Is it time for Celebrity to rethink the Elite Cocktail Hour?

[FOXYROXY]

I agree 100%. This whole thread scares me.

 

 

I agree with you. Be content with what you have 20 years ago they didn't offer anything. :rolleyes: I myself would never drink enough to get my moneys worth out of a 123 drink package. Most of us are content with the Elite cocktail time. If you want 123 go for it.

[ghstudio]

On the Celebrity menu it states Absolute Vodka, I have Bloody Marys all the time. the mary part is just a mixer like coke, club soda, or orange juice:)

 

I agree, but the folks in the elite event occasionally don't because it isn't on the menu. I point out that it is on the breakfast menu so there is no reason not to have it on the elite cocktail hour menu....the cost doesn't change, etc. IMHO, it probably was just an oversight by whoever created the event menu in the first place.

[Oxo]

On the Celebrity menu it states Absolute Vodka, I have Bloody Marys all the time. the mary part is just a mixer like coke, club soda, or orange juice:)

 

Your right. However, I have seen them ask for 2 vouchers if you wanted something that required a mix and booze not on the menu.

[hcat]

This is one area where Royal C excels over Celebrity.

 

They have improved since serving cheap wine and trail mix at the Diamond get togethers,.

On Oasis we were in a beautiful, lively lounge and they put out a full hot and cold buffet...much of it better than the MDR fare on Royal.

 

X should improve the offerings, at the Elite gathering, make it more like a real cocktail hour ....not just a spot to get free drinks esp since most everyone is on a drinks package these days.

 

On S class ships that still have Quasar...it'd be fun to have it there. Vouchers not that apoealing,,

[island pat]

Enjoy the cocktail hour for the socializing and the free drink drink and apps are an added bonus. We do not get beverage packages as not worth it for us and we have never had coupons but I think they would easy to loose. I hope they do not change a thing

[varoo]

We attend the elite cocktail hour occasionally, but it is not a high priority for us.

If we happen to be up near the front of the ship anyway at that time of day, we are more likely to drop in than if we are near the back of the ship.

 

Also, if they are enforcing the smart casual and above dress code and we are not already dressed to that standard at the time, we are not about to change clothing to go there.

 

As for meeting people, we meet interesting people all over the ship, not only in that one lounge.

So we have no objection whatsoever when they use vouchers instead.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2015 by varoo

[bunnyrab]

Hi. Maybe I am misunderstanding...but not sure I would associate the beverage packages with higher fares. The cost of everything goes up over time...food, fuel, labor, etc. The beverage packages have huge margins for them. If anything, they should reduce the need to raise fares since the revenue they receive from the packages I s so large relative to the cost to provide the drinks (especially when you consider they charge the psgr for the gratuity with each drink).

 

...and if there wasn't a CC Msg Board discussing other paid amenities, I think celebrity/RCCL has a lot of other market research they conduct to inform their product development. :)

 

The cost of fuel had the lowest closing today at less than $35.00 a barrel. Lowest it has been in ll years.

The Canadian $$ has also been dropping as a result.

Try paying 135% and you would know it is not the cost of fuel that is making the price of cruising go up but the drink packages.

[cpj]

No, leave it the way it is!

 

As for improving the appetizers, we already have a thread on how we should tell them how to make more money off of us,so don't dare ask for more!

 

I find it amusing that so many say that drinks are free with the beverage package. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just look at cruise fares.

 

You are 100 percent correct. But u have to give Celebrity 100 percent credit for there marketing program. A lot of people think it's free. My friends just paid 300 dollars more per person then I did but they got the the FREE drink package. They also have come up with aqua class which is pay more for rooms not in good locations. But throw some water in and your own place to eat and it seems to work.

[bigbenboys]

Thinking about our next cruise with the drink package. The things that I will do different.

I will have wine with dinner the 1st night. Other nights I will go to the Elite Event, but might drink less wine. So I can have a glass of wine with dinner. I will not go to the Captains Party in the theater, because if I want a drink I can get it other places. Sea day I will have 1 pina colada at the pool. The drink package will benefit with 7 drinks that I would normally not have.

 

Well we have done 3 cruises since my statement above. 2 of the cruises we had the drink packages. I will say that it was harder to get drinks on the Silhouette as they dont have the Oceanview aft bar on deck 14. We had to get drinks from the sunset bar deck 15. This might be a Caribbean thing.

 

We still went to the Elite Event every night that it was held from about 5 to 6:30. Visit with new friends and old friends.

[Champagne Cruiser]

Not all cruises offer the drink package. We just booked a 2 night get away on the Constellation and there were no perks offered. It will be our first cruise as Elite so we are looking forward to checking it out. Even with a beverage pkg on our cruise in Feb I always thought it would be nice to meet up with other experienced cruisers. When we first started cruising we learned a lot from meeting more experienced cruisers, as well as here on CC.

[harz99]

The cost of fuel had the lowest closing today at less than $35.00 a barrel. Lowest it has been in ll years.

The Canadian $$ has also been dropping as a result.

Try paying 135% and you would know it is not the cost of fuel that is making the price of cruising go up but the drink packages.

 

Not sure why you would wish to resurrect a thread that is very nearly 22 months old and nothing to do with the cost of fuel?

 

The original subject was done to death, lets leave it where it belongs, sleeping.

[Big Beer Gut]

You are 100 percent correct. But u have to give Celebrity 100 percent credit for there marketing program. A lot of people think it's free. My friends just paid 300 dollars more per person then I did but they got the the FREE drink package. They also have come up with aqua class which is pay more for rooms not in good locations. But throw some water in and your own place to eat and it seems to work.

 

I'm with you guys, these packages are anything but FREE. My next few cruises were booked before Celebrity announced all of these bargains. It will be interesting to see if Celebrity will be able to maintain these higher prices with give aways.

[harz99]

Should be 12 months in the post above, not 22. Sorry fat fingers.

[excitedofharpenden]

With the 1,2,3 Go type promos being the norm and a large majority (I'm guessing) of passengers already having a free beveridge package, does Celebrity need to rethink it's Elite Cocktail Hour?

 

While I appreciate the perk available to Elite and above, it really doesn't mean much if you already have free drinks. While it's nice to socialize and meet the Captain's Club Host/Hostess, the lure of free drinks and cheap appetizers isn't what it was when you weren't getting free drinks already.

 

Would improving the quality of drinks be a good idea? How about some first rate appetizers (Shrimp cocktail, bacon wrapped scallops, etc)?

 

So far I've been lucky and there has always been an Elite Hour. I can't imagine how useless this is if you already have the drink package.

The lure of the Elite Lounge for me has been and will always continue to be the social aspect. I've been on some cruises and never gone. I've been on others and I've been there on quite a few nights. I've met some really nice people in the lounge who I keep in touch with (Facebook is great!), but it's not just fellow guests. Case in point on Constellation in September. We had some excellent servers at the bar and chatted to them quite a bit. The Snack Assistant (yes, that was his title) Suraj was an absolute delight. To describe the snacks as cheap does them a disservice in my view. I thought they were very nice, at least on our sailing. I would vote to keep as is, but couldn't register because the poll is now closed.

 

Phil

[Gordoncruickshank]

We have been able to make use of the Elite Cocktail hour for a few years but have yet to manage to go. At between 5 and 7 it is way to early for us. My wife likes a sleep after we have done whatever we do in the day and I am just trying to move her into the shower at the end of that time (don't know why as she can sleep all day on a lounger as well).

 

The premium beverage package means we can drink what we want where and when we want and usually Michael's gives us plenty of conversation pre dinner. If I started to drink at 5pm I would not see dinner, I am afraid, so the whole thing is a bit irrelevant to us.

[az_tchr]

Two thoughts -

 

It is a social time to get together with other people that cruise a lot.

 

Second is that DW and I are quite happy with a couple glass of wine or a drink. We simply are quite satisfied with that as our alcohol consumption for the day. Do admit to getting a glass at the end of the event and often taking it to dinner, but on a TA the drinks are with coupons and no limit on taking them anywhere and still having social aspect makes it the best IMO. Certainly know I could not drink 4 or 5 drinks a day.

[swigso]

On Silhouette now. Have Premium drink package and access to Michael's Club. Go to Elite Hour every night it's held to meet friends. Go to Michael's Club after visiting Elite Hour.We have different priorities. Some go for drinks and snacks. Some go to meet people and conversation. No rights or wrongs, just individual preferences.

 

Some would say that's why we cruise ,have met some great people and have many friends from meeting through the Elite Hour.

Would be nice to cruise with you sometime

[bunnyrab]

Not sure why you would wish to resurrect a thread that is very nearly 22 months old and nothing to do with the cost of fuel?

 

The original subject was done to death, lets leave it where it belongs, sleeping.

 

Not sure why you don't get your facts right before posting.

 

I was not the one to resurrect this thread.

 

I brought up the cost of fuel because the op whom I referenced listed fuel as one of the things making the cost of cruising go up when in fact it should be keeping the cost down. Was $100.00 + barrel & now less than $35.00 barrel.

 

Free drink packages are making the cost of cruising go up NOT the cost of fuel.

 

When I find a Celebrity cruise I can afford thanks to FREE drink packages I will get to experience my first Elite gathering with truly free drinks.

Edited January 7, 2016 by bunnyrab

[Melissa at Mohair Meadows]

After our next cruise, we'll finally be Elite. Would like to give the Cocktail party a try.

 

Melissa

[hulamoon]

I think when passengers say no thanks to an amenity they are asking to loose it. So be careful what you ask for, is my opinion. What if drink packages leave? What if the party drink is good enough and you don't want a package?

[retired067]

No, leave it the way it is!

 

As for improving the appetizers, we already have a thread on how we should tell them how to make more money off of us,so don't dare ask for more!

 

I find it amusing that so many say that drinks are free with the beverage package. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just look at cruise fares.

 

I like to say the drinks are not free but prepaid

[warmwinds]

Bunnyrab, you WERE the one who resurrected the old thead. Look at the date of the post just before the one you made on the prior page (your post 107).

Edited January 7, 2016 by warmwinds

[Cruise Raider]

Hey!!! Just because YOU think it's a waste doesn't mean that some of us don't love it!! And we thank you to kindly leave it alone!

 

 

I agree completely. We go whether we have a beverage package or not....just love hanging out up there and oftentimes meeting people that love cruising as much as we do. Last time, we found that we looked forward to meeting up with them and discussing our day and plans for the next day ... hearing about their experiences on different itineraries, etc.

 

I think the appetizers can be really good up there in the lounge. Sometimes, we make it our dinner ... so yes, please leave it as it is... some of us do love it!! We've even been lucky not to be on a cruise that uses the vouchers -- while I think our luck will one day run out -- but for now, have really loved the elite lounge and even thought the cocktail list they have is adequate. We try to never look a gift horse in the mouth -- just appreciate whatever they do to reward our loyalty. I am glad not all elite and above passengers go as there would be no room left for us. :)

[harz99]

Deleted double pist.

Edited January 8, 2016 by harz99

[harz99]

Bunnyrab, you WERE the one who resurrected the old thead. Look at the date of the post just before the one you made on the prior page (your post 107).

 

Thanks warmwinds, I guess

Bunnyrab hasn't got used to it being 2016 now. Easy done at the start of a new year. Lol.

Edited January 8, 2016 by harz99