Am I the only person concerned about free drinks package?

[alexspepa]

i was on the Sillhoutte in March - and service was very good. I think the package helps at the bars because you don't have to sign anything.

 

My wind glass stayed pretty full at dinner as well.

[stratixman]

My presumption is that Celebrity pays the servers the 15% gratuity included in the package prices. Is it based on the total cost of the package and then split in a shared pool fashion among all waitrons, or is it be based on normal value and the quantities of drinks actually served by each server? Big difference. It would seem that if based on package price then the servers would have much less incentive to serve package holders efficiently because their gratuity is pretty much fixed and limited before they take a first order. They would have far more incentive if their gratuities are paid on the per drink value actually served, not to mention it would be more equitable to harder working servers.

[royalcruz]

On our last Silhouette cruise a lot of people had the packages but I didn't notice any impact.

[candelle]

That is not really the case, we booked a cruise last year before the 1,2,3 promo even came out. After the promo came out the cabins were still the exact same price and even dropped 100 before final payment was due.

 

We rebooked the exact same cabin with the promo at the exact same price.

 

I know that with so many offers, one needs a computer programme to ascertain the best price and on this occasion you had an excellent deal which suited you.

 

From our perspective, when we see a drinks package offer, we look elsewhere (and I doubt we are alone).

 

The price of the drinks has to come from somewhere...........

[Karen@Steve]

I'm not sure the beverage packages will make that much difference. Last year on the Summit, the service in the theater was dismal. At the normal bars, Martini, Mast etc. people were standing 5 deep and this was before the free beverage packages.

[lawblond7]

I know that with so many offers, one needs a computer programme to ascertain the best price and on this occasion you had an excellent deal which suited you.

 

From our perspective, when we see a drinks package offer, we look elsewhere (and I doubt we are alone).

 

The price of the drinks has to come from somewhere...........

 

We were on Connie for 2 weeks July 7 - 19th and we had the drink package - 3 of us upgraded on board to the premium and my oldest son who was 20 stayed with regular one as he really does not drink much. We had NO issues getting drinks anywhere - with the one exception of the sommelier in the dining room - as she was very busy but she always had the perfect wine for my mom. The martini bar we never felt or found crowded and loved it - we are sailing on the Silhouette 12/22/-29th with same package which we plan to upgrade. I think the longest wait I had was for a specialty coffee one day :)

 

Sharon

[moonglum]

We were on the Eclipse in May and paid for a drinks package and have to say the wine service in the MDR was appalling, It was almost impossible to get your glass refilled. On the last night I complained and the service was better but when I asked for a refill you could see a discussion going on as the bottle was empty and they would have to open another.

[drarill]

We were on the Eclipse in July and our sommelier, Claudia, was excellent. My husband upgraded to the premium package and that got us a 30% discount on the bottles of wine that we bought for dinner. She even brought "good wine glasses" for us :):) We didn't have the package the year before on the Silhouette and didn't see any difference with the service this year. I think sommeliers can spot the passengers that really know their wines, and actually enjoy working with them. BTW, we are good tippers too, maybe that helped. :):)

[emcee207]

We were on the Eclipse in July and our sommelier, Claudia, was excellent. My husband upgraded to the premium package and that got us a 30% discount on the bottles of wine that we bought for dinner. She even brought "good wine glasses" for us :):) We didn't have the package the year before on the Silhouette and didn't see any difference with the service this year. I think sommeliers can spot the passengers that really know their wines, and actually enjoy working with them. BTW, we are good tippers too, maybe that helped. :):)

 

Spot on re: the tipping. As even before the whole Bev package thing,a few small tips here and there at the beginning and during the cruise will endear the bartenders and servers to you. You will make up for the small outlay with better service and better pours. I know some people don't believe in this so keep your hands in your pockets and wait...............:rolleyes:

[Cruise Raider]

We had the beverage package on the Equinox. Service was always EXCELLENT at all bars, the theatre, dining room, by the pool, etc. We noticed no difference in service or crowds between cruises prior to the introduction of the 123 Go packages.

[Kikimeister]

We loved our package! Didn't see any problems at the bars or restaurants. The sommeliers did appear to be spread a bit thin, but they overtopped our glasses of wine once they realized what we liked. Bar service was good throughout, just small waits here and there.

 

Overall it was less "must get our moneys worth!" But more "this is awesome!!". We're planning on sailing again with Celebrity because of the good value of the bev package!

[rjrpar]

I'm going to put a different spin on inclusive drinks packages... the cost of these has to recovered somehow and that comes directly from the base cost of the cruise.

 

Being non-drinkers (no, not madly religious/mad or bad - we don't enjoy it!) any cruise offered with this package instantly puts off considering it, as we would be paying for something we would not wish to use.

 

Additionally, although we don't now use P and O, I can't imagine the mayhem on this mainly British line that an inclusive drinks package would unleash! Not usually a concern on Celebrity (we have see very very little drunken behavior)![/

 

Your logic is flawed. Worry about the price you are paying.

[Karen@Steve]

Your logic is flawed. Worry about the price you are paying.

 

Would seem to me that if you are worried about the built in cost of a Bev package because it's not useful to you, then you should book when they are not offering that perk. Or instead, pick one of the other Perks such as free gratuities or OBC.

[Sockie]

Since when are the drinks free? I know when I first started cruising, the only thing you paid for was liquor. Then that changed and you had to pay for a soda if you wanted one.

 

But I haven't heard anything about a free drink packet, we are booked for next year going to Australia and New Zealand.

 

Karon

[LINGBER]

We just booked a holiday sailing and had a choice between getting the perks promo and paying the published rate or booking a resident rate which was $250 less per person. They promo was not combinable with a residents rate or a guarantee rate. Within 2 days of the perks promo ending the prices dropped on the sailing. I'm sure this is also based on occupancy, but it was interesting that Celebrity put a $250 value PP on the perks.

[UniPac]

I begin sharing your concern because we noticed that during our July cruise on "Constellation" where lots of passengers had the beverage package ( one of the few times where Europeans were also able to get it for free :()

 

We, the Europeans, pay more for the same cruise most time. We get none or less offers. So you are concerned and ":(" that we also could get it for free?

Wow, at least we are allowed to sit on the same table like you and don't have to eat in a seperate part of the ship.

 

Maybe Celebrity can offer YOU good cruise prices so you can afford to fly to EU in July only because they let US pay more?

[grayjay]

We, the Europeans, pay more for the same cruise most time. We get none or less offers. So you are concerned and ":(" that we also could get it for free?

Wow, at least we are allowed to sit on the same table like you and don't have to eat in a seperate part of the ship.

 

Maybe Celebrity can offer YOU good cruise prices so you can afford to fly to EU in July only because they let US pay more?

 

Sorry but you're comparing apples to oranges here and you're quite unfair on top of that. I have never complained that our US and Canadian cruise friends have more promotions to pick from and I'm always happy that they are able to lower their cruise prices by snagging a nice extra perk - those who have read my previous posts know that. I only mentioned as an aside that I'd wish that Europeans were offered a bit more in that area - especially because as a Captain's Club Member with quite a lot of cruise points I'm quite often invited to specials deals I can't take advantage of when reading the fine print because they're not open to non-US residents = it's just to mention that it's one of the typical inconsistencies of Celebrity's marketing strategy. And isn't it lovely to take an advantage of a promo if ( and I mean if - we all know it's not always the case) it saves you some money you can spend on other extras - I think it shouldn't matter which country you're from - be it Finland, Australia or Texas in the US where my sister and nieces and nephews live...

And why for heaven's sake should I send you to a segregated table? The only thing I wouldn't do is sharing my free beverage package with you because sharing isn't allowed....

One last thought about the cost of flights: Some have to pay more to reach Europe's ports in July. We have to pay through our noses to leave for beautiful Alaska or fly to Florida to start a Caribbean cruise, just the same as if you came from across the USA. It's quite often that flight prices exceed the cost of a cruise, right?

All right - let me step down from my soap-box now - the question really was if some are concerned that service might suffer because of the many free beverage packages around - it I think it has been established that even if service is sometimes a bit slow it is still excellent. And that's how we found it ourselves - with or without the package!

[chamima]

We just booked a holiday sailing and had a choice between getting the perks promo and paying the published rate or booking a resident rate which was $250 less per person. They promo was not combinable with a residents rate or a guarantee rate. Within 2 days of the perks promo ending the prices dropped on the sailing. I'm sure this is also based on occupancy, but it was interesting that Celebrity put a $250 value PP on the perks.

 

It depends on the cruise.

For our cruise this coming winter on the Eclipse the price for our cabin has gone UP $1000/pp since the promo ended!!!! :eek:

[jagoffee]

We just booked a holiday sailing and had a choice between getting the perks promo and paying the published rate or booking a resident rate which was $250 less per person. They promo was not combinable with a residents rate or a guarantee rate. Within 2 days of the perks promo ending the prices dropped on the sailing. I'm sure this is also based on occupancy, but it was interesting that Celebrity put a $250 value PP on the perks.

 

IMO the two pricing actions are not necessarily related. Many times the special resident/ senior/ military rates are the same or are only on select catagories. Since the resident rate was restricted I am not sure that you could say that Celebrity is putting a $250 value on the perk. Comparing the perk options might be a better indication.

 

Based on my experience if you keep monitoring the published rate for you catagory or higher you might find a future price reduction.

[Scrappytraveller]

Just off the Solstice, many had the drink package. The bars were really dead, even the martini bar. However, there was definitely a big difference in bartender "happiness" from my December Silhouette cruise. My theory is that by never having bills to sign, these bartenders and bar waiters are losing out on a lot of extra tips so they have no incentive to be extra friendly. They were ok, just nothing special. The guy at the molecular bar on day 1 was down right grumpy. Luckily he wasn't there most other nights.

 

The select MDR was the real disappointment, but I can't say whether that has anything to do with the promo. Service was so rushed, there was no time to think about wine pairing. We were almost never asked if we wanted bottled water, they just went ahead an poured tap water for everybody and then had to pitch it when we asked for bottled (and who are you supposed to ask? Assistant waiter? Sommelier? I hate all this formality of who does what).

 

Call me crazy, but I think every passenger should count, whether they want a $10 glass of wine or a $100 bottle. We should all be able to get a glass of wine before our first course is served. (Would also be nice to have 5 minutes to look at the wine list without them standing beside you, and to have a the sommelier actually recommend something when you're not familiar with any of the wines. Only sommelier that did that on Solsctice for me was in Tuscan.)

[C&F]

This doesn't concern me at all...

I'll just wait to be served on...no biggy....;)

 

I heard X is hiring new bartenders and servers just for our cruise!! They heard about us!!

 

 

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[4774Papa]

Just off the Solstice, many had the drink package. The bars were really dead, even the martini bar. However, there was definitely a big difference in bartender "happiness" from my December Silhouette cruise. My theory is that by never having bills to sign, these bartenders and bar waiters are losing out on a lot of extra tips so they have no incentive to be extra friendly. They were ok, just nothing special. The guy at the molecular bar on day 1 was down right grumpy. Luckily he wasn't there most other nights.

 

The select MDR was the real disappointment, but I can't say whether that has anything to do with the promo. Service was so rushed, there was no time to think about wine pairing. We were almost never asked if we wanted bottled water, they just went ahead an poured tap water for everybody and then had to pitch it when we asked for bottled (and who are you supposed to ask? Assistant waiter? Sommelier? I hate all this formality of who does what).

 

Call me crazy, but I think every passenger should count, whether they want a $10 glass of wine or a $100 bottle. We should all be able to get a glass of wine before our first course is served. (Would also be nice to have 5 minutes to look at the wine list without them standing beside you, and to have a the sommelier actually recommend something when you're not familiar with any of the wines. Only sommelier that did that on Solsctice for me was in Tuscan.)

We have found that one advantage of 6pm seating and having a wine package is that you get to know your sommelier and the selection of wine is quick and easy.