Elite Plus Cruise-Only Booking Strategy for Non-Drinkers

[charlesshipman]

I am curious to hear the strategy others similar to us use and if I am missing anything else if we downgrade to Cruise-Only Fares going forward.

 

We don't drink alcohol and the basic wi-fi that comes with All-Included fare just doesn't cut it for us (we always upgrade to Streaming w/4 devices).  It seem like booking Cruise-Only fares with Pre-paid Soda Only Bev Package, Pre-paid Gratuities and 35% Discount on upgraded Streaming Internet (4 Devices) is a better option.  I also think I get free espresso coffees w/Elite+.  Am I missing something, or is this a no-brainer in our situation?

[hrhdhd]

Don't forget the Elite Happy Hour as well. You could get three cans of soda per day (except embarkation) that you can put in your room fridge for drinking later. I did that one cruise and avoided a drinks package altogether. I did buy one soda on embarkation day.

Edited September 22, 2022 by hrhdhd

[spammie]

Elite Plus gets you free coffee drinks at Cafe El Bacio.  Between the hours of 5 and 7 which is the Elite Happy Hour you can get bottles of water and cans of soda.  Pretty sure while you are playing in the casino you can get free drinks which might include soda and water.  

 

Edited September 22, 2022 by spammie

[kathynorth]

Plus you can pack soda and/or water in your luggage, checked or carry on. We're Elite+ and did a sail only cruise in June, then an AI in Aug. The only real benefit to the AI for us was the included gratuities and the open wifi. Since the AI didn't have much impact on our experience in the future we'll be comparing the price of sail only plus gratuities and wifi to the cost of the AI and if the sail only turns out to be less then that's how we'll go. Right now we have a cruise booked as sail only and another already with the AI, so we'll be able to continue to compare experiences before making another booking. 

Edited September 22, 2022 by kathynorth

[Lastdance]

1 hour ago, kathynorth said:

Plus you can pack soda and/or water in your luggage, checked or carry on. We're Elite+ and did a sail only cruise in June, then an AI in Aug. The only real benefit to the AI for us was the included gratuities and the open wifi. Since the AI didn't have much impact on our experience in the future we'll be comparing the price of sail only plus gratuities and wifi to the cost of the AI and if the sail only turns out to be less then that's how we'll go. Right now we have a cruise booked as sail only and another already with the AI, so we'll be able to continue to compare experiences before making another booking. 

I am very interested in trying this, as my hubby and I are not drinkers, but do have something ocassionally.  with AI/Suites, we just try more items and love the premium water.  Vacations are something that I splurge on because I have been such a saver; however, why pay more if less works just fine?

[Algebralovr]

We are trying out the exact same thing in a month.  We don’t drink enough alcohol to matter, drink mostly tea from the Cafe’, and drink a lot of water.  I do prefer the bottled water, since sometimes the ships water can have a funky taste.  We only do one or two sodas a week, if that.  I’ll pick up a couple of them during happy hour at some point.  
 

So, I booked a cruise only room (for an amazing price), which came with $250 OBC.  Sent in for my shareholder OBC.  Now I have $350 OBC.  Since we drink so much water, and I like the San Pellegrino some, we booked a premium water package.  That was $12.99/person/day.  Turns out the discount doesn’t apply to the water package, but it was on sale ahead of time.  It was fully covered by our OBC.  
 

I went ahead and prepaid for gratuities, so they were done.  $217 for both of us.  I’ll use the rest of the OBC to buy a 4 device internet Stream package, since we both need it for work while on board.  Darn two-factor…. 
 

It is definitely coming out less than doing AI option, then paying for the individual upgrades for the beverage package (since the classic doesn’t include the San Pel) and the individual upgrade for internet.  
 

We occasionally splurge for a sky suite, but for the last minute budge cruises?  This seems to work.  Looks like I’m going to end up spending less than I did in 2012 for a balcony room for a week on Solstice.  

[jhagen]

We are Elite plus also and always do cruise only. Have only one device so our 120 minutes free for both of us is enough. We do enjoy the happy hour and that is enough drinking for us. Can see no reason to take prepaid gratuities except Celebrity gets your money ahead of time.

Good to check it out for your particular case of course.

[kathynorth]

One minor issue I encounter is determining which coffees Elite plus are eligible for from Cafe Al Baccio. Caramel macchiado is one of my favorites. Some attendants just hand me the coffee, while others posted this as a charge. When I call guest relations they take the charges off my account. Caramel macchiado is listed on the coffee page on the menu. Any thoughts?

[charlesshipman]

30 minutes ago, jhagen said:

We are Elite plus also and always do cruise only. Have only one device so our 120 minutes free for both of us is enough. We do enjoy the happy hour and that is enough drinking for us. Can see no reason to take prepaid gratuities except Celebrity gets your money ahead of time.

Good to check it out for your particular case of course.

Good Point about the Gratuities - I thought pre-paying them had some kind of discount, but I guess not.

[charlesshipman]

2 hours ago, spammie said:

Elite Plus gets you free coffee drinks at Cafe El Bacio.  Between the hours of 5 and 7 which is the Elite Happy Hour you can get bottles of water and cans of soda.  Pretty sure while you are playing in the casino you can get free drinks which might include soda and water.  

 

I never thought about using the Elite Happy Hour that way - We were just on a Royal Cruise and DID do that with our Diamond status match - it really helped because all the bars were running out of Sprite Zero and we needed to hoard cans in our room for the rest of the trip.😀

[RTShaker]

24 minutes ago, charlesshipman said:

Good Point about the Gratuities - I thought pre-paying them had some kind of discount, but I guess not.

The benefit to prepaid is that the gratuity rate is locked in should there be an increase prior to your sailing.

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, jhagen said:

We are Elite plus also and always do cruise only. Have only one device so our 120 minutes free for both of us is enough. We do enjoy the happy hour and that is enough drinking for us. Can see no reason to take prepaid gratuities except Celebrity gets your money ahead of time.

Good to check it out for your particular case of course.

We haven’t cruised since before the pandemic, but when we did, we are both Elite Plus and we each got 240 minutes which was way more than we ever used.

We are not big drinkers so the 5-7 drinks, and other opportunities are more than enough for us. If they ever make Always Included the only option, we are done, no matter what the price is.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, jhagen said:

We are Elite plus also and always do cruise only. Have only one device so our 120 minutes free for both of us is enough. We do enjoy the happy hour and that is enough drinking for us. Can see no reason to take prepaid gratuities except Celebrity gets your money ahead of time.

Good to check it out for your particular case of course.

240 minutes each as Elite+. Sail only is a no brainer for us. We don't drink any alcohol. Can get enough water during the Elite drink period. Always prepay the tips. Any OBC including shareholders is invested wisely in the casino.

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, kathynorth said:

One minor issue I encounter is determining which coffees Elite plus are eligible for from Cafe Al Baccio. Caramel macchiado is one of my favorites. Some attendants just hand me the coffee, while others posted this as a charge. When I call guest relations they take the charges off my account. Caramel macchiado is listed on the coffee page on the menu. Any thoughts?

All non alcoholic coffee/tea drinks at Cafe Al Bacio are included in the Elite+ benefit. 

[kathynorth]

2 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

All non alcoholic coffee/tea drinks at Cafe Al Bacio are included in the Elite+ benefit. 

 

That's what I thought too, but some of the attendants seem confused because it's a flavored coffee. 

[kwokpot]

Just now, kathynorth said:

 

That's what I thought too, but some of the attendants seem confused because it's a flavored coffee. 

We are newly Elite+ and since the restart we were on the Apex and Reflection and ordering the flavored coffees wasn't an issue. We asked specifically and was told everything but alcoholic added beverages.

What benefit that seems to be in contention is WHERE this coffee benefit applies. Being new Elite+ we specifically asked where the benefits apply and it was explained on both the Apex and Reflection by multiple staff members in different departments that the benefits only apply to Cafe Al Bacio and Segundo Bacio in the buffet. In other words it doesn't apply to any restaurants or main dining rooms at dinnertime. Numerous people here on CC seem to say that it also applies to the mdr at dinner time,so hence the confusion.     

[mauimary]

We have Elite status so we are going to try using the Sail Only on a cruise to Mexico in later Oct. We decided to buy the coffee pkg only because we like to sit and enjoy our time in El Bacio.  We can easily get our $$ worth there even though we can get complimentary cappuccino in Tuscan.    We will use the Elite 5-7 happy hour and our free combined internet.  We wanted to give it a try to see how well it works for us.  We are light drinkers so do not really need a drink pkg. 

[the penguins]

41 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

All non alcoholic coffee/tea drinks at Cafe Al Bacio are included in the Elite+ benefit. 

And the hot chocolate.

[the penguins]

26 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

We are newly Elite+ and since the restart we were on the Apex and Reflection and ordering the flavored coffees wasn't an issue. We asked specifically and was told everything but alcoholic added beverages.

What benefit that seems to be in contention is WHERE this coffee benefit applies. Being new Elite+ we specifically asked where the benefits apply and it was explained on both the Apex and Reflection by multiple staff members in different departments that the benefits only apply to Cafe Al Bacio and Segundo Bacio in the buffet. In other words it doesn't apply to any restaurants or main dining rooms at dinnertime. Numerous people here on CC seem to say that it also applies to the mdr at dinner time,so hence the confusion.     

We order in the MDR every night and have never been charged. Because we know it's a long walk we tell the drinks person they can bring us our Lattes anytime they are passing the Al Bacio after we have ordered dessert. 

[the penguins]

31 minutes ago, mauimary said:

We have Elite status so we are going to try using the Sail Only on a cruise to Mexico in later Oct. We decided to buy the coffee pkg only because we like to sit and enjoy our time in El Bacio.  We can easily get our $$ worth there even though we can get complimentary cappuccino in Tuscan.    We will use the Elite 5-7 happy hour and our free combined internet.  We wanted to give it a try to see how well it works for us.  We are light drinkers so do not really need a drink pkg. 

What coffee package? The only one we know is a coffee card which you can buy onboard but usually only from day 2.  

[Fly and Sail]

Don't forget the Elite Breakfast that has premium beverages as well.

[NutsAboutGolf]

You can pick up a case of soda from the supermarket on the way to the port and hand the porter the case.  He'll whip out a blank luggage tag and write on your room number.

[cruisegirlppp]

This is such a helpful thread. We are elite and have a cruise only trip coming up, first Celebrity cruise since 3/2020, and I pre-purchased the internet and tips.  Remembering the old-old days of keeping a lot of cash on hand for the end of the trip and stuffing all those envelopes, it never occurred to me not to pre-pay the tips.  Is there a way to do this electronically once you are on board? 

[kwokpot]

36 minutes ago, cruisegirlppp said:

This is such a helpful thread. We are elite and have a cruise only trip coming up, first Celebrity cruise since 3/2020, and I pre-purchased the internet and tips.  Remembering the old-old days of keeping a lot of cash on hand for the end of the trip and stuffing all those envelopes, it never occurred to me not to pre-pay the tips.  Is there a way to do this electronically once you are on board? 

If you don't prepay they are automatically added to your account, nothing needs to be done. 

[cruisegirlppp]

56 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

If you don't prepay they are automatically added to your account, nothing needs to be done. 

Thank you!  Now that you say that I do remember seeing those charges on the bill every day but it's been a minute.