Beer price increase to $11 for moist, so $1 (+20%tip) surcharge over the Classic package (pic)

[markeb]

1 minute ago, daydreamer16 said:

Really? Never saw that, may have to now!

 

At the time, Coors controlled distribution east of the Mississippi. So the concept was to bootleg a truckload of Coors from Texarkana and bring it to Georgia for a multimillionaire who wanted Coors. Of course then you throw in a crooked smalltown sheriff, Sally Fields running away from her wedding, a Trans Am running interference for the big rig, etc. But it all goes back to bootlegging Coors...

[daydreamer16]

4 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

At the time, Coors controlled distribution east of the Mississippi. So the concept was to bootleg a truckload of Coors from Texarkana and bring it to Georgia for a multimillionaire who wanted Coors. Of course then you throw in a crooked smalltown sheriff, Sally Fields running away from her wedding, a Trans Am running interference for the big rig, etc. But it all goes back to bootlegging Coors...

That's very cool, thanks for the back story!

[Mark_K]

2 hours ago, daydreamer16 said:

Not arguing -  especially since I am unable to drink Alcohol and haven't had  a beer since in College where we would pay a premium for Coors --  LOL -  I was on the East Coast. 

 

In the mid 70's we lived in Manhattan & would drive to New Jersey to buy Coors! At the time it was not sold in NYC & in New Jersey it was only sold refrigerated because it was so special. It was treated better than French champagne! 🤣

I think your time frame may be off. It wasn’t licensed for sale east of the Mississippi until the mid-80s. I remember going to a football game in Iowa in the early 80s and bringing back cases of it. 

Edited January 27 by Mark_K

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I hope you all know it company is now  Molson Coors Beverage Company 

https://www.molsoncoors.com/about/history

[jennmaybe]

11 hours ago, Mark_K said:

I’ll bet he would if they actually were the last options on Earth.

I just checked with him.  He hates all of these and confirmed he would not be a beer drinker anymore if these were the last…

[grandgeezer]

On 1/26/2024 at 8:42 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

yes, my hubs drinks Heineken as well and we are booked in an inside cabin, but we are not paying $9+grats for it. Forget it. I thought even $7+grats was a lot for a bottle of Heineken....

We can wait till we get home to pay $14-18 for 6 bottles, with only 7% tax added to it.

We had friends over for New Years Eve and splurged for Heineken, we got a 12 pack of bottles for $17 plus 8.5% tax. We refuse to the price the lines charge for alcohol so we get by on the free drinks we get from being Elite +. At home we drink domestic beer when we can buy it, around the holidays for $.61, a beer, tax included.

I’ve been a beer drinker for over fifty years and have tried them all, domestic, imported, craft, and even pale ales but always end of back to the domestic. Paying more doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better in my opinion.

[mayleeman]

5 hours ago, Mark_K said:

It wasn’t licensed for sale east of the Mississippi until the mid-80s.

 

It wasn't licensed but it was available due to "alternate channels." Demand was high, and somehow the market drummed up supplies. (my experience was 74-81). 

[jimzgoldfinch]

On 1/26/2024 at 12:05 AM, Jim_Iain said:

With due respect you are showing the Beer Menu for the upscale beer selections.   There are still quit a number of beers available at the Classic Beverage Package  Bud, Bud Light, Dos Equis  Coors, Anstel Light, Heineken and Miller Light.  Most be what most would order at their home bar.

There is no logic in the pricing of beer. The wholesale cost of the “upscale” beers are similar and certainly doesn’t justify the additional cost. The beers priced at $11 could easily be included in classic package. 
 

I think that Celebrity should have a package that includes beers wines martinis and spirits that excludes genuine upscale drinks.

[ExArkie]

17 hours ago, markeb said:

 

At the time, Coors controlled distribution east of the Mississippi. So the concept was to bootleg a truckload of Coors from Texarkana and bring it to Georgia for a multimillionaire who wanted Coors. Of course then you throw in a crooked smalltown sheriff, Sally Fields running away from her wedding, a Trans Am running interference for the big rig, etc. But it all goes back to bootlegging Coors...

Except, at that time, Texarkana was in a dry county.
 

Don’t know if it still is. 

[daydreamer16]

22 hours ago, Mark_K said:

I think your time frame may be off. It wasn’t licensed for sale east of the Mississippi until the mid-80s. I remember going to a football game in Iowa in the early 80s and bringing back cases of it. 

Well, they had in New Jersey in 1976. It was a Pathmark supermarket, right off Rt.4. We would drive from NYC every 2 weeks for groceries & they had it in the refrigerated section!

[doghog]

When I first moved out west I switch to Yellow Jackets. Bottles were12 oz.  stubbies and the cans had the two punch tops. A lot of bloody knuckles from those.  I also drank Olympia.  1974 I loaded 4 cases of Coors in the trunk of 1973 Z28 and hauled them back to Upstate NY. I believe those that drank it, liked it at the time. At least there wasn't any evidence left that no one didn't like it. 🍻

Edited January 28 by doghog

[Houli58]

On 1/27/2024 at 11:11 AM, Random Cruizer said:

That drove me crazy last summer on the Beyond--half of the drinks I wanted were $1 over the classic drink package limit and I was constantly signing for stuff. Not relaxing at all.

If you purchase the classic drink package and order a drink $1. over the limit.  Do you just pay $1 & the drink is counted toward your 15 per day?

[Random Cruizer]

16 minutes ago, Houli58 said:

If you purchase the classic drink package and order a drink $1. over the limit.  Do you just pay $1 & the drink is counted toward your 15 per day?

 

I don't know about 15 per day. You pay $1 plus a gratuity (20 cents?), $1.20 I believe.

[PTC DAWG]

16 minutes ago, Houli58 said:

If you purchase the classic drink package and order a drink $1. over the limit.  Do you just pay $1 & the drink is counted toward your 15 per day?

No daily limit..you would pay $1.20 in your scenario.

[bikerunner]

1 hour ago, Houli58 said:

If you purchase the classic drink package and order a drink $1. over the limit.  Do you just pay $1 & the drink is counted toward your 15 per day?

Celebrity does not have a limit on how many drinks one can have in a day, other lines I know do

[Houli58]

Oh.  I was told 15 by travel agent.  What is your cost if you order a drink over the $10 allowance? Thank you.

[Houli58]

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

No daily limit..you would pay $1.20 in your scenario.

Now trying to do the math to see what's the better option...just to pay drink overage & tip or get the premium upgrade.  The upgrade comes out to $$117 per person for 7 night cruise.  Does anyone know if you can find a drink menu posted for the Ascent?  I've looked on web site but see nothing.  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

26 minutes ago, Houli58 said:

Now trying to do the math to see what's the better option...just to pay drink overage & tip or get the premium upgrade.  The upgrade comes out to $$117 per person for 7 night cruise.  Does anyone know if you can find a drink menu posted for the Ascent?  I've looked on web site but see nothing.  

If your sailing 90 days out the drink menu should be on the app

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, Houli58 said:

Oh.  I was told 15 by travel agent.  What is your cost if you order a drink over the $10 allowance? Thank you.

Time for a new agent 😁

[acstall]

On 1/25/2024 at 8:21 PM, markeb said:

 

Sorry, Jim. Those aren't upscale beers. Most of them are pretty pedestrian. Yeah, you can get a college dorm suitcase beer in the classic package, but even cheap 12-pack beers are $11. And then there's insanity like Salvator for the same price as Blue Moon! I haven't bought a Coors since I graduated from college. And that was decades ago...

"Used to be" beer and wine on Celebrity were close to the price you would pay in a restaurant or even a little less, because you already "paid" for food and beverage as part of the cruise or in buying a beverage package.  We typically see premium draft beer in restaurants these days at $7 or $8.  Not buying at $11 on a cruise.

[Twenty2020]

Have to LOL at Goose Island 312 being a 'premium' beer for $15. 

 

It's $17 for a 12 pack at the local store at home. 

[JeanieC,Aston]

On 1/27/2024 at 5:27 PM, markeb said:

 

Wasn't me posting the list!

 

The $11 beers generally aren't anything special, and hardly worth an upcharge. The $15 beers are generally pretty good and as you say there are better offerings in Craft Social when it's available. Beer has never been a strong suite of RCG. We sailed Royal a couple of times from England and even though they had a bar with a pub style counter, the only English beers I remember were Newcastle and maybe Old Speckled Hen. In cans.

 

We've been on the premium package so I've usually had a couple of the better IPAs. And I usually do water and soda at the pool anyway.

Hi

Ive sailed a few times on RCL and Celebrity and both lines always stocked John Smiths and Boddingtons Bitters.

Now on Celebrity both have gone leaving no Brit bitters.
Then last May they put Guinness into the PP,,that was the last straw,,,now I stick too P&O and Marella cruises.
 

on one Silhouette cruise last year when they ran out of Guinnes a staff member told me to drink Newkie Brown saying it’s the same as Guinness,,,,he was the Bar Manager!!

 

What is it with Americans love of Coke Cola and American beer,,,is it the gas?😏

Edited January 31 by JeanieC,Aston

[ExArkie]

3 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Ive sailed a few times on RCL and Celebrity and both lines always stocked John Smiths and Boddingtons Bitters.

Now on Celebrity both have gone leaving no Brit bitters.
Then last May they put Guinness into the PP,,that was the last straw,,,now I stick too P&O and Marella cruises.
 

on one Silhouette cruise last year when they ran out of Guinnes a staff member told me to drink Newkie Brown saying it’s the same as Guinness,,,,he was the Bar Manager!!

 

What is it with Americans love of Coke Cola and American beer,,,is it the gas?😏

Speaking as an American, I happen to prefer dark beers and am particularly fond of Boddingtons. The essentially complete industry-wide dearth of dark beer is why I don’t have beer on cruise ships. 

[JeanieC,Aston]

2 hours ago, ExArkie said:

Speaking as an American, I happen to prefer dark beers and am particularly fond of Boddingtons. The essentially complete industry-wide dearth of dark beer is why I don’t have beer on cruise ships. 

More and more our supermarket shelves are becoming full of bottles of dark beers from small brewers,,the likes of Bitters,Stouts or Porters,,,some of the Porters are really good.

There was a newspaper article today reporting on Diageo that Guinness is now the most popular beer brand in the UK,,,with the biggest increase being women drinking it.

[markeb]

5 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Ive sailed a few times on RCL and Celebrity and both lines always stocked John Smiths and Boddingtons Bitters.

Now on Celebrity both have gone leaving no Brit bitters.
Then last May they put Guinness into the PP,,that was the last straw,,,now I stick too P&O and Marella cruises.
 

on one Silhouette cruise last year when they ran out of Guinnes a staff member told me to drink Newkie Brown saying it’s the same as Guinness,,,,he was the Bar Manager!!

 

What is it with Americans love of Coke Cola and American beer,,,is it the gas?😏

 

They may have had Smiths and Boddingtons but I don't remember them. I do know that both times I'd just spent several days in London drinking ales from the cask, and nothing on the ship was going to compare...

 

We all grew up on carbonated soft drinks. It's just a thing. Oddly enough though, I have an old Army friend from the British Army who drank Bud Light. Both when in the US and in the UK. I can't stand the smell of it, much less the taste. And I did grow up with it! Go figure.