Upgrading the included Classic Bevy to Premium worth it?

[KristyMisty14]

I know this question is very subjective..... we have the classic package included on our upcoming voyage, there are 8 of us adults travelling and 6 have already upgraded to the premium package, I would love to hear peoples opinions on why they like to upgrading or why they don't.  I'm torn which way to go leave it or upgrade it.  Thanks!

[Mark_T]

Before the price increases I never gave it a second thought, but now it is a significant cost and frankly unless you make a lot of use of the wines above the package limit, so you'd benefit from the full 'allowance' against the up-charge, it mostly isn't worth it now, in my opinion. 

 

Sad really, as I do like the lack of need to sign anything for drinks, but the value just isn't there these days...

[jelayne]

It depends on what you drink.  If you drink primarily cocktails, beer, soda, lattes, expresso then the Classic package should be fine.  
On the other if you are primarily a wine drinker then you may want to check the wines lists on the app to see the price of the wines you would prefer are on the Classic or Premium package and at what price.

The Classic has a $10 limit.  If you see wines you would like in the $11-13 range do the math and determine if the cost to upgrade is less than just paying the difference + 20% gratuity.

[1Virgo]

Agree with Jelayne.    If you are a mixed drinker, you wouldnt really notice. Wine, yes!  Big difference.  Same as the beers. There are many interesting beers that are not in the Classic package.

If you like Peligrino water, not included in Classic.   There are exclusions or extra fees  at Cafe El Baco too

 

A tip. If you are in OceanView Cafe and  have a Premium package, suggest you get your own beverage, not the waiter.  On Equinox and Summit recently, asked for a white wine Villa Maria (had Premium pkg).   It sure as h**l wasnt Villa Maria. Whatever cheapie, it was undrinkable

[kruzerci]

Classic is fine for us. I can easily get by with bottled water and their selection of beer, wine, soda, specialty coffees, and liquor.

 

Never in the 9 days of our last cruise did I ever have a second thought or desire to have upgraded. 

Edited June 19, 2023 by kruzerci

[Carried_Away]

I upgrade because I like premium water, martinis at the Martini Bar, and top-shelf liquor. I'm not sure whether I drink enough that the premium beverage package saves me money, but I also like the convenience of ordering whatever I want to drink, whenever I want to drink it, and not worrying about it.

[roxette]

According to the current bar menus in the app, Champagne is only offered at speciality restaurants. Some months ago it was in a lot of bars and the mdr.

[Kelownadon]

We had the premium package once and it was pretty much a waste of money for us. If you are fussy about wines you might want a better selection and go premium. I think if you drink martinis and liquor with water or soda and really appreciate the taste of your liquor you may want to go premium for the better brands. I drink rum punches, and other mixed drinks so I can pretty much drink whatever brand of liquor they have. In fact I find sometimes they make the drinks too strong thinking they are doing me a favour. I just leave those aside and go get another drink from another bar. Beers in the classic package are fine with me as well. 

[jelayne]

We got champagne at multiple bars last month.  All wines are not listed on each venues wine list.  
We have had a champagne we liked that wasn’t at the bar we preferred, the bartender got some and set it aside for us so we had it every night.

[PTC DAWG]

I always upgrade..don’t like signing slips. Only one bourbon on the classic..limited gins and vodkas.  Govern yourself accordingly. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[Cruise Junky]

Martini bar is our evening hangout so I think I’m going to have to upgrade. That and the wine should make it worthwhile.  I’m waiting for a sale 

[mrgabriel]

We have had both packages. On our last cruise we had classic and decided we would pay the upcharge if we wanted something off the premium. I wound up spending a grand total of about $40 on a 13 night cruise. The most expensive upcharge was the Martini bar where it cost me $10 plus gratuity for a big lemon drop. I will say that the Premium Old Fashioneds are much better than the classic and as others have mentioned, there’s a big difference in wines. 

[Mark_T]

Even with the wines, you need to be careful in the MDR as with the packages at $10 for Classic and $17 for Premium you'd think you wouldn't have to drink much to make it worthwhile, but the 'Premium' wines served in the MDR are mostly between $11-14, so the up-charge is relatively low.

 

Same goes for moving between classic gins and premium gins, typically around a $2 up-charge...

 

Unless you routinely paid an up-charge to go over the Premium limit with your choices, or you drink a lot at the Martini bar it is going to take some effort to make the current upgrade cost worthwhile...

[Chrisclaire]

7 hours ago, jelayne said:

We got champagne at multiple bars last month.  All wines are not listed on each venues wine list.  
We have had a champagne we liked that wasn’t at the bar we preferred, the bartender got some and set it aside for us so we had it every night.

Jelayne, out of interest, do you remember the name of the Champagne you liked?  We were struggling on our last cruise on Constellation to get a "decent" one!  They kept trying to pour us horrible "fizz" which definitely was not Champagne!

 

We are on Solstice in October and do hope the Champagne is not just in Speciality restaurants!

[Esprit]

We always upgrade as my preferred beer is Peroni. We also drink a lot of champagne (but none of that Chateau de Gangway c*** Celebrity dish out where ever they can get away with it!).

 

Wife likes to experiment with the cocktails and I always have Belvedere vodka in my long island ice teas.

 

Less than 4 weeks to go now before we board Reflection in Civitavecchia 🍹🥂🍷🍺   

[poeticlicensed]

We upgrade because I like martinis and hubby likes good scotch straight up. Plus your wine by the glass selection really opens up over $10. We had a great time a couple of years ago on the Equinox when I told the sommelier I was open to anything within my package, just surprise me. He would be waiting for me at dinner every night with new wines to try.

[CTCruiser76]

If you upgrade, do both adults in the stateroom have to or can one be classic and the other premium?

[patty1955]

How do I find the cost to upgrade the drink package?

On our drink package page, it shows $86.99 for the premium and $70.99 for the classic. Would the upgrade cost $16?

[Cruise Junky]

18 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

How do I find the cost to upgrade the drink package?

On our drink package page, it shows $86.99 for the premium and $70.99 for the classic. Would the upgrade cost $16?

Apparently not although you would think so.  I have both of those prices showing under my booking but it’s showing the upgrade price at $20 

[NMTraveller]

Does anyone have an opinion of the Celebrity branded wines on the classic package.  Any idea who Celebrity contracts to for these wines?  

[Reel Love]

5 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Does anyone have an opinion of the Celebrity branded wines on the classic package.  Any idea who Celebrity contracts to for these wines?  

Cannot help with who X contracts to for the Celebrity branded wine but can share my opinion that I personally do not care for it.  Only a couple of the premium wines they carry onboard that I like.

We were lucky to be able to just recently bring on two bottles of wine per person (read on these boards that this policy is changing back to one bottle per person at the beginning of July).  We are from the Niagara region in Ontario which has many wineries so were fortunate to be able to bring some of our personal local favourites onboard to enjoy.

[Reel Love]

1 hour ago, CTCruiser76 said:

If you upgrade, do both adults in the stateroom have to or can one be classic and the other premium?

Both adults in the stateroom now have to upgrade if one wants to upgrade.  My poor hubby got the short end of the stick on that one because I like my Grey Goose and my sparkling water, lol.

[patty1955]

18 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

Apparently not although you would think so.  I have both of those prices showing under my booking but it’s showing the upgrade price at $20 

I don't see an upgrade price anywhere. I booked with all included and the drink package is on my invoice but not the Celebrity page.

[PTC DAWG]

On 6/19/2023 at 10:55 PM, Cruise Junky said:

Martini bar is our evening hangout so I think I’m going to have to upgrade. That and the wine should make it worthwhile.  I’m waiting for a sale 

I doubt you'll see much of a sale.  I always upgrade on board if my booking doesn't include it, the bartender who handles it appreciates it, as they apparently get to keep some of the $$$...

Edited June 21, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[Mark_T]

34 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

I don't see an upgrade price anywhere. I booked with all included and the drink package is on my invoice but not the Celebrity page.

If they haven't unbundled your AI yet then it doesn't seem to show the upgrade option...

 

Can usually fix that with a quick phone call, but if you are planning to upgrade you'll want to phone anyway to get the CC discount.