Beverage Packages Price Increased

[sweetp0618]

Called this afternoon to upgrade thanks to the heads-up I got on this thread. The upgrade price quoted was the new price. I mentioned the $12 upgrade fee mentioned in the FAQ. The agent had to talk with a supervisor. She called me back a couple of hours later and asked if I would take $100 OBC instead of the lower price. I made out a few $ ahead. I was lucky I called when I did.

[D C]

On 5/16/2022 at 8:31 PM, sweetp0618 said:

Called this afternoon to upgrade thanks to the heads-up I got on this thread. The upgrade price quoted was the new price. I mentioned the $12 upgrade fee mentioned in the FAQ. The agent had to talk with a supervisor. She called me back a couple of hours later and asked if I would take $100 OBC instead of the lower price. I made out a few $ ahead. I was lucky I called when I did.

Seriously?  What time of day did you call?

 

I also called on Monday and got the "no exceptions, the new price is the price".  I proceeded to email both the celebrity engagement center and the "CEO's office".  I received a phone call back Tuesday from the CEO's office and their line was "It's still not that expensive".  

[ScottC4746]

On 5/12/2022 at 8:30 PM, jelayne said:

Just looked at my Cruise Planner and the Price of the Classic package is now $ 69 and the Premium is now $84.  Looks like the upgrade price will go up.

If I have already upgraded and paid in full, are they going to expect the difference in the price?

[Seacrab]

36 minutes ago, ScottC4746 said:

If I have already upgraded and paid in full, are they going to expect the difference in the price?

Absolutely not. 

[the_dylaness]

On 5/13/2022 at 2:59 PM, D C said:

I wouldn't be so certain. Unless you watch them open the bottle and pour, you don't know what you're getting.

It's a serious accusation, I realise, but I firmly believe Celebrity has refilled more expensive spirit bottles with less expensive spirits, and doesn't always pour the wine you ordered.  

I enjoy Woodford. Have had my fair share of it over the years.  A few years ago on the Equinox (iirc), I watched the bartended pour from a Woodford bottle, but what I tasted was definitely not Woodford.  It was late and I didn't feel like making a fuss about it.  

 

This past March on the Edge, DW and I stopped by the Casino Bar for a pre-dinner glass of Decoy Cab.   I didn't see the bartender pour, but remarked to my wife that it didn't taste like Decoy (dramatically different).  Again, about to head to dinner, didn't want to deal with it.  We happened to bring home a bottle of cheap Cab home that Celebrity left us in our room.  Opened it a few days later and instantly recognised it as what we had been given in the Casino Bar.

 

I had the same experience with Decoy in the Ensemble Lounge on either Equinox or Reflection (can't recall which) in Feb 2020. I returned the wine and asked the bartender to open a fresh bottle in front of me.  She did so, and it was obviously a completely different (and correct) wine.  They are 100% doing this.

 

[JuliaMS]

They updated the FAQ

If a guest books their cruise with Always Included package pricing and would like to upgrade their Classic Beverage Package to the Premium Beverage Package, they may do so via our Cruise Planner platform once their booking is within final payment. The upgrade charge will be $18 per person per day which includes the beverage gratuity. Guests may not purchase a beverage upgrade before final payment when they book Always Included. Alternatively, guests may also upgrade their beverage package from Classic to Premium once onboard the ship.

[durberville]

30 minutes ago, JuliaMS said:

They updated the FAQ

If a guest books their cruise with Always Included package pricing and would like to upgrade their Classic Beverage Package to the Premium Beverage Package, they may do so via our Cruise Planner platform once their booking is within final payment. The upgrade charge will be $18 per person per day which includes the beverage gratuity. Guests may not purchase a beverage upgrade before final payment when they book Always Included. Alternatively, guests may also upgrade their beverage package from Classic to Premium once onboard the ship.

😳 $18?! I was quoted $16.80 - and thought THAT included the tax, guess not. 

[prmssk]

18 minutes ago, durberville said:

😳 $18?! I was quoted $16.80 - and thought THAT included the tax, guess not. 

In the cruise planner for my cruise next year, it shows an upgrade price of $16.80.  When I add it to my cart, the math comes out to $14 a day for the package and $2.80 per day for the service charge.  I hope it is not going up again to $18.

[sweetp0618]

On 5/18/2022 at 6:50 AM, D C said:

Seriously?  What time of day did you call?

 

I also called on Monday and got the "no exceptions, the new price is the price".  I proceeded to email both the celebrity engagement center and the "CEO's office".  I received a phone call back Tuesday from the CEO's office and their line was "It's still not that expensive".  

Around 2 pm.

[durberville]

44 minutes ago, prmssk said:

In the cruise planner for my cruise next year, it shows an upgrade price of $16.80.  When I add it to my cart, the math comes out to $14 a day for the package and $2.80 per day for the service charge.  I hope it is not going up again to $18.

Yes thats  how I understood it, $14 plus $2.80 tax - $16.80. So what the heck, are they planning on raising it more to $18? 🤨

[HskrCrsr]

1 hour ago, JuliaMS said:

They updated the FAQ

If a guest books their cruise with Always Included package pricing and would like to upgrade their Classic Beverage Package to the Premium Beverage Package, they may do so via our Cruise Planner platform once their booking is within final payment. The upgrade charge will be $18 per person per day which includes the beverage gratuity. Guests may not purchase a beverage upgrade before final payment when they book Always Included. Alternatively, guests may also upgrade their beverage package from Classic to Premium once onboard the ship.

 

Unfortunately, they have 2 sets of FAQ's and they haven't yet updated one of them.

 

Here https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/all-faqs#always-included they say

If a guest books their cruise with Always Included package pricing and would like to upgrade their Classic Beverage Package to the Premium Beverage Package, they may do so via our Cruise Planner platform once their booking is within final payment.  The upgrade charge will be $12 per person per day which includes the beverage gratuity.  Guests may not purchase a beverage upgrade before final payment when they book Always Included. Alternatively, guests may also upgrade their beverage package from Classic to Premium once onboard the ship.

 

And here https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/always-included they say what you quoted.

 

So it's $12 in one place, $18 in another. I think it's clear what they want, they just aren't great at keeping the web site consistent.

 

[Seacrab]

$18 is $15 + 20% so either someone has input a typo, or the delta between packages is going up by another dollar. 
 

let’s just hope this isn’t coupled with permanent reduction in the “premiumness” of the beverage offerings 🙄

[D C]

14 hours ago, HskrCrsr said:

 

Unfortunately, they have 2 sets of FAQ's and they haven't yet updated one of them.

 

Here https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/all-faqs#always-included they say

If a guest books their cruise with Always Included package pricing and would like to upgrade their Classic Beverage Package to the Premium Beverage Package, they may do so via our Cruise Planner platform once their booking is within final payment.  The upgrade charge will be $12 per person per day which includes the beverage gratuity.  Guests may not purchase a beverage upgrade before final payment when they book Always Included. Alternatively, guests may also upgrade their beverage package from Classic to Premium once onboard the ship.

 

And here https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/always-included they say what you quoted.

 

So it's $12 in one place, $18 in another. I think it's clear what they want, they just aren't great at keeping the web site consistent.

 

 

51 minutes ago, Seacrab said:

$18 is $15 + 20% so either someone has input a typo, or the delta between packages is going up by another dollar. 
 

let’s just hope this isn’t coupled with permanent reduction in the “premiumness” of the beverage offerings 🙄

In my phone calls to X, I've been told the price increased to $14 and that it went up to $15.   
My cruise planner for Nov (Infinity) and Jan (Summit) sailings both say $16.80.  

 

Drinks & More is still at $21 on my Summit cruise.  Makes it pretty appealing at only $21 extra for a 5n sailing to get $50 in the casino plus the wine tasting event.   No Drinks&More listed on my Infinity sailing. 

Edited May 20, 2022 by D C

[Mark_T]

48 minutes ago, Seacrab said:

$18 is $15 + 20% so either someone has input a typo, or the delta between packages is going up by another dollar. 

 

The delta is already $15 I think, $69 vs $84?

 

Prices are a real mess though with a lot of variations between cruises and ships depending on where they sail from and which country you book from...

 

We have these options on our New Zealand cruise early next year...

 

[maggie.1008]

I just came off the Millie and was disappointed in the choice of wines. I only had the classic pkg but plenty of OBC to use to upgrade wine by the glass. I was in Blu and I was glad I didn`t upgrade to the Premium pkg. No Wagner family wines or any wines I would consider Premium. 

Bar tenders could not keep up with demand at the Sunset Bar. They also were out of cranberry juice on the first day. They were pouring the cheaper wines and thought no one would know the difference. 

[cookiersmom]

On 5/18/2022 at 3:50 AM, D C said:

Seriously?  What time of day did you call?

 

I also called on Monday and got the "no exceptions, the new price is the price".  I proceeded to email both the celebrity engagement center and the "CEO's office".  I received a phone call back Tuesday from the CEO's office and their line was "It's still not that expensive".  

Can you please share the email address you used for the CEO office?  Thanks 

[D C]

14 minutes ago, cookiersmom said:

Can you please share the email address you used for the CEO office?  Thanks 

 

LLutoff-Perlo@celebritycruises.com

[Redtravel]

I also called for another issue and was brushed off.  I also asked for the discount for elite plus to upgrade from classic to premium. Was told that there is no longer any discount. When I pointed out that it was listed in the website under Captains club benefits, the rep said she didn’t know anything about it. That’s It!  They know nothing. She did say that she would take off the 10%.  That’s off the newly increased price.  Thought about it and decided, classic is good enough.  Celebrity used to send notification well in advance of price increases.  That’s gone.  Not thinking much of the constant sales pitch to buy drinks, excursions, specialty dining, spa treatments, etc. the amount of emails trying to sell stuff is outrageous.  Never experienced it before any other cruise on any cruise line. If this is the new Celebrity, our upcoming cruise will be our last.  Need no more robo for Celebrity pitch emails. I don’t want to block Celebrity emails because they may include info about our sailing.  

[SeaLegsAl]

On 5/20/2022 at 3:20 PM, Mark_T said:

The delta is already $15 I think, $69 vs $84?

 

Prices are a real mess though with a lot of variations between cruises and ships depending on where they sail from and which country you book from...

 

We have these options on our New Zealand cruise early next year...

 

 

I don't even see the ability to upgrade from classic. 

Our holiday is next may and the best I got, after 45 mins on the phone, was it would cost us £500 each to upgrade for a 10 day cruise.

 

I can upgrade on the website  from classic alcohol to premium non alcohol however... 

[Mark_T]

49 minutes ago, SeaLegsAl said:

 

I don't even see the ability to upgrade from classic. 

Our holiday is next may and the best I got, after 45 mins on the phone, was it would cost us £500 each to upgrade for a 10 day cruise.

 

I can upgrade on the website  from classic alcohol to premium non alcohol however... 

You won't see the option to upgrade on the website until your 'Always Included' stuff is unbundled and applied to your account, which typically happens after final payment.

 

If you call customer services for any reason and end up with one of the US agents they will typically unbundle everything immediately because it makes it easier for them to work on the account.

 

That £500 quote for a 10 day cruise is for the 'Indulge' package, just going for 'Elevate' would be half that price, but to do that at the moment they would have to re-price the whole cruise as you can't just upgrade the drinks on their own this far out...

[brownc424]

On 5/13/2022 at 12:19 AM, WonderMan3 said:

My biggest complaint with bartenders onboard (outside of the Martini Bar or when ordering from Luminae) is the inconsistency. One of my favorite drinks onboard is the French Caribbean which is a frozen concoction. On my last cruise on Summit it seemed like every bartender onboard made it differently and at least one bartender was totally clueless about how to make it. That inconsistency happened with other drinks too like Bahama Mamas, Blue Hawaiian...

 

The cruise line should really have a set bartenders guide for drinks so they all can make them the same way.

I found mixed drinks to be the weakest part of my Celebrity sailing. Outside of ordering at Luminae, every other drink varied from "that was ok" to "disgusting". I found that overall Carnival had much better drink service. At the pool bar on Reflection I was served multiple drinks that were undrinkable. Like a mudslide that was literally just solid ice with a little bit of bailey's and chocolate syrup.

[drakes2]

On 5/13/2022 at 12:14 AM, floralscent said:

We were surprised by the lack of drink making skills as Celebrity typically has a bartender or two that I/we like and will seek out. Not this time...

I was also on that cruise and had a couple martinis at the martini bar; in all honesty I make better drinks at home.  After that I went to the World class bar less crowded and far better drinks and service. 

[drakes2]

On 5/13/2022 at 9:23 AM, D C said:

It looks like a $4 increase to the base $10 upgrade price.  From $12 with gratuity to $16.80 with gratuity.  

 

A 40% increase is ridiculous given that there hasn't been a commensurate price increase in the beverages they're offering.  Especially when they don't even stock what they say they do.  I'll be visiting guest services throughout the cruise if the selection is as bad as it has been the past 6 months. 

Guest services on the Eclipse couldn't care less. At least that was what I found.  Horrible service in MDR and guest relations. 

[patty1955]

11 hours ago, SeaLegsAl said:

 

I don't even see the ability to upgrade from classic. 

Our holiday is next may and the best I got, after 45 mins on the phone, was it would cost us £500 each to upgrade for a 10 day cruise.

 

I can upgrade on the website  from classic alcohol to premium non alcohol however... 

My May 2023 cruise can't be upgraded either. All that's available is non-alcohol and our drink package doesn't appear anywhere. Are you on the May 24th cruise too?

[patty1955]

10 hours ago, Mark_T said:

You won't see the option to upgrade on the website until your 'Always Included' stuff is unbundled and applied to your account, which typically happens after final payment.

Not true. My drink package appears on my Oct. 15, 2022 and  Feb 21, 2024 cruises but not my May 23, 2023. I haven't made the final payment on any of them. There's some weird glitch.

Edited May 27, 2022 by patty1955