Can you upgrade free Classic Bev Package to premium?

[CarolinaMamma]

Haven’t sailed with Celebrity in awhile and trying to decide which perks to choose. if we choose the classic drinks package as a perk, can we pay the difference to upgrade to the premium package?  And if so, can we do this in advance, or once we’re onboard?
 

There is almost nothing in the classic beverage package that appeals to me. We drink espresso drinks (2 per day( sparkling water, bottled water, and not too much alcohol, max 2 drinks per day, but when we drink, we like it to be high end. We Plan to book 2 balcony cabins, and will be traveling with our two teens, who also like coffee and sparkling water. In the past, I’ve gotten the premium non-alcoholic package for all of us, and just bought wine and cocktails a la carte. 
 

just wondering if we can upgrade the beverage package for not too much money, or if it would make more sense financially for me to choose a different perk, like OBC or tips, especially since we’re traveling with teens, who wouldn’t be eligible for the alcoholic drinks anyway.  

[Lastdance]

Yes, you can upgrade to premium by paying the extra fee...no worries on that at all...sometimes there are discounts through email too.  Mine was $10 per day; I drink very little, but enjoy the wider variety.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Lastdance

[Gordoncruickshank]

It is $10 a day plus gratuity so you will end up paying $12pppd.

[Moby Jones]

Yes. Expect to pay $12 per day. This is a daily charge of $10 plus a 20% gratuity totaling $12 per day. 

Edited December 23, 2019 by Moby Jones

[CarolinaMamma]

Thank you all. This is good news!

[GateGuardian]

It might be a better deal to get all four perks as they upgrade the classic package to premium for free.

[Bo1953]

Not knowing how long your sailing is, if more than seven (7) nights gratuities makes more sense... yet, beverage package as a back up or vica versa.

 

If your sailing is several months away plus, then look for sales offered from time to time for up to 30% off for the up grade.

 

Please remember that all sales do not apply to all sailings and all Perk upgrades....

 

bon voyage

[Luvcrusn]

Also know that when you chose Classic Beverage Package as a perk both people in the cabin had to choose it, but if you want to upgrade you can upgrade just one or both.

[Lastdance]

I just paid the $10...no gratuity...special sale!

[george35]

I also am thinking of up-grading my Classic Drink perk to Premium but I have been told to do it on the ship at your favorite bar because the bartender gets extra $ for selling it to you & besides he will remember you when you want a drink. True or not?

 

george35

[Moby Jones]

7 minutes ago, george35 said:

I also am thinking of up-grading my Classic Drink perk to Premium but I have been told to do it on the ship at your favorite bar because the bartender gets extra $ for selling it to you & besides he will remember you when you want a drink. True or not?

 

george35

True. 

[Bo1953]

11 minutes ago, george35 said:

I also am thinking of up-grading my Classic Drink perk to Premium but I have been told to do it on the ship at your favorite bar because the bartender gets extra $ for selling it to you & besides he will remember you when you want a drink. True or not?

 

george35

Usually very true, yet if you were offered up to a 30% discount (if applicable/available on your sailing) would you not take it?

 

With the savings you could pass it off to your favourite bartender upon boarding...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[bikerunner]

8 minutes ago, george35 said:

I also am thinking of up-grading my Classic Drink perk to Premium but I have been told to do it on the ship at your favorite bar because the bartender gets extra $ for selling it to you & besides he will remember you when you want a drink. True or not?

 

george35

True, any extra to make you stand out to them  but the bartenders and servers I have dealt with on my last 3 cruises all remembered my drinks and name by end of day 3, usually on 10 plus day cruises.  They do get an extra $ for selling it to you but if you find a sale before hand take it if looking to save a few dollars.  Generally like many said its 10 + 20% or 12 pd to upgrade.  I usually like having as many costs out of the way beforehand so not to worry about upgrading etc.  Thats me everyone is different.    

[Bo1953]

1 minute ago, bikerunner said:

True, any extra to make you stand out to them  but the bartenders and servers I have dealt with on my last 3 cruises all remembered my drinks and name by end of day 3, usually on 10 plus day cruises.  They do get an extra $ for selling it to you but if you find a sale before hand take it if looking to save a few dollars.  Generally like many said its 10 + 20% or 12 pd to upgrade.  I usually like having as many costs out of the way beforehand so not to worry about upgrading etc.  Thats me everyone is different.    

Great minds tend to drink, alike! LOL

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[george35]

Thanks to all for making my drink pkg easier to decide. At my favorite bar it will be on the 1st day.

 

george35

[Scottygirl1]

Interesting.  On our recent Reflection cruise we upgraded but were rarely offered the premium drinks!  When we ordered the more expensive wine at dinner we were offered a lesser wine on more than one occasion.  This also happened around the ship - at the Theatre bar they only had the cheaper (classic package) wine!  Often when we asked for champagne (the one covered under the premium package) we kept getting the cheapest bubbly from the Classic package.  I actually complained to the hotel director on the ship and to be fair they looked into it and miraculously we were offered better wine at dinner.  

 

I also found that other than the Martini Bar, most bars offered drinks within the classic package.  Other than the availability of the sparkling water and better quality still water we felt a little cheated by the premium package.  We certainly never had any bartenders remember us as others have said.  Getting a drink was always such a long wait too.  I found the bars to be extremely understaffed - the bar outside the Theatre only had one bartender and the wait there was ridiculously long.  

 

Another thing that we noticed was that they were selling drink packages onboard for half price!  Too bad for those who had paid more.  Overall we were very unimpressed with the wine offered, availability of wines at different bars and service level.  I'm really not sure if we'll bother with upgrading our drink package for our next cruise - we might just pay the additional dollar or two when we want a better wine with dinner.  

[39august]

Did Reflection not have a bar set up inside the theater? That was the case on both Equinox and more recently Silhoutte. I do remember the bar outside the theater entrance on RF. But surely that is not the only bar to serve drinks for the theater!

[bikerunner]

I usually went to the bar in the casino before going into the theater.  Much easier.  I know the pool deck when ordering from the different waiters I got well instead of premium, not like it matters in frozen drinks cannot tell the difference.  Dinner I never had the issue and often talked to the sommelier on pairings.  I also was frequent in Cellar masters.  I also tended to stay at the Martini Bar or World Class Bar for drinks so I really wouldn't run into that issue since they only serve premium mainly at those bars.  I rarely drink champagne that often and if I do get it I prefer Prosecco or Cava. 

[Luvcrusn]

53 minutes ago, 39august said:

Did Reflection not have a bar set up inside the theater? That was the case on both Equinox and more recently Silhoutte. I do remember the bar outside the theater entrance on RF. But surely that is not the only bar to serve drinks for the theater!

We usually just sit down in the theater and order what we want. It's easy to get bar service there and you don't have to wait in line at a bar.

[Scottygirl1]

1 hour ago, 39august said:

Did Reflection not have a bar set up inside the theater? That was the case on both Equinox and more recently Silhoutte. I do remember the bar outside the theater entrance on RF. But surely that is not the only bar to serve drinks for the theater!

 

Yes, there was a bar set up there but they had the most dreadful wine!  There were servers coming around later in the cruise if you got to the theatre early enough.  The bar inside the theatre had only one barman who was constantly off getting something so the queues were crazy.  

[Scottygirl1]

18 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

I usually went to the bar in the casino before going into the theater.  Much easier.  I know the pool deck when ordering from the different waiters I got well instead of premium, not like it matters in frozen drinks cannot tell the difference.  Dinner I never had the issue and often talked to the sommelier on pairings.  I also was frequent in Cellar masters.  I also tended to stay at the Martini Bar or World Class Bar for drinks so I really wouldn't run into that issue since they only serve premium mainly at those bars.  I rarely drink champagne that often and if I do get it I prefer Prosecco or Cava. 

 

We went to the World Class bar one night but they couldn't make up the drink I wanted! They said they could only make what was on the list so we left.  Our dinner sommelier didn't listen to us until we got more forceful about what we wanted.   Things got better all over the ship once we got more assertive about what we wanted 🙂

[sofietucker]

On 12/23/2019 at 4:37 PM, bikerunner said:

I also tended to stay at the Martini Bar or World Class Bar for drinks so I really wouldn't run into that issue since they only serve premium mainly at those bars.  

That wasn't our experience on the Equinox last year. They didn't have Absolut Elyx, for instance--only had it at the Sunset Bar!! And as with most ships, the bar staff REALLY resent having to go fetch the requested liquor from another bar. I had to actually ask our sommelier in Luminae why Elyx wasn't at the Martini Bar. Said he'd look into it, and remarkably, it was there that evening. Sigh.

We too bring drinks into the theater from the less-crowded casino bar. (Otherwise you wait 30 minutes while they go get Galliano from the other side of the ship, etc.)

Edited January 8, 2020 by sofietucker

[poffles]

I didn't see mention here (sorry if i missed it) but in case you aren't aware, another thing to note is that if you do select the Classic and not do the Premium upgrade, any drink that exceeds the classic cocktail value will only be charged the difference (+ 20% gratuity on that difference).  This may or may not come out ahead for you though since it appears you like the sparkling water (ie Perrier?) which is not included in Classic, drinks like this seem to be treated differently and perhaps I am wrong but you would pay full cost on that.

 

Just something to be aware of as this was not always the case few years ago, you once had to pay the entire price of anything not covered in the Classic cocktail 'list'.

 

I personally like to upgrade ... especially when I have OBC that could cover it.

Edited January 8, 2020 by poffles
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[Missyfoti]

I just used my credit to upgrade from the classic to premium package for our cruise on the Equinox next week. Theses comments are making me wonder if the $200 difference is worth it . 86 pp plus 20% tip. 

Last time we didn't get the beverage package and just ordered wine at dinner . I actually didn't mind the white wine they sell for $20 bottle . Did anyone really notice the difference between classic and premium? 

My husband likes whiskey and I'm a wine drinker which is why I upgraded.