trading in bottle of free champagne

[buzzandjulie]

Is it possible to bring to dining room trade or pay differance to get a bottle for dinner. Not big drinker but do enjoy a glass with dinner

[Michael J]

Is it possible to bring to dining room trade or pay differance to get a bottle for dinner. Not big drinker but do enjoy a glass with dinner

 

Yes you can bring it to the dining room.. They will give you a credit for about $ 30.00 and you can purchase a bottle of wine. You don't have to drink it all on one night. They will save it for you.

[garycarla]

.... You don't have to drink it all on one night. They will save it for you.

 

Save an empty bottle - HA HA HA

 

Only time we ever had any left is when we could not finish the 2nd bottle.

 

Also, remember... you can FILL your glass and take it with you to drink in a lounge, your room, the show, etc.

[BBsails]

They will also charge you a 15% gratuity on the new bottle you purchase. This is not a complaint, just a heads up.

[Gonzo70]

Actually the answer is you might be able to exchange the bottle of sparkling wine (generally not actual champagne). Some people have reported success receiving a credit towards another bottle, some have been denied. Part of it depends on whether or not the bottle you received is on the MDR's wine list (if it is, you likely will receive a credit for the dollar amount it is sold for in the MDR) and part depends on the person you speak to. Certainly go ahead and try, but realize that your request may or may not be obliged.

[ghstudio]

They will give you a $28 credit towards another bottle of wine. Take it to dinner the first night and ask the sommelier to exchange it.. We have done this four times this year on the century, equinox and eclipse.

[DiamondDiva]

Had a really difficult time with this on the Millennium last month. Room steward told me he could not exchange it for any red or white wine, so went to Guest Relations. She kept saying "It is a GIFT and cannot be exchanged anywhere." I said "No, we are paying for this, since Concierge is more expensive and this comes from Concierge. And we do not like champagne" Finally after 3 days of discussion, she exchanged it for a bottle of red wine, but made certain we knew she was doing us a big favor!

 

This is a bone of contention for me, as it is so inconsistent. Sometimes you can change it easily and sometimes not at all. Seems to differ even on the same ship.

[cruisestitch]

Next time try the sommalier, rather than Guest Relations. That seems to be more successful.

[Gonzo70]

They will give you a $28 credit towards another bottle of wine. Take it to dinner the first night and ask the sommelier to exchange it.. We have done this four times this year on the century, equinox and eclipse.

 

That is great it has worked for you, but many others have reported not being allowed to exchange their sparkling wine and I have witnessed it firsthand via tablemates trying to do so. When it has been allowed the amount of credit has varied (based on what the sparkling wine was selling for on the MDR's wine list - on one cruise I was allotted a different amount than a tablemate as we had different sparkling wines that were priced differently).

[Alg63]

Am i the only one who reads this and gasps... This is a gift. Do you generally ask people to exchange things you get for free.? I mean why not ask them to exchange your fruit bowl for a meat and cheese platter? Your afternoon appetizers for hot dogs? Or maybe an upgrade because you don't like the brand of bottled water. Sorry, it's called Chutzpah. If you don't like it, give it away.

[Vol fan]

Next time try the sommalier, rather than Guest Relations. That seems to be more successful.

 

You might also try the Concierge instead of Guest Relations. I did this on our Century cruise last week and she was able to swap for a bottle of Chardonnay. She asked me to leave the bottle with her and said she would try to swap it. I did. The next day, a bottle of Chardonnay appeared in our stateroom.

[Gonzo70]

Am i the only one who reads this and gasps... This is a gift. Do you generally ask people to exchange things you get for free.? I mean why not ask them to exchange your fruit bowl for a meat and cheese platter? Your afternoon appetizers for hot dogs? Or maybe an upgrade because you don't like the brand of bottled water. Sorry, it's called Chutzpah. If you don't like it, give it away.

 

This isn't like a gift from a loved one where there might be hurt feelings involved if one exchanges the gift. Nothing wrong with asking if you can switch the wine to a different type if sparkling is not your cup of tea.

[fleckle]

Had a really difficult time with this on the Millennium last month. Room steward told me he could not exchange it for any red or white wine, so went to Guest Relations. She kept saying "It is a GIFT and cannot be exchanged anywhere." I said "No, we are paying for this, since Concierge is more expensive and this comes from Concierge. And we do not like champagne" Finally after 3 days of discussion, she exchanged it for a bottle of red wine, but made certain we knew she was doing us a big favor!

 

This is a bone of contention for me, as it is so inconsistent. Sometimes you can change it easily and sometimes not at all. Seems to differ even on the same ship.

So true. On the Millennium last month, we simply asked our butler if we could have a bottle of red wine instead, without specifying any particular kind.

When we returned later, the bottle of sparkling wine was gone, replaced by a bottle of Pinot Noir.

I have no idea what the comparative value was and don't even remember which brand it was, but we were happy with the Pinot Noir.

(As probably obvious, we are not oenophiles.) :D

[rhlaw]

This isn't like a gift from a loved one where there might be hurt feelings involved if one exchanges the gift. Nothing wrong with asking if you can switch the wine to a different type if sparkling is not your cup of tea.

 

I agree with you. I think it is a waste to have a bottle sitting there if you don't want to drink it. No harm in asking.

[Hlitner]

Not sure we would consider the Sparkling Wine provided with Concierge, Aqua Class, and suites as a gift. We view it as something we paid for as part of that type of cabin just like we paid for plusher robes, nicer towels, etc. Although we are quite content with the Celebrity Sparkling Wine....we can certainly understand some folks preferring to trade it in for a comparable bottle of red or white. Not only is it usually possible to get your butler or concierge to make a change, but the wine sommelier (in the various dining rooms) will usually be accomodating...especially if you are a regular customer and ask in advance. Going to Guest Relations for a swap makes little sense and its easy to anticipate potential problems (wine is not their business).

 

Hank

[Muushka]

They will also charge you a 15% gratuity on the new bottle you purchase. This is not a complaint, just a heads up.

 

Yes, we have experienced the additional 15% grat on our trade.

 

Both times it was with the specialty restaurant sommelier. One time I saw a bottle that I liked and it was about $27. They said no, no exchange, they could not do it as a loss for me :confused: even though I wasn't asking for a refund of the $1. So he got me a more expensive one that was terrible. Second time same thing happened. Plus I had to pay the additional 15%.

 

Next month? I'll be keeping my sparkling wine. It will be better than what they 'suggest' for you.

 

.

[DiamondDiva]

Alg63, Sorry but I do NOT consider it a gift-it is part of the Concierge amenities for which I am paying an extra fee. If it was a gift from someone, a TA or a friend, that is a totally different thing and I would just give it away or something. But this is part of what I am paying extra for and I would at least like to switch it for something else-same price area. I am not asking for anything more expensive and they can certainly use that bottle for someone else on the next cruise-it will not go to waste.

 

I think the butler in a suite has a bit more ability to switch it out, but I will try my sommelier or the Concierge next trip in Jan.

[teajak]

Am i the only one who reads this and gasps... This is a gift. Do you generally ask people to exchange things you get for free.? I mean why not ask them to exchange your fruit bowl for a meat and cheese platter? Your afternoon appetizers for hot dogs? Or maybe an upgrade because you don't like the brand of bottled water. Sorry, it's called Chutzpah. If you don't like it, give it away.

As others have said it is certainly not a gift but part of the package we paid for in CC.:(

[TMLAalum]

For guests booked in CC class or higher, why not allow a choice of red, white or sparkling wine to be selected at booking, just as dining preferences can be chosen at that time? This option would be a marketing plus for Celebrity, I'd think.

[ghstudio]

it used to be very easy to just ask your room steward to exchange the bubbly for white or red....but times have changed. I definitely agree that guest relations is the very last place I would go to request an exchange...they are programmed to say no to any request (IMHO). We have always done it with somelliers and most recently in blu, although we have done it in select dining as well.

 

Whether or not it's a gift, if they can sell it for $28 and I would like to exchange it for a bottle that costs $35, there is no logical reason for them not to do so....as long as the bottle in the room is a bottle they sell on-board. The sommeliers understand that, guest services hasn't a clue.

 

We have also been quite successful in asking our cabin steward if he could exchange the bubbly with a $10 bill for the request...which admittedly does put him on the spot...so we don't do it anymore. We also get a little better service during the cruise :).

 

Finally, many of us do exchange the "gift" hors d'oevers served in concierge/aqua cabins in the afternoons for cheese and some for shrimp cocktail, although we've never done that.

[islandgirlejfan]

For guests booked in CC class or higher, why not allow a choice of red, white or sparkling wine to be selected at booking, just as dining preferences can be chosen at that time? This option would be a marketing plus for Celebrity, I'd think.

 

This is a wonderful idea....it sounds like many of us do not care for sparkling wine. We left ours in our room when we left because we don't care for it.

 

I also don't consider this a gift...you pay for it in your booking.

[Gonzo70]

For guests booked in CC class or higher, why not allow a choice of red, white or sparkling wine to be selected at booking, just as dining preferences can be chosen at that time? This option would be a marketing plus for Celebrity, I'd think.

 

Great idea.

[Whippets]

Just off Summit. The sommalier in Select dining exchanged ours to white zin, no problems. The CC sparkling wine was not something that either of us cared for. Exchanging it did not seem to be any effort at all and he did it with a smile.

[kyriecat]

It would also be nice if Celebrity would offer some non-alcoholic choices. My husband and I don't care for wine. On a Royal Caribbean cruise we were able to exchange a bottle of sparkling wine for a bottle of sparkling cidar. I thought Celebrity might have something similar.

 

On Silhouette, we received a bottle of the sparkling wine in our suite. We asked our butler about exchanging it for a bottle of cidar but were told Celebrity doesn't offer the cidar. We let him know that we didn't care for wine and asked if there was anything else we could have, like a couple cans of soda or juice. They couldn't do that either. We asked about removing it from the cabin since we weren't going to drink it, but he said he wasn't supposed to do that. We left the bottle sitting on the counter when we disembarked. I guess it got thrown away, which seems a waste.

 

I didn't think about taking it to the dining room to see if they would exchange it for something else. I'll have to check on that next cruise.

[garycarla]

... We left the bottle sitting on the counter when we disembarked. I guess it got thrown away, which seems a waste...

 

We met some nice folks on one cruise that were in a suite and got some free wine,etc. They did not drink and offered it to others. Worked great for those of us on the receiving end.