Evaluating a beverage package? Here is a beverage list with prices, as of mid-2010.

[JudyD]

My husband likes the teas you get at the coffee bar. When we were on the Eclipse, he spent most of his "money" there and we had the Premium package. Does anyone know how much tea costs there? I am wondering if it would be worth getting the classic non alcoholic package or just buying the tea by the cup.

 

Thanks.

[wjb1969]

Judy -- just got off Millenium last week. One thing I noticed -- when we were on Eclipse at Christmas time, the tea I liked was $6 (thankfully we had the premium n/a package). On Millenium 2 weeks ago, it was $4! you might want to bear that in mind when evaluating the drinks package. We bought it again for this cruise (sitting in the sun, I consume a tremendous amount of water) but I think we would have done just as well without it because of the pricing differences.

[wjb1969]

We like our wine, and good ones. I actually found the wine pricing in Murano (premium and reserve bottles) to be about 25% cheaper than they would be at home in Chicago. Also, one really great thing is the ability to cork them up and send them to your next dinner -- so the night we went to Murano, we splurged on a 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape that I've bought in the liquor store at home for about $70 a bottle, and the shipboard price was about $82. In a restaurant at home it would be ~$200. When you add in the fact that we reserved a glass each for the next night and sent it down to Blu for our next dinner, that really made it worth it.

 

I also hear of folks getting a cellar masters card on board and going there to pick up a glass and taking it down to the restaurant with them.

 

I don't know about your ship, but you might want to check the band times in the lounge outside Murano. For our Murano dinner, we had a rock band playing right outside the door, and every time the door opened, our peaceful environment was pierced by the electric guitar and drum set.

[britbritrawr09]

I plan on buying the premium non alcoholic package. I am wondering if anyone knows if I'm allowed to go to different bars to get a few bottles of water to keep in stateroom. Thank you.

[JezzaC]

I plan on buying the premium non alcoholic package. I am wondering if anyone knows if I'm allowed to go to different bars to get a few bottles of water to keep in stateroom. Thank you.

 

Yes it is allowed. We have done exactly the same. They will give you one bottle at time so you won't get several several bottles from same place, that is only limitation. We usually took large bottles of water when we went back to cabin. Then we had always few litres of water in the cabin. We also took always extra for port days.

Edited April 15, 2012 by JezzaC

[britbritrawr09]

Thank you!

[Baileygirls]

Wow, What a thread! So many useful comments.

 

I haven't been able to read the entire thread, just a few at the beginning and end so apologies if this has been covered already.

 

I would like to know if it is better to buy in advance in GBP or onboard in USD?

 

Thanks.

[newhips]

Six months (less a couple of days) 'till we board.

 

I just got a notice from my TA that our itinerary has changed slightly. We leave Kotor, Montenegro one hour earlier (3 PM instead of 4 PM) and arrive in Venice 3 1/2 hours earlier the next day (10:30 AM instead of 2 PM). Thought you might like to know in case you have any private tours that would be affected.

 

Bob & Carol

[Mitzi_Muffin]

Hi can anyone tell me if we purchase a Classic or Premium alcahol drinks package, what does that entail can you have as many drinks as you like spirits, beer and wine or is it limited, sorry but I am a bit confused thanks

[gosport11]

Hi can anyone tell me if we purchase a Classic or Premium alcahol drinks package, what does that entail can you have as many drinks as you like spirits, beer and wine or is it limited, sorry but I am a bit confused thanks

There is no limit to what you can drink,this also includes coffes,water and sodas,The only thing is the price allowed by each package>so in therory you could drink 24/7 :):)

[newhips]

This was suppose to post to our roll call - LOL

 

Six months (less a couple of days) 'till we board.

 

I just got a notice from my TA that our itinerary has changed slightly. We leave Kotor, Montenegro one hour earlier (3 PM instead of 4 PM) and arrive in Venice 3 1/2 hours earlier the next day (10:30 AM instead of 2 PM). Thought you might like to know in case you have any private tours that would be affected.

 

Bob & Carol

[exercisemama]

I thought all of the martinis in crush were $10.00. Would these be considered okay on the classic package?? Is this an old price?

[gymjudge55]

With a classic package you can only go up to $8. So no, you would need the premium package to cover those martinis.

[CaptData]

I thought all of the martinis in crush were $10.00. Would these be considered okay on the classic package?? Is this an old price?

 

No.8 dollar limit (anything over this price you pay the whole amount which in the case of the martinis you would be paying the $10. everytime you buy them). If you can have the Primum one you can get martinis up to $12 and if you go over the limit you pay the difference ie $12.50 you would pay the 50 cents + tip.

Edited April 21, 2012 by CaptData

[Suewhite2]

No.8 dollar limit (anything over this price you pay the whole amount which in the case of the martinis you would be paying the $10. everytime you buy them). If you can have the Primum one you can get martinis up to $12 and if you go over the limit you pay the difference ie $12.50 you would pay the 50 cents + tip.

 

We are thinking about getting the classic alcohol package. Is it possible to order a bottle of wine with dinner or does all wine need to be ordered by the glass?

[AkSusan]

We are thinking about getting the classic alcohol package. Is it possible to order a bottle of wine with dinner or does all wine need to be ordered by the glass?

The alcohol packages wine is per glass.

 

Susan :)

[Lsimon]

We are thinking about getting the classic alcohol package. Is it possible to order a bottle of wine with dinner or does all wine need to be ordered by the glass?

 

If you prefer wine by the bottle, or like a variety of wine, then you should probably take a pass on the classic package. As the poster above said, the beverage packages only include wine by the glass with the classic package only including wines up to $8 per glass and the premium package only including wines up to 12 per glass. With the premium package you can pay the price difference with for expensive glasses of wine but with the classic package if you want a wine over $8 you have to pay the entire price.

 

In general the wine by the glass list is pretty limited in comparison to the much larger wine by the bottle list. Also, I think you'd find the wines by the glass in the $8 and under category very limited. If you do order a bottle of wine you can have any unfinished portion stored for later or sent to another bar, lounge, dining room, or your cabin.

 

One poster copied the entire current wine list into a thread that will give you a great idea about the wines available by the glass or bottle: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1566983

Edited April 21, 2012 by Lsimon

[jerseygirl3]

We purchased the Premium Alcohol Package when it was on sale and paid $1,341. total for two for a 12 night cruise on Silhouette.

 

We got back last week and I was going over our bill today. It's hard to know to the exact penny what we spent on drinks (which included water, specialty coffees, martinis, wine, etc.) but when I went over the bill and averaged out each charge for drinks, it looks like we spent approx. $1,275.

 

IMO, it was close enough to purchase the package again. Of course, it helped that it was on sale for 10% off the original price.

 

We're booked on Equinox 10 night next February, and we'll keep our eyes open to see if the packages go on sale again.

 

The convenience alone and not having that big bill the end was definitely worth it. I like to pay as much upfront as possible.

 

BTW, we met a couple who said their entire bill for the 12 nights was $2.39! And they had no OBC! She said it would have been zero but her husband "splurged" on a nail clipper! She said they had a wonderful time and didn't feel like they missed a thing by not spending.

 

Jo-Ann

[passy]

Hi! I hope the answer isn't already in the thread but so many pages to look through!!!

 

Firstly, does the classic package include non-alcoholic cocktails under $8 please?

 

Also, is there a decent choice of drinks for under $8? I mean, I'm not a wine snob and enjoy vodka/brandy with mixer, and bog standard cocktails (long island iced tea etc), so would I be covered? I'd hate to book the package then find that everything I wanted to drink was over $8!

 

Also, I'm travelling with my mum and I think she might only have an non-alcoholic package, if any package at all - can that work?!

 

Finally - I've arranged to pay my onboard account with my credit card but with my card provider doing the conversion to sterling rather than Celebrity - as this is the case, am I better booking my drinks package on board?

 

Many thanks!

 

Passy

[gosport11]

Hi! I hope the answer isn't already in the thread but so many pages to look through!!!

 

Firstly, does the classic package include non-alcoholic cocktails under $8 please? yes it does

 

Also, is there a decent choice of drinks for under $8? I mean, I'm not a wine snob and enjoy vodka/brandy with mixer, and bog standard cocktails (long island iced tea etc), so would I be covered? I'd hate to book the package then find that everything I wanted to drink was over $8! we had the classsic package it included sprit and mixers,the only thing is the sprits are all at least doubles

 

Also, I'm travelling with my mum and I think she might only have an non-alcoholic package, if any package at all - can that work?! Not a problem

 

Finally - I've arranged to pay my onboard account with my credit card but with my card provider doing the conversion to sterling rather than Celebrity - as this is the case, am I better booking my drinks package on board? Yes you are you will hopefully get a better exchange rate,also you dont have to buy on boarding day

 

Many thanks!

 

Passy

hi we had the classic package and found it good value

[Cruise a holic]

I plan on buying the premium non alcoholic package. I am wondering if anyone knows if I'm allowed to go to different bars to get a few bottles of water to keep in stateroom. Thank you.

 

You can take the beverage ( or bottled water) with you to your cabin if you have the package. We also were able to take large premium water bottles off the ship for shore excursions included in the beverage package. We always asked that they empty the cabin fridge and filled with our water and canned soda that was included in the package- You can pick up at most bars on the ship and bring with you all over the ship or ashore. :)

[Suewhite2]

We are planning on getting the classic alcohol package and will be eating in Blu every night. I'm not worried about the $8.00 limit in most of the bars but will we be able to get drinks/wine within that price in Blu? I like sparkling wine and DH isn't a fussy wine drinker. He will mainly drink scotch/water.

[haggis_10000]

The alcohol packages wine is per glass.

 

Susan :)

 

Whilst you order by glass on our first cruise the somellier worked out after a couple of days that we would normally finish a bottle at dinner. He then started to put the bottle on the table and fill our glasses throughout dinner:)

 

Steve

[AkSusan]

Whilst you order by glass on our first cruise the somellier worked out after a couple of days that we would normally finish a bottle at dinner. He then started to put the bottle on the table and fill our glasses throughout dinner:)

 

Steve

But, if you were doing different types for each course, that would be a lot of bottles hanging around :D

 

Susan :)

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I wonder why they do not have just a brooze package , without the pop, coffee, & water

,That way the it could be down to $30 a day

Edited April 28, 2012 by Airbalancer