Go Big, Go Beter Promotion Question

[ready2cruzagain]

Been a while since I sailed Celebrity. Was looking to maybe book with the go big, go better promotion.

 

I know you have to pay gratuities on the drink package but how does that work? Is there a set amount for a certain number of days like NCL and pay the drink gratuities when you pay for your cruise? Or do you pay 18% each time you order a drink?

 

I tried looking at the Terms and Conditions on Celebrity but the link does not work.

[Gordoncruickshank]

If you received the package as part of the Big Better Best, you don't pay gratuities on the package. It is only if you pay for it. If you receive the classic package and want to upgrade it, you pay $10 per person per day plus 18%.

[sidewalkdrop]

I just did the full package where we got pre-paid gratuities, premium drink packages, $300 onboard credit, and unlimited internet. Whatever price you pay for the cruise, plus fees, is what you pay. Nothing else gets added.

 

It is a little confusing because once you book, it will show a balance you're supposed to pay for the gratuities, but once you get closer to the cruise that will go away and you'll see the onboard credit.

 

It's a really great promotion and got me to try out Celebrity. It seemed like a lot of people at the martini bar had the premium drink package. Hopefully it's profitable for Celebrity and they continue it!

[eandj]

It isn't a promotion. It is just a new pricing strategy to get cruisers to lean towards an all inclusive experience. One needs to be VERY careful and not be blinded to the numbers. In many cases it is not a "deal". Some here have noticed you are actually paying more if choosing the wrong included perk.

If it works out for you financially, then good. You saved a bit. Just be careful. A forum search will give you lots of experienced warnings.

 

We won't deal with Celebrity after our Jan. cruise until they "clean up" their strategy. We booked the Jan. cruise with an agent getting us a group rate including the previous 1,2,3 real promotion. I checked back in September, if we booked the same category room for this cruise on line with the new pricing, each of us would pay $1,200 more with the same perks. That's nuts. Pays to shop around.

[sidewalkdrop]

Before I booked my last cruise, I did check the pricing without the promotion. It was a lot lower, but once you add in the perks, it would have been more expensive. We would have spent >$300 onboard even before alcohol, plus the gratuities. The premium alcohol was a nice change. We "got our monies" worth on that, but also drank different stuff than we normally would have. I think it did make the cruise more enjoyable, being able to have premium drinks and not worrying about the bill. The unlimited internet was also nice. I usually spend at least $50 on-board for service and it's always a mad rush to get as much done as quickly as possible to not run up the bill.

 

But I ultimately agree, think about how you'd use these packages before booking them and make sure you calculate their value against what you'd do without those packages.

[Algebralovr]

We won't deal with Celebrity after our Jan. cruise until they "clean up" their strategy. We booked the Jan. cruise with an agent getting us a group rate including the previous 1,2,3 real promotion. I checked back in September, if we booked the same category room for this cruise on line with the new pricing, each of us would pay $1,200 more with the same perks. That's nuts. Pays to shop around.

 

I'm confused - why is it a problem to you that if someone books later they will pay more? The company charges what the market will bear. They are a for profit division of a for profit company, and the stock is doing very well!

 

 

 

All that said, you have to look at what you are getting for the price. If you want the premium alcohol package anyway, and you'll need the unlimited internet package anyway, it is worth looking at the GO Best price and seeing if what you need is less expensive A LA Carte or in the package. For the cruise I'm about to book, we want the premium beverage package and I'll need more internet than our 90 minutes each as Elite will give us to stay caught up on work for about an hour daily. When I add up the added cost to upgrade from classic alcohol, plus add the internet package, I'm above the cost of the Go Better. We always pay the standard gratuities, so we might has well pre-pay them. Then the $150 pp in OBC kicks in and we are ahead by about $500 over the cost of buying everything individually.