Classic Beverage Package "Know Before You Go"

[Oz_Steve]

Just off May Infinity trip, upgraded for $10 pp/pday plus 18?%. AS I posted on another bev pkg thread, 1) pick up a bev pkg flyer at Guest Relations at start of your sailing. This shows brands (Jack Daniels, Jose Cuervo, Beefeaters, etc) available for classic cocktails on board in stock for that sailing.

 

2) When asking for your preferred cocktail, specify e.g. J Daniels whiskey sour, Cuervo margarita, etc. If you don't specify your liquor, you can get house brand drink. just like at all bars at home So, just be an informed consumer. I had to show bev-pkg list to bartender for Cazadores tequila when he didn't realize it was classic. Not all bars stocked every liquor brand due to shelf space, popularity volume, etc.

 

Personally, 1) I find the class bev pkg a great booking perk and 2) am surprised how much better a premium drink (e.g. Patron and Cointreau margarita) tastes than Cuervo/TripSec. So I find upgrade worth it for sake of avg 5 premium drinks each day. HAPPY CRUISING

 

I was going to post this very drink as my example. If you get the upgrade (I always do) then get creative with your drinks. Try the Tanqueray Ten, the Old Fashioned with the best whisky that is covered, try some stuff you wouldn't normally try, get the better wines to try (you never know you may like them more), the expensive Vodka, the San Pellegrino.

[going2cruz]

There was plenty to drink on the classic package just 6 months ago. I wonder if it has changed much. We were able to get cocktails and smaller size martinis with Absolut, Ketel One, Tanqueray, Bombay Saphire, Bacardi, Milagro Silver, Cuervo Gold, Patron. We had cordials like B&B, Drambuie, Sambuca. We were offered a selection of red and white wines. There was no cocktail "menu" or list to choose from. There was a list of the brands of liquors included in classic (a bar manager gave us a copy), and we just ordered drinks and chose the brand and never were charged. At the martini bar we would say "I'd like the cosmo on the classic package", or "I'd like the Bombay Saphire gin dry martini on the classic package".

This is what we did last year, so we cant get the smaller Martini's anymore??

[hcat]

We bring the website list with us and know we can get one at guest services

 

for us Classic is fine as a triple "perk" ...but probably would not purchase it

 

.dh drinks beer, wine and scotch...hope his brand is still included

 

I enjoy the tea at Cafe Baccio and IGLU and Aspen Coffee and maybe a glass of wine every so often

 

the drink packages as a perk brought new business to X but now it seems they have to upsell to the Premium plan to make more bar profits,,.......too bad bar staff have to pitch it!

[wallie5446]

 

now it seems they have to upsell to the Premium plan to make more bar profits,,.......too bad bar staff have to pitch it!

 

You lost me here, for the $12 per day cost to upgrade, my wife can have as many $13 glass's of wine at no additional cost, that she wants, instead of being stuck with the very poor and limited selection covered on the Classic pkg.

 

The beer selection on the Classic is equally as poor, so for $12 per day I can pick from 15-20-25 of the craft beers from different parts of the world.

 

How are they increasing profit when we can have 4-5-6 or more $13 drinks for only $12? Every server and bartender we have spoken to on the Reflection in 2013 and Equinox in 2014 wished everyone had the Premium pkg, as it makes their job easier not harder.

[PatC]

It's not that we object to the premium price upgrade, it's the fact that you cannot get your "premium" listed wines at any location other than the main dining room or one other bar! You cannot get your 12 or 13 liquors, beers and wines at every location on the ship. On Summit you couldn't get your 13 wines, or even 12. You got only Classic and that was Beringer.

 

And, as for those teas and coffees at Café al Bacio, my husband loves the India teas. Sorry, excuse was they "left a whole pallet on the dock before we sailed". What a crock!!!!! Seems that was the excuse for missing wines also.:mad: I would say maybe but this is the second cruise (one last March) with the same story. Sorry, not buying it any more.

 

I will gladly do premium upgrade, but I'll be darned if I'll do it before I get on the ship and see what they have. Bait and switch as far as I'm concerned.

 

We have always sailed Celebrity but this is getting way out of hand. If you want to offer these deals then do right by the passengers. If not, oh well.

 

PatC

[Iamcruzin]

You lost me here, for the $12 per day cost to upgrade, my wife can have as many $13 glass's of wine at no additional cost, that she wants, instead of being stuck with the very poor and limited selection covered on the Classic pkg.

 

The beer selection on the Classic is equally as poor, so for $12 per day I can pick from 15-20-25 of the craft beers from different parts of the world.

 

How are they increasing profit when we can have 4-5-6 or more $13 drinks for only $12? Every server and bartender we have spoken to on the Reflection in 2013 and Equinox in 2014 wished everyone had the Premium pkg, as it makes their job easier not harder.

 

Because apparently they aren't stocking the premium wines at the bars.

[AmberCascades]

Does anyone know where Arizona Ice Tea fits into all this? I printed off the beverage list before our last cruise and it said it was included in the classic package.

 

We didn't upgrade our package last time since my DH was on antibiotics and couldn't drink any alcohol for the first week. He ordered the Arizona 4 times. Twice we were told it wasn't included and twice it was brought to us, no problem.

 

I don't see it on the list in the previous post. Does anyone know if it's included in Classic? We are leaving in a few weeks so it would be good to know.

[Compass Rose Monica]

My husband and I, and our friends, were on the Summit last month to Bermuda. We received the classic drink package as our perk from Celebrity. We looked through the list of premium drinks and didn't think we need to upgrade...and we didn't.

We enjoyed all sorts of drinks, from wine, sambucca or amaretto after dinner drinks, white russians, mai tais, and other cocktails.

We always asked if a drink was part of the classic package before ordering. Once we knew our limits we were fine.

With that, only one in the group ordered a martini from the martini bar and paid full price.

At dinner, our sommelier recommended some very good wines and sparkling wines.

I personally wouldn't order the drink package on my own. If it's a perk, sure! In fact we booked a Canada/New England cruise for next year and got the same classic package. 14-night cruise. No brainer.

Monica

[royalcruz]

here is the link to the list on Celebrity's website

 

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/media/celebrity/shared_assets/pdf/Classic-Premium-Bev-Pckgs.pdf

 

Jack Honey is on the Premium list only:rolleyes:

 

Wow! In six months they moved so many of the brands on the classic list onto the premium list. Here are some of the changes from the list from 6 months ago:

 

Vodka/Gin: Ketel One, Bombay Sapphire, and Plymouth are now premium

 

Tequila: Milagro Silver (no longer on either list); Cazadores Blanco and Patron XO Café are now premium

 

Bourbon/brandy: Makers Mark and Metaxa are no longer on any list; JD Honey is now premium

 

Whiskey: Canadian Club, Seagram7, Seagram VO, and Crown Royal are no longer on either list...maybe just an oversight

 

Scotch: Glenfiddish, Old Bushmill's, and Famous Grouse are no longer on either list

 

beer/cider: Strongbow and Leffe aren't on either list now

[ghstudio]

not on either list means nothing....in fact, the list itself is a guideline. Drinks are part of the package if they are under the $ limit....not based on being on the list.

[greydog]

not on either list means nothing....in fact, the list itself is a guideline. Drinks are part of the package if they are under the $ limit....not based on being on the list.

 

Look out for yourself by requesting your preferred-listed liquor, e.g. J-Daniels Whiskey Sour or a J-Cuervo Margarita. The Classic brand cocktails are under $8 limit but asking just for a whiskey sour or margarita may get you house brand liquors. Watch at bar when they are mixing it. Happy Cruising.

[MicCanberra]

The lists are just guidelines and they often have spirits and wines not listed. ghstudio is right,'Drinks are part of the package if they are under the $ limit.'

[Gig103]

Wow! In six months they moved so many of the brands on the classic list onto the premium list. Here are some of the changes from the list from 6 months ago:

...

Scotch: Glenfiddish, Old Bushmill's, and Famous Grouse are no longer on either list

 

Going further back, when I sailed in 2013, Jameson and Jameson Gold were both on the classic package because they were $9 or less. Now they're listed as "premium scotch". I also see that the classic package costs today what the Premium cost on my last cruise in 2013. Maybe I should have stayed away but I have that old Passages hanging out there.

[karena1]

It's pretty much a no brainer that upgrading to the Premium package is the only way to go. If you already received the Classic as a 123 bonus, it's just $10 plus gratuity a day.....c'mon man, that's not even one good martini. And you don't have to keep asking "is there anything other than this really cheap wine I can have on the Classic package?"

 

 

No reason to upgrade. We get everything we want on the Classic. I drink beer (miller lite) and hubby can get whatever drinks he wants on the classic, Beam, Jack Daniels, Makers Mark, rum, etc. So we never upgrade. We have had no issues at all getting whatever we want on the Classic pkg.

[going2cruz]

No reason to upgrade. We get everything we want on the Classic. I drink beer (miller lite) and hubby can get whatever drinks he wants on the classic, Beam, Jack Daniels, Makers Mark, rum, etc. So we never upgrade. We have had no issues at all getting whatever we want on the Classic pkg.

 

 

Ok I hear all ya's saying no upgrade really needed but I like to hear of your classic experience at the martini bar?

[SWORRUB1]

No reason to upgrade. We get everything we want on the Classic. I drink beer (miller lite) and hubby can get whatever drinks he wants on the classic, Beam, Jack Daniels, Makers Mark, rum, etc. So we never upgrade. We have had no issues at all getting whatever we want on the Classic pkg.

 

I worked my way through the entire selection of Canadian Whiskeys last year!

 

I did find everything I wanted really on the Classic package, so the best advice I have seen on here is to try the Classic first for a few days and if you need more expensive drinks then upgrade whilst on board. It doesnt cost any extra over a prebooked upgrade. For me the Classic was fine, I was however going to upgrade for the end of the trip but got struck down with something and went onto some medication that made me reduce the alcohol intake, so no need to upgrade for me on that trip.

 

I would say that I will upgrade at sometime in the future but I would advise everyone to try the Classic first, upgrade later!

[greydog]

I did find everything I wanted really on the Classic package, so the best advice I have seen on here is to try the Classic first for a few days and if you need more expensive drinks then upgrade whilst on board. It doesnt cost any extra over a prebooked upgrade.

I would say that I will upgrade at sometime in the future but I would advise everyone to try the Classic first, upgrade later!

 

Agree with this idea and twice have upgraded a few days into the cruise. HOWEVER, with four days left on a recent 11-day May Infinity trip, I went to upgrade and Guest Rel said upgrades needed to have 6 days left. But, they called Bev Mgr and said my request was ok'd (don't know if elite+

played role). Makes some sense if X doesn't want folks to upgrade and drink heavy just for 2 sea days at cruise end.

 

Just a 'head's up' from recent May trip. Of course this 'rule' could vary each trip or who was in good/bad mood when asked.;) Happy Cruising

Edited June 13, 2015 by greydog

[Baron Barracuda]

On Eclipse in April '14 we had the classic package and guest relations provided dw with a list of included wines (just looked for it, but can't seem to find it). There were about 32 wines on the list. The first night dw asked our sommelier for a glass of each of the first two wines on the list. Over the course of the 14 day cruise she did the same each night, sampling the next two while working her way from the whites through the blushes and on to the reds. Surprisingly they had about 25 of the 32 in stock. We found a couple of the others in the specialty restaurants. By the end of the cruise she determined that she had a fondness for Spanish wines.

 

When we boarded Reflection last November she tried to obtain a similar list, but both guest relations and the sommelier claimed they had never seen one. The told her to just pick any wine that was $9 or less. The list wasn't very long and they were out of a number of vintages.

[happy cruzer]

On Eclipse in April '14 we had the classic package and guest relations provided dw with a list of included wines (just looked for it, but can't seem to find it). There were about 32 wines on the list. The first night dw asked our sommelier for a glass of each of the first two wines on the list. Over the course of the 14 day cruise she did the same each night, sampling the next two while working her way from the whites through the blushes and on to the reds. Surprisingly they had about 25 of the 32 in stock. We found a couple of the others in the specialty restaurants. By the end of the cruise she determined that she had a fondness for Spanish wines.

 

When we boarded Reflection last November she tried to obtain a similar list, but both guest relations and the sommelier claimed they had never seen one. The told her to just pick any wine that was $9 or less. The list wasn't very long and they were out of a number of vintages.

were they out the wine or the particular year/vintage? Did they have substitutes for what they were out of?

[wallie5446]

On Eclipse in April '14 we had the classic package and guest relations provided dw with a list of included wines (just looked for it, but can't seem to find it). There were about 32 wines on the list. The first night dw asked our sommelier for a glass of each of the first two wines on the list. Over the course of the 14 day cruise she did the same each night, sampling the next two while working her way from the whites through the blushes and on to the reds. Surprisingly they had about 25 of the 32 in stock. We found a couple of the others in the specialty restaurants. By the end of the cruise she determined that she had a fondness for Spanish wines.

 

When we boarded Reflection last November she tried to obtain a similar list, but both guest relations and the sommelier claimed they had never seen one. The told her to just pick any wine that was $9 or less. The list wasn't very long and they were out of a number of vintages.

 

We had the same experience on the Reflection in 2013, then on the Equinox in 2014. Except it was with the wine selections covered by the Premium pkg. 2013 it could not have been better, but on the Equinox in 2014 my wife's choices by the glass, even with the Premium pkg was a joke. It was like Celebrity was trying to force us to buy a bottle, which what she had in '13 was there, so we would only have a small discount, and not the 'by the glass' coverage. Made us want to go back to packing our own, even with a Premium bev pkg.

[schlimazel_traveler]

Going further back, when I sailed in 2013, Jameson and Jameson Gold were both on the classic package because they were $9 or less. Now they're listed as "premium scotch". I also see that the classic package costs today what the Premium cost on my last cruise in 2013. Maybe I should have stayed away but I have that old Passages hanging out there.

 

We got Jameson on our Classic package at the end of May.

[greeneg]

Just to be correct, Jameson's is an Irish Whiskey, not a Scotch. Tastes just like J&B though..

 

Happy Cruisin'

 

Ed

[Gig103]

Just to be correct, Jameson's is an Irish Whiskey, not a Scotch. Tastes just like J&B though..

 

Happy Cruisin'

 

Ed

I know that (it is my longtime favorite), but if you click the link to the Celebrity sheet, it's listed as 'premium Scotch'.

[81Zoomie]

We had the same experience on the Reflection in 2013, then on the Equinox in 2014. Except it was with the wine selections covered by the Premium pkg. 2013 it could not have been better, but on the Equinox in 2014 my wife's choices by the glass, even with the Premium pkg was a joke. It was like Celebrity was trying to force us to buy a bottle, which what she had in '13 was there, so we would only have a small discount, and not the 'by the glass' coverage. Made us want to go back to packing our own, even with a Premium bev pkg.

 

We upgraded on the Reflection last February mostly for the wines. Like you said, it was a joke. The bars only had one classic selection of each red, rose, white. In the dining rooms there was 1, maybe 2 priced in the premium. They were lackluster at best. We tried some of the few offering more expensive by the glass and they weren't very good either. We have pretty much decided the wine isn't worth an upgrade.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

I was wondering why I just cant ask for any cocktail and if I have the classic package the bartender makes it with the brand of alcohol included on the list.

 

so if I have the classic package my rum and coke is made with lets say bicardi. if I have the premium package my rum and coke is made with lets say mount gay...

 

is it really more complicated than that?

 

It's like dropping a twenty on the bar somewhere on land and ordering a drink without specifying a brand. You get the house brand. They won't automatically make a more expensive drink with a better brand of booze.