So exactly what coffee and/or coffee "shops" are included in the Classic Bev Pkg?

[rwr235]

Am I correct that you can purchase the drink packages when you board the ship? Maybe it would be best to wait until then, stop at Cafe al Bacio and ask directly which package covers exactly which coffee drinks. I'm worried that if the mocha/lattes are over 5 bucks that they won't be in the classic package. So much to worry about and so little time!:confused:

 

Yes, you can purchase the Beverage Packages onboard...even up until 2 nights left on your cruise.

 

Enjoy

 

Woody

[pammi44]

Thanks Woody!

[rwr235]

Welcome ! Enjoy....and btw...many folks find it beneficial to purchase once onboard or on the second day...depending how late you board etc...you might not get your $$ worth that first day.

 

Have a great cruise.

[Waihekean]

You can get the premium coffee (espresso based) on the non-alcoholic and the alcoholic packages.

On the Classic non- and the Classic alcoholic packages you can not get the speciality coffees. These are the coffees listed on the last page of the Al Baco menu. Maybe someone can provide a link to these, otherwise you can go to X website and look up the menus.

 

Anyway there are not many speciality coffees and it does not relate to having alcohol in them.

 

All the general (premium) coffees like capuccino, latte's, Americano's and many more are available on all the beverage packages. (not the soda or wine packages).

[Lsimon]

To the OP, I am so glad you brought this up. I have been totally confused too. Here is what I read between the classic and premium non-alcoholic packages. The classic says "premium" coffees included and the premium package says "specialty" coffees included. I drink mochas and thought maybe that was "specialty". If the classic package includes mochas, I would be inclined to buy it. Can anyone clear this up???

 

Hopefully someone can, but not me LOL. I *think* but could be way wrong - that speciality drinks mean they have alcohol in them?? Irish Coffee, etc with a shot of booze in them.

 

I think Premium coffees are lattes, cappucinos, mochas - anything that isn't a regular coffee but without alcohol.

 

I have no idea where I got this though so please someone correct me if I'm wrong!

 

The whole subject of what is a Premium Coffee vs. a Specialty coffee has been very confusing from the start of the package program and Celebrity doesn't do well at communicating the difference. At one point in time they posted an FAQ which said that the Specialty coffees included in the premium non-alcoholic package were coffees with liqueur - which makes no sense! After that they eliminated that FAQ and replaced it with a different one indicating they were coffees with some things added but I can't recall the exact wording and that FAQ has since been taken down.

 

Because I've been curious about this I asked someone at the Cafe al Bacio on a cruise last December what the difference was. She indicated that the coffees included in the classic package which are not included in the premium package (which would be the "Specialty" coffees) were those on pages 4 and 5 of the Cafe al Bacio menu under the "Other Favorites" and "More Favorites" heading. So as fare as I know that is the difference. Here is a link to a copy of the menu so you can check it out: http://lfsimon.home.comcast.net/~lfsimon/Cafe-al-Bacio-Menu-Silhouette-Dec-2012.pdf

 

 

Am I correct that you can purchase the drink packages when you board the ship? Maybe it would be best to wait until then, stop at Cafe al Bacio and ask directly which package covers exactly which coffee drinks. I'm worried that if the mocha/lattes are over 5 bucks that they won't be in the classic package. So much to worry about and so little time!:confused:

You can definitely purchase the packages on board and if you do so the price will be prorated for the remaining nights of the cruise although they stop selling the packages 2 or 3 days before the end of a cruise. We did this on our last cruise and bought our non-alcoholic premium packages on day 6 of a 15 night cruise. You can also upgrade packages by paying the difference for the remaining nights going from classic to premium or non-alcoholic to alcoholic.

[pammi44]

Larry, I can always count on you to be very helpful. Thank you for the menu. Now, spaghetti gelato!!!:eek:

[Lsimon]

I have been confused on this too. I did read a report of someone getting the IGLU frappe with the classic alcohol. And this picture and post would suggest that you could as well. I am hoping so because I don't drink alcohol either and I love the fancy coffee drinks. I have been scouring these boards for info, hopefully some people returning from cruises using the packages from the 1,2,3 promo will start reporting what they were able to get.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=36809014&postcount=934

 

Wednesday, we talked about this in another thread and now that you post this flyer I remember seeing it. I can see where it does say that the Classic Alcoholic package includes "specialty" coffees vs. the classic non-alcoholic package which does not. In any event I'm sailing again next Saturday and will be back the last week of March. I'll ask about this again on the trip and will be sure to ask if the classic alcoholic package gets items the classic non-alcoholic package does not in terms of getting the specialty coffees.

[wednesday]

You can get the premium coffee (espresso based) on the non-alcoholic and the alcoholic packages.

On the Classic non- and the Classic alcoholic packages you can not get the speciality coffees. These are the coffees listed on the last page of the Al Baco menu. Maybe someone can provide a link to these, otherwise you can go to X website and look up the menus.

 

Anyway there are not many speciality coffees and it does not relate to having alcohol in them.

 

All the general (premium) coffees like capuccino, latte's, Americano's and many more are available on all the beverage packages. (not the soda or wine packages).

 

If this is true they need to revise the flyer I posted above, I am not saying you are wrong, just that there appears to be conflicting info on the classic alcohol package.

[wednesday]

Wednesday, we talked about this in another thread and now that you post this flyer I remember seeing it. I can see where it does say that the Classic Alcoholic package includes "specialty" coffees vs. the classic non-alcoholic package which does not. In any event I'm sailing again next Saturday and will be back the last week of March. I'll ask about this again on the trip and will be sure to ask if the classic alcoholic package gets items the classic non-alcoholic package does not in terms of getting the specialty coffees.

 

Yes I would really appreciate that and I know a lot of other people would as well:) Also if you can get your hands on one of these flyer to verify that this is current.

[hcat]

Can anyone who has had the classic package recently confirm that the Aspen coffee (or others with alcohol @ $6 each) is included in the package? I would think it should be included due to the price, but there seems to be discussion that the coffee drinks with alcohol are only covered in the premium package.

 

Aspen coffee has not been on the menu for awhile (unless recently added back in)..but they make it up if you request it (just like the Old Celebrity Dressing)...It is great!

 

IGLUs are not alcholic and from prior posts, I thought maybe not on the menu page of the Cafe Baccio ones that are included...but seems they have now set a price standard ...

 

we'll find out soon--Sailing Silhouette on March 10th!!

[wednesday]

Aspen coffee has not been on the menu for awhile (unless recently added back in)..but they make it up if you request it (just like the Old Celebrity Dressing)...It is great!

 

IGLUs are not alcholic and from prior posts, I thought maybe not on the menu page of the Cafe Baccio ones that are included...but seems they have now set a price standard ...

 

we'll find out soon--Sailing Silhouette on March 10th!!

 

Will you also report back? I'm very curious about the smoothies too.

[durberville]

Wednesday.....can you tell us where you got that Celebrity Drink Packages flyer? That clearly indicates "specialty coffees" and "smoothies" are included on the Classic package.

 

I'm beginning to think that Celebrity is deliberately being clear as mud in defining their packages so that more people upgrade to Premium..

[wednesday]

Wednesday.....can you tell us where you got that Celebrity Drink Packages flyer? That clearly indicates "specialty coffees" and "smoothies" are included on the Classic package.

 

I'm beginning to think that Celebrity is deliberately being clear as mud in defining their packages so that more people upgrade to Premium..

 

From here

 

http://www.thepreismans.com/med_silhouette_menus.htm

 

Host Andy also got the same information when he asked his contact at Celebrity .

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=36809014&postcount=934

 

I'm trying to remain optimistic that these sources are right.

[durberville]

From here

 

http://www.thepreismans.com/med_silhouette_menus.htm

 

Host Andy also got the same information when he asked his contact at Celebrity .

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=36809014&postcount=934

 

I'm trying to remain optimistic that these sources are right.

 

Thanks!! But now I'm really confused:

 

 

 

Q : If a Guest selects 123 Go with the beverage package, and the premium upgrade... and then wishes to purchase a $14.00 beverage, would they be permitted to pay the difference ? In this case, I believe the limit is $12.00 per drink. Would they would be allowed to pay a $2.00 surcharge ?

 

While I'm asking, if a Guest elects the standard beverage package, and wishes to purchase an alcoholic drink higher than $8.00, would they be allowed to pay the difference ?

 

A: In answer to both questions above, happy to say the answer is yes, we would allow the guest to pay the difference. As a matter of fact we are permitting this onboard today.

I thought you only get the option to pay the difference under the Premium plan...not the Classic. :confused:

[Lobbylin]

From here

 

http://www.thepreismans.com/med_silhouette_menus.htm

 

Host Andy also got the same information when he asked his contact at Celebrity .

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=36809014&postcount=934

 

I'm trying to remain optimistic that these sources are right.

 

Thanks for posting Wednesday - clearly you can get any non-alcoholic drink on the classic drinks package, according to the info that Host Andy posted with the exception of red bull and premium waters (evian & pelegrino etc).

 

Great result - many thanks for tracking this down!

 

Equally, you don't need to upgrade to the premium package - simply pay the difference!

 

I have to say, I'll believe it all when I see it!:)

[flames9]

Thanks for posting Wednesday - clearly you can get any non-alcoholic drink on the classic drinks package, according to the info that Host Andy posted with the exception of red bull and premium waters (evian & pelegrino etc).

 

Great result - many thanks for tracking this down!

 

Equally, you don't need to upgrade to the premium package - simply pay the difference!

 

I have to say, I'll believe it all when I see it!:)

 

With the CLASSIC pkg--paying the difference is NOT an option---Only on the premium pkg, one has that option. Was a bit of confusion over that a few weeks back when a Celebrity posted on here that it was an option on the classic pkg, but they came back later and admitted it was only on the Premium.

[Lobbylin]

With the CLASSIC pkg--paying the difference is NOT an option---Only on the premium pkg, one has that option. Was a bit of confusion over that a few weeks back when a Celebrity posted on here that it was an option on the classic pkg, but they came back later and admitted it was only on the Premium.

 

 

Thanks for the update flames9 - as I said, it did seem too good to be true!;)

[flames9]

Thanks for the update flames9 - as I said, it did seem too good to be true!;)

 

I'm not right that often,lol

[Lsimon]

Thanks!! But now I'm really confused:

 

I thought you only get the option to pay the difference under the Premium plan...not the Classic. :confused:

 

Thanks for posting Wednesday - clearly you can get any non-alcoholic drink on the classic drinks package, according to the info that Host Andy posted with the exception of red bull and premium waters (evian & pelegrino etc).

 

Great result - many thanks for tracking this down!

 

Equally, you don't need to upgrade to the premium package - simply pay the difference!

 

I have to say, I'll believe it all when I see it!:)

 

The link to the message from Host Andy quoting the Celebrity rep in the links above was corrected later in the same thread. Unfortunately it is a long thread and there is a lot to read through but you can look at this message:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=36834541&postcount=1053

 

The fact is that only the Premium Alcoholic package has the perk of being able to obtain beverages over the package limit ($12) by paying the difference. With the classic package you pay for the entire drink if it is over the package limit.

 

Also, there is still a question in my mind if the classic alcoholic package includes all the non-alcoholic beverages you mention or whether it is limited to the same non-alcoholic beverage covered by the classic non-alcoholic package. Unfortunately there are contradictory statements between posts here on cruise critic (none of which seem to relay actual on board cruiser experiences), info on Celebrity web site and other advertising materials. So for now I'd keep my expectations at the lower end of the range.

[wednesday]

The link to the message from Host Andy quoting the Celebrity rep in the links above was corrected later in the same thread. Unfortunately it is a long thread and there is a lot to read through but you can look at this message:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=36834541&postcount=1053

 

The fact is that only the Premium Alcoholic package has the perk of being able to obtain beverages over the package limit ($12) by paying the difference. With the classic package you pay for the entire drink if it is over the package limit.

 

Also, there is still a question in my mind if the classic alcoholic package includes all the non-alcoholic beverages you mention or whether it is limited to the same non-alcoholic beverage covered by the classic non-alcoholic package. Unfortunately there are contradictory statements between posts here on cruise critic (none of which seem to relay actual on board cruiser experiences), info on Celebrity web site and other advertising materials. So for now I'd keep my expectations at the lower end of the range.

 

Yeah sorry I forgot to mention the part about paying the difference being incorrect. It wasn't what we were discussing so it slipped my mind. The rest was suppose to be correct though. That advertisement from onboard the Silhouette is official and I hope still correct, looking forward to hearing about some first hand experiences.

[signora]

The whole subject of what is a Premium Coffee vs. a Specialty coffee has been very confusing from the start of the package program and Celebrity doesn't do well at communicating the difference. At one point in time they posted an FAQ which said that the Specialty coffees included in the premium non-alcoholic package were coffees with liqueur - which makes no sense! After that they eliminated that FAQ and replaced it with a different one indicating they were coffees with some things added but I can't recall the exact wording and that FAQ has since been taken down.

 

Because I've been curious about this I asked someone at the Cafe al Bacio on a cruise last December what the difference was. She indicated that the coffees included in the classic package which are not included in the premium package (which would be the "Specialty" coffees) were those on pages 4 and 5 of the Cafe al Bacio menu under the "Other Favorites" and "More Favorites" heading. So as fare as I know that is the difference. Here is a link to a copy of the menu so you can check it out: http://lfsimon.home.comcast.net/~lfsimon/Cafe-al-Bacio-Menu-Silhouette-Dec-2012.pdf

 

 

 

You can definitely purchase the packages on board and if you do so the price will be prorated for the remaining nights of the cruise although they stop selling the packages 2 or 3 days before the end of a cruise. We did this on our last cruise and bought our non-alcoholic premium packages on day 6 of a 15 night cruise. You can also upgrade packages by paying the difference for the remaining nights going from classic to premium or non-alcoholic to alcoholic.

 

Thanks so much for the menu! I'm a club soda drinker with a 2-latte a day habit so now I know it makes sense for me to get the classic non-alcohol package. Just the info I was looking for! Thanks again--Amy

[Lsimon]

Wednesday, we talked about this in another thread and now that you post this flyer I remember seeing it. I can see where it does say that the Classic Alcoholic package includes "specialty" coffees vs. the classic non-alcoholic package which does not. In any event I'm sailing again next Saturday and will be back the last week of March. I'll ask about this again on the trip and will be sure to ask if the classic alcoholic package gets items the classic non-alcoholic package does not in terms of getting the specialty coffees.

 

Yes I would really appreciate that and I know a lot of other people would as well:) Also if you can get your hands on one of these flyer to verify that this is current.

 

Back from Eclipse!!

OK - I have an update that might be good or bad as the bottom line is that YMMV as the practice on Eclipse was inconsistent with what I heard on the Silhouette - but in a way that would cover everything you'd hope for.

 

One morning the Bar Manager in charge of Cafe al Bacio was there in addition to the regular morning staff. I took that opportunity to ask the same question I did on Silhouette (what coffees would not be included in the classic package) expecting the same answer with a plan to ask the follow up question as to whether there was a difference between the NA items ("NA" = non-alcoholic) included in the Classic NA package and the full Classic package.

 

To my surprise the answer to the first question was that the Classic package includes all of the items in the Cafe al Bacio menu. I specifically asked what the difference was between "Premium" vs. "Specialty" coffees and got sort of a deer in the headlights look from both the bar manager and the regular staff. The bar manager said that sometimes the coffees with liquor were called specialty coffee but that those wouldn't be included in any NA package. He said that other than that all menu items, other than Gellato would be included in the classic package.

 

This just reinforces my old belief that there is no clear definition of Premium vs. Specialty coffees at Celebrity and that different people, departments and ships use to terms differently.

 

So unfortunately you might not know the answer for your particular cruise until you ask on board.

[wednesday]

Back from Eclipse!!

OK - I have an update that might be good or bad as the bottom line is that YMMV as the practice on Eclipse was inconsistent with what I heard on the Silhouette - but in a way that would cover everything you'd hope for.

 

One morning the Bar Manager in charge of Cafe al Bacio was there in addition to the regular morning staff. I took that opportunity to ask the same question I did on Silhouette (what coffees would not be included in the classic package) expecting the same answer with a plan to ask the follow up question as to whether there was a difference between the NA items ("NA" = non-alcoholic) included in the Classic NA package and the full Classic package.

 

To my surprise the answer to the first question was that the Classic package includes all of the items in the Cafe al Bacio menu. I specifically asked what the difference was between "Premium" vs. "Specialty" coffees and got sort of a deer in the headlights look from both the bar manager and the regular staff. The bar manager said that sometimes the coffees with liquor were called specialty coffee but that those wouldn't be included in any NA package. He said that other than that all menu items, other than Gellato would be included in the classic package.

 

This just reinforces my old belief that there is no clear definition of Premium vs. Specialty coffees at Celebrity and that different people, departments and ships use to terms differently.

 

So unfortunately you might not know the answer for your particular cruise until you ask on board.

 

Thank You so much and I appreciate your efforts! I wish they would post a sticky or maybe I can start a thread for people to post their experience with the classic packages. Did you happen to ask about the smoothies? Just curious.

[Lsimon]

Thank You so much and I appreciate your efforts! I wish they would post a sticky or maybe I can start a thread for people to post their experience with the classic packages. Did you happen to ask about the smoothies? Just curious.

 

Sorry - didn't ask about the smoothies as we don't drink them.

 

Our NA beverage is pretty much limited to bottled water (still and sparkling), coffees and teas with only a couple sodas during the cruise.

[cherylroslyn]

I'm hoping someone that is cruising soon will report back. I hope there is one of these sheets like I posted above in my cabin because I will carry it with me to Cafe al Bacio to make sure I am able to order what I want. I really wish someone from Celebrity that knows what they are talking about would come on here and lay everything out in a clear and concise manner.

You will see that sheet at the table where they sell drink packages in the terminal and also set up outside of the buffet when you board. you can grab one and carry it around with you:)