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

[Baron Barracuda]

15 minutes ago, davekathy said:

When we cruise RC we don't purchase the BP. We just use the DL in the evening before dinner to have a few drinks.  We also use our three C&A HH drinks loaded on our Sea Pass card in the MDR. Something we wish Celebrity would allow. If Celebrity's CBP is no longer a value as a bundled perk for us we will still enjoy our pre dinner CC HH drinks in the Sky Lounge. On the way into the MDR we'll stop at one of the bars and use our CC HH drinks loaded on our Sea Pass card and get a glass of wine to carry into the MDR during the 5 to 7 CC HH time frame. If we want another another drink I'll get up and go get a couple more from the nearest bar and bring them back to the MDR. After we eat we stop drinking, except for water. For bundled perks we'll select the OBC and gratuities. We can always use OBC for a mid day beer or glass of wine. Also still have the option of carrying on two bottles of wine at the embarkation port for a mid day drink. We won't stop cruising with Celebrity over this minor change. Drinking isn't why we cruise. But admittedly we do drink more when we are cruising than at home.  We did ok for years before the BPs were offered. 

 

X has a very seasoned customer base, lot of elites.  If many follow your logic, and we do, fewer will take bev pkg as a perc and LLP will end up raising a lot less revenue than she thinks.

[TMLAalum]

RE: repricing after price add-on for beverage package

 

Been doing some calculating in the event of a price reduction...If choosing the beverage package as one of two perks then it would make sense to re-book for the lower fare if the $14 pp per day that would be charged is less than the savings. For example, if I book a cabin at $2299 pp for a 9 day cruise, the new price would need to be more than $126 lower to reap a savings.

 

Not happy about the new charge from Celebrity, but it is not nearly as punitive as NCL's $20 pp per day for their "free" beverage package that does NOT include bottled water and specialty coffees.

 

 

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

 

X has a very seasoned customer base, lot of elites.  If many follow your logic, and we do, fewer will take bev pkg as a perc and LLP will end up raising a lot less revenue than she thinks.

United we stand, divided we fall. 😉

[ipeeinthepool]

I think this approach will fail very quickly.  The idea of charging extra for an included perk will be ridiculed and Celebrity will drop the approach.

[jrs101]

I personally have always found Celebrity’s perk offerings very generous.  I am not a drinker but still get great value from the drink package: lattes, bottled water,pop, juice bar etc.   Their beverage inclusions are far superior to most cruise lines.  My next two booked/paid cruises have four perks included, but when I book again, and if I only have two options, the OBC and drinks would still be my choice.  

[jrs101]

1 minute ago, jrs101 said:

 

 

Edited September 29, 2019 by jrs101

[davekathy]

4 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

I think this approach will fail very quickly.  The idea of charging extra for an included perk will be ridiculed and Celebrity will drop the approach.

I like your thinking. 🤞 This all reminds me of the attempt and failure to charge for the pool/mast grill burgers. 

[CoconutOne]

22 minutes ago, jrs101 said:

I personally have always found Celebrity’s perk offerings very generous.  I am not a drinker but still get great value from the drink package: lattes, bottled water,pop, juice bar etc.   Their beverage inclusions are far superior to most cruise lines.  My next two booked/paid cruises have four perks included, but when I book again, and if I only have two options, the OBC and drinks would still be my choice.  

 

But shouldn't their package be superior to other lines if it's an upscale cruise line? I expect nonsense from Carnival or NCL, but Celebrity is supposed to be a notch above.

[kathynorth]

3 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

I may or may not be in the minority here, but this is my take on how I view this new revenue enhancement Celebrity will be imposing. This additional charge for the selecting the Beverage Package as a Perk can be viewed as adding a Gratuity to the Perk. At $28.00 per day it is close to the same cost as the what we are already being charged for Gratuities based on current daily pricing. 

 

Though not required, we always tip  for drinks at bars, Cafe al Bacio or any time we get a drink. The amount varies based on a Port Intensive Cruise or one with lots of time spent onboard. This adds up to about $15.00 per day for me - YMMV. 

 

I will likely reconsider whether or not I continue to do this. Before you start flaming me about how this should not impact the staff that works so hard to take care of us onboard, think about this. 

 

Celebrity is always looking for ways to increase their bottom line, which is and should be one of their objectives. We as consumers need to be looking for ways to get the best value for our hard earned dollars - this is and should be one of our objectives. As a consumer, it is not my responsibility to make sure their staff are compensated fairly. If their objective conflicts with our objective, we need to look for ways to balance them out. 

 

Just my opinion. 

 

Along this line of thinking, if Celebrity is outright saying the $28/ day is for gratuities related to use of drink packages, then they do become responsible to distribute these funds to the appropriate wait staff, similar to when a gratuity is automatically tacked on a restaurant bill. I wonder how the bar staff will feel about this change 

Edited September 29, 2019 by kathynorth

[grandgeezer]

49 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I like your thinking. 🤞 This all reminds me of the attempt and failure to charge for the pool/mast grill burgers. 

This is an entirely different situation. Like it or not, Celebrity has turned into a booze cruise. Of all the posts so far, how many have said that this would be their line in the sand, and they wouldn't pay it, or change cruise lines? If this doesn't sputter, I can see them doing it again in six months or so.

[weregoingcruising]

19 minutes ago, kathynorth said:

 

Along this line of thinking, if Celebrity is outright saying the $28/ day is for gratuities related to use of drink packages, then they do become responsible to distribute these funds to the appropriate wait staff, similar to when a gratuity is automatically tacked on a restaurant bill. I wonder how the bar staff will feel about this change 

Celebrity  hasnt' announced anything yet. I called 1 Touch and they don't have any info yet. I will wait for the official announcement from Celebrity.

Edited September 29, 2019 by weregoingcruising

[jelayne]

2 minutes ago, kathynorth said:

 

Along this line of thinking, if Celebrity is outright saying the $28/ day is for gratuities related to use of drink packages, then they do become responsible to distribute these funds to the appropriate wait staff, similar to when a gratuity is automatically tacked on a restaurant bill.

 I haven’t seen anything where it states that the $14 is for gratuities.  

 

RICCruisers post said “This additional charge for selecting the Beverage Package as a Perk can be viewed as adding a gratuity to a Perk.”   I doubt that Celebrity would Call it a gratuity.  As you point out there would be pressure to then distribute it among those that prepare or serve beverages.  More likely to be explained  as charge intended to balance the value of the perk choices for all.   

[Redtravel]

Free doesn’t really exist.  You pay one way or another. Why not just up the overall cruise cost and stop the cutbacks. 

[phoenix_dream]

9 minutes ago, weregoingcruising said:

Celebrity  hasnt' announced anything yet. I called 1 Touch and they don't have any info yet. I will wait for the official announcement from Celebrity.

Just got the email from our TA. Its real unfortunately.

[Loracpin2]

1 hour ago, MEcruzr said:

Just got an email from an online cruise outlet website...

 

"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!"

We also received this email from the same website and sent reply to verify our January & September 2020 Reflection cruises won't be impacted by the increase. Looking more and more each day there is now a light at then end of the tunnel to move away from our 26 year relationship with Celebrity. 

[tgg]

9 minutes ago, weregoingcruising said:

Celebrity  hasnt' announced anything yet. I called 1 Touch and they don't have any info yet. I will wait for the official announcement from Celebrity.

 

It's Sunday 9/29.  I just received the following from my travel agent:

 

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!

[mac_tlc]

I was looking at a Suite on the Edge for March 2020. It was actually semi-reasonable, under $6K for 2.... can’t believe I said reasonable and $6K in th same sentence.... Not knowing if/how this change may affect the price, I booked it, Deposit is not due until 10/4, I’ll reprice after 10/1 and see if there is a difference. 

 

mac_tlc

[RICCruisers]

As Jelayne states that Celebrity has not stated anywhere the extra charge is for Gratuities. 

 

I will agree that Celebrity does not state that the $14.00 per person per day is for Gratuities on the Beverage Package. But, I will also say that when you look at the price of the Premium Beverage Package at $70.00 per day and figure their standard 20% Gratuity it equals $14.00. A Coincidence?

 

Me Thinks it is NOT.  

 

Rule #1 - There are no coincidences. 

 

 

[kathynorth]

50 minutes ago, jelayne said:

 I haven’t seen anything where it states that the $14 is for gratuities.  

 

RICCruisers post said “This additional charge for selecting the Beverage Package as a Perk can be viewed as adding a gratuity to a Perk.”   I doubt that Celebrity would Call it a gratuity.  As you point out there would be pressure to then distribute it among those that prepare or serve beverages.  More likely to be explained  as charge intended to balance the value of the perk choices for all.   

 

My error, you are correct. The Oct promo page says additional charge with no mention of gratuities.

 

[kathynorth]

1 hour ago, weregoingcruising said:

Celebrity  hasnt' announced anything yet. I called 1 Touch and they don't have any info yet. I will wait for the official announcement from Celebrity.

 

Yet another example of Celebrity changing a policy without informing their own response team of the change.

[richstowe]

30 minutes ago, RICCruisers said:

As Jelayne states that Celebrity has not stated anywhere the extra charge is for Gratuities. 

I will agree that Celebrity does not state that the $14.00 per person per day is for Gratuities on the Beverage Package. But, I will also say that when you look at the price of the Premium Beverage Package at $70.00 per day and figure their standard 20% Gratuity it equals $14.00. A Coincidence?

Me Thinks it is NOT.  

 

Rule #1 - There are no coincidences. 

 

 

OK , then this is actually worse . Celebrity is willing and able to take as much of this $14.00 as they wish .Not even the pretense of it being for the staff . Gimme gimme gimme .

BTW , anyone else sick of seeing Lisa's smiling face at the top of CC's Celebrity page ?

I could guess what she's smiling about . 

Edited September 29, 2019 by richstowe

[Straughn]

I am getting more confused by the minute. Is the $14 to be added to the price of your cruise if you get either the Classic or the Premium package as a perk? Are they raising the price of the beverage packages if you purchase it and not have it as a perk? I see comments about $12 + $14 for an increase of $26. Where is that coming from? 

[JonnyCT81]

Hello all,

 

TA here - thought I would help clear the air regarding the new Bev Pkgs. 

I actually saw a similar post in late august regarding this, and at the time hadn't heard anything about what was going on. I found out about this information last week that it was going to start on 10/2, but it later got pushed back to 10/10.

Here are a few pieces of information, hopefully this well help - keep in mind I don't have all the answers, just what's been put out to us.

 

On 10/10 there will be four new rates:

- Cruise Only (No perks)
- 2 Perks
- 2 Perks w/ Beverage Package
- 4 Perks

 

If you choose the Bev Pkg or 4 PERKS, the rate will increase $14/pp/pd (this is for both classic & non-alcoholic for those guests under 21).  THIS WILL NOT AFFECT SUITES, their pricing does not have the fare increase.

 

These rates are only for new bookings made on 10/10 or later, if you have a booking made before 10/10, you will not pay the increased fare.

 

From what I understand in talking with my contacts at X, all of the beverage packages were starting to eat into their costs, so they were faced with a dilemma: do they charge a "fee" (like NCL, which usually is 10% of the gross cruise fare), raise fares across the board, or raise rates on those with the beverage package. They clearly chose to go with the third option - this allowed them to keep rates the same for those who didn't use it, while raising rates slightly for those that do.   

 

Keep in mind that this doesn't effect purchasing the packages onboard, you can still do that without paying an increased fare.

As someone who loves the X brand and is mostly what I sell, I am not happy about it, but overall I don't think that the increase in fare will hurt their customer base, as it still does remain a good value IMHO.

 

I hope this helps clear the air a little, time will tell how this works out for the brand, and customer base.

Edited September 29, 2019 by JonnyCT81

[Fouremco]

6 minutes ago, JonnyCT81 said:

Keep in mind that this doesn't effect purchasing the packages onboard, you can still do that without paying an increased fare.

Thanks for shedding some further light on the situation.

 

On the question of purchasing a beverage package as opposed to selecting it as a perk, you say that there will be no increase if it is purchased onboard. What about pre-purchasing online, also no increase? 

[Cruising89143]

Welcome to the world of modern day cruising. We paid this ridiculous charge on NCL after I booked the cruise. They also charged us the service charge on the three night specialty dinner package too that was of the other “perks” received. Having not cruised with NCL in ten years I was not aware until after I had booked. Decided to deal with it but we’re more than likely one and done with NCL. I suspect other cruises lines will follow this same policy. It usually only takes one to start a new policy and sooner or later the others fall in line.