Specialty coffee card?

[Guest TopoChico]

Does Celebrity still sell a specialty coffee card? We’re not getting any type of beverage or alcohol package on our upcoming cruise.  We don’t drink enough alcohol anymore to make it worth paying for an alcohol package and we don’t drink soda and aren’t into juices or specialty waters.  They used to have a card for 12? Specialty coffees.  Royal had one in April, I think it was like $60/12 coffees.   

[gfkcruiser]

have not seen one offered in a long time.

 

[Guest TopoChico]

1 minute ago, gfkcruiser said:

have not seen one offered in a long time.

 

Yeah, I don’t see it offered anywhere.  No biggie.  I bought one on Royal on day 1 at the coffee bar, but then we ended up buying an alcohol package and they refunded it. Their’s wasn’t advertised anywhere either, I don’t think. 

[maxsales]

with many cruisers having a beverage package they probably don't think it's needed.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, TopoChico said:

Does Celebrity still sell a specialty coffee card? We’re not getting any type of beverage or alcohol package on our upcoming cruise.  We don’t drink enough alcohol anymore to make it worth paying for an alcohol package and we don’t drink soda and aren’t into juices or specialty waters.  They used to have a card for 12? Specialty coffees.  Royal had one in April, I think it was like $60/12 coffees.   

Although X doesn't promote it, it's usually available from day 2 (i.e. once they have decided that they can't sell any more drink packages/upgrades) in the Al Bacio. Just ask one of the servers quietly (early morning or at closing time when the Al Bacio is empty is a great time) and explain that you won't be buying a drinks package and is there anything they can do to help. The person selling you the card gets the whole gratuity that's included in the price so it's worth their while as well as yours. Good luck.

[Guest TopoChico]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

Although X doesn't promote it, it's usually available from day 2 (i.e. once they have decided that they can't sell any more drink packages/upgrades) in the Al Bacio. Just ask one of the servers quietly (early morning or at closing time when the Al Bacio is empty is a great time) and explain that you won't be buying a drinks package and is there anything they can do to help. The person selling you the card gets the whole gratuity that's included in the price so it's worth their while as well as yours. Good luck.

Thank you so much! 

[all2me]

I love knowing this for same reasons! Don’t want to buy drink package. I will discretely check the 2nd day! Any idea on cost? 

[Alakegirl]

Haven’t seen one of these in over five years. You can always ask, but I don’t think they do this anymore.

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

Although X doesn't promote it, it's usually available from day 2 (i.e. once they have decided that they can't sell any more drink packages/upgrades) in the Al Bacio. Just ask one of the servers quietly (early morning or at closing time when the Al Bacio is empty is a great time) and explain that you won't be buying a drinks package and is there anything they can do to help. The person selling you the card gets the whole gratuity that's included in the price so it's worth their while as well as yours. Good luck.

 

Just for the datapoint, when was the last time this has successfully worked for you, 2021 or later?

[Guest TopoChico]

3 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Just for the datapoint, when was the last time this has successfully worked for you, 2021 or later?

I got one on Royal in April and they didn’t advertise it either. Either way, it only saves a small amount of money.

I loved the LaVazza machine in the suite on Royal. The coffee was so good and rich, and I’m a coffee snob. I’ll live if I can’t get a card. 
the coffee on Millennium in November was meh~ they also lumped all the pastries in a bag on top of each other. And the cookies were kinda stale. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by TopoChico

[Ex-Airbalancer]

18 minutes ago, TopoChico said:

I got one on Royal in April and they didn’t advertise it either. Either way, it only saves a small amount of money.

I loved the LaVazza machine in the suite on Royal. The coffee was so good and rich, and I’m a coffee snob. I’ll live if I can’t get a card. 
the coffee on Millennium in November was meh~ they also lumped all the pastries in a bag on top of each other. And the cookies were kinda stale. 

Celebrity is not Royal 

I don’t ever remember a coffee card , in 2019 they did have a drink card , buy 10 drinks for $xx 

I don’t know if they still have that card 

[Dancing Shoes]

I think I am a coffee snob too.  Didn't order an Americano, but capaccino and lattes on the Millennium in August were good. We enjoyed their pastries. Maybe you had an off time. 

[cruisestitch]

Yes Celebrity did have a coffee card for a short period of time. I’m pretty sure I posted a photo of it but the search function doesn’t find it. I remember it because the first time I saw it mentioned they misspelled coffee.  (That was quickly corrected ).  The search did however find a thread where others discussed having purchased a coffee card. Here is a screenshot of a couple of the relevant posts.

[Guest TopoChico]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Celebrity is not Royal 

I don’t ever remember a coffee card , in 2019 they did have a drink card , buy 10 drinks for $xx 

I don’t know if they still have that card 

I know they’re not Royal.
 

They definitely had it because I bought it more than once.  We did a b2b and I remember they let us use it on week 2 because we didn’t use all the punches,

Edited February 13, 2023 by TopoChico

[Guest TopoChico]

1 hour ago, Dancing Shoes said:

I think I am a coffee snob too.  Didn't order an Americano, but capaccino and lattes on the Millennium in August were good. We enjoyed their pastries. Maybe you had an off time. 

I get an Americano with two extra shots and three pumps of Sugar free Vanilla. They were always too watery and too sweet.  I did get a few good cappuccinos. 
There seemed to be some drama going on with the girl and guy working the morning shift while we were on.  They were never friendly  at all and went out of their way to make sure the pastries were thrown in the bag. We got a laugh out of it after the third or fourth time and my son came back with what he called a bag of danishcupcookies. 

Edited February 13, 2023 by TopoChico

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Just for the datapoint, when was the last time this has successfully worked for you, 2021 or later?

For me personally it's irrelevant as we are Elite+. For my brother and his wife in 2019 even though it wasn't advertised. The introduction of compolsary AI made the card irrelevant again. However now that Sail Only rates are available it becomes another revenue source for X. Hence my suggestion to wait until Al Bacio isn't busy and then to quietly "ask for help" not to go in demanding and see what happens. It's surprising what this approach achieves.

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, TopoChico said:

I know they’re not Royal.
 

They definitely had it because I bought it more than once.  We did a b2b and I remember they let us use it on week 2 because we didn’t use all the punches,

On a B2B buying a card towards the end of the first leg meant you could get drinks on the first 2 days of the second leg before new cards went on sale. Cards are not dated and rolled from cruise to cruise. Also not passenger specific so you can share cards. Good for coffees, teas and chocolate - hot or cold.

[cruisestitch]

I think you are mixing this up with the Royal card. On Celebrity it was a punchcard, or rather a numbered card and they crossed off the numbers as you used them.  
 

And it was advertised. There was a sign at Café Al Bacio and also they mentioned it in the daily program.

Edited February 13, 2023 by cruisestitch

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 hours ago, the penguins said:

For me personally it's irrelevant as we are Elite+. For my brother and his wife in 2019 even though it wasn't advertised. The introduction of compolsary AI made the card irrelevant again. However now that Sail Only rates are available it becomes another revenue source for X. Hence my suggestion to wait until Al Bacio isn't busy and then to quietly "ask for help" not to go in demanding and see what happens. It's surprising what this approach achieves.

 

We've simply seen a lot of passenger friendly items from the good ole days not return after the restart.

 

Sure, always be polite and not demanding yet if the coffee card, or any other item, doesn't exist there's usually nothing they can do

[the penguins]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

We've simply seen a lot of passenger friendly items from the good ole days not return after the restart.

 

Sure, always be polite and not demanding yet if the coffee card, or any other item, doesn't exist there's usually nothing they can do

Exactly but as we don't know if it exists or not my suggestion is a simple/easy way to find out with no embarrassment on either side.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

7 hours ago, the penguins said:

For me personally it's irrelevant as we are Elite+. For my brother and his wife in 2019 even though it wasn't advertised. The introduction of compolsary AI made the card irrelevant again. However now that Sail Only rates are available it becomes another revenue source for X. Hence my suggestion to wait until Al Bacio isn't busy and then to quietly "ask for help" not to go in demanding and see what happens. It's surprising what this approach achieves.

If the coffee card is available, why do you have to be so quiet/sneaky when inquiring about it?

[JustCruzin77]

22 hours ago, TopoChico said:

Does Celebrity still sell a specialty coffee card? We’re not getting any type of beverage or alcohol package on our upcoming cruise.  We don’t drink enough alcohol anymore to make it worth paying for an alcohol package and we don’t drink soda and aren’t into juices or specialty waters.  They used to have a card for 12? Specialty coffees.  Royal had one in April, I think it was like $60/12 coffees.   

If you check the drink packages on the website they only offer the 3 new packages, but if you use the Celebrity app on your phone, there is still the Classic Non Alcoholic package that is cheaper then the Zero Proof package offered on the website.  We booked this package for our Cruise in June, no idea if they will honor the package, upgrade it to the Zero Proof package, or just credit back the money. We will see in June! 🤞

[Guest TopoChico]

8 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

If the coffee card is available, why do you have to be so quiet/sneaky when inquiring about it?

I don’t think the advice is that you have to be sneaky or quiet, just not demanding and expecting.

[Guest TopoChico]

2 minutes ago, JustCruzin77 said:

If you check the drink packages on the website they only offer the 3 new packages, but if you use the Celebrity app on your phone, there is still the Classic Non Alcoholic package that is cheaper then the Zero Proof package offered on the website.  We booked this package for our Cruise in June, no idea if they will honor the package, upgrade it to the Zero Proof package, or just credit back the money. We will see in June! 🤞

We don’t drink soda juice or bottled water so would have no use for a beverage package other than coffee. 

[JustCruzin77]

16 minutes ago, TopoChico said:

We don’t drink soda juice or bottled water so would have no use for a beverage package other than coffee. 

Depending on how much coffee you drink, it may still be worth it. It's $20/day CAD, even less in USD I'm sure. I don't drink Soda myself, but I like to have a bottle of water on hand at night and in port, the rest I will make up in Latte's!