Elite happy hour plus add ons cp drinks package

[Freckles49]

We are sailing on the Eclipse in June. This will be our 2nd time with Celebrity, we have sailed previously with Azamara and our points now give us Elite benefits.

 

My question is..... Is it worth paying for a drinks package if you have the Elite happy hour, which seems to be 2 hours, if Ive read these boards correctly?

 

On our last Celebrity sailing, which was 14 days, we bought the bar set up and a wine package before sailing. We had onboard credit given to us during that trip and we bought a second wine package.

 

We are in an Aqua class cabin which gives us a bottle of fizz in the cabin and I think we can take 2 bottles of wine on board too.

 

We do like wine with dinner and also a glass of something pre dinner so I would be very interested in your comments.

 

Thanks

Jen

[Bobal]

I would say it all depends on your dining time. We are late diners so the Elite drinks is no use to us. We don't want to get dressed up to go for drinks which end at 7, when we don't usually eat until around 8.30. We almost always opt for a drinks package when we cruise with Celebrity.

[cruisestitch]

Do you like fancy coffees from Cafe al Bacio?

Do you order a beer with lunch or poolside?

Do you like an after-dinner drink?

Do you like to drink a margarita or daiquiri before dinner?

 

Why do I ask? because none of these will be part of the Elite 5-7 p.m. cocktail hour.

 

The Elite cocktail hour has a nice selection of offerings, but if you like a margarita or a rum punch or a daiquiri, or many other drinks you won't find them available there, so keep that in mind when you make your decision.

[bigbenboys]

For us the Elite event is great. I really get enough drinks at the Elite Event. We have dinner about 6:30. The 123go or get all 4 when booking a suite are great. If we don't get all 3 with 123go the drink package is the last one we would pick.

The drink package for us is more about convenience.

[4774Papa]

We are sailing on the Eclipse in June. This will be our 2nd time with Celebrity, we have sailed previously with Azamara and our points now give us Elite benefits.

 

My question is..... Is it worth paying for a drinks package if you have the Elite happy hour, which seems to be 2 hours, if Ive read these boards correctly?

 

On our last Celebrity sailing, which was 14 days, we bought the bar set up and a wine package before sailing. We had onboard credit given to us during that trip and we bought a second wine package.

 

We are in an Aqua class cabin which gives us a bottle of fizz in the cabin and I think we can take 2 bottles of wine on board too.

 

We do like wine with dinner and also a glass of something pre dinner so I would be very interested in your comments.

 

Thanks

Jen

 

We have been elite for four cruises now and very much enjoy the elite happy hour. We now do Select Dining, so we can stay longer. We enjoy meeting others at the event and frequently move to dine together.

 

We drink wine more than anything on our cruises and don't imbibe until 5pm. Also, we drink the ship's tap water, which is very clean and safe. We don't buy expensive coffee or sodas. Since we have been elite, out total bill for the two of us, for a 14 day cruise is usually no more than $250. Before we were elite, it ran about $450-$500. The drinks packages would be a huge mistake for us.

[jelayne]

Do you like fancy coffees from Cafe al Bacio?

Do you order a beer with lunch or poolside?

Do you like an after-dinner drink?

Do you like to drink a margarita or daiquiri before dinner?

 

Why do I ask? because none of these will be part of the Elite 5-7 p.m. cocktail hour.

 

The Elite cocktail hour has a nice selection of offerings, but if you like a margarita or a rum punch or a daiquiri, or many other drinks you won't find them available there, so keep that in mind when you make your decision.

 

Add to that bottled water to take when you go ashore, at the gym or pool;

and fresh squeezed juice

[Bruin Steve]

We are sailing on the Eclipse in June. This will be our 2nd time with Celebrity, we have sailed previously with Azamara and our points now give us Elite benefits.

 

My question is..... Is it worth paying for a drinks package if you have the Elite happy hour, which seems to be 2 hours, if Ive read these boards correctly?

 

On our last Celebrity sailing, which was 14 days, we bought the bar set up and a wine package before sailing. We had onboard credit given to us during that trip and we bought a second wine package.

 

We are in an Aqua class cabin which gives us a bottle of fizz in the cabin and I think we can take 2 bottles of wine on board too.

 

We do like wine with dinner and also a glass of something pre dinner so I would be very interested in your comments.

 

Thanks

Jen

 

It depends on several factors, but, in my estimation, it usually does not pay...

 

We are Elite Plus, so we have long enjoyed that Elite Drinking Hours...and we've found that we drink quite enough--for us--during that time...

On most cruises, most days are port days...and we find ourselves off the ship until it's time to head back to dress for dinner...So, we are not spending on drinks at all until after 7:00 pm (by which time, we've pretty much had enough). Even if we have a glass of wine at dinner and another drink at the show and a third extra drink before going to bed each night--that's a total cost of about $25 per night per person--the classic drink package costs $55 pp!

 

You'd have to drink about SEVEN extra drinks per night each in order to just break even...

 

And you've limited yourself as to what you can drink for those seven drinks--for example, it's only wines sold at $9 per glass or less. If you want an $11 wine, it's not on your package...

 

Of course, we've never paid the "Full cost" of a drink package. For our next cruise and on the cruise we just completed, we DID have the classic drink package...but only because the pricing we got for the cruise included an option of picking two perks under what was, at that time, called the "123GO!" promotion...We were allowed to pick two from 1) Free Gratuities, 2) $150 per cabin Onboard Credit and 3) The Classic Drinks Package. That changed the mathematics a bit. For our 7 night Caribbean cruise, the Gratuities, at approximately $13 per person per night, were worth $182...The OBC was only $150...The value of the Drinks package depended on what you drink--but--since the alternative was the OBC, the "cost" was really $150--what we could trade it for...At $150 for two--$75 each-, we only had to drink a little under $11 per day each outside of the Elite Drinking hours to break even...So, we got our money's worth, but not by all that much...My wife would usually have a glass of wine with dinner and maybe grab a bottle of water before heading into port--basically about breaking even. I would usually have a drink I didn't need at the show each night and then have a drink at the bar before bedtime--so, I was just over that break even point...

 

Of course, if you have the option of paying less on the cruise and NOT getting the perks, then check the price differential--it's what you're paying for that perk...Then compare that to your personal drinking habits...If you are not a big drinker, it probably doesn't pencil out...

[ClaudiaB]

We like the ambiance of the elite hour and the appetizers and meeting people -- but not so much the drinks. I mean, they're ok, but we prefer nicer wines and nicer cocktails. In the past we've sometimes just gone and had one of their drinks and brought unopened waters and diet cokes to the cabin for later.

 

We have always just bought our drinks as we go, and doing the numbers we'd never make a drinks package come out ahead. We don't drink alcohol before 5 or 6 pm and we drink no coffee of any kind (just don't like it).

 

On our last cruise we were given the classic package and with $1300 OBC it was a no brainer to upgrade. We attended the cocktail party but ordered better drinks. That was the best of both worlds. We also spent a little more time in the martini bar :D after the cocktail hour/pre-dinner (we like to eat later) and had nice wines with dinner. I also drank Evian all over the ship 100% of the time and for the first time had no swollen feet. :) So for us the package was just nice and convenient. We paid $209 for two of us for 13 days and we definitely got our money's worth. Would we pay the full price for premium? No. The numbers wouldn't work for us.

 

We were given the premium package for our March 2017 cruise and we're going to take advantage of it, but I know we won't be using the full value. Waters and a couple Diet Cokes before 6 pm and maybe 4 or 5 drinks total between the two of us in the evenings don't make it worth it, and we also have Michael's Club, but we will still go up and use the lounge and just order nicer drinks.

 

You can get a package a day or two in, so see how you do the first couple days. it's pro-rated, so no problem. If all you want is a drink or two at the cocktail hour, then probably a package isn't for you. Do the numbers. For us it wouldn't work buying outright but upgrading did.

 

One advantage we found was eating in Luminae and having a very attentive sommelier who found us really great wines every night paired to our meal, on the premium package. On only two occasions did she think we needed to pay the difference of a few dollars to upgrade the wine above the premium package. She was wonderful. We also had great service in the martini bar and got to know one particular bartender who made some off-menu drinks for me and customized some others after he knew my taste. Oh and we also had some really great frozen drinks one afternoon/evening at the Sunset Bar when the elite happy hour wasn't happening that day and the bartender was great and made good suggestions on the premium package.

[jagoffee]

We are sailing on the Eclipse in June. This will be our 2nd time with Celebrity, we have sailed previously with Azamara and our points now give us Elite benefits.

 

My question is..... Is it worth paying for a drinks package if you have the Elite happy hour, which seems to be 2 hours, if Ive read these boards correctly?

 

On our last Celebrity sailing, which was 14 days, we bought the bar set up and a wine package before sailing. We had onboard credit given to us during that trip and we bought a second wine package.

 

We are in an Aqua class cabin which gives us a bottle of fizz in the cabin and I think we can take 2 bottles of wine on board too.

 

We do like wine with dinner and also a glass of something pre dinner so I would be very interested in your comments.

 

Thanks

Jen

 

I assume you are booked under the Big pricing which includes on perk? Which perk did you choose? From our experience the drink package is better than the other options.

 

With your RCL gained Elite status you will get a 10% discount if you decide to purchase the package, but as a purchase the drink package value is marginal IMO. You need to "run the numbers", but if you have the premium package is is really convenient.

 

Good luck with your decision and enjoy your cruise.

[Cruise Raider]

We usually get the classic package as an included perk when traveling with Celebrity. If not, we would never think of purchasing it as we are elite and that, along with just paying for drinks when we want one, has been sufficient. We come out way ahead vs purchasing the package.

 

We also will take 2 bottles of wine and buy a 3-6 bottle wine package as that way we can have wine with dinner and not be limited to what is listed on the classic package.

Don't forget you can also get your morning cappuccino or latte as well as bloody marys and mimosas in the elite breakfast in the morning if you wish.

 

We definitely make the package worth our while when it is included but as elite, we've not felt the need to purchase it outright.

 

If you are a rather substantial gambler, either on the cruise (Blue Chip) or in the casino group mirage/MGM, you are also entitled to some or unlimited drinks ordered in the casino. So, that might be of some interest to you.

[Freckles49]

Well.....goodness Im impressed with all of your input!

 

I think Ive made up my mind just to go to the cocktail hour/s and buy a 6 bottle

wine package and see how we get on with that.

 

We didnt qualify for any OBC or drinks package included as we have our cruise at a very good price with an Aqua class cabin.

 

Im not too bothered about coffee but my husband is ..... We will breakfast in Blu but can you then pop down to the Elite breakfast for a coffee? Would that be considered a bit cheeky?

 

Also do you have to be dressed for dinner for the cocktail hour?

 

Thanks

Jen

[Bruin Steve]

We will breakfast in Blu but can you then pop down to the Elite breakfast for a coffee? Would that be considered a bit cheeky?

 

Perfectly fine...We don't like the Elite Breakfast since there are no eggs, omelets, pancakes, french toast, eggs benedict, etc. It's only "Continental Breakfast"...But fine to go there after breakfast (as long as it's still in their open hours) for coffee...

 

Also do you have to be dressed for dinner for the cocktail hour?

 

Yes, same dress code as at dinner--no shorts, swimming attire, etc.