Beverage pkg upgrade cost

[chefchick]

It’s been a while since I last cruised on Celebrity and I have an upcoming sailing on the Edge to Alaska in August.  I have purchased the classic drink pkg as part of my fare but now realize that most of the alcohol brands I prefer are included in the premium package.  I know I could just “ pay the difference” but if I have say, 3 cocktails or wine at $17/day with gratuity that would be approx $25/day in overages.  My question is how much is the cost to upgrade to the premium package?  I’ve heard of flash sales (which would be great) but what is the “standard” upgrade price (if there is such a thing) and what is the lowest you’ve paid on a seven day cruise?

 

Also, to those who have sailed recently, how is inventory?  I’ve seen the Celebrity site and what they say is available in each package, but is there still “supply chain issues”? 🙄. Thank you in advance for any insight.

[Tierun]

Your cruise planner should have the price of the upgrade. I was on Ascent in April and Reflection in May and didn’t have any issues with brands on either ship.

[jwlane]

A week or so ago it was $8.99/day (35% discount) for our upcoming February sailings.  Right now it's only 5% ($13.99) off.

[rotoal]

8 hours ago, chefchick said:

It’s been a while since I last cruised on Celebrity and I have an upcoming sailing on the Edge to Alaska in August.  I have purchased the classic drink pkg as part of my fare but now realize that most of the alcohol brands I prefer are included in the premium package.  I know I could just “ pay the difference” but if I have say, 3 cocktails or wine at $17/day with gratuity that would be approx $25/day in overages.  My question is how much is the cost to upgrade to the premium package?  I’ve heard of flash sales (which would be great) but what is the “standard” upgrade price (if there is such a thing) and what is the lowest you’ve paid on a seven day cruise?

 

 

In your cruise planner, you should see the upgrade cost - my planner shows that it is $15.00 per day, with a 5% discount.   Since you have cruised Celebrity before you will need to call the Captain's Club number (800) 760-0654 in order to book with your higher loyalty discount, probably 10%, maybe higher.  It is quite possible that a better discount may be showing on your account.   The discounts aren't combinable.

 

There is an additional 20% gratuity added to the price.

 

And keep checking your account to see if they run a "flash sale", the 4th of July is coming up.  You may be able to cancel and rebook for further savings.  I was able to upgrade during the Black Friday sale for our upcoming 9 night September cruise at 53% off.  With gratuity it was less than $8.50 per day.   We each drink a couple of bottles of San Pellegrino or Perrier per day, so we broke even without having any wine, martini or World Class Bar drink.

 

You are correct that if you average at least 2 pricier drinks per day - it is worth having the premium plan.   In addition to sparkling water, the Spa Cafe smoothies are included in the premium package.

[Liao]

1 hour ago, rotoal said:

In your cruise planner, you should see the upgrade cost - my planner shows that it is $15.00 per day, with a 5% discount.   Since you have cruised Celebrity before you will need to call the Captain's Club number (800) 760-0654 in order to book with your higher loyalty discount, probably 10%, maybe higher.  It is quite possible that a better discount may be showing on your account.   The discounts aren't combinable.

 

There is an additional 20% gratuity added to the price.

 

And keep checking your account to see if they run a "flash sale", the 4th of July is coming up.  You may be able to cancel and rebook for further savings.  I was able to upgrade during the Black Friday sale for our upcoming 9 night September cruise at 53% off.  With gratuity it was less than $8.50 per day.   We each drink a couple of bottles of San Pellegrino or Perrier per day, so we broke even without having any wine, martini or World Class Bar drink.

 

You are correct that if you average at least 2 pricier drinks per day - it is worth having the premium plan.   In addition to sparkling water, the Spa Cafe smoothies are included in the premium package.

Great summary explanation.  I don’t drink alcohol at all, but I get the premium package and I always come out ahead.

[Zuzu99]

9 hours ago, rotoal said:

In your cruise planner, you should see the upgrade cost - my planner shows that it is $15.00 per day, with a 5% discount.   Since you have cruised Celebrity before you will need to call the Captain's Club number (800) 760-0654 in order to book with your higher loyalty discount, probably 10%, maybe higher.  It is quite possible that a better discount may be showing on your account.   The discounts aren't combinable.

 

There is an additional 20% gratuity added to the price.

 

And keep checking your account to see if they run a "flash sale", the 4th of July is coming up.  You may be able to cancel and rebook for further savings.  I was able to upgrade during the Black Friday sale for our upcoming 9 night September cruise at 53% off.  With gratuity it was less than $8.50 per day.   We each drink a couple of bottles of San Pellegrino or Perrier per day, so we broke even without having any wine, martini or World Class Bar drink.

 

You are correct that if you average at least 2 pricier drinks per day - it is worth having the premium plan.   In addition to sparkling water, the Spa Cafe smoothies are included in the premium package.

I keep missing the flash sale to upgrade the drink package. 😮🙄. I guess I need to check every single day!!  I’ve been checking every few days but I keep missing it. 

[Liao]

20 minutes ago, Zuzu99 said:

I keep missing the flash sale to upgrade the drink package. 😮🙄. I guess I need to check every single day!!  I’ve been checking every few days but I keep missing it. 

Check the 4th of July sale 

[bikerunner]

My last cruise I got it for like 5.99 or some crazy price.   I was fine where I was at 10.99 tbh.  Yes you do need to keep checking.  I am taking a bluechip cruise, tho I said I was done with celebrity but free cruise for 6 days minus taxes and grass I could not pass it up.  Looking at the drink packages I will not buy it, as Im elite plus so the main concern on my drinks is Cafe Al Bacio which is now covered.  I'll bring my 2 bottles of wine and buy a cal bottles and will be good to go I think.  

[JHUNTGOLF]

You just need to get lucky in catching a flash sale for the upgrade cost.  For our upcoming Ascent 12 night September 2 Med sailing, we caught a flash sale in early August 2023 for $9.99 per person per day plus the 20% gratuity for a total cost of $287.52 for the two of us.  Then, in late October 2023, there was a better $6.99 flash sale so we canceled our August 2023 upgrade and rebooked it at the $6.99 price.  With the gratuity added in our total two person upgrade cost for the 12 nights was $201.12.  That works out to $8.38 per person per day.  Given my wife’s martinis at the Martini Bar cost $17 and my Hendrick’s gin and tonics are $15 and the Classic package only covers up to $10, just having one Martini Bar martini and Hendrick’s gin and tonic a day justifies the upgrade cost.  For us, it’s a really good deal to upgrade at this $6.99 price.  We haven’t seen or heard of a lower upgrade price since then.  If we find one, we’ll cancel and rebook again.

 

 

John

[Zuzu99]

If anyone sees the next Flash sale for upgrading the Beverage Package, please post here if you can. 
I missed the last one and am really trying to upgrade before the August cruise. I am checking daily as well. 

Thank you!!

[PTC DAWG]

On 6/14/2024 at 11:33 PM, bikerunner said:

My last cruise I got it for like 5.99 or some crazy price.   I was fine where I was at 10.99 tbh.  Yes you do need to keep checking.  I am taking a bluechip cruise, tho I said I was done with celebrity but free cruise for 6 days minus taxes and grass I could not pass it up.  Looking at the drink packages I will not buy it, as Im elite plus so the main concern on my drinks is Cafe Al Bacio which is now covered.  I'll bring my 2 bottles of wine and buy a cal bottles and will be good to go I think.  

You get grass?  COOL

[Liao]

4 hours ago, Zuzu99 said:

If anyone sees the next Flash sale for upgrading the Beverage Package, please post here if you can. 
I missed the last one and am really trying to upgrade before the August cruise. I am checking daily as well. 

Thank you!!

Don’t they vary from cruise to cruise?

[Zuzu99]

3 hours ago, Liao said:

Don’t they vary from cruise to cruise?

I really don't know.  On my last cruise, I saw a posting about a flash sale and I was able to add that to my last cruise.

[Starburst 21]

Hi everyone 

We are booked on a 10 day cruise on Eclipse next year.  Just had a sale offer of 35% discount from Classic to Premium package.  Do you think this is a good deal or is there likely to be a better deal later, 4th July is only a few days away?

[PTC DAWG]

13 minutes ago, Starburst 21 said:

Hi everyone 

We are booked on a 10 day cruise on Eclipse next year.  Just had a sale offer of 35% discount from Classic to Premium package.  Do you think this is a good deal or is there likely to be a better deal later, 4th July is only a few days away?

You can always cancel and rebook if you get a better deal.

[Starburst 21]

Just now, PTC DAWG said:

You can always cancel and rebook if you get a better deal.

I hadn't thought of that, thanks for the tip

[cinnamon]

That’s very frustrating. I’m booked on Millenium in September and there’s only a 5% saving on the Upgrades in the current sale for me. 

[Karen450]

In the back of my mind I seem to recall that if you wait until embarkation you can get a good deal on the upgrade from a bartender.  Does anyone know if this is true?  What is the discount, if any.   My cruise has never offered more than 5% off for the upgrade. 

[JOVERNITE]

We're fine with the classic pkg but sometimes we'd like something that isn't included. We've always paid the difference for a spirit/wine/beer that wasn't on the Classic pkg but is on premium. For example, I like Tito's vodka. I pay the difference between Absolut and Tito's plus 20% gratuity on the difference. It doesn't work in all categories.  We last sailed in February 2024. Can we still do that?

[TimoL]

We had booked the upgrade weeks ago during a 30% sale that came down to 11 Euros (including gratuity) per day for a 9 days cruise this August.

 

Right now there is a 35% sale running, so I cancelled and rebooked, now it’s 10,07 Euros per day.

 
It was the same with the upgrade from basic Wi-Fi to premium Wi-Fi that originally had a 25% sale and was on a 40% sale some days ago,  47,92 Euros instead of 62,82 Euros for one device might not sound a lot, but it’s the small things that add up 🙂

 

[PTC DAWG]

14 hours ago, JOVERNITE said:

We're fine with the classic pkg but sometimes we'd like something that isn't included. We've always paid the difference for a spirit/wine/beer that wasn't on the Classic pkg but is on premium. For example, I like Tito's vodka. I pay the difference between Absolut and Tito's plus 20% gratuity on the difference. It doesn't work in all categories.  We last sailed in February 2024. Can we still do that?

Yes..

[lv2cruisgrl]

On 6/16/2024 at 2:43 PM, Liao said:

Don’t they vary from cruise to cruise?

Yes I have a cruise in November and have been seeing 35% off sales on things but it doesn't apply to any of my 2025 cruises.

[fortisZH]

At the end of the page in Cruise Planner there are some hints..

 

Offer is available on June 27 – July 5, 2024 until 11:59 PM EST (“Offer Period”) to guests booked on select sailings departing July 8, 2024 – December 26, 2025, excluding Celebrity Beyond August 24th, September 7th, September 21st; Celebrity Edge July 26th, August 30th, September 13th; Celebrity Equinox July 20th,July 30th; Celebrity Infinity August 3rd, August 17th, August 31st; Celebrity Millennium July 14th, July 26th, August 7th; Celebrity Solstice July 28th, August 18th, August 25th; Celebrity Summit July 26th, August 2nd, August 30th all of these sailings from 2024, charter sailings and holiday sailings (“Offer Cruise”) 

[PTC DAWG]

22 minutes ago, fortisZH said:

At the end of the page in Cruise Planner there are some hints..

 

Offer is available on June 27 – July 5, 2024 until 11:59 PM EST (“Offer Period”) to guests booked on select sailings departing July 8, 2024 – December 26, 2025, excluding Celebrity Beyond August 24th, September 7th, September 21st; Celebrity Edge July 26th, August 30th, September 13th; Celebrity Equinox July 20th,July 30th; Celebrity Infinity August 3rd, August 17th, August 31st; Celebrity Millennium July 14th, July 26th, August 7th; Celebrity Solstice July 28th, August 18th, August 25th; Celebrity Summit July 26th, August 2nd, August 30th all of these sailings from 2024, charter sailings and holiday sailings (“Offer Cruise”) 

Good catch..

[Oceangoer2]

On 6/14/2024 at 11:33 PM, bikerunner said:

but free cruise for 6 days minus taxes and grass I could not pass it up.

Now X is providing GRASS?  No need for alcohol pkg.