Celebrity Reflection - Drinks Included & Excursions

[johnnypingpong]

Please can you help/ my family of 4 (me, wife, 2 boys) are about to go on an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Reflection. This is our first ever cruise so we are very excited. I have tried to understand everything but have 2 questions in order of importance. If anyone can help me with these 2 questions, that would be extremely helpful:

1 - Drinks. We have $100 dollars each included in our booking but wanted to find out what drinks come included/ free whilst on board and what the $100 is used for and how you use it? We are not big drinkers but wanted to find out if the packages being offered are worth it/ needed and if not what is the average price for a glass of wine/ beer etc?

2 - Excursions. Have people found it better to book the excursions on offer or wait to book them when we disembark at the ports where there are better/ cheaper options? We are looking at the Quad bikes/ ziplines/ snorkelling anf dolphin experiences, so any feedback of your experiences would be very welcome, thank you in advance!:)

[leaveitallbehind]

Please can you help/ my family of 4 (me, wife, 2 boys) are about to go on an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Reflection. This is our first ever cruise so we are very excited. I have tried to understand everything but have 2 questions in order of importance. If anyone can help me with these 2 questions, that would be extremely helpful:

1 - Drinks. We have $100 dollars each included in our booking but wanted to find out what drinks come included/ free whilst on board and what the $100 is used for and how you use it? We are not big drinkers but wanted to find out if the packages being offered are worth it/ needed and if not what is the average price for a glass of wine/ beer etc?

2 - Excursions. Have people found it better to book the excursions on offer or wait to book them when we disembark at the ports where there are better/ cheaper options? We are looking at the Quad bikes/ ziplines/ snorkelling anf dolphin experiences, so any feedback of your experiences would be very welcome, thank you in advance!:)

 

As an on board credit, the $100 will be used against any purchases made on board and will be credited against your total bill at the end of your cruise. You cannot select how it can be used - it is just applied against the total spent.

 

Non-premium coffee, tea, ship water (which is perfectly safe and on a par with bottled water), select juices, and milk are included at no charge. Soda, bottled water, and all alcoholic beverages are charged separately.

 

As to alcoholic beverage packages the typical rule of thumb is you would need to consume 6+ drinks per day every day of the cruise to break even with the cost of the package. Average beer prices are $5 - 6$ and mixed drinks are about $8+.

 

The only advantage IMO of booking excursions through the cruise lines is that the ships will delay departure from the ports of call if those excursions are late returning to the pier. But very reputable private tour companies are at each port and can be booked independently on line or at the port and will offer similar excursions as those through the ship at usually much lower costs. It's your choice based on your level of comfort in doing things independently.

Edited November 20, 2016 by leaveitallbehind

[cb at sea]

Also...get a guidebook on your ports before you start booking excursions....many things are quite easy to do on your own...cheaper that way, too...and with the info in a guidebook, you can have fun and save $$$! A bit of research is a GOOD thing!

[leaveitallbehind]

Also...get a guidebook on your ports before you start booking excursions....many things are quite easy to do on your own...cheaper that way, too...and with the info in a guidebook, you can have fun and save $$$! A bit of research is a GOOD thing!

 

Or save the time and look on line at each port of call. The same information - and more - will be available from the comfort of your home. No need to invest in a "guidebook".

[carolinians]

Research ahead of time is a very good thing. Try "Things to Do" for each port that you visit on Trip Advisor. Cruise line excursions are not only ore expensive but also more crowded, in general. It would be very confusing to disembark at a port and face all the people hawking their services and select one with any likelihood of getting specifically the trip you would want.

 

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[HardToPort]

As an on board credit, the $100 will be used against any purchases made on board and will be credited against your total bill at the end of your cruise. You cannot select how it can be used - it is just applied against the total spent.

 

Non-premium coffee, tea, ship water (which is perfectly safe and on a par with bottled water), select juices, and milk are included at no charge. Soda, bottled water, and all alcoholic beverages are charged separately.

 

As to alcoholic beverage packages the typical rule of thumb is you would need to consume 6+ drinks per day every day of the cruise to break even with the cost of the package. Average beer prices are $5 - 6$ and mixed drinks are about $8+.

 

The only advantage IMO of booking excursions through the cruise lines is that the ships will delay departure from the ports of call if those excursions are late returning to the pier. But very reputable private tour companies are at each port and can be booked independently on line or at the port and will offer similar excursions as those through the ship at usually much lower costs. It's your choice based on your level of comfort in doing things independently.

 

Good advice, Leaveitallbehind

 

But I wanted to clarify re your comment about needing to have 6+ drinks. The booze package includes soft drinks, specialty coffees, bottled water and booze. I like espressos (2-3 a day) and also drink 2-3 bottles of water a day plus 1-2 cans of club soda. (I try to stay hydrated!!! :D)

 

I usually have consumed the bulk of my daily inclusive pricing before I down a single alcoholic drink. (And I have no problems reaching my 6+ limit).

 

So, there's more to the all-in package than just your booze!

 

Cheers!

HTP

:cool:

[leaveitallbehind]

Good advice, Leaveitallbehind

 

But I wanted to clarify re your comment about needing to have 6+ drinks. The booze package includes soft drinks, specialty coffees, bottled water and booze. I like espressos (2-3 a day) and also drink 2-3 bottles of water a day plus 1-2 cans of club soda. (I try to stay hydrated!!! :D)

 

I usually have consumed the bulk of my daily inclusive pricing before I down a single alcoholic drink. (And I have no problems reaching my 6+ limit).

 

So, there's more to the all-in package than just your booze!

 

Cheers!

HTP

:cool:

 

Good point and thanks for clarifying! :)

[middlehaitch]

Have you joined your Roll Call yet?

As well as doing some independent research into your ports of call, you will get great information from your fellow cruisers and may be able to book a few port excursions as a group.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=722

 

Cheers, h.

[zoncom]

Guidebooks at your library. Fodors, Frommers and Lonely Planet excellent. These authors also have web sites. Also GOOGLE name of each port. Celebrity has good lemonade in buffet, not overly sweet.

Edited November 21, 2016 by zoncom