Drink Package was best cruise deal ever!

[RVP cruiser]

Couldnt agree more with the OP! We truly thought this experience was delightful! Sailing Solistice again for Christmas---- Im having a yard sale to pay for my premium beverge package :D

[RVP cruiser]

Here's a link to the drink menu from the Molecular Bar. I plan to try all of them ;)

 

http://schplinky.smugmug.com/Solstice-2010/Bar-Menus/12454637_sZk2zn#892296926_fyRPu-XL-LB

 

 

OH YEAH!!!! I want the tanned Russian!

[JezzaC]

We had a premium package and got really good service from staff so it didn't effect their service anyway.

 

And also having my final invoice with 5 pages of zero's I can surely say that it was worth the money.

[Hobbyrider]

OH YEAH!!!! I want the tanned Russian!

 

I had really all 15 of the list :)

Tanned Russian is Junior Merino's way of interpretation of a White Russian, but which touch of CocoNut. The glass is garnished with a rasped-coconut rim and the coffee-coconut foam (espuma) is super delicious :D

[LannyLee]

My DH & I have the premium & AN premiumpackages for our sailing tmw on the Equinox, I'll try to keep track as best I can & report back.

[badcowboy]

I had the premium drink package last year on the Constellation and it was great - didn't regret it for a minute.

 

The one question I have is do the bartenders selling the package on-board get anything for selling the package? If they do, I will wait to purchase it on board for February's cruise - otherwise I will get it in advance.

[librarylady19]

I had really all 15 of the list :)

Tanned Russian is Junior Merino's way of interpretation of a White Russian, but which touch of CocoNut. The glass is garnished with a rasped-coconut rim and the coffee-coconut foam (espuma) is super delicious :D

 

That one caught my eye too! I just got the new iPhone 4s for my birthday so plan to use the camera to take lots of pics on board. thinking a "drinks catalog" would be fun!

[cinderellen]

Trying to decide between the classic or premium alcohol package. Does anyone know if I could order the classic, try it for a day, then upgrade for the remainder of the cruise if I decide the premium is a better fit?

 

Thanks

 

Last year my husband and I each ordered a classic package prior to our cruise. Once on the cruise we found out what "prices subject to change without notice" really means. Our wine was now not included in the classic package so we went to Guest Relations to change the packages. It wasn't an issue to upgrade but it did take 5 days, and countless trips back to get credited for the packages we had purchased at home.

[scottw3]

Hi everyone. I've been reading through page after page of posts on these boards. Thanks for all the helpful info. One quick question... I'm cruising for the first time ever in about 24 days (yeah, I've got a countdown on my phone). I've pretty much decided on getting the classic beverage package. My question is: If I purchase the package while on the ship, does the last "day" on the ship count as a day that I must pay for the package? My ship gets back to FLL at 7am. Surely they wouldn't count that as a day and charge for the beverage package, right?

[scapino]

Hi everyone. I've been reading through page after page of posts on these boards. Thanks for all the helpful info. One quick question... I'm cruising for the first time ever in about 24 days (yeah, I've got a countdown on my phone). I've pretty much decided on getting the classic beverage package. My question is: If I purchase the package while on the ship, does the last "day" on the ship count as a day that I must pay for the package? My ship gets back to FLL at 7am. Surely they wouldn't count that as a day and charge for the beverage package, right?

 

No.....If it's a 7-day cruise, it's a 7-day package.

[FrankinPA]

Hi everyone. I've been reading through page after page of posts on these boards. Thanks for all the helpful info. One quick question... I'm cruising for the first time ever in about 24 days (yeah, I've got a countdown on my phone). I've pretty much decided on getting the classic beverage package. My question is: If I purchase the package while on the ship, does the last "day" on the ship count as a day that I must pay for the package? My ship gets back to FLL at 7am. Surely they wouldn't count that as a day and charge for the beverage package, right?

 

Hi Scott, welcome to Cruise Critic. You have jumped into a pool of people who love to cruise and we all have some facts and a lot of opinions. As I understand it, a cruise is listed by how many nights it is and that determines how many equivalent days you pay for the drinks package. On a typical 7 night cruise, you will be gone parts of eight days but will pay for 7. For example, if you board on a Saturday at noon and arrive back on Saturday at 7am, that is 7 nights but you have parts of two Saturdays.

 

If my understanding is wrong, just wait a few minutes and others will correct me. Enjoy your first cruise.

[scottw3]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm all set then. I'll be purchasing the classic alcoholic package bright and early on the 2nd day of the cruise, will be charged $44/day x 6 days = $264 x15% = $303. And from hours of reading, it seems the only thing i'll miss by not getting the premium package ,besides the obvious dollar limitations on alcoholic drinks, is red bull and vitamin water, which i think i can do without. Can't wait!

[upwarduk]

Accounts are terminated late on your last evening- 23.59 I believe.

Your statement will then be slipped under your door early on your last morning ( typically between 2-5am)

So no you will not be paying for anything on departure day( you cannot even use your sea pass- payment method)

Edited November 18, 2011 by upwarduk

[Hobbyrider]

That one caught my eye too! I just got the new iPhone 4s for my birthday so plan to use the camera to take lots of pics on board. thinking a "drinks catalog" would be fun!

 

I emailed you pics, check your email pls :)

[sjaak]

Accounts are terminated late on your last evening- 23.59 I believe.

Your statement will then be slipped under your door early on your last morning ( typically between 2-5am)

So no you will not be paying for anything on departure day( you cannot even use your sea pass- payment method)

 

If you have decided to pay by creditcard, then you can use your seapass on departure day! On our last cruise our departure time was 10 am. We decided to skip the buffet (awful busy there on departure days) and instead go to Cafe al Bachio to have our specialty coffees and some Danish. Using our seapass to pay was no problem at all! Very much enjoyed my capuchinos :D

[GigiAnn]

The SS United States will remain on Infinity. They are adding Blu, Qsine, Bistro on 5, Cellar Masters and re-doing the bars. No Murano as far as I know.

 

Thank you so much for the information on the dining opportunities on the re-do of the Infinity.

 

GiGiAnn

[jagoffee]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm all set then. I'll be purchasing the classic alcoholic package bright and early on the 2nd day of the cruise, will be charged $44/day x 6 days = $264 x15% = $303. And from hours of reading, it seems the only thing i'll miss by not getting the premium package ,besides the obvious dollar limitations on alcoholic drinks, is red bull and vitamin water, which i think i can do without. Can't wait!

Your calculations are correct and if you purchase the 7 day package you can use it on the last morning. Please report back when you return on how it works when you purchase the package for only 6 days. Can you actually purchase it in the morning on the second day? If you can purchase it very early, you would get more than six days of use. Let us know after you return.

 

 

Accounts are terminated late on your last evening- 23.59 I believe.

Your statement will then be slipped under your door early on your last morning ( typically between 2-5am)

So no you will not be paying for anything on departure day( you cannot even use your sea pass- payment method)

 

I suspect that they have changed the process. I just returned from a cruise on Friday and Celebrity did not provide a paper statement. Everything was updated and available via the account section on the TV. I missed the list of drinks that I received with my package, but I did not want to go to the Desk to ask for a copy.

[FrankinPA]

I suspect that they have changed the process. I just returned from a cruise on Friday and Celebrity did not provide a paper statement. Everything was updated and available via the account section on the TV. I missed the list of drinks that I received with my package, but I did not want to go to the Desk to ask for a copy.

 

They may have just missed you. On Nov 11th, we received a hard copy printout in our room for everything thru noon that day. This was on a 15 night cruise so it was several pages. We did have some additional charges that last night and I confirmed those were correct on our TV system just prior to disembarking.

[kmkasza]

Hi everyone , does anyone know if you could purchase a drink package 1/2 thru the cruise for the remaining days? Don't want to spend for the first 1/2 as we will be in ports most days but would like to purchase for the last 1/2 . Oh yea it is a TA next december.

[Lsimon]

Hi everyone , does anyone know if you could purchase a drink package 1/2 thru the cruise for the remaining days? Don't want to spend for the first 1/2 as we will be in ports most days but would like to purchase for the last 1/2 . Oh yea it is a TA next december.

 

Yes you can as long as there is more than 2 nights of the cruise remaining.

[winsal]

Hi everyone - I see that most replies to this thread have come from people who have cruised in the Caribbean/North America. I'm still hoping that someone has had some experience with packages offered by MSC/Europe. Any takers?

Thanks ;)

[FrankinPA]

Hi everyone - I see that most replies to this thread have come from people who have cruised in the Caribbean/North America. I'm still hoping that someone has had some experience with packages offered by MSC/Europe. Any takers?

Thanks ;)

 

Hi, welcome to cruise critic. Each cruise line has its own section on this site. You are on the Celebrity Cruises section now.

 

It would be better for you to ask on their discussion page. It is here

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=80

Edited November 21, 2011 by FrankinPA

[jagoffee]

They may have just missed you. On Nov 11th, we received a hard copy printout in our room for everything thru noon that day. This was on a 15 night cruise so it was several pages. We did have some additional charges that last night and I confirmed those were correct on our TV system just prior to disembarking.

 

Perhaps. I know that we received a list in Feb. on the Eclipse.

[Tony UK]

Hi

Just got back from Eclipse and had the greatest time. Thank heavens for the drinks package. It worked out great and we had no difficulty anywhere on the ship except Murano! The sommellier there recommendations were all in excess of our per glass limit, and we had to insist on our own selections - he had to go to the dining room to get our champagne selection! Just stand your ground in there.

 

We had champagne every evening with our appetizer followed by wine with entree and sometimes a sweet wine or digestif to finish!

 

We took vitamin water off the ship for excursions, and afternoon tea with those lovely cakes in Bacchio is a treat!

 

Enjoy without even thinking of the budget!

 

Angie

[librarylady19]

Hi

Just got back from Eclipse and had the greatest time. Thank heavens for the drinks package. It worked out great and we had no difficulty anywhere on the ship except Murano! The sommellier there recommendations were all in excess of our per glass limit, and we had to insist on our own selections - he had to go to the dining room to get our champagne selection! Just stand your ground in there.

 

We had champagne every evening with our appetizer followed by wine with entree and sometimes a sweet wine or digestif to finish!

 

We took vitamin water off the ship for excursions, and afternoon tea with those lovely cakes in Bacchio is a treat!

 

Enjoy without even thinking of the budget!

 

Angie

 

Very happy to hear that. We will be on Eclipse in less than 3 weeks and have purchased premium drink packages - and cant wait to use them :o

Couple of questions - did they have any specialty coffees (with alcohol) at Cafe al Bacio or elsewhere on the ship and how was the drinks service with the plan (other than Murano- I have found the sommeliers to be quite pushy and snobby in the past but will insist staying within the plan too).