New "fee" of $14/day on Perks Drink Package to be added?

[villauk]

11 hours ago, Straughn said:

Here is my fear: RCCL has “dynamic pricing” on their ships. The price of certain items, especially the beverage package changes depending on demand for it on a specific cruise. Unlike Celebrity, where the price stays the same, if you buy the BP on RCCL it varies. It can vary from one day to the next within the same cruise. I am afraid that this will be Celebrity’s next step. Remove the BP as a perk. If you want it, you must buy it, and then they will play games with the pricing. 

 

 

Yes, my friend was just explaining the same thing to me from a recent sailing: prices change from one day to the next on BP’s etc. She said that it was very perturbing not knowing from one minute to the next what the charges would be. I presume that if it proves profitable for Royal, then X will be next.

[villauk]

20 hours ago, vtcruising said:

For existing reservations, will have to figure in the $14/day addition when taking advantage of new offers, if chose beverage package (still might be worthwhile to change), 

 

Exactly, so X, obviously depending on the amount of the price drop, may be receiving the same amount of income, even though the actual price of the cruise has dropped. Those who booked current placeholders will also be losing out if they took the BP as a perk and don’t decide on the exact cruise they are taking by 10/10.

[villauk]

10 hours ago, yorky said:

For us Celebrity still works if it’s the Caribbean

 

 

I think you’re right: if you want to keep sailing the Caribbean, X is the way to go (presently).

[mickey89]

11 hours ago, yorky said:

For us Celebrity still works if it’s the Caribbean and we go for the ship anyway. We were around £125 per person per night this time including the drinks package in an 1A room. We can’t get near that with any of the luxury lines and we’re more than happy with the product we received...........

 

We like Celebrity S Class ships and would find it extremely difficult to find a cruise for £125 /pp/pn. In February we are doing 14nights in the Yacht Club on MSC and it's the  identical price as Reflection at the same time (£241/pp/pn).  I have experienced both and can honestly say their Yacht Club wins hands down on every level.  I only cruise Celebrity when the prices are sensible and these days that's rare unless it's November/early December.

[Jossie1960]

Surely it would have been better if they put a limit on the number of drinks within a Bev Pkg rather than penalise everyone for the hardened drinkers?

[vermonter16]

11 minutes ago, Jossie1960 said:

Surely it would have been better if they put a limit on the number of drinks within a Bev Pkg rather than penalise everyone for the hardened drinkers?

But do you think that's what they are actually doing or maybe that's just what they want you to believe.  Maybe they are using it to pay for kids sailing free now if we are going to make conjectures.

[chamima]

57 minutes ago, Jossie1960 said:

Surely it would have been better if they put a limit on the number of drinks within a Bev Pkg rather than penalise everyone for the hardened drinkers?

 

41 minutes ago, vermonter16 said:

But do you think that's what they are actually doing or maybe that's just what they want you to believe.  Maybe they are using it to pay for kids sailing free now if we are going to make conjectures.

 

 

From their handout to TAs.

 

WHY IS THIS TAKING PLACE?•For over 7 years, we have not increased the beverage pkg perk price, however, our costs have increased.•Despite the Beverage Pkg perk price increase, our Bev Pkg pricing remains well below the industry average

 

 

I know it doesn't have to be (read - probably isn't) the real reason but it's the reason they give.

If it really was the reason a limit on alcoholic drinks (which is what Princess does) would take care of "extra costs" they have incurred.

We, like most people I think, don't drink that much but have come to appreciate the convenience of not having to think about whether or not we really want (or will even finish) that drink or that sparkling water.

I think some bean counter just looked at the most popular perk and figured out a way to charge for what they call a free perk.

Edited October 6, 2019 by chamima

[hcat]

2 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

I think you’re right: if you want to keep sailing the Caribbean, X is the way to go (presently).

Easy for us to work around.. we're just not taking the  bev package anymore.

 

We'll book fewer cruises and try to  get a good price on a suite which is not part of the upcharges...for now.   We'll bring on 2 btls wine, trade in the sailaway bubbly for another btl if we are  in AQ Class   and do the Elite freebies.  Quite enough alcohol for us  &  I can  bring  nice  Tea Forte tea bags. Should be fine.

 

 I agree with "Jossie1960 "  that  more moderate alcohol drinkers are being used to supplement the   heavier drinkers under this new plan.

Edited October 6, 2019 by hcat

[prish]

1 hour ago, chamima said:

 

 

 

From their handout to TAs.

 

WHY IS THIS TAKING PLACE?•For over 7 years, we have not increased the beverage pkg perk price, however, our costs have increased.•Despite the Beverage Pkg perk price increase, our Bev Pkg pricing remains well below the industry average

 

 

I know it doesn't have to be (read - probably isn't) the real reason but it's the reason they give.

If it really was the reason a limit on alcoholic drinks (which is what Princess does) would take care of "extra costs" they have incurred.

We, like most people I think, don't drink that much but have come to appreciate the convenience of not having to think about whether or not we really want (or will even finish) that drink or that sparkling water.

I think some bean counter just looked at the most popular perk and figured out a way to charge for what they call a free perk.

 

We aren’t big drinkers either, DH has a couple of glasses of Scotch and an after dinner cognac while I enjoy a glass or two of wine with dinner when on vacation, with maybe a martini earlier. Actually, I find the martinis either too sweet or too strong for me, haven’t really found any happy medium. But I do try one or two out, almost always never finishing the drink. Not good I know, but the beverage package allowed me to indulge myself 😉

 

With the coffees and waters it does add up, plus orange juice at breakfast. So getting the drinks package as a « perk » made sense to us. 

 

We only have one cruise booked for now, don’t know what we’ll do in the future. We cruise only a year, mostly  European sailings and Celebrity hasn’t had any new itineraries in quite a long time, so we’ll see how it goes. Land tours are our preference, which is what we did last summer, spent a month in France. 

 

I also believe Celebrity is making the moderate drinkers pay for the heavier ones, wish instead they’d put a cap on the number of drinks per day.

[chamima]

11 minutes ago, prish said:

 

We aren’t big drinkers either, DH has a couple of glasses of Scotch and an after dinner cognac while I enjoy a glass or two of wine with dinner when on vacation, with maybe a martini earlier. Actually, I find the martinis either too sweet or too strong for me, haven’t really found any happy medium. But I do try one or two out, almost always never finishing the drink. Not good I know, but the beverage package allowed me to indulge myself 😉

 

With the coffees and waters it does add up, plus orange juice at breakfast. So getting the drinks package as a « perk » made sense to us. 

 

We only have one cruise booked for now, don’t know what we’ll do in the future. We cruise only a year, mostly  European sailings and Celebrity hasn’t had any new itineraries in quite a long time, so we’ll see how it goes. Land tours are our preference, which is what we did last summer, spent a month in France. 

 

I also believe Celebrity is making the moderate drinkers pay for the heavier ones, wish instead they’d put a cap on the number of drinks per day.

 

 

Your post reminded me of something.

We are Elite Plus - so get all of the coffees included already.

We also sail in Aqua so when they took away the daily water I didn't care that much because we always had the drink package. Now - if we decide to keep sailing with Celebrity (and right now that's a big IF) we would probably do so without that particular perk so the elimination of the daily water affects us.

(We still get fresh orange juice in Blu in the morning - until they take that away, too)

 

I'll repeat what many of you have said - it isn't just this - it's death by a thousand cuts.

[poffles]

1 minute ago, chamima said:

I'll repeat what many of you have said - it isn't just this - it's death by a thousand cuts.

 

Agree ... I believe many don't see the destination until they are there ... the small things along the way often go unnoticed or viewed as insignificant or that doesn't matter to me.  That's all great and there is always justification, get what you pay for, things change, not that big a deal ... and sometimes that is true.  Bottom line, this is not a good sign and one more thing that sucks and we can be sure this is just a continuation of more of the same to come.

 

I guess it's like anything, when ready to 'purchase', we have to view the product as a whole and consider the best for our wants and needs, and this has to be done anew every time due to the rapidly changing product.  Marketing 101, supply and demand, personal experience, etc.  sign of the times.

 

 

[blueboro]

It is truly a sad day when Celebrity mimics NCL...the king of nickles and dimes.

[TeeRick]

46 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

Your post reminded me of something.

We are Elite Plus - so get all of the coffees included already.

We also sail in Aqua so when they took away the daily water I didn't care that much because we always had the drink package. Now - if we decide to keep sailing with Celebrity (and right now that's a big IF) we would probably do so without that particular perk so the elimination of the daily water affects us.

(We still get fresh orange juice in Blu in the morning - until they take that away, too)

 

I'll repeat what many of you have said - it isn't just this - it's death by a thousand cuts.

chamima - I know your statement is a hyperbole and you are trying to make a point about elimination of previously provided items.  Yes that upsets me too.    But it is a cruise and even if they take my water away or eliminate the chocolate on my pillow I will still enjoy myself.  If I ever equate it to death in any way I need to find another type of vacation!

[richstowe]

1 hour ago, prish said:

I also believe Celebrity is making the moderate drinkers pay for the heavier ones, wish instead they’d put a cap on the number of drinks per day.

This comment or variations of it keep being made . I don't agree with it and believe the us versus them argument is exactly what Celebrity hopes for . 

We are moderate alcohol drinkers but when you add the waters, coffees, sodas and fruit juices we absolutely will average almost 10 drinks a day . Comparing this to NCL's program  where we average less then five as nothing but fountain soda and alcohol are included . So yes there are going to be who drink a lot on Celebrity but there are many that enjoy the breadth of the Celebrity program with non-adult drinks . 

[yorky]

5 hours ago, mickey89 said:

 

We like Celebrity S Class ships and would find it extremely difficult to find a cruise for £125 /pp/pn. In February we are doing 14nights in the Yacht Club on MSC and it's the  identical price as Reflection at the same time (£241/pp/pn).  I have experienced both and can honestly say their Yacht Club wins hands down on every level.  I only cruise Celebrity when the prices are sensible and these days that's rare unless it's November/early December.

We just go with the best deal and not loyalty. Our next cruise is going to be Australasia. Cruise only in a veranda with Celebrity is £4600 with the drinks package  and a couple of other perks for 11 nights. Our TA is offering 17 nights with Princess which breaks down as a 14 night cruise, 3 nights in a hotel, and direct flights. An inside is £1599 pp with no perks. Adding in the flight and hotels with Celebrity would come out around £3600 per person for 14 nights with the perks. We could move down to an inside with no drinks package and save a few hundred each but we don’t see the value in that with Celebrity.

guess which we will be taking ?

[prish]

Richstowe, as I said the coffees and waters and breakfast orange juices do add up, about five. Plus a couple of glasses of wine and a taste of two pre-dinner martinis and I’m hitting 10 drinks a day! You’re right, we have a wide variety of drinks to sample, just in the non alcoholic list. And over the past several years we’ve gotten used to it 😃

 

Chamima, we’re Elite and during the pre beverage package days we’d always go to the Elite Happy Hour every evening. Not just for the drinks but to meet others, we enjoyed spending an hour with our fellow cruisers and talking about what we did in port that day. Sadly now we almost never go.

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, mickey89 said:

 

We like Celebrity S Class ships and would find it extremely difficult to find a cruise for £125 /pp/pn. In February we are doing 14nights in the Yacht Club on MSC and it's the  identical price as Reflection at the same time (£241/pp/pn).  I have experienced both and can honestly say their Yacht Club wins hands down on every level.  I only cruise Celebrity when the prices are sensible and these days that's rare unless it's November/early December.

We agree about MSC's YC but have also found many other better options/value then Celebrity.  In the past couple of years we have not only been doing MSC (Yacht Club) but found a fantastic bargain on Seabourn, booked several longer Princess cruises (a much better deal and better itineraries then X) and some HAL cruises.  We are also looking at some Oceania, more Seabourn and perhaps Viking Ocean (tricky to find a good deal on this line).  Currently we will only consider X when we find a fantastic last minute bargain (this happened a few months ago when we booked the Summit).  If LLP thinks we would even consider the more regular pricing for her line, she is going to need to lure us back with quality.  And quality has done nothing but decline under her leadership.  On the other hand, we used to cruise a lot on RCI (our DD was Diamond by age 15) but completely gave up that line (while LLP was a key executive) because it morphed into many things...none of which we liked.  I fear the same thing is now happening with Celebrity.  But the great news is that there is lots of competition in the cruise industry and many other lines worthy of consideration.

 

We have met many cruisers who become "cheerleaders" for a particular cruise line and then tend to stick with that favorite line...even when it undergoes a major decline or other negative changes.  For these folks, they will be happily singing "Nearer my God to Thee" as their favorite line sinks.  But for lots of other folks, they understand that there are many other options and choose to pursue other lines.  Over the years we have seen many lines rise and fall (in terms of quality) and also go bankrupt (or be snatched up because of financial difficulties).  We have also watched the rise of quite a few lines (including the early days of Celebrity when they took over the Chandris brand).  For us, part of the fun is discovering the lines that are on the way up (improving in quality) or at their peak.  Lines on their way down are still OK if we find a bargain or a fantastic itinerary...but otherwise they simply remain part of our past.  And that is where X now fits in our planning.

 

Hank

 

 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I like to take things to their simplest form.  Burger King has a big advertisement campaign, "Buy One Whopper, Get One Free."  In the fine print, it says that there's a $1.25 service fee on the 2nd whopper.  People have this charge on their receipt, and should notice when they pay.  How would this be perceived?

[ABoatNerd]

Hlitner, well said and thank you.

[Baron Barracuda]

From their handout to TAs.

 

WHY IS THIS TAKING PLACE?•For over 7 years, we have not increased the beverage pkg perk price, however, our costs have increased.•Despite the Beverage Pkg perk price increase, our Bev Pkg pricing remains well below the industry average

 

 

Have a bit of a problem with this.  Yes, costs likely increased with inflation.  However fares have risen  at a much faster pace.  Factor in the impact of myriad other cutbacks and it's hard to believe X's margins haven't increased substantially.

[villauk]

2 hours ago, yorky said:

We just go with the best deal and not loyalty. Our next cruise is going to be Australasia. Cruise only in a veranda with Celebrity is £4600 with the drinks package  and a couple of other perks for 11 nights. Our TA is offering 17 nights with Princess which breaks down as a 14 night cruise, 3 nights in a hotel, and direct flights. An inside is £1599 pp with no perks. Adding in the flight and hotels with Celebrity would come out around £3600 per person for 14 nights with the perks. We could move down to an inside with no drinks package and save a few hundred each but we don’t see the value in that with Celebrity.

guess which we will be taking ?

 

 

The same for us. As I pointed out above, if you want to continually sail the Caribbean, X are probably more reasonable, but other itineraries are nowhere near a reasonable deal (I’m not taking about last-minute deals here). Presently, we’ve been comparing Greenland itineraries and the difference in price for less days on X is staggering. Last year, we sailed for 14 nights on Princess in the same time period for less than 7 on X. 

 

Regarding the drinks package, I’m quite sure there will be many who in the recent past have taken the beverage package as a perk, in doing so not using their Elite and above loyalty perks, but will not now and just stick with using the HH for alcoholic drinks and the coffee perk (if Elite plus).  They can also bring along their 2 bottles of wine too.

I bet the HH consumption will increase over the coming year. Let’s wait for the, “ We’re reverting back to 3 free drinks during the HH” rather than the present unlimited during the given hours.

[govanguy]

Am I correct in thinking that this daily charge only applies to US bookings and not bookings made in the UK?

 

We don't appear to use the term "perks" here. "Free drinks" are consistently mentioned on the UK site but I see no $14 uncharge (which would be quoted in pounds sterling.)

If the "free drinks " offer were to incur an additional charge ($14) it could be in breach of the Trade Descriptions Act in UK law.

 

We read on CC about the unfair UK pricing but on this matter....we may be a winner?

 

Correct me if I`m misguided

 

 

[villauk]

3 minutes ago, govanguy said:

Am I correct in thinking that this daily charge only applies to US bookings and not bookings made in the UK?

 

We don't appear to use the term "perks" here. "Free drinks" are consistently mentioned on the UK site but I see no $14 uncharge (which would be quoted in pounds sterling.)

If the "free drinks " offer were to incur an additional charge ($14) it could be in breach of the Trade Descriptions Act in UK law.

 

We read on CC about the unfair UK pricing but on this matter....we may be a winner?

 

Correct me if I`m misguided

 

 

 

 

They’ll just increase the baseline fare, so you’ll be paying but won’t realise it anyway.

[govanguy]

2 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

They’ll just increase the baseline fare, so you’ll be paying but won’t realise it anyway.

So, here we around again....those not taking a drinks package in the UK would pay the increased price too?

Dangerous strategy.

 

[hubofhockey]

1 minute ago, govanguy said:

So, here we around again....those not taking a drinks package in the UK would pay the increased price too?

Dangerous strategy.

 

 

It would be nice if they made the perk a $500 drinks credit.