Is it worth it to buy a beverage package?

I would like to know if it's woth it to buy a beverage package, how much does a beer cost at the bar? or a Wine glass while having diner? I only drink Tequila, so I think I need to buy the Premium package to get a decent shot of Tequila. Can you share your experiences?

My friends, Dean M., W.C. F., Earnest H. and Winston C. all agree the drinks package is more than worth it!;p

I don't understand. How does the fact that you get deal A because you've gone on past cruises get minimized because someone else gets deal B because they paid extra money?

When Celebrity went to bundled pricing, with the drinks packages being the headliner, the overall pricing increased quite significantly. For cruises that I have shown an interest and priced, with the drinks package or another of the promos included prices increased up to 50%.

Since I already have free drinks during the happy hour (we only drink from happy hour on) Celebrity is offering me something that overlaps what I already have, free drinks. DW and I do drink wine at dinner, usually one bottle of wine or even half a bottle (finish it the next night).

The drinks packages may work for others, but for us it was just a way for X to inflate prices.

Greetings everyone great topic my sea day on the cruise starts with specialty coffee.Then after breakfast up to the sunset bar and two or three strawberry margaritas with four shots of gray goose vodka instead of tequila. Then I have a beer an hour until dinner then a couple of nice glasses of wine then back on beer for the rest of the night. We stay up late so the premium package works for me and yes I should not take control of the ship but I am also not the guy banging of the walls heading back to my room

Spouse and I are not heavy drinkers and we feel the premium package has been a value to us. A bloody Mary in the AM and perhaps a specialty coffee later. Maybe a coke,beer or wine at lunch. Bottled water during the day and perhaps a tropical drink in the afternoon. Then to martini bar prior to dinner for maybe two cosmos. At dinner a couple glasses of wine. On our May-June cruise the recommended wines were very good. Do not remember the names but were pleased with the red or whites. Maybe a specialty coffee after dinner. We like the freedom of choice and will continue have the package on our next booked cruises. While I did not cost out the drinks we enjoyed the convenience and that is what counts. To each his own.

Greetings everyone great topic my sea day on the cruise starts with specialty coffee.Then after breakfast up to the sunset bar and two or three strawberry margaritas with four shots of gray goose vodka instead of tequila. Then I have a beer an hour until dinner then a couple of nice glasses of wine then back on beer for the rest of the night. We stay up late so the premium package works for me and yes I should not take control of the ship but I am also not the guy banging of the walls heading back to my room

Please cruise with us! You sound like fun!

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When I check for special rates like Senior or others, it NEVER changes.

 

What I resent is that the bundled prices with the drink package as the highlight minimizes our already earned benefit of Elite Happy Hour.

 

Therefore, I will be checking Royal Caribbean and NCL prior to booking Celebrity in the future.

I know there are sometimes cases when you cannot find unbundle 55+ fares; but that is not generally the case.

To prove this to myself and perhaps to others, I just went to the Celebrity website, selected Summer Savings Event, randomly chose Canada and New England, randomly selected the first cruise in the list - 14 N Summit departing 9/10/17 - and then checked out the prices for an Ocean View Cabin. A window opened up that showed a standard price of $2799 per person (which includes the Go Big 1 perk choice); but when you clicked on 55+ the fare dropped to $2499 pp. And in the next window that opened, if you wished you could choose to add 1 perk for +$300 pp.

So in general, unbundled prices are readily available.

By the way, adding the Classic for +$300 or $21.43 per person per day is not a bad deal - a 67% discount off of the "unbundled" $55 x 1.18 = $64.90 per person per day standard price for the Classic.

To make sure this was not a fluke, I also went to a cruise that I am already booked on - 11 N Caribbean on the Equinox departing 9/25/17 and checked standard veranda and aqua class. In both classes the 55+ fare was available for $200 less than the standard bundled 1 perk fare. And the Classic for +$200 or $18.18 per person per day is even a better deal!

When we have a lot of days at sea, we love having the premium package. It makes for a better vacation.

HAHA!! Quote of the year!!! :)

I know there are sometimes cases when you cannot find unbundle 55+ fares; but that is not generally the case.

 

To prove this to myself and perhaps to others, I just went to the Celebrity website, selected Summer Savings Event, randomly chose Canada and New England, randomly selected the first cruise in the list - 14 N Summit departing 9/10/17 - and then checked out the prices for an Ocean View Cabin. A window opened up that showed a standard price of $2799 per person (which includes the Go Big 1 perk choice); but when you clicked on 55+ the fare dropped to $2499 pp. And in the next window that opened, if you wished you could choose to add 1 perk for +$300 pp.

 

So in general, unbundled prices are readily available.

 

By the way, adding the Classic for +$300 or $21.43 per person per day is not a bad deal - a 67% discount off of the "unbundled" $55 x 1.18 = $64.90 per person per day standard price for the Classic.

 

 

To make sure this was not a fluke, I also went to a cruise that I am already booked on - 11 N Caribbean on the Equinox departing 9/25/17 and checked standard veranda and aqua class. In both classes the 55+ fare was available for $200 less than the standard bundled 1 perk fare. And the Classic for +$200 or $18.18 per person per day is even a better deal!

Larry,

We have done one Caribbean and don't anymore. EVERY time that I try the unbundled for the cruises that I select, it is NEVER available. Fortunately, transatlantic cruises don't bundle.

DW and I with the elite happy hour only spend about $259 together on alcohol for a 14 day cruise, so even adding the package is a waste.

Hey Reilly1 party on hopefully one day

I know there are sometimes cases when you cannot find unbundle 55+ fares; but that is not generally the case.

 

To prove this to myself and perhaps to others, I just went to the Celebrity website, selected Summer Savings Event, randomly chose Canada and New England, randomly selected the first cruise in the list - 14 N Summit departing 9/10/17 - and then checked out the prices for an Ocean View Cabin. A window opened up that showed a standard price of $2799 per person (which includes the Go Big 1 perk choice); but when you clicked on 55+ the fare dropped to $2499 pp. And in the next window that opened, if you wished you could choose to add 1 perk for +$300 pp.

 

So in general, unbundled prices are readily available.

 

By the way, adding the Classic for +$300 or $21.43 per person per day is not a bad deal - a 67% discount off of the "unbundled" $55 x 1.18 = $64.90 per person per day standard price for the Classic.

 

 

To make sure this was not a fluke, I also went to a cruise that I am already booked on - 11 N Caribbean on the Equinox departing 9/25/17 and checked standard veranda and aqua class. In both classes the 55+ fare was available for $200 less than the standard bundled 1 perk fare. And the Classic for +$200 or $18.18 per person per day is even a better deal!

If you think they are actually giving you all you can drink for that is pretty naive. Few questions to ask your self, especially if you've cruised for any length of time: 1) Why is there such a big difference in price between an inside cabin and a ocean view? It used to be about $100 p.p. for seven days, the ones I looked at are at least $200-$300. You think it's possible that there is money built into the base price to help absorb the cost? 2) Why isn't it offered, at any reduced cost, for insides and repositioning cruises such as transatlantics?

It's still better than if you had to pay the regular amount, if you accept the ultra high price they charge for a single drink. I know you can find places locally that charge that high rate, so can I, but for every one that does, I can find at least twenty that don't. We get enough drinks in Sky, every night and onshore, so the package is not a consideration. Last cruise we had it, because of the perks our TA gave us, there wasn't another good option. We didn't drink to get our money's worth so we ended up woefully short of doing such.

The answer to that is "it depends on your definition of 'worth it'"!!

 

I am not a big drinker, but always do the premium package. I like the freedom that the package provides to me. I swipe my card and off I go. I know my cost in advance and don't need to keep track of my charges or reconcile my bill.

 

I can try new things without worrying about 'wasting my money' if I don't like it. I like a glass of wine or two with dinner and ask the sommelier for pairings. If I don't like what (s)he picks, I ask for one of my choosing. DH likes the martini bar, so he can have a martini or two. We've also recently going to the World Class Bar and tried things that we wouldn't have done without the package.

 

I'm sure that we would pay less if we purchased drinks by the glass......but the 'freedom' I receive makes it 'worth it' for me.

"I can try new things without worrying about 'wasting my money' if I don't like it."

I think this is the key, and best, point. I don't see this happening without the package, really. It's psychological. And fun.

Once in a while.

- Joel

Someone desperately needs to create a flow chart to help newbies with this frequently asked question. Perhaps starting with 'Are you an alcoholic'?

Someone desperately needs to create a flow chart to help newbies with this frequently asked question. Perhaps starting with 'Are you an alcoholic'?

That's already been done with spreadsheets but the newbies can't seem to find them. Maybe the mod can find them and make it a sticky?

At the risk of offending many people as the joke goes, I know I'm not an alcoholic, I don't attend meetings. ;p

Larry,

 

We have done one Caribbean and don't anyore. EVERY time that I try the unbundled for the cruises that I select, it is NEVER available. Fortunately, transatlantic cruises don't bundle.

 

DW and I with the elite happy hour only spend about $259 together on alcohol for a 14 day cruise, so even adding the package is a waste.

My apologies. Apparently things have changed dramatically for 2018. Have not done an exhaustive search but it certainly appears that, unless there is a problem with the Celebrity website, most or all cruises in all locations are now bundled since I have not found one yet that is unbundled!

I just went to the Celebrity website, selected Summer Savings Event, randomly chose Canada and New England, randomly selected the first cruise in the list - 14 N Summit departing 9/10/17 - and then checked out the prices for an Ocean View Cabin. A window opened up that showed a standard price of $2799 per person (which includes the Go Big 1 perk choice); but when you clicked on 55+ the fare dropped to $2499 pp. And in the next window that opened, if you wished you could choose to add 1 perk for +$300 pp.

 

So in general, unbundled prices are readily available.

 

By the way, adding the Classic for +$300 or $21.43 per person per day is not a bad deal - a 67% discount off of the "unbundled" $55 x 1.18 = $64.90 per person per day standard price for the Classic.

It may be a deal for someone who wants the perk of the beverage package. but for someone who does not consume much alcohol it may not be of much benefit, expecially since the Classic package no longer includes canned soda.

For a 12 day cruise we have later this year, I found the following:

I can indicate an age or state resident discount and I am then given the opportunity to optionally order Go Big, Go Better or Go Best.

With Go Big you can pick one amenity.

a) For $300/person ($600 total) you can pick $150/person OBC ($300 total). What a deal! Pay $600 for $300 worth of OBC.

b) For $300/person ($600 total) you can pick gratuities for two worth a total of $324. Again, what a deal! Pay $600 for a perk worth $324.

c) For $300/person ($600 total) you can pick unlimited Internet, a pre-cruise price worth $267/person ($534 total). A slightly better deal, paying $600 for a benefit worth $534.

d) For $300/person ($600 total) can pick the basic beverage package for each person. I am not sure what this perk is worth.

With Go Better, you can pay $180 more/person for a total of $480/person ($960 for two people) and pick two amenities.

And, of course, you can get Go Best if you pay a total of $840/person ($1680 for two people) and get all four amenities with the beverage package being the the upgraded one.

We have an inside cabin booked, this did not come with any perks (UK booking).

Thanks for the reminder that the Soda package does not include juices, speciality coffee, bottled water etc. I do not drink much coffee (although an iced latte goes down well on a hot day) or freshly squeezed juice. I am, happy to drink tap water. I'm afraid cola is my downfall :o

So, I need to look at the price difference between the soda package and the Classic to decide if it will be worth if for me (I see that my favourite brands are included on the list that was posted).

I thought the 18% gratuity would be added to the cost of the package but read somewhere that it was not? With the 18% added to the package, I don't think it would be worth if for me - however it is a close run thing, so if the 18% is added to drinks but not the package (or is already included in the advertised price of the package) this might just tip the balance the other way . . .

I do have 14 months to decide this - but, given the way the £ is going, I would like to pay as much in advance as I can (have already prepaid grats).

We have an inside cabin booked, this did not come with any perks (UK booking).

 

Thanks for the reminder that the Soda package does not include juices, speciality coffee, bottled water etc. I do not drink much coffee (although an iced latte goes down well on a hot day) or freshly squeezed juice. I am, happy to drink tap water. I'm afraid cola is my downfall :o

 

So, I need to look at the price difference between the soda package and the Classic to decide if it will be worth if for me (I see that my favourite brands are included on the list that was posted).

 

I thought the 18% gratuity would be added to the cost of the package but read somewhere that it was not? With the 18% added to the package, I don't think it would be worth if for me - however it is a close run thing, so if the 18% is added to drinks but not the package (or is already included in the advertised price of the package) this might just tip the balance the other way . . .

 

I do have 14 months to decide this - but, given the way the £ is going, I would like to pay as much in advance as I can (have already prepaid grats).

In the US, if you purchase the $55 Classic Package you pay another 18% gratuity on top, so the total cost is $64.90. Probably the same most other places; however, cruises leaving the UK have different prices on board for individual drinks - with the gratuity included in the price. So you would need to check whether or not the price for the package would also already include the gratuities.

No! we had a package previous cruise, but this time decided to try without. Watched our daily charges and were amazed how much we saved!! [emoji3]. We still drank whatever we wanted. Won't buy a package again.

 

 

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Same with us. For a Port intensive cruise, not worth it.

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For us the drinks packages are not a good deal. I very much dislike the price bundling that Celebrity does to push up baseline prices. This is why we now only book transatlantics.

 

Do you ever add up your alcohol costs from your bill. I have done that on all our cruises.

 

DW and I drink more wine than anything else. For a 14 day cruise we normally spend about $250 on alcohol. We are elite and always enjoy the happy hour. Prior to elite, we would spend about $450 total for a 14 day cruise. I usually buy a seven bottle wine package for a 14 day cruise.

 

Also, we don't drink bottled water, expensive coffee or soda.

 

Any drinks package is going to cost pp $7-800 for a 14 day cruise. We are no where near justifying the packages. We don't drink until happy hour, unlike some that seem to start at breakfast.

I'm with you on this! I'm fine with coffee in the buffet, because for me it's the caffeine boost I need, and I don't drink coffee the rest of the day. I might get a bottle of water on our way off the ship into port, but on board, I drink tap water, just like I do at home. I personally don't drink soda, but my husband does, so a soda package for him is worth it. I may have a couple pots of specialty tea per cruise. I drink one glass of wine with dinner, MAYBE a cocktail once or twice during my cruise. I'm not a big drinker, and if I had more than that per day, I'd be drunk, Princess is having their Sip n Sail promo, and I opted for the $150 pp OBC instead, which for us is a much better deal.

In the US, if you purchase the $55 Classic Package you pay another 18% gratuity on top, so the total cost is $64.90. Probably the same most other places; however, cruises leaving the UK have different prices on board for individual drinks - with the gratuity included in the price. So you would need to check whether or not the price for the package would also already include the gratuities.

Thanks for your input - although I am now really confused as I thought 18% would be added to my drinks prices . . .

Thanks for your input - although I am now really confused as I thought 18% would be added to my drinks prices . . .

Purchase of a drinks package will always have the 18% added. You will see this separately if you pre-purchase.

If you sail out of the UK and Europe, and Australia, our pricing system means that legally, all drinks must include the 18% gratuity as it is like a tax (think VAT). All the ships will have drinks menus which are priced with the 18% grats included and the package levels are adjusted accordingly to take account of this.

Purchase of a drinks package will always have the 18% added. You will see this separately if you pre-purchase.

 

If you sail out of the UK and Europe, and Australia, our pricing system means that legally, all drinks must include the 18% gratuity as it is like a tax (think VAT). All the ships will have drinks menus which are priced with the 18% grats included and the package levels are adjusted accordingly to take account of this.

Thanks, that helps clarify things.