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

[labeachcomber]

Originally Posted by Jobeth66

The premium package includes anything up to $12 - so bottles of wine are not included, nor is any single drink priced above $12. That would mean some wines, the martini flights, and some Scotches, Whiskeys, ports or other liquors.

Our dinner tablemates had the premium package, and the sommelier brought them any bottles of wine that were valued at less than $12 a glass. So presumably, anything less than $48? They were even allowed to take the bottle with them if they didn't finish it. I guess it all depends on how lenient your sommelier is...

You can only get one drink at a time, at least that's how I interpreted it. If you order a beer, you can't immediately order a coffee for your partner until your beer was finished. I guess you could go around to different bars - in some places it wouldn't be hard to do since some of the bars/lounges are close together. But it would be technically cheating and it would look rather awkward, not to mention extremely inconvenient.

[jg51]

Originally Posted by mazdeb

I'm not familiar with the VAT charges charged when embarking in a spanish port. So If a drink package is purchased the day I embark in Barcelona there would be this extra tax as compared to if I bought it later?

That's what I was told by phone ... but, if I were you, I'd call "X" myself to see if the same story is told.

Perhaps the VAT applies only to individual drinks that are sold, rather than a package. However, if you are told (by phone) that you would get taxed in Barcelona for the package, you would have two choices -- which I've seen others discussing here at CrCr:
(1) Pre-purchase a package.
(2) Wait until about an hour after sailaway to purchase a package -- when the ship is in international waters.

With regard to option #2, I have seen two people mention this:
They boarded in Spain without a package, and they bought some drinks (while in port) that were charged to their account. Then, when they bought a package after sailaway ... Celebrity removed the charges for the early drinks.

[jg51]

Originally Posted by labeachcomber

Our dinner tablemates had the premium package, and the sommelier brought them any bottles of wine that were valued at less than $12 a glass. So presumably, anything less than $48? They were even allowed to take the bottle with them if they didn't finish it. I guess it all depends on how lenient your sommelier is ...

Hello, "labeachcomber."
I have never seen anyone else mention something like this, so I suspect that it was an aberration -- perhaps an error made by a poorly trained sommelier. (Or perhaps your tablemates "bribed" him/her!)

My understanding is this:
The MDR's wine list has multiple pages showing the varieties and prices of more than 50 wines available by the bottle. Then it has one page (at the end) showing the varieties and prices of about 25 wines available by the glass. A sommelier (allegedly) will serve only wines from that final page -- not the earlier pages -- to a passenger that has a beverage package. Here is the MDR's wine list from 2010, according to a CrCr member:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attac...7&d=1277749749

The last time I cruised, I was told that a bottle is considered to hold five glasses, rather than four. A Premium Package-holder can get wine priced at up to $12 per glass. So, if your sommelier was bending/breaking the rules, he/she may have been allowing your tablemates to polish off $60 bottles.

[mazdeb]

Thanks very much for clarifying re: the VAT tax and the options.

[labeachcomber]

Originally Posted by jg51

Hello, "labeachcomber."
I have never seen anyone else mention something like this, so I suspect that it was an aberration -- perhaps an error made by a poorly trained sommelier. (Or perhaps your tablemates "bribed" him/her!)

My understanding is this:
The MDR's wine list has multiple pages showing the varieties and prices of more than 50 wines available by the bottle. Then it has one page (at the end) showing the varieties and prices of about 25 wines available by the glass. A sommelier (allegedly) will serve only wines from that final page -- not the earlier pages -- to a passenger that has a beverage package. Here is the MDR's wine list from 2010, according to a CrCr member:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attac...7&d=1277749749

The last time I cruised, I was told that a bottle is considered to hold five glasses, rather than four. A Premium Package-holder can get wine priced at up to $12 per glass. So, if your sommelier was bending/breaking the rules, he/she may have been allowing your tablemates to polish off $60 bottles.

It's possible that the sommelier was only allowing them to select from the wine-per-glass list, but then he would just bring out the whole bottle. As we didn't have a beverage package, we never asked how it exactly worked. Seems like the "rules" suggest only one glass at a time, so I guess he was lenient.

[volvof11]

This may be a stupid question but are the drinks packages UNLIMITED.
How do they actually work say if we get the classic.
Is it a card with X amount of drinks on it and when you use you are finished.
Can you please explain to a newby.
Thanks
Pauline

[jg51]

Originally Posted by volvof11

This may be a stupid question but are the drinks packages UNLIMITED? How do they actually work, say, if we get the classic? Is it a card with X amount of drinks on it and when you use you are finished?
Can you please explain to a newby? Thanks. Pauline

Hello, Pauline.
It's very simple.
The packages are unlimited -- with regard to the NUMBER of drinks that you can consume. (There are other limitations -- e.g., the categories of the drinks that are included, and/or the maximum price of the drinks that are included. You can learn those limitations by reading all the rest of this thread, above your post.)

Yours is not a "stupid question," because I know that another cruise line has a limited coffee card (fifteen punches).

[PoolBarCEO]

Just returned from Summit on July 18.....for the first time, I purchased the alcohol drink package $39/day. Had great fun hanging out at "the office",with one drawback......don't remember a lot about the cruise after 2:00 pm each day when my group was "making money". Several nights in the dining room our table was "short" a few people. Most of our pictures have alcohol in them. Next cruise I have booked is a 13 day........probably won't buy package, my liver would have a problem & then I would have to go to all those meetings when I get home.

[volvof11]

Originally Posted by jg51

Hello, Pauline.
It's very simple.
The packages are unlimited -- with regard to the NUMBER of drinks that you can consume. (There are other limitations -- e.g., the categories of the drinks that are included, and/or the maximum price of the drinks that are included. You can learn those limitations by reading all the rest of this thread, above your post.)

Yours is not a "stupid question," because I know that another cruise line has a limited coffee card (fifteen punches).

Thanks jg51 I did read the above quotes but none of them actually said it was unlimited so thankyou so much for your answer and your help.
Pauline

[jg51]

You're very welcome, Pauline.

[riandei]

ON the FAQ page at celeb I found this infor regarding coffee drinks ... I found it helpful and thought others might ... if you are thinking of the beverage pkg ...you should check out the FAQ section with regards to drink pkgs ...it has good info:



Premium coffee's (e.g. espresso's, latte's and capuccino's) are served in our coffee lounge's such as the Cova Bar and Café al Bacio, specialty coffee's include coffee with alcohol and are served in any bar or lounge.



regards,

eileen

[PelicanLvr]

Thanks for so much great info !!!

My wife and I eat several times in the specialty restaurants. Has anyone had experience getting wine by the glass (with a premium package) during dinner there? Also, is there any problem getting a second (or even third) glass of wine at dinner in the specialty restaurant?

[Solstice23]

We just had the premium Packages on the Equinox and it was well worth it , easy to use no signing and had so many choices we felt free to choose what we wanted to drink throughout each day!

It was amazing

[Woobstr112G]

ANyone notice that their favorite beer wasn't available? I remember reading a thread sometime ago wherein a passenger was fond of Sam Adams only to find it wasn't available when he sailed.....

Bob

[jg51]

Thanks, Eileen.
The words that you quoted from the "X" FAQ list were also quoted in post #25 of this thread, but there's no harm in repeating them to "reinforce" the facts.


Hello, "PelicanLvr."
In recent weeks, several CruiseCritic members have stated that they have had no problem obtaining wine by the glass in specialty restaurants [SRs]. I recall, however, that at least one person considered the number of wine varieties (available by the glass in the SRs) to be too few -- perhaps just one or two whites and one or two reds -- and they were not enjoyable wines. I recommended obtaining one's favorite wine at a bar, just before dinner, and carrying it into the SR.


Thanks for the favorable report, "toronto25." Exactly what I was hoping to read.


Hello, "Woobstr112G."
I don't recall reading that about "Sam Adams" beer, but I do recall reading it about some of the expensive foreign beers that are listed on the bar menus. It is probably not easy for "X" to keep them in stock, especially if their nations of origin are 1/2 way around the world.

[jg51]

Hello, folks.

Among the various kinds of beverages that I listed in the opening post of this thread, there are about sixty varieties of wine that are supposed to be available by the glass (at under $12.01) on Celebrity ships. [Some others, not on my list, are available, by the glass, at higher prices.]

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to look at a 2008 wine menu that is associated with an Solstice-class lounge called "Cellar Masters." On that menu, there are about three dozen wine varieties available by the glass (about two dozen under $12.01) -- which I did NOT know about when I prepared this thread's opening post.

I have not been able to determine whether the aforesaid "new" varieties ...
(1) are served, by a sommelier, from bottle to glass to guest -- in which case they WOULD be covered by a beverage package ... or ...
(2) are served only via the Cellar Masters "Enomatic" wine-dispensing machine -- in which case they would NOT be covered by a beverage package.

I have decided to be optimistic and to list the new varieties, here and now, as potential addenda to the package-related list in the opening post:

WHITE WINES:
Paco & Lola, Albariño 8.0
Casa Lapostolle, Chardonnay 10.0
Sequoia Grove, Chardonnay 8.5
Freemark Abbey, Chardonnay 8.5
Murphy Goode, Fumé Blanc 8.0
Brancott, Sauvignon Blanc 6.5
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 11.0
Leasingham, Riesling 6.5
La Roncaia, Tocai Fruliano 8.0

ROSE' WINE:
Rosé, C.D'Esclans "Whispering Angel" 7.5

RED WINES:
Alfredo Prunotto, Barbera D’Alba 6.5
Mont Redon, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 12.0
Bodegas E.A., Garnacha 7.5
Benton Lane, Pinot Noir 11.0
Foley, Pinot Noir 12.0
Catena Zapata, Malbec 10.5
St. Francis, Merlot 9.0
Antinori, Rosso 8.0
Greg Norman, Shiraz 8.0
T. di Arceno, Super Tuscan 8.5
B. Juanico, Tannat 11.5

DIGESTIF/DESSERT WINES:
Gossart Gordon, Bual Madeira 8.0
Blandy, Malmsey Madeira 12.0

[cruisecriticmember]

You're a funny guy Jerry/Shelly. My wife and I will stick to Soft drink and premium water packages as we are light weights in the alcoholic drink department. (:>) )

[Jerry and Shelly]

Originally Posted by cruisecriticmember

You're a funny guy Jerry/Shelly. My wife and I will stick to Soft drink and premium water packages as we are light weights in the alcoholic drink department. (:>) )

Thank you. I wish my wife appreciated my sense of humor as much as you do.

[numbskull]

Thanks very much this is my and my wifes first cruise and your information is very helpful.Cheers.

[lizzy68]

Thanks - this is really useful. I am going on my first cruise in September, this will help me decide whether or not to go for the classic or premium package