Buying "Premium" drinks on Classic package.

[Calred]

Hey guys, quick question from a newbie; I will be taking a Celebrity cruise in 2023, and wanted to know if I have the Classic Drinks Package, but want something from the Premium list, do I have to pay the full amount, or just the difference between a classic and a premium option? I'm guessing the former, but wanted to check. Thanks - Roy

[Northern Aurora]

If you order an item on the premium list you will not pay the full amount.  You will pay the price difference plus the 20% gratuity.

 

And welcome to the Celebrity Cruise Critic community.

[breadandbutter]

What is the price break per drink for each package? 

Thank you in advance. 

[Calred]

Thanks for the quick answer, NA! Appreciate the information.

[Jim_Iain]

18 minutes ago, breadandbutter said:

What is the price break per drink for each package? 

Thank you in advance. 

A simple google search will answer most of your questions -

 

[808lady]

Does anyone know what the upcharge would be for Pellegrino or Perrier?  I will have the AI Classic, but will order sparkling water from time to time.

[mexico8]

Just to clarify the difference between the Classic and Premium drinks package.   If we have the classic package and order a glass of wine that costs $15.00 a glass we would pay the $6.00 upcharge plus 20% gratuity.  Would that be 20% on the whole $15 or 20% on the $6.00?  We are trying to decide whether to pay the extra per day charge to have the Premium package.    For a 40 day cruise it would be an extra $1,200 for the two of us.   We are not big drinkers but do like having more choice for the wines and cappucino etc.

[esther e]

20 hours ago, 808lady said:

Does anyone know what the upcharge would be for Pellegrino or Perrier?  I will have the AI Classic, but will order sparkling water from time to time.

You read my mind.  I am not a big enough drinker to warrant upgrading, but I sure do like a big bottle of Pellegrino in my room all the time.

[killsport]

7 hours ago, mexico8 said:

Just to clarify the difference between the Classic and Premium drinks package.   If we have the classic package and order a glass of wine that costs $15.00 a glass we would pay the $6.00 upcharge plus 20% gratuity.  Would that be 20% on the whole $15 or 20% on the $6.00?  We are trying to decide whether to pay the extra per day charge to have the Premium package.    For a 40 day cruise it would be an extra $1,200 for the two of us.   We are not big drinkers but do like having more choice for the wines and cappucino etc.

It’s 20% on the $6

If you plan on having two “over” drinks per day, it’s generally better to upgrade. But for 40 days? Ouch! 

[mexico8]

From the description above it looks like cappucino or latte would not be included in the Classic package but they are included in the Premium package.   I find that strange but if that's the way it is, then so be it.

 

Thanks Killsport for the info above.

[SbbquilterUT]

Actually the classic package does include drinks at Cafe Biacio except those premium with alcohol.  I enjoyed a latte (or several) every day.

[mfs2k]

 

I realize this isn't the answer to your question, but personally, we prefer not to have to think about what beverages will cost, so we upgrade to Premium for the peace of mind.

 

We don't have to do the math and calculate whether we saved money or not by upgrading.  We order the drinks we want and generally know it's included with few exceptions. "Relax, No Problem..."

[sanger727]

Before our cruise we were advised on cruisecritic that you can upgrade mid cruise for the remaining days only. Not sure if that is still the case. So we went into it with the classic package and paying upgrades per drink. We ended up realizing that we could get all the drinks we wanted and it still cost a lot less than upgrading. So we left it on the classic package. Also. If you pay $6 for a $15 drink, you only pay gratuities on the $6. Maybe the pricing has changed but we were able to get specialty martinis for a $3 upcharge each.

[PTC DAWG]

34 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

Before our cruise we were advised on cruisecritic that you can upgrade mid cruise for the remaining days only. Not sure if that is still the case. So we went into it with the classic package and paying upgrades per drink. We ended up realizing that we could get all the drinks we wanted and it still cost a lot less than upgrading. So we left it on the classic package. Also. If you pay $6 for a $15 drink, you only pay gratuities on the $6. Maybe the pricing has changed but we were able to get specialty martinis for a $3 upcharge each.

That sounds about right...one trip to the martini bar, and I'm at the upgrade cost for that day 🙂.  That and I don't like signing slips. 

[sanger727]

52 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

That sounds about right...one trip to the martini bar, and I'm at the upgrade cost for that day 🙂.  That and I don't like signing slips. 

well, we were on a 12 day cruise so the upgrade cost would have been $141 each. Think we probably spent less than $20 each on per beverage upgrade charges. Not signing slips and being able to ignore prices is nice, but not worth $120 for me.

[SNJCruisers]

19 hours ago, mexico8 said:

 For a 40 day cruise it would be an extra $1,200 for the two of us.   We are not big drinkers but do like having more choice for the wines and cappucino etc.

It should only be 960 more for a 40 day cruise.  12.00 per day per person is 24.00 per day times 40 or 960.00.  Since you can upgrade at anytime on board, I would play it by ear, see how it goes and then upgrade with your favorite bartender since they get a cut and they will remember you with healthier pours and quicker service.

[mexico8]

SNJCruisers:  Thanks for the clarification.   Originally we thought we might book the 52 day cruise and then decided to take 3  out of the 4 cruises.   The $1,200 figure would have been the extra charge for the 52 day cruise.

[Veinless]

On 11/16/2021 at 6:24 AM, esther e said:

You read my mind.  I am not a big enough drinker to warrant upgrading, but I sure do like a big bottle of Pellegrino in my room all the time.

 

On 11/15/2021 at 9:57 AM, 808lady said:

Does anyone know what the upcharge would be for Pellegrino or Perrier?  I will have the AI Classic, but will order sparkling water from time to time.

Did either of you ever find out? I am also curious about this.

[chamima]

On 11/15/2021 at 10:57 AM, 808lady said:

Does anyone know what the upcharge would be for Pellegrino or Perrier?  I will have the AI Classic, but will order sparkling water from time to time.

 

We drink a lot of sparkling water so I asked about this.

Since Pellegrino (and Perrier) are not included at all in the Classic package you have to pay the regular price for each bottle.

I don't remember the exact price but I DO REMEMBER that I thought it was outrageous (something like $5/bottle for the small bottles) so we have always just upgraded.

You should also be aware that if a particular brand is important to you you are better off bringing it onboard yourself. (Since it's just water there is no limit to what you can bring). They often run out of one brand and only have the other.

Edited February 5, 2022 by chamima

[craig403]

We just upgraded to the premium package for our 11 night March cruise by calling Celebrity.  We found that by upgrading now we took advantage of any discounts that were available pre cruise.  In this case, it cost us $10 per day per person plus they gave us $150 per person OBC  which for us was a good deal.  If we waited until after we got on the ship we would pay whatever the going rate was and no OBC.  As always, YMMV. ☺️

[Hickeyclan1]

2 hours ago, craig403 said:

We just upgraded to the premium package for our 11 night March cruise by calling Celebrity.  We found that by upgrading now we took advantage of any discounts that were available pre cruise.  In this case, it cost us $10 per day per person plus they gave us $150 per person OBC  which for us was a good deal.  If we waited until after we got on the ship we would pay whatever the going rate was and no OBC.  As always, YMMV. ☺️

 

$10 x 11 = $110 more.  So you paid $110 each and received $150 OBC each?  So Celebrity paid you $40 each to get Premium????  What am I missing here........

[Hickeyclan1]

2 hours ago, craig403 said:

We just upgraded to the premium package for our 11 night March cruise by calling Celebrity.  We found that by upgrading now we took advantage of any discounts that were available pre cruise.  In this case, it cost us $10 per day per person plus they gave us $150 per person OBC  which for us was a good deal.  If we waited until after we got on the ship we would pay whatever the going rate was and no OBC.  As always, YMMV. ☺️

 Wich cruise was this?  We are on the March 28 sailing......

[esther e]

7 hours ago, Veinless said:

 

Did either of you ever find out? I am also curious about this.

Just found this on my reservation:

 

Prices Starting From*$16.00 USD Adult per day

ADD TO CART

Premium Bottled Water Package

Enjoy the pure refreshment of Evian® still water, Pellegrino® sparkling bottled water, and/or Perrier® sparkling bottled water throughout your vacation. Perfected by nature in the French Alps, Evian replenishes your body and mind. San Pellegrino, sourced from three great springs in northern Italy, provides the ideal accompaniment to any meal. Perrier is bottled, carbonated mineral water from a spring in southern France. Show your SeaPass® Card at any bar, lounge or restaurant to indicate your participation. Price shown is per person, per day.

 

Is it me, or is that a lot  for bottled water?  I think I'm not  going this route and just order what I please when I please.

[cdn_tbird]

24 minutes ago, esther e said:

Just found this on my reservation:

 

Prices Starting From*$16.00 USD Adult per day

ADD TO CART

Premium Bottled Water Package

Enjoy the pure refreshment of Evian® still water, Pellegrino® sparkling bottled water, and/or Perrier® sparkling bottled water throughout your vacation. Perfected by nature in the French Alps, Evian replenishes your body and mind. San Pellegrino, sourced from three great springs in northern Italy, provides the ideal accompaniment to any meal. Perrier is bottled, carbonated mineral water from a spring in southern France. Show your SeaPass® Card at any bar, lounge or restaurant to indicate your participation. Price shown is per person, per day.

 

Is it me, or is that a lot  for bottled water?  I think I'm not  going this route and just order what I please when I please.

I guess it would depend on whether you have the classic drink package. If you do, you'd save money buying the upgrade to premium since it includes premium water. If you don't have any drink package, I believe someone mentioned that the brand name water was $5 USD per bottle (which is insane in my mind), then this may be worth it if you didn't want to bring your own cases of water.

Edited February 5, 2022 by cdn_tbird

[esther e]

13 minutes ago, cdn_tbird said:

I guess it would depend on whether you have the classic drink package. If you do, you'd save money buying the upgrade to premium since it includes premium water. If you don't have any drink package, I believe someone mentioned that the brand name water was $5 USD per bottle (which is insane in my mind), then this may be worth it if you didn't want to bring your own cases of water.

LOL I don't even by it by the case here.  Too heavy to haul.  I buy the 6-pack.  If the large bottles were $5, that's a good price.  But if the smaller ones are, that's not good.  I can drink a smaller one in a minute -- the quarts take a lot longer.