Oh the Changes!

[woodyren]

The reason so many have the drink package is because celebrity raised their cabin prices and offered 1-2-3 to make people think they were getting a great deal. On cruises where 1-2-3 wasn't offered, there are the normal number of alcoholic beverage package buyers.

 

.

 

That hasn't been our experience on the six cruises we booked with Pick Your Option.

 

I am new to cruising but try to have as much information as I can to decide on options. I do not have the package and am still trying to get an understanding of it's true cost. From what I have seen when it is on the cabin prices are up near their maximum levels. If the price drops I have read that people had to forgo their drinks package to get the price drop. We are not big drinkers but if the cost is minimal would enjoy a few extra drinks, coffees and juices etc. Our balcony guarantee on a 15 day Trans Atlantic (which turned into a 2A) eventually cost $799pp. Whenever X had a 1-2-3 offer it was always above $1300 whenever I checked. 2A's were around $1700. So in our case there was a real cost. I guess for those who book at the price and never chase price drops it is "free".

Can anyone expand on whether they got the package and price drops down to rock bottom levels.

[hansolosmom]

On all ships, welcome sparkling wine, mimosas and juice is still served. On some ships, they are not served when boarding, but handed at the entry of the Oceanview Buffet and reception area or at sailaway on deck.

 

This is to make traffic flow easier, less spillage etc.

 

This is where we got ours on Reflection in July

[jagoffee]

That hasn't been our experience on the six cruises we booked with Pick Your Option.

 

Nor ours.

[jelayne]

Sometimes it's served upon boarding and sometimes at sail away depending on the ship, its still available so how is that inconsistent? It's been like this for over a year now.

 

The chargeable room service items are extra special things in ADDITION to the normal room service menu no reduction in anything.

 

I don't know the old AQ room service menu in detail, but I do know that in April it had smoked salmon on it and now the menu doesn't include smoked salmon.

[d4m]

The reason so many have the drink package is because celebrity raised their cabin prices and offered 1-2-3 to make people think they were getting a great deal. On cruises where 1-2-3 wasn't offered, there are the normal number of alcoholic beverage package buyers.

 

Although some didn't see it that way, that is exactly the ploy that was used for those who got the i23 for the TA in November. For those of us who booked when the itinerary was first announced and the price was low for CC members, the price rise was quite drastic. It had remained fairly low until the day or two before the 123 perk came out.

 

I did call to see if we were eligible and we were told that we would pay the prevailing rate, which had just increased nearly $400 each. In addition, we would have lost the OBC we were given at booking by Celebrity. Others who booked early were told the same thing. Frankly, we drink very little and it would have been ridiculous to pay prevailing rate.

 

The same happened to many people when the 123 first came out, as was in evidence in the huge thread at that time. Some people paid the extra, feeling that they were still benefitting by a couple hundred dollars.

 

For our sailing, there recently was a large military discount. Some on our roll call who were eligible called and got that discount but then forfeitted the 123. I have rarely heard of cruise lines giving something for nothing..............

[karena1]

The reason so many have the drink package is because celebrity raised their cabin prices and offered 1-2-3 to make people think they were getting a great deal. On cruises where 1-2-3 wasn't offered, there are the normal number of alcoholic beverage package buyers.

 

If the mimosas were eliminated, it had nothing to do with people being on liquor packages or passenger safety...keep in mind they have been doing this for years.....it has to do with cutting costs.

 

I have to disagree. We got our cruise for a very reasonable price - $959 for a balcony and that included the drink package. The price went way up after that, but we got the same price we are paying for Adventure in 2015 w/o the drink package. So I think it just depends on when you book. We booked Summit before the promo and then had the promo added when it came out so we got a great price. Others not so much as they booked later. Yes we gave up our $100 OBC for booking onboard, but that was nothing compared to the value of the drink package. Going to be nice to have drinks and not worry about the cost!!!!

[ackieboy]

Hi Everyone,

 

I just came off the Infinity this past Monday and was in an accessible Sky Suite (originally booked Aqua Class but upgraded because I am physically challenged and having an accessible room makes things much easier for me). We ate most of our breakfasts and dinners in Blu and saw no mention of extra charge items on the breakfast menu. In addition, we were offered the usual champagne and mimosas upon boarding and I do remember seeing smoked salmon on the breakfast menu, although I did not order it. Just my experience and I hope this is helpful to others. Happy cruising!

 

Dean

[ozark74]

Boarded the Solstice yesterday and immediately began

noticing changes.

 

No champagne, mimosas, etc when you board.

Prices in the Martini bar have increased- martinis up from $10 to $ 11,

Martini flights up $1 also

AQ breakfast menu no longer had smoked salmon.

The are now premium breakfast features that range from $ 4 for specialty teas to $ 9 for breakfast omelets.

Asked about having couple we met who are in a suite join us in Blu.

MaitreD asked if they were in a Sky suite or did they have a butler.

Not sure if that means Sky suites no longer have a butler or not.

But there are some Skye suites near us and no butler sighting so far.

 

I'm sure there are other changes we haven't encountered yet :eek:

 

It is becoming more like the other mass market lines

 

The reason the drink prices went up is that you are going to Sydney.

When you sail into and out of Sydney the drinks including Bacio are higher.

Did a B2B in April out of Sydney. On the second cruise out of Honolulu all the drink prices went down.

[darkbeholder]

I have noticed the listed prices are more into and out of sydney however this is because they include the 15% gratuity already so the listed price is what is charged which is consistent with pricing laws in Australia. For the classic drinks package the material reads up to $9.25 instead of up to $8 for example but the same exact items are included.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Hi Everyone,

 

I just came off the Infinity this past Monday and was in an accessible Sky Suite (originally booked Aqua Class but upgraded because I am physically challenged and having an accessible room makes things much easier for me). We ate most of our breakfasts and dinners in Blu and saw no mention of extra charge items on the breakfast menu. In addition, we were offered the usual champagne and mimosas upon boarding and I do remember seeing smoked salmon on the breakfast menu, although I did not order it. Just my experience and I hope this is helpful to others. Happy cruising!

 

Dean

 

You did not mention it so I assume you did have a butler in your sky suite.

 

Mary Lou

[Andy]

The reason the drink prices went up is that you are going to Sydney.

When you sail into and out of Sydney the drinks including Bacio are higher.

Did a B2B in April out of Sydney. On the second cruise out of Honolulu all the drink prices went down.

 

Thanks for sharing this with us Ozark. I suspect this explains the OP's comments about higher drink prices, which appears to be specific to the region the ship is sailing in.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Silly question, where is sail-away located? We missed it on our last cruise- we were eating in Bistro on 5 :)

 

Is it up on the Lawn? (we will be on Equinox)

[Orator]

Silly question, where is sail-away located? We missed it on our last cruise- we were eating in Bistro on 5 :)

 

Is it up on the Lawn? (we will be on Equinox)

 

Sail-away. Is an informal event arranged by fellow cruisers on the Roll Call. The Sunset Bar is the usual place for the gathering on S Class ships, but it may be held anywhere, or not at all. Someone usually makes name tags and Roll Call participants may wear something such as beads to identify themselves as Roll Call participants.

[Oville]

Silly question, where is sail-away located? We missed it on our last cruise- we were eating in Bistro on 5 :)

 

Is it up on the Lawn? (we will be on Equinox)

 

The Sailaway Party is poolside (weather permitting) usually after Muster. The time will be listed in Celebrity Today. This is different from the informal get together CC members sometimes arrange through their roll all.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

Sail-away. Is an informal event arranged by fellow cruisers on the Roll Call. The Sunset Bar is the usual place for the gathering on S Class ships, but it may be held anywhere, or not at all. Someone usually makes name tags and Roll Call participants may wear something such as beads to identify themselves as Roll Call participants.

 

Oh ok, thanks, yes I joined my sailings roll call :)

 

Just for clarity... some people above mentioned the mimosas were not offered upon boarding, they were at sail away instead. So, on that note, then only the people from CC who are at the roll call sail away get the mimosas? Does that make sense?

 

We plan on going to the roll call party so it does not matter to us, I am just curious. Because that means the rest of the general public would miss out on the mimosas- if they were not offered upon boarding?

 

:)

[Orator]

[quote name='Oville']The Sailaway Party is poolside (weather permitting) usually after Muster. The time will be listed in Celebrity Today. This is different from the informal get together CC members sometimes arrange.[/QUOTE]

I have never seen a Cruise Critic Sail-away listed in Celebrity Today. Neither is the Cruise Critic Party listed as it's by invitation and the time and place will usually be in your cabin when you arrive. Perhaps I'm missing something. could you be more specific about the event you called "sail-away"?

[Pecs ado rojo]

[quote name='ackieboy']Hi Everyone,

I just came off the Infinity this past Monday and was in an accessible Sky Suite (originally booked Aqua Class but upgraded because I am physically challenged and having an accessible room makes things much easier for me). We ate most of our breakfasts and dinners in Blu and saw no mention of extra charge items on the breakfast menu. In addition, we were offered the usual champagne and mimosas upon boarding and I do remember seeing smoked salmon on the breakfast menu, although I did not order it. Just my experience and I hope this is helpful to others. Happy cruising!

Dean[/quote]

Until there are collaborative reports from multiple ships on multiple sailings the OP's experience of the lack of smoked salmon could have been as simple as a delivery issue for that sailing.

That doesn't acct. for the $9 omelet report though.

[Oville]

[quote name='Orator']I have never seen a Cruise Critic Sail-away listed in Celebrity Today. Neither is the Cruise Critic Party listed as it's by invitation and the time and place will usually be in your cabin when you arrive. Perhaps I'm missing something. could you be more specific about the event you called "sail-away"?[/QUOTE]

Perhaps you misread my post. CruiseGatorGirl asked about a sail away party, not the roll call get together. I know you've cruised enough to know that Celebrity has a party for sail away.

[CruisingGatorGirl]

[quote name='Oville']Perhaps you misread my post. CruiseGatorGirl asked about a sail away party, not the roll call get together. I know you've cruised enough to know that Celebrity has a party for sail away.[/QUOTE]

Right, I was asking about the location for the sail-away party for everyone :) not just the CC roll call party. Thanks!

[Oville]

[quote name='CruisingGatorGirl']Right, I was asking about the location for the sail-away party for everyone :) not just the CC roll call party. Thanks![/QUOTE]

Glad I could help, thought that was what you were asking.:)

[riclop]

[quote name='jelayne']Boarded the Solstice yesterday and immediately began
noticing changes.

No champagne, mimosas, etc when you board.
Prices in the Martini bar have increased- martinis up from $10 to $ 11,
Martini flights up $1 also
AQ breakfast menu no longer had smoked salmon.
The are now premium breakfast features that range from $ 4 for specialty teas to $ 9 for breakfast omelets.
Asked about having couple we met who are in a suite join us in Blu.
MaitreD asked if they were in a Sky suite or did they have a butler.
Not sure if that means Sky suites no longer have a butler or not.
But there are some Skye suites near us and no butler sighting so far.

I'm sure there are other changes we haven't encountered yet :eek:

It is becoming more like the other mass market lines[/quote]
Everything is being cut back.

[Cruise Junky]

[quote name='woodyren']
Can anyone expand on whether they got the package and price drops down to rock bottom levels.[/QUOTE]

I'm the opposite. I booked our Solstice cruise at the lowest a 1A has been and got the package. Price is now up $700 per person and no package has been offered on that sailing since January, the first time the perk was offered.

[Tony UK]

I was interested in the original post as when I sailed on Solstice I felt just the same, like things were different from all the other cruises with Celebrity and wondered if we should start considering other lines. We had 2 further cruises already booked and I'm glad we did. Sailings on the Infinity and then on the Eclipse saw Celebrity back on top form.

We had our drinks as we boarded, We had breakfast in Blu and didnt notice the pay for items. There are items on suite room service which are additional cost.

I'm not sure what it was with Solstice but overall it just left me a little disappointed.

[Orator]

[quote name='Oville']Perhaps you misread my post. CruiseGatorGirl asked about a sail away party, not the roll call get together. I know you've cruised enough to know that Celebrity has a party for sail away.[/QUOTE]

You are right. Sorry

[chamima]

What were the $9 breakfast items? :confused:
(I know the OP said it was an omelet but I had an omelet every morning and never paid anything extra.) :confused: