Beverage plan

[Sunshine2023]

Do you recommend buying the beverage package. It seems very expensive. Any suggestions would be helpful as I am new to cruising.

[Bo1953]

s - what type of cruise fare did you purchase, AI or CO?

 

With AI, you have a package included if CO then you need to determine how much soda, specialty coffees, teas, bottled waters you may want AND how much alcohol you drink as well.

 

Please check the beverage package descriptions here on X's website, which will answer many of your questions, heretofore.

 

Yet, we cannot offer a recommendation on this purchase as there are many variables which come into play, of which we do not know or can pretend to know.

 

Ultimately, the best way to approach this is to possibly pay as you go or purchase one of the packages OR take the All Inclusive cruise fare...

 

Many of us come at this from different desires pro and con and possibly...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[SbbquilterUT]

I suggest you evaluate how much you personally would use the plan.  For us it does not make sense - we drink one alcoholic beverage each evening before dinner, bring a refillable water bottle for the water we drink during the day, and perhaps buy a specialty coffee each morning so we pay as we go.  Other people really enjoy trying drinks, getting bottled water, juice with breakfast.  

[SeaDog57]

please define Premium Teas and Premium Coffees  are we talking about expressos and lattes etc?

[Bo1953]

4 hours ago, SeaDog57 said:

please define Premium Teas and Premium Coffees  are we talking about expressos and lattes etc?

Nothing to define, as it were...

 

There are a few coffee and tea brands that are considered to be either "standard' or "premium"...

 

Both of which will be identified on a drink menu at each venue, such as Al Bacio where there are many specialty coffees and teas offered.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[C4HCG]

7 hours ago, Sunshine2023 said:

Do you recommend buying the beverage package. It seems very expensive. Any suggestions would be helpful as I am new to cruising.

We buy it as my husband likes a beer or two but I don’t drink alcohol. Probably costs us more than we would spend if we bought as we went, but it takes away the stress of thinking about how much we are spending on drinks, especially on the beer. Once you’re paid up, when you are onboard it feels like the drinks are free! But a personal choice and certainly not a recommendation to you, but it works for us.

[cruisestitch]

5 hours ago, SeaDog57 said:

please define Premium Teas and Premium Coffees  are we talking about expressos and lattes etc?

Yes.  The coffee drinks without alcohol are Premium.

 

 

[kywildcatfanone]

11 hours ago, Sunshine2023 said:

Do you recommend buying the beverage package. It seems very expensive. Any suggestions would be helpful as I am new to cruising.

Only if you drink a lot.  It's extremely expensive.  We just bring on board the non alcoholic drinks we want at embarkation and stops.  Saves a ton of money.  I suppose if you wanting a drink here and there, just pay for the ala carte. 

[ymncruise]

I usually have the classic or premium bev pkg. next cruise I didn’t purchase the all included. How much is a regular bottle/can of water and soda on the ship?  

[jelayne]

Soda is $4 a can, generic bottled water is $3 or 3.50

Evian $4.  A 20% gratuity is added to these prices.

Edited July 21, 2023 by jelayne
Typo

[jmjmann76]

As others have said, it really depends on how much you intend to drink be it alcoholic beverages or otherwise.  We pretty much always get a drink package of some sort primarily so that we don't have to worry about each individual beverage we order.  So, you need to look at how much you would use it and how much you're willing to spend for the convenience of having it already included.  It can be rather surprising how quickly it adds up depending on your drinking habits. 

[SeaDog57]

9 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Nothing to define, as it were...

 

There are a few coffee and tea brands that are considered to be either "standard' or "premium"...

 

Both of which will be identified on a drink menu at each venue, such as Al Bacio where there are many specialty coffees and teas offered.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Just wanted to make sure that the coffee drinks served at Al Bacio were indeed the Premium Coffees  and not just something served in the Dining Rooms.  I figured it was....

[JLS07]

17 hours ago, Sunshine2023 said:

Do you recommend buying the beverage package. It seems very expensive. Any suggestions would be helpful as I am new to cruising.

We find a lot of value in the non-alcoholic package (coffees, shakes, juices, waters) but not as much in the alcoholic package.  

 

The gap between the non-alcoholic and alcoholic is about $60 a day, which is 4 drinks per day.  I simply don' t drink that much per day to justify the added costs.  I find I am better off in the long run by being very generous with cash to a bartender or two and then try to seek them out for my drinks for the week. They are making nice tips, my costs to the cruise line is less, and my pours are very heavy pours.

[Bo1953]

3 hours ago, SeaDog57 said:

Just wanted to make sure that the coffee drinks served at Al Bacio were indeed the Premium Coffees  and not just something served in the Dining Rooms.  I figured it was....

sd57 check this list out... some items may have changed and etc....

[Sunshine2023]

2 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

sd57 check this list out... some items may have changed and etc....

Would I be able to buy wine at each port and bring it on the ship? 

[Bo1953]

Just now, Sunshine2023 said:

Would I be able to buy wine at each port and bring it on the ship? 

S2023 - yes, but it is no guarantee that you will be able to take it to your cabin.

 

Pending on the Security Personnel upon returning to the ship, they may hold it until final night of the sailing, which is the policy for bringing wine on-board after initial embarkation.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[daybrake]

19 hours ago, jelayne said:

Soda is $4 a can, generic bottled water is $3 or 3.50

Evian $4.  A 20% gratuity is added to these prices.

We booked with the AI package which I think includes Classic drinks. .  I will probably only have 1-2 alcoholic beverages per day, my hubby will probably have 2-4.  But,  I drink a lot of water, both still and sparkling (Pellegrino).
 

 Is bottled (still & sparkling) included in the Classic package?  If not, can you bring your own bottled water on board?

[bikerunner]

8 minutes ago, daybrake said:

We booked with the AI package which I think includes Classic drinks. .  I will probably only have 1-2 alcoholic beverages per day, my hubby will probably have 2-4.  But,  I drink a lot of water, both still and sparkling (Pellegrino).
 

 Is bottled (still & sparkling) included in the Classic package?  If not, can you bring your own bottled water on board?

Sparkling is not included.  You can bring it in but not sure of total amounts allowed.   I think a case maximum. 

[CruiseCrew123]

Just canned water and club soda are available in the classic 

[cruisestitch]

10 hours ago, Sunshine2023 said:

Would I be able to buy wine at each port and bring it on the ship? 

According to the rules, this is not allowed.  In practice, you may be able to bring wine on board at a port but I would definitely not count on it

[JLS07]

14 hours ago, Sunshine2023 said:

Would I be able to buy wine at each port and bring it on the ship? 

I have never been stopped with bottles of wine I purchase during the cruise.  

 

Granted I don't make a habit of it, it is only when I see a particularly interesting bottle for a good price.   I would think that if they saw you for two or three ports in a row bringing bottles onboard they might start holding the bottles.

 

I think it very much matters which cruise too.  I have never done this on a Caribbean cruise (never find anything of value in their liquor stores) but I do this all the time in my European cruises. I remember seeing tables of alcohol on some cruises in the Caribbean at the security area whereas on the European ones, they see it in the bag and just say "that will stay in your room? Right." and let me go.

[Travel-and-See]

On 7/20/2023 at 11:48 PM, Sunshine2023 said:

Do you recommend buying the beverage package. It seems very expensive. Any suggestions would be helpful as I am new to cruising.

I do not. On my last cruise on the Millenium, I didn't buy a package. I had a $200 OBC and even after daily gratuities came out of it I still had plenty to buy a couple of drinks per day. That was plenty for me.  If you are visiting ports, you are on and off the ship most days and will likely be purchasing drinks on land.  A drink or 2 each night is not going to add up to the cost of a beverage package. 

 

I enjoy buying a drink when in the lounges and listening to the live music, but other than that I'm good with the standard offerings. 

 

On 7/21/2023 at 2:22 AM, SeaDog57 said:

please define Premium Teas and Premium Coffees  are we talking about expressos and lattes etc?

Yes, the "Premium Teas" are the upscale tea brand and espresso-based coffee drinks. At the Ocean View Cafe and at the Spa Cafe you can get standard drip coffee as well as a large selection of teas for free.  The cafes are well stocked with milk, cream, sugar, honey, etc., and ice machines are also available so it's easy to make iced coffee and iced tea if you like. 

 

The espresso drinks are not particularly good on Celebrity - they pre-pour the espresso shots and leave them sit so they can make the drinks faster (I've seen this on multiple celebrity ships) so the shots have likely expired when they make your drink. 

Edited July 22, 2023 by Travel-and-See

[rmalbers]

I haven't read all the replies but a consideration is how port intensive the cruise is and how long you are on shore.  If you hangout in the town port's bars for a while that's less drinks on the ship. 

Edited July 22, 2023 by rmalbers