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

[Pushka]

:D

 

They are actually scared to call Celebrity and get a real answer. Party would be OVER.

 

Would rather make false accusations and assumptions ...... just way too fun. :D

 

I think that's rather juvenile. :rolleyes:

 

As we are on different time zones, I've asked for a clarifying email response.

 

And yesterday I asked the question (as have many others) on Celebrity's official Facebook page. They have not deigned to respond and clarify.

 

Next snarky comment?

[MicCanberra]

I booked 4 future cruises taking the drink package option while aboard. I may rethink that and see if my TA can get me changed to free gratuities and then just buy wines by the bottle.

Do the math first but it may well be worth it for you.:D

[Pushka]

Do the math first but it may well be worth it for you.:D

 

Unless they also raise the autotip and want you to fork out extra dollars. :p

[Yellowfurbaby]

Has anyone got a list of what was included on the old classic drinks package and what is included on the new classic drinks package? If this is provided I'll take it further. X

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[Pushka]

The list for UK people.

[Yellowfurbaby]

The list for UK people.

 

This is the old list I assume as I see baileys. Thank you.

Anyone got the new list?

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[snowyboy]

This is the old list I assume as I see baileys. Thank you.

Anyone got the new list?

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

Try this for size scroll to top

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=42740369&posted=1#post42740369

Edited May 13, 2014 by snowyboy

[Highly Sociable]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=42740369&posted=1#post42740369

 

This is the current list on Eclipse. Lots of spirits missing, and a heck of a lot of wines and after dinner drinks. :mad:

[MicCanberra]

Try this for size

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=42740369&posted=1#post42740369

 

Thanks for posting this.:D

[The_Big_M]

I think that's rather juvenile. :rolleyes:

 

As we are on different time zones, I've asked for a clarifying email response.

 

And yesterday I asked the question (as have many others) on Celebrity's official Facebook page. They have not deigned to respond and clarify.

 

Next snarky comment?

 

Plus it's reasonable to discuss it here to get an idea of the extent of the issue, and what other's - constructive - thoughts are.

 

I think some get their fun complaining about others, and making snarky comments. ;-)

[The_Big_M]

I saw that and wondered if it was a typo.

If they've really raised the limit on the Classic what is the new limit on the premium?

I just read a thread where a poster said he is on a B2B and he has the premium and wines covered on the first cruise were now a .50 - $4.00 surcharge so I don' think limits have been raised.

I'll find the post a quote it in a minute.

 

The other possibility is that the prices in the premium category also increased further...

[The_Big_M]

Unless they also raise the autotip and want you to fork out extra dollars. :p

 

Last time that happened, those who had prepaid did not have to pay the extra...

[The_Big_M]

Try this for size scroll to top

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=42740369&posted=1#post42740369

 

Here's the direct link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=42740275

Edited May 13, 2014 by The_Big_M

[woodyren]

Ok. Long time lurker but first time poster on the subject.

 

My personal observations and feelings about all this.

 

I had never cruised before last year but because cruise holidays had been recommended by so many friends who had opinions that I value we decided to put or toes in the water so to speak. Tried 4 different cruise lines, loved them all, but Celebrity had many little extra touches so we decided to stick with them for our next cruise.

 

Fast forward a few months and as we are deciding what to do I started researching the value (TO US) of the drinks package. We are not what you would call wealthy (but are certainly fortunate to be able to take holidays) to the extent that have to limit our sending on board and in ports in order to allow us to cruise more often (our choice) so my DW drinks almost zero drinks on board and I buy the occasional beer bucket. We would love to try things and do enjoy a drink but again we have to balance what we do so we go without. I did extensive research on what was available (reading every thread and menu I could find on here), what the package would be worth to us against say the alternative which was wait for a cheaper price or take OBC or free grats. and finally settled on the drink package at the current price and booked our cruise. We also booked airfare so it is not really an option to cancel now some things have changed. We even planned to book 3 more cruises when on board if the perk was available as we kind of warmed to the idea and value of sipping on a couple of expensive (for us) drinks.

 

Roll forward only a short time and we find out that many of those drinks we planned on trying are no longer available. While not a deal breaker it is just a little disappointing and also looks to be on face value a deliberate decision to move the goal posts to either save costs or encourage people to pay the extra for the premium. Even those who have already ponied up for the premium (many of whom would have done similar research before making that decision) may now find some things out of range.

 

Will that cause me to run off to consumer affairs? No. Will it stop me having a great holiday? I doubt it very much. Will it change my decision to book my 3 panned cruises for next year while on board? I don't know. But I will evaluate what drinks are now on offer along with the impact TO US of the loss of the wonderful activities staff that played a large role in making our on board experience so much fun last time on Celebrity. From an almost certainty if things were as they were now to less than that (how much less I will tell you after our cruise).I will also be a little less trusting in some perks offered and on past experience when the decision comes.

 

I would think from a sample of what I am reading on here that others feel similarly.

Edited May 13, 2014 by woodyren

[tbmrt]

Oh, I wouldn't say offering the Classic Package was a mistake, got you to book didn't it? got us also. Once they get you onboard a lot of people are happy to upgrade once they find out what they can get for their extra $11.50 a day and that's what Celebrity was counting on.

 

We intended to upgrade to premium onboard to pay w/our OBC...However, I'm wondering if we should do this now before the $11.50 onboard upgrade is increased!

 

My sister just came back from a cruise on Celebrity to Bermuda and said things were awful w/regard to drink prices purchased from drink packages and many bartenders' attitudes. Alot of extra charges on their bills.

 

Apparently there is alot of confusion....Sometimes they could get 2 drinks (2 packages) with a soda on the side at one time...Another bartender said no, you couldn't do this. Sometimes the drink of the day in a specialty glass was included...Other times not...

 

The thing that really irked her is when she went to purchase a drink and the bartender was slicing lemons....He told her she had to wait til he finished what he was doing.

[neptuno]

We intended to upgrade to premium onboard to pay w/our OBC...However, I'm wondering if we should do this now before the $11.50 onboard upgrade is increased.....

 

We too are considering an upgrade to Premium having just seen the new Classic(dismal) list posted by Kevinyork. The extra $161us will not ruin our trip, but having to drink poor wines would. So, before we upgrade, the question remains, which wines will be included in the Premium package? Or, will we be charged and extra $4/glass even with the Premium package, like some posters have mentioned?

[Cruise Junky]

We intended to upgrade to premium onboard to pay w/our OBC...However, I'm wondering if we should do this now before the $11.50 onboard upgrade is increased!

 

My sister just came back from a cruise on Celebrity to Bermuda and said things were awful w/regard to drink prices purchased from drink packages and many bartenders' attitudes. Alot of extra charges on their bills.

 

Apparently there is alot of confusion....Sometimes they could get 2 drinks (2 packages) with a soda on the side at one time...Another bartender said no, you couldn't do this. Sometimes the drink of the day in a specialty glass was included...Other times not...

 

The thing that really irked her is when she went to purchase a drink and the bartender was slicing lemons....He told her she had to wait til he finished what he was doing.

 

Wow, we didn't experience any of that last week on Solstice we had great bar service. Can't advise on the upgrading now...but if you have a freebie doesn't it say in the fine print you can upgrade for $11.50 a day? When they made the buy on board prices more expensive a while back the upgrade charge didn't change

[uktog]

Still I wait to hear from 1 single poster from UK or Australia to actually file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs bureau over these issues and report back with the outcome.

 

The UK Consumer Affairs site only allows reporting for major things like Telecom, Airlines, etc. No vacations or cruises specifically. They do provide a link to a Consumer Affairs site that deals with misleading advertisements, which seems to be the nature of the complaints in these forums. Here is a link to the brochure they provide itemizing the process and how to lodger the complaint, including a phone number to call:

http://www.asa.org.uk/Consumers/~/media/Files/ASA/Misc/ASA_consumer_complaints_single_Final.ashx

 

I await hearing the outcome of these complaints.

 

As I said elsewhere you are not correct - asa is the correct place to complain, consumer affairs legislation does include vacations, indeed it is one of the biggest areas Trading Standards have to look at.

 

I read on a UK based site I am not allowed to mention here that someone has indeed referred the issue to ASA however it will be some weeks or even months before that gets an outcome.

 

Interestingly, despite a number of posts on their Facebook page, Celebrity are not responding on this issue or answering questions of clarification

[ghstudio]

Interestingly, despite a number of posts on their Facebook page, Celebrity are not responding on this issue or answering questions of clarification

 

What are they going to say that would help/calm the response to the change? "our contract says we can change anything at any time..and that's what we did"

Edited May 13, 2014 by ghstudio

[ghstudio]

If celebrity changed the prices on so many bar items that effected the classic package, I'm going to guess that they also changed prices that will effect what's included in the premium package...and we've already seen comments (without too many specifics) about changes in the wines you can order in the package.

 

Can anyone comment on premium package changes....things that were in the package that now you have to pay an "incremental" charge for. Also could someone post the wines that are now included in the premium package (or those that are no longer included).

[cle-guy]

 

Interestingly, despite a number of posts on their Facebook page, Celebrity are not responding on this issue or answering questions of clarification

 

Nor would I expect them to. Nothing good can come of a reply from them. All they really can say is "thank you for your comments, we will look into them". And that wouldn't make anyone happy.

 

Soon the crowds will go silent and it will fade away, just like all the captains club changes and complaining did after some time.

[chamima]

What are they going to say that would help/calm the response to the change? "our contract says we can change anything at any time..and that's what we did"

 

How about "We are concerned with our customer's satisfaction and are looking into the issue" . That's how they responded to one of the multiple threads on here about all of the new problems.

[lexdisic]

The UK Consumer Affairs site only allows reporting for major things like Telecom, Airlines, etc. No vacations or cruises specifically. They do provide a link to a Consumer Affairs site that deals with misleading advertisements, which seems to be the nature of the complaints in these forums. Here is a link to the brochure they provide itemizing the process and how to lodger the complaint, including a phone number to call:

http://www.asa.org.uk/Consumers/~/media/Files/ASA/Misc/ASA_consumer_complaints_single_Final.ashx

 

In Australia, I found this link to lodge a complain on-line in NSW (seems each territory has its own complaint process)

 

https://www.cas.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/icms-public/complaint/registration/newComplaint.sjsp?complaintType=general

 

Someone, ANYONE who thinks their rights have been trampled, please file the complaint for the sake of us all. I await hearing the outcome of these complaints.

 

FWIW - The Uk site you are referring to is the Advertising Standards Authority who have responsibility to oversee, truthfulness, honesty, decency and legality in media advertising and have the power to get advertisements removed. It is "Trading Standards" who are then responsible for taking any action against offenders if deemed necessary through the courts. As a previous poster mentioned, it is unlikely that a successful action would be of any benefit to the consumer, unless the original package was reinstated, but the company could face hefty fines.

 

Look at post 121 of Pushka's, and someone from the UK has volunteered to report it, but I cant find the post.

[Cindy]

If celebrity changed the prices on so many bar items that effected the classic package, I'm going to guess that they also changed prices that will effect what's included in the premium package...and we've already seen comments (without too many specifics) about changes in the wines you can order in the package.

 

Can anyone comment on premium package changes....things that were in the package that now you have to pay an "incremental" charge for. Also could someone post the wines that are now included in the premium package (or those that are no longer included).

 

I would also like this information, especially about the wines. I want to figure out how to break this to my husband before we board next week!:rolleyes:

[NLH Arizona]

Nor would I expect them to. Nothing good can come of a reply from them. All they really can say is "thank you for your comments, we will look into them". And that wouldn't make anyone happy.

 

Soon the crowds will go silent and it will fade away, just like all the captains club changes and complaining did after some time.

I really wonder why Celebrity comes on here to answer anything. When they do, many just beat up on them demanding answers to this or that; it is a no win for them. They would be best served to just stay out of the fray.