drinks packages

[baz383]

Hi,

I am a first time cruiser and myself and my wife are booked on a cruise on the celebration around the caribbean next February 2016. of the 7 days we only have 1 full day on the ship and the rest of the time we are in ports so we will only be on board 1 day plus evenings . is it worth getting a drinks package and if so what does it cover ,ie, house wine or good wine ? and branded spirits ?

can anybody that has been on this ship let me know what is best

thanks

Baz

[Keith1010]

Baz, welcome to Cruise cCritic.

 

In the end it's going to come down to how much you drink.

 

I would recommend posting this on the Carnival Cruise Line Board.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We don't drink a lot, so the drink packages don't work for us.

Ask questions on the Carnival Board at this link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=215

[paul929207]

For some people it is a waste of money and for others a great deal.

 

Check the section for your cruise line and see if the prices are posted there

[baz383]

Thanks Paul I will have a look.

[Bonnie J.]

Depending on the ship, each person in your cabin MUST by the package. That's two packages for you. You cannot share a package. Carnival has a wine package and I bought it once. We were doing a Back 2 Back (B2B) and it was for 5 bottles. But when I got home I found I could buy the same wine for 1/2 the price I paid on the ship. And the 15% tip is added to the cost, it is not included in the price you pay. I think you have to have 8 or 9 drinks a day to make it worth while. It may be worth it if you have a number of sea days and drink a lot. My husband and I don't drink beer or during the day. I ask for the house brand of wine, or bring a bottle with me when I get on board. My husband asks what the house brand of gin is and may or may not ask for a house G&T. We actually save $$$$ by buying each drink and not any package.

[John Bull]

Hi Neighbour, and welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

There are three cruise ships called " something Celebration"

Bonnie was referring to Carnival Celebration, but I'm guessing from your address that you're on Thomson Celebration.

 

Bar & wine prices on Thomson are very reasonable, about the same as pubs in your area and no service charge (tips) added. That's a lot less than on US ships, which including service are around 4-star hotel prices.

 

But IMHO at full price - something over £200 per person per week - the AI drinks package is very poor value.

It includes for instance only John Smith's draught beer and a draught lager. All other beers are bottled or canned, and carry a supplement of £1 to £1.50.

It includes about half the cocktails, the others carry a similar supplement.

It includes only post-mix / fountain / from the gun / call-it-what-you-will soft drinks such as coke, for cans there's a supplement of about £1.

It includes only obscure spirits, for branded spirits there's a supplement of £1+

It includes only one (pretty awful) red or white wine, by the glass, and it's not even the house wine - the house wine (certainly the red) is very drinkable and costs around £17 (discounted to around £14 if you buy a package of three bottles) but if you have the AI drinks package you get the magnificent sum of £3 off the price of a bottle.

No champagne or sparkling wine in the package, and no discount if you buy.

 

We've sailed Thomson several times, never had the package, and with an average of about 3 or 4 drinks per day plus a shared bottle of wine with dinner our bar bill has averaged £100 - £140 pppw.

 

Bear in mind that on port days you'll probably only be drinking on the ship in the evening. No AI from 2am to 10am, though that won't worry most people.

If you want the AI package, all in your party must buy.

 

Thomson often include the package in the cruise ticket-price, or offer it at half-price or less, as an incentive to book a cruise. Much better value then of course, though we've compared our total costs (Thomson cruise prices, like all cruise lines are fluid) with those who've bought a drinks-inclusive cruise and the value is pretty-well the same. Since you've already booked, you won't be offered a cheap or free package retrospectively - it's purely an incentive to book a cruise.

Those who've paid full-price for a drinks-package are generally pretty unhappy bunnies. Especially one guy whose tipple is Guinness - there's no draught & each can was costing him about £1.50 on top of the £35-£40 per day that he'd paid for the package.

Not sure if speciality coffees are in the package, but regular tea or mud is free anyway.

 

Guessing this is a fly/cruise using regional airports & chartered Thomson aircraft. Transfers are excellent - everyone on your flight (other than perhaps some stay-and-cruise passengers) is on your cruise. And on your last day you're not ushered off the ship by 9am as with most cruises - you have the run of the ship & facilities (other than your cabin) until your transfer to the airport is called, around mid-afternoon. Several routes, including Gatwick, are on the Boeing Dreamliner, a superb & comfortable airliner.

 

Celebration is a little old lady, a classic old cruise ship - much smaller than the ugly floating apartment blocks, but without their glitz and glamour.

Good food and ambience in the main dining room, the Lido buffet is very works-canteen and food's not special but OK for a quick breakfast & for snacks. Consider the main dining room for a quiet & leisurely breakfast or lunch on your sea day.

Surprisingly good entertainment - better than many large ships.

Cabins were re-furb'ed a couple of years back & all have tea/coffee facilities.

Brilliant crew, and a very friendly atmosphere - a village rather than a city.

 

Do check the ports-of-call forums http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=587

Stacks of info & advice, and you'll see that for simple road tours at most ports there's no need to take over-priced ship's excursions.

 

And here's a link to the Thomson forum that Paul mentioned.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=497

 

If you post your ports, I can give you pointers for most.

 

JB :)

Edited July 14, 2015 by John Bull

[baz383]

Hi.

that's brilliant and just what we wanted to know. We are on the thomson celebration and it's a cruise and stay. We both like a good quality wine and funnily enough I drink Guinness and good single malt whiskey. I was also worried as we had heard the ship was dated. But as it's smaller I think that's a good point. And we have a deluxe outside cabin on deck 6 which will hopefully be good. We did try and get the deluxe balcony room but they are all gone. Your reply has been exactly what we wanted to know and made up our mind so thanks again. If you have any other info you think will be of help that will be great.

Thanks again

Baz

[John Bull]

Hi again Baz.

 

The package very definitely isn't for you then ;)

 

We much prefer smaller ships such as Celebration. Staff & other passengers get to know you more quickly & the whole atmosphere is so very much more personal and civilised than on big ships, where there is inevitably a degree of cattle-herding.

 

I have a low regard for Thomson head office staff - they can be inefficient and most have poor knowledge of their product.

On-board is very different. Willing, helpful and knowledgeable staff and crew on both Celebration and her twin sister Spirit.

 

Be aware that deck 6 is the promenade deck. Cabins look out onto the promenade. More importantly, the promenade looks onto your cabin. So you'll not have total privacy without the curtains drawn.

 

Yes, there are only a few balcony cabins, most of them created during that big refit/refurb, so they do get snapped-up quickly.

Very pleasant, but you have only one sea day. And it's kinda anti-social to make too much use of a balcony rather than mixing with others on deck or in bars.

 

JB :)

Edited July 14, 2015 by John Bull

[baz383]

Hi JB.

One other thing we were wondering about is the dress code. Do we dress up every night ? And do I have to take a dinner jacket for the captains meal. As you have been on this ship do you take extra luggage to allow for more suits and long trousers etc ? After the weeks cruise we are staying at the club barbados resort and spa for a week so not sure of what best to do.

Regards

baz