Drinks on us promotion

[Ourusualbeach]

The Drinks on us promotion that started today includes all drinks under $9.

 

Is this basically non alcoholic drinks, beer and cheap wine or are you able to get a decent glass of wine and a mixed drink under $9.

 

 

Also is the $9 before or after the automatic gratuity is added.

 

 

Thanks

[Host Hattie]

I can't find any reference to a current promotion but when it was offered last year it was drinks up to $12 so this isn't nearly as comprehensive.

It will cover some cocktails and small glasses of wine.

[bluemarble]

First of all, for those in the UK that can't see this promotion, there is a "Drinks on Us" promotion for North America that started today. It looks like it applies to most of the 2019 voyages after the world and exotic voyages. The terms and conditions of this promotion are a bit different from other versions of this promotion we've seen in previous years.

 

First, while this specific promotion does apply to all balcony staterooms and above the same as last year, the drinks price threshold has been reduced from $12 last year to $9 this year.

 

Second, voyages booked under this promotion require a reduced but non-refundable $200 deposit.

 

My understanding of the terms and conditions is that the $9 drinks price threshold is before the 15% service charge is added. Here is how the terms and conditions are worded in that regard. "The standard 15% service charge applied against all bar orders will be included under this promotion for all drinks ordered under the price threshold."

 

In terms of what drinks might fall under that $9 price threshold, here is a link to the Commodore Club bar menu on QM2 as found on the UK FAQ that might help somewhat in that regard.

 

https://carnivaluk.metafaq.com/resources/carnivaluk/life-on-board/QM2_Commodore_club.pdf

Edited August 1, 2018 by bluemarble

[Host Hattie]

Thanks bluemarble, interesting.

Have prices increased to cover the promotion ?

[bluemarble]

Thanks bluemarble, interesting.

Have prices increased to cover the promotion ?

 

Yes, interestingly enough, for a few spring and summer 2019 crossings on QM2 under this promotion that I just now spot checked, it looks like the fares for sheltered balconies (included in the promotion) have increased about $100-$200 per person today. On the other hand, fares for inside cabins (not included in the promotion) seem to have gone down about $100-$150 per person today. When I look further out to a few fall and winter 2019 crossings, I'm seeing what appear to be increases of about $100-$150 per person for both sheltered balconies and inside cabins today.

 

As they say, there's no free lunch (or no free drinks), I guess.

[bluemarble]

Just to make things a bit more confusing, Cunard is also simultaneously offering a "Summer Savings Event" promotion in North America starting today which includes free gratuities for all grades of cabins and free drinks up to the more typical $12 threshold for Grills guests only. It looks like this promotion applies to 2018 voyages and the 2019 world & exotic voyages as well as some 2019 voyages after the world & exotics.

[Host Hattie]

Now you're making my head hurt ! The offers in the UK seem to be additional OBC and a Grills upgrade - pay for Britannia Club and get Princess Grill, pay for Princess Grill and get Queens Grill.

[MCC retired]

Not such as great deal for our 9/26/19 QM2 sailing ? Glad we booked an earlier Promo.

Balcony rate increased , $9 Drink cap . Non-refundable Deposit .

.

FARE DETAILS

Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses ranging from $80 to $415 per person are additional and subject to change.

♦ The Free Drinks Package offer is applicable only to guests reserving a Balcony Stateroom on voyages listed under this promotion. The Free Drinks offer applies to all drinks $9 and under purchased on board during the cruise. Drinks under this promotion can be purchased and consumed free of charge by the participant only, and may not be purchased for people who are not booked on the promotion. Offer is not applicable to guests under 21 years of age. Drinks priced above the threshold shown above must be purchased at full price. Paying the difference between the threshold and the higher price is not permitted. The standard 15% service charge applied against all bar orders will be included under this promotion for all drinks ordered under the price threshold. Tipping beyond the 15% is at the discretion of the guests. For drinks purchased over the price threshold, the 15% service charge will apply as standard. Drinks ordered on this promotion will be signed for in the normal way with the cost of the drinks appearing on the sales receipt. The cost is credited back to the guest folio on a nightly basis. This promotion does not apply to drinks ordered as room service or in-room mini-bar (except Queens Grill), bottles of wine or drinks packages. Cunard operates a Responsible Service of Alcohol Policy. Offer is not available for third/fourth berth guests, is not transferable and may not be combinable with other offers. No cash value. Promotion code RD1. Offer Expires September 6, 2018.

^ $200 Deposit for bookings made under this promotion is non-refundable and is required within three days of reservation. Bookings are subject to cancellation if deposit amount is not received within the specified option period. Reduced deposit is not combinable with other reduced deposit offers and does not apply to bookings made within final payment.

* New bookings only. Fares apply to categories shown on a space available basis at time of reservations. Fares for other categories not shown may vary. Cruise fares are per person, do not include air travel, are cruise only, based on double occupancy and apply to the first two guests in a stateroom. These fares do not apply to singles or third/fourth berth guests. These offers only apply to voyages advertised in this promotion. This offer is capacity controlled, subject to change, and may not be combinable with any other public, group, or group amenities or past guest discount. Offer is available to residents of the 50 United States, Canada, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the District of Columbia who are 21 years of age or older. Fares quoted in U.S. dollars. Please refer to the applicable Cunard brochure or Cunard.com for terms, conditions and definitions that apply to all reservations. Ask about our applicable air add-on program. Offer expires September 6, 2018. Reference promo code: RD1.

[bluemarble]

Here's an important detail indicating I misspoke in my earlier post when I stated this latest "Drinks on Us" promotion in North America applies to "all balcony staterooms and above". The Fare Details state "The Free Drinks Package offer is applicable only to guests reserving a Balcony Stateroom...". At first glance, I just assumed that also meant Grills Suites, since they of course have balconies.

 

But upon further investigation, it looks to me like this promotion may indeed only apply to the "Balcony" category of staterooms (for QM2, that's categories DF through A1). This includes Club Balcony but not Grills Suites.

 

When I start a booking on cunard.com for a QM2 crossing using the "RD1" promo code for this promotion, only the "Balcony" category cabins show availability. When I omit the promo code for that same crossing, all cabin categories show availability including "Inside", "Outside", "Princess Grill", and "Queens Grill". And with the "RD1" promo code entered, all the balcony fares are actually $10 per person lower on the specific voyage I used for this test compared to the balcony fares obtained without using the promo code.

 

Not sure I've seen a promo like this before that only included the "Balcony" category and not the "Grill" categories as well (other than perhaps some stateroom upgrade promos).

[bluemarble]

I think I have found the answer to my previous post where I wondered about the "Drinks on Us" promotion (with the $9 drinks price limit) only applying to "Balcony" staterooms and not to "Grill" staterooms.

 

It looks like it's possible to obtain the "Summer Savings Event" promotion (with the $12 drinks limit for the Grills) on those same voyages currently being advertised for the "Drinks on Us" promotion. At least when I entered the "Summer Savings Event" promo code "ZED" on cunard.com for the same 2019 QM2 crossing I had used before to check the "Drinks on Us" promo, it also accepted that promo code and then showed me only the "Queens Grill" and "Princess Grill" categories as being available to book.

 

So I guess the moral of this story is if you're in North America and you're interested in one of these free drinks promotions, make sure you are able to take advantage of the $9 per drink "Drinks on Us" promo for a "Balcony" stateroom or the $12 per drink "Summer Savings Event" promo for a "Grill" stateroom on whichever voyage you are interested in.

 

Sounds like a case where a good travel agent could be quite useful to make sure this is all sorted out properly.

[ratflinger]

Looking at the same class and deck that we booked recently (Q6) the price has increased $451 per passenger, the drinks package is only the $9 package instead of the $12 we received and the gratuity package is gone. US site.

[Ourusualbeach]

Thanks all. The cabin price had increased by just over $400 for a one week TA in May of 2019. Just trying to figure out if it was worth presenting this to my clients. Since they drink mostly wine and I suspect that they will gravitate to the wines above the $9 I'm thinking that the promo won't really benefit them.

 

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[ratflinger]

Sorry - Nov 1, 2019 crossing

[bluemarble]

Looking at the same class and deck that we booked recently (Q6) the price has increased $451 per passenger, the drinks package is only the $9 package instead of the $12 we received and the gratuity package is gone. US site.

 

Sorry - Nov 1, 2019 crossing

 

Hi, ratflinger. I see the $451 per passenger fare increase you mentioned for a Q6 on your crossing. I think you could still get the $12 drinks package and free gratutities for your Q6 by booking under the terms of that other "Summer Savings Event" promotion that also started today (the promo code for that promotion appears to work for your voyage). But of course it's still not a wash because of that fare increase.

Edited August 1, 2018 by bluemarble

[bananavan]

Interestingly, when I called Cunard about the promotion I did so because my balcony cabin fare had decreased. For some reason this decreased fare does not show up to the agents at Cunard. The agent had to enter into the Cunard web site instead of whatever she does normally.

I am now in limbo as I wait the response of a supervisor.

I had booked under the Big Balcony sale (Whatever it was called, $400 OBC for a balcony)

My fare has dropped by $370 PP. If I were able to switch to the Drinks on us program I would lose $200 for a 16 day sailing for two guests. Looks like a no brainer to me.

 

Edited to note that when I checked a few minutes ago the price shows one thing but when you go to book the cruise the price is higher than I had booked originally.

This is for Q921 FLL to SOU.

The website seems to be confused. :)

Edited August 2, 2018 by bananavan

[ratflinger]

Bananavan, you are correct. When I looked earlier the new promo had not been added to the web page yet, but it has been now. Glad we booked when we did as we got a significant OBC from our TA plus the cheaper fare.