Surcharges for drinks in Retreat Lounge

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

While I enjoyed the free bottle of Decoy on my cruise in November I'd never buy it for $40 cad.  BTW: A bottle onboard sells for $62 US plus gratuities. 

Even $62 a bottle is an outrage. One of our favorite local seafood restaurants sells Decoy for $44 a bottle. It is priced at the bottom of their red wine list.

[CruiseRQA]

44 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

 

 

One of Celebrity's selling points for the Retreat has been that you can leave your wallet at home as everything is included in the cruising price. That changed in October when gratuities were taken out of AI for all categories including suites, then they removed the generous OBC for suites.  Now having to possibly pay for drinks in the Retreat lounge over the PDP cap is added to the list of "not available anymore". From a Marketing point Celebrity continues to make more and more blunders that are driving us loyal customers to jump ship.

 I will point out again that our cruise in a sky suite last year was $2000 more than my upcoming sky suite cruise in Jan 2024.   Last year tips and OBC of $900 was included.

 

Which cruise was the better deal? 

[CruiseRQA]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Even $62 a bottle is an outrage. One of our favorite local seafood restaurants sells Decoy for $44 a bottle. It is priced at the bottom of their red wine list.

I had a bottle of Decoy cab at our local Hyde Park Steakhouse for $55 recently.   

[kirtihk]

On 12/18/2023 at 10:49 PM, RichYak said:

Wow. Imagine spending $2k per night for a suite then being upcharged $3 for a glass of pedestrian wine in the Retreat Lounge. 

 

Relaxed Luxury™

#ThanksLaura

The same sarcasm might be used in the opposite direction (toward a cruise line) - "Imagine charging $2k per night for a suite then applying an additional upcharged $3 for a glass of pedestrian wine in the Retreat Lounge".

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

 I will point out again that our cruise in a sky suite last year was $2000 more than my upcoming sky suite cruise in Jan 2024.   Last year tips and OBC of $900 was included.

 

Which cruise was the better deal? 

My experience is just the opposite. Our SS on our Edge cruise next month was booked for $5180pp in February 2022. Before and after the October 3rd cutoff for the removal of included gratuities and OBC, the same SS was selling for $7200pp. There was no change in pricing after the $676pp in amenities were removed for bookings after October 3rd.  Which of those is a better deal?

Edited December 21, 2023 by terrydtx

[PTC DAWG]

5 hours ago, billc23 said:

Pre cruise shoreside concierge. I sail in upper suites that include 2 bottles and if they do not have what I desire, I ask to bring my own. I am on the Ascent Jan 21 sailing and did not ask to bring my own because I will be with kids/grandkids. Anyone here on that sailing?

I am on that sailing, Sky Suite…Wife and I both enjoy our bourbon..

Edited December 21, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[Dolebludger]

5 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I am on that sailing, Sky Suite…Wife and I both enjoy our bourbon..

I guess the question is, are you being surcharged for it?

[Baynanno1]

2 hours ago, CruiseRQA said:

 I will point out again that our cruise in a sky suite last year was $2000 more than my upcoming sky suite cruise in Jan 2024.   Last year tips and OBC of $900 was included.

 

Which cruise was the better deal? 

 

For accurate comparison, you need to add $23 per person per day for gratuities.

 

Our experience is similar to that of @terrydtx in post #105 above.

[PTC DAWG]

2 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

I guess the question is, are you being surcharged for it?

I will know next month..I hope not..

[ETHTrader]

I can tell you right now that no one has asked me for my seapass or surcharge at the Retreat Lounge. It's been free.

 

However, the drinks at the World Class Bar is now anywhere from $20-$25

[TommyD3]

9 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

Just a question here. Has anybody actually been surcharged for a drink in the Retreat Lounge? 

I am the person who made the FB posting. Was onboard Reflection early in the month and the wine prices were on the rise. We were not charged a surcharge anywhere but were specifically told in Blu and Murano "if you are on the next cruise I will have to surcharge you". So I asked the shoreside concierge to have Whispering Angel Rose available in the Retreat lounge on my Dec 16 Summit sailing. Whispering Angel was recently raised from $12 to $19 a glass !!! When I boarded they had one bottle in the Retreat lounge which we consumed the first day. The following day I asked for more and was told that the Retreat Manager was working on getting more. The following day the server told me they could not serve it to me since it was over the premium cap. We confronted the Suite manager about this and he said they would serve it to me but I would be surcharged. At the Captain's Club Celebration the F&B manager confirmed this policy (indicating it has always been in lace). I was not willing to pay a surcharge. There is a $17 Rose that I drank instead.

Many people on FB have indicated that they are paying upcharges for their wine in Luminae,

One response indicated that Celebrity called her just hours after receiving her email complaint saying there have been so many complaints that the executive committee is meeting about the new higher wine prices this week, with a solution promised by year end.

I personally do not understand because in prior years they would raise the prices $1-$2 per glass and then raise the cap to cover the new higher prices.

Obviously increasing wine prices by 50+% in one step is INSANE !!!

We will see what happens.

[TourDeCruise]

1 hour ago, TommyD3 said:

I am the person who made the FB posting. ..There is a $17 Rose that I drank instead. . .We will see what happens.

 

We will be on Beyond on January 8th and will see if there are surcharges in Retreat. Mer Soleil is our usual Chardonnay onboard. We were able to get it in the Retreat on the Ascent Maiden Voyage without a surcharge (only had at beginning of cruise in Retreat) but were surcharged $2 in all restaurants on the sailing. Which Rose? I had the Jean Luc Colombo Rose (hope I have the name right) that I enjoyed; it was priced at $17.

[TommyD3]

7 hours ago, TourDeCruise said:

 

We will be on Beyond on January 8th and will see if there are surcharges in Retreat. Mer Soleil is our usual Chardonnay onboard. We were able to get it in the Retreat on the Ascent Maiden Voyage without a surcharge (only had at beginning of cruise in Retreat) but were surcharged $2 in all restaurants on the sailing. Which Rose? I had the Jean Luc Colombo Rose (hope I have the name right) that I enjoyed; it was priced at $17.

Whispering Angel is now priced at $19 a glass even though two others priced at $17 a glass have the same $60 a bottle price !!

[The_Big_M]

20 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

The reason I asked is that, the two cruises on which we visited the Retreat Lounges, I don’t recall seeing a drink menu with prices.

 

The Edge cruises I just came off had prices for drinks on the menu there and in Luminae. Which I thought weird as most would have premium drinks packages. But I figured it's probably to cater for MoveUp upgrades.

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, The_Big_M said:

 

The Edge cruises I just came off had prices for drinks on the menu there and in Luminae. Which I thought weird as most would have premium drinks packages. But I figured it's probably to cater for MoveUp upgrades.

We will be on the Edge in a couple of weeks and see for ourselves. Most of the former premium reds are now in the Elevate level above the PDK cap. My wife likes a glass of decent red wine in the Retreat Lounge while I enjoy a good Bourbon or Scotch before dinner. People who get move up bids without the PDK have in the past been able to enjoy a PDP wine or cocktail without an extra charge. This is an included amenity for the Retreat no matter how you got there.  If there are now menus, to me, it signals the change to charge for over the cap drinks. On the Apex in September, in the Retreat Lounge, I was able to get Hennessey Cognac for no upcharge. The Retreat bar tender kept it hidden in a cabinet for those who asked for it.

[PTC DAWG]

Anyone on board, how much is Hendricks Gin? Still covered in Premium or not? TIA

 

A check of the nicer bourbons would be nice too..

Edited December 22, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[Whinenowine]

On 12/21/2023 at 10:34 AM, billc23 said:

I am biased. Pappy originally was from the shuttered S-W distillery remaining barrels. When those were gone they were gone. Guess what - Buffalo Trace began making "new" Pappy (they don't call it that) from the "old recipe". Different water, different rick house, different barrels... then they limited production. Years ago I would buy the 15 year Pappy for $50 off the shelf and it was good at the price point but not special to me. If you liked wheated bourbons, the Larceny barrel proof is a nice one. 

I've still got a few bottles of the 2011 Pappy 20yr.  When prices started skyrocketing I snapped up all I could.  The new stuff isn't bad....but it can't hold a candle to the original S-W material.  However people today have more money than sense/taste, so they'll pay prices upwards of $2.5k for a 'new' bottle of Pappy 20yr when they can get a case of better bourbons for less (at least better to me).  God bless 'em, but they've priced me out of almost everything I used to enjoy.  I can still enjoy the Weller 12yr and I've taken a shine to the Blanton's Gold bottling, but that's about it.

 

btw--those bottles of Jefferson's Presidential 17y/18y were some of my favorites a decade ago.

[NMTraveller]

Luckily no Decoy around here for a price comp.  Mostly Aussie wines.

[Dolebludger]

One thing I haven’t see reported — have there been price increases in beers and cocktails so as to remove them from full coverage with the Premium package?

[jelayne]

13 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

One thing I haven’t see reported — have there been price increases in beers and cocktails so as to remove them from full coverage with the Premium package?

The Martini Bar martinis are still $17.  Some of the WC  ar drinks are now above the premium package, but unless I’m mistaken that was the case previously.  The Zacapa Old Fashion is now above the limit.

 

[NMTraveller]

12 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

One thing I haven’t see reported — have there been price increases in beers and cocktails so as to remove them from full coverage with the Premium package?

The cocktails are at the $17 mark.  I will order a chocolate martini later and see if it is over.

[jelayne]

3 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Anyone on board, how much is Hendricks Gin? Still covered in Premium or not? TIA

 

A check of the nicer bourbons would be nice too..

On the app, which is showing the new pricing for our sailing Hendricks is $15.

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

Luckily no Decoy around here for a price comp.  Mostly Aussie wines.

Love Aussie wines next to California 

[HMR74]

7 hours ago, TommyD3 said:

Whispering Angel is now priced at $19 a glass even though two others priced at $17 a glass have the same $60 a bottle price !!

I think management and the tier below top management needs a whack on the side of the head to bring in common sense.

I have 2 cases (not a pun yet) in point>

 

Reisling  wine.  X has used Chateau Ste Michelle in the Classic package. I can buy it and do at 4.99 a bottle when I buy by the case.  With 5 pours a bottle the raw cost per drink is $1.

The Reisling in the Premium package is J&H Selbach and I can buy that at 15 a bottle or so by the case.

 $3 per glass.

 

Now the ceap wine in in the premium and so is the upscale wine, so I willearn for myself in 4 weeks how they handle that , in wil they charge 2 bucks more for the class of the upscale wine now that ther is a cheapep wine in the premium.

 

Similarly: but not exacltly, X for a long time now, a few yearsm has not carried Crown Royal But it had Woolford , roughly 50% more expensive, in Premium so althought I liked CR better , Woodford is a good sub.

Now both are in the premium and I suspect Woolford will be 2 bucks extra (plus the obligatory 20%).

 

I will be more than fine with Crown Royal. And I will be fine with Chateau St Michelle cheap wine.

 

But management  which is young and not as experienced as they think they are, does not get it.

When a drink is in a package , it should be part of it. No nickle and dime extra charge. The structure of the offering is set up that way.

 

If I have the premium drink package, whether I am in Retreat, Aqua, or steerage, when I buy that package whats included should be included. Period. Once of the fund things , and it was menteiodned herein, is you can leave your wallet behind  when you leave cabin and not have to worry about a ting YOur Sea Pass is coded correctly.

 

And if you planned correctly , you should be able to go thru a cruise and not have to deal with an invoice at the end or even need to spend time discussing at a desk where you wait to ask a question. It should be "clean", and that's the experience I seek.

 

They, middle and upper mgt,  make these "caca" business decisons which end up being cheap insults to their customers and encourages this negative discussion which gets to the point that it's  laughable.

 

Perhaps its a new thing with younger managers who never had mentors really teaching them the ropes.

 

PS, with all the changes I had to call and ask about mudslides, my fav afternoon topside drink. It took 15 minutes but the answer was,  "probably" I had a good laugh. Still do.

 

PPS- I know ahead of time that buying the package is not cost effective for us. However, I really do like the idea of ordering and not thinking about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

16 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Love Aussie wines next to California 

The Moet and Chandon Rose from Australia was good.