Celebrity Drinks Prices

[SWORRUB1]

This isnt a moaning thread at all, I would just be interested in the views of other cruisers as to the level of beverage pricing on Celebrity.

 

Do we think (for example) that a shot of Jamiesons is good value at over

USD10.5/EUR7.53/GBP6.17 on sailings from the UK.

 

Alternatively what about a bottle of Heineken at USD7/EUR5/GBP4.11

or a glass of Shiraz (pres 250ml) at USD10.5/EUR7.53/GBP6.17

or a can of soda at USD2.9/EUR2/GBP1.70

 

I would say in a 5 star environment some are OK others look expensive to me.

 

What do you think?

[wallie5446]

As long as it is covered by the Premium Bev pkg, X can put whatever cost figure against it they like.

[SWORRUB1]

As long as it is covered by the Premium Bev pkg, X can put whatever cost figure against it they like.

 

Hahahahahaha

I doubt if non-package holders would view it that way, although presumably the higher the individual cost of drinks is the higher the package prices will be!

[txflood33]

Of course it's over priced. I look at it as being in an airport or at an amusement park....you're stuck there, so if you really want it, you'll pay it.

 

Simple supply and demand.....if you're on the ship and the ship is the only place to get a Dewars and water and you want one...they can pretty much charge what they want....until people stop paying

 

I'll say this....if a Budweiser costs $9 at Busch Stadium in St Louis...the city where Bud is made...$7 for a Heineken in the middle of the Atlantic is no problem

 

The cans of soda are a bit much....a 20oz in an amusement park can reach $3....but us caffeine junkies in the US will pay it

[lexdisic]

Of course it's over priced. I look at it as being in an airport or at an amusement park....you're stuck there, so if you really want it, you'll pay it.

 

Simple supply and demand.....if you're on the ship and the ship is the only place to get a Dewars and water and you want one...they can pretty much charge what they want....until people stop paying

 

I'll say this....if a Budweiser costs $9 at Busch Stadium in St Louis...the city where Bud is made...$7 for a Heineken in the middle of the Atlantic is no problem

 

The cans of soda are a bit much....a 20oz in an amusement park can reach $3....but us caffeine junkies in the US will pay it

 

$9 :eek::eek::eek:

[SWORRUB1]

I'll say this....if a Budweiser costs $9 at Busch Stadium in St Louis...the city where Bud is made...$7 for a Heineken in the middle of the Atlantic is no problem

 

The cans of soda are a bit much....a 20oz in an amusement park can reach $3....but us caffeine junkies in the US will pay it

 

Beer at UK football about USD6/EUR5/GBP3.50

Soft drinks USD3.75/EUR2.70/GBP2.20 (330mls)

 

What I thought was that the wine looks to be quite expensive, however

it is not uncommon for 250ml red wine to be GBP7 (USD12/EUR8.5) in a nice UK wine bar/hotel

[txflood33]

$9 :eek::eek::eek:

 

$9 is for a large...here are all the prices for all the MLB parks for a small beer as of 2013

 

[Heisler123]

On our cruise on the Silhouette, they had a happy hour daily from 4-6 and 10-12. Prices were really good. Draught $3.00, wine $4.00 certain cocktails $5.00.

 

I did not find the prices overall that bad...

[neptuno]

..... a glass of Shiraz (pres 250ml) at USD10.5/EUR7.53/GBP6.17....

 

Just curious, do they really pour 250ml of wine? In the US, a serving is considered 150ml, therefor five servings per 750ml bottle of wine. And yes, the prices are high, at least compared to MSC, where you can buy vouchers for drinks including wines by the glass for $4.80us, or beers @$3.71, both prices include the 15% gratuity.

[SWORRUB1]

Just curious, do they really pour 250ml of wine? In the US, a serving is considered 150ml, therefor five servings per 750ml bottle of wine. And yes, the prices are high, at least compared to MSC, where you can buy vouchers for drinks including wines by the glass for $4.80us, or beers @$3.71, both prices include the 15% gratuity.

 

 

I dont know, the 'pres' was short for presumably! If it isnt a 250ml serving then they do look rather expensive I guess

[wpgcycler]

Good value you ask? Highway robbery is more like it - BUT, that is the norm on restaurants and bars on land in the the U.S. and the U.K.

 

I just spent some time scanning drinks lists at mid priced places in the U.K. (including West Midlands) and found that the typical price for something like Jamesons or JW Red us about £3 (currently US$5) for 25ml - which us LESS than an ounce - I think it's fair to say that even the stingiest bartender on a Celebrity ship will pour at least 1.5 ounces and typically a couple. So on this basis I don't think the prices are at all out of line.

 

I'd be interested to hear how the pricing compares to other lines however as I'm completely ignorant on that front.

[lucinjo]

I think the price for water and soda are inflated, but at least you can bring your own onboard. We are a captive audience for alcohol, however. Prices are high, especially on wine, even coming from a "pricey" environment like DC. (yes, we are number 1 for beer pricing at the ballpark). Cocktails are more in line - standard here is to figure a specialty drink (aka Martini bar or Molecular bar) including tax and tip at an upscale bar or lounge will be $20. That is for one!

We just get the premium package (well Classic for free then TA upgrades us) and enjoy. We usually end up with $100 or so bar bill for up charged wines by the glass.

[The_Big_M]

Just curious, do they really pour 250ml of wine? In the US, a serving is considered 150ml, therefor five servings per 750ml bottle of wine. And yes, the prices are high, at least compared to MSC, where you can buy vouchers for drinks including wines by the glass for $4.80us, or beers @$3.71, both prices include the 15% gratuity.

 

The pours aren't 'standard' but I'd say 150ml is a fair average onboard.

[kevinyork]

On our cruise on the Silhouette, they had a happy hour daily from 4-6 and 10-12. Prices were really good. Draught $3.00, wine $4.00 certain cocktails $5.00.

 

I did not find the prices overall that bad...

 

I believe the recent price increases were introduced just after the Transatlantic.

 

When people compare prices to land based restaurants/hotels bear in mind Celebrity have access to duty free prices so their cost is considerably lower than land based outlets that incur duty.

 

We heard some workmen working on a shop transformation onboard say they had access to the staff bar where all drinks cost them 90c. Thats 90c for a Scotch that costs a passenger around $11.

[wpgcycler]

I believe the recent price increases were introduced just after the Transatlantic.

 

When people compare prices to land based restaurants/hotels bear in mind Celebrity have access to duty free prices so their cost is considerably lower than land based outlets that incur duty.

 

We heard some workmen working on a shop transformation onboard say they had access to the staff bar where all drinks cost them 90c. Thats 90c for a Scotch that costs a passenger around $11.

 

Except in countries such as mine where government monopolies control liquor distribution and everyone, including bars and restaurants pay exorbitant RETAIL prices for any alcoholic beverage, the actual cost of the liquor, wine or beer is a minimal component of the cost of the drink in a bar whether duty free or not.

[hcat]

On our cruise on the Silhouette, they had a happy hour daily from 4-6 and 10-12. Prices were really good. Draught $3.00, wine $4.00 certain cocktails $5.00.

 

I did not find the prices overall that bad...

 

Happy Hour specials sound like a nice alt to bev packages esp if they are not offered as a perk.

[lexdisic]

Duty on UK drinks

 

In the Budget 2013, duty was increased as follows:

 

Duty per 75cl bottle of wine was raised by 10p to £2.

Duty on a 70cl, 40% alcohol bottle of spirits was raised 39p to £7.90

Duty on 4% beer was cut .9p to 44.4p a pint and on 4.2% by 1p to 45.6p a pint.

 

Plus 20% Vat included in the retail sale

[ginak1112]

I was on the Infinity for a British Isles cruise last week. I have been cruising for the past 25 years and I was shocked by the drink prices on this trip! In the past we have always purchased bottles of wine (Wente brand labeled for Celebrity) for $20-$25 a bottle; there was nothing under $40 this cruise. Additionally, we could not find a glass of wine under $10 and it was not a very good one. An Irish coffee or similar was $9 and a martini was $14. I understand paying $14 for a martini on South Beach when you go there a few times a year but not on a cruise ship. It was a 12 day cruise and prices like that did not encourage drinking. I guess it helped my waistline because I only bought a handful of drinks. We did use our Captain's club drink vouchers when we were on the boat between 5-7 but they were not that great. Cheap wines or a martini that was not properly prepared. We did have a nice time but this is just one area that I was very disheartened about.

[swsfrail]

And yes, the prices are high, at least compared to MSC, where you can buy vouchers for drinks including wines by the glass for $4.80us, or beers @$3.71, both prices include the 15% gratuity.

 

You are comparing standard pricing on Celebrity to discounted pricing with vouchers on MSC - not a fair comparison. If you think buying discount vouchers on MSC is so great, then you should also like the idea of buying the beverage package on Celebrity, especially since it will allow you to drink as much as you like, including 15% gratuities, for a single set price - no vouchers necessary. ;)

Edited May 27, 2014 by swsfrail

[GWRNigel]

I do not drink much I will have wine with dinner and one drink of an evening, but I do take water on day trips and drink soda during the day, can someone please confirm price of a bottle of still water and a soda on cruises ex UK.

I am working out if to go for package or not, on my Christmas cruise I did the water but I think on price per day now I will not but want to confirm.

Thanks in advance.

[ozark74]

On the Infinity in April they had beer specials. On port days they would have Heineken draft buy on get on free. They were 16oz mugs at $5.50 plus tip for 2. That was the best buy. Also would had Corona 2 for the price of one.

Edited May 27, 2014 by ozark74

[bisabella]

On the Infinity in April they had beer specials. On port days they would have Heineken draft buy on get on free. They were 16oz mugs at $5.50 plus tip for 2. That was the best buy. Also would had Corona 2 for the price of one.

 

Did they have any specials on glasses of wine?

[ginak1112]

I had heard that there were drink specials from passengers who did the TA and then remained on our cruise last week. They were shocked when they went to get their usual cocktails only to find new pricing. Sadly, they are no more and the prices have dramatically increased.

[ghstudio]

I think it's pretty understandable that the ships personnel are confused by all the changes the same as we are. They probably have to guess what to do if a drink that is generally over the limit for classic is on special that brings it under the classic limit. I'd bet some would say, sure it's covered, others would say, no it's not a covered drink at any price. I certainly have no clue which is right...but my concern is that there's no one on the ship who knows either. I guess if I had to guess, a drink that's available at lower than the limit price, for whatever reason, is covered. Of course then you get into the drinks that are 2 for $10 and you only want one. It's just fundamentally confusing.

 

Celebrity has burned a bit of the candle of trust with these recent changes. In order to rebuild that trust, I keep saying that we need some sort of consistent statement on all the Celebrity Web sites, social media sites and clean consistent implementation on the ships. Hopefully, I'm not asking for too much.

[neptuno]

You are comparing standard pricing on Celebrity to discounted pricing with vouchers on MSC - not a fair comparison. If you think buying discount vouchers on MSC is so great, then you should also like the idea of buying the beverage package on Celebrity, especially since it will allow you to drink as much as you like, including 15% gratuities, for a single set price - no vouchers necessary. ;)

 

We were sold the Classic for a discount of $22.36pp/day. At that price it was an easy decision, as we usually enjoy a bottle of wine each night with our dinner($40 on Celebrity). But at full price of $49pp (plus 15%) times seven, we would prefer vouchers so we don't feel like we have to indulge to 'get our money's worth' of $788.90 of drinks in a week. (btw, MSC offers a dinner wine package of seven bottles for $85, and their Italian 'merlot' is quite drinkable @ $12/bottle).

Edited May 27, 2014 by neptuno