"Drinks and More" Package

[sasset]

The description of the Drinks and More Package includes something about the mini-bar being "replenished daily" 

Does anyone have experience with this ?

Replenished how - with what (assume with anything that we took out during the previous day ??)

Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question 

THANKS 😁

 

 

 

[jelayne]

To have the mini bar replenished both have to buy the drinks and more.  There is a set replenishment, you don’t get to choose.  FYI for the bottles of wine you also don’t have a choice, you get 1 red & 1 white not high quality. If the price to upgrade is not much more than the casino credit and you frequent the casino it may a good deal.

[aring75]

We are currently on Equinox with the Drinks and More package. Our mini bar includes Coke, Diet Coke, Tito’s Vodka, La Crema Chardonnay, Kendall-Jackson Cabernet, bottles of Heineken beer, and Kind granola bars. Everything gets replaced daily and our cabin steward has even reminded us to make sure we are using the mini bar. We also have two large bottles of Evian on the desk that are replaced as soon as we drink them. 
 

The package also came with two bottles of wine each. I requested all red so I’m not sure what the white wine option is, but we have four bottles of Anakena Cabernet. 
 

HTH

[canderson]

19 minutes ago, aring75 said:

... but we have four bottles of Anakena Cabernet.

Wow.  Haven't seen any of that since Mexico.  Goes for less than 200 pesos per bottle there ... retail.

[sasset]

23 hours ago, aring75 said:

We are currently on Equinox with the Drinks and More package. Our mini bar includes Coke, Diet Coke, Tito’s Vodka, La Crema Chardonnay, Kendall-Jackson Cabernet, bottles of Heineken beer, and Kind granola bars. Everything gets replaced daily and our cabin steward has even reminded us to make sure we are using the mini bar. We also have two large bottles of Evian on the desk that are replaced as soon as we drink them. 
 

The package also came with two bottles of wine each. I requested all red so I’m not sure what the white wine option is, but we have four bottles of Anakena Cabernet. 
 

HTH

 

Thanks for the information -

if you get a chance, would you please ask your steward if the brand of beer can be switched out to a different (comparable) brand of beer ?

 

 

[luckybecky]

2 hours ago, sasset said:

 

Thanks for the information -

if you get a chance, would you please ask your steward if the brand of beer can be switched out to a different (comparable) brand of beer ?

 

 

 

We were on the Equinox on the July 25 sailing. Our minibar was roughly what Aring75 said. Two cans of coke. 2 cans of diet coke. a bottle of Evian. four bottles of Tito's vodka. Two Kind granola bars. A 375 ml bottle (half bottle) of red wine and one of white wine. Some beer. We don't drink beer, I think there were two bottles? 

 

We asked about switching the regular coke to diet or Coke Zero. This did not happen. We only drink diet sodas, and drank the two diet sodas every day. We would have liked to have more cans of diet soda, but only the two were provided, along with 2 cans of regular soda.

 

We initially had a little trouble getting restocked. When we first mentioned it, our steward hastened to remind us that it cost extra. We told him about our Drinks and More package. But still, for the first couple of days we were not being restocked. The bar is supposed to be restocked once per day. I spoke to our concierge, and then later to our steward. After day 3 or so, things were restocked regularly.

 

I think our experience was just a training issue or first cruise hiccup. We were the first sailing on this ship since Covid shut everything down. 

 

But they stuck exactly to the menu. So, if they won't change coke to diet coke, I suspect that they would not change the brand of beer for you. Sorry. 😞

[aring75]

7 hours ago, sasset said:

 

Thanks for the information -

if you get a chance, would you please ask your steward if the brand of beer can be switched out to a different (comparable) brand of beer ?

 

 

When you book the package it does say “no substitutions.” I can ask, but I’m pretty sure the answer is no. 
 

I will say that starting on Day 2, we received almost double what I posted. We now have seven bottles of Tito’s (all that will fit in the door), three Cokes, three Diet Cokes, two of each kind of wine, and four bottles of beer. We also have three Kind bars. 

[aring75]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:40 PM, canderson said:

Wow.  Haven't seen any of that since Mexico.  Goes for less than 200 pesos per bottle there ... retail.

Well you know that means it’s probably $47 per bottle on the ship! 😂

[aring75]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:40 PM, canderson said:

Wow.  Haven't seen any of that since Mexico.  Goes for less than 200 pesos per bottle there ... retail.

So I looked it up on Total Wine. It’s $7.99 a bottle and it says they are out of stock and don’t know when it will be available. 
 

Apparently, Celebrity bought all of it! 😁

 

I haven’t tried it yet. I thought I’d just take it home and share it if there was room in the suitcase. Now I’m wondering if I should do that to my friends. 

[D C]

1 hour ago, aring75 said:

So I looked it up on Total Wine. It’s $7.99 a bottle and it says they are out of stock and don’t know when it will be available. 
 

Apparently, Celebrity bought all of it! 😁

 

I haven’t tried it yet. I thought I’d just take it home and share it if there was room in the suitcase. Now I’m wondering if I should do that to my friends. 

Ha! Thanks! 

I just did the same thing before I scrolled down this far: https://www.totalwine.com/wine/red-wine/cabernet-sauvignon/anakena-cabernet/p/95563750

 

And thanks for mentioning the brand. Haven't seen that mentioned in other threads.

Edited August 19, 2021 by D C

[glmacruise]

If you gamble it’s worth it. 

[PTC DAWG]

39 minutes ago, glmacruise said:

If you gamble it’s worth it. 

Exactly, especially on the 7 day cruises...we converted the $100 in "play chips" to $90 in real dollars...made the package a no brainer..  Plus I have a few more mini bottles of Titos at home right now.  🙂

 

I do think they were out of the mini cans of Pringles...but our Steward tried to make up for it by leaving 5-6 large bottles of Evian water in the cabin.  

[D C]

54 minutes ago, glmacruise said:

If you gamble it’s worth it. 

We don't and it really makes it not worth it for us, especially when the premium package gives us better wine and we wouldn't normally drink what's stocked in the minibar.

 

What I haven't seen much mention of is the wine tastings that come with the package.

[jerkymom]

I saw this upgrade from the classic package on the cruise planner for our Oct. 1 Millennium 7 night cruise.   It was $84.00 each to upgrade to the premium package in the cruise planner, or $122.50 each for the drinks and more package with the premium package, minibar, casino play and wine.  We went ahead and ordered it.  Seems like a good deal.

 

Thank you very much for the information about it.

[zdad59]

We had this package on our Summit sailing in Feb 2020, right before the shutdown.    Got it for both of us for $125 TOTAL.    It was a great deal.

 

We really enjoyed the convenience.    As for what they stock, our cabin attendant asked us what we prefer.   My wife prefers see thru beer so he stock it with Coors Light for her instead of Heinikens, and I prefer bourbon and vodkas, so he always had Beam and Titos in the fridge.     We aren't big wine drinkers so can't comment on that part.   So what they can stock it with may be limited but they will try and be sure to put in what you like.

[glmacruise]

4 hours ago, D C said:

We don't and it really makes it not worth it for us, especially when the premium package gives us better wine and we wouldn't normally drink what's stocked in the minibar.

 

What I haven't seen much mention of is the wine tastings that come with the package.

Yes, good call!

[Eglesbrech]

20 hours ago, glmacruise said:

If you gamble it’s worth it. 

Do you have to use the casino credit at the tables or can it be used for slot machines? Thanks

[aring75]

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

Do you have to use the casino credit at the tables or can it be used for slot machines? Thanks

For us, the D&M $50 per person casino credit was given in the form of (2) $50 slot vouchers. We put one in the wrong machine to start (it wasn’t working properly), and so we cashed out immediately. The machine gave us a regular voucher we could have easily taken to the cashier to exchange for cash. 
 

However, we put both vouchers in the second machine and came out with $180, and we are still playing on that slot ticket. It’s up to $375 right now and we’ve played (won and lost) for five days. 
 

Obviously ymmv. 😁

[aring75]

21 hours ago, D C said:

What I haven't seen much mention of is the wine tastings that come with the package.

I missed the Drinks & More wine tasting for our cruise. It was early (kinda early it was at 11am) and I didn’t realize I missed it until it was over. My fault really. 
 

I brought it up with the sommelier in the MDR and said how much I had been looking forward to it. He has allowed me to book the Grgich Hills wine tasting later in our cruise. Difference is. The Grgich tasting is $35 per person and I got a $25 credit to use toward it. 
 

It is my guess that the D&M tasting is probably pretty standard, but it might be possible to maybe “upgrade (?)” to a different tasting. 
 

Hope this helps someone. 

[adolfo2]

21 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Exactly, especially on the 7 day cruises...we converted the $100 in "play chips" to $90 in real dollars...made the package a no brainer..  Plus I have a few more mini bottles of Titos at home right now.  🙂

What's the "formula" for converting "$100 in "play chips" to $90 in real dollars" 😃

[D C]

1 hour ago, aring75 said:

I missed the Drinks & More wine tasting for our cruise. It was early (kinda early it was at 11am) and I didn’t realize I missed it until it was over. My fault really. 
 

I brought it up with the sommelier in the MDR and said how much I had been looking forward to it. He has allowed me to book the Grgich Hills wine tasting later in our cruise. Difference is. The Grgich tasting is $35 per person and I got a $25 credit to use toward it. 
 

It is my guess that the D&M tasting is probably pretty standard, but it might be possible to maybe “upgrade (?)” to a different tasting. 
 

Hope this helps someone. 

Thanks!

How was the Grgich tasting?  Had you actually shelled out the $25-35, would you have felt it worth the price?

[aring75]

1 hour ago, D C said:

Thanks!

How was the Grgich tasting?  Had you actually shelled out the $25-35, would you have felt it worth the price?

Haven’t done it yet. It’s on the last sea day of our cruise (day 12). I will definitely report back. 

[Team Stag]

5 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Do you have to use the casino credit at the tables or can it be used for slot machines? Thanks

You can choose Tables or Slots.  My wife used her in Slots & I used mine for Tables.  The chips they give for tables are specially marked as promotional (so you can't just turn them back in for money) but if you win; you are paid in standard casino chips.

[jg51]

8 hours ago, adolfo2 said:

What's the "formula" for converting "$100 in "play chips" to $90 in real dollars" 😃

 

We heard of something -- if legitimate -- that is not really a foolproof "formula," but it is something that can be used by a non-gambler (even someone who hates gambling [like us]) to very rapidly replace the "promotional chips" with standard (cash-in-able) chips ... unless the gambler is very unlucky.

 

DISCLAIMER:  We have never done this, and we probably never will.  Also, we know almost nothing about roulette, so someone will have to come along after us and confirm or refute it.  This is what we seem to recall reading here at CruiseCritic (some time in 2021):

 

A roulette wheel has 37 or 38 slots.  Eighteen of them are red numbers (between 1 and 36).  Eighteen of them are black numbers (the other numbers between 1 and 36).  The 37th (and sometimes the 38th) number on the wheel is a "0" (and sometimes a "00") -- which has a different color -- such as white or green. 

 

The table allows a player to place a bet that any "red number" will come up -- or to place a bet that any "green number" will come up.  Suppose one has two $50 promotional chips.  He/she could put one of them on "RED" and the other on "BLACK."  Then, the ball will come to rest almost half the time (roughly 47.4% to 48.6%) on red and the same percentage of the time on black -- but just 2.7% (or 5.3%) of the time on "0" (or "00", if it is present too).  [We seem to recall reading that Celebrity casinos' tables have just "0" -- not also "00" -- making a guest's odds better.]

 

Suppose the ball comes to rest on a red number.  The promotional chip that was bet on "RED" will be replaced by $100 in standard (cash-in-able) chips, while the promotional chip that was on "BLACK" will be lost.  [Obviously, one would be "busted" completely, in a single tough-luck spin, if the ball were to land on "0" (or "00") -- and that's part of why they call it "gambling."]

 

We will now await confirmation or refutation of the above!

.

[LGW59]

12 minutes ago, jg51 said:

 

We heard of something -- if legitimate -- that is not really a foolproof "formula," but it is something that can be used by a non-gambler (even someone who hates gambling [like us]) to very rapidly replace the "promotional chips" with standard (cash-in-able) chips ... unless the gambler is very unlucky.

 

DISCLAIMER:  We have never done this, and we probably never will.  Also, we know almost nothing about roulette, so someone will have to come along after us and confirm or refute it.  This is what we seem to recall reading here at CruiseCritic (some time in 2021):

 

A roulette wheel has 37 or 38 slots.  Eighteen of them are red numbers (between 1 and 36).  Eighteen of them are black numbers (the other numbers between 1 and 36).  The 37th (and sometimes the 38th) number on the wheel is a "0" (and sometimes a "00") -- which has a different color -- such as white or green. 

 

The table allows a player to place a bet that any "red number" will come up -- or to place a bet that any "green number" will come up.  Suppose one has two $50 promotional chips.  He/she could put one of them on "RED" and the other on "BLACK."  Then, the ball will come to rest almost half the time (roughly 47.4% to 48.6%) on red and the same percentage of the time on black -- but just 2.7% (or 5.3%) of the time on "0" (or "00", if it is present too).  [We seem to recall reading that Celebrity casinos' tables have just "0" -- not also "00" -- making a guest's odds better.]

 

Suppose the ball comes to rest on a red number.  The promotional chip that was bet on "RED" will be replaced by $100 in standard (cash-in-able) chips, while the promotional chip that was on "BLACK" will be lost.  [Obviously, one would be "busted" completely, in a single tough-luck spin, if the ball were to land on "0" (or "00") -- and that's part of why they call it "gambling."]

 

We will now await confirmation or refutation of the above!

.

Yes