Elite level happy hour, are you allowed to take the drinks out of the lounge or you have to finish them in the lounge?

[gam888]

We have attained our Elite level with Royal Caribbean. Celebrity will match that level when we sail with Celebrity on our next cruise. With Royal Caribbean, we are allowed 4 free drinks per day, at any lounge. I was told by a Celebrity representative on the phone, that the happy hour from is from 5-7pm. The free drinks are unlimited, but you can only consume them in the lounges, but not in the restaurants. We are not big drinkers, but we wouldn't mind a glass of wine at dinner time. So my question is, would you be able to order a complimentary drink during the happy hour between 5 and 7pm, bring it out of the whatever lounge you order it from, and into the dining room? When we bring a glass of wine into the dining room, I can't imagine a waiter will come up to me and ask me if I have purchased that glass of wine from some other lounge, or if it is a complimentary glass of wine and therefore technically not allowed to be consumed in the restaurant? Has anyone, being a Elite member or above,  ever got their complimentary drinks from a lounge between 5 and 7pm, and taken the drinks out of that lounge to either a restaurant, or their cabin? It just seems kind of not very user friendly, whereas Royal Caribbean is more accommodating. Thanks in advance.

[cruzzzinma]

I think what the rep meant to say was that you can only get them in select bars but you can take them anywhere.

 

In the “good old days” the Elite Happy Hour was held in a specific location and you could not leave with a drink. 

[Northern Aurora]

Years ago there was a dedicated bar used for the Captain's Club happy hour.  But now the "free" drinks are available in a number of locations throughout the ship.  And yes, you can walk out of the bar with drink in hand and walk into the dining room with drink still in hand.

[cruisestitch]

 You can absolutely take your drink to the dining room from whatever bar you order it in.

 

Most of the people who answer the phone have never actually been on a cruise ship and don’t really know how it works.

 

Back when they used the sky lounge as the elite happy hour location, there was a door keeper and they stop you from taking drinks out as you left. But now that you can order the drinks at virtually any bar on board, there are no restrictions anymore and you can take your drink from the bar to the dining room.

 

[kwokpot]

15 minutes ago, gam888 said:

Has anyone, being a Elite member or above,  ever got their complimentary drinks from a lounge between 5 and 7pm, and taken the drinks out of that lounge to either a restaurant, or their cabin?

Not an issue, don't worry about it. To be precise though, the HH drinks cannot be ORDERED in any restaurant or the buffet and a handful of bars are excluded. Whatsmore, It's not available on embarkation day and the drinks are ordered from a special menu. But once you order it from the bar you can drink it anywhere, For example, you can order cocktail, and a few minutes later order a bottle of water, and a few minutes later can of soda. Ask the cans not to be opened, and you can take them back to your room, another bar, or any restaurant, or pool deck. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by kwokpot

[Charles4515]

8 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Most of the people who answer the phone have never actually been on a cruise ship and don’t really know how it works.

They are in India, the Philippines, Guatemala etc, and are reading from a script on a computer screen. 

[gam888]

Thanks for your replies. In fact, come to think of it, a few years ago, one time during the "Welcome Back Party", I remember there was someone at the door saying to guests, that they were not allowed to take the drinks out of the lounge. So that' why I thought what if the same would happen in these lounges if we order a free drink and want to take it out of the lounge, and someone might stop us.

So just want to be sure that it's OK to do that .

[cruisestitch]

 The elite happy hour is no longer an exclusive event. When you go to a bar and order a drink from the happy hour menu, others in that same location will be on beverage programs and there’s really no way of telling who is who. So there is no one going to stop you if you take a drink or a glass of wine with you into the dining room

[Torfamm]

On 2/15/2023 at 5:08 PM, gam888 said:

We have attained our Elite level with Royal Caribbean. Celebrity will match that level when we sail with Celebrity on our next cruise. With Royal Caribbean, we are allowed 4 free drinks per day, at any lounge. I was told by a Celebrity representative on the phone, that the happy hour from is from 5-7pm. The free drinks are unlimited, but you can only consume them in the lounges, but not in the restaurants. We are not big drinkers, but we wouldn't mind a glass of wine at dinner time. So my question is, would you be able to order a complimentary drink during the happy hour between 5 and 7pm, bring it out of the whatever lounge you order it from, and into the dining room? When we bring a glass of wine into the dining room, I can't imagine a waiter will come up to me and ask me if I have purchased that glass of wine from some other lounge, or if it is a complimentary glass of wine and therefore technically not allowed to be consumed in the restaurant? Has anyone, being an Elite member or above,  ever got their complimentary drinks from a lounge between 5 and 7pm, and taken the drinks out of that lounge to either a restaurant, or their cabin? It just seems kind of not very user friendly, whereas Royal Caribbean is more accommodating. Thanks in advance.

Drinks are available at nearly all bars,  including those that are outdoors by the pool and Cafe Al Baccio. You can order a drink and take it wherever you like. Happy hour is no longer an event held in a specific space.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Torfamm

[dazey]

We order a martini(or two) and water at the Happy Hour(between 5-7) most of the time at the Martini Bar and then play a little in the casino until we go to our dinner.  We get a wine before leaving the casino(complimentary) and carry it into the restaurant.  Never been questioned.  Actually by doing this we get to enjoy some wine at dinner immediately as we have found it takes quite some time for the server to even ask about wine choice.  Even when we had the drink package we always got wine at the bar before dining and carry it into the dining room.

 

We try to get several waters at the HH and we bring them back to our room before we start to ejoy the rest of our evening.

 

Since being Elite and limiting our drinking to mostly evening we have saved so much money by getting "fare only" cruise and purchasing no drink package. On occasion we do order a drink or bottle but the amount we end up paying at the end of the cruise is so little.

 

 

[Peteymil]

On 2/15/2023 at 4:18 PM, kwokpot said:

Not an issue, don't worry about it. To be precise though, the HH drinks cannot be ORDERED in any restaurant or the buffet and a handful of bars are excluded. Whatsmore, It's not available on embarkation day and the drinks are ordered from a special menu. But once you order it from the bar you can drink it anywhere, For example, you can order cocktail, and a few minutes later order a bottle of water, and a few minutes later can of soda. Ask the cans not to be opened, and you can take them back to your room, another bar, or any restaurant, or pool deck. 

You can order from the bar in the buffet. 

[Vol fan]

So can you only use the drink vouchers between 5 and 7? Also, how many does each person receive?

[WestLakeGirl]

You don’t receive vouchers. You are allowed to order unlimited drinks from the elite menu between the hours of 5 and 7 PM at most bars.  Not the dining room, and not room service. The details will be given to you when you board so look for a sheet of instructions in your stateroom.

[horseymike]

You must drink the cocktail down in front of the bartender or you will be remanded to the naughty room . 🤣

Only joking , have a great cruise 🚢