Classic Drink Package - Significant Cuts in what's included (Threads Merged)

[sonnenstrahl]

This is maybe all fine for you, if you have time to wait. We are booked for Monday and the transition time will affect us. Absolute not happy about it. I guess one of us will up grade and we have no headaches about is. Not a good way to start with a new Cruise-Line for us. I wish I booked with Princess!!!!!!!!!!!! If I could change it, I would in a second.

[Cruise Junky]

This is maybe all fine for you, if you have time to wait. We are booked for Monday and the transition time will affect us. Absolute not happy about it. I guess one of us will up grade and we have no headaches about is. Not a good way to start with a new Cruise-Line for us. I wish I booked with Princess!!!!!!!!!!!! If I could change it, I would in a second.

 

Don't go on a cruise feeling like that. I'm a Princess cruiser who just disembarked an S class, we'll be sticking with Celebrity. Go and have a great time

[NYcruzzer]

This is maybe all fine for you, if you have time to wait. We are booked for Monday and the transition time will affect us. Absolute not happy about it. I guess one of us will up grade and we have no headaches about is. Not a good way to start with a new Cruise-Line for us. I wish I booked with Princess!!!!!!!!!!!! If I could change it, I would in a second.

 

Must be catching.. NCL just raised their Drink package from $49.00 PP a day to $54.00 PP if you pre-order online. If you purchase onboard the daily price is $59.00 All options plus 15% gratuity. Everyone over 21 in cabin must purchase the package. Does not include bottled water or specialty coffee.

[wpgcycler]

This is maybe all fine for you, if you have time to wait. We are booked for Monday and the transition time will affect us. Absolute not happy about it. I guess one of us will up grade and we have no headaches about is. Not a good way to start with a new Cruise-Line for us. I wish I booked with Princess!!!!!!!!!!!! If I could change it, I would in a second.

 

Seems a bit drastic as the only outstanding issues on this are whether Johnny and Jack are included. Have I missed something?

[cle-guy]

I'm reminded of the price change X made in packages back end of last summer. At the time, you could save money by buying in advance, and they were taking that away, making the advance purchase the same cost as buying on board.

 

One could upgrade to premium to from classic for $10 (plus grat). People on these boards then went all crazy saying the upgrade price is now gonna be $15 without any hint of proof of that since the spread between the packages had in effect increased an additional $5. In fact once people boarded ships, it remained only $10 to upgrade. hundreds of posts that caused mass confusion all over nothing.

[ghstudio]

Must be catching.. NCL just raised their Drink package from $49.00 PP a day to $54.00 PP if you pre-order online. If you purchase onboard the daily price is $59.00 All options plus 15% gratuity. Everyone over 21 in cabin must purchase the package. Does not include bottled water or specialty coffee.

 

What Celebrity did is very different. They enticed people to purchase tickets with a promotion giving away a "free" classic drink package. The folks that got that "free" package took the value of that package into account when purchasing their cabins. The presumption (right or wrong) was that the package would include essentially what the package included when they got the package (many nuances of this...for example celebrity apparently published the contents of the classic drink package in the UK in advertisements). Had celebrity raised the price of the packages and left the drinks the same, there was no issue....if you have the package free, or purchased it before the announcement, you got exactly the same drinks. But celebrity didn't do that...they left the price the same and changed the content...perceived as "bait and switch", misleading, etc....you can read the posts.

 

IMHO, NCL did it right...celebrity didn't.

Edited May 16, 2014 by ghstudio

[tercar]

I have to agree with you there NCL did what I think should have happened on X. We all know prices rise and accept the fact. I would have preferred a rise in the package price whilst leaving the available drink ALONE.

 

 

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[cle-guy]

The best thing X can do is remove any reference to specific brands and not publish any list of brands that are in specific packages. If they do publish a listp, clearly state "Brands carried in a package are subject to change at any time" or similar language. Let their lawyers determine exact wording, if it's not already in the contract someplace.

 

They should instead publish a list of all the brands they carry onboard and note "this list is a representation, but does not necessarily include all brands, and some brands my be absent or unavailable when on board" and not reference what package or price level those brands are in.

 

They should just say everywhere package includes all brands that sell for $8 etc. and then not tell what brands sell for that price until you board the ship to find out. Then they can readily increase the price of certain brands as they wish.

 

However as I say over and over, I'm certain they have that language buried someplace int eh cruise contract or terms and conditions. This isn't their first ground with such changes.

 

It seems we are begging celebrity to give us LESS information over time so we are not disappointed later.

[mr bluetoon]

What Celebrity did is very different. They enticed people to purchase tickets with a promotion giving away a "free" classic drink package. The folks that got that "free" package took the value of that package into account when purchasing their cabins. The presumption (right or wrong) was that the package would include essentially what the package included when they got the package (many nuances of this...for example celebrity apparently published the contents of the classic drink package in the UK in advertisements). Had celebrity raised the price of the packages and left the drinks the same, there was no issue....if you have the package free, or purchased it before the announcement, you got exactly the same drinks. But celebrity didn't do that...they left the price the same and changed the content...perceived as "bait and switch", misleading, etc....you can read the posts.

 

IMHO, NCL did it right...celebrity didn't.

 

This is exactly the issue, and they did raise the price for the package in February, so they have no excuse to change their drink list other to make profit from more popular drinks. A complete violation of trading laws

 

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[mr bluetoon]

The best thing X can do is remove any reference to specific brands and not publish any list of brands that are in specific packages. If they do publish a listp, clearly state "Brands carried in a package are subject to change at any time" or similar language. Let their lawyers determine exact wording, if it's not already in the contract someplace.

 

They should instead publish a list of all the brands they carry onboard and note "this list is a representation, but does not necessarily include all brands, and some brands my be absent or unavailable when on board" and not reference what package or price level those brands are in.

 

They should just say everywhere package includes all brands that sell for $8 etc. and then not tell what brands sell for that price until you board the ship to find out. Then they can readily increase the price of certain brands as they wish.

 

However as I say over and over, I'm certain they have that language buried someplace int eh cruise contract or terms and conditions. This isn't their first ground with such changes.

 

It seems we are begging celebrity to give us LESS information over time so we are not disappointed later.

 

Would you honestly buy something that the only description was the price!!

 

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[20pluscruises]

This is exactly the issue, and they did raise the price for the package in February, so they have no excuse to change their drink list other to make profit from more popular drinks. A complete violation of trading laws

 

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This also makes me think they want to appeal to a yonger age group...I remember the days of not caring if it was bar liquor or top shelf...yes, many years ago. :)

[cle-guy]

This is exactly the issue, and they did raise the price for the package in February, so they have no excuse to change their drink list other to make profit from more popular drinks. A complete violation of trading laws

 

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Consumer laws in the UK and Scotland seriously make it a violation for a company to determine what items can be sold for what price? Businesses are not free to sell some items for a higher profit margin than others? I had no idea that was the law there.

 

Is there a published guideline on a product by product basis someplace that tells a company what the highest price it can sell a particular product for? I'd be interested in seeing that. Maybe a cultural difference from our Capitalistic method of business sin the USA I suppose? We do have such pricing controls on some things such as tobacco and alcohol, well, actually laws stipulate MINIMUM pricing, not maximum pricing in these categories.

[cle-guy]

This also makes me think they want to appeal to a yonger age group...I remember the days of not caring if it was bar liquor or top shelf...yes, many years ago. :)

 

I see the fact that the lower packages now have only cheep booze as a precursor to X including the beverages in that package (alcohol as well as sodas and low-end bottled waters) in the overall cruise fare so they can proudly announce an "all inclusive" cruise experience, leaving opportunity to pay to upgrade to premium beverages . I also think they upgrade will be more like 15 or 20 a day up from the current 10 a day. That the new promotion out does not give the beverage package as an option, gives me more evidence of such a change on the horizon, most likely for the 2016 season.

 

The change will place a higher perceived value on the canon fare, and let them raise the cabin fare across the board.....increasing revenue.

 

I believe this announcement would make them the only mass-market line to include alcohol in their package (other than Azamara, a celebrity sister brand). But admittedly, I've not done any research onto this supposition.

[cle-guy]

Would you honestly buy something that the only description was the price!!

 

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Honestly, yes, in relation to a beverage package. I've never actually looked in depth at the brands within the packages too carefully. I know I like fresh juices and fancy coffee and top shelf liquors, Molecular Bar drinks, and Evian bottled water so the classic package is never a consideration for me at all none of those items would be covered bus to their price points - just the desire for Molecular bar drinks makes it not work for me since they are priced at $13. Common sense tells me those items aren't gonna be in the cheap package, get the expensive package. Beverage package overall is not critical to my cruise experience. I realize a free beverage package is an enticement to get me to pay a bit to upgrade it, and that strategy seems to work well for them.

 

I DO research heavily the cabin amenities, and do expect these to be delivered, that is important to ME. but everyone has their own opinion of what's critical for enjoyment.

[neptuno]

Would you honestly buy something that the only description was the price!!

 

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No, but that is what Celebrity wants us to do. Their information about the (USA) Classic and Premium packages is so vague, and they do not publish menus with prices for spirits or wine. So, as a consumer, I research forums like this where I found various posts, some with photos of menus, others with links, that got me excited about a number of brands which I expected to receive in the Classic package that I purchased back in April, only to find out, that the brands and pricing changed May 1st, and many are now available only in the upgrade Premium package at a price of $161/week for two. If Celebrity does not offer an OBC to cover the upgrade it will be "bait and switch" tactic.

[blindrid]

What Celebrity did is very different. They enticed people to purchase tickets with a promotion giving away a "free" classic drink package. The folks that got that "free" package took the value of that package into account when purchasing their cabins. The presumption (right or wrong) was that the package would include essentially what the package included when they got the package (many nuances of this...for example celebrity apparently published the contents of the classic drink package in the UK in advertisements). Had celebrity raised the price of the packages and left the drinks the same, there was no issue....if you have the package free, or purchased it before the announcement, you got exactly the same drinks. But celebrity didn't do that...they left the price the same and changed the content...perceived as "bait and switch", misleading, etc....you can read the posts.

 

IMHO, NCL did it right...celebrity didn't.

 

I totally agree. This will be my first X cruise and after having to make several calls just to book the cruise and after researching what the drink package consisted of, I decided to book three cabins on the Equinox (us and two other couples). The cruise was more expensive than some of the other lines I like but my sister likes X so I thought I would give them a try.

 

We are a pretty low maintenance cruiser but I havea bit of a bad taste in my mouth with the lack of service just trying to book the cruise and now it's almost like the Classic package value has been reduced a bit - making my decision to book questionable.

 

As to the package, I'm really don't care if my marg has top shelf in it and my beer is just a beer but if I find out a large number of drinks are now above the "covered price" or only really bad wine is allowed (no, I'm not a wine or beer snob), that's when I'm thinking X is a reduced value over some of the other lines I typically use.

 

To exaggerate my point, it's like buying a bev package and then finding there is only one draft beer allowed, bar liquor only and then it seems almost like a non-alcoholic package. I agree that X listing brands gets them in trouble as some are brand loyal (i'm not). BUT there is a bit of a problem when you put a price limit as all a line has to do is with a stroke of a pen, you can raise a drink by a quarter, making it ineligible. Most of us want a hassle free, relaxed cruise - not worrying about this isn't covered, that isn't. Just make it simple and let's go - raise the price of the package - and lets go.

 

We'll still have fun regardless but I feel the experience will be cheapened a bit due to my mindset of a bad booking experience and now, this. Maybe X isn't for me but maybe it is. Time will tell.

 

Anyway, just my 2 cents and have a good day.

Edited May 16, 2014 by blindrid

[ghstudio]

Cle....I think you are having problems understanding the point of view of folks who are less well off than you are. You seem to book suites (albeit when the price is right) and many here book guaranteed veranda's. People have different perpectives....you like the molecular bar...I could care less about it, I'm a scotch/vodka drinker. You value cabin benefits a great deal....if they took away the butlers, the slippers, the robes, you'd probably have some very strong words to say. I'd be saying...what's the big deal...because I don't care about those things.

 

The legal words sparring is not helpful...if someone is going to do something legal, they will...or they won't. Stop with the passive aggressive stuff too....your generalizing and that's always a mistake. Finally, accept that you aren't always right...there are two sides and your side is not always the right side, if there is a right and wrong side.

[BOBfromNJ]

No, but that is what Celebrity wants us to do. Their information about the (USA) Classic and Premium packages is so vague, and they do not publish menus with prices for spirits or wine. So, as a consumer, I research forums like this where I found various posts, some with photos of menus, others with links, that got me excited about a number of brands which I expected to receive in the Classic package that I purchased back in April, only to find out, that the brands and pricing changed May 1st, and many are now available only in the upgrade Premium package at a price of $161/week for two. If Celebrity does not offer an OBC to cover the upgrade it will be "bait and switch" tactic.

 

Just got off the phone with a Celebrity customer service rep who connected me to a senior resolutions manager. I was told there have been NO changes to the classic package prices. All drinks are still $ 8.00 or less. Where did the $9.00 come from? This is an up to date price as of May 1st.

Of course their web site that shows what's is and is not included is down!

[neptuno]

Just got off the phone with a Celebrity customer service rep who connected me to a senior resolutions manager. I was told there have been NO changes to the classic package prices. All drinks are still $ 8.00 or less. Where did the $9.00 come from? This is an up to date price as of May 1st.

Of course their web site that shows what's is and is not included is down!

 

 

We are reading posts from some aboard the Eclipse and Solstice who indicate a lot of confusion about pricing. The website is changing, and we are all in the dark. I do know that the brands published before I booked have been changed to lesser quality on the Eclipse and Solstice right now.

[cle-guy]

Cle....I think you are having problems understanding the point of view of folks who are less well off than you are. You seem to book suites (albeit when the price is right) and many here book guaranteed veranda's. People have different perpectives....you like the molecular bar...I could care less about it, I'm a scotch/vodka drinker. You value cabin benefits a great deal....if they took away the butlers, the slippers, the robes, you'd probably have some very strong words to say. I'd be saying...what's the big deal...because I don't care about those things.

 

The legal words sparring is not helpful...if someone is going to do something legal, they will...or they won't. Stop with the passive aggressive stuff too....your generalizing and that's always a mistake. Finally, accept that you aren't always right...there are two sides and your side is not always the right side, if there is a right and wrong side.

 

Appreciate your opinion, but I will continue to express mine as long as others express theirs, thanks you.

 

If someone is going to talk law and filing charges, I'll discuss my knowledge of law and filing suits and contract interpretation. I have operated business entities in 9 foreign countries, so do have some good knowledge of business practices worldwide. I have established and shut down business entities often, (my company produces traveling museum exhibitions that travel domestically and internationally, thus the need to set up and shut down often as an exhibit comes and goes) and learned about consumer protection laws heavily in the UK and Australia having had to respond to several queries in my business operations, there, so i am posting with intimate knowledge on those matters.

 

Note also I'm one of the few on these boards who actually posts my name and photograph, I don't hide behind the internet in a passive-aggressive way. I have written letters to Celebrity and other companies when I have been dissatisfied and I have learned that's the best way to get action having had emails and Facebook posts go ignored ptr responded to with general thank you for writing replies.

 

And you are right if the butler goes, so will my brand loyalty. Robes and slippers, I really don't care about. Butler would in fact be the reason to spread my cruise experience elsewhere. The butler is one of the things that drew me to celebrity as they are quite unique in that amenity. I tend to vegetate when on vacation and thus the cabin itself is important to me. Having spent so many nights over the years in small hotel rooms for work (one year alone 159 in marriott hotel brands alone) the last thing I want on vacation is a small stuffy hotel room, so I seek out bargain suites and use my saved frequent flyer miles for the ancillary costs like air and hotels, and even pay with Miles by Amex on occasion to upgrade to suites instead of paying cash. You'd be surprised what a bargain hunter I really am if you really knew me. I call it traveling "ghetto fabulous".

 

I've said along the way that it does suck when prices go up, but they do and I accept it and move on. But instead people just want to continue to complain about spilt milk.

 

You'd be surprised how many off-line emails I get from people wanting my opinions on things in these threads to help cut though the drama in these boards, and I reply to every single email I get with my version of reality and my actual observations and clarifications. Further when I found these boards, I found information severely lacking as to the suite program, so as such I'm giving back to the Crusie Critic community by posting my views form a perspective of a suite traveler. That's why my profile signature indicates my history, so people can learn a bit about my perspective and interpretations.

[Christine Frances]

Would you honestly buy something that the only description was the price!!

 

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Sure! We go on a regular basis to a local hotel that advertises a Sunday Brunch Buffet for a set price. Sometimes they have smoked salmon, sometimes they have blueberry waffles etc. basics are pretty much the same (scrambled eggs, eggs Benny, bacon etc) but there are different options every time we go. Should I sue them:)

 

 

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Edited May 16, 2014 by Christine Frances

[cle-guy]

Just got off the phone with a Celebrity customer service rep who connected me to a senior resolutions manager. I was told there have been NO changes to the classic package prices. All drinks are still $ 8.00 or less. Where did the $9.00 come from? This is an up to date price as of May 1st.

Of course their web site that shows what's is and is not included is down!

 

 

exactly. I refer you to a prior post in this thread, #305

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=42782457&postcount=305

[ghstudio]

Just got off the phone with a Celebrity customer service rep who connected me to a senior resolutions manager. I was told there have been NO changes to the classic package prices. All drinks are still $ 8.00 or less. Where did the $9.00 come from? This is an up to date price as of May 1st.

Of course their web site that shows what's is and is not included is down!

 

The following is from the UK web site, copied just moments ago. It applies to all celebrity cruises, not just the ones from the UK...so the prices shown are not necessarily with gratuities included. Even if they are, the limits are different than those prices shown on the US web site.

 

Upgrade your cruise experience and pay one price to enjoy all of the benefits of our Classic Non-Alcoholic package featuring beers up to $7 per serving, wine by the glass up u[ to $10.50 per serving, and spirits and cocktails up to $9.50 per serving.

 

$56.35 per guest, per day.

 

Note: the quoted blurb is as it appears...and yes, it really does say "non-alcoholic"....don't shoot me, the messenger.

Edited May 16, 2014 by ghstudio

[blindrid]

 

I DO research heavily the cabin amenities, and do expect these to be delivered, that is important to ME. but everyone has their own opinion of what's critical for enjoyment.

 

I guess to relate your comment to my feeling on the bev package is that after you booked your cabin (after research), they reconfigured your cabin during drydock and took away some square footage and some amenities which reduced the value of your cabin.

 

As some other posters mentioned, they can change what they want, when they want but that doesn't make it right. When we book a cruise we agree to the passenger contract which allows them to do whatever they want.

 

As I've mentioned, they can reduce the perceived value of their cruise and we only have the option to not book X again. For a first timer on X, I would hope my experience will be good. If not, I'll go back to the other lines I have enjoyed in the past.

 

Regardless, we are going to have fun and it's only a perception thing whether or not X is for us.

[Christine Frances]

I take it that the Classic Alcohol Bev Pkg also includes everything in the Classic Non-Alcohol Bev Pkg. But who knows lol

 

 

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Edited May 16, 2014 by Christine Frances