Go Bigger $300 obc costs $360 dollars? Wha?

Help me and my feeble mind here. You can get the classic drink package for two for free with go big. You can Go Bigger and get the drink package and $150 obc each for $360 dollars. Explain what I'm missing here and why anyone would pay $360 for $300 obc? I'm perplexed ....

Do not be perplexed, there may be an explanation for which you may want to consider calling X or your TA to confirm.

If in fact there is not a satisfactory explanation, then it is not worth booking, do you think?

bon voyage

Help me and my feeble mind here. You can get the classic drink package for two for free with go big. You can Go Bigger and get the drink package and $150 obc each for $360 dollars. Explain what I'm missing here and why anyone would pay $360 for $300 obc? I'm perplexed ....

Because they do! Some people just react to a "sale" label and don't do their homework as you have done.

I just called X and they confirmed what I posted. I just kept the free drink package. I can just buy $300 OBC and keep the $60 they would have charged me for the $300. This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen on all the lines I have sailed. The rep couldn't explain why it was a deal except for getting two perks. Um ..... no .....

I just called X and they confirmed what I posted. I just kept the free drink package. I can just buy $300 OBC and keep the $60 they would have charged me for the $300. This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever seen on all the lines I have sailed. The rep couldn't explain why it was a deal except for getting two perks. Um ..... no .....

Do they charge for the gratuities on the drink package, like other cruise lines?

On our cruise, it cost $270 to upgrade to go bigger....so we saved $30 by booking bigger and using that $300 for gratuities ($270)....

I guess it varies by cruise....

On our cruise, it cost $270 to upgrade to go bigger....so we saved $30 by booking bigger and using that $300 for gratuities ($270)....

 

I guess it varies by cruise....

It certainly does and that's why people need to check the deal.

We have four in our cabin, two kids. It doesn't benefit them at all though. The post above makes sense because it is more for less, not less more in our case. You'd think X would fix this issue ....

Help me and my feeble mind here. You can get the classic drink package for two for free with go big. You can Go Bigger and get the drink package and $150 obc each for $360 dollars. Explain what I'm missing here and why anyone would pay $360 for $300 obc? I'm perplexed ....

As others have stated, it "just depends" on whether the packages are worth it. This year of 6 trips on celebrity on 3 the "go" packages cost more than they were worth. on one b2b, the 1st leg "go best" was a good deal, on the second leg, none of the "go" packages were worth the cost.

Caveat emptor applies to cruising too!

I agree with the worth aspect but making something so blatantly obvious that it's not a good deal seems comical. If it was $360 for $150 OBC for the four of us then it would be a deal, not giving them $60 charity money out of the kindness of my heart and wallet. The drink package is nice though but that's where it ends.

Did you compare the $360 cost to the gratuity cost rather than the OBC? Sometimes the pre-paid gratuities are a better deal than the OBC.

I am looking at a European cruise next summer and the "second" choice (go better) didn't make sense in terms of $/cost benefit. If I looked at the go best option, it became reasonable. It may be a marketing ploy for some folks to jump on "the sale" tag or for other to go ahead and "upgrade" to the go best and spend more.

It all depends on each person on the benefit portion of the $/benefit equation.

Did you compare the $360 cost to the gratuity cost rather than the OBC? Sometimes the pre-paid gratuities are a better deal than the OBC.

This is what I was going to ask as well. How long is your cruise?

I have found that for me, go Better is usually the suite spot. More often than not, the second perk is worth slightly more than the additional cost. Perhaps not in this case, but that seems unusual.

Mike

Depending on the length of your cruise and cabin category prepaid gratuties or the unlimited internet package for 2 people can cost more than he $360. AQ gratuties for a 14 night cruise for 2 are $420.

I agree with the worth aspect but making something so blatantly obvious that it's not a good deal seems comical. If it was $360 for $150 OBC for the four of us then it would be a deal, not giving them $60 charity money out of the kindness of my heart and wallet. The drink package is nice though but that's where it ends.

This was first highlighted when the new packages came out quite a few years ago now. It’s always best to check what you would be paying and what they are offering to see if it benefits you or not. This is especially true when you book onboard as they tend to lump it all together rather than actually stating what the base price is ;). Always double check the ‘deal’ ;).

I will check the gratuities as it's a 12 day. That may be the answer albeit small.

They have the packages that are one size fits all regardless of the length of your cruise. I've booked under the previous promo when it was choose two perks. If the cruise was a 7 night one the OBC was the better choice. If the cruise were longer then the pre-paid gratuities were the better deal. It's up to me to do the math. Celebrity is in business to make money.

$348 for gratuities for $360 so that isn't it either. Strike two, lol!!!

I will check the gratuities as it's a 12 day. That may be the answer albeit small.

This is what I am thinking. The Go Better price difference is typically the same amount for gratuities at say an Aqua stateroom, which is typically what we book anymore.

We just booked a 7-night Pacific Coastal cruise for next year and chose Go Big for "free" and chose $150 pp OBC. Go Better is $105 pp more, which equates to 7 nights of Aqua auto gratuities. With $300 OBC + $150 (post cruise booking OBC), it is enough to cover gratuities + my husband's wine at dinner. We normally pick Classic Beverage as our freebie for longer cruises but since I don't drink alcohol or fancy drinks, that perk is wasted on me.

We have four in our cabin, two kids. It doesn't benefit them at all though. The post above makes sense because it is more for less, not less more in our case. You'd think X would fix this issue ....

It's like grocery store math (pricing). A six pack of beer costs $8.99. A 12 pack of SAME brand of beer costs $12/$13 .... ??? why? No one knows except the grocery store is banking on people not doing the math?

$348 for gratuities for $360 so that isn't it either. Strike two, lol!!!

I do not know how many nights and type of cabin. If you booked a concierge/aqua, for 12 nights, you get $348 based on the old rate of $14.50 vs. $360 of $15 pp per night effective first of this year.

For Cruises of longer than 10 days the GoBetter upgrade makes little financial sense, as at $15pp/day above the base (GoBig) pricing, the cost is usually more than the value of either the onboard credit or pre-paid gratuities. Depending on the length of voyage, if one MUST have unlimited internet it may provide value there as the Celebrity internet plans are quite pricey. For sailings of 9 nights or less it can pay to take GoBetter for the onboard credit. The shorter the sailing, the better value it becomes.

GoBest is $45/day above the base (GoBig)pricing, so you also need to check that one carefully to see if the extra inclusions are giving you enough personal value to be worth the charge. That said with the Premium package upgrade having just gone to $14pp/day+18% and the recent rise in gratuity rates, GoBest is for the first time starting to look a decent option on longer cruises, especially if one finds value in the internet package included.

Help me and my feeble mind here. You can get the classic drink package for two for free with go big. You can Go Bigger and get the drink package and $150 obc each for $360 dollars. Explain what I'm missing here and why anyone would pay $360 for $300 obc? I'm perplexed ....

Exactly

We have seen that in other promotions where the promotion cost almost $100 more than it's value

Never read the (marketing) words.

Always do the math.

Choose accordingly.

Yep, have to pay attention. We took the Go Better (I think it's called) and paid $600 for $300 OBC and the beverage package. Basically the "free" 2 perks cost $600 more than if I booked without the free advertised perks - lol

Figure the $300 will cover gratuities for 10 nights so ended up paying $300 for the Classic Beverage Package. That's $15 a day pp. Heck, I don't even drink but between coffee, water, soda, NA drinks, I more than get my $15 worth. My wife who drinks, obviously gets more than $15 value out of her package.

Do they charge for the gratuities on the drink package, like other cruise lines?

No. With the Classic beverage perk any alcoholic drink up to$9 is included with no gratuity charge. If you ask for a drink priced at greater than $9, then you will be charged the difference plus 18%. For example, an $11 drink would cost you (11 - 9)×1.18=$2.36.