Our drinks & more experience!

[4774Papa]

We like to skip drink packages and in effect have the keep more of your cash package.  Just how much per day does the our drinks and more package cost?

[hiccups]

3 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

We like to skip drink packages and in effect have the keep more of your cash package.  Just how much per day does the our drinks and more package cost?

Most of us get the drinks package as one of our perks during the various sales.  The prices are listed in the cruise planner, but I think the classic package is $59 PP per day, the premium is $69 PP per day, and the drinks and more is $76.50 PP per day.  20% gratuity is added to those prices.

[4774Papa]

10 minutes ago, hiccups said:

Most of us get the drinks package as one of our perks during the various sales.  The prices are listed in the cruise planner, but I think the classic package is $59 PP per day, the premium is $69 PP per day, and the drinks and more is $76.50 PP per day.  20% gratuity is added to those prices.

Prior to becoming Elite, we would spend about $500 on alcohol for a 14 days cruise.  After becoming Elite, we found that we spend about $300 on alcohol for a two week cruise.  We don't drink bottled water, soda or specialty coffee.  At $300 for both of us for 14 days, which comes to about $21 a day.   Therefore paying $75- $85 per day for a drink package would be ridiculous.  Fortunately, Celebrity allows us to book without promos and save.    We average about four glasses or wine (or my wife may have a glass or two of scotch now and then) a day each.  Three of those are at happy hour.

[justcrusn]

3 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

We like to skip drink packages and in effect have the keep more of your cash package.  Just how much per day does the our drinks and more package cost?

Our next cruise is a getaway “two nighter”

classic is $59

premium is $69

drinks & more is $76.50 on sale)

Per Day

NOW, drinks & more is premium package PLUS $50 in casino credits PLUS two bottles of wine to take home,  PLUS items from the mini bar....

Its a no brainer really, just get it. Ymmv, especially on a longer cruise.

[4774Papa]

7 minutes ago, justcrusn said:

Our next cruise is a getaway “two nighter”

classic is $59

premium is $69

drinks & more is $76.50 on sale)

Per Day

NOW, drinks & more is premium package PLUS $50 in casino credits PLUS two bottles of wine to take home,  PLUS items from the mini bar....

Its a no brainer really, just get it. Ymmv, especially on a longer cruise.

Not a no brainer for us, since we would spend about $42 a day on a two day cruise (for both of us)  One bottle of wine would be plenty outside the free happy hour.  Different strokes.

[miched]

1 hour ago, 4774Papa said:

Not a no brainer for us, since we would spend about $42 a day on a two day cruise (for both of us)  One bottle of wine would be plenty outside the free happy hour.  Different strokes.

Do they have a happy hour on a 2 night cruise?   There isn’t one on the day of embarkation and the next night might not have it because of some ship board party/reception.   
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited February 14, 2020 by miched

[4774Papa]

9 hours ago, miched said:

Do they have a happy hour on a 2 night cruise?   There isn’t one on the day of embarkation and the next night might not have it because of some ship board party/reception.   
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

You might be right, we have never taken a cruise for less than 7 days (and likely never will).

[miched]

56 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

You might be right, we have never taken a cruise for less than 7 days (and likely never will).

 

56 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

You might be right, we have never taken a cruise for less than 7 days (and likely never will).

We have done 4 and 5 day cruises that were either B2B or side by side to a longer cruise if they were too cheap to pass up.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[comfortcove]

We upgraded to the drinks and more package the week before boarding the Equinox 1/18 Eastern Caribbean sailing. It was well worth it for us. Our minibar was restocked daily and including 2 cokes, sometimes more (we requested diet and it was honored), 4 mini Titos Vodka or Sky, 2 large Evians, 1 split La Crema chardonnay (which we drank every evening), 1 split Kendall Jackson cab, Kind bars and 2 cans pringles (we both dislike pringles, haha!). We received four bottles of house grade wine on Day 1, and they let us exchange the red for the white. Loved the cold Evian, and convenience of the minibar even with the premium drink package, although much of the alcohol was never consumed. 

 

We did not attend wine tasting.

 

I won $125 on video poker with my casino credit, we lost my husband's. I cashed out and spread the joy with some extra tips. I would have given extra tips anyway, as our waiter Raul, steward Ali and wine steward were all very excellent, as was the entire cheerful crew on the Equinox. We paid $124 in ship credit for the upgrade, so definitely a win-win. If you like to gamble at all and already have premium drink package I would recommend it for a shorter cruise.

 

We had no complaints about this cruise, enjoyed everything, so much so we booked onboard for a Northern Europe Silhouette itinerary summer of 2021, and got a good price and all four perks. It was transferred to our agent and we got more credit, and they could not beat the price. 

[dutchclogs]

On 2/13/2020 at 2:46 AM, MR_T said:

Hi, 

 

yes our cruise is now over, my thoughts now it’s over is we’d only upgrade to the drinks & more package for cruises of 5 nights or under as the only real Benefit  to us was the casino obc... the rest when the system works is really just fluff, for us it was far too much trouble vs the benefits ...

 

mini bar - ❌ had to ask several times (on a five night cruise) for it to be restocked, plus was told they had run out of items half way through cruise 😡 

 

Mirrors my thoughts exactly. It's always interesting to read others actual experiences though.

[anniedave]

We  were on celeb reflection end of Jan and upgraded on our 11 night cruise from premium to drinks and more at the cost of £152 ( not sure what that was in dollars!)

We had to explain the package to our room steward  who wasnt aware of it which took a day or 2 to sort - after reading previous posts I was expecting issues and took a drink out of what the package included with us! 

 

We only had 2 bottles of red wine - after a trip to guest service to try and get 2 more bottles/ swap for white we were promised this would happen but didnt.

Halfway through our cruise we had a change of room steward - same problem again- because he wasnt aware, it took us another couple of days to sort again , resulting in a visit from the stewards manager. We did eventually get it sorted and he did swap the red wine for a couple of bottles of white Pino I requested but we never did get the 2 extra bottles.

We got some mini bar charges on our bill which we  then had to go back to guest services again to resolve.

We never got the pringles or kind bars replenished only the drinks.

The cans of coke tasted very 'tinny' like they were old stock they were using to refill with ( said for airline use on them? ) as opposed to the cans we got ourselves from the bar.

When my husband went to use the casino credit to play in a Texas holdem poker  tournament he was told he couldnt. He argued that he was told he could use it on a table game which Texax Holdem is , he was told as it was a tournament it didnt count!

We did enjoy the wine tasting that came as part af the deal.

We did take the 2 bottles of wine and some of the mini vodka with us when we left the ship.

On balance it was a lot of hassle & I dont think we would bother with it again! 

[ONT-CA]

On 2/12/2020 at 8:46 PM, MR_T said:

...mini bar - ❌ had to ask several times (on a five night cruise) for it to be restocked, plus was told they had run out of items half way through cruise 😡 

 

 

Although we neither purchase nor need a package plan and prefer to buy what and when needed, it was surprising that some very well known and popular brands had been depleted upon our arrival.  They were not available for the following two weeks.  Management did their best to sub and elevate the shortage and the brands reappeared for the final third week.  Perhaps efforts to maximize the value of the plans during previous cruises was the cause.

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 2/14/2020 at 1:14 PM, comfortcove said:

We upgraded to the drinks and more package the week before boarding the Equinox 1/18 Eastern Caribbean sailing. It was well worth it for us. Our minibar was restocked daily and including 2 cokes, sometimes more (we requested diet and it was honored), 4 mini Titos Vodka or Sky, 2 large Evians, 1 split La Crema chardonnay (which we drank every evening), 1 split Kendall Jackson cab, Kind bars and 2 cans pringles (we both dislike pringles, haha!). We received four bottles of house grade wine on Day 1, and they let us exchange the red for the white. Loved the cold Evian, and convenience of the minibar even with the premium drink package, although much of the alcohol was never consumed. 

Did you alert your room steward that you had the package on embarkation day or did s/he just know?  We have it on an Infinity sailing in April and I am really hoping that we don't have some of the struggles being discussed in this thread.  I like the fact that you had mini bottles of wine in your fridge...

[Mark_T]

I find it odd that vodka is the only spirit they include, we might have found the upgrade interesting, but it is no good to us without some flexibility there as neither of us drinks vodka...

[DaKahuna]

We upgraded to the Drinks and More on our February 9th Edge cruise.  Our Butler, we were in a Sky Suite, acknowleged that we had the package and our four bottles of wine (two red, two white) were in the room along with the two bottles of Evian.  

 

After lunch we returned to our cabin and I looked for the other items (Pringles, Vodka, Kind Bars, etc.) and found two cans of Caffeine Free Diet Coke, two cans of regular Coca-Cola and two cans of water).  I decided to see if it would be corrected without me saying anything.   I consumed the two cans of Diet Coke, and one of the bottles of Evian before dinner.  

 

After dinner the bottle of Evian had been replenished but nothing in the mini-fridge was replinished that night. 

 

After lunch the next day, I check and still nothing so I contacted our Butler and point out the missing items and the lack of the replenishment of other other items.  She said she would take care of it immediate and she did.  We did not have any issues with replinishment the rest of the cruise. 

 

I found it very disappointing that I had to bring this to her attention and can't help but wonder if it would have continued to go unnoticed had I not said anything. 

 

I Do not think I will ever do Drinks and More again. 

 

 

[CruisinDawn]

On 2/12/2020 at 7:01 PM, Jim_Iain said:

I don't think we would sign up for it but if you have a Premium Drink Package -  How do you upgrade to the Drink and More Package.   Just curious as to how it would work on a 7 day cruise.   The price difference between the two packages is approximately $52 (from cruise planner so not sure of the upgrade amount).   But would seem like a no brainer to get a $100 Casino credit for $52.   Am I missing something.

 

I'm sure we probably wouldn't wouldn't sign up for it as I'm not a drinker and Iain only drinks good wines.  We are also not big gamblers.   I haven't even hit Pearl level yet.

We called and upgraded on our 7 nighter for $63pp (includes gratuity) so ya take the $50 in the casino we would spend anyway off it was only $13 a person for the week to upgrade, no brainer for me. We figured it was well worth that to have Diet Coke & water stocked in the cabin would be worth that. Also I am a salty so Pringles were a huge plus but now I am worried. 😞 Depart tomorrow and will be sure to post our experience with the program on the Equinox.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[hiccups]

2 hours ago, CruisinDawn said:

We called and upgraded on our 7 nighter for $63pp (includes gratuity) so ya take the $50 in the casino we would spend anyway off it was only $13 a person for the week to upgrade, no brainer for me. We figured it was well worth that to have Diet Coke & water stocked in the cabin would be worth that. Also I am a salty so Pringles were a huge plus but now I am worried. 😞 Depart tomorrow and will be sure to post our experience with the program on the Equinox.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

We upgraded for our April Edge sailing.  I plan to mention it to the cabin steward when we first meet him/her, so they can pass that along to the staff that checks the minibar.  I hope to get my $13 through Pringles and Kind bars 😁

Edited February 21, 2020 by hiccups

[CruisinDawn]

Happy to report all is going well on the Equinox! First evening we drank 3 bottles of Tito's, 2 diet cokes, large bottle of Evian, ate a can of Pringles and a Kind bar. When our cabin was cleaned our mini fridge was not only relished but now there are 8 bottles of Titos!

 

BonVoyage

Dawna 

[CruisinDawn]

On 2/24/2020 at 5:25 AM, CruisinDawn said:

Happy to report all is going well on the Equinox! First evening we drank 3 bottles of Tito's, 2 diet cokes, large bottle of Evian, ate a can of Pringles and a Kind bar. When our cabin was cleaned our mini fridge was not only relished but now there are 8 bottles of Titos!

 

BonVoyage

Dawna 

Back from the cruise, every evening at turndown we were fully restocked! For the price we paid we would definitely add the option again to the free premium drink perk for the price we paid. Was so nice even though we don't drink wine.

 

BonVoyage

DAWNA

[zdad59]

We got this package for our Summit sailing a couple weeks ago.   Price was $126 total for the both of us.    Also got $50 each, ($100 total) in casino credit.    I play cards so I was going to spend $100 there anyway, so the net cost to us was $26.   We did have the Premium Package as a perk, but we did find the convenience of the "& more" package to be well worth the $26.     We had no issue with our cabin steward restocking the fridge...or getting it restocked.    We asked specifically for diet Coke to be stocked and Corona,, not Heineken.     They accommodated that no problem.   It was restocked every night.    There were always 2-- 1 liter bottles of water in the fridge each day, which we used to take on excursions.   In addition, there were Kind bars and small cans of Pringle's chips in the fridge.    Again, we took those on excursions each day,   We aren't wine drinkers, so we gave one bottle to our cabin steward and the others to a table of sweet little old ladies we met in Blu.   We grabbed a beer or two, when we were just relaxing on the balcony, but we really didn't use the hard liquor, as we usually got that at a bar or at dinners/shows.

 

So for a net 26 bucks, it was well worth it.    I can see on longer cruises, where the net cost would go up because of more days, it may not be worth it, but for our 7 day adventure it was great.

Edited March 4, 2020 by zdad59

[Wink87]

On 3/4/2020 at 12:50 AM, zdad59 said:

We got this package for our Summit sailing a couple weeks ago.   Price was $126 total for the both of us.    Also got $50 each, ($100 total) in casino credit.    I play cards so I was going to spend $100 there anyway, so the net cost to us was $26.   We did have the Premium Package as a perk, but we did find the convenience of the "& more" package to be well worth the $26.     We had no issue with our cabin steward restocking the fridge...or getting it restocked.    We asked specifically for diet Coke to be stocked and Corona,, not Heineken.     They accommodated that no problem.   It was restocked every night.    There were always 2-- 1 liter bottles of water in the fridge each day, which we used to take on excursions.   In addition, there were Kind bars and small cans of Pringle's chips in the fridge.    Again, we took those on excursions each day,   We aren't wine drinkers, so we gave one bottle to our cabin steward and the others to a table of sweet little old ladies we met in Blu.   We grabbed a beer or two, when we were just relaxing on the balcony, but we really didn't use the hard liquor, as we usually got that at a bar or at dinners/shows.

 

So for a net 26 bucks, it was well worth it.    I can see on longer cruises, where the net cost would go up because of more days, it may not be worth it, but for our 7 day adventure it was great.

Did your room steward handle the replenishment or someone else?

[zdad59]

32 minutes ago, Wink87 said:

Did your room steward handle the replenishment or someone else?

To be honest I don’t know.   All I know is when we got back to the room after 10pm the fridge was always restocked and ready to go for the next day.  

[Wink87]

13 hours ago, zdad59 said:

To be honest I don’t know.   All I know is when we got back to the room after 10pm the fridge was always restocked and ready to go for the next day.  

Ty for your response. I upgraded to this a while back for our Solstice cruise to Alaska in 3 months for the same reasons you did. Seems like a no brainer. As it is additional work for someone to restock, I shall adhere a tip to the fridge!