Bar drink price increase and Classic Beverage Package

[slei15]

Just off an amazing week on the Seaside for the 11/17 sailing. I can confirm that my prebooked deluxe package was fully honored. Crepes, gelato bars, milkshakes, all expected drinks/brands, minibar, etc. Never a question or a charge. The cruise was night and day better than the inaugural last Xmas. Further, called when I returned today to upgrade my March 2020 Meraviglia sailing in Aurea from classic to deluxe (booked in July) and had no issues getting the old upgrade. 

[livingis2me]

2 hours ago, slei15 said:

Just off an amazing week on the Seaside for the 11/17 sailing. I can confirm that my prebooked deluxe package was fully honored. Crepes, gelato bars, milkshakes, all expected drinks/brands, minibar, etc. Never a question or a charge. The cruise was night and day better than the inaugural last Xmas. Further, called when I returned today to upgrade my March 2020 Meraviglia sailing in Aurea from classic to deluxe (booked in July) and had no issues getting the old upgrade. 

I’m glad everything worked out as it should on your cruise. 

 

Did you upgrade the package today in the USA? I was under the impression that they were not going to start upgrading the older packages until Monday in the U.S.

[slei15]

7 minutes ago, livingis2me said:

I’m glad everything worked out as it should on your cruise. 

 

Did you upgrade the package today in the USA? I was under the impression that they were not going to start upgrading the older packages until Monday in the U.S.

I did upgrade through the USA travel agent line today. The agent on the phone took a minute to figure it out but got it done with no issues. 

[livingis2me]

19 minutes ago, slei15 said:

I did upgrade through the USA travel agent line today. The agent on the phone took a minute to figure it out but got it done with no issues. 

Thanks for the info. Sounds good

[Solda]

Only through this forum did I discover the changes to the drinks packages on MSC. It then got worse, our booking didn't have DOU on it despite obvious intent. We were going backwards at a great rate of knots but credit where credit is due, a bit of time and communication had the requested/expected/advertised DOU in place and the Deluxe Upgrade added as well. My agent and MSC were able to resolve it, I don't know the details other than it was fixed. 

 

Thank you for feeding the forum with great information!

 

 

[LaCal]

 

We booked a Aurea suite on the Armonia for next May a few months ago....at the time I paid $8 per person to upgrade to the Deluxe drink package which included any drinks $13 and less, mini-frig drinks and snacks and Gelato 

 

I was worried after reading so many posts about the New Increases in drink prices and packages and decrease in what’s included 

 

Called this morning and was assured we’ll still get everything we had upgraded to originally 

 

The rep said the current package only has drinks at $10 and below and no mini frig or gelato....So overall I’m very happy we at least got grandfathered in 

 

Also had her email me the info so I have proof if needed 

 

 

[FGJones]

Premium Plus is now an option for my 5/27/19 sailing on Armonia out of Miami.  Previously NA, Premium and Easy were the only options

[citizenfrank]

3 minutes ago, FGJones said:

Premium Plus is now an option for my 5/27/19 sailing on Armonia out of Miami.  Previously NA, Premium and Easy were the only options

That is good.

Pricey, but industry friendly overall I guess now & if you want fully AI its the only way.

[sidari]

1 hour ago, citizenfrank said:

That is good.

Pricey, but industry friendly overall I guess now & if you want fully AI its the only way.

Not at £61 pp pd!

[citizenfrank]

33 minutes ago, sidari said:

Not at £61 pp pd!

Sadly that is the going rate today for TOP END packages, certainly at the better £51 pp pd price. And you cannot deny this is top end, even without gelato! There is nothing really now not included.

 

[Beamafar]

8 minutes ago, citizenfrank said:

Sadly that is the going rate today for TOP END packages, certainly at the better £51 pp pd price. And you cannot deny this is top end, even without gelato! There is nothing really now not included.

 

 

Depends on what MSC are going to leave on the top shelf, Frank!

[Beamafar]

On 11/22/2018 at 12:10 AM, 1620rock said:

 I had a hard time getting the Deluxe wines by the glass ...

 

I had mainly purchased Deluxe to have a better wine selection and that was a disappointment. They were very few wines by the glass that were for Deluxe package only and they were often not available...

 

We did get breakfast room service with no charge with Deluxe even though we were Bella and also got wine and coffee drinks from room service with no charge...

 

We never ordered lunch or dinner from room service but were told that was included with the Deluxe there was a $7.95 service charge for some dinner items.

 

I was only able to get the listed Champagne by the glass twice after the great staff at the Silver Lounge called around to all the bars to find some.  After letting the Black Crab manager (I think) know the problem I was having a getting a glass of champagne she did arrange for me to have Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge each night but the bar staff could only offer the Prosecco or Asti that were included with Drinks on Us. I also had a difficult time getting the Oberon Cabernet in the bars so the Black Crab manager had a bottle for me at dinner each night except by the final 2 nights they were out of that as well.  

 

The bar managers and staff blamed the lack of wine stock on the recent return of the Divina to the US but would not offer a substitute champagne by the glass in the bars. They were also out of the Jadot Pinot Noir and offered a substitute but I don't recall what that was.   It was also hard to find the Conundrum in the bars. I appreciated the Mumms at dinner but think it should had been offered at all the bars.

 

I hope this will help others have some idea what to expect ... I would advise that you insist you do not want the Drinks on Us wines and you will get the better wines. If you don't insist you will get  the Mirassou and Asti. 

 

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences ... it has been very enlightening.

 

I'm unsurprised that some of the best wines included in Deluxe weren't available.  We have upgraded to Deluxe on our upcoming Jan cruise and am expecting a similar situation.  I've taken copies of the photos of the menus you've posted so I'll know what wines should be included.

 

Thank you, also, for the info re not being charged for room service as a Bella guest with a Deluxe package - there were many queries on the forum regarding this issue.  While the Deluxe package is no longer available, there will still be many who have it for future sailings. 

 

 

[sidari]

Well at £61 pp pd we will no longer be paying that price, in fact after the Meraviglia next year we may no longer bother with Aurea seeing as MSC have chosen to downgrade it but charge a higher price for less!

[ziggyuk]

2 hours ago, sidari said:

Well at £61 pp pd we will no longer be paying that price, in fact after the Meraviglia next year we may no longer bother with Aurea seeing as MSC have chosen to downgrade it but charge a higher price for less!

 

I'm with you, for future bookings I will go Easy and survive on G&T's, just need to sample the wine available on the Easy as I like a nice wine at dinner.

Won't get Hendrick’s but I can live on Beefeater, even the Platinum Plus does not have my Plymouth Gin.

[ziggyuk]

4 hours ago, Beamafar said:

I've taken copies of the photos of the menus you've posted so I'll know what wines should be included.

 

I can't find these Beamafar, can you point me to them so I can also print them. 🍷🍷🍷🍷

[Até]

7 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

I'm with you, for future bookings I will go Easy and survive on G&T's....

Based on the drink choices at $35pp pd I could never justify purchasing the Easy package.  Even if I got it as a promotion it's now $27pp pd more to upgrade to Premium while Classic was only an $18 upgrade.  An upgrade to Premium Plus would cost $44 while Deluxe was only a $26 upgrade.  That's a 50% and 70% increase.  I'm glad I'm set until late 2019, but after that it will be a tough decision.

[jjh9]

I have a s3 cabin and booked in June I had classic package I wanted to upgraded MSC said I had to go thu travel agent. He called and said MSC would only charge me $2150 to upgrade per cabin. Is this right.

Edited December 7, 2018 by jjh9

[ziggyuk]

6 minutes ago, Até said:

Based on the drink choices at $35pp pd I could never justify purchasing the Easy package.  Even if I got it as a promotion it's now $27pp pd more to upgrade to Premium while Classic was only an $18 upgrade.  An upgrade to Premium Plus would cost $44 while Deluxe was only a $26 upgrade.  That's a 50% and 70% increase.  I'm glad I'm set until late 2019, but after that it will be a tough decision.

 

Me too, set until 2020.

For me you reach a tipping point after which you just stick with the basic and for me that tipping point has been passed.

A G&T is my goto drink and I'm happy with that.

[Até]

2 hours ago, jjh9 said:

I have a s3 cabin and booked in June I had classic package I wanted to upgraded MSC said I had to go thu travel agent. He called and said MSC would only charge me $2150 to upgrade per cabin. Is this right.

If you are talking about your Bellissima sailing then yes you started with the Classic package.  The upgrade prices to Deluxe were different on non-Caribbean sailings, someone here may be able to help with what that used to be.  For reference, on US sailings Classic to Deluxe was $8pp pd.  It might be too late to call and upgrade to the old Deluxe package.  You need to find out what package they are quoting you from and to.  How many people are sailing per cabin?  For $2150/24 nights/2 people would be a little more than $44pp pd which seems wrong.  Unless they are trying to say you have Easy and are quoting you going to Premium at $44pp pd.  Make sure they are not saying you have Easy, they tried doing that on one of my Aurea bookings.  Here is a list Sidari found from Seaside.  Non Caribbean prices will be a little different but this is all we've seen and it gives an idea of about what the cost should be.  To me Classic to Premuim is kind of a waste as the drink choices are really not much different.  Classic to Premium Plus is like going to the old Deluxe, just a lot more expensive.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Até

[citizenfrank]

12 hours ago, Beamafar said:

 

Depends on what MSC are going to leave on the top shelf, Frank!

Ha, well yes I agree that at £51/61 p/d there needs to be little up on that shelf or my argument is diminished! Maybe £61 is over the 'tipping point' others are calculating.

I think 2019 could be a 'key year' in the world of MSC

[Beamafar]

9 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

I can't find these Beamafar, can you point me to them so I can also print them. 🍷🍷🍷🍷

 

They're contained in the post I quoted (I edited out the photos) - post #370 on this thread.  Just open the images in a separate tab and save/print them.

[ziggyuk]

8 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

They're contained in the post I quoted (I edited out the photos) - post #370 on this thread.  Just open the images in a separate tab and save/print them.

 

Brilliant, thank you.

I also now discovered you can click the arrow in the top right of a quote to be taken back to the original 🙂

[Beamafar]

8 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Me too, set until 2020.

For me you reach a tipping point after which you just stick with the basic and for me that tipping point has been passed.

A G&T is my goto drink and I'm happy with that.

 

For cruises where the currency onboard is Euros, the upgrade price from Restaurant & Bar drinks package to the Deluxe one is/was €24 pppd.  We had always upgraded 'til 2017;  the tipping point for me was when MSC removed quite a few of the top end drinks and included them in the "Super Premium" category on the menus (items with 2 asterisks and weren't included in any packages).  I don't know, yet, whether the new Premium+ package is worth it - it depends on what's on the top shelf.  Though with the steady increases in the cruise prices (and hefty ones, at that!) I'm not sure if we'll still be cruising with MSC after 2019.

[Beamafar]

7 hours ago, Até said:

If you are talking about your Bellissima sailing then yes you started with the Classic package.  The upgrade prices to Deluxe were different on non-Caribbean sailings, someone here may be able to help with what that used to be.  For reference, on US sailings Classic to Deluxe was $8pp pd. 

 

It's €24 pppd to upgrade from the basic to deluxe when the currency onboard is Euros (so for most cruises except US-based ones).  The US $ cost is the difference between the 2 which is $55-$29 so $26 pppd if the upgrade is done before sailing.  Onboard, the cost will be €24 plus 15% service charge.

[sidari]

3 hours ago, citizenfrank said:

Ha, well yes I agree that at £51/61 p/d there needs to be little up on that shelf or my argument is diminished! Maybe £61 is over the 'tipping point' others are calculating.

I think 2019 could be a 'key year' in the world of MSC

Frank ... I believe you may well be right about 2019, we are in the process of deciding if we will actually take our booked 2019 Xmas Meraviglia cruise despite having upgraded to the Deluxe from the Classic for our Aurea Suite. Until the changes it was Europe that had a hefty and almost double price increase to buy the Deluxe package, now it has been reversed for some unknown reason other than dragging people onto the Miami based cruises.

The £6 pp pd price to upgrade to Deluxe was not an issue and if Aurea now had premium the jump to P+ would be £13 pp pd which at a pinch we would have been ok with, but the ridiculous jump from Easy to P+ is never going to happen at £34 pp pd.

A much simplified system would have been as I have said elsewhere would have been D.o.U. for Bella, Easy for Fantastica, Premium for Aurea and P+ for YC with upgrades allowed between them. That though would have needed someone with a modicum of common sense, but sadly it appears that none exists in the MSC world.