Sales on Premium Drink Package

[Cruisegirl6]

Does anybody recall whether on or around Labor Day celebrity gives discounts for the premium drink package?  Right now it is offered at 20%, curious how much those who got good deals on the premium drink package how much you paid per day?  Do you feel Labor Day they will have a better deal?

[jelayne]

I don’t recall if or what discounts were offered last Labor Day.  We have seen 30 and 35% off with some flash sales.  The flash sales are not often offered for every sailing.  Generally for sailing in a specific time period or itinerary.
You can purchase the package now and if a lower price appears then you can cancel your purchase and purchase again at the lower price. 

[Liao]

21 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Does anybody recall whether on or around Labor Day celebrity gives discounts for the premium drink package?  Right now it is offered at 20%, curious how much those who got good deals on the premium drink package how much you paid per day?  Do you feel Labor Day they will have a better deal?

For my Dec. 2023 cruise on Summit, they ran a very good Labor Day 2023 sale, I can't recall the exact %, but I know a lot of folks on the cruise were jumping all over it.  Either way, if you see a sale now, I suggest that you buy it, and this way you are locked in just case there is no additional sale.  You can always cancel and repurchase.

[bundtkate]

One piece of advice I always share is to avoid speculating about sales if you can. While it's true that some holidays are known for excellent prices (Black Friday comes to mind), it is an objectively bad idea to wait for that holiday if a price crops up that works for you. Back in 2021, I was sailing on Oasis of the Seas in February 2022. A sale cropped up where the drink package was $53 per person per day (may have even been Labor Day), but I knew Black Friday came around before I set sail and so I waited. The Black Friday sale was for $60 per person per day. For two people on a 7-day sailing, that's just $98 which is probably not the most money I've wasted in my life, but I did waste it and for no good reason at that. Could have bought it early and rebooked if Black Friday were better. Don't be me. If you see "good enough", grab it!  There is no guarantee that any holiday will have better prices than what you see today. And as jelayne mentioned, you can always rebook if it drops so you've got nothing to lose.

[Purplsmurf]

There was a big sale last year on Labor Day. We upgraded from classic to premium for $5.99/day. Cheapest I have ever seen.  I think the cost for premium was about $55/day

[Tigermad]

Might matter some more than others, but bear in mind if you buy the package then refund and buy again at the cheaper price, the refund can take 2 weeks or even longer to hit your account.

[bikerunner]

1 hour ago, Tigermad said:

Might matter some more than others, but bear in mind if you buy the package then refund and buy again at the cheaper price, the refund can take 2 weeks or even longer to hit your account.

Not in my experience, longest I waited for refund, I use a credit card not bank card, is 4 days.  I have never had any issue with them showing.  2 weeks might happen if using a bank card.  I do the purchasing and then crediting back quite often on my last 4 cruises and the current ones coming up in December.  I have a feeling Ill be doing it again in a week or so once Labor Day sales show.  

Edited August 27 by bikerunner

[Tigermad]

Just now, bikerunner said:

Not in my experience, longest I waited for refund, I use a credit card not bank card, is 4 days.  I have never had any issue with them showing.  2 weeks might happen if using a bank card

My excursion refund was 10 days. Why would a credit card be different to a bank card?

[canderson]

When I cancel and rebook something, there's never more than a 2 working day spread between the charge and credit.   Using a credit card, bank issued.

[Tigermad]

Just now, canderson said:

When I cancel and rebook something, there's never more than a 2 working day spread between the charge and credit.   Using a credit card, bank issued.

I’m in the UK. Maybe it’s slower here. 

[Iamcruzin]

16 hours ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Does anybody recall whether on or around Labor Day celebrity gives discounts for the premium drink package?  Right now it is offered at 20%, curious how much those who got good deals on the premium drink package how much you paid per day?  Do you feel Labor Day they will have a better deal?

I booked my up coming cruise just before final payment 90 day mark. The discounts have changed numerous times since my booking and not always associated with a holiday. Right now it's 15% off. I have seen it as much as 40% off. I booked AI at $51 a day for the classic drink package and basic WiFi and then upgraded to the premium drink package for $8.99 which was at a 40% discount. I would not purchase the drink package with only a 20% discount especially if your sailing is still far off. Why place a charge on your credit card only to cancel and wait to have it refunded if the price drops and you have to purchase it again. The cruise lines love when passengers do this. They get to use your money immediately and take their time with a refund. If you don't pay off your card right away you are also paying interest on that first charge making the drink package not so much of a deal.

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, Tigermad said:

Might matter some more than others, but bear in mind if you buy the package then refund and buy again at the cheaper price, the refund can take 2 weeks or even longer to hit your account.

That can vary by credit card company.  One I use is 2-3 days the other is closer to 5-7 days.  

[Merly]

We have got 40% on our next sailing.  I watch the price almost daily. I purchased it when it was 35%. Then when it was 40% cancelled and re purchased. The refund took a couple of days. 
I am keeping an eagle eye out for our cruise in January. We have the classic package, and will at some point upgrade. At the moment it is 5% but we get 20% anyway for elite +. It might be that we just get that, but I can wait.

[bikerunner]

4 hours ago, Tigermad said:

My excursion refund was 10 days. Why would a credit card be different to a bank card?

Meaning, one is a true credit card....other is debit card/bank card associated with Visa.  I know with my Debit/Visa card whenever I had to get a refund from returning something/cxl purchase etc it took much longer.....it was mainly my bank that was the issue issuing the credit.  Hence only use Visa Sapphire now for 99% of my purchases and pay it off monthly

[Andy_P]

I bought that upgrade last mid-late Nov for the Feb 2024 cruises we took.  It was about a 45% discount and it was called the "Black Friday" sale.  

 

If it's repeated, it will open sometime in Nov, and can be applied to cruises quite a bit into the future as I recall, as we applied it to the cruises we're taking this November.

Edited August 27 by Andy_P

[lifeisrealygood]

I do not know when my sales happened, but I paid $8.99 per person per day to upgrade for an 8 night ABC cruise this October on the Beyond, and a ridiculously low $ 6.99 per person per day for a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise next March on the Ascent.  I suggest keep checking every day, and the sales will show up from time to time, if even for just one day.  So, it pays to just run up your on-line account every day to see what it looks like.  That is what I do with my four cruises booked between now and March of 2026.  

[Chrisclaire]

Can I ask if anyone knows if these discounts to upgrade to premium are available for UK travellers?

Our next cruise is Nov 2025 (15 days) and the upgrade cost is around £13.00 p/p at the moment. 

Any tips on getting a better rate?

Thanks 😊 

[barneyboy]

20 minutes ago, Chrisclaire said:

Can I ask if anyone knows if these discounts to upgrade to premium are available for UK travellers?

Our next cruise is Nov 2025 (15 days) and the upgrade cost is around £13.00 p/p at the moment. 

Any tips on getting a better rate?

Thanks 😊 

Yes they are sometimes available to U.K. travellers. We upgraded for £6.99 a day for cruises this year. We did this last November during the Black Friday sale. You just have to keep checking regularly for discounts, and they’re usually mentioned on this forum. 
we don’t usually do cruise line excursions but the ones for our Alaska cruise were discounted by 50% and worked out cheaper than doing them direct. 
We have 2 bookings for next year, one with the classic package and one with no package so I have been checking daily!  

[Chrisclaire]

Thankyou for the info ☺️ 

[Strongbox]

8 hours ago, Chrisclaire said:

Can I ask if anyone knows if these discounts to upgrade to premium are available for UK travellers?

Our next cruise is Nov 2025 (15 days) and the upgrade cost is around £13.00 p/p at the moment. 

Any tips on getting a better rate?

Thanks 😊 

 

[Strongbox]

As already suggested  - keep checking. My next X cruise is November 25 also so plenty of time . Previously I've taken advantage of a 50% discount so heres hoping.

[cinnamon]

I’m sailing next month, website says 20% off packages but even when logged in for my cruise it only shows package price. Not upgrade from Classic which is already paid for. 😏

[Blues51]

When they have these sales, do they also discount things like wifi and specialty dining?

[Thegigs103]

May I ask, where do you look to see the change of price or sale?  Thank you!

[canderson]

16 minutes ago, Thegigs103 said:

May I ask, where do you look to see the change of price or sale?  Thank you!

If you have a cruise booked, be sure you've got a Celebrity account, then go to the online planner for your cruise and they'll offer to sell you anything they have for sale, and probably a few other things!  For each item, there will be a list price, and if there's a discount available, a different price in red and a % amount that this reflects.