Celebrity Alcohol Packages

[CruiseGal60]

I had the premium alcohol and DH the non alcohol (he is a non drinker). I thought it was worth it. I had debated getting the standard package but was glad I did not. At my favorite bar, the Molecular, the drinks were $12 each. These would not have been covered by the Basic package.

 

In addition to the drinks, you get the specialty coffees, teas, waters, etc. DH was able to get his favorite ice tea, Arizona, and had several cans each day.

 

I would definitely do it again.

[siestaclaud]

I agree with Terry in Ohio - if you have a port intensive cruise you may not get your money's worth. We had 5 port days and 1 sea day and we did not buy the drink package - thank goodness.

 

Also - I had not read about this prior to our cruise - the Summit bar staff was selling $20 drink cards. 5 drinks - drink of the day or any drink under $8. Tip was paid on the $20 card (%15) and you did not tip the server who brought you the drink. We did give some servers tip however. The bar staff really pushed these cards and we bought 10 of them - 50 drinks for $200. They covered my champagne with dinner. Only 2 adults drinking. We even used them in the Normandie for Tanq & Tonics with dinner instead of wine.

 

 

Kids had unlimited pop cards - big waste of money. There is free lemonade, juice, iced tea, water, all choices i would prefer for my kids and that they would prefer too. Only my 10 year old came close to breaking even on her card and she left half her pop cans full.

 

How did we fair? We bought 2 small cases of bottled water at the port right before getting on the ship. That lasted 6 of us the entire cruise - we bought water in ports most days too for about $1.

 

Coffee drinks - no one drinks them - would rather eat my calories! Regular coffee on the ship is really good to. Never wanted a 500 cal latte.

 

Drinks during the day - only time was at the pool - and that was on the one sea day. The rest of the days we were in port. We used our cards at the pool. We had drinks on the waterfront in Dominica. Good local beers. No other drinking in ports.

 

Bartenders would put 5 Dos XX or Groelsch in a bucket for us and we would bring it to our room for the nightly sail away with some mini snacks from the buffet. Last night we went crazy with Miers Rum Mai Tais.

 

Also - i found my first few drinks to be light on alcohol. I asked our dinner server if she could ask the bartender for a "man pour" and she laughed and knew exactly what I meant. After that all of my dinner drinks were just perfect!!;)

 

Take a close look at your plans before you go "all in" on the unlimited package.

[bfd230]

I've only cruised twice, once with and once without the drink package. The time with it (2nd cruise) we bought it for both my wife and I. Quick math told us we made out ok on my package, and lost on hers, so break even over all. But we will never do without the packages again. Even if we lost over all, it was so nice not thinking about having that second glass of wine, or a Chivas when leaving port. If you can afford it, go for it, and don't worry about whether you came out ahead or behind.

[BosoxI]

I am afraid I would be ordering things only to ensure I get my money's worth. I know many people overeat at a buffet on land just because of that concern. Why wouldn't they over drink on a cruise? Typically, DW and I will have a total of three capuccini a day, I might have a beer at lunch, we probably would have a cocktail, possibly two, in the evening. At dinner we might have half a bottle of wine between us, sometimes not even that, as I often want just a bottle of San Pellegrino. At that level of drinking, I can't imagine purchasing expensive drink packages would be wise. We are taking two rather brief Carib cruises this month where we surely can do without the package, but on our T/A in April, there are so many sea days that I'm thinking we'd be sitting around getting stewed just to spend up to the cost. I hear folks talk about fruit juices and water, maybe so, but to paraphrase Bennet Cerf "OJ's dandy, but liquor's quicker" :)

Am I wrong in this?

[librarylady19]

I've only cruised twice, once with and once without the drink package. The time with it (2nd cruise) we bought it for both my wife and I. Quick math told us we made out ok on my package, and lost on hers, so break even over all. But we will never do without the packages again. Even if we lost over all, it was so nice not thinking about having that second glass of wine, or a Chivas when leaving port. If you can afford it, go for it, and don't worry about whether you came out ahead or behind.

 

I totally agree. It was so luxurious not to worry about cost and enjoy the freedom to try different drinks and varieties of wine.

[subtchr]

I totally agree. It was so luxurious not to worry about cost and enjoy the freedom to try different drinks and varieties of wine.

 

This was exactly how we felt! It made for such lovely dinners, with the sommelier in Blu suggesting wines based on our tastes and the dishes we had ordered. She also convinced us to try Frangelico at the end of a meal, and it became a new after-dinner favorite. We also had a very fun evening at the Molecular Bar with friends from our roll call, trying exotic drinks we never would have tried without the package. And having the premium package, it was nice to be able to order high end liquor instead of well drinks.