks, he said it's the same. I finally just gave up and asked for a nice "red" on the premium package.

 

I suspect the question of refill charges is up to the sommelier....but if you are on a package and he is including it in the package, it doesn't matter. When I don't have a wine package, it's rare that they top it up...but it does happen. The same would likely apply if you order a glass that costs more than your package allowance....variable.

[B x]

Hubby usually drinks wine, me bubbles but the sommelier is always quick to adapt with top ups from day one, never had an issue in either MDR or Luminae. And as soon as they know your preference it usually arrives as if by magic.

[TMLAalum]

Bide your Time

 

We lucked into a 50% off Beverage Package sale for our Eclipse TA last fall. We chose the Premium package and enjoyed it over the Classic for only @$5 more pp per day.

 

We learned about this sale via the Celebrity board here. So be sure to read this forum on a daily basis. The 50% off sale didn't last long and we were lucky to grab it when we could.

[cangelmd]

Bide your Time

 

We lucked into a 50% off Beverage Package sale for our Eclipse TA last fall. We chose the Premium package and enjoyed it over the Classic for only @$5 more pp per day.

 

We learned about this sale via the Celebrity board here. So be sure to read this forum on a daily basis. The 50% off sale didn't last long and we were lucky to grab it when we could.

 

Now that would solve the problem, LOL!

 

I can't imagine a lot of people would do $65/person/day X15 days = $1950 bar bill. While I can certainly drink that much in good Bordeaux or Burgundy, not so much in cruise ship wine! There's got to be some ways to reduce the cost.

 

TMLAlum, do you remember roughly how far in advance the sale came up? I learned on our last cruise to monitor this forum, it led us to switching from balcony to AQ.

[Peggy Sue]

Ordering "in the package" wine at dinner can be a challenge...you never seem to know what wine is in what package. I have sat with folks on the classic package when I had the premium package and asked the sommelier what wines are on my "premium" package....and then he brought the same wine for the person on the classic package. If the person on the classic package asked first, then I asked what "better" wine they have for premium package folks, he said it's the same. I finally just gave up and asked for a nice "red" on the premium package.

 

We too ran into this issue on the Eclipse in the dining room in March. We had the premium package and the sommelier wasn't very good at responding to my husbands request for a better wine...we went to murano and he loved the wine, after that any time we went to the dining room my husband requested that wine. The sommelier wasn't happy, but he did find the wine and served it. we too noticed they do not have enough sommeliers in the dining room .. with so many people having drink packages, most people around us were ordering wine. The sommelier was out straight and appeared to be handling in excess of 20 tables ... He wasn't a very pleasant person, but once poured, he did continue to come around to top off our glasses. I gave him a pass on his attitude as it was plain to see he was being asked to take care of too many people, and he was certainly trying his best to take care of everyone .. I would be cranky too!

[goofysmom99]

The Refection TA last year also had a brief 50% sale in July. Showed up for maybe 2 days. I thought I'd missed it but then the discount showed up again about a month or two before sailing and it stayed discounted. Don't remember if there was a discount on-board, though. Captain's Club discounts couldn't be combined with it.

 

Sent from my SM-T800 using Forums mobile app

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Best bet check your cruise planner daily, or every two/three days a t a minimum and watch for a sale. If you book the package and later a better deal comes up prior to sailing you can cancel then re-purchase. They only caveat is that the CC refund can take a few days on the cancelled packages, so temporarily you will be out the original package price plus the price of the newly purchased package.

 

With regards to getting a better choice of wines on the premium package - rather than asking for the package wine, ask for the wine list and select something you like that is within the price range. this worked great on my recent equinox cruise. There are many wines by the glass that the sommelier will not auto-offer if you ask for the "included" wine .......

[laslomas]

On my last TA, I purchased the Classic package some weeks before boarding. I tried not to think about the cost as I certainly would not expect a bar bill of that price on any other holiday. I wanted it mainly because I just hate all the fussing around with signing bits of paper every time I got a drink. Sometimes it would be in dark places where you can hardly read what you are signing and sometimes when you are halfway along a row in the theatre. Halfway through the cruise I upgraded to the Premium, mainly for the Martini bar and for better wines in the MDR.

 

The whole wine experience in the MDR has definitely gone down over the last few years, in my opinion. Whether to do with the free beverage packages or just shortage of staff it is difficult to say. It certainly does not reflect the statement in my Celebrity brochure:

 

"And with one of the largest wine collections at sea (400 plus and counting), our friendly sommeliers will soon find you the perfect bottle to match."

 

Go back a few years and the Somellier would be more freely available, instead of the way it can be now where you may not get your drink until you are on the entree course, and I remember a couple of years ago being offered a taste of a wine before a full pour. On my last cruise on some occasions I did not actually see the bottle as my wine was brought on a tray already poured. A bottle did appear for top-ups and I got the chance to see what I was actually drinking.

 

I will certainly look out for a Sale offer pre-cruise in future, I have never seen that.

[sandav]

We are booking our first transatlantic cruise - yay!

 

Typically on a week long cruise we would take the Classic package as a perk and upgrade to the Premium for convenience.

 

I understand about no perks on TAs, but I also am told that packages can be booked on board, sometimes with a discount. Is that correct, typically? What kind of discount could I expect? A 15 night drink package would get pricy on a per day basis!

 

Also, I think that if we are trying to spend our money wisely, it would match our preferred drinks best if I did a Classic package and DH did a Premium. But those of you who have split like that - what happens at dinner if you are doing wines by the glass? Does the sommelier ask usually? Did you get the premium package wine and the classic person paid the difference? With the Premium package we did paired dinner - white usually with the first courses and white or red with the entree. The sommelier did a great job keeping our glasses topped off and stopping when we were finishing dinner - will that be hindered by one person not covering the complete cost of a glass? Might it be better to use the bottle discount and get bottles for dinner?

 

I think that both of us at least broke even with the Premium package on the 7 day cruise, but if we are paying the entire daily cost, I'm not sure I will drink $65 worth of coke, water and wine X 15 days

 

On our last two transatlantics there has been a discounted beverage package offer about a month or so before sailing. The first time it was 30% off the Classic and Premium Alcoholic and this April it was 25%. These offers were only available for 2 or 3 days so you have to watch your cruise planner. We bought the Premium this time which worked out at $48.75 plus 18% gratuity.

Most days we drank normally 2 Al Bacio coffees, glass of wine at lunch, glass on the balcony in the afternoon, glass at dinner and a cocktail or martini in the evening. We also had bottled water every day. We felt we definitely got our money’s worth.

Latte - 2@ $5. $10

Wine - 3 @$13. $39

Martini/Cocktail - 1 @$13. $13

Bottle of Evian (not sure of the price)

Total $62+ Evian

The Classic Alcohol was discounted to $41.25 plus gratuities

Even with wine and cocktails at $9 on the Classic package we would have saved money.

No matter how you buy the 18% gratuity will be added.

Hope this helps.

[waterbug123]

A 15 night drink package would get pricy on a per day basis!

 

Also, I think that if we are trying to spend our money wisely, it would match our preferred drinks best if I did a Classic package and DH did a Premium. But those of you who have split like that - what happens at dinner if you are doing wines by the glass? Does the sommelier ask usually? Did you get the premium package wine and the classic person paid the difference?

 

 

As for the package price, yes, it could get pricey for 15 nights. But if you don't get the package, how much will you drink? Will the a la carte price end of being the same or more? You have to determine that before you'll know whether the package is a good deal or not.

 

If you order different wines at dinner, one premium and one classic, the waiter will bring 2 different bottles, same as if one of you opted for red and one opted for white.

 

 

As for paying the difference, unless something has changed I believe only those with a premium package are allowed to just pay the difference for pricier wines. Those with the classic either have to stick to the classic offerings or pay the full price, not just the difference, of any upgraded wines they might choose.

[sandav]

As for the package price, yes, it could get pricey for 15 nights. But if you don't get the package, how much will you drink? Will the a la carte price end of being the same or more? You have to determine that before you'll know whether the package is a good deal or not.

 

If you order different wines at dinner, one premium and one classic, the waiter will bring 2 different bottles, same as if one of you opted for red and one opted for white.

 

 

As for paying the difference, unless something has changed I believe only those with a premium package are allowed to just pay the difference for pricier wines. Those with the classic either have to stick to the classic offerings or pay the full price, not just the difference, of any upgraded wines they might choose.

If you have the Classic you pay the difference plus the 18 % gratuity for pricier wines, cocktails etc not the full amount. This has been the case for the last year.

Sandra

[cangelmd]

On our last two transatlantics there has been a discounted beverage package offer about a month or so before sailing. The first time it was 30% off the Classic and Premium Alcoholic and this April it was 25%. These offers were only available for 2 or 3 days so you have to watch your cruise planner. We bought the Premium this time which worked out at $48.75 plus 18% gratuity.

Most days we drank normally 2 Al Bacio coffees, glass of wine at lunch, glass on the balcony in the afternoon, glass at dinner and a cocktail or martini in the evening. We also had bottled water every day. We felt we definitely got our money’s worth.

Latte - 2@ $5. $10

Wine - 3 @$13. $39

Martini/Cocktail - 1 @$13. $13

Bottle of Evian (not sure of the price)

Total $62+ Evian

The Classic Alcohol was discounted to $41.25 plus gratuities

Even with wine and cocktails at $9 on the Classic package we would have saved money.

No matter how you buy the 18% gratuity will be added.

Hope this helps.

 

Extremely helpful. I will keep handy. I did a back of an envelope calculation for myself, based on our January cruise and my typical drinking habits make me think that any real discount (20% or more) will bring me to break even on the Classic, and a discount of about 30% would get me to break even on the Premium, so the issue of how much hassle do I want to deal with would come up. My calculation:

 

Costs with no package

 

2 soft drinks (not sure about price, but lets say $4, it is at least that) - $8

3 glasses of wine - $39

1 bottle of water - $3.50

 

Total $50.50 + gratuities

 

 

My problem with the figuring is that I might not do the 3 glasses of wine, that might be more than I want night after night, and I don't have a consistent coffee habit - I get most of my caffiene from Diet Coke or teas, and when I do drink coffee, oddly I like plain coffee almost black, so I don't have that to pay for. LOL, how about a gelato package - now you are talking.

 

I have to get DH to do his calculation - he drinks my share of coffee, and he is all about espresso, macchiato, etc, so his is a no brainer almost before the calculation

[sandav]

Extremely helpful. I will keep handy. I did a back of an envelope calculation for myself, based on our January cruise and my typical drinking habits make me think that any real discount (20% or more) will bring me to break even on the Classic, and a discount of about 30% would get me to break even on the Premium, so the issue of how much hassle do I want to deal with would come up. My calculation:

 

Costs with no package

 

2 soft drinks (not sure about price, but lets say $4, it is at least that) - $8

3 glasses of wine - $39

1 bottle of water - $3.50

 

Total $50.50 + gratuities

 

 

My problem with the figuring is that I might not do the 3 glasses of wine, that might be more than I want night after night, and I don't have a consistent coffee habit - I get most of my caffiene from Diet Coke or teas, and when I do drink coffee, oddly I like plain coffee almost black, so I don't have that to pay for. LOL, how about a gelato package - now you are talking.

 

I have to get DH to do his calculation - he drinks my share of coffee, and he is all about espresso, macchiato, etc, so his is a no brainer almost before the calculation

 

I quoted wine at $13 dollars because we had the Premium Package but we’ve also drank the $9 dollar wine on other cruises. It really depends on your taste in wine. We’re not wine connoisseurs but having the Premium Package we thought we might as well drink the more expensive wine. Also if you have the Classic Package you can pay the extra if you feel like a drink that’s not covered by the package. You also have to factor in the days the ship is in port and you might get off so might not drink as much. We’ve done a few transatlantics and been to many of the European ports so we tend to spend a lot of time staying on the ship. The beauty of a transatlantic from east to west is the ports are visited first so there is a possibility of just buying a package at the start if the sea days.

Sandra

Edited May 9, 2018 by sandav

[jelayne]

Check your cruise planner. A cruise we are doing in August has the beverage package at a 25% discount Looks like it is a short term sale on some sailings.

[waterbug123]

If you have the Classic you pay the difference plus the 18 % gratuity for pricier wines, cocktails etc not the full amount. This has been the case for the last year.

Sandra

 

Thank you. I said "unless something has changed," and apparently is has. :D

[Springchicken]

Bide your Time

 

We lucked into a 50% off Beverage Package sale for our Eclipse TA last fall. We chose the Premium package and enjoyed it over the Classic for only @$5 more pp per day.

 

We learned about this sale via the Celebrity board here. So be sure to read this forum on a daily basis. The 50% off sale didn't last long and we were lucky to grab it when we could.

Same thing happened for us last fall on our Reflection TA. Heard about it on our Roll Call and got 50% off several months before sailing.

[JFO23]

Can you buy the drink package 7 days into a 14 day TA?

[laslomas]

Can you buy the drink package 7 days into a 14 day TA?

 

I think so. I upgraded my Classic package to Premium, 7 days in last year so I am sure they would still be selling packages too :D:D I think there is a cut off but it is something like 3 days (ish). I am sure somebody else can confirm this.

[sandav]

Can you buy the drink package 7 days into a 14 day TA?

 

Yes you can. Really handy if the port days come first then the sea days. You can more or less buy the package at any time from any bar and even the Al Bacio coffee bar. They just put a sticker on your sea pass. Not sure however if there is a cut off date for buying towards the end of the cruise. Buy it during the morning though as it’s sold by days left on the cruise to get the benefit.

Sandra

[PhinsPhan]

If my DW & I were purely wine drinkers I think we would be happy with the Classic package. Wine quality & wine pricing do not correlate. There are plenty of very good wines that will fit within the classic package limits. We've only sailed on X twice; once in AQ & the other in a SS so we've never dealt with MDR service. The sommelier in Blu & Luminae were both excellent. We're in a standard Infinite Veranada room on Edge for our next cruise so I hope that wine service will be better in the smaller MDRs.