Specialty Coffee Elite Plus

[crusin'k]

Just a quick question....

We will be Elite Plus for the first time on our b2b cruises in March.  I see that a Captain's Club benefit for that tier is complimentary cappuccino, latte, espresso, etc.  Where can you go to get those ie Al Baccio, bars ????  Are those the only coffees that are complimentary?  The reason I ask is, we do Simply Sail since we are not drinkers and just use the Captain's Club cocktail hour for my 1 drink a day and DH's diet coke.

 

Thanks so much.

[Northern Aurora]

The Elite + coffee perk is certainly available at the Cafe al Bacio.  I've never ordered a latte etc at a bar but suspect the bartender would need to go to al Bacio.  The lovely Tea Forte, available at Cafe al Bacio, is also included in this perk.

[SueMo]

I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that you can order any of the non-alcoholic coffee drinks from Al Baccio.  You can also get the complimentary coffees served in the Elite breakfast.  

We used to get a drink, Affogato, with our Elite Plus status from Al Bacio that used gelato, chocolate and espresso (only offered on Solstice class ships) that was delicious!

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, SueMo said:

I believe (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that you can order any of the non-alcoholic coffee drinks from Al Baccio.  You can also get the complimentary coffees served in the Elite breakfast.  

We used to get a drink, Affogato, with our Elite Plus status from Al Bacio that used gelato, chocolate and espresso (only offered on Solstice class ships) that was delicious!

Yes you are correct. All coffees and teas without alcohol that's on the Cafe Al Bacio menu are complementary for Elite +. It's also available on E-Class ships at the Secondo Bacio in the Oceanview Cafe Buffet. This benefit IS NOT available in ANY Dining Room for dinner.  

[39august]

There also a bar in OVC on S class ships which can make these coffee drinks. I thought it was also called Secondo Bacio.  It is on the port side. 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, crusin'k said:

Just a quick question....

We will be Elite Plus for the first time on our b2b cruises in March.  I see that a Captain's Club benefit for that tier is complimentary cappuccino, latte, espresso, etc.  Where can you go to get those ie Al Baccio, bars ????  Are those the only coffees that are complimentary?  The reason I ask is, we do Simply Sail since we are not drinkers and just use the Captain's Club cocktail hour for my 1 drink a day and DH's diet coke.

 

Thanks so much.

You can get them at Al Bacio or even in any of the dining rooms.

[maggie.1008]

On my last cruise on the millennium they wouldn’t allow complimentary latte in Blu for elite plus. We challenged them but the answer was still no. 

[the penguins]

8 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Yes you are correct. All coffees and teas without alcohol that's on the Cafe Al Bacio menu are complementary for Elite +. It's also available on E-Class ships at the Secondo Bacio in the Oceanview Cafe Buffet. This benefit IS NOT available in ANY Dining Room for dinner.  

Also in the Passport Bar, the Casino Bar, the Main Dinning room  ( they fetch it from the AlBacio. Also valid hot chocolate,  iced latte - basically any coffee drink without alcohol and the Forte Teas.

[crusin'k]

Thank you, everyone.  Your info has been very helpful!

[kathynorth]

21 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Yes you are correct. All coffees and teas without alcohol that's on the Cafe Al Bacio menu are complementary for Elite +. It's also available on E-Class ships at the Secondo Bacio in the Oceanview Cafe Buffet. This benefit IS NOT available in ANY Dining Room for dinner.  

We were able to order cappuccino using our elite+ benefit to have with our after dinner desert in MDR. 
 

 

 

21 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Edited January 28, 2022 by kathynorth

[kwokpot]

12 minutes ago, maggie.1008 said:

On my last cruise on the millennium they wouldn’t allow complimentary latte in Blu for elite plus. We challenged them but the answer was still no. 

That was my experience also. Same in Luminae.

[kwokpot]

2 minutes ago, kathynorth said:

We were able to order cappuccino using our elite+ benefit to have with our after dinner desert in MDR. 
 

 

That was not my experience on the Apex in December. Even in Luminae it wasn't granted. This was confirmed by the Retreat host, and the host at Luminae. 

[kwokpot]

13 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Also in the Passport Bar, the Casino Bar, the Main Dinning room  ( they fetch it from the AlBacio. Also valid hot chocolate,  iced latte - basically any coffee drink without alcohol and the Forte Teas.

As always the policy isn't the same across the fleet. On the Apex in December it was confirmed by the Retreat host that the benefit doesn't apply to any dining room, not even Luminae (We didn't have a drink package). It was confirmed by the host at Luminae.  

[jelayne]

Since it seems when we have ordered a cappuccino, etc while in a dining room they have to send someone to Al Bacio to get it.  Which probably accounts for why some dining rooms are not providing this at dinner.  When we found out that a waiter or assistant  had to go from Blu to Al Bacio to get my cappuccino I stopped ordering them at dinner.   

[Jim_Iain]

51 minutes ago, maggie.1008 said:

On my last cruise on the millennium they wouldn’t allow complimentary latte in Blu for elite plus. We challenged them but the answer was still no. 

Wow.. never knew that .   I stand corrected.   Thanks for reporting.

 

I've always had a premium drink package so never really had to deal with it.

[Jim_Iain]

41 minutes ago, kathynorth said:

We were able to order cappuccino using our elite+ benefit to have with our after dinner desert in MDR. 
 

 

 

I can already see Celebrity is consistently inconsistent.

[kathynorth]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

I can already see Celebrity is consistently inconsistent.

Of course!

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Wow.. never knew that .   I stand corrected.   Thanks for reporting.

 

I've always had a premium drink package so never really had to deal with it.

I don’t think the drink package is a factor.  But depending on the ship and where you are dining the distance to Al Bacio could be a factor.  Blu on a S class to  al Bacio is a hike requiring a waiter or assistant to be out of the dining room for 10 mins plus. 

[Jim_Iain]

11 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I don’t think the drink package is a factor.  But depending on the ship and where you are dining the distance to Al Bacio could be a factor.  Blu on a S class to  al Bacio is a hike requiring a waiter or assistant to be out of the dining room for 10 mins plus. 

On our recent post covid cruises it has been interesting that the Butler's have been getting me my Cappuccino's from al Bacio.  

 

In the past they had those Nescafe machines in the butler's pantry  and they were pretty lack luster.   I would usually go do and grab two to drink per-breakfast delivery.   We usually eat late (last call on the slip) as Iain is a late sleeper and I get up early.

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I can already see Celebrity is consistently inconsistent.

On our Apex cruise in December we had just become Elite+ after our Summit Thanksgiving cruise just two weeks earlier.  Additionally we were in that strange limbo land where despite being in Retreat Class we didn't have a drink package (casino comped cruise without Always Included). So we were quite aware of this new specialty coffee and tea benefit and made sure to ask the appropriate people about where and how this benefit worked. We checked with our Retreat Butler, the Retreat c Conceige, Luminae host, Luminae waiter, and Luminae Matre 'D. Everyone was consistent with their response that the specialty coffee and tea benefit was not available in the dining rooms for lunch or dinner. 

[goofysmom99]

5 hours ago, SueMo said:

We used to get a drink, Affogato, with our Elite Plus status from Al Bacio that used gelato, chocolate and espresso (only offered on Solstice class ships) that was delicious!

Upon request, they'll make an Affogato with caramel sauce rather than chocolate.  Yum.  

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, goofysmom99 said:

Upon request, they'll make an Affogato with caramel sauce rather than chocolate.  Yum.  

Yum.   I only discovered the Affogato recently and am addicted to them.    One al Bacio waiter suggested I try it with Chocolate Gelato.   He also put Carmel and Chocolate sauce on it an a shot of whip cream.   Little over the top but delicious.

[kwokpot]

I would also add that the policy for the Elite+ specialty coffee and tea benefit not being available in the dining rooms for dinner would be consistent with the Elite HH drinks benefit also not available in the dining rooms.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

I would also add that the policy for the Elite+ specialty coffee and tea benefit not being available in the dining rooms for dinner would be consistent with the Elite HH drinks benefit also not available in the dining rooms.

Alcohol yes - collect it from the Passport Bar on the way in. Latte on the first night at the end of the meal when the tea/coffee lady comes round I ask for a Latte followed by "I know you have to go to Al Bacio so don't bother tonight but from tomorrow could you please pick one up anytime from when I order dessert thank you". Works every time (including the first night)  and the girl gets the gratuity on the drink and  an extra tip from me on the last night. It's a win win.

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

Alcohol yes - collect it from the Passport Bar on the way in. Latte on the first night at the end of the meal when the tea/coffee lady comes round I ask for a Latte followed by "I know you have to go to Al Bacio so don't bother tonight but from tomorrow could you please pick one up anytime from when I order dessert thank you". Works every time (including the first night)  and the girl gets the gratuity on the drink and  an extra tip from me on the last night. It's a win win.

You know I don’t think it is just the tip that makes it happen…it is the acknowledgment from you that you understand it is an ‘extra job’ for her and that you are giving her some time flexibility. In our experience staff really appreciate it when you give them a heads up on requests so they can work your wish around the needs of others.