hammo

It's just disappointing that you can find drinkable wines by the glass at most local restaurants in this price range. Why is it so hard on cruise ships? I wish the vinotec wines were included in the packages. I'd be happy to walk up and pour my own :-)

Agree - it is disappointing that Celebrity cannot offer a reasonable selection of wine by the glass , even up to $13 per glass , and include this is their PREMIUM BEVERAGE PACKAGE . One or two mediocre offerings to passify the wine drinker does not make for a fine dining experience . Its a shame because this is so easily rectified - When I look at the list offered by Celebrity I dont think - Nice , now should I choose this or that to go with my starter - NO , I think,.......

penny-pinching ,mean, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, close-fisted, Scroogelike Celebrity -- its a shame .

I am fairly certain that for the Premium package the limit was increased for spirits to $13 from $12 and the price of the package did not increase. But it did go up some time before the limit change.

No - the wines by the glass list was depleted and the price remained . Now the price has increased and once again the list is adjusted accordingly - I.E made less in value for those who have purchased the beverage packages.

The solution we discovered is to stop by the Molecular Bar on the way to dinner.

After a couple of their delicious cocktails we didn't care so much about the quality of our wine. :p ...... ;)

You must have been at the Molecular Bar for hours if you had a couple of drinks. We waited 45 minutes for a drink on Solstice in March !lol :eek: Getting a second would have meant missing dinner !!

But seriously -- anyone who enjoys wine with dinner surely expects a reasonable selection if you have outlayed good money for a beverage package that promises that. Particularly if you have upgraded to the so-called Premium range.

Now the offered package is more expensive , surely Celebrity will either improve the range or increase the limit - even to re-include some wines they excluded last time they "adjusted " the list.:(

My thoughts about the increase in the beverage package is that I do not mind since receiving it as part of the promotion. Having received OBC in addition to the classic package when many others, I read, only received one of the three offerings in the regular verandah cabins or lower. I have no cause to complain, BUT, I would strongly recommend that Celebrity increase the $ value of beverages included in each package to be commensurate with the increase, rather that be $1.00 or $2.00, that would go a long way to ameliorate some of the upset and surprize.

 

Give a little bit and the increase would be a bit more tolerable, especially for those who are paying the full freight for the packages, Classic or Premium.

 

Just my $.02 on this one.. Thanks bo1953 :D

Agree :cool:

I will repeat that I have been able to dine in Qsine pretty much at will at a 50% discount on multiple TAs, also last cruise at Lawn Club Grill.

 

Based on my past experience, and not having any indication that this upcoming TA will be any different, I will happily wait until I am on board to book any speciality resto. They were coming into the Marini Bar asking for people to come and dine on several nights. We said, well, we can't do it tonight, but we can bring 18 people on Wednesday at 50% off and they said "fine."

 

If this was a regular cruise I wouldn't wait if it was important to me to have that experience, but on a TA, where there are a lot of bargain-hungry travelers, I really don't think it'll be an issue at all.

Our last cruise on Solstice -- most Specialty Restaurants were booked out every night unless you were able to eat very late . Every night. Trans Atlantics must be different.?

Compared to what is available in the spirit and beer ranges , the wines available by the glass list for both packages is ridculously limited , and disappointing in quality.

You will find very little in the classic package - a couple of token whites and reds - similar to those you find in the $10 price range on land.There is a sparkling wine .( I think a Prosecco ? or maybe the Celebrity House brand)

The Premium package now fares little better with several wines previously included now requiring an extra payment on top of the $ limit. Once again the selection is very limited and particularly ordinary when you associate the word Premium with the range. These wines run around $15 per bottle at home , not $15 per glass.

We do enjoy having the Chandon Bubbly included and fear each time we embark that it will also suffer the dreaded bracket creep and go the way of the DryCreek Zinfandel , Conundrum ,etc etc .( mind you these are not expensive wines ) You will find wines to match your dinners , but dont expect to ponder too hard over the choice, especially in the Specialty Restaurants. ( Unless you are prepared to pay more ).

You can ask for a wine you have seen on any onboard list , say in the MDR , that is not on the list offered (eg Murano , Qsine etc) and they will get it for you.You will need to know the name as our last waiter in Murano required the brand . In the end I just said bring me the best chardonnay included , so I got the Celebrity House wine. Somehow , I dont like that - I would like to see the complete list that should be available and not have to say , I dont want to pay any extra for the glass of Chardonnay you are suggesting that sadly is not included in my package .Instead , I will chose something from this wonderful range you have thoughtfully offered for my discerning perusal , and which will add immeasurably to this fine dining experience that I am paying extra for.

And , if I do care to pay a bit or a lot more then I can chose to do that also. After all , I'm not expecting Romanee Conti , the Kendall -Jackson will suffice.Thankyou .:rolleyes:

I really do think Celebrity can do better here.:cool:

Me too.

I am onboard Equinox currently.

They were just informed yesterday of the package price increases (gave them 2 days notice before implementation).

They also confirmed that none of the drink caps ($8/$9 for Classic and $13 for Premium) will be increasing.

The premium cap has been in place for at least 18 months.

There have been at least 3 wine price increases in that period.

MANY wines in the specialty restaurants that were within the cap are now a surcharge.

It would be nice if Celebrity actually gave us SOMETHING for the package cost increase (like being able to get the same wine within the cap from one year to the next)!!!

Also Agree !!!!!!

Princess -

All Inclusive Beverage Package†

You can now relax and enjoy the convenience of an all inclusive beverage package featuring any drink up to $10 including cocktails, wine, beer, sodas, lattes, cappuccinos, bottled water & more. All for just $49 USD per person per day!

All true. Since the overall drink prices are so much lower on Princess I am not sure it is worth getting. On our Royal Princess cruise we had to continue to sign a receipt each time we received a drink. One for each of us. Therefore it was certainly not convenient. Perhaps they have improved the process?

 

I hate to admit it, but based on the cost of the individual drinks the Celebrity package is probably still a better deal and the Celebrity options include both the Classic and Premium package and Princess is only one. Celebrity certainly includes a wide range of premium choices.

Not when it comes to wine by the glass - it doesnt.

Yeah , we just emailed and upgraded . I do feel a bit crappy and rrrrrrushed about this though . Unexpected deadlines and price increases seem Celebrities modus operandi now.:(

I concur with the question about caps for what is covered in the beverage packages, specifically the Premium Alcohol Package. Especially more so now knowing that there were no increases made to the caps in the Premium Alcohol Package back when Celebrity increased drink prices across the board that caused drinks that were once covered to now require the guest to "cover the difference". Now the package costs even more and still no update on "caps". :confused:

 

 

The decision is also easy for me as I will be paying the upgrade now (vs. with OBC on the ship). However, it doesn't make me a happy camper knowing I need to do that. :(

I , as will many others , agree wholeheartedly with you here. When it comes to wine by the glass especially when dining , the Premium Beverage Package is miserly at best . Now with the increase in price with no adjustment to the $ limit per glass it is pathetic. Modern Luxury ?

Its happening now - almost unnoticed .

Love Celebrity but I am not loyal to any line and will continue to sail for ports and the best deal. NCL is now offering free alcohol packages also, will most likely try them next unless Celebrity prices out cheaper after paying for the drink package on top of regular fare.

Agree

Agree with Midwestchick and MaBell .

Just off Reflection. Don't have the wine lists, but will give my impression. The included premium wines in the MDR (Opus) were very limited. 3-4 whites and 3-4 reds. None particularly enjoyable but not undrinkable. For $13/glass I expect much better, even in overpriced Miami. There were two good reds at Tuscan Grille (12 and 13/glass - montepulciano and a Blend I don't remember). Murano had only a single red and single white under 13. These few choices and poor quality, to me, are a critical failing of their selection. And yes, I know taste is subjective. But I can easily find 20 enjoyable wines in the $10-15/bottle price. Using a standard 3x pricing, a $13 glass = $20 a Bottle retail. In the 15-20 range I can find hundreds. Given the food quality cutbacks we've seen over the past 2 years I have not hope it will get better. If they would let me bring my own case and not charge corkage if I have the unlimited package, I might be happier.

Exactly - I have been posting for ages about the poor selection of wines by the glass offered by Celebrity. Our experience has been just as you described The selection in the Specialty restaurants is pathetic and spoils what should be a fine dining experience ( especially given the price ). The fact that you can choose from 40 vodkas included in the package does little for diners with beverage packages when you struggle to find a wine to match with dinner .

And there in the problem lies.

If you are looking for a wine by the glass list dont bother.

Have just returned from Solstice and can tell you that the selection even for the premium package is very limited in the specialty restaurants. You can ask for wines you know are included elsewhere , but many are not on the wine list in the restaurant list handed to you . ( espescially in Murano ). The wine by the glass list is miserly. This is a shame really as it does impact on the overall experience in my opinion. Wine and food should be celebrated together in harmony ,the offerings from the Premium and obviously Classic packages mean that unless you are prepared to pay the add on price above the limit , the dining experience is compromised . I would have thought a $15 per glass limit should provide plenty of scope for a reasonable wine list - it ceratainly does on land.

I assume you can use a Premium drink package here ?

As usual with the Celebrity website nothing is guaranteed. For our cruise next year on the Solstice there are no 4 dinner packages available only 3 and 5 but when I go to link the package against my booking it crashes. Typically bloody incompetence. Booking online is $10 cheaper than on board as well.

I am going to get my TA to do the booking instead and have the cost levied against my onboard credit. That's what they get paid the big commission bucks for

We had a 5 night dinner package on this cruise :)but on our Reflection Cruise in September we cannot book ANY Dining Packages :( , yet on our Norway Cruise on Equinox April 2016 we can already book a 3 nightdinner package :. I emailed Celebrity and they just said they were not offering any on the Sept cruise.:confused:Oh Well :cool:

Great review and we second just about all you said - we were just down the hall from you it seems but without a little Mr B.onboard.

Agree on the dining at Silk Harvest and Tuscan Grill - we went twice to both , could have gone again and enjoyed them just as much as you did . Thought the entertainment was the best we have had on a Celebrity Cruise. Cheers:D

Just returned from our Solstice cruise and whilst the Molecular Bar drinks are super , the experience was less so . Apparently the duo who have bartendered there was nolonger , with one leaving after docking - the dynamic duo gone. . The replacement , with no previous Molecular Bar experience didnt work out with the more experienced guy assigned elsewhere, midcruise, which resulted in the bar being staffed by 2 bartenders who struggled, having to read the recipies for each drink ..Anyone who knows how long these drinks take to make will undersatnd the wait in a crowded Molecular bar . Twice , after a 25 minute wait I even received the wrong drink .( it was still nice ). The bartenders were doing the best they could , not their fault , but it was disappointing.

You should be fine - Pam & Nathan will be gone . We still do not know how our cruise departing Sat will turn out . I predict huge crowds at the bars if we are heading south !

Thanks mate , I'm sure we will whatever the case .