Elite minibar setup

[Ombud]

15 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I would like to, for once, get the actual mini bar as promised. We have yet to get the correct setup. They are always "out of" one thing or another. Any wine that Princess chooses to replace the mini bar is bound to be pretty poor and I don't usually drink bottled water as I find the plastic pollution to be horrendous. Think of a major sporting event where they may end up with 50,000 empty plastic water bottles. I didn't grow up with a water bottle in my hand and don't understand the "modern" mania for always having bottled water. I tend to drink tap water. I do like to have a bottle of San Pellegrino before bed but wouldn't have that if it wasn't included in the drink package.

Although we may have become accustomed to a particular set up, we aren't promised that anywhere that i can find. The Captain Circle benefit descriotion does not state what is in the mini bar, just that it exists. It simply states "Mini bottles of liquor can be exchanged for either the same size of a different type of liquor or beer on a one-to-one basis." So whatever set up is delivered is what's promised

 

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Ombud

[SiliconCruiser]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

I don't want their crappy wine and I don't want 12 bottles of water.

I want 12 bottle\s of cheap Scotch.  Better than no Scotch at all (or having to pay for it.)  But realistically, I just bring my own on board  (web site quoters have at it.)

 

[MissP22]

5 hours ago, SiliconCruiser said:

I want 12 bottle\s of cheap Scotch.  Better than no Scotch at all (or having to pay for it.)  But realistically, I just bring my own on board  (web site quoters have at it.)

 

Which many do and just won't admit it. 

[Thrak]

14 hours ago, Ombud said:

Although we may have become accustomed to a particular set up, we aren't promised that anywhere that i can find. The Captain Circle benefit descriotion does not state what is in the mini bar, just that it exists. It simply states "Mini bottles of liquor can be exchanged for either the same size of a different type of liquor or beer on a one-to-one basis." So whatever set up is delivered is what's promised

 

 

 

When I get 4 mini bottles and a bunch of beer my wife doesn't like (she's a beer snob) it's less than optimal. I take it and don't gripe to the steward but it doesn't seem right.

[Thrak]

13 hours ago, SiliconCruiser said:

I want 12 bottle\s of cheap Scotch.  Better than no Scotch at all (or having to pay for it.)  But realistically, I just bring my own on board  (web site quoters have at it.)

 

 

The scotch is the worst of the mini bottles they provide. It's truly abysmal. I love scotch but Dewar's white label is not good at all.

[jwattle]

16 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Which many do and just won't admit it. 

We've spent thousands on a beautiful cruise. We're not going to keester our liquor on jail style. We just get the package, which we do find the numbers work for us when you add the juices, coffees, waters, etc.

Sample day: mimosa with suite breaky in the specialty restaurant, bottle of water; BAILEYS in my salted caramel latte, bottle of water; bloody Mary with bingo, bottle of water; fresh juice bar with you guessed it, water at lunch; Specialty dessert with BAILEYS and a water; pre dinner BAILEYS and coffee/espresso martini or two and water with appetizers; glass of wine with dinner; dirty bananas (yes plural, oh no!) And waters while taking in shows.

And the mini bar serves the purpose of in room pre bed drinks 😂

Or the flight home😂

Edited May 16, 2023 by jwattle

[Happiest when cruising]

45 minutes ago, jwattle said:

We've spent thousands on a beautiful cruise. We're not going to keester our liquor on jail style. We just get the package, which we do find the numbers work for us when you add the juices, coffees, waters, etc.

Sample day: mimosa with suite breaky in the specialty restaurant, bottle of water; BAILEYS in my salted caramel latte, bottle of water; bloody Mary with bingo, bottle of water; fresh juice bar with you guessed it, water at lunch; Specialty dessert with BAILEYS and a water; pre dinner BAILEYS and coffee/espresso martini or two and water with appetizers; glass of wine with dinner; dirty bananas (yes plural, oh no!) And waters while taking in shows.

And the mini bar serves the purpose of in room pre bed drinks 😂

Or the flight home😂

If I drank that much liquid in a day, I’d be stopping at every ladies room onboard.😏

[jwattle]

Just now, Happiest when cruising said:

If I drank that much liquid in a day, I’d be stopping at every ladies room onboard.😏

I didn't say that I didn't. I hydrate, I empty. Repeat.

[gvre]

we switch out every thing for vodka and diet sprite..usually we get Sky but surprised they gave us mini Grey Goose.

Edited May 16, 2023 by gvre

[MissP22]

It's amazing how some people can justify spending thousands on a liquor package when other times at home, wouldn't consider spending a fraction of that amount.😄

 

[memoak]

6 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It's amazing how some people can justify spending thousands on a liquor package when other times at home, wouldn't consider spending a fraction of that amount.😄

 

At home if I am going out to lunch I will have 2-3 beers or glasses of wine. At home we always have 2 cocktails before dinner and wine with dinner. The only real difference on a cruise is maybe an extra late morning or mid afternoon cocktail and of course several drinks in the casino or listening to music late night. So the price of the plus package really pays off for us 

[JGmf]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

At home if I am going out to lunch I will have 2-3 beers or glasses of wine. At home we always have 2 cocktails before dinner and wine with dinner. The only real difference on a cruise is maybe an extra late morning or mid afternoon cocktail and of course several drinks in the casino or listening to music late night. So the price of the plus package really pays off for us

 

I like your thinking @memoak.  Wish we lived closer so I could toast your approach to life.

 

[CruisinChris]

18 hours ago, jwattle said:

 

Or the flight home😂

In case you didn't realize it, it's against Federal law to drink alcohol on a plane that you have brought on board.  That can land you in some serious trouble.

[memoak]

11 minutes ago, CruisinChris said:

In case you didn't realize it, it's against Federal law to drink alcohol on a plane that you have brought on board.  That can land you in some serious trouble.

In fact it can even get you on a no fly list

[Hlitner]

On 4/19/2023 at 7:21 PM, Kineticoh20 said:

We have finally joined the club. Can somebody be kinda specific on what your offered? Looking forward to our upcoming cruise as Elite.

I know you will consider this post "rude" but the truth is that one cannot be certain what will be offered until you are actually onboard the ship.  Your mini-bar will be stocked when you arrive and it will have an assortment of beers, small booze bottles, some soft drinks, and a few other items.  You can call Room Service, if you want to change the booze, and they will tell you your options (which vary depending on what supplies they have aboard).  

 

The last time we cruised on Princess (the Enchantment) they had lots of logistical issues and had no scotch or cognac.  The next time?  Nobody knows!  There normally would be a choice between scotch (often Dewars), gin, vokka, Jack Daniels, Courvoisier VS, and perhaps a few other items.  

 

Hank

[MissP22]

12 hours ago, CruisinChris said:

In case you didn't realize it, it's against Federal law to drink alcohol on a plane that you have brought on board.  That can land you in some serious trouble.

 

12 hours ago, memoak said:

In fact it can even get you on a no fly list

 

Can you imagine if that rule was applied to cruise ships. 🙄

[Yehootu]

On 5/7/2023 at 12:55 PM, Steelers36 said:

Yes.  Other choices on the beer menu are possible.  I was surprised last Fall that I got some Grolsch when I asked.  At the very least, you can select other beers at same or similar price point.

I wonder if they'll give me all Fosters Oil Cans.😀

[jwattle]

On 5/16/2023 at 2:03 PM, CruisinChris said:

In case you didn't realize it, it's against Federal law to drink alcohol on a plane that you have brought on board.  That can land you in some serious trouble.

 

On 5/16/2023 at 2:15 PM, memoak said:

In fact it can even get you on a no fly list

I'll make the laughter emoji bigger next time. Sorry gang. 

[SiliconCruiser]

On 5/15/2023 at 11:43 AM, Thrak said:

 

The scotch is the worst of the mini bottles they provide. It's truly abysmal. I love scotch but Dewar's white label is not good at all.

Dewar's is also the 'complimentary' Scotch that is served on most international flights as well.  And there are people that do drink it on a regular basis, though it may not be something of your preference.

[Papa Yoda]

We trade out spirits for vodka and gin. Beer for anything other than two Xes. Still have a few dozen Sky vodkas

[RRFan]

Well I'm sure we are in the minority, but we do not drink alcohol or soft drinks.  I have always traded our mini-bar for 2 coffee pkgs.  Hubs doesn't even drink coffee but does drink teas. Neither of us ever use all of our coffee/tea "punches".   So that is one perk we are especially sad to lose.  There are many we seem to have lost.  I think trading our mini bar for 2 (or even 1) coffee package would be financially better for PCL than giving us the minibar.  I don't see why that option can't be set in our preferences like Queen vs Twin beds.  Save the trouble of trading them out.  We haven't been on PCL since '20 and a lot of the reason is our unhappiness over all of the Elite perks being taken away.  We have booked a cruise in Oct and depending upon how it goes, may just be our last one on PCL.  Hate that because we've loved cruising with Princess for 15 years.  I've always said 15 cruises wasn't enough to get to Elite, but instead of re-structuring their loyalty categories, they just stripped many of the Elite perks out.  By doing that, I think they've lost a ton of loyal Elites too.  Not a smart business decision IMHO.  

Edited May 24, 2023 by RRFan

[Happiest when cruising]

1 hour ago, RRFan said:

Well I'm sure we are in the minority, but we do not drink alcohol or soft drinks.  I have always traded our mini-bar for 2 coffee pkgs.  Hubs doesn't even drink coffee but does drink teas. Neither of us ever use all of our coffee/tea "punches".   So that is one perk we are especially sad to lose.  There are many we seem to have lost.  I think trading our mini bar for 2 (or even 1) coffee package would be financially better for PCL than giving us the minibar.  I don't see why that option can't be set in our preferences like Queen vs Twin beds.  Save the trouble of trading them out.  We haven't been on PCL since '20 and a lot of the reason is our unhappiness over all of the Elite perks being taken away.  We have booked a cruise in Oct and depending upon how it goes, may just be our last one on PCL.  Hate that because we've loved cruising with Princess for 15 years.  I've always said 15 cruises wasn't enough to get to Elite, but instead of re-structuring their loyalty categories, they just stripped many of the Elite perks out.  By doing that, I think they've lost a ton of loyal Elites too.  Not a smart business decision IMHO.  

Had the coffee package still been available, that is what we would have chosen. It’s wasn’t…so I took home what little bottles they did have and the soft drinks mostly got left behind. There was no way we would drink 20 waters in the 3 days we had it, since they didn’t set up our mini bar at the beginning of our second half of our btb, which was only 6 nights. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Happiest when cruising