jkgourmet

Celebrity has a promotion on right now where you can get the classic alcohol drink package for 2 for free. And if you wanted to upgrade to the premium package you just have to pay the difference.

Link please????????

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Twenty plus cruises and all we've EVER done is book an inside guarantee. The savings are significant enough to allow us to travel more often, or when we are home, spend more on other luxury, lifestyle choices.

We don't care where the cabin is located. We're not light sleepers or prone to seasickness.

Our time in the cabin is usually spent showering, changing clothes, sleeping or occasionally watching TV before a nap. We enjoy the atmosphere and fine service we receive in the lounges, poolside, casino, on the deck, etc. We meet new people, or enjoy each other's company in some quiet corner. Our vacations are about being OUTSIDE our room, not locked in it. (This applies to our feeling about hotel rooms as well, with just a few exceptions made for a very special view.)

Now, I admit, if we were allowed to bring our own booze and wine on board (and it was easy to do), we might pop for a balcony and enjoy that for cocktails. But for many of the itineraries we select, the weather wouldn't allow much of that anyway.

Everybody is different, but for us the cost of these cabins just doesn't make sense.

Maybe this way of thinking is part of the reason why we were able to retire at age 62.5 and 52? Yeah, I kinda think so. :)

Thanks for the info. That's about the same price as what they offered on Celebrity, but a bit more restrictive. Does the HAL program include the fancy coffee drinks?

Maybe I should have prefaced this question by asked how much a glass of house wine, a regular house brand cocktail and a call martini are on HAL these days?

Like the prices of a house cabernet, a daiquiri or vodka and tonic by the pool and an absolute martini in the lounge?

We are considering a repositioning cruise with HAL in the spring with another couple. We've done many other cruise lines, but HAL remains one of our favorites, particularly the Big Band reposition cruise we took from NYC to Seattle about ten years ago.

But we haven't sailed HAL since, mostly because we've done very few cruises since then (wanted to do land based trips while we physically could still manage them).

Our last cruise was on Celebrity and we ALL loved the pre-paid wine, alcohol, special coffee package. It saved us money, but more importantly, it saved us even thinking about the over-priced wine and drinks. We just ordered and enjoyed.

Does HAL have anything like that? (I believe that RCCL has started one of these, and maybe Carnival, but neither of those cruise lines particularly appeal to us. And I know that the luxury cruise lines often include some wine or alcohol, but I doubt our budget will stretch that far.)

My thinking on the indoor pool is based on the fact that with a repositioning cruise, it will be too cold to sit outdoors for long periods of time. We enjoy sitting somewhere where we feel like we're on vacation, and poolside fits that description.

Am I thinking wrongly about this?

Any updated information on this topic? We enjoyed the Celebrity package so much on our last cruise that we'd really like to find other cruise lines that offer the same thing.

Our "group" would include my husband and I, and we would both use purchase the package.

We did a repositioning cruise several years ago, spending 19 days on HAL going from NYC to Seattle through the Panama Canal. It was our favorite cruise.

So now we are considering doing one this spring, going from the East Coast to Europe (husband has not been to Europe, except for England). He has limited ability to walk long distances, and we generally spend a limited time visiting museums, cathedrals, or historic ruins. We are retired (70 and 57) and can easily get away for 14-25 days. We do not have enough frequent flyer miles for any free plane fare.

We have been on a dozen or so cruises, have always booked and been perfectly happy with an inside guarantee. As we do enjoy wine and cocktails, cruise lines that have some kind of discount program (especially prepaid) for alcohol is especially attractive. (this was a big reason we enjoyed a recent Celebrity cruise).

Our experiences with Carnival, RCCL, Princess and NCL were not as positive as the multiple trips we have taken on HAL and Celebrity. HOWEVER, those were 7-10 day cruises, often out of ports that would generate families with children or serious bargain hunters. With that in mind, we would consider those lines again. But let's be real: We're not doing rock climbing walls, ice skating or zip lining, and will feel quite out of place with those who are really into those activities. We're not spa people, and frankly, would prefer a vacation without lots of kids (but the length of these cruises should solve that issue). That said, we're mentally and socially very active, and can party with the best of them.

Our priorities are price, good food (but we're reasonable in our expectations), activities that do not require a lot of physical exercise, an inside swimming pool. The ability to pre-pay for everything (liquor, tips, any special restaurants) is a very attractive to us as I tend to worry about the money as we go along. If we know up front what the price is, we both relax and enjoy.

And since the prices for wine and liquor are no longer bargains on cruise ships, any program that somehow minimizes that cost would be very attractive.

One of the very, very large online only discount websites allows you to look up each cruise line, showing you the different types of cruises that they have scheduled. Across the top of the screen, 'repositioning' is one of the categories that you can select. That site makes it very, very easy to find these things, but not all the 2015 cruises will be listed.

Is there any way around this?

Yes! Either the package works for you or it doesn't. If it doesn't then just buy by the glass, ala carte, like we all did before the packages. This solution works on any cruise line whose package doesn't work for a particular person or couple.

 

 

 

Are you seriously suggesting the best way to sneak wine into the dining room on a cruise ship is in a Gatorade bottle? :eek: :confused:

Of course not!!!!! Go back and read the post from Miataman that I was responding to. HE was the one trying to beat the corkage fee by opening the wine himself in his stateroom then carrying it down to the MDR!

Hi Larry, This will be my 45th cruise but my first with Celebrity. All cruise lines have a corkage fee. However, my last 10 or so cruises I've taken I would open the bottle in my cabin pour the wife and I a small amount in each glass and head on over to the dinning room. I would put the already opened bottle on the table along with the 2 glasses and have never been charged a fee. Do you think this would work on The Celebrity Reflection? :rolleyes:

Why not just pour your wine into a Gatorade bottle so you can be sure to get away with this. Sheesh.

For a little more, you can opt for the premium beverage package that includes all drinks up to $12 and allows you to pay the difference if the drink is mire than $12.

Can't I just pay the markup on the classics package too? If up to $8 is included in my classics package and I order a $10 martini or glass of wine, I'm only going to pay an extra $2, RIGHT??

Why does a martini in one (the Martini bar) bar cost more than in all the other bars??? Like, a Stoly or Absolute martini is included in the classics package but NOT included if you order that same drink in The Martini Bar????

YES but not at the Martini bar!!

I've never sailed celebrity before, so maybe I don't 'get it' but why would my classic prepaid, inclusive drinks package exclude martinis in one of the bars? That just sounds really strange to me?????

are the bevearge packages priced per person or per room? We're thinking about getting the package but we're not going to drink $50 worth of drinks each every night so i'm not sure if its worth it.

Per person. When comparing the package against the single drink orders, don't forget to add the 15% gratuity for each drink order.

On the Summit, Aug 26th cruise, they were $10 + 15%, with the odd one at $11. These are made with GreyGoose, hence you need the Premium alcohol package.

Gary & Norine

But I genuinely prefer my dirty martini made with absolute. Do I still need the premium package?????