Drink Package Upgrade

[MVPinBoynton]

For some reason, I can't search just this forum for my question, so sorry for asking what I am sure is a common one; but probably nor for a year due to no cruising.  I'm about to book an O cruise with O Life.  I am assuming that the included package is the Select Package.  Not of interest to me, since it is only good while having a meal in a dining room.  Is the price to upgrade to the Prestige, the $20 per day difference of the two packages, or is it something else?

[LHT28]

it is  $20 PP PD to upgrade to the Prestige package  from the House Select  that is part of the O Life perk

[MVPinBoynton]

59 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

it is  $20 PP PD to upgrade to the Prestige package  from the House Select  that is part of the O Life perk

Thanks so much for confirming.  

[ORV]

41 minutes ago, MVPinBoynton said:

Thanks so much for confirming.  

We've missed you around the boards. Good to see you posting again. 

 

On the search; when you go to type in a word it should have a drop down menu that gives you choices on where you want to search. Just select "This Forum"

[MVPinBoynton]

7 minutes ago, ORV said:

We've missed you around the boards. Good to see you posting again. 

 

On the search; when you go to type in a word it should have a drop down menu that gives you choices on where you want to search. Just select "This Forum"

Hi Orv, 

So nice to see your post. There hasn’t been much reason to be on the boards for the last year, with no cruising to be had.  Plus I have been busy with a new lady for the last 10 months.  She is my new travel partner.  When I searched, it didn’t have that option; which I thought was strange. Maybe it is different on the phone. 

[ORV]

7 minutes ago, MVPinBoynton said:

Hi Orv, 

So nice to see your post. There hasn’t been much reason to be on the boards for the last year, with no cruising to be had.  Plus I have been busy with a new lady for the last 10 months.  She is my new travel partner.  When I searched, it didn’t have that option; which I thought was strange. Maybe it is different on the phone. 

That sounds great, hopefully we'll cross paths again on a cruise in the future. 

[MVPinBoynton]

24 minutes ago, ORV said:

That sounds great, hopefully we'll cross paths again on a cruise in the future. 

Definitely looking forward to it. 

[linden6]

I'm new to Oceania and just booked a trip in 2022. If my husband purchases the beverage package, do I have to also, being we are in the same room? 

[LHT28]

8 hours ago, linden6 said:

I'm new to Oceania and just booked a trip in 2022. If my husband purchases the beverage package, do I have to also, being we are in the same room? 

If  you  are choosing   the Beverage package as part of the O Life perk?

Then YES

 If you are purchasing the Prestige package  or even the House select   then NO both parties need not purchase it

[marieps]

To the OP: There will be a form you fill out at Guest Relations when you board to upgrade.  It was my first stop upon boarding (Regatta Nov 2019.)  A few others were there too.  Within minutes there were 20 in line to upgrade.  Get there early if you plan on an embarkation cocktail before dinner.  Enjoy.

[ORV]

8 minutes ago, marieps said:

To the OP: There will be a form you fill out at Guest Relations when you board to upgrade.  It was my first stop upon boarding (Regatta Nov 2019.)  A few others were there too.  Within minutes there were 20 in line to upgrade.  Get there early if you plan on an embarkation cocktail before dinner.  Enjoy.

As another consideration, you can wait until almost any point in the cruise to upgrade. I usually wait a few days. The second night of the cruise is generally the Captain's Welcome with about 3 hours of free drinks in Martinis, Horizons & Grand Bar. On day one we'll usually have a drink in the room while unpacking, maybe a Happy Hour drink, and we usually start off with the Select package from Olife, so will have wine with dinner. Then a beer or wine(or two) with lunch on day two, followed by the Captain's welcome and then it's at least day 3 before we would upgrade. 

 

Just some other factors to consider. How much a person likes to drink during the day would also affect this. If you're out touring then you're not on the ship drinking. Sea days also play into our decision at what point to upgrade. 

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, marieps said:

To the OP: There will be a form you fill out at Guest Relations when you board to upgrade.  It was my first stop upon boarding (Regatta Nov 2019.)  A few others were there too.  Within minutes there were 20 in line to upgrade.  Get there early if you plan on an embarkation cocktail before dinner.  Enjoy.

Interesting.  A person has to fill out a form and go to Guest Relations to upgrade the drink package?

You cannot do this at a bar or any other way?

Or are you just suggesting this is one of several options to upgrade?

 

Thanks

[marieps]

8 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Interesting.  A person has to fill out a form and go to Guest Relations to upgrade the drink package?

You cannot do this at a bar or any other way?

Or are you just suggesting this is one of several options to upgrade?

 

Thanks

This is what I was told by my TA and it's clear several people followed it.  I don't believe it's as easy as =X=, where you can upgrade at any bar.  Perhaps other more experienced O cruisers can chime in.  I noticed ORV only clarified the timing as a potential cost savings, but didn't spell out options as to the upgrade process itself.

[LHT28]

13 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Interesting.  A person has to fill out a form and go to Guest Relations to upgrade the drink package?

You cannot do this at a bar or any other way?

Or are you just suggesting this is one of several options to upgrade?

 

Thanks

I believe  they give you  a new card  when you upgrade  to the Prestige package   ..do not think the bars have that option

[ORV]

The last cruises I was on had started having servers give you a form to take to Guest Relations. There were also tables set up at boarding to get the forms, but they still need to be taken to Guest Relations to be upgraded. I think the main reason for the form is for the server that gives it to you gets credit for it. 

 

If you go directly to Guest Relations there is no need for a form to fill out. As Lyn pointed out when you upgrade you get a new card, not just a sticker. Also I'm pretty sure that the bartenders don't have the system capability to change your booking set up as GR would

[basor]

When on a longer cruise that is port intensive at the beginning and then a lot of sea days later, we do not upgrade until the long sea days since we are not onboard during the day.  As others have said, between the complimentary drinks at evening parties, happy hours, alcohol in our room and the wine, beer and champagne during meal service we do not spend $40.00 per day ($20.00 pp) in alcohol purchases when the itinerary is port intensive.

[jagoffee]

Thank you to everyone that provided further confirmation on the process for updated the drink package.  It is much appreciated.

[DENIE]

12 hours ago, marieps said:

To the OP: There will be a form you fill out at Guest Relations when you board to upgrade.  It was my first stop upon boarding (Regatta Nov 2019.)  A few others were there too.  Within minutes there were 20 in line to upgrade.  Get there early if you plan on an embarkation cocktail before dinner.  Enjoy.

Good to know.  We also are used to being on Celebrity, where any bar service staff can do the transaction.  In fact, it was our understanding that they get the gratuity that is built in, so are very eager when someone purchases.  We always purchased from a server in the area we thought we would frequent, and they always gave great service.

 

But, I like the idea of getting the new card instead of having a sticker put on the existing card.  Will be happy to take care of it in Guest Relations. 🙂

[babysteps]

On 6/1/2021 at 4:37 PM, MVPinBoynton said:

Hi Orv, 

So nice to see your post.... When I searched, it didn’t have that option; which I thought was strange. Maybe it is different on the phone. 

Yes it is different on my phone. You can create a bookmark with the needed code to search just O boards. There may be a delay with an initial "no results found" that then updates again. Here is what's in my bookmark

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?&q=Replace_This_With_Your_Search&type=forums_topic&nodes=29

 

Happy searching! 

[MVPinBoynton]

5 minutes ago, babysteps said:

Yes it is different on my phone. You can create a bookmark with the needed code to search just O boards. There may be a delay with an initial "no results found" that then updates again. Here is what's in my bookmark

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?&q=Replace_This_With_Your_Search&type=forums_topic&nodes=29

 

Happy searching! 

Great idea!  Thanks so much for the excellent suggestion. 

[pinotlover]

23 hours ago, marieps said:

To the OP: There will be a form you fill out at Guest Relations when you board to upgrade.  It was my first stop upon boarding (Regatta Nov 2019.)  A few others were there too.  Within minutes there were 20 in line to upgrade.  Get there early if you plan on an embarkation cocktail before dinner.  Enjoy.

The option we most regularly use is to enjoy our day in port on Embarkment day and have a nice peaceful lunch ashore. Part of doing so means that when we finally board around 3:00 pm , or so, none of those long lines for anything exists. All those people clamoring to get aboard early might stand in lines, but at 3:00 we casually walk up, get our new card, go get a drink, and head off to our cabin, that is already available, with our luggage waiting outside our door. A much more civilized way of doing things! No lines, no rush, no waiting around for anything, and best of all no hassles. 🤗

[marieps]

23 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

The option we most regularly use is to enjoy our day in port on Embarkment day and have a nice peaceful lunch ashore. Part of doing so means that when we finally board around 3:00 pm , or so, none of those long lines for anything exists. All those people clamoring to get aboard early might stand in lines, but at 3:00 we casually walk up, get our new card, go get a drink, and head off to our cabin, that is already available, with our luggage waiting outside our door. A much more civilized way of doing things! No lines, no rush, no waiting around for anything, and best of all no hassles. 🤗

You have the luxury of being a very experienced O cruiser.  As Regatta was our first experience on the line (although our 27th cruise), we wanted to grab a cocktail and explore.  We also like to unpack before muster if we have the bags.  We heard so much about the food, lunch ashore when it was available on ship was never considered.    I like your thinking, though.  Less hassle is a big upside, even if you're among the last to board.  That happened to us once on =X= after a weather-delayed flight.  Got to the ship at 2:30.  Nobody left in the terminal.  But I'll never fly day of cruise again.  It was a silly risk, especially for a January cruise.

[babysteps]

6 hours ago, MVPinBoynton said:

Great idea!  Thanks so much for the excellent suggestion. 

I learned it from someone else here on CC 🙂

[MVPinBoynton]

13 minutes ago, babysteps said:

I learned it from someone else here on CC 🙂

There is a lot to be learned on these wonderful boards. 

[clairol]

4 hours ago, pinotlover said:

The option we most regularly use is to enjoy our day in port on Embarkment day and have a nice peaceful lunch ashore. Part of doing so means that when we finally board around 3:00 pm , or so, none of those long lines for anything exists. All those people clamoring to get aboard early might stand in lines, but at 3:00 we casually walk up, get our new card, go get a drink, and head off to our cabin, that is already available, with our luggage waiting outside our door. A much more civilized way of doing things! No lines, no rush, no waiting around for anything, and best of all no hassles. 🤗

This is typically our MO as well... wonder if a leisurely, self-appointed stroll aboard will still be possible with, as Oceania puts it, "enhanced, staggered embarkation process"... potentially "assigned" embarkation times?