Never had a beverage package before and never cruised Celebrity before!!

[lucywestie]

So we have booked a back to back cruise with Celebrity on the Solstice sometime in the far far distant future. It came with the beverage package perk which will be the Classic package. From reading the Celebrity description (yup, I read it) it covers drinks up to $9.

 

Now I read the Premium package description (yup, read that as well) and that comes in at an extra $14 per person per day. So $28 for my wife and I, plus gratuities on top, so lets say $34 a day. That package includes special coffees.

 

How much is a special coffee on the ship? I only ask because we might drink a couple of those a day. Though saying that, under the classic package it states "premium coffees" by premium to they mean cappucinos and lattes etc?

 

I'm going to assume that anything above $9 will be reflected on our onboard account. Saying that, what would be the average price of a cocktail, non top shelf liquor, lets say...an apple martini or Singapore sling.

 

Just trying to work out if it will be worth it to upgrade to the premium either once on board or before we cruise

 

This is our first time cruising with Celebrity, have cruised Royal, Princess and NCL in the past. Have never wanted to pay the extravagant prices that some of them want for the drink packages (NCL especially) but this one came with the booking so Im not complaining.

 

I did search the forum but its not the most helpful search engine at times.

 

Lucy

[CEOofVacation]

You may want to pay as you go on the first couple of days to see how much it costs you instead of buying the upgrade and committing for the entire cruise upfront.

 

My husband is the coffee drinker and he has not had issue getting what he wanted with the classic bev package.

 

Even if you want something more than the $9 per day, you only get billed for the difference.

[Luvcrusn]

We've had the Classic package for our last 5 cruises. We order cappuccino or other similar coffees at least 2x daily and have never been charged anything extra. We have gotten coffee from Café al Baccio and likewise haven't been charged extra. About two years ago Celebrity changed its policy from charging for a whole drink cost plus gratuity for drinks above a package allowance to the current policy of only charging the difference between the allowance and the drink cost + 18%. With that change, I'd strongly recommend spending a few days aboard and seeing what happens. I believe you'll find that you will be better off.

[nicstress]

Both pkgs include the coffees. The classic may not completely cover all of the speclry alcoholic drinks but pretty close.

 

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[Bo1953]

Since your sailings are in the "... sometime far, far distant future." there is plenty of time to purchase an upgrade to the Premium Beverage Package during a 20% discount sale.

 

i.e. instead of $14/day pp, it would be $11.20/day pp plus gratuity.

 

Something to consider, as well.

 

bon voyage (if you can wait that long!) ;)

[carlsbadguy]

I might also purchase the premium package for just 1 as in most cases the bartenders used my card for the upgraded drink whether it was me or my wife buying it. Only got charged $1.00 twice at Cafe Bacio for Baileys in the coffee with the classic package.

[twodjs]

Here are the prices of coffee options posted in Nov. 2017.

 

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[archerniak]

The only coffee drinks not covered under the classic package are those that contain alcohol. All other coffees are included in the classic package. I would wait till you got on board - sometimes depending on the sailing they have specials to upgrade drink packages when you get on board. My DH and I took a Bermuda cruise a few years ago on the Summit and we sailed out on Mothers Day - the upgrade from classic to premium was under $10 a day for both of us. Nice Mothers Day surprise.

[Marelaine]

If you want a Singapore Sling, apple martini, mojito, screwdriver etc...,they will use brands from the Classic package. The Martini bar makes large martinis that are not included in the Classic Packages. Some of the Martini bartenders will make Classic martinis (regular size and with classic brands), some do not. If you order a Premium drink on the Classic package, you will just pay the difference + 18% grat on the upcharge. At the pool bar, you will be able to get frozen drinks such as pina coladas, daiquiris, mudslides, toasted almonds with the Classic package. Smoothies are not included.

 

Most of the coffees and teas at Cafe al Bacio are included in the Classic package. The exceptions are the coffees with the premium shots such as the Aspen in the menu posted above, since it has Baileys (which was recently moved to the Premium list.

 

You are allowed to upgrade your package up to three days before the end of your cruise. You have plenty of time to try it out to see if it meets your desires. I prefer mostly mixed drinks and find that I am content with the Classic Alcohol Package.

[sanger727]

We had the classic package; was able to get cappuccinos and lattes with no issues. When I ordered a cocktail, I just let the bartender know I was on the classic package and they made it to match what fit in my package. We did pay a little extra a few nights to get the specialty martinis at the martini bar, but it came out to far less than upgrading. And saw one guy go up to the bartenders there and asked for the chocolate martini, and they said it would be over his limit. He asked if they could make something like it under the classic package and they said they would. So we never found the classic package restrictive.

 

 

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