Drinks & More package--- anyone try yet?

[sheltielover1973]

Just noticed this under Cruise Planner.....

has anyone tried it? $8 extra a day/per person:

So, you essentially get:

1. Premium package

2. 2 bottles of wine

3. Wine tasting experience

4. $50 in Casino free play

5. Mini bar included, and stocked daily

 

Says not available to buy on board:

Upgrade and Save time and money when you purchase our new Drinks & More beverage package. Enjoy all of the benefits of the classic and premium beverage package, which includes all the top-shelf spirits (89 options), vintage wine (161 options), liqueurs & cognacs (24 options), beer (44 options) and champagne, plus the following: Two bottles of wine $50 in casino free play Wine tasting experience If both adults in your stateroom purchase the Drinks & More package, the mini bar will be included and replenished once a day for your entire vacation.

[mayleeman]

Which cruise on which ship?

[Luvcrusn]

I really can't see the point of paying to upgrade my premium. It seems to me that I'd be paying quite a bit more than the value added. I already received the PBP as a perk from my TA. The additional $$ per day for the privilege of getting a couple of bottles of wine and stuff from the mini bar (only if we both upgraded) and $50 casino money would cost way more than I'd receive in benefit. 

[jelayne]

The price has varied since they introduced it.  The difference on our recent cruise was $7.50 + 20% gratuity above the Premium package.  Ours was a 15 night cruise so $270 for both of us so we passed.
 

We met a couple on the Eclipse recently who had it.  Wine was 1 bottle of red & 1 white,  the same as they serve at the Captains a club functions.  So no list of wines to choose from.  They said the wine tasting was the one that can be booked for $20 or $25.  The casino credit was really the only items they felt was worth much.  

On a 7 night cruise it would be $126 for 2 and the $50 free casino play for 2 make it a much more attractive option.

[Luvcrusn]

Honestly when one already has the PBP what value is there to two bottles of wine and a wine tasting event or the in room mini bar? How much alcohol can you drink? The only thing of value is the $50 casino credit and why pay that much more money for it? In addition, if you're in Concierge, Aqua or a Suite you already get a bottle of sparkling wine that can be traded for red or white wine or Prosecco?

[sheltielover1973]

1 minute ago, Luvcrusn said:

Honestly when one already has the PBP what value is there to two bottles of wine and a wine tasting event or the in room mini bar? How much alcohol can you drink? The only thing of value is the $50 casino credit and why pay that much more money for it? In addition, if you're in Concierge, Aqua or a Suite you already get a bottle of sparkling wine that can be traded for red or white wine or Prosecco?

 

great point-- i forgot how the sparkling can be traded for a red or white. 

[DebInAntigua]

We just came off a couple of cruises where we had upgraded into the Drinks & More. Here's how we got value out of it (or not):

 

• The bottles of wine - never opened them. They were low end wines and we don't drink much in our cabin anyway. Value = $0
• The casino credits ($50 each person, on each of 2 cruises) - We don't gamble much and treat it as entertainment only. We had a total on both cruises of $200 promotional credit to play, and we managed to flip that on Roulette into about $165 we were able to cash out and keep. The ratio of the casino credit value is related to how long the cruise is, as you have to pay the upgrade per day but get $50 flat pp, whether the cruise is 5 days or 15.
• The minibar - we never touched the vodka and drank very little of the wine. However, we loved the convenience of having large bottles of water restocked daily, along with Kind bars and Pringles and some soft drinks for the room. Yes, I know we could get the beverages with our package and carry them back to the room, but we enjoyed the convenience a lot of the minibar being included. Some people have been able to get the room steward to swap beverages. We got Sprite instead of Coke, for instance, on several days by asking.
• The wine tasting events - Hit or miss. On the first cruise, we were given the "World Wine Tour" and it was terribly oversold and crowded. I said to my husband that if we had paid out of pocket in the Cruise Planner for that event, I would have been mad. It was poorly done. On the second cruise, we were granted access to the "New World vs. Old World" wine event, and the sommelier Sebastian (Edge) who led it was great. Very informative and fun, engaging and entertaining. He introduced us to some new wines we had never tried before and we really enjoyed that one. So I think the value of the wine event will depend entirely on the number of people they cram into it and the quality of the sommelier(s) running it.

 

As a side note, this is still a relatively new package onboard and we had a lot of trouble on the Silhouette to get them to honor the $50 casino credit PER PERSON, instead of trying to give us $50 per stateroom. It took several days and being insistent to get the additional $50 credit but it was eventually straightened out. Within a few more cruises the crew should be better trained on how to deliver the benefits. I don't think people will be having those issues long term.

 

We liked the Drinks & More upgrade, so we've gone ahead and done it on our Dec 2020 cruise before they try to raise the price or something. At $9/day pp, I feel it was mostly worth it to us and how we chose to use it. But I wouldn't pay more than that for it.

Edited December 3, 2019 by DebInAntigua

[DaKahuna]

 We will be on Celebrity Edge February 9-16, 2020.  We got the Premium Beverage package as part of the 4 Perks promotion when we booked the cruise.   Since the Internet was showing a full price, minus our Elite discount, I called Celebrity customer services and was able to upgrade to the "Drinks and More" for just under $129.00 total for the two of us.

 

 Now I need to find the email account for the Retreat Concierge on Edge and see if we can request specific wines.

 

 

[CruisinDawn]

Anyone know how that works with the Premium Package as a perk and upgrading to the Drinks & More? Online Premium is $69pp on our cruise if you were to pay for it, Drinks & More is on sale for $76.50 so $7.50x7days=$52.50+additional tip? but $50 casino credit makes it a no brainer IF that is how it would be calculated. Thoughts? Also I assume that would take a phone call, can you use your available showing OBC for something purchased over the phone?

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

Edited January 1, 2020 by CruisinDawn

[son3cruisers]

28 minutes ago, CruisinDawn said:

Anyone know how that works with the Premium Package as a perk and upgrading to the Drinks & More? Online Premium is $69pp on our cruise if you were to pay for it, Drinks & More is on sale for $76.50 so $7.50x7days=$52.50+additional tip? but $50 casino credit makes it a no brainer IF that is how it would be calculated. Thoughts? Also I assume that would take a phone call, can you use your available showing OBC for something purchased over the phone?

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

When the package was first released, you were not allowed to UPGRADE to the drinks and more package if you received the drink package as a PERK. I called customer service to clarify that the package was per person, ( including $50 casino credit per person) and she too said I was not able to upgrade. I looked online, and was able to upgrade  through my cruiseplanner and used stateroom credit! I sail in March, so hoping it all works out! 

[CruisinDawn]

7 minutes ago, son3cruisers said:

When the package was first released, you were not allowed to UPGRADE to the drinks and more package if you received the drink package as a PERK. I called customer service to clarify that the package was per person, ( including $50 casino credit per person) and she too said I was not able to upgrade. I looked online, and was able to upgrade  through my cruiseplanner and used stateroom credit! I sail in March, so hoping it all works out! 

How did you do it online in the cruise planner? If I put it in the cart it wants the full amount. I would rather do that than call. 

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[Weenah]

7 minutes ago, CruisinDawn said:

How did you do it online in the cruise planner? If I put it in the cart it wants the full amount. I would rather do that than call. 

 

I ran into the same thing in my cruise planner. I quick 10 minute call was needed and the issue resolved.

[son3cruisers]

It was an “ upgrade to drinks and more” selection i was able to do online. It was during the last cruise planner sale.

Maybe call in and see if customer service can do it for you. Others have reported it worked for them.

Celebrity seems to be very inconsistent!
Good luck! 

[MarLieb]

On 1/1/2020 at 10:42 AM, CruisinDawn said:

Anyone know how that works with the Premium Package as a perk and upgrading to the Drinks & More? Online Premium is $69pp on our cruise if you were to pay for it, Drinks & More is on sale for $76.50 so $7.50x7days=$52.50+additional tip? but $50 casino credit makes it a no brainer IF that is how it would be calculated. Thoughts? Also I assume that would take a phone call, can you use your available showing OBC for something purchased over the phone?

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

We sailed on the Dec. 21 Summit cruise and I had upgraded our Premium beverage perks prior to sailing.  For us, there was an "upgrade" option in our cruise planner and it was $9 per person, per day to upgrade ($126 total).  I used OBC to pay for the upgrade.  We received $50 each in casino chips (total $100).  We never got the bottles of wine but I had told our butler we don't drink alcohol, so she may have just decided not to bring them which was fine for us.  Our fridge was fully stocked with evian, two types of sparkling water, cokes, sprite and ginger ale.   Basically it cost $26 (we would have purchased at least $100 in casino chips anyway) to stock and refresh our fridge and it meant we did not buy a beverage package for our son, so it was really a very cost effective upgrade for us.  We also loved simply pulling drinks from our fridge instead of standing in any lines and always having to pull out sea pass cards.  We would definitely do this again on any upcoming cruises should it continue to be offered.

[glenneagle]

I just check for Silhuoette 14  th  February sailing and the price is $76 per day to upgrade to drinks and more package. I have the classic drink package but this seems a lot for the upgrade to drinks and more.

[son3cruisers]

1 hour ago, MarLieb said:

We sailed on the Dec. 21 Summit cruise and I had upgraded our Premium beverage perks prior to sailing.  For us, there was an "upgrade" option in our cruise planner and it was $9 per person, per day to upgrade ($126 total).  I used OBC to pay for the upgrade.  We received $50 each in casino chips (total $100).  We never got the bottles of wine but I had told our butler we don't drink alcohol, so she may have just decided not to bring them which was fine for us.  Our fridge was fully stocked with evian, two types of sparkling water, cokes, sprite and ginger ale.   Basically it cost $26 (we would have purchased at least $100 in casino chips anyway) to stock and refresh our fridge and it meant we did not buy a beverage package for our son, so it was really a very cost effective upgrade for us.  We also loved simply pulling drinks from our fridge instead of standing in any lines and always having to pull out sea pass cards.  We would definitely do this again on any upcoming cruises should it continue to be offered.

Was there beer ( Heineken) or any single serve bottles of alcohol ( vodka) and snacks in your fridge along with the drinks you listed? 
Someone posted a picture of the enclosed price list of items in the fridge (for purchase) and those particular items were listed on the sheet, as well as Pringle’s and Kind bars. Curious if they were there for those who purchased Drinks and More, or if they only “stock” fridges for those who need to pay. 
 

[MarLieb]

26 minutes ago, son3cruisers said:

Was there beer ( Heineken) or any single serve bottles of alcohol ( vodka) and snacks in your fridge along with the drinks you listed? 
Someone posted a picture of the enclosed price list of items in the fridge (for purchase) and those particular items were listed on the sheet, as well as Pringle’s and Kind bars. Curious if they were there for those who purchased Drinks and More, or if they only “stock” fridges for those who need to pay. 
 

 

We did not have any snacks in our fridge and only had non-alcoholic items, though, we do not drink alcohol (and I told shoreside concierge about this prior to boarding), so I'm not sure if our fridge only being stocked with non-alcoholic items is the norm or not.  Hopefully someone else who purchase the package on a recent cruise can comment about the alcoholic options (if there are any) on the package

[hiccups]

1 hour ago, glenneagle said:

I just check for Silhuoette 14  th  February sailing and the price is $76 per day to upgrade to drinks and more package. I have the classic drink package but this seems a lot for the upgrade to drinks and more.

That's not the upgrade price--it's the full price.  The upgrade from premium is $7.50 per day plus the 20% gratuity.  I just upgraded our premium package for our 7 night Edge sailing for $126 for both of us.  We have a lot of nonrefundable OBC so figured we might as well try it.

From classic, it would be $17.50 per day plus gratuity.  I guess it would depend on if you usually gamble, and like the premium beverages, if it's worth it.

[son3cruisers]

So I just chatted with customer service online, and she said that it varies per sailing as to what exactly is in the fridge. That’s vague and inconsistent don’t  you think?
Then she gave me a list ( that I’ve seen posted on here before)  and said it “ might” contain some of those items. 
Wondering what others have seen in their mini fridges. 
Was hoping to see the Pringle’s and Kind bars to take for excursions! 
 

Edited January 3, 2020 by son3cruisers

[yoshi]

We had the Drinks & More package for all three in our room. There were six bottles of wine on the counter when we arrived. Our room steward said, "wow, you have a lot of wine" 🙂 We put them out of the way on top of the closet and didn't end up drinking any, but we gave 2 away with a word game at the CC Meet & Mingle.

The mini bar fridge had 2 regular cokes, 2 diet cokes, 1 split of La Crema Chardonay, 1 split of Kendall Jackson Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 Heinekens, 4 Titos Vodka small bottles, 2 large Evian waters 2 Pringles cans, and 2 Kind bars.

We asked our stateroom attendant if we could have rum & gin rather than vodka but he said they could not switch what came in the minibar. 

We really did end up liking the mini bar setup, took the snacks on excursions and drank the waters and splits while sitting out on the balcony. Really gives you more options, so why not?

The wine tasting event was the same wine tasting event as the Elites are invited to so that didn't up anything extra for us.

The $50 casino play was fun for an evening entertainment, then you cash out the winning part so you get some back.

Enjoy your cruise!

[son3cruisers]

42 minutes ago, yoshi said:

We really did end up liking the mini bar setup, took the snacks on excursions and drank the waters and splits while sitting out on the balcony. Really gives you more options, so why not?

 Our thoughts exactly! 
Thanks for posting.
 

[hiccups]

9 hours ago, yoshi said:

We had the Drinks & More package for all three in our room. There were six bottles of wine on the counter when we arrived. Our room steward said, "wow, you have a lot of wine" 🙂 We put them out of the way on top of the closet and didn't end up drinking any, but we gave 2 away with a word game at the CC Meet & Mingle.

The mini bar fridge had 2 regular cokes, 2 diet cokes, 1 split of La Crema Chardonay, 1 split of Kendall Jackson Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 Heinekens, 4 Titos Vodka small bottles, 2 large Evian waters 2 Pringles cans, and 2 Kind bars.

We asked our stateroom attendant if we could have rum & gin rather than vodka but he said they could not switch what came in the minibar. 

We really did end up liking the mini bar setup, took the snacks on excursions and drank the waters and splits while sitting out on the balcony. Really gives you more options, so why not?

The wine tasting event was the same wine tasting event as the Elites are invited to so that didn't up anything extra for us.

The $50 casino play was fun for an evening entertainment, then you cash out the winning part so you get some back.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for the info--on which ship did you sail?  We just purchased it for our Edge sailing, as we have non-refundable OBC and figured for a 7-day cruise, it was a decent deal.  While we usually never gamble, my husband can play a little blackjack with the casino credit and  get some use out of our OBC rather than me trying to find things to buy in the shops.

[yoshi]

hi hiccups,

We were on the Equinox 12/21-12/28.

When you first go to the casino, they will either load the $50 each as a "Promo" on your seapass to play on the machines or give you $50 of chips for the tables. We went during a "Ladies Night" for 1 hour they gave out gifts every 10 or 15 minutes to Ladies playing both machines and tables. I won a cute MK purse, another prize was perfume. The next evening they also had a "Gentlemens Night" but my DH & DS didn't get lucky, it was way more crowded than ladies night.

Have fun on your Edge cruise!

[wwwfla]

OP -Thanks for this timely Info. Just used OBC in Cruise Planner to upgrade from Premium on our upcoming 5 day cruise.

[Virga]

If I can call in to upgrade from the Classic that comes with our two nighter, I'll be doing so.  We wanted to upgrade to premium anyway, so it's an easy sell for us... I'll give it a try this afternoon.