Are the perks really free?

[sanger727]

Wow, that helps a lot and I guess it's Premium for us. On RCI we have the Concierge club open bar for 3.5 hrs so we never get the drink package there since there's more than enough going around. We will be Elite on Celebrity and I'm not sure what Michaels Club is or has so I think we'll do Premium if all works out. Thanks so much.

 

 

Yep; I can only guess, but since they list many drinks around $8.50, I think they just don't want you to skip the upgrade and just pay an extra $0.50- a few dollars for the upgraded drink. The way they price it is that if you want 1 premium drink or more a day you are better off with the upgrade.

 

 

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[grandgeezer]

If the perks were actually free, why aren't they offered for inside cabins with BBB pricing like the other categories? That tells me that there is some cost added to the base price of the oceanviews and above.

[bigbenboys]

Wow, that helps a lot and I guess it's Premium for us. On RCI we have the Concierge club open bar for 3.5 hrs so we never get the drink package there since there's more than enough going around. We will be Elite on Celebrity and I'm not sure what Michaels Club is or has so I think we'll do Premium if all works out. Thanks so much.

Michael's Club is for suite guests and zenith members. Celebrity does have Elite evening events with free cocktails.

 

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[QShip]

I think it really depends upon your situation. There can really be some good deals on upgrades/perks if you keep your eyes out.

 

We booked an inside to AK recently, without any perks. About a month later there was a promotion that allowed us to upgrade to an Oceanview, drink package and $300 obc for an added $200 pp. Then our TA threw in grats. For us it was a no brainer, and actually resulted in a much better value, even if it was $200 pp out of pocket. (Now how do we spend $300 obc....never had the problem before. I understand we cannot use it to upgrade to the Best drink package!:rolleyes:)

[Cruizen Susan]

I think it really depends upon your situation. There can really be some good deals on upgrades/perks if you keep your eyes out.

 

We booked an inside to AK recently, without any perks. About a month later there was a promotion that allowed us to upgrade to an Oceanview, drink package and $300 obc for an added $200 pp. Then our TA threw in grats. For us it was a no brainer, and actually resulted in a much better value, even if it was $200 pp out of pocket. (Now how do we spend $300 obc....never had the problem before. I understand we cannot use it to upgrade to the Best drink package!:rolleyes:)

 

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! Sounds "free" to me!! And yes, once you are onboard, you can use your OBC to upgrade to the premium drink package!!

[NantahalaCruiser]

Wow, that helps a lot and I guess it's Premium for us. On RCI we have the Concierge club open bar for 3.5 hrs so we never get the drink package there since there's more than enough going around. We will be Elite on Celebrity and I'm not sure what Michaels Club is or has so I think we'll do Premium if all works out. Thanks so much.

 

Here's a link to Celebrity's info on the Classic versus Premium:

 

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

 

For me, the Classic selection is sufficient - most cocktails made with the liquors in the Classic list are included in the Classic - for example, my rusty nail was included - even though it is a combination of two of the liquors on the list.

 

My recommendation is wait until you get on board to decide whether or not you need to upgrade to the Premium. Give the Classic a chance for a day or two, and then upgrade if it does not meet your needs.

[NantahalaCruiser]

Due to the people traveling I look for residency, police, and senior rates and have never found a non-perk rate that was compelling. At the most I've found $50-$100 off...

 

 

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That's consistent with some of my earlier posts. The price difference between the lowest price non-perk fare and the fare for the lowest level perk offer, whether it is Big or Better, is substantially less that what it would cost to purchase the beverage package separately.

 

However, as another poster mentioned, suites do not have a lower non-perk fare for comparison.

[helen haywood]

I'm sure every cruise is different. In my case, we had a cruise last year on Reflection with the beverage package and wound up booking Silhouette for the next week at a time when X was not offering any perks. I paid exactly the same for both cruises.

 

 

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[grandgeezer]

I'm sure every cruise is different. In my case, we had a cruise last year on Reflection with the beverage package and wound up booking Silhouette for the next week at a time when X was not offering any perks. I paid exactly the same for both cruises.

 

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This happens a lot. We did a B2B on the Silhouette in

December, and it was the same thing. You won't find the same cruise offering the same price with the drink package or without.

[torpeedo]

Here's a link to Celebrity's info on the Classic versus Premium:

 

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

 

For me, the Classic selection is sufficient - most cocktails made with the liquors in the Classic list are included in the Classic - for example, my rusty nail was included - even though it is a combination of two of the liquors on the list.

 

My recommendation is wait until you get on board to decide whether or not you need to upgrade to the Premium. Give the Classic a chance for a day or two, and then upgrade if it does not meet your needs.

 

THANK YOU! That's just what I needed. DH enjoys the rusty nails so that will probably do the trick! Appreciate your advice!

[Cruise Arizona]

My Take on Go Big, Better Best Perks.

 

It allows you to make it nearly "All Inclusive" in that way that suits your own personal style.

 

If you like to go to the spa or book excursions on board - $300 OBC is a great perk.

 

If your bar bill is normally more or close to what you pay for the cruise - Beverage Package - Maybe with the $11.80 per day Premium Upgrade is best for you.

 

If you are not a drinker and spend very little extra on your cruise - then book the Senior or Resident Rate to save money.

 

For years folks here on Cruise Critic has been suggesting the Celebrity should go all inclusive, but I think they worked out this scheme so that everyone would have options. Non-drinkers are not paying for someone else to drink when they have the option of Gratuties, On Board Credit or Senior/Resident discounts instead. It is a win/win for everyone.

[NantahalaCruiser]

My Take on Go Big, Better Best Perks.

 

It allows you to make it nearly "All Inclusive" in that way that suits your own personal style.

 

If you like to go to the spa or book excursions on board - $300 OBC is a great perk.

 

If your bar bill is normally more or close to what you pay for the cruise - Beverage Package - Maybe with the $11.80 per day Premium Upgrade is best for you.

 

If you are not a drinker and spend very little extra on your cruise - then book the Senior or Resident Rate to save money.

 

For years folks here on Cruise Critic has been suggesting the Celebrity should go all inclusive, but I think they worked out this scheme so that everyone would have options. Non-drinkers are not paying for someone else to drink when they have the option of Gratuties, On Board Credit or Senior/Resident discounts instead. It is a win/win for everyone.

I agree that for Celebrity's premium market, the tiered levels of perks at various price points is an excellent alternative to a fully inclusive pricing at the Best price point. You just have to be willing to spend a little time to fully evaluate which level makes the most sense given your own valuations.

 

My wife and I could care less about the internet, can easily make use of either the Gratuities or OBC (depending on the length of the cruise) and are moderate drinkers (afternoon cocktail & two glasses of wine at dinner) and find the Classic selections fine; but in addition to the alcoholic drinks, we both enjoy a couple of drinks from Cafe al Bacio every day plus a couple of bottles of water. Thus the total alternative ala carte price, including 18% gratuities, averages about $46 per person per day. In contrast, for a recent booking, the effective cost of the Classic Beverage Package - comparing pricing with and without perks - was only $18.18 per person per day - a great savings.

Edited March 24, 2017 by NantahalaCruiser

[4774Papa]

I agree that for Celebrity's premium market, the tiered levels of perks at various price points is an excellent alternative to a fully inclusive pricing at the Best price point. You just have to be willing to spend a little time to fully evaluate which level makes the most sense given your own valuations.

 

My wife and I could care less about the internet, can easily make use of either the Gratuities or OBC (depending on the length of the cruise) and are moderate drinkers (afternoon cocktail & two glasses of wine at dinner) and find the Classic selections fine; but in addition to the alcoholic drinks, we both enjoy a couple of drinks from Cafe al Bacio every day plus a couple of bottles of water. Thus the total alternative ala carte price, including 18% gratuities, averages about $46 per person per day. In contrast, for a recent booking, the effective cost of the Classic Beverage Package - comparing pricing with and without perks - was only $18.18 per person per day - a great savings.

Not sure that I have your math down properly? It seems that you say the without the drinks packages you will spend about $46 per person per day and that with another $18.18 per person per day the drinks packages make good sense.

 

At least you are doing some math to support your decision.

 

If you would spend $46 per person per day, why would you need to by the packages unless you drank more?

 

 

I do an accounting after each cruise and prior to us becoming elite, we would spend about $450 total for DW and self on alcohol for a two week cruise. Since becoming elite, we spend no more than $250 total for a two week cruise.

 

We don't buy bottled water, the ship's water is fine and safe. We don't drink the specialty coffees.

 

For us the drinks packages would be a huge waste. Also, since the new bundled X pricing Celebrity's cruise prices have mushroomed. We wind up taking TA cruises since the bundled pricing is not applied to them.

[NantahalaCruiser]

Not sure that I have your math down properly? It seems that you say the without the drinks packages you will spend about $46 per person per day and that with another $18.18 per person per day the drinks packages make good sense.

 

At least you are doing some math to support your decision.

 

If you would spend $46 per person per day, why would you need to by the packages unless you drank more?

 

 

I do an accounting after each cruise and prior to us becoming elite, we would spend about $450 total for DW and self on alcohol for a two week cruise. Since becoming elite, we spend no more than $250 total for a two week cruise.

 

We don't buy bottled water, the ship's water is fine and safe. We don't drink the specialty coffees.

 

For us the drinks packages would be a huge waste. Also, since the new bundled X pricing Celebrity's cruise prices have mushroomed. We wind up taking TA cruises since the bundled pricing is not applied to them.

 

Sorry if my comments were not clear. What I was saying is that without a drink package, the sum of my regular drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, would be about $46 per person per day including the 18%.

 

In comparison, the difference between the fare without any perks and the fare with two perks ($150 OBC and the Classic) was $350 per person for a 12N cruise. Subtracting out the OBC, the effective cost of our Classic was only $200 per person or $18.18 per person per day.

 

Thus our savings by choosing the fare with the two perks was $46 minus $18.18 or $27.82 per person per day.

 

Obviously, the value of the perk depends on the individual cruisers and the effective cost of the beverage package depends on the fare differences for your cruise of choice. If your value exceeds the effective cost then it makes sense to pay the extra amount for the perks - if not, then it makes sense to choose to not pay for the perks. With your stated value of $250/28 = $8.93 per person per day, your value would have been significantly less that the effective cost on our cruise and your economic choice would have certainly been to not pay the extra cost for the perks.

Edited March 25, 2017 by NantahalaCruiser

[BubMunkeyBles]

Not truly free, but still big savings if you wanted the drink package etc anyways. The military discount was $200 a stateroom so getting 2 drink packages and $300 OBC was still much better. We booked Alaska for $2200 in an ocean view... Pretty great with the OBC and drink packages that we would likely pay for anyways on another line. We book early and I definitely feel it makes X competitively priced next to Carnival and NCL. Plus their drink package is the best at sea I think (includes specialty coffees, bottled water etc).

[villauk]

Sorry if my comments were not clear. What I was saying is that without a drink package, the sum of my regular drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, would be about $46 per person per day including the 18%.

 

In comparison, the difference between the fare without any perks and the fare with two perks ($150 OBC and the Classic) was $350 per person for a 12N cruise. Subtracting out the OBC, the effective cost of our Classic was only $200 per person or $18.18 per person per day.

 

Thus our savings by choosing the fare with the two perks was $46 minus $18.18 or $27.82 per person per day.

 

Obviously, the value of the perk depends on the individual cruisers and the effective cost of the beverage package depends on the fare differences for your cruise of choice. If your value exceeds the effective cost then it makes sense to pay the extra amount for the perks - if not, then it makes sense to choose to not pay for the perks. With your stated value of $250/28 = $8.93 per person per day, your value would have been significantly less that the effective cost on our cruise and your economic choice would have certainly been to not pay the extra cost for the perks.

 

I totally understood what you were stating: in effect, it was only costing you an extra $18.18 pp per day, above the base rate with no perks, to have the drinks package included ;).

 

Also agree about circumstances, each individual needs to work out their own calculations for their own particular needs/circumstances to see which 'deal' is best for them.

[4774Papa]

When I go to the Celebrity website and find a cruise that I am interested in booking, most cruises force you into bundled pricing with promos unless you pick an inside. We never cruise in insides.

 

Can someone tell me how you can pick a balcony cabin without promos and a cheaper price than with promos?

[paulh84]

When I go to the Celebrity website and find a cruise that I am interested in booking, most cruises force you into bundled pricing with promos unless you pick an inside. We never cruise in insides.

 

Can someone tell me how you can pick a balcony cabin without promos and a cheaper price than with promos?

 

When the screen with the three perk choices appears, there will be a link at the bottom that says something like 'See if I qualify for different discounts'. Click that and you will be able to see senior, resident, military, etc. discount options - although there may be no discount at all and you will see the same price as Go Big.

[Cruise Arizona]

I wanted to add a little more information about he Senior, Military and Resident rates. Those rates are offered on sailings when Celebrity needs to boost sales. If you are a plan ahead kind of person they may not be available when you first book your cruise.

 

When the marketing department sees that a sailing needs a boost in sales, they will put out those discounted rates, and usually the rate is the same whether you are a senior, military or live in a state or province that qualifies for the discounted rate.

 

A good travel agent will watch for these discounts and then call you up to see if you want to take advantage. If you have one perk when you book initially and the difference is over $300 and you just have OBC you would come out ahead. If you are a beverage package person, you have to do more complicated math to see if you would end up saving like he poster above did.

 

However, I have seen the case where early bookings with one fo the perks ends up being a better deal than the Senior Discount. That is because often the early booking or launch rates are the lowest price on a sailing (Not always, it depends on how well the ship is selling) When the launch price is super low, Celebrity will gradually raise the price as the ship starts to fill. Sometimes they will then offer the discounted rates, but they can actually be higher than the launch price with 1 perk.

 

Just some thing to keep in mind.

Edited March 25, 2017 by Cruise Arizona

[4774Papa]

When the screen with the three perk choices appears, there will be a link at the bottom that says something like 'See if I qualify for different discounts'. Click that and you will be able to see senior, resident, military, etc. discount options - although there may be no discount at all and you will see the same price as Go Big.

Yes, I have seen that and I never get a discount.

[edgee]

Not sure that I have your math down properly? It seems that you say the without the drinks packages you will spend about $46 per person per day and that with another $18.18 per person per day the drinks packages make good sense.

 

At least you are doing some math to support your decision.

 

If you would spend $46 per person per day, why would you need to by the packages unless you drank more?

 

 

I do an accounting after each cruise and prior to us becoming elite, we would spend about $450 total for DW and self on alcohol for a two week cruise. Since becoming elite, we spend no more than $250 total for a two week cruise.

 

We don't buy bottled water, the ship's water is fine and safe. We don't drink the specialty coffees.

 

For us the drinks packages would be a huge waste. Also, since the new bundled X pricing Celebrity's cruise prices have mushroomed. We wind up taking TA cruises since the bundled pricing is not applied to them.

if you are age 55 of over or if you take advantage of certain state residency discounts you can get a significant discount for refusing the perks. We just saved 1500 for two of us by asking for senior discount as alternative to taking perks. No need to vary itineraries to avoid perk cruises in order to assure value for your cruise fare.

[NantahalaCruiser]

if you are age 55 of over or if you take advantage of certain state residency discounts you can get a significant discount for refusing the perks. We just saved 1500 for two of us by asking for senior discount as alternative to taking perks. No need to vary itineraries to avoid perk cruises in order to assure value for your cruise fare.

Yes, everything is variable - from cruise to cruise and day to day! If the difference between a 55+ fare with no perks and the fare with two perks had been $750 pp on our cruise - instead of our $350 pp - we would also have chosen the lower fare.

[riclop]

no it's all in the price.

[wallie5446]

The cruise packages on Celebrity are like the packages on a car. You want power windows instead of crank roll up, you pay a higher price. Same concept.

[sanger727]

if you are age 55 of over or if you take advantage of certain state residency discounts you can get a significant discount for refusing the perks. We just saved 1500 for two of us by asking for senior discount as alternative to taking perks. No need to vary itineraries to avoid perk cruises in order to assure value for your cruise fare.

 

 

Sure, but that only happens sometimes. I've never had a cruise I wanted to take with a discount rate that I qualified for that was more than a $50-$100 pp savings. I'd rather have the UBP than that. No doubt sometimes you save a significant amount by turning down the perks, but it's not fair to say they are always an add on price; sometimes the regular price with perks is as good as you can get.

 

 

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