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Drink package upgrade

zaphenomenalone

By zaphenomenalone,
in Celebrity Cruises

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zaphenomenalone

zaphenomenalone

Posted
Posted

Hello. The wife and I  are going on our first cruise on our first cruise on the celebrity infinity on January 4th. We got a free "classic alcohol drink package" with our cruise. It's a five night cruise and I've been thinking about if it would be worth it to upgrade to the premium. The premium would be a total of $120 to upgrade and many of the sites I've looked at have said the classic is limiting but really haven't given any examples. I was hoping I could get some first hand advice on if the package we have is fine or if our option will be really limited by not going premium. Thank you for any advise. 

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jelayne

jelayne

Posted
Posted

Why not wait until you are on the ship and after the first day if you find your choices limited then you can upgrade.  
Most cocktails can be made with the liquors in the Classic package.  If there are wines you like on the Classic package then you are set, the coffees, fresh juices are included in the Classic pkg as is generic bottled water.

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wallysdtr

wallysdtr

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The decision to upgrade to premium should be based on whether you really want the top shelf liquor, wines and beers.  With the classic package you can get the premium alcohol but you would pay the full price for that specific drink (eg  grey goose and tonic) ,  Martini bar martini's are covered in full with the premium package but not with classic.  I have heard that some bartenders will make a small martini for the classic package holders but I don't have  experience with that to know if it is true. 

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jelayne

jelayne

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If you order a drink above the Classic pkg limit you only pay difference, not the full price.  That changed a year or so ago.  The large specialty martinis at the Martini Bar are above the Classic package but again you can pay the difference. You can also order other drinks at the Martini bar that are covered by the Classic pkg. Standard sized martinis are available at other bars throughout the ship.

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TFLG

TFLG

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Posted

The classic package covers pretty much all the normal drinks except a few high end ones (like Martinis at the Martini bar). As noted you can still get a martini just not at the martini bar because they use bigger glasses so the drinks are priced higher.  If you must have one you can walk 50 yards to the Casino Bar or pay the approx $5 difference.  The fancy cocktails at the World Class bar are also all over the Classic limit.  Standard beers, house wines, cocktails like margaritas, G&Ts, pina colada and nearly every other mixed drinks are included. Unless you are a brand snob that must have grey goose in our cocktail I think you'll find the classic package is just fine.   I do upgrade since I like single malt scotch and the better whiskys are over the classic limit but my wife is perfectly happy with the classic.

 

 

 

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XuGator

XuGator

Posted
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The non alcoholic advantages are also significant in the premium package. The classic package only provides generic bottled water where premium offers dasani, evian etc. The premium also offers vitamin water and red bull if either of those interest you. We always upgrade to premium for the water alone.  The high end liquors and martinis are a bonus. As fas as price - it shouldn't be any different before you board unless they are running some type of sale. We always upgrade once on the ship.

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Guindalf

Guindalf

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The 20% probably refers to buying the package, not upgrading. I have never seen the upgrade discounted.

 

My DW doesn't really drink, so as we got the classic package with the booking, there was only a need for me to upgrade as I drink top shelf liquor and fresh orange juice at breakfast ( the poster that said fresh juices were included with the classic package was wrong. It's just juices and the fresh OJ is a premium offering). I also drink San Pelligrino and take Evian back to the room for taking meds.

 

As suggested above, wait until you get on board before upgrading. If you find it essential, you can upgrade straight away, but if you wait until day two, you've already saved $24!

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Luvcrusn

Luvcrusn

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24 minutes ago, Guindalf said:

The 20% probably refers to buying the package, not upgrading. I have never seen the upgrade discounted.

 

My DW doesn't really drink, so as we got the classic package with the booking, there was only a need for me to upgrade as I drink top shelf liquor and fresh orange juice at breakfast ( the poster that said fresh juices were included with the classic package was wrong. It's just juices and the fresh OJ is a premium offering). I also drink San Pelligrino and take Evian back to the room for taking meds.

 

As suggested above, wait until you get on board before upgrading. If you find it essential, you can upgrade straight away, but if you wait until day two, you've already saved $24!

I have ordered and received fresh orange juice over the past 11 years on the Classic package and have never been charged extra for it.

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jelayne

jelayne

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54 minutes ago, Guindalf said:

 

 

( the poster that said fresh juices were included with the classic package was wrong. It's just juices and the fresh OJ is a premium offering).

I said that because as recently as 2 weeks ago "fresh" OJ was available with the Classic package.

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A Sixth?

A Sixth?

Posted
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1 hour ago, zaphenomenalone said:

The biggest reason I'm trying to decide now is because I hear it's a better price before you board. Right now on the site it says it's 20% off if you buy it before you board. 

 

I'm looking for that sale but can't find it.

 

Do you have a link?

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A Sixth?

A Sixth?

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Guindalf said:

The 20% probably refers to buying the package, not upgrading. I have never seen the upgrade discounted.

 

My DW doesn't really drink, so as we got the classic package with the booking, there was only a need for me to upgrade as I drink top shelf liquor and fresh orange juice at breakfast ( the poster that said fresh juices were included with the classic package was wrong. It's just juices and the fresh OJ is a premium offering). I also drink San Pelligrino and take Evian back to the room for taking meds.

 

As suggested above, wait until you get on board before upgrading. If you find it essential, you can upgrade straight away, but if you wait until day two, you've already saved $24!

 

I've got the upgrade a couple of times for a pre-cruise / online sale.

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jelayne

jelayne

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5 minutes ago, A Sixth? said:

 

I've got the upgrade a couple of times for a pre-cruise / online sale.

 I have gotten the discount on the upgrade twice.  I called to upgrade with the current 20% off and after checking all the promotion materials and checking with the supervisor I was told by the Captains Club rep that the discount doesn't apply to upgrades this time only the purchase of a package.  YMMV

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sanger727

sanger727

Posted
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We debated upgrading to premium on our last cruise. In the end we didn't. We were able to get any drink we wanted except the specialty martinis at the martini bar on our classic package. We found the selection of wines on classic to be fine. I don't care a thing about premium water so that wasn't a selling point for me. We did go to the martini bar a few times and paid less than $5 per martini for the specialty ones. Think all in all we spent no more than $30 extra. Much cheaper than upgrading on a 12 day cruise.

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chilliano

chilliano

Posted
Posted

Are you coffee or tea drinkers?  If so, that alone may be worth the upgrade.  As some else noted, non alcoholic drinks are different too. The premium package includes soda, coffee, tea and premium water.  The coffee cafe is fabulous.  A couple cappuccino or mochas alone will make up the difference.  I can’t tell ypu exactly where but there is a document / web page on the celebrity site that spells out the difference.  

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Ferry_Watcher Excellent Advice! Rare

Ferry_Watcher

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25 minutes ago, chilliano said:

Are you coffee or tea drinkers?  If so, that alone may be worth the upgrade.  As some else noted, non alcoholic drinks are different too. The premium package includes soda, coffee, tea and premium water.  The coffee cafe is fabulous.  A couple cappuccino or mochas alone will make up the difference.  I can’t tell ypu exactly where but there is a document / web page on the celebrity site that spells out the difference.  

I thought that coffee drinks like Lattes were covered under the Classic Drink Package.  Can someone verify?

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rachiem

rachiem

Posted
Posted (edited)

We upgraded las time and really enjoyed having the premium wines (we are wine drinkers)

We have just upgraded for the next cruise...I don't know if it was part of a sale (as they had to adjust the booking to show the free classic drinks package) but it cost us a total of £8.10 per day each. We had $200 onboard credit so the difference was a mere £9odd in total for our 10 day cruise

Edited by rachiem
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oceancrusin

oceancrusin

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17 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

I thought that coffee drinks like Lattes were covered under the Classic Drink Package.  Can someone verify?

 

I just came back from an Equinox sailing in November. We only had the Classic beverage package and coffees\teas are included in the package. The only ones that would not be included are those with a shot of alcohol in them.

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bluehengal

bluehengal

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We always upgrade as we prefer Evian Water (bigger bottles than regular bottled water), nicer wines, and we enjoy the World Class Bar.  Not having to worry about what's covered or not is nice.  We never have to worry about signing any charge slips for the overages either.  The upgrades are definitely not included in the drink package sale going on right now.  I even called and tried to get a discount since the cost difference between classic and premium to buy the packages outright is $8/day, but they wouldn't budge from the $12/day upgrade cost.  Crazy!

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keesar Great Review Rare

keesar

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Posted
9 hours ago, Guindalf said:

Well good for you! It's not supposed to be included (and it's not fresh as all the juicing machines were removed for hygiene reasons some time ago!).

 

Fresh orange juice machines are still being used in Blu.  Saw them when we had breakfast there on our last two cruises.

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Muffinz

Muffinz

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Posted

we cruised last year and had the classic package - I was more than happy with it.... had no problem getting a decent beer, good wine or a jim beam & diet cola..... on our cruise next year wife has upgraded to Premium because she wants to try some martinis and different cocktails and champagne

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