Celebrity perks proposal

[guest26]

Hello

I see celebrity has 3 perks proposal and I find it difficult to choose from.

Dring package - we need sometimes cola for my wife, mineral water for the baby. Since we cruise on UK I guess i will drinks beers on shore. So is it worth it?

 

 Tips - can I just skip it and pay directly to employees?

 

Internet - will it actually work?

 

Credit onboard - can I use it for reservibg excursions before the trip?

Can I use it for my children on board as well? Like special dining?

 

Finally - if there will be a drop off in price in future - how can I contact to ask for the drop off as well?  (For example - kids for free)

 

[mikkelhansen]

3 hours ago, guest26 said:

Dring package - we need sometimes cola for my wife, mineral water for the baby. Since we cruise on UK I guess i will drinks beers on shore. So is it worth it?

The beverage package is, in terms of retail price, the most valuable perk on 7+ night cruises. Sodas and Celebrity's own brand mineral water is included with the Classic Beverage Package (which you'll get with this perk), but not premium brands like Perrier.

 

3 hours ago, guest26 said:

 Tips - can I just skip it and pay directly to employees?

You CAN, but you might be looked upon as a cheapskate for not paying the "recommended gratuities". Remember that there are tons of people behind the scenes, that you never meet onboard. You are literally removing your pay to them by opting out of the gratuities program. In my personal opinion, NOT recommended. Pay the gratuities (daily onboard from your stateroom account or prepaid via the perk), and enjoy your cruise with a good feeling inside.

 

3 hours ago, guest26 said:

Internet - will it actually work?

We would never pay separately for the Unlimited Internet at the list prices, but if you can't be without internet, it might be worth it for you. DO NOT expect to be able to stream HD movies from streaming services. Onboard Edge in December 2019, the connection was abysmal. You might get lucky and be able to use it for streaming, but do not base your "alone time" on this.

 

3 hours ago, guest26 said:

Credit onboard - can I use it for reservibg excursions before the trip?

Can I use it for my children on board as well? Like special dining?

Yes, yes and yes. You can book excursions, special dining, spa treatments and "onboard bundles" in the Cruise Planner on Celebrity's website using the OBC. Your children should be able to use the OBC onboard.

 

3 hours ago, guest26 said:

Finally - if there will be a drop off in price in future - how can I contact to ask for the drop off as well?  (For example - kids for free)

If you book with a TA, all contact regarding price/stateroom and the like must go through them. Celebrity will straight out deny touching anything on the booking. If you book with Celebrity directly, everything goes through them directly. If you do a re-pricing, you will always be moved to the promotion that's running at the time of re-pricing.

Edited January 19, 2020 by mikkelhansen

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 hours ago, guest26 said:

Hello

I see celebrity has 3 perks proposal and I find it difficult to choose from.

Dring package - we need sometimes cola for my wife, mineral water for the baby. Since we cruise on UK I guess i will drinks beers on shore. So is it worth it?

 

 Tips - can I just skip it and pay directly to employees?

 

Internet - will it actually work?

 

Credit onboard - can I use it for reservibg excursions before the trip?

Can I use it for my children on board as well? Like special dining?

 

Finally - if there will be a drop off in price in future - how can I contact to ask for the drop off as well?  (For example - kids for free)

 

You do not have to take any of the perks if you don't think you will use them all that much.  Personally, I would take the perk with the highest monetary value...in this case, the drinks package.  But I will use the drinks package for far more than what you described.

 

You can take advantage of price drops if they happen before your final payment date.  After that, no...unless they offer a small OBC as a gesture...but that shouldn't be counted on.

 

Never had an issue with the wifi...always worked great.

Edited January 19, 2020 by Georgia_Peaches

[jelayne]

If you don’t drink wine, alcohol or lattes & cappuccino then the drink package may not be the best choice.  You can bring on board with you some coke and water.

 

 The daily gratuity is $15.50 per person per daily.  For a 7 night that would be $108.50 each.  You mentioned children so if there are 4 people sailing that perk is worth $434.  This will cover the dining room staff, those that serve and clean tables at the buffet, your cabin attendant and others that keep the guests area clean.  It would be almost impossible to find all and give them a gratuity.  So prepaid gratuities is a good option.

 

Wi-fi is expensive to purchase on the ship.  It works fine most of the time but it can be slow during busy times.  If you need or want internet then the perk could be a good choice.

 

The OBC  as others have said can be used before you board for purchasing excursions, dining, etc.

[Jim_Iain]

Selection of perks needs to be done on a individual basis.   The drinks package is generally considered to be the most valuable perk but if you are a light drinker or don't drink at all it may have little or no value.  

 

To select between OBC vs Gratuities I   calculate the number of days of the cruise X the daily tip amount and determine.   For a 7 day cruise the OBC is generally a better deal while on a 15 day cruise the Tips is a better deal. 

 

In calculating the value of the drinks package you should also look at the perks of your CC Level.   Free drink between 5-7 and free Cappuccino or free drinks in Retreat if in a suite may be all you need. 

[venison]

Do you know if they offer internet packages/special discounts while on board?  OR is it basically the same as what you would receive as a CC select member (25%).  Unsure if we need or what internet...maybe just to check email since we are thinking of doing a TA. And of course the question of whether it will work on a TA cruise???

[mikkelhansen]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

so if there are 4 people sailing that perk is worth $434

REMEMBER: All perks are only for the first two passengers in the stateroom! Persons 3 and four are NOT included in any of the perks!

 

1 hour ago, venison said:

Do you know if they offer internet packages/special discounts while on board

I don't believe there's been any on-board discount onboard, not mentioned here on CC at least. Half-way through the cruise, they might open for an internet package for the rest of the cruise at half price, but that's not really a discount, if you count it out on cost per day.

[guest26]

Thanks you all!! Two more questions:

- will the classic package include cappucino?

 

- if we sail with children and only get 2 perks - will they charge me for them as well? The children drink water only.

 

 

[cgolf1]

We just booked today, and want to caution that the only proposal that gave us a refundable deposit was the 3 perks. When we chose 1 or 4 it was a non refundable deposit.

[ONT-CA]

8 hours ago, guest26 said:

 

 

 Tips - can I just skip it and pay directly to employees?

 

 

 

 

I assume from your comment regarding UK cruises that you are familiar with P&O where "tips" are not added to your account. Great idea!  I am one of those "cheapskates" who believes that Celebrity should pay wages and I the gratuities and to whom and in an amount that I garner appropriate.  

[MEcruzr]

1 hour ago, guest26 said:

Thanks you all!! Two more questions:

- will the classic package include cappucino?

 

- if we sail with children and only get 2 perks - will they charge me for them as well? The children drink water only.

 

 

Yes, from the info I was able to find online, cappuccino is included on the Classic bev package. 

 

Perks only apply to the first two people listed on the reservation. So if you choose the classic bev pkg only you and your spouse will have packages. Anything you order for your children you will pay for. If you get the onboard credit, only the first two people have credit on their accounts. If you get the gratuities, you will still need to pay for the children. No matter how many people are in the cabin only two have any perks. 

[luckyinpa]

you def have to do the math. for my 10 day bermuda cruise veranda one perk is 4875. when i add 4 perks its 5275

 

i have no idea the indivdual pricing for any of the perks but basically you are getting 3 perks for 100 bucks (the 2 x 150 OBC) deal factored in there. so 100 bucks for booze, internet and grats is totally a steal even if you arent a drinker. 

[mikkelhansen]

15 hours ago, guest26 said:

if we sail with children and only get 2 perks - will they charge me for them as well? The children drink water only.

You must always pay gratuity for 3rd and 4th guests separately, from your onboard account coupled to your credit card, no matter if they are children or adults. Without the perk, you would obviously pay for all guests in the stateroom.

"Tap" water (filtered and cleaned sea water, tastes OK) is always free and available 24/7 in the Oceanview Cafe drinks station and in all MDRs during dinner. Fruit drink (I believe it's called squash in the US), tea and coffee are also available 24/7 for free in the OVC drinks station.

 

15 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

We just booked today, and want to caution that the only proposal that gave us a refundable deposit was the 3 perks. When we chose 1 or 4 it was a non refundable deposit.

All recent promotions from Celebrity seem to have been only available if booking with a NRD.

[cgolf1]

1 hour ago, mikkelhansen said:

You must always pay gratuity for 3rd and 4th guests separately, from your onboard account coupled to your credit card, no matter if they are children or adults. Without the perk, you would obviously pay for all guests in the stateroom.

"Tap" water (filtered and cleaned sea water, tastes OK) is always free and available 24/7 in the Oceanview Cafe drinks station and in all MDRs during dinner. Fruit drink (I believe it's called squash in the US), tea and coffee are also available 24/7 for free in the OVC drinks station.

 

All recent promotions from Celebrity seem to have been only available if booking with a NRD.

what we found and confirmed over the phone was that the 3 perk option was refundable. Before the website had a glitch it showed this option refundable onscreen when chosen, 1 and 4 perk options were not. It was a bit weird that the  3 perk option was the one that was refundable but we didn’t argue. Even though we fully intend to take the cruise we would never book a non refundable cruise almost 2 years out. 

[sanger727]

2 hours ago, mikkelhansen said:

 

 Fruit drink (I believe it's called squash in the US)

 

US doesn't use the term squash. Kool-aid, fruit punch, or flavored water depending on exactly what product is being described.

[Bo1953]

18 hours ago, ONT-CA said:

 

I assume from your comment regarding UK cruises that you are familiar with P&O where "tips" are not added to your account. Great idea!  I am one of those "cheapskates" who believes that Celebrity should pay wages and I the gratuities and to whom and in an amount that I garner appropriate.  

Fortunately, this is not the P&O sub-forum.

 

One can always sail other lines that offer 'included gratuities' as opposed to droning on and on about 'what X should pay their employees..etc.' IMO, as often many will post on, especially this topic.

 

One can also post their sentiments on this or other perceived 'atrocities' in their signature, that way it will be very clear ones' position on such things and then they would not have a need to re-post on these topics.

 

bon voyage

 

btw: I would not reference you as a "cheapskate", in the least bit.

Edited January 20, 2020 by Bo1953

[ONT-CA]

In a competitive economy mentioning alternates seems holistic.  My posting was on subject and although my position is known to you, there are others who venture into this realm who might take from my comments.  It would be pointless printing one copy of a book.  I think that considering that each day of a cruse there can be upwards of $45,000 of passenger's "tips' being distributed at the discretion of the ship management bears open discussion.

 

[Bo1953]

4 minutes ago, ONT-CA said:

In a competitive economy mentioning alternates seems holistic.  My posting was on subject and although my position is known to you, there are others who venture into this realm who might take from my comments.  It would be pointless printing one copy of a book.  I think that considering that each day of a cruse there can be upwards of $45,000 of passenger's "tips' being distributed at the discretion of the ship management bears open discussion.

 

Here on CC there are several posts concerning how "passenger's "tips'" are generally distributed and generally accepted as being accurate, unless you or others have some semblance of evidence/information to the contrary?

 

Please present this evidence/information you have accordingly, to support your statement(s). Conjecture does not count. Nor does asking for evidence/information contrary to your statement(s), count either.

 

Many of us here on CC have no challenges with different view points, to be sure, and in a 'competitive economy' especially for discretionary spending, most of us would just move on to where we believe our spending would garner the most bang for our funds based on our personal beliefs and not constantly try to sway opines of others who appreciate the value we perceive we get at X.

 

It is any posters right to dwell on any related issues, they believe, are important to them and the Public Service they think is being performed through such postings here on CC. Then it is the right of some posters to question such posts without vindictiveness or reproach.

 

$45k? This figure is for which ship(s) and does it take into consideration those who choose to withdraw the daily fee? Does it account for those who have the daily fee as an included Perk?

 

bon voyage

[ONT-CA]

As you say, " "tips'" are generally distributed and generally accepted as being accurate..."  So too is the generality of my figure.  I based it on 3,000 passengers being "charged" $15.00/day. There are both smaller and larger ships with larger charges as well as cancellations. This 'tip' is by no means a gratuity but rather a service charge and should be identified as such. I do not challenge the distribution of this money, only the discretion of the allocation. After all, it is the passengers' money until such time as it is designated a cruise charge. 

[joeyjeremiah]

When booking make sure to do the math. for my upcoming cruise it was significantly cheaper to do the one perk booking and then select add all 4 perks then it was to do the 3 perk booking and even cheaper still than doing the 3 perk booking and adding the 4th perk. However my deposit was nonrefundable. 

[mikkelhansen]

On 1/20/2020 at 2:29 PM, sanger727 said:

 

US doesn't use the term squash. Kool-aid, fruit punch, or flavored water depending on exactly what product is being described.

Fruit punch would be correct then, I guess. It was VERY sweet, and with a very low fruit juice content.