Beverages and Beverage Packages FAQ

[rosiecheeks1997]

We have the free Classic package but we want to upgrade to the premium package. Last time we upgraded on board and it went against our room account. Is there a way to upgrade before the cruise and pay via credit card. Husband likes to have everything cruise related paid off prior to leaving.

 

thanks

[RickT]

We have the free Classic package but we want to upgrade to the premium package. Last time we upgraded on board and it went against our room account. Is there a way to upgrade before the cruise and pay via credit card. Husband likes to have everything cruise related paid off prior to leaving.

 

thanks

 

You can call Celebrity and pay for the upgrade in advance. To my knowledge there is no way to do the upgrade on-line.

[diebroke]

We are making our first Celebrity cruise in a few months. I have tried to read all the great information here about the beverage packages & remain a intellectually challenged to fully understand my options.

 

Here is my situation.

My wife & I will be in a Royal Suite. Our daughter & son-in-law will be in a Celebrity Suite.

I understand we are provided a complimentary Premium Beverage Package. We plan to upgrade our daughter & son-in-law to a Premium Beverage Package. I also understand we receive of one bottle of vodka and one bottle of scotch or gin with mixers (beginning January 2016, a choice of spirits and wine) in our suite.

 

We don’t drink distilled spirits. We do drink a lot of good wine. We look forward to sharing afternoon canapés in our suite with our daughter & family. We are going to empty that 1 bottle of wine on the first night or 2 bottles by the second night. That leaves 10 more nights.

It looks like to get bottles of wine either in our suite or a restaurant, we need to buy another wine package or buy bottles individually. Without buying bottles or a bottle package, is our only choice to keep ordering wines by the glass? Can we order wines by the glass in our suite with our afternoon canapés?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[ailetoile]

You've asked a lot of questions in here, so I've gone through below and answered in GREEN text :)

 

My wife & I will be in a Royal Suite. Our daughter & son-in-law will be in a Celebrity Suite.

I understand we are provided a complimentary Premium Beverage Package. We plan to upgrade our daughter & son-in-law to a Premium Beverage Package. I also understand we receive of one bottle of vodka and one bottle of scotch or gin with mixers (beginning January 2016, a choice of spirits and wine) in our suite.

 

It sounds like you are aware that you may be able to switch this out for wine since you've mentioned it here, but I would encourage you to work with your butler when you board to actually make those arrangements to your satisfaction.

 

We don’t drink distilled spirits. We do drink a lot of good wine. We look forward to sharing afternoon canapés in our suite with our daughter & family. We are going to empty that 1 bottle of wine on the first night or 2 bottles by the second night. That leaves 10 more nights.

 

Your family sounds awesome ;)

 

It looks like to get bottles of wine either in our suite or a restaurant, we need to buy another wine package or buy bottles individually. Without buying bottles or a bottle package, is our only choice to keep ordering wines by the glass?

 

This really kind of depends on how you approach the situation. You have a few different options here:

 

1. You can buy bottles of wine individually. You will enjoy a 20% discount on bottles of wine because you have the Premium Package. It is important to note that the discount you receive from this package is MORE than the discount you will receive if you purchase the Build Your Own Wine Package.

 

2. You can buy the Premium Wine Package on top of your beverage package. The package starts at $149 ($175.82 with gratuity) for three bottles of wine, and you must choose from a list of available wines. If you're into truly good wine, I would maybe avoid this.

 

3. Please don't quote me on this, but I believe you can order wine through your butler by either the glass or the bottle to be delivered to your room, but this will not be covered under your beverage package in either case. It's possible you may receive the 20% discount on bottles of wine, but having never sailed in a suite or had any reason to ask about this I can't say for sure. I'd actually appreciate if you could give me an answer to this one when you return :)

 

4. You can help yourself out a little bit by bringing wine on board at embarkation. Each stateroom is entitled to bring two 750ml bottles of wine on board at embarkation. If you and your wife bring two, and your daughter and son-in-law bring two, that gets you an extra four bottles of wine that was purchased at non-inflated land prices to work with. Keep in mind, however, that while you won't pay a corkage fee to enjoy this wine in your own room and while you may leave your room and walk into a restaurant with a glass of this wine in hand, you will pay a $25 corkage fee per bottle to enjoy this wine poured from its bottle in a restaurant on board the ship.

 

I will take this time to admit that my husband and I (for science, I assure you) at one point put two bottles of wine in our luggage and carried another two bottles of wine on board by hand. This did work. I'll also add that this was way too much wine for us on our seven-night cruise, so we ended up giving most of it away and that this is technically against the rules so I don't strictly recommend trying your luck with it.

 

5. You can pre-select and pay for bottles of wine by sending them to yourself through Gifts By Celebrity. Doing this means you don't get your 20% discount since you've got to do it before the cruise, but it also means that you don't pay the 18% gratuity. I have no idea what quality of wine you can send yourself, though.

 

Can we order wines by the glass in our suite with our afternoon canapés?

 

I'm sure that you can. Just have a chat with your butler when you board.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

Edited March 17, 2016 by ailetoile
omg my eyes why lime green why

[ailetoile]

We have the free Classic package but we want to upgrade to the premium package. Last time we upgraded on board and it went against our room account. Is there a way to upgrade before the cruise and pay via credit card. Husband likes to have everything cruise related paid off prior to leaving.

 

thanks

 

You can call Celebrity and pay for the upgrade in advance. To my knowledge there is no way to do the upgrade on-line.

 

RickT is 100% right. You can call in advance and put the charge on a credit card, but there is no way to do it online.

[diebroke]

ailetoile,

Thank you for the great suggestions.

[royalcruz]

We are going on the solstice in December and we have the classic alcohol package as a perk. None of us drink alcohol though. What non alcoholic drinks can we choose from? What are the chances of changing to the premium non alcoholic drink package? Cheers

 

Can you choose a different perk, like OBC, then purchase a non-alcoholic package?

[qualifiedcruiseologist]

Can you choose a different perk, like OBC, then purchase a non-alcoholic package?

 

I would have, except we got 2 perks. I chose OBC and drinks package. For the drinks I just want to be able to get cappuccino, lattes, hot chocolate etc from cafe el bacio as well as smoothies from the aqua spa cafe. I don't mind that I wouldn't get any refund down grading to the premium non alcoholic package. I am just not sure if celebrity would let me

[meengla]

I would have, except we got 2 perks. I chose OBC and drinks package. For the drinks I just want to be able to get cappuccino, lattes, hot chocolate etc from cafe el bacio as well as smoothies from the aqua spa cafe. I don't mind that I wouldn't get any refund down grading to the premium non alcoholic package. I am just not sure if celebrity would let me

 

But doesn't Premium alcoholic package include 'nearly' all the non alcoholic included mineral water, specialty coffee etc? So you are covered under Premium anyway?

[DaisyFire]

But doesn't Premium alcoholic package include 'nearly' all the non alcoholic included mineral water, specialty coffee etc? So you are covered under Premium anyway?

 

Qualifiedcruisologist indicated earlier that they have the classic bev pkg. I believe there are several non-alcoholic drinks available on the premium bev pkg that are not available on the classic - therefore they want to switch to the premium non-alcoholic pkg to get these since they do not drink alcohol. Given price of premium non-alchoholic pkg is less - than classic pkg with alchohol, I suspect Celebrity would agree to the exchange - but as alway, you won't know until you try. :)

[ailetoile]

I would have, except we got 2 perks. I chose OBC and drinks package. For the drinks I just want to be able to get cappuccino, lattes, hot chocolate etc from cafe el bacio as well as smoothies from the aqua spa cafe. I don't mind that I wouldn't get any refund down grading to the premium non alcoholic package. I am just not sure if celebrity would let me

 

Qualifiedcruisologist indicated earlier that they have the classic bev pkg. I believe there are several non-alcoholic drinks available on the premium bev pkg that are not available on the classic - therefore they want to switch to the premium non-alcoholic pkg to get these since they do not drink alcohol. Given price of premium non-alchoholic pkg is less - than classic pkg with alchohol, I suspect Celebrity would agree to the exchange - but as alway, you won't know until you try. :)

 

 

There are mixed reports about Celebrity letting people downgrade their beverage packages at all. Some people have had success, and some have been met with brick walls at every turn. Your mileage may vary here, but I have never seen a single report of someone coming out of this with the Premium Non-Alcoholic Package... Just the Classic Non-Alcoholic Package, maybe. There is a very real chance that even if you get your downgrade you will still be asked to pay $4.72/person/night to upgrade from the Classic Non-Alcoholic Package to the Premium Non-Alcoholic Package.

 

Please keep in mind going into this that the Classic Package is a PERK that you have chosen in lieu of free gratuities or (I believe) Internet. Celebrity is under no obligation to change the perk to something different that you prefer. You may see it as saving Celebrity money, but at the end of the day you have entered into a contract with Celebrity for the Classic Package, which is what you should go into this with the expectation of keeping.

 

Also keep in mind that you can absolutely enjoy non-alcoholic beverages under the Classic Package that are the equivalent to what you will enjoy with the Classic Non-Alcoholic Package. There is no difference between the non-alcoholic components of the Classic Package and the actual Classic Non-Alcoholic Package.

 

In other words, there's little point to downgrading unless you are trying to avoid the temptation of alcohol outright, or if the savings of $7.08/person/night (the difference between upgrading between the two alcoholic packages versus upgrading between the two non-alcoholic packages) is worth the time of potentially several trips to Guest Services to you.

Edited March 17, 2016 by ailetoile

[hipster1]

Hey everyone,

I have a question. First time getting the classic package as a perk. I mostly drink coffee so I like that I can get my fix at Cafe Bacio. Will I be able to get an extra espresso shot in a drink "free"? IF I also get a coffee for my husband will I need his card or can I get 2 drinks??

 

Thanks !!!

 

Ali

[ailetoile]

Hey everyone,

I have a question. First time getting the classic package as a perk. I mostly drink coffee so I like that I can get my fix at Cafe Bacio. Will I be able to get an extra espresso shot in a drink "free"? IF I also get a coffee for my husband will I need his card or can I get 2 drinks??

 

Thanks !!!

 

Ali

 

Honestly, I think that whether you can have the extra shot of espresso for "free" will depend on whoever is ringing you up. It's possible it's always covered, but it's also possible that you may have to ask for your second shot in a second cup and then have two separate purchases. Could someone that has had experience with this chime in here? If I tried to do this, I'd be so energetic that I could probably power the ship! :D

 

If you get a coffee for your husband, you will definitely need both his card and yours.

[jagoffee]

Your mileage may vary here, but I have never seen a single report of someone coming out of this with the Premium Non-Alcoholic Package.

 

I recall reading numerous reports of people doing this once on board. That is changing the Classic alcohol package to the premium non-alcohol package. Maybe some other can post here.

[ailetoile]

I recall reading numerous reports of people doing this once on board. That is changing the Classic alcohol package to the premium non-alcohol package. Maybe some other can post here.

 

Really? I've heard of people occasionally being able to downgrade to the Classic Non-Alcohol Package, but I've never seen the Premium pop up on here. I'm not saying that you're wrong since I sometimes go reasonably long stretches without checking in on these boards, but I am saying that I'd really like to hear from someone who can confirm that they have had that experience!

[jagoffee]

Yes. I was going to try and find some examples, but the search function does not seem to be working for me. I am on my IPad.

[angls2u]

I have heard that Celebrity has raised the prices on daily special drinks and some others to $8.25 so if you have the Classic package it would not be included. Does anyone know if this is true?

 

Also, does anyone know the prices of Martini's. Would those be included in the Classic package?

[hipster1]

Honestly, I think that whether you can have the extra shot of espresso for "free" will depend on whoever is ringing you up. It's possible it's always covered, but it's also possible that you may have to ask for your second shot in a second cup and then have two separate purchases. Could someone that has had experience with this chime in here? If I tried to do this, I'd be so energetic that I could probably power the ship! :D

 

If you get a coffee for your husband, you will definitely need both his card and yours.

 

Thanks so much! I like my drinks strong:)

[63cats]

Just booked next cruise (Reflection 2/4/17) while on the Constellation and the "booker" told me to ask the bartenders to switch my classic alcohol to premium non-alcohol - I love the nonalcoholic premium drinks! She said to try a few people if I was unsuccessful with the first or second in switching it onboard!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[QE2_Fan]

Honestly, I think that whether you can have the extra shot of espresso for "free" will depend on whoever is ringing you up. It's possible it's always covered, but it's also possible that you may have to ask for your second shot in a second cup and then have two separate purchases. Could someone that has had experience with this chime in here? If I tried to do this, I'd be so energetic that I could probably power the ship! :D

 

If you get a coffee for your husband, you will definitely need both his card and yours.

double shots are no problem...still falls within the per drink limit! My coffee fix daily was a double shot extra hot caramel macchiato!! Found their coffees (like Starbucks) to be rather weak without the extra hit of caffeine! Never had any issues ordering the double shot, and loved the fact they would just turn around and make me one on sight without even having to order!!

Edited March 20, 2016 by QE2_Fan

[hipster1]

double shots are no problem...still falls within the per drink limit! My coffee fix daily was a double shot extra hot caramel macchiato!! Found their coffees (like Starbucks) to be rather weak without the extra hit of caffeine! Never had any issues ordering the double shot, and loved the fact they would just turn around and make me one on sight without even having to order!!

 

Thanks!! I will just order double shot drinks ;) I have to say tho, one nice Diamond perk on Royal is the lounge with the self serve espresso machine. If DH ever lost me, he knew where to look:rolleyes:

Edited March 20, 2016 by hipster1

[jagoffee]

Really? I've heard of people occasionally being able to downgrade to the Classic Non-Alcohol Package, but I've never seen the Premium pop up on here. I'm not saying that you're wrong since I sometimes go reasonably long stretches without checking in on these boards, but I am saying that I'd really like to hear from someone who can confirm that they have had that experience!

 

I am not sure how to link, but this is an example from Kevinyork on. Different thread:

 

"My OH doesn't drink alcohol but on the last three Eclipse cruises (and a RCI cruise) we have gone straight to guest relations on boarding and asked to downgrade to the Premium non alcoholic package for the same reason as the OP and each time it's been easy to do.

 

It gets more difficult for them if you try after you've had a drink or two on your package as they have to work out if that drink would have been covered by the package you want to change to. Guest relations have a preprinted form for you to sign to agree that you want to change but will get no refund of the price difference. We have two X cruises booked this year and will be expecting to do the same."

 

 

I think the key is you have to make the change on board and the idea to do it before you buy a drink is good.

[steamboats]

Also, does anyone know the prices of Martini's. Would those be included in the Classic package?

 

Unfortunately, no! Neither the Martini Bar nor the World Bar are included in the Classic Package.

 

On my list from Jan 2015 there was a Cosmo listed as being included. But that´s it for Martinis. Some bartenders may give you a trial size glass for the Classic Package at the Martini Bar. It´s always worth asking.

 

steamboats

[Pluto_fan]

Also, does anyone know the prices of Martini's. Would those be included in the Classic package?

 

Unfortunately, no! Neither the Martini Bar nor the World Bar are included in the Classic Package.

 

On my list from Jan 2015 there was a Cosmo listed as being included. But that´s it for Martinis. Some bartenders may give you a trial size glass for the Classic Package at the Martini Bar. It´s always worth asking.

 

I understand that the big, fancy martinis from the Martini Bar or World Class Bar are not included on Classic, but what about an "ordinary" martini made from Classic Package spirits? :confused:

[steamboats]

All Martinis from the Martini Bar are above the price limit of the Classic Package.

 

steamboats