The downside of 1-2-3

[DebbieMacG]

We never experienced long lines problems. We are on a cruise and never in a rush. We sit down, relax and wait for a server. What is the rush? The drinks will be there, they are not going to run out. I am not driving, and really don't have anywhere to go except to another meal. :D

 

We have been on cruises where we qualified for the 123 and another where we didn't because of the fare that we paid. We have never been on a cruise where the fares we discussed and never asked anyone what they paid. I don't want to know, and don't care. All it will do is make one party feel bad. I look for great deals like everyone and book what I am comfortable with.

 

I haven't seen anyone getting drinks and laughing about not having to pay while others had to. I think it is just a perception issue.

 

The time that we didnt have the 123 drink package while other had it didn't bother me either. I wasn't entitled to it and knew that I wasn't, just like those that get the Elite perks. I am not entitle so I don't feel like the red headed step child.

 

People just need to enjoy themselves, have another dirink and not be so concerned about the affairs of how others dress, eat, drink, or spend their money.

 

 

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Sitting and waiting is fine if there is actually somewhere to sit! :rolleyes: also there were very long lines for take out coffees etc

[mandream]

Sitting and waiting is fine if there is actually somewhere to sit! :rolleyes: also there were very long lines for take out coffees etc

 

Wow! We didn't experience that at all last month. Cafe al Bacio did seem a bit more crowded than normal - but glad it was nowhere near that bad. We were there often.

 

Mike

[miched]

Wow! We didn't experience that at all last month. Cafe al Bacio did seem a bit more crowded than normal - but glad it was nowhere near that bad. We were there often.

 

Mike

 

Experienced the same. It could be if the table that you want is occupied than it is SRO. On the Constellation and Summit we always got a seat at the bar, on The Reflection it was usually one of 3 tables and we would laugh that we will have to get there earlier as someone got "our table" and sit at option 2 or 3. Get our coffee and leave. I think the extra crowd was from all of those that bought a NA drink package and hung around. :D

They shouldn't allow those kind of packages, if you can't run with the big dogs stay on the porch. :rolleyes: :p.

 

Also seen many using the tables to play games, read books, and etc. Wonder what kind of package they had?

 

 

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[happy 2 b cruising]

We got off the Solstice today and I will do a detailed review soon. However, I wanted to comment on something that I noticed on this cruise (May 17 Tracy Arm). This was our sixth Celebrity cruise and third time on the Solstice and came away with a very negative impression of the impact of Celebrity's 1-2-3 free beverage package promotion.

 

We chose a lower fare instead of the beverage package since we only have a couple of drinks a day while on a cruise. What was very evident, though, was a fairly large group of cruisers on this cruise that were determined to drink as much as they possibly could since it was "free".

 

Out of our six Celebrity cruises the level of extremely intoxicated guests seemed MUCH higher than all of the other five Celebrity cruises combined. One afternoon, while having a late afternoon cocktail, the bartender had to have a drunk guest removed because he was harassing other guests who were sitting at the bar. Cruises are supposed to be fun and drinking is a part of the experience. However, If you give people "free" drinks, there is a certain percentage that are just plain sloppy drunks and detract from the classy atmosphere Celebrity has nurtured over the years.

 

So, that's my mini-rant on 1-2-3. I hope this isn't the start of a trend with Celebrity, and I hope that the 1-2-3 promotion was a one time experiment.

Same thing happened on the Reflection April cruise! This did not attract the regular classy cruisers I am used to on Celebrity Cruises :(

[MicCanberra]

One other downside is the number of times the bar would run out of something and have to go to another area or the stock room to get it. I could have had another drink in the meantime.:D

[floralscent]

Just off the May 11 cruise on the Silhouette- Italy/Croatia. We never saw a loud or out of control passenger onboard. We didn't notice long lines or lack of seating either.

 

We do feel though that Celebrity doesn't have enough servers in the bar areas and we felt this to be true on our Equinox cruise a year ago too. It seems HAL has drink servers all over just waiting to serve you and on Celebrity it seems you are better served going to the bar yourself. JMO

[Blue Lagoon]

So looking forward to our next cruise with the Beverage Package.

 

Spent the day looking thru my Cocktail/ Bar guide and made a list of all the drinks I'm going to order.;)

[AlbertaCruisers]

I actually think the 123 Go sale had the reverse effect for us. For our April 6, 2013 Eclipse cruise, we had all purchased the premium package (way too expensive!!!) so that we didn't have to worry about paying for each drink, etc. as it was a cruise for our friends birthday. We had all been talking about trying not to think that we had to "drink our money's worth" and we were worried about feeling like that on the ship. Then the 123 Go came out, I was able to downgrade our cabins and save $600 on each of the cabins (We downgraded from an SV to a regular balcony as the SV price had increased too much) and get the free classic drink package deal and save another $1700 CDN per couple by cancelling our prepaid drink packages (including the $322 upgrade to premium, both couples ended up saving a total of almost $2000 with the 123 Go Sale). On the cruise we never felt like we had to drink our money's worth, instead we all felt like we were drinking for free, and had the safety of being able to try new drinks without risk. It was a great feeling, and I actually think I drank less that cruise then usual, but I drank way more bottled water!

 

I absolutely love the freedom of the drink package and never want to cruise without it, but on the other hand there is no way my husband and I would ever walk off of a 14 day cruise with a $1700 bar bill (it would be much less than that), so without 123 Go it is really not worth it for us to buy the drink package. I'm glad I have 123 Go on our next 2 cruises and I really hope Celebrity brings it out again for Nov 2014 and April 2015! :D

[MicCanberra]

I absolutely love the freedom of the drink package and never want to cruise without it, but on the other hand there is no way my husband and I would ever walk off of a 14 day cruise with a $1700 bar bill (it would be much less than that), so without 123 Go it is really not worth it for us to buy the drink package. I'm glad I have 123 Go on our next 2 cruises and I really hope Celebrity brings it out again for Nov 2014 and April 2015! :D

Yes, there is a big difference between what the package is valued at and what it is worth. For my wife and I on our next cruise, the classic alcohol package is valued at $3,036 (by X). I think it is worth around $1000 for us, as I doubt we would run up a bill larger than that, if we drink more, then it is worth more, as it was free so definately a bargain.:D

[movie buff]

I really do believe it will just depend on the age group that will be on your cruise that is the factor on how much passengers over drink during the cruise. My guess is a 7 night Caribbean cruise you might have a large amount of a thirty something crowd and they will get a run for their money with the free drinks promo. A drink promo like this would have been a dream come true when I was in my thirties. Now being a fifty something passenger I think I will get more use of the bottle water and coffee drinks part of the free package. I really don't want to drink all that much booze these days. Maybe one or two cocktails max before dinner and then a glass or wine or two at dinner and that will be it for me. I remember the days of a few too many hangovers in my youth when I had a few too many drinks. I think the 123 is a great promo and I am sure that if a passenger is way out of line with drinking the cruise line has the ability to cut them off if need be. I have seen them cut off people in years past that had way too much to drink and were creating problems and they were just buying their own drinks.

[cpl100]

I just got off the Silhouette doing Croatia/Italy and didn't notice any overly drunken people. And we are the get up late/stay up late types. Spent a lot of time in all the bars - Sky Lounge (dance techno - yeah!), Quasar, etc. We also didn't notice any lineups at Bacio, but again, we are not the types to be up early unless we had to be for an excursion and always ordered room service those days.

 

I don't drink but thoroughly enjoyed the "mocktails" and lattes, etc. My DH does drink and he thoroughly enjoyed everything. :D He was never drunk, but he felt pretty good some nights. I could tell because he was doing karaoke LOL.

 

Waving Hi, Michelle!