Why don't elite get drinks from 5-7 on embarkation. Is something else going on

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, drakes2 said:

Not debating their rules but then don't advertise it as free drinks from 5 to 7 for Elite and above.  Like I said all or nothing. 

Careful what you ask for they could decide to take you up on the nothing.

[D C]

14 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

“Something else”? Like what?

 

the Elite drinks have never been offered on night one.

 

why should you expect something different?

 

13 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

Assume you were asking if there is some other event  taking place, Not if there is some sort of conspiracy going on. 
 

there is nothing going on.  They just don’t do the Elite drinks on embarkation nights.

While both posts are true, they don't explain why.  

 

Husband to new wife: "Why do you cut both ends off the ham before putting it in the pan?"

Wife: "I've always done it that way.  That's how my mom always did it."

 

Wife to mom: "How come you always cut the ends of the ham before putting it in the pan?"

Mom: "I've always done it that way.  That's how your grandma always did it. "

 

Wife to grandma: "How come you always cut the ends of the ham before putting it in the pan?"

Grandma: "Well dear, it's because my pan was too small to hold the entire ham."

 

Always having done something a certain way isn't an explanation for why it's done that way.

[DaKahuna]

I have always thought the reasoning behind this was all of the activities the staff was engaged in as part of the sail away.  Given the time of departure and the activities associated with getting the ship underway I am sure a number of the staff are otherwise engaged and thus not available. 

 

[horseymike]

I agree Kahuna

[drakes2]

43 minutes ago, D C said:

 

While both posts are true, they don't explain why.  

 

Husband to new wife: "Why do you cut both ends off the ham before putting it in the pan?"

Wife: "I've always done it that way.  That's how my mom always did it."

 

Wife to mom: "How come you always cut the ends of the ham before putting it in the pan?"

Mom: "I've always done it that way.  That's how your grandma always did it. "

 

Wife to grandma: "How come you always cut the ends of the ham before putting it in the pan?"

Grandma: "Well dear, it's because my pan was too small to hold the entire ham."

 

Always having done something a certain way isn't an explanation for why it's done that way.

Exactly. There's always room for improvement. Neither is because I said so a good explanation.  I used to hear that a lot and it never made sense.

[D C]

34 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

I have always thought the reasoning behind this was all of the activities the staff was engaged in as part of the sail away.  Given the time of departure and the activities associated with getting the ship underway I am sure a number of the staff are otherwise engaged and thus not available. 

 

Happy hour is no longer an activity of any kind.  It's free drinks at almost any bar for 2 hours.  No additional staff, nothing special going on other than a charge doesn't hit your room for drinks for those 2 hours.  

[drakes2]

31 minutes ago, D C said:

Happy hour is no longer an activity of any kind.  It's free drinks at almost any bar for 2 hours.  No additional staff, nothing special going on other than a charge doesn't hit your room for drinks for those 2 hours.  

There's no more work involved for the crew to serve free drinks during HH on embarkation day than any other night. Its always been that way because no one squawks about it.  We live in a passive society unfortunately. 

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, drakes2 said:

Not debating their rules but then don't advertise it as free drinks from 5 to 7 for Elite and above.  Like I said all or nothing. 

With more passengers now having a drinks package the whole free drinks for Elite and above is becoming less and less relevant. In truth it only affects passengers who book a "cruise only" package. 

[drakes2]

2 minutes ago, the penguins said:

With more passengers now having a drinks package the whole free drinks for Elite and above is becoming less and less relevant. In truth it only affects passengers who book a "cruise only" package. 

More and more guests have the drinks package but if they keep running out of the decent wines why bother.  I'll have the odd martini but love my big bold cabs and would just rather bring onboard. Only take the AI if it makes financial sense to me and most times it does not. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, drakes2 said:

More and more guests have the drinks package but if they keep running out of the decent wines why bother.  I'll have the odd martini but love my big bold cabs and would just rather bring onboard. Only take the AI if it makes financial sense to me and most times it does not. 

As long they don’t run out of Kraken , I’m OK 😁🥃

and 43 for my coffee in the morning 

Did you know RCL doesn’t have 43 😱

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

With more passengers now having a drinks package the whole free drinks for Elite and above is becoming less and less relevant. In truth it only affects passengers who book a "cruise only" package. 

 

If the BCC/Casino sends out a "fill the ship" comped room, many on that sailing will be on the casino offer which doesn't include any perks including drinks.  Full disclosure, if you're a super high roller they'll give you perks

[drakes2]

6 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

If the BCC/Casino sends out a "fill the ship" comped room, many on that sailing will be on the casino offer which doesn't include any perks including drinks.  Full disclosure, if you're a super high roller they'll give you perks

I forgot about the free drinks I get when at the casino. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, drakes2 said:

I forgot about the free drinks I get when at the casino. 

So how does that work?  How do they know you have Elite status when in the casino?

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I forgot about the free drinks I get when at the casino. 

 

That does require you to track down a casino server which isn't always easy...lol

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

So how does that work?  How do they know you have Elite status when in the casino?

 

Edit for clarity...If you playing at the casino, everyone gets the drinks from the classic package for free at anytime, this is regardless if they booked a casino offer or not.  Separate from Elite status

Edited December 2, 2022 by NutsAboutGolf

[drakes2]

7 hours ago, jelayne said:

Careful what you ask for they could decide to take you up on the nothing.

I didn't ask for anything. If Celebrity is going to advertise free drinks for Elite and above during HH then do it and stop making exceptions.  

[drakes2]

13 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

That does require you to track down a casino server which isn't always easy...lol

I see them walking around with trays of ready made drinks. You just have to be actively playing at the slots or tables. 

[drakes2]

16 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

So how does that work?  How do they know you have Elite status when in the casino?

Its on your sea pass but I think anyone can get drinks there not just Elite. Not too sure I don't spend that much time at the casino.  I allow myself $100 for casino entertainment on a cruise. Once it's gone I'm done. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I see them walking around with trays of ready made drinks. You just have to be actively playing at the slots or tables. 

 

Been on multiple ships where it's extremely common that when it's NOT busy there isn't a server at all; the crew literally calls over the bartender to take your order.  Than if it's slammed, even though there may be 4 servers, it can take forever (20mins) for them to make it over to you and another 10mins to receive your drink.  Got find the perfect balance...lol

[jagoffee]

5 hours ago, drakes2 said:

More and more guests have the drinks package but if they keep running out of the decent wines why bother.  I'll have the odd martini but love my big bold cabs and would just rather bring onboard. Only take the AI if it makes financial sense to me and most times it does not. 

If there were no free drinks between 5-7 on any day, then it will change your numbers.  
 

Here is my understanding of “why”, since I have been cruising with Celebrity before they even had a free Captain’s Club.  Initially the Elite cocktail party was held in a single location. (Michael’s Club) with a small number of Elite level passengers.  It was hosted and if I recall correctly includes some food. It was a nice relaxing small gathering.
The hosting staff are always particularly busy on the first day, so it was not held on that night or the night of the CC party.  It was free drinks from a special menu on all, but two nights of any cruise.  What a great addition to the benefits and everyone was thrilled and pleased.  
 

I have always suspected that the first night of a cruise is the most lucrative night for drink profits,  so there was a profit angle.  But we did not care because it was an exciting excellent new benefit.

 

In order to get Royal Caribbean passengers to try Celebrity, Celebrity started to allow Diamond members to automatically become Elite. (Same in reverse, but I personally think it was to get people to try Celebrity, the newer member of the family).   In the meantime it was relatively easy to earn Elite status on Celebrity.  The number of Elite passengers grew rapidly.  If Celebrity had not introduced the drink packages and the 123 programs it would have been a major problem.

 

Celebrity has made some very significant improvements to this benefit over the years.  No good reason that they need to change the program to offer free drinks from 5-7 PM on the first night.  Going to make more people cruise in Celebrity? (Not likely).  Why would Celebrity want to do anything that might encourage passengers to book a Cruise Only rate? (Probably just the opposite).  Celebrity should probably do everything possible to get customers to book with the AI rate. (Perhaps even eliminating  free drinks on most nights). Perhaps replacing the free drink benefit  with something that benefits those booked with an AI rate instead?

 

For most of us, this is not an issue since we have some kind of bundle with a Drink Package.  

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

If there were no free drinks between 5-7 on any day, then it will change your numbers.  
 

Here is my understanding of “why”, since I have been cruising with Celebrity before they even had a free Captain’s Club.  Initially the Elite cocktail party was held in a single location. (Michael’s Club) with a small number of Elite level passengers.  It was hosted and if I recall correctly includes some food. It was a nice relaxing small gathering.
The hosting staff are always particularly busy on the first day, so it was not held on that night or the night of the CC party.  It was free drinks from a special menu on all, but two nights of any cruise.  What a great addition to the benefits and everyone was thrilled and pleased.  
 

I have always suspected that the first night of a cruise is the most lucrative night for drink profits,  so there was a profit angle.  But we did not care because it was an exciting excellent new benefit.

 

In order to get Royal Caribbean passengers to try Celebrity, Celebrity started to allow Diamond members to automatically become Elite. (Same in reverse, but I personally think it was to get people to try Celebrity, the newer member of the family).   In the meantime it was relatively easy to earn Elite status on Celebrity.  The number of Elite passengers grew rapidly.  If Celebrity had not introduced the drink packages and the 123 programs it would have been a major problem.

 

Celebrity has made some very significant improvements to this benefit over the years.  No good reason that they need to change the program to offer free drinks from 5-7 PM on the first night.  Going to make more people cruise in Celebrity? (Not likely).  Why would Celebrity want to do anything that might encourage passengers to book a Cruise Only rate? (Probably just the opposite).  Celebrity should probably do everything possible to get customers to book with the AI rate. (Perhaps even eliminating  free drinks on most nights). Perhaps replacing the free drink benefit  with something that benefits those booked with an AI rate instead?

 

For most of us, this is not an issue since we have some kind of bundle with a Drink Package.  

Makes sense but at times the AI rate is so much higher than the cruise only rate I just prefer to pay my gratuities separately and drink the wine I've brought onboard.  Can't seem to find decent cabs on most ships as either stock gets depleted part way through sailing or they can't get it any longer and not purchasing by the bottle.  I've been sailing exclusively with Celebrity since 2011 but now for the first time since have booked the Sky Princess for January 2023.  Anxious to do a comparison in all areas. 

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, drakes2 said:

More and more guests have the drinks package but if they keep running out of the decent wines why bother.  I'll have the odd martini but love my big bold cabs and would just rather bring onboard. Only take the AI if it makes financial sense to me and most times it does not. 

We stopped booking X when they made AI compolsary now its optional again we are back. I was just making the point that fewer people now benefit from the Elite benefits in general.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

8 hours ago, jagoffee said:

If there were no free drinks between 5-7 on any day, then it will change your numbers.  
 

Here is my understanding of “why”, since I have been cruising with Celebrity before they even had a free Captain’s Club.  Initially the Elite cocktail party was held in a single location. (Michael’s Club) with a small number of Elite level passengers.  It was hosted and if I recall correctly includes some food. It was a nice relaxing small gathering.
The hosting staff are always particularly busy on the first day, so it was not held on that night or the night of the CC party.  It was free drinks from a special menu on all, but two nights of any cruise.  What a great addition to the benefits and everyone was thrilled and pleased.  
 

I have always suspected that the first night of a cruise is the most lucrative night for drink profits,  so there was a profit angle.  But we did not care because it was an exciting excellent new benefit.

 

In order to get Royal Caribbean passengers to try Celebrity, Celebrity started to allow Diamond members to automatically become Elite. (Same in reverse, but I personally think it was to get people to try Celebrity, the newer member of the family).   In the meantime it was relatively easy to earn Elite status on Celebrity.  The number of Elite passengers grew rapidly.  If Celebrity had not introduced the drink packages and the 123 programs it would have been a major problem.

 

Celebrity has made some very significant improvements to this benefit over the years.  No good reason that they need to change the program to offer free drinks from 5-7 PM on the first night.  Going to make more people cruise in Celebrity? (Not likely).  Why would Celebrity want to do anything that might encourage passengers to book a Cruise Only rate? (Probably just the opposite).  Celebrity should probably do everything possible to get customers to book with the AI rate. (Perhaps even eliminating  free drinks on most nights). Perhaps replacing the free drink benefit  with something that benefits those booked with an AI rate instead?

 

For most of us, this is not an issue since we have some kind of bundle with a Drink Package.  

What is the 123 program ? 

[Bo1953]

22 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

If the OP is eluding to its a money grab, that's most likely accurate

What is wrong with that? 

 

Especially if one believes it is a 'money grab' there are ways to avoid it, such as bring a bottle of wine aboard for first night consumption, possibly?

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[jagoffee]

39 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What is the 123 program ? 

It was Celebrity’s first bundling program.  Drink package, gratuities, and internet.  (Or OBC instead of the drink package)  They would allow you to pick, 1, 2, or 3 of the perks.  It was replaced by the B,B,B program (just a different name). and was replaced by the AI.  It has been around for many years.