Premium Beverage Pkg - refunds for shortages

[Hlitner]

I find the wine discussion really interesting but do not think it is anything new.  Years ago, when we routinely cruised on X, we would usually get the Premium Drink Package (or whatever it was called at the time) because I like to drink single malt scotch and cognac.  But the package meant that we could get more expensive wines by the glass (like these days).  I recall being in Blu and most of the wines priced over the basic package, but within the Premium Package, were out of stock.  The Sommelier would say their apologies and then suggest we drink the cheaper (and often lousy) wines that they did have in stock.  I would suggest that they open some bottles (comparably priced to the Premium wines that were out of stock) and would be told, NO.  When I would ask why, we were told something like "if we open that bottle for you, most of it will go to waste because nobody else will drink that wine."  DW and I would laugh and promise to drink an entire bottle at dinner but would still be rebuffed.

 

This was one reason, out of many, why we stopped cruising on X.  At the time I called it the "death by a thousand cut-backs" which seemed to worsen with LLPs ascension to the big boss.  It was the same with single malt scotches where the selection (which was covered by the Premium Package) seemed to shrink on each subsequent cruise.  The idea that if one is going to sell a "premium package" they should have "premium products" seemed to have escaped the thinking of Celebrity.   The first time we cruised on MSC in their Yacht Club (this comes with an included Premium Drink package) I was blown away by the selection.  Suddenly if I wanted single malt scotch there were more than half a dozen.  Want to try different Vodkas and they might have 8-10 decent ones from which to choose.  As to wine, MSC also falls down in that area but does usually have a better selection than we have found on X.  And their Premium Drink package does include a real French Champagne.

 

Hank

[Pennstatedj]

We just came off a b2b on Equinox. Both cruises we were in Blu and both cruises they ran out of wines that my wife  and then I on the second. My wife drinks Mer Sol  and KJ Chardonnay and they gave her other Chardonnays that were premium. Our sommelier was very helpful. On second cruise they were out of many premium wines like Decoy. A different sommelier gave me a lot of choices, many were very good and only available by the bottle. In both cases they really tried hard to please us. 

The real question is why are they not have enough of the popular premium wines available. That is a corporate issue and someone in logistics should start being held responsible. 

[Whinenowine]

 

Useful indeed!

[drakes2]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I find the wine discussion really interesting but do not think it is anything new.  Years ago, when we routinely cruised on X, we would usually get the Premium Drink Package (or whatever it was called at the time) because I like to drink single malt scotch and cognac.  But the package meant that we could get more expensive wines by the glass (like these days).  I recall being in Blu and most of the wines priced over the basic package, but within the Premium Package, were out of stock.  The Sommelier would say their apologies and then suggest we drink the cheaper (and often lousy) wines that they did have in stock.  I would suggest that they open some bottles (comparably priced to the Premium wines that were out of stock) and would be told, NO.  When I would ask why, we were told something like "if we open that bottle for you, most of it will go to waste because nobody else will drink that wine."  DW and I would laugh and promise to drink an entire bottle at dinner but would still be rebuffed.

 

This was one reason, out of many, why we stopped cruising on X.  At the time I called it the "death by a thousand cut-backs" which seemed to worsen with LLPs ascension to the big boss.  It was the same with single malt scotches where the selection (which was covered by the Premium Package) seemed to shrink on each subsequent cruise.  The idea that if one is going to sell a "premium package" they should have "premium products" seemed to have escaped the thinking of Celebrity.   The first time we cruised on MSC in their Yacht Club (this comes with an included Premium Drink package) I was blown away by the selection.  Suddenly if I wanted single malt scotch there were more than half a dozen.  Want to try different Vodkas and they might have 8-10 decent ones from which to choose.  As to wine, MSC also falls down in that area but does usually have a better selection than we have found on X.  And their Premium Drink package does include a real French Champagne.

 

Hank

That's why I no longer purchase the AI package.  I recently bought some excellent cabs at a discounted price (nothing wrong with them just making room for new stock) two of which I will bring on my cruise next month. 

[Hlitner]

4 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

That's why I no longer purchase the AI package.  I recently bought some excellent cabs at a discounted price (nothing wrong with them just making room for new stock) two of which I will bring on my cruise next month. 

That is one of the reasons we have not booked a cruise on X for over 5 years.   Solves that problem.  We do cruise on other lines where the cut-backs are not as dramatic.

 

Hank

[drakes2]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

That is one of the reasons we have not booked a cruise on X for over 5 years.   Solves that problem.  We do cruise on other lines where the cut-backs are not as dramatic.

 

Hank

@Hlitner Even pre covid the Premium package was nothing to rave about but the overall cruise price was good so I booked the AI. I've only had it 2x since inception.  Going forward the cruise price has to be very attractive for me to consider all inclusive again. 

[Hlitner]

4 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

@Hlitner Even pre covid the Premium package was nothing to rave about but the overall cruise price was good so I booked the AI. I've only had it 2x since inception.  Going forward the cruise price has to be very attractive for me to consider all inclusive again. 

We love all-inclusive cruising but not necessarily on X.  You might try expanding your horizons to some other lines.  When we started moving up to more expensive cabins (such as Retreat suites) we realized that some of the Luxury Lines were actually a much better value.  And now that we have been cruising mostly on luxury lines it is becoming more and more difficult to go back to a line that charges for drinks (even a bottle of water) and nickels/dimes at every opportunity.   But I will admit that even on the Luxury line blogs (we are talking Seabourn, Regent, Silverseas, Sea Dream, etc) you will find folks who are unhappy with the included wines!  But DW and I can adapt to most wine offerings although there are times when we will pay the big bucks for something special.    I still recall one evening on MSC (Yacht Club) when we went to dinner and asked our waiter for a Cab.  He came over with a bottle of Woodbridge and I truly did a double-take since I could not believe they even had that stuff in the Yacht Club's restaurant.  And yes, I told him where he could take that bottle of wine!   But I will confess to you (please do not tell anyone) that DW and I do enjoy Two Buck Chuck Sauvignon Blanc.  It is the best wine I know for under $4 a bottle LOL.  But we have never seen a bottle of any "Charles Shaw" wine on a ship.

 

Hank

[drakes2]

5 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We love all-inclusive cruising but not necessarily on X.  You might try expanding your horizons to some other lines.  When we started moving up to more expensive cabins (such as Retreat suites) we realized that some of the Luxury Lines were actually a much better value.  And now that we have been cruising mostly on luxury lines it is becoming more and more difficult to go back to a line that charges for drinks (even a bottle of water) and nickels/dimes at every opportunity.   But I will admit that even on the Luxury line blogs (we are talking Seabourn, Regent, Silverseas, Sea Dream, etc) you will find folks who are unhappy with the included wines!  But DW and I can adapt to most wine offerings although there are times when we will pay the big bucks for something special.    I still recall one evening on MSC (Yacht Club) when we went to dinner and asked our waiter for a Cab.  He came over with a bottle of Woodbridge and I truly did a double-take since I could not believe they even had that stuff in the Yacht Club's restaurant.  And yes, I told him where he could take that bottle of wine!   But I will confess to you (please do not tell anyone) that DW and I do enjoy Two Buck Chuck Sauvignon Blanc.  It is the best wine I know for under $4 a bottle LOL.  But we have never seen a bottle of any "Charles Shaw" wine on a ship.

 

Hank

@HlitnerI am in Amsterdam Netherlands as I type this, visiting my son and family. I cannot believe some of the wine prices here, so cheap no wonder Europeans drink wine like water.  This morning I purchased a few bottles of rose to take back to Canada at a cost of fives euros each.

[markeb]

54 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

@HlitnerI am in Amsterdam Netherlands as I type this, visiting my son and family. I cannot believe some of the wine prices here, so cheap no wonder Europeans drink wine like water.  This morning I purchased a few bottles of rose to take back to Canada at a cost of fives euros each.

 

It helps that the Netherlands and most of the major wine growing regions of Europe are all in the EU. No import duties...

[markeb]

We're also just off Equinox, with the Premium Package, and the Retreat. The ship was definitely out of a lot of wines, but they mostly were wines we weren't going to miss, but a lot of people on this thread would and I get that. (Caymus, Mer Soleil, etc.) We were mildly disappointed they didn't have an Oregon Pinot Gris listed on the menu that sounded interesting, but they were out.

 

We honestly didn't pay any attention to price. We had an excellent Italian Pinot Grigio that I'm sure was in the classic package, but it paired brilliantly with seafood. We may have been the only ones ordering it, but they had Cakebread Pinot Noir out of Anderson Valley that was spectacular, in the package.

 

At one point our sommelier asked if we were interested in something out of our package, and since we had a ton of OBC, we were. He described it as a 100% Sangiovese from Italy; it turned out to be a 2016 Antinori Plan Dele Vigne Brunello di Montalcino. Priced at about twice retail, which is about right, and excellent. But they only had two bottles, and they certainly couldn't open it by the glass! (We actually had the second bottle the next night.) I can't imagine management opening bottles by the glass when they only have a handful of bottles of the wine. Should they have more better wines onboard? Sure. Celebrity hasn't done a great job getting its supply chain in order post pandemic. 

 

I will agree on the single malts. The World Class Bar used to have Oban, Lagavulin, and probably others. All Johnnie Walker, not even other Diageo brands! (Pretty much everything else was Diageo!)

 

But we enjoyed the cruise, the wine, and the drinks.

[boxkite]

markeb, it is my understanding that Celebrity and Diageo partnered together on The World Class Bar, so many of their products are used in the feature drinks.

[markeb]

45 minutes ago, boxkite said:

markeb, it is my understanding that Celebrity and Diageo partnered together on The World Class Bar, so many of their products are used in the feature drinks.

 

That would be my understanding as well. For personal and "world events" reasons, it's been 4 years since we were last on Equinox. Way back then, they also had Lagavulin and Oban (Oban priced within the premium package), which are also Diageo brands. Those weren't there this cruise, just Johnnie Walker (also a Diageo brand).

[renji]

23 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I find the wine discussion really interesting but do not think it is anything new.  Years ago, when we routinely cruised on X, we would usually get the Premium Drink Package (or whatever it was called at the time) because I like to drink single malt scotch and cognac.  But the package meant that we could get more expensive wines by the glass (like these days).  I recall being in Blu and most of the wines priced over the basic package, but within the Premium Package, were out of stock.  The Sommelier would say their apologies and then suggest we drink the cheaper (and often lousy) wines that they did have in stock.  I would suggest that they open some bottles (comparably priced to the Premium wines that were out of stock) and would be told, NO.  When I would ask why, we were told something like "if we open that bottle for you, most of it will go to waste because nobody else will drink that wine."  DW and I would laugh and promise to drink an entire bottle at dinner but would still be rebuffed.

 

This was one reason, out of many, why we stopped cruising on X.  At the time I called it the "death by a thousand cut-backs" which seemed to worsen with LLPs ascension to the big boss.  It was the same with single malt scotches where the selection (which was covered by the Premium Package) seemed to shrink on each subsequent cruise.  The idea that if one is going to sell a "premium package" they should have "premium products" seemed to have escaped the thinking of Celebrity.   The first time we cruised on MSC in their Yacht Club (this comes with an included Premium Drink package) I was blown away by the selection.  Suddenly if I wanted single malt scotch there were more than half a dozen.  Want to try different Vodkas and they might have 8-10 decent ones from which to choose.  As to wine, MSC also falls down in that area but does usually have a better selection than we have found on X.  And their Premium Drink package does include a real French Champagne.

 

Hank

This happened to me recently on royal caribbean.  No availability in the specialty restaurants of any of the listed wines by the glass, either within the $13 or even with an upcharge of a few dollars. Only the worst wine on the list, essentially serving $10 bottles    for $9 a glass.  We did have 40% off bottles, so even with the upcharge spent only $30-40 for decent $25-30 bottles, but they would not open any decent selections by the glass, so the package was useless.  And drinks that were good at a bar (grey goose mule) became undrinkable when brought by dining staff from the bar (no way they honored the alcohol request without us watching). It's all a bit irritating, but now we know to get a drink and crry to dinner.  I'm actually excited to try NCL's premium plus offerings that provides bottles with dinner, and compare that to my premium / indulge package on Celebrity later this month. 

 

[kabmab]

On 8/8/2022 at 11:02 AM, canderson said:

As an aside, any leg of a B2B, B3B or whatever number has a "last day".  Buy on an earlier leg and your wine will appear on the last night of that leg, becoming available for the remaining legs.  It's an odd but potentially useful loophole.

Thank you!  Did not think of that, and we will be on B2B.