Help me decide - Classic or Premium Drink Pkg.

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, Super_Tuscan said:

Typically it's an additional $1-$3 for a cocktail or wine not on the Classic menu. We upgraded to the Premium package this past October and found that even as much as we drink, it was a waste of money. I paid $220 to upgrade our package on a 14 day transatlantic. The only time we ordered a wine or drink that wasn't on the Classic menu was at the Martini Bar and wine at dinner. It takes quite a bit of $1-$3 charges to just cover the additional $220 we spent for the upgrade.

If its $220 for 2 people for a 14 night TA that's not a bad price. I'm finding lately the AI price is much higher than cruise only.  I always work the numbers first then deduct the cost of gratuities as I'd have to pay them regardless.  What's left is internet and drinks most times for me doesn't make sense.  The entire upgrade would have to to be no more than $500 for a 10 night cruise. 

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, Super_Tuscan said:

It takes quite a bit of $1-$3 charges to just cover the additional $220 we spent for the upgrade.

This is exactly the math equation one needs to solve to decide. For me, factoring in daily sparkling and vitamin waters as well as the $1 - $3 upcharges makes the difference between packages negligible. So we go with premium just for convenience.

[drakes2]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

For me, factoring in daily sparkling and vitamin waters as well as the $1 - $3 upcharges makes the difference between packages negligible.

That's a lot of sparkling water but considering Perrier and San Pellegrino sell for $5.50 plus gratuities for large size its worth it.  

[Super_Tuscan]

18 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

If its $220 for 2 people for a 14 night TA that's not a bad price.  

That $220 was after a special Celebrity was running and our Elite Plus discount. The upgrade would have been quite a bit more. 

 

SDT

[RichYak]

44 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

That's a lot of sparkling water but considering Perrier and San Pellegrino sell for $5.50 plus gratuities for large size its worth it.  

We're only talking about whether the $15/day upcharge to premium is worth it. That's not a lot of premium water at all.

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Or you could save the hassle and risk of gambling the money and just do a room charge on one of the slot machines then pull the money out right away and take the ticket to the cage to get the cash.  The charge shows up on your onboard account and the OBC will offset that charge.

It must work different depending on the ship.  Did you use all your OBC at one time?  Or did you do this multiple times over the cruise without making any bets?

 

I am guessing that you can do this one time.  Then on the second attempt the “next day” the system will prevent you from transferring OBC to a machine. .  I am not sure for how long, but probably a few days.

 

On the Silhouette I heard the Casino manager (assumption of the title) tell someone who was prevented from transferring OBC to a machine that they were locked out from transferring.  The reason was because they did not make any bets the previous day and did what you are suggesting.  They were told they need to bet at least 10% of the amount every time they may a transfer.  They tried to get this released and they were told that they had to wait a few days. So in this case, I would say you need to make some bets (video poker in this example)  unless you are only doing it only once.  I knew the people involved and discussed what happened with them.  

If managed correctly it is way to effectively use most of your non refundable OBC.  I would caution people about laundering their non refundable OBC without making any bets.  I do not know if the system to prevent cheaters is automated or monitored manually. I am confident that transferring money to a machine from your account, not making any bets, and getting cash is not “using your OBC” in the Casino. 

 

I am also fairly confident that it is not same for every ship and that some of the ship’s have slightly different systems. (Or the system keeps,changing)
 

I transfer a controlled amount almost daily.  Initially if I transferred $100, I would make 20 five dollar bets and then cash out.  I would only do this once a day. Then I started to not bet the total amount transferred each time and cash out.  Sometimes I did bet the whole amount and sometimes I did not.  
 

 

 

 

[scaught]

I'm on Celebrity for the first time, and back on a cruise with a drink package after two (very nice) cruises with Virgin. For me it will be nice to just not have to worry about that cost increasing as the trip goes on. Try whatever drinks I want without worry. 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

It must work different depending on the ship.  Did you use all your OBC at one time?  Or did you do this multiple times over the cruise without making any bets?

 

I am guessing that you can do this one time.  Then on the second attempt the “next day” the system will prevent you from transferring OBC to a machine. .  I am not sure for how long, but probably a few days.

 

On the Silhouette I heard the Casino manager (assumption of the title) tell someone who was prevented from transferring OBC to a machine that they were locked out from transferring.  The reason was because they did not make any bets the previous day and did what you are suggesting.  They were told they need to bet at least 10% of the amount every time they may a transfer.  They tried to get this released and they were told that they had to wait a few days. So in this case, I would say you need to make some bets (video poker in this example)  unless you are only doing it only once.  I knew the people involved and discussed what happened with them.  

If managed correctly it is way to effectively use most of your non refundable OBC.  I would caution people about laundering their non refundable OBC without making any bets.  I do not know if the system to prevent cheaters is automated or monitored manually. I am confident that transferring money to a machine from your account, not making any bets, and getting cash is not “using your OBC” in the Casino. 

 

I am also fairly confident that it is not same for every ship and that some of the ship’s have slightly different systems. (Or the system keeps,changing)
 

I transfer a controlled amount almost daily.  Initially if I transferred $100, I would make 20 five dollar bets and then cash out.  I would only do this once a day. Then I started to not bet the total amount transferred each time and cash out.  Sometimes I did bet the whole amount and sometimes I did not.  
 

 

 

 

There seems there are as many ways to do this as there are passengers and ships. We have taken 💲50 played a couple of times and cashed out 💲48. We have been locked out of the slots but the card has always reset within 24 hours.

We much prefer to convert our OBC via roulette as that way we have a lot of fun for very low risk (we have only lost once ). We accept that with our system of play we will never win big but most of the other ways of using OBC are extremely unattractive to us - for medical reasons we don't drink alcohol (our Elite + gives us all the speciality teas/coffees/chocolate we want) so any drinks package is a waste; we don't need unlimited WiFi (our 240 minutes each is more than enough); we always do private excursions as ships tours simply don't cater for passengers with mobility issues.

The great thing is everyone is free to choose whichever suits them best.

 

[drakes2]

21 hours ago, RichYak said:

We're only talking about whether the $15/day upcharge to premium is worth it. That's not a lot of premium water at all.

Was curious so looked up the charge to upgrade from classic to premium on my 11 night Eclipse cruise in May.   Charge to my CC was $118.80 which included my Elite discount.   I had an Aspen coffee pretty much every day from Cafe El Bacio not sure of the cost without a package maybe someone here would know???   For me well worth the upgrade for the San Pellegrino and premium wines. (Decoy and Elegance by Celebrity).  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I wonder if they can make a Barraquito? 🤔

43 is on the classic package 😁

https://opendrinks.io/recipe/barraquito

 

[Wineaux007]

2 hours ago, drakes2 said:

Was curious so looked up the charge to upgrade from classic to premium on my 11 night Eclipse cruise in May.   Charge to my CC was $118.80 which included my Elite discount.   I had an Aspen coffee pretty much every day from Cafe El Bacio not sure of the cost without a package maybe someone here would know???   For me well worth the upgrade for the San Pellegrino and premium wines. (Decoy and Elegance by Celebrity).  

The prices since have gone up.  I just upgraded my classic for a 30 Aug sailing next year.  With my Elite+ discount, it came out to $155.54.  ($131.89 + $23.65 Grat).  I did it for the more expensive cordials, premium wines, Evian and San Pellegrino waters.  Wifey keeps Classic.  The martini bar takes care of her using my premium package and a nice tip.

[Wineaux007]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I wonder if they can make a Barraquito? 🤔

43 is on the classic package 😁

https://opendrinks.io/recipe/barraquito

 

I wonder if they will make a Pousse-Café if you have the permium package?

[NJRonbo]

45 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

The prices since have gone up.  I just upgraded my classic for a 30 Aug sailing next year.  With my Elite+ discount, it came out to $155.54.  ($131.89 + $23.65 Grat).  I did it for the more expensive cordials, premium wines, Evian and San Pellegrino waters.  Wifey keeps Classic.  The martini bar takes care of her using my premium package and a nice tip.

I was thinking of upgrading from classic to premium which would probably cost about $13-$14 a day (pre-cruise), but I didn't know gratuities are added on top of that.

Edited December 10, 2022 by NJRonbo

[Wineaux007]

28 minutes ago, NJRonbo said:

I was thinking of upgrading from classic to premium which would probably cost about $13-$14 a day (pre-cruise), but I didn't know gratuities are added on top of that.

That's the breakdown I received from my Celebrity confirmation.  Comes out to $14.14 per day.  You have to do the math.  Worth it for me but not for my wife.

[NJRonbo]

Just now, Wineaux007 said:

That's the breakdown I received from my Celebrity confirmation.  Comes out to $14.14 per day.  You have to do the math.  Worth it for me but not for my wife.

...and we don't drink.

I was only looking at the upgrade so we can get better bottled water, sparkling water and smoothies.

However, for the price, it may just be better bringing a case of our favorite water aboard and/or paying extra per drink onboard.

[drakes2]

2 hours ago, NJRonbo said:

I was thinking of upgrading from classic to premium which would probably cost about $13-$14 a day (pre-cruise), but I didn't know gratuities are added on top of that.

Yes gratuity is added on top of the upcharge. I can understand a glass of wine or a martini but adding gratuity on a $5.50 bottle of water that you pick up from the counter and hand over to the passenger is a bit much. But, I understand its still a service. Just don't agree with everything. 

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, NJRonbo said:

...and we don't drink.

I was only looking at the upgrade so we can get better bottled water, sparkling water and smoothies.

However, for the price, it may just be better bringing a case of our favorite water aboard and/or paying extra per drink onboard.

I bring a case of San Pellegrino onboard.  Not paying $5.50 plus 20% for a bottle of water. 

[NJRonbo]

Hey...

 

Was just watching a YouTube vlog from the Summit.

The couple were talking about the upgraded water package that they purchased.  Said it was $40.  They had a glass bottle of Evian water in front of them.

 

I have the classic drink package included with my Aqua Class.

Is there a water package you can add to that?  As I noted above, we don't drink alcohol so to upgrade to the Premium drink package just to get sparkling water is kind of insane...

 

...but if there is a premium water package that can be added that would be perfect for us.

[NJRonbo]

On 12/10/2022 at 1:04 PM, drakes2 said:

I bring a case of San Pellegrino onboard.  Not paying $5.50 plus 20% for a bottle of water. 

Will do that!

[drakes2]

5 minutes ago, NJRonbo said:

Hey...

 

Was just watching a YouTube vlog from the Summit.

The couple were talking about the upgraded water package that they purchased.  Said it was $40.  They had a glass bottle of Evian water in front of them.

 

I have the classic drink package included with my Aqua Class.

Is there a water package you can add to that?  As I noted above, we don't drink alcohol so to upgrade to the Premium drink package just to get sparkling water is kind of insane...

 

...but if there is a premium water package that can be added that would be perfect for us.

Never heard of a premium water package but not 100 percent sure as I always upgrade from basic which includes sparkling and Evian.  My waiter also had a large bottle of SP at the table with dinner which was nice but then they started sending them to my cabin, 2 large bottles every evening. 😆  on my last cruise I checked in a case with my luggage as I didn't have the package.

[NJRonbo]

Just now, drakes2 said:

Never heard of a premium water package but not 100 percent sure as I always upgrade from basic which includes sparkling and Evian.  My waiter also had a large bottle of SP at the table with dinner which was nice but then they started sending them to my cabin, 2 large bottles every evening. 😆  on my last cruise I checked in a case with my luggage as I didn't have the package.

There's a Premium Non-Alcoholic Package

I am going to start a new topic on this as we are interested in changing the packages but don't know how to do it.  Thanks for your answer.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

5 hours ago, NJRonbo said:

Hey...

 

Was just watching a YouTube vlog from the Summit.

The couple were talking about the upgraded water package that they purchased.  Said it was $40.  They had a glass bottle of Evian water in front of them.

 

I have the classic drink package included with my Aqua Class.

Is there a water package you can add to that?  As I noted above, we don't drink alcohol so to upgrade to the Premium drink package just to get sparkling water is kind of insane...

 

...but if there is a premium water package that can be added that would be perfect for us.

Try calling Celebrity , I know people who went from Alcohol package to the premium non alcohol package 

[eric4395]

Can i just confirm that you do not need to upgrade your drinks package on the 1st day of your cruise and  you can upgrade at any time during  the cruise.

[CaroleSS]

38 minutes ago, eric4395 said:

Can i just confirm that you do not need to upgrade your drinks package on the 1st day of your cruise and  you can upgrade at any time during  the cruise.

Anytime up to 3 (?) days prior to the end of the cruise.

[eric4395]

12 minutes ago, CaroleSS said:

Anytime up to 3 (?) days prior to the end of the cruise.

Thanks appreciated👍