Evaluating a beverage package? Here is a beverage list with prices, as of mid-2010.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LTCA04S6

 

Let me know if this link doesn't work. Don't forget to type in the security code on the page.

 

Clay

This is awesome. Thank you so much, poolboyclay. It was extremely helpful.

This is awesome. Thank you so much, poolboyclay. It was extremely helpful.

Yes, thank you Poolboyclay for taking time to create this spreadsheet.

Clay - thanks a ton for the spreadsheet. I can appreciate a good spreadsheet and yours is a great one.

Pam

p.s. Dig the binary tagline too. :D

Friends,

Here's a new thread that has members' experiences regarding being charged (or not being charged) sales taxes for drinks or packages -- in advance (online) versus on Embarkation Day:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1273089

Hello,

Thank you sooo much for posting this list. We will be sailing on the Equinox for 10 days on May 2011 and have a quick question about beverages. When I sailed on Royal Caribbean, during breakfast coffee and juices were served without charge at Main Dining Room and at the cafeteria. Is this the same on Equinox? Thanks again for your help!!!

When I sailed on Royal Caribbean, during breakfast coffee and juices were served without charge at Main Dining Room and at the cafeteria. Is this the same on Equinox?

Hello, "jyldelag."

Yes, most definitely.

Please take another look at the opening post -- i.e., the part of the list that is headed, "Other Non-Alcoholic Beverages" -- and you'll see a bunch of beverages for which there is no extra charge (including standard coffee and juices).

Thank you so much!!!

Does anyone know how much a Miami Vice cost on the cruise. That would determine if I

purchase the beverage package.

Thanks

Rog

I was able to access the spreadsheet by opening it, then downloading it as an Excel spreadsheet on my computer. What a great calculator!

 

Hope this helps!

 

Carole

This is the only real way to do it.

Clay

Just off Celebrity Solstice 7-day Eastern Carib cruise, so a few comments on the beverage packages:

We decided to do one Premium Alcoholic ($49/day++) for me and one Premium Non-Alcoholic ($16/day++) for my partner. And no, we did not share alcoholic drinks -- when my partner wanted a glass of wine or a cocktail he would just order one and pay for it.

The Premium non-alcoholic was relatively easy to get your money's worth on -- bottled water, iced lattes, lots of sodas, virgin coladas, etc. But the extra $33/day for the alcohol was a bit trickier -- that's roughly 3-6 additional alcoholic beverages per day, every day at an average price of $6-10. My partner did not intend to drink nearly that much alcohol so stuck with the non-alcoholic package, and I think he made out okay.

For me, I think it was a bit of a struggle to make the premium alcoholic package pay off financially, in terms of drinking $49/day. Did I do it on some days? -- absolutely. Every day? -- probably not.

HOWEVER -- where I think the premium alcoholic package did "pay off" for me was its purpose as an insurance policy -- it kept me from ordering expensive bottles of wine. Of course I didn't get to enjoy top-quality wines, but they do offer some decent and even some excellent ones by the glass within the parameters of the package (e.g., the Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc for $10 at Murano and I think the bar outside, and a meaty $12 Sangiovese at several of the restaurants including the MDR). If I didn't do the package, I probably would have ended up spending minimum $50/day on average for wine, on top of cocktails, etc.

So in the end I think it was a good deal for me, even though it was probably close to a wash in terms of the the cost of the package vs. the retail prices of what I drank.

Hope this is helpful for someone out there!

Just some things to think about

For me, I think it was a bit of a struggle to make the premium alcoholic package pay off financially, in terms of drinking $49/day. Did I do it on some days? -- absolutely. Every day? -- probably not.

HOWEVER -- where I think the premium alcoholic package did "pay off" for me was its purpose as an insurance policy -- it kept me from ordering expensive bottles of wine. Of course I didn't get to enjoy top-quality wines, but they do offer some decent and even some excellent ones by the glass within the parameters of the package (e.g., the Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc for $10 at Murano and I think the bar outside, and a meaty $12 Sangiovese at several of the restaurants including the MDR). If I didn't do the package, I probably would have ended up spending minimum $50/day on average for wine, on top of cocktails, etc.

So in the end I think it was a good deal for me, even though it was probably close to a wash in terms of the the cost of the package vs. the retail prices of what I drank.

Hope this is helpful for someone out there!

Just some things to think about

Thanks for the info. These are the sort of posts that I have been waiting for. To see what people thought after they used the packages.

Lynn

Does anybody know how the bar staff receives gratuities from these alcohol packages? I understand there is a standard 15% gratuity that is added to any package that is purchased. Does the entire bar staff split the 15% from all the drink packages? Do the bartenders who serve the most drinks to people with beverage packages receive a bigger piece of the 15%? I wonder if at the end of the day the bartenders are making more or less money off of these packages.

Does anybody know how the bar staff receives gratuities from these alcohol packages? ... Do the bartenders who serve the most drinks to people with beverage packages receive a bigger piece of the 15%? I wonder if at the end of the day the bartenders are making more or less money off of these packages.

Hello, "cybx."

A similar question was asked, at the forum, a couple of months ago. As I recall, no one could answer. No one knows the answer except for the "X" corporation (and maybe the bartenders), and no CrCr members had obtained the answer from anyone.

My personal suspicion is that bartenders are making MORE than they did before. They are getting a cut of the 15% service charge tacked onto the packages, and they are getting some additional tips (cash or other).

Does anybody know how the bar staff receives gratuities from these alcohol packages? I understand there is a standard 15% gratuity that is added to any package that is purchased. Does the entire bar staff split the 15% from all the drink packages? Do the bartenders who serve the most drinks to people with beverage packages receive a bigger piece of the 15%? I wonder if at the end of the day the bartenders are making more or less money off of these packages.

I was curious about this as well, and wanted to ask the servers (casually) but never got around to it. But like I think most of the comments here said, I never really had a problem with a bad reaction from a server after finding out I was on the package. Several were very good about asking if I wanted another drink when I was done with the first. And some even rang my partner's glass of wine up under my card (this happened once or twice in the specialty restaurant), and when we tried to pay, they told us not to worry. Makes me think that tips on the packages has been appropriately addressed with the staff, however they do it.

Of course the exception was at the Pool Bar and the Mast Bar on Solstice, where drink service was just atrocious, especially from the Jamaican bartenders. :mad: (Though I don't think that had anything to do with the packages, everyone was having this problem...)

Does anybody know how the bar staff receives gratuities from these alcohol packages? I understand there is a standard 15% gratuity that is added to any package that is purchased. Does the entire bar staff split the 15% from all the drink packages? Do the bartenders who serve the most drinks to people with beverage packages receive a bigger piece of the 15%? I wonder if at the end of the day the bartenders are making more or less money off of these packages.

I started a thread with a similar question asking if you wait to buy the package on board does the bartender you buy it from get any bonus. I was wondering if it would be better to wait to get on board and buy our packages from the bartender we would most frequent to give them a little bonus. No one has been able to find out this info either. My family usually becomes very familar with bar staff on vacations/cruises so I hope to be able to provide a better breakdown of how tips work after our trip in November.

Is there a Molecular Bar on M-class ships? If not, are the drinks offered at other bars on ship? I am under the impression that there is not, and that would have a pretty big effect on decision making for buying drink packages. If anyone knows, please share the wealth! Thanks!

Is there a Molecular Bar on M-class ships? If not, are the drinks offered at other bars on ship?

Hello, "wes3607."

Your questions were answered on another thread, not long ago:

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25737162&postcount=30

This question may have been answered previously as I haven't trawled through the entire thread. We're considering the Premium Package which includes cocktails and wine by the glass up to $12 per serving. jg51's compilation doesn't list anything above that amount. Am I right in thinking that there must be some cocktails and wines which are more expensive? I'm pretty sure we can do justice to the package, but I don't want to find myself tantalised by offerings which aren't available to me! :D

As you were, people. I've now invested a couple of hours reading through the thread and answered my own question. Overall the Premium Package seems like a no-brainer for a (proud) lush like me, but it'll be a killer to miss out on some of the wines available only by the bottle. This decision is going to be trickier than I first anticipated...

Hi

I was also wondering about taking drinks to the room if you have a premium package. I would like to take beer back to the room, keep them on ice and then enjoy them when I want them. If both my husband and I have the package, can we ask the bartender to not open the beer and then take them back one at a time to the room and enjoy them later? I really didn't like the idea of sloshing my drinks back to the room. Most times we will be out and about but we do like sitting on the balcony.

Thanks

Lynn

:confused:I looked through the thread and I can't find if anyone answered this question. We love to have drinks on our balcony and probably have as many there as in the lounges. Does anyone know how we would go about doing this?? It would only be beer we would bring back and we are both getting the same package. Normally we buy the bucket through room service (Princess) and leave the caps on so we can have them when we want. Thanks!!!

I doubt the bartender would refuse to give you the bottle unopened. Of course, if you are hoping they'll give you a few bottles to take back to your room to drink at your leisure, the answer is no.

And to UKDeb, there are drinks that outprice the premium beverage package, such as the martini flights and the very high end wine by the glass available at Wine Cellars. If you manage to find a drink you want that's priced over $12, you will have to pay the full price for it. No partial credit for having a beverage package is applied towards such items.

Thanks JG for putting this together and keeping up on all of our questions! Bummer that there is no Molecular Bar on the M-Class ships! We will have to think about whether that affects our decision to purchase the Premium package or not. A lot of the drinks at the Martini Bar still sound great though and would still require the Premium Package. Any other things in your lists that are not on M-Class ships that you know of?

Thanks JG for putting this together and keeping up on all of our questions! Bummer that there is no Molecular Bar on the M-Class ships! ... Any other things in your lists that are not on M-Class ships that you know of?

You're welcome, "wes3607."

Other things not on M-Class ships? Well ...

Of the four, only the Constellation has been "Solsticized" (minus the Molecular Bar). The other three have just one specialty restaurant, instead of four (if you add Blu to Murano/Tuscan/Silk). Each of those four venues on S-Class ships has its own wine list, so they may have more options for wine-by-the-glass than can be obtained on the three M-Class ships.

Other than that, I am not aware of any other differences.

Can't think of a better reason to come out of lurking than to say thanks for the spreadsheet poolboyclay. Turns out the classic package is probably slightly more expensive that what I might expect on a pay per glass basis. However I will still consider it for the flexibility to try a few new things.

Thanks again.:)

Due to sail on the Constellation on the 12th February 2011. As a first time cruiser we have been labouring over the decision whether or not to buy a premium classic drinks package for the 14 day cruise. Being from the UK I priced the package up at £994 including 15% for two of us (US$1553!!) for 14 days.

According to a post on another thread it has been stated that this would cost US$788.94!!

My question is can you buy these packages on board? and would the price be similar to US$788.94. Seems that just for being British we are getting ripped off!!

Unless I have made a mistake!!

Just tried to price up the package on Celebrity's website but once again it appears to be unavailable yet again!!!!