Apex Martini Bar - only small size martinis?

[LMaxwell]

1 minute ago, terrydtx said:

Then for a 7-day cruise the total price is $118.78pp per day or $832.51pp for 7 days including tips.  For two of you in a cabin that adds $1663 which is more than some cabin classes. WOW!!

And that's only at the discounted price being offered today.  Re-calculate using the every day 109++ price. 

[jelayne]

4 hours ago, seatrial said:

Is it the case that the large martini is now priced just above the limit for the premium package? I noticed in the martini bar menu that I can see in the app for Beyond, the price $15/$18. 

If large martinis are no longer included in the premium package, I am sure that Celebrity has gone off the rails. 

 

The $15 Martini is in a glass larger than the traditional martini glass, similar to the  glasses at  the  Martini bar on S & M class.  The $18 martini is quite large, and frankly makes no sense.  Why pay a up charge for maybe 1.5 -2 oz, just order a 2nd $ 15 one

 

We have encountered the small glasses at the Martini bar and it was during and shortly after the Capt Club Happy Hour where the cosmo’s and appletini’s are served in that size glass.  Once the bartenders got caught up and got a new supply of glasses the glasses were the normal Martini Bar size.

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

And that's only at the discounted price being offered today.  Re-calculate using the every day 109++ price. 

Looking at it differently, we have the PDP included in our Sky Suite Apex 12-day cruise in September, we are now getting an added benefit worth $2850.72 at the discounted price or $3139 at the full price.

[jelayne]

9 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Then if prebought for a 7-day cruise the total price is $118.78pp per day or $832.51pp for 7 days including tips.  For two of you in a cabin that adds $1663 which is more than some cabin classes. WOW!!

Which is why for those that enjoy wine and or some cocktails the AI pricing works. 

[Cruising89143]

We had the PDP on our recent Solstice cruise that was included with the Retreat price. At the martini bar 85% of our cocktails was served in the small we glasses. In every other bar, it was only the smaller martini glass. I asked the bartenders about the smaller glass in several bars including the martini bar. All stated the sane thing, it was a change. Not a big deal as we just ordered another cocktail but it seems like a cheap move by X.

[terrydtx]

27 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Looking at it differently, we have the PDP included in our Sky Suite Apex 12-day cruise in September, we are now getting an added benefit worth $2850.72 at the discounted price or $3139 at the full price.

Going further, I am comparing the above to Oceania. We booked two weeks ago, an 18 night Oceania cruise of South American for March 2025. We took the wine and beer by the glass at meals beverage package for $400 total pp over the base cruise price and then upgraded to the complete beverage package for beer, wine and spirts in any bar or restaurant at any time for $20pp more per day. So, for the 18 nights the total beverage package cost us $400 + $360= $760 (includes gratuity) total pp or $42pp per day. Also the Oceania beers and wine by the glass is far superior to what Celebrity offers in the PDP by the glass.

[chamima]

1 hour ago, seatrial said:

This is part of the Martini Bar menu that I see in the app for 3/5 Beyond sailing. I am assuming the pricing is for small versus large martinis, maybe?

 

 

 

Is this a British Isles sailing ? On those cruises gratuity is shown included in  the drink price and the per drink limit is higher to reflect that.

I just checked our February Equinox sailing and all of the Martinis at the Martini Bar are $13 . That puts them above the Classic $10 limit so it would seem they are in the larger glasses that usually come under the Premium package limit.

 

 

*

Edited January 15, 2023 by chamima

[WonderMan3]

19 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

We had the PDP on our recent Solstice cruise that was included with the Retreat price. At the martini bar 85% of our cocktails was served in the small we glasses. In every other bar, it was only the smaller martini glass. I asked the bartenders about the smaller glass in several bars including the martini bar. All stated the sane thing, it was a change. Not a big deal as we just ordered another cocktail but it seems like a cheap move by X.

Likely they are hoping most people won't order more than one so they use less alcohol in the long run.

[RichYak]

20 hours ago, chamima said:

I just checked our February Equinox sailing and all of the Martinis at the Martini Bar are $13 . That puts them above the Classic $10 limit so it would seem they are in the larger glasses that usually come under the Premium package limit.

No, $13 would be the smaller glasses. They use premium spirits at the martini bar.

[terrydtx]

23 hours ago, seatrial said:

This is part of the Martini Bar menu that I see in the app for 3/5 Beyond sailing. I am assuming the pricing is for small versus large martinis, maybe?

 

This is the same menu in my app for our June cruise. The $15 is for a small martini and the $18 is for a large one which would not be included in the PDP. Very disappointing! The Classic martini with Bombay Saphire gin and vermouth is priced the same so I will have to drink 2 of them at a time since only the small one is included in the PDP.

Edited January 16, 2023 by terrydtx

[chamima]

 

 

 

This is the menu from the February Equinox Martini Bar.

Does the $16 for the 25th Anniversary martini mean anything? I thought that one was only available in the large glasses.

 

 

*

Edited January 16, 2023 by chamima

[jelayne]

22 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

We had the PDP on our recent Solstice cruise that was included with the Retreat price. At the martini bar 85% of our cocktails was served in the small we glasses. In every other bar, it was only the smaller martini glass. I asked the bartenders about the smaller glass in several bars including the martini bar. All stated the sane thing, it was a change. Not a big deal as we just ordered another cocktail but it seems like a cheap move by X.

When was this?  We were on the Solstice last month and our Martinis were in the large glasses.

[Cruising89143]

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

When was this?  We were on the Solstice last month and our Martinis were in the large glasses.

We were on the same cruise as you 12/03/22 sailing. The first photo is the smaller martini glass. The second photo is a standard glass. Third photo is the smaller martini glasses. I do know the difference between a standard size glass and a smaller glass. Also, the bartenders at both the martini bar and the Ensemble bar stated that this was the new size glass. 

[jelayne]

We were getting martinis in the glass in the 2nd of your photos.

[chamima]

1 minute ago, jelayne said:

We were getting martinis in the glass in the 2nd of your photos.

 

How much were they?

And was this in 2022 or 2023? (The cutbacks seem to have been made Jan.1st)

[Cruising89143]

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We were getting martinis in the glass in the 2nd of your photos.

At the martini bar it was a mixed bag but most of the time it was the smaller glass. At other bars, it was always the smaller glass. 

[terrydtx]

Higher package pricing, higher drink costs, smaller glasses, I wonder how long before Celebrity does like HAL and impose a limit on the number of drinks per day that are included in the drinks packages?  HAL has a 15 drinks per day limit and that includes all drinks like water, soda and specialty coffees. The other thing HAL does if you have the standard drink package that comes with their Always included perks, you cannot upgrade to the premium package. I ran into this on the Oosterdam cruise we were in last August, in the past you could go to any bar onboard and get upgraded.  I was told by more than one bartender that HAL changed their policy on this last summer. I even had a long and terse conversation with the beverage manager about this.  At that time any drinks over the $11 limit would cost you the full price, in September HAL changed that to you only pay the difference plus 18% tips.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Higher package pricing, higher drink costs, smaller glasses, I wonder how long before Celebrity does like HAL and impose a limit on the number of drinks per day that are included in the drinks packages?  HAL has a 15 drinks per day limit and that includes all drinks like water, soda and specialty coffees. The other thing HAL does if you have the standard drink package that comes with their Always included perks, you cannot upgrade to the premium package. I ran into this on the Oosterdam cruise we were in last August, in the past you could go to any bar onboard and get upgraded.  I was told by more than one bartender that HAL changed their policy on this last summer. I even had a long and terse conversation with the beverage manager about this.  At that time any drinks over the $11 limit would cost you the full price, in September HAL changed that to you only pay the difference plus 18% tips.

I think all the Carnival owned lines have the 15 drink limit…don’t give the Royal Group any ideas. 

[terrydtx]

8 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I think all the Carnival owned lines have the 15 drink limit…don’t give the Royal Group any ideas. 

Do you think Celebrity is not aware of the Carnival limits?  They know and I would bet money that it is the next shoe that will drop.

[chamima]

12 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I think all the Carnival owned lines have the 15 drink limit…don’t give the Royal Group any ideas. 

 

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Do you think Celebrity is not aware of the Carnival limits?  They know and I would bet money that it is the next shoe that will drop.

 

we haven't sailed on Holland so I can't speak for that but on Princess the limit is only for alcoholic drinks. (And more than 15 drinks a day is an awful lot!)

You can have as many non alcoholic drinks as you want.

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

we haven't sailed on Holland so I can't speak for that but on Princess the limit is only for alcoholic drinks. (And more than 15 drinks a day is an awful lot!)

You can have as many non alcoholic drinks as you want.

Not on Holland, last year on the Oosterdam by the time we drank 6 small 12 oz bottles of water, 3-4 specialty coffees, wines by the glass and other drinks we exceeded the 15 limit a couple of times. It was so hot last August and we were drinking a lot of bottled water (in cans) each day.

[chamima]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Not on Holland, last year on the Oosterdam by the time we drank 6 small 12 oz bottles of water, 3-4 specialty coffees, wines by the glass and other drinks we exceeded the 15 limit a couple of times. It was so hot last August and we were drinking a lot of bottled water (in cans) each day.

 

 

We also drink a lot of water (mostly Pellegrino) and we would go over 15 drinks if that's how Princess counted it.

[BrewsterCruiser]

Can anyone tell me what the current prices are for drinks on Apex? I just booked the classic drink pkg, was shocked at the price increases. $110/night Canadian funds. Plus 20% surcharge.  The package stated drinks up to $10.00. Curious to know prices. Was on the Constellation in November and the increases weren't in effect then.

Any information will bring helpful.

[terrydtx]

8 minutes ago, BrewsterCruiser said:

Can anyone tell me what the current prices are for drinks on Apex? I just booked the classic drink pkg, was shocked at the price increases. $110/night Canadian funds. Plus 20% surcharge.  The package stated drinks up to $10.00. Curious to know prices. Was on the Constellation in November and the increases weren't in effect then.

Any information will bring helpful.

You can go into the Celebrity app on your phone and see prices for drink at each bar for your cruise. Most drink prices have gone up this year with big increases effective Jan 1. I have seen a lot of drinks above the $10 limit in my app. The premium drinks package is good for up to $17 now as well.

Edited January 16, 2023 by terrydtx

[BrewsterCruiser]

24 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

You can go into the Celebrity app on your phone and see prices for drink at each bar for your cruise. Most drink prices have gone up this year with big increases effective Jan 1. I have seen a lot of drinks above the $10 limit in my app. The premium drinks package is good for up to $17 now as well.

Thank you very much!