Does X have happy hour drink specials in the bars?

[susiesan]

Most other cruise lines I have sailed on have happy hour specials in certain or all bars. Some will have 2 for one Deals or a special discounted drink of the day. 

Some lines will also have a late night happy hour.

 

What does Celebrity do for happy hour drinks? What very are the typical times?

[jelayne]

Pre pandemic they did normally have a drink of the day and some days a half off at a particular bar for a hour or 2.  Just off a B2B and I didn’t see any drink of the day of half off deals. They did off free drinks in the casino while you were gambling.  

Since many are booking with the drinks, Gratuties and wi-fi included they may not find it necessary to offer a drink of the day or half price times.

[chemmo]

Like jelayne, we didn’t see any offers on our recent cruise but as we (like most guests) had drinks packages I guess that is why.

 

I seem to recollect that drinks offers are on the ‘Today’ sheet. Worth looking when you board. Perhaps someone presently on board can check for you.

 

 

[drakes2]

36 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Like jelayne, we didn’t see any offers on our recent cruise but as we (like most guests) had drinks packages I guess that is why.

 

I seem to recollect that drinks offers are on the ‘Today’ sheet. Worth looking when you board. Perhaps someone presently on board can check for you.

 

 

I remember when I was on the Eclipse in 2018 they were offering half price drinks at the World Class bar at certain times in the evenings. They seem to have done away with that now. 

[DCPIV]

I didn't notice any specials on recent Summit sailings, but I really wasn't paying attention since we had the premium package. 

[marieps]

They do offer free drinks from a limited menu in the casino as long as you are actively playing.   That's from opening 'til close.  You have to have your seapass card in a slot machine or active at a table game.

[kokopelli-az]

Didn't see any drink specials on the Equinox in August.   However, the art auction typically has free champagne.   They also had a pre-loved Rolex watches event called Sip & Sale that included alcohol.    On the first night they had an Ahoy Cocktail Party at 8pm in the Effy Boutique.   And in the casino, as long as you are playing.  

 

Watch your Celebrity Today newsletter for events that include free alcohol.  

[susiesan]

I do have a beverage package, the classic, which only covers drinks up to $8. None of the specialty martinis are that price, most are $12-$13 from what I can see. If some of the higher priced drinks were 1/2 off at happy hour then I could get them with my package without having to pay extra.

[jelayne]

Just a FYI the Classic package limit is $9.  You can upgrade to Premium for $12 per day or you can pay the difference between the $9 limit and the $15 martini which is $6 + 20% gratuity or $7.20.  

[markeb]

With drink packages, I don't see an upside to Celebrity for happy hour or drink specials. Maybe a drink of the day either intentionally excluded from the package or priced a couple of bucks over the premium package limit. But there would be absolutely no reason to discount drinks from premium package prices so they'd fit under the Classic Package. There's no change in revenue with increased consumption because of the packages. The complementary product (food) is already included, so there's no increased revenue there either, unless they do specialty plates and charge for them. There is an increase in revenue if you actually pay the upcharge for the higher priced drinks.

 

I can't come up with an incentive for Celebrity.

[susiesan]

Not everyone has a beverage package. I could have booked cruise only and many people who don't drink much do book like this. 

[markeb]

Happy Hour pricing's purpose is to increase revenues by increasing quantities sold even at a lower margin or to increase sales of complementary products, such as bar food. Shoreside, it's also to get people in who might not ordinarily visit the bar/restaurant, and ideally a decent percentage of them stay after the prices go up again.

 

I don't know what the breakdown of those with drink packages is to those without them, but it certainly seems to be heavily weighted to packages. I can't see them offering happy hour pricing only to those without a package, although the point of sale systems are possibly the best functioning IT systems in Celebrity. But the headline would be "cruisers on drink packages aren't getting discounts offered to cruisers without drink packages". Cutting a $13 drink to $9 for happy hour so that it's covered in the classic package has no upside for Celebrity, and their data probably says they'll still make more money off of you paying for fewer individual drinks than off of more sales of happy hour priced drinks. And the people who don't drink much that book without a package are likely as not a rounding error for drink revenue.

 

Drinks of the day priced $2-3 over the package price would probably create some revenue, but given how they push the package pricing, it would probably be a hard sell to get people pay for it. Drinks of the day that somehow reduce costs would be interesting.

[DCPIV]

12 minutes ago, markeb said:

Drinks of the day priced $2-3 over the package price would probably create some revenue, but given how they push the package pricing, it would probably be a hard sell to get people pay for it.

 

Indeed. That would have to be a remarkable "drink of the day."

[DaKahuna]

6 hours ago, jelayne said:

Just a FYI the Classic package limit is $9.  You can upgrade to Premium for $12 per day or you can pay the difference between the $9 limit and the $15 martini which is $6 + 20% gratuity or $7.20.  

We have not sailed since pre-COVID but they use to make a smaller martini at the Martini Bar that was covered by the classic package.  Do not think it was made with top shelf vodka but remember it being served in a smaller size glass. 

 

[sanger727]

12 hours ago, susiesan said:

I do have a beverage package, the classic, which only covers drinks up to $8. None of the specialty martinis are that price, most are $12-$13 from what I can see. If some of the higher priced drinks were 1/2 off at happy hour then I could get them with my package without having to pay extra.

I’ve not seen any discounts like this that would bring a premium drink down to package price. The few specials they might run are on things that exclude the drink package, like a bucket of beer.

 

6 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

We have not sailed since pre-COVID but they use to make a smaller martini at the Martini Bar that was covered by the classic package.  Do not think it was made with top shelf vodka but remember it being served in a smaller size glass. 

 

 

When we went to the martini bar they would make any drink you asked for. So if you wanted a Bahama mama and a vodka martini, and those were covered by the classic package, you could get them for free. What they wouldn’t do was alter the recipe of their ‘specialty’ martinis to make them free with the classic package.

[FLCruiser97]

10 hours ago, markeb said:

Happy Hour pricing's purpose is to increase revenues by increasing quantities sold even at a lower margin or to increase sales of complementary products, such as bar food. Shoreside, it's also to get people in who might not ordinarily visit the bar/restaurant, and ideally a decent percentage of them stay after the prices go up again.

 

I don't know what the breakdown of those with drink packages is to those without them, but it certainly seems to be heavily weighted to packages. I can't see them offering happy hour pricing only to those without a package, although the point of sale systems are possibly the best functioning IT systems in Celebrity. But the headline would be "cruisers on drink packages aren't getting discounts offered to cruisers without drink packages". Cutting a $13 drink to $9 for happy hour so that it's covered in the classic package has no upside for Celebrity, and their data probably says they'll still make more money off of you paying for fewer individual drinks than off of more sales of happy hour priced drinks. And the people who don't drink much that book without a package are likely as not a rounding error for drink revenue.

 

Drinks of the day priced $2-3 over the package price would probably create some revenue, but given how they push the package pricing, it would probably be a hard sell to get people pay for it. Drinks of the day that somehow reduce costs would be interesting.

@markebYou are a marketing guy aren't you....so detailed...LOL

[marieps]

30 minutes ago, FLCruiser97 said:

@markebYou are a marketing guy aren't you....so detailed...LOL

Markeb can speak for himself, but I will say his stint in federal service has brought a wealth of expertise during the pandemic to this board.  IMHO.

[FLCruiser97]

That's good to hear. It's just that he was so detailed. I'm fairly new to CC so didn't know his background. It wasn't meant in any way derogatory, just a positive observation.

[markeb]

10 hours ago, FLCruiser97 said:

@markebYou are a marketing guy aren't you....so detailed...LOL

 

LOL! No, I'm not! I'm learning it. Like @marieps said, most of my time has been in government and public health. But I have a knack for random, usually meaningless, things. Like this!

[marieps]

43 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

LOL! No, I'm not! I'm learning it. Like @marieps said, most of my time has been in government and public health. But I have a knack for random, usually meaningless, things. Like this!

So humble. 😁