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

[bookitdanno]

4 minutes ago, mnocket said:

 I foresee long lines of angry people at customer service who notice this charge once onboard and feel like they have been duped. I sure would.

 

People will know BEFORE they pay, let alone board.

"Perk will result in an increase to the price of cruise fare; amount varies by length of sailing."

There will be no surprises at boarding time.

Just another example of why we should all should read the fine print, as we have all been told for years.

[espo56]

This appears to only apply to the special promotion for booking sailings during the October period.  Those sailing are non refundable.  

 

[mnocket]

10 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

Nobody will be surprised onboard.  It should be added to your cruise fare during the booking process.  I suspect one of the reasons it wasn't rolled out in Sept as rumored is the Celebrity website wasn't able to handle it.  It should be included in the booking total they give you much like taxes/fees are added in at the end.

OK, fair enough.  I've edited my post to drop the part of people discovering this only once onboard.  Still, are you really OK with them saying "INCLUDED"  when they mean "INCLUDED only if you pay more"?  If a hotel told you that a roll-away bed was Included, would you expect to pay more for it?  If a restaurant told you that desert was included, would you expect to pay more for it?  I sure wouldn't, but it seems many are far more tolerant of this sort of practice than I am.

[mnocket]

15 minutes ago, espo56 said:

This appears to only apply to the special promotion for booking sailings during the October period.  Those sailing are non refundable.  

 

But the description says "Two Perks Included (w/ Refundable and Non-refundable Deposit)".  

Edited September 28, 2019 by mnocket

[bEwAbG]

This is all incredibly complicated.  What purpose does it serve other than to turn off customers?  Just raise the price of all cabins by a few dollars each if you need more money.  Oh?  You can't because people are already not paying the premium you're charging versus competitors?  So sorry.

[mnocket]

18 minutes ago, bookitdanno said:

People will know BEFORE they pay, let alone board.

"Perk will result in an increase to the price of cruise fare; amount varies by length of sailing."

There will be no surprises at boarding time.

Just another example of why we should all should read the fine print, as we have all been told for years.

Just wondering.... do you really read the entire cruise contract every time before you make a new booking?

Edited September 28, 2019 by mnocket

[hcat]

1 hour ago, grandgeezer said:

 

A serious drinker is someone who drinks enough that the perk has some value if they apply them self. The not so serious drinker, like us, has a drink or two occasionally, or none. This is their target group who drinks some but changes their normal pattern in order to get their “monies worth” for getting the package. Some of the reasoning is it includes specialty coffees, soft drinks, premium water. Also, the connivence of not having to sign a slip, plus they can try different drinks and not having to drink them if they don’t like them. My favorite, not surprised by a huge bar bill at the end of the cruise. Easy cure for that, watch your spending so there won’t be any surprises.

The point was about leveling the playing field. Everybody should have to pick a perk they want where all of them have a somewhat equal value. The choices and value now are: prepaid gratuities $103 p.p., $150 p.p. obc, and classic drink package $430+ p.p. The new charge only adds $98 p.p. so there is still a bias that way, but it’s a start.

 

 

  

Are those grats for the basic cabin class for a 7 day cruise?  How much for other cabin classes and time frames? I think we pay more for AQ Class grats on EDGE.

 

Is that amt , $ 430 ++  , the cost of the Classic  Alc if purchased outright?  Whats the ++ ?  We never would pay that high a price!  

 

I think this actually makes it less equitable for  those who pay the upcharge,  and do not drink very much  while serious drinkers still get more for less.   I  admit I am confused, but seems they are actually selling you the package at a reduced price rather giving you a real booking "perk " . Is it still worth it to buy this perk?

 

Maybe we should look into purchase of a non alc package instead.  What does that include... at what cost??

Thanks

[bookitdanno]

21 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Just wondering.... do you really read the entire cruise contract every time before you make a new booking?

No, because I have read the standard cruise contract.

I surely read the whole flyer and any "Deals" Celebrity may send me in the mail or email.

Besides, even if I didn't read this one, I would see the additional cost before I booked.

I at least do the math before booking.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

Just wondering.... do you really read the entire cruise contract every time before you make a new booking?

Someone would have to be very inattentive or clueless when booking not to notice that the final price has jumped up by several hundred dollars if they go with the BP perk. I doubt that reading the fine print would help.

[miched]

I wonder if this will also be a added cost to those in suites that get all 4 perks as a promo and what about Zenith members that I think get a complimentary bev pack?  

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[Oceangoer2]

Tell me what it is I'm missing...took 2 screen shots...one with 2 perks included and one with no perks included, and this is before the Oct. increase mentioned here.  See the price increase below for 2 perks....WHAT???

2 PERKS

 

 

No Perks

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by oceangoer2

[Fouremco]

Depending on the length of the cruise in a Concierge cabin, $2494 for BP's, gratuities and a refundable deposit isn't out of the ordinary. That's why you need to price things out to see whether it's worth going with the package.  

[RichYak]

40 minutes ago, oceangoer2 said:

Tell me what it is I'm missing...took 2 screen shots...one with 2 perks included and one with no perks included, and this is before the Oct. increase mentioned here.  See the price increase below for 2 perks....WHAT???

One is a refundable deposit and the other is non-refundable. That would account for a portion of the fare difference, and the rest, probably just under 1,000 CAD per person are the perks (assuming 7 day cruise).

Edited September 28, 2019 by RichYak

[Doubt It]

Another price increase.

 

Read RiverEagle's recent cruise review.

 

This review talks about the poor quality wine offerings in the premium package, as reported numerous times on this site and in other cruise reviews. This person decided that order a drink by drink and specify exactly what wine you want and insist on seeing the bottle as it is poured - provides better value than purchasing the beverage package - and that is before this price increase.

 

Celebrity pioneered the beverage package and they are laughing to the bank while they laugh at the people who purchase it. Reduce the offerings and reduce the staff - sweet.

 

Any service provider who makes it so complicated to purchase a product, is deliberately working to screw the customer.

 

 

[Cruise Junky]

1 hour ago, oceangoer2 said:

Tell me what it is I'm missing...took 2 screen shots...one with 2 perks included and one with no perks included, and this is before the Oct. increase mentioned here.  See the price increase below for 2 perks....WHAT???

2 PERKS

 

 

No Perks

 

You could add 2 perks to that first price too when you get to that page. It’s usually a lot less that picking the price with perks because of the non refundable deposit. 

[davekathy]

5 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

 

A serious drinker is someone who drinks enough that the perk has some value if they apply them self. The not so serious drinker, like us, has a drink or two occasionally, or none. This is their target group who drinks some but changes their normal pattern in order to get their “monies worth” for getting the package. Some of the reasoning is it includes specialty coffees, soft drinks, premium water. Also, the connivence of not having to sign a slip, plus they can try different drinks and not having to drink them if they don’t like them. My favorite, not surprised by a huge bar bill at the end of the cruise. Easy cure for that, watch your spending so there won’t be any surprises.

The point was about leveling the playing field. Everybody should have to pick a perk they want where all of them have a somewhat equal value. The choices and value now are: prepaid gratuities $103 p.p., $150 p.p. obc, and classic drink package $430+ p.p. The new charge only adds $98 p.p. so there is still a bias that way, but it’s a start.

 

 

  

Glad we don't fit your narrow minded opinion of serious or not so serious drinkers.The cost for the CBP has never been that high ($430.00) PP for any of our cruises. Choose and pick what works (bundled perks or not)that work for you. 

Edited September 28, 2019 by davekathy

[CoconutOne]

9 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

 

A serious drinker is someone who drinks enough that the perk has some value if they apply them self. The not so serious drinker, like us, has a drink or two occasionally, or none. This is their target group who drinks some but changes their normal pattern in order to get their “monies worth” for getting the package. Some of the reasoning is it includes specialty coffees, soft drinks, premium water. Also, the connivence of not having to sign a slip, plus they can try different drinks and not having to drink them if they don’t like them. My favorite, not surprised by a huge bar bill at the end of the cruise. Easy cure for that, watch your spending so there won’t be any surprises.

The point was about leveling the playing field. Everybody should have to pick a perk they want where all of them have a somewhat equal value. The choices and value now are: prepaid gratuities $103 p.p., $150 p.p. obc, and classic drink package $430+ p.p. The new charge only adds $98 p.p. so there is still a bias that way, but it’s a start.

 

 

  

 

You're doing consumer math, not corporate math. The "price" of the perks are not significantly unequal now. Celebrity isn't paying retail prices on booze or other drinks for that matter. It's quite cheap for them to pour a drink, no matter the brand.

 

If Celebrity goes NCL style, I'll be very disappointed.

 

[Edinburghgirl1]

I assume this will not apply to UK bookings where we don’t have choice of perks or refundable deposits.

Edited September 29, 2019 by Edinburghgirl1

[jimzgoldfinch]

55 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

I assume this will not apply to UK bookings where we don’t have choice of perks or refundable deposits.

This is for USA and Canada, not U.K. We don’t have the options that they have. 

[4774Papa]

We don't care, since we never take the beverage package (in fact prefer no perks, just low price).  We have the elite happy hour that works for us.

[poffles]

13 hours ago, oceangoer2 said:

Tell me what it is I'm missing...took 2 screen shots...one with 2 perks included and one with no perks included, and this is before the Oct. increase mentioned here.  See the price increase below for 2 perks....WHAT???

2 PERKS

 

 

No Perks

 

 

I don't think you are missing anything, I have done similar cruise costing and it is alarming the difference in picking the 'perks'.  Crazy.  They are becoming comparable to NCL with their 'free' items, but at least NCL is smart to identify the extra cost as tax LOL

 

The biggest deception in my mind is the label 'complimentary' as this is clearly not what it is, nor is it a perk as one identifies a perk as a bonus (ie free or minimal cost.)  Adding these to the cruise should not be called a perk during the booking process and should instead be identified as add ins ... except in the case where it really is included (hidden :)) within the base price and not a clearly separated price cost.

 

This really is minimally false labeling but as others have said the customer has to know what they are buying and decide accordingly.  Celebrity is slowly out pricing itself for me, I could opt not to get the drink package (even though it is one of the good things I love) but the drinks are also priced really high on Celebrity so one pays dearly either way.  $10 for a Stella ...ugh!

 

I think Celebrity has to come up with better ways to market their fares ... really sad.

Edited September 29, 2019 by poffles
Edit

[Doubt It]

Celebrity does not to have to change anything, consumers seem to be falling over themselves to book the product - and in so doing knowingly approve of the marketing tactics, costing and product.

 

Apparently Consumers Reports mag is considering an investigation into deceptive cruise line marketing schemes, so the costing profile above is excellent evidence. 

 

We and our friends will not book Celebrity for many reasons, the beverage package reduced offerings and reduced bar staff and pours of cheaper liquors being just one reason.

 

 

[Toftwood]

43 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

We and our friends will not book Celebrity for many reasons, the beverage package reduced offerings and reduced bar staff and pours of cheaper liquors being just one reason.

 

 

Which would be your cruise line of preference nowadays? I really don’t like the “passenger mix” on some other lines.

[JFO23]

Not a rumor. Just received this email. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
Effective October 10, 2019, Celebrity's Beverage Package cost 
increases by $14 pp per day and will be added to your price. 
Book by October 9th to secure your Beverage Package with all 
costs included!

[Mauidiver]

I think if you price out your cruise without any perks/extras, then add up the cost of purchasing the extras that you planned on, then checking out the cost of a cruise with those perks/extras, you'll know if adding the perks is worth the money up front.  On our upcoming cruise, we looked at the regular price (with discounts), then I added up the cost of the things we'd be spending money on anyway, added up the "value" of the perks we could get for extra money, and compared the two.  At the end of the day we wound up getting better value and saving money by purchasing with the perks, which made it a no-brainer for us to spend the extra money upfront.

 

You have to figure out what you want first, then do the math.  Being "wooed" by the "great deal" for things you never intended to purchase just sets you up to spend money you didn't need or want to.  Just because something seems like a great price and value, doesn't mean you have to buy it when you didn't intend on purchasing it in the first place.