Ways to Save on Drinks without a Drink Package

[Guppy99]

1 hour ago, drakes2 said:

You can  stand by it till the cows come home but it doesn't mean you're right. 

lol...I am entitled to my opinion...as are you.

[SLOTheta]

On 10/12/2022 at 7:42 PM, aggiejd2000 said:

We will be on Solstice over Thanksgiving week in Aqua class on a cruise only fare because we got the cabin through BCC.  If we bring two bottles of wine on board, can we take them to Blu and have them serve some of it each night to us?  If so, what would the corkage be and would it be charged per night?

We will also be on this cruise. I’m new to Celebrity and also have this cruise through BCC (via MGM). Our original deal came with a free room, but we paid for an upgrade to Veranda. I was thinking of trying the MoveUl Bidding option. When I saw the aqua class rooms, it said they come with free wifi and classic package. Since you have a cruise only fair, does that mean you didn’t get these when you booked? I wonder if you get them if you bid for it 

 

 

We can’t wait for our first cruise on Celebrity! 

[Guppy99]

5 hours ago, kathynorth said:

 

Bringing 4 bottles of wine onboard is not breaking the rules. As indicated in post #69, the rules now allow for 2 bottles per guest. Celebrity doesn't care if these are brought on ship as 2 in luggage plus 2 in carry on. We've been on 2 sail only cruises within the past 3 months and brought 4 bottles for our cabin on each cruise. On our cruise out of Bayonne we had a grandson with us and the attendant joked that we could have brought 6 bottles. On our recent cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale the security screener said we were only allowed 2 bottles until we showed them the new allowance in the cruise contract. There's lots of confusion amongst the screeners and even ship crew, so it's understandable that there's confusion on cruise critic. 

Post number 69 contradicts the FAQs of the Celebrity website.

[late2cruisin]

43 minutes ago, SLOTheta said:

We will also be on this cruise. I’m new to Celebrity and also have this cruise through BCC (via MGM). Our original deal came with a free room, but we paid for an upgrade to Veranda. I was thinking of trying the MoveUl Bidding option. When I saw the aqua class rooms, it said they come with free wifi and classic package. Since you have a cruise only fair, does that mean you didn’t get these when you booked? I wonder if you get them if you bid for it 

 

 

We can’t wait for our first cruise on Celebrity! 

It's my understanding that, if you move up from a successful bid, you don't get the extra perks (wifi, bev.pkg.) only the amenities that come with the cabin (so Blu and Persian Gardens for Aqua.)

[Ex-Airbalancer]

5 hours ago, Guppy99 said:

Post number 69 contradicts the FAQs of the Celebrity website.

🤣 when was the last time you actually check Celebrity website 🤣

[aggiejd2000]

13 hours ago, SLOTheta said:

We will also be on this cruise. I’m new to Celebrity and also have this cruise through BCC (via MGM). Our original deal came with a free room, but we paid for an upgrade to Veranda. I was thinking of trying the MoveUl Bidding option. When I saw the aqua class rooms, it said they come with free wifi and classic package. Since you have a cruise only fair, does that mean you didn’t get these when you booked? I wonder if you get them if you bid for it 

 

 

We can’t wait for our first cruise on Celebrity! 

Our offer came with veranda and we upgraded to Aqua.  It didn't come with any perks. 

[kathynorth]

21 hours ago, Guppy99 said:

Post number 69 contradicts the FAQs of the Celebrity website.

Post #69 shows the exact language that appears in the Alcohol section of my cruise contract from my 10/8/22 cruise. It’s well known that the Celebrity website sometimes  contains outdated info. 

[Wombat706]

The terms and conditions for Australian cruises still read "Guests can now take on board the ship, two bottles of wine per stateroom on the first day of embarkation only. Guest’s sailing on a Back to Back cruise may bring 4 bottles, 2 will be stored by the ship and delivered to their stateroom the first day of the second leg of their sailing" - from Section 9. Alcoholic beverages policy.

 

 

[DirtyDawg]

OK folks, here's Dirty Dawg's tip for saving money on a cruise on alcoholic drinks if you don't have a drinks package.

 

Drum Roll please  🥁 🥁 🥁

 

Don't Drink! 

 

 

😁 just kidding.

 

I just drink to excess for two or three weeks prior to my cruise, to the point where my liver wants to sue my for "cruel and unusual punishment"  and then I go on my cruise and when I even see a drink I go🤢.  I use the same strategy when I'm ever tempted to spend mega bucks for Toronto Maple Leafs tickets. I just watch the last 40 plus years of Leafs' playoff debacles in a TV marathon and magically the thought of spending almost a grand ( or even ten bucks) to see them live makes me go 🤢

 

(And yes, that was a joke too. 😉)

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[Ex-Airbalancer]

19 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

OK folks, here's Dirty Dawg's tip for saving money on a cruise on alcoholic drinks if you don't have a drinks package.

 

Drum Roll please  🥁 🥁 🥁

 

Don't Drink! 

 

 

😁 just kidding.

 

I just drink to excess for two or three weeks prior to my cruise, to the point where my liver wants to sue my for "cruel and unusual punishment"  and then I go on my cruise and when I even see a drink I go🤢.  I use the same strategy when I'm ever tempted to spend mega bucks for Toronto Maple Leafs tickets. I just watch the last 40 plus years of Leafs' playoff debacles in a TV marathon and magically the thought of spending almost a grand ( or even ten bucks) to see them live makes me go 🤢

 

(And yes, that was a joke too. 😉)

 

Wow , drinking to excess in Ontario you must have mega bucks 😱

cheaper for me to drink on the excess on the ship than to buy booze in Ontario 😉😁🥂🍻🍹🍷🥃🍸

I gave up on the Leafs about 45 years ago 🙄😁

[DirtyDawg]

3 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I gave up on the Leafs about 45 years ago 🙄😁

Good call. Unfortunately for me, you definitely can't teach an old dawg new tricks.🐕

[rj59]

I did the pool bar beer deal--Heineken was the best available beer for me. Some people buying tequila didn't have it confiscated returning from Cabo, but it's YMMV--perhaps they don't bother as much with so many on all-inclusive. I suppose you could fill a bottle of twist-off wine with a more potent alcohol of your choice, or fill mini-bottles or coke bottles with booze in a port. I did a lot of free cocktail/beer sampling at the Captain's Club reception, the first Cosmopolitan and Sidecar in my life. I think the best option, though, is to buy drinks on shore, since you're meeting locals and supporting the local economy, particularly if you're supporting a less-touristy spot. The same goes for coffee. I also simply buy a can of beer in Mexican stops in an OXO convenience store and sit and people-watch while drinking it.  Just realize that the first two days of a cruise, Celebrity gets very aggressive about pushing drinks packages, even in the MDR and coffee shop, and they add the irritation of having to sign a slip with a spot for additional tip whenever you buy a drink, which their competitors HAL and Princess don't do. That's why I like the idea of the beer packages, since it limits the irritation points and you can carry a beer to shows and bars or the pool deck without being hassled to buy drinks. 

[drakes2]

5 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Wow , drinking to excess in Ontario you must have mega bucks 😱

cheaper for me to drink on the excess on the ship than to buy booze in Ontario 😉😁🥂🍻🍹🍷🥃🍸

I gave up on the Leafs about 45 years ago 🙄😁

Yeah our alcohol prices are through the roof.  I go on cruises to purchase duty free liquor although fewer bargains than in the past. 😆 🤣 😂 

[drakes2]

3 hours ago, rj59 said:

I did the pool bar beer deal--Heineken was the best available beer for me. Some people buying tequila didn't have it confiscated returning from Cabo, but it's YMMV--perhaps they don't bother as much with so many on all-inclusive. I suppose you could fill a bottle of twist-off wine with a more potent alcohol of your choice, or fill mini-bottles or coke bottles with booze in a port. I did a lot of free cocktail/beer sampling at the Captain's Club reception, the first Cosmopolitan and Sidecar in my life. I think the best option, though, is to buy drinks on shore, since you're meeting locals and supporting the local economy, particularly if you're supporting a less-touristy spot. The same goes for coffee. I also simply buy a can of beer in Mexican stops in an OXO convenience store and sit and people-watch while drinking it.  Just realize that the first two days of a cruise, Celebrity gets very aggressive about pushing drinks packages, even in the MDR and coffee shop, and they add the irritation of having to sign a slip with a spot for additional tip whenever you buy a drink, which their competitors HAL and Princess don't do. That's why I like the idea of the beer packages, since it limits the irritation points and you can carry a beer to shows and bars or the pool deck without being hassled to buy drinks. 

There were a lot of freebie events that I was invited to on the 10 night September 26th Equinox sailing the best one being the Mixology event held in the Sky lounge. Each of us got 3 full size drinks; hopefully they roll it out on all future sailings.