Premium Beverage Pkg - refunds for shortages

[ORV]

On our May Millennium cruise here are the things I asked for and wasn't able to find at any bar. Flor De Cana rum, Ron Zacapa Rum, best available was the Bacardi 8 Anos. Frangelica, The McCallan, they had the Quest and the other duty free/cruise ship MacCallan, but neither are as good as The McCallan. Who knows what else they didn't have as I'm a rum and scotch drinker. As far as wine goes I like the Cherry Pie, and had that with dinner most nights, so wasn't disappointed there. 

 

If it wasn't for preferring a Single Malt I probably won't upgrade in the future. They generally had Glenlivet, which I find preferable to either of the McCallans available. And I'm sure I could go 10 or 15 days without scotch, so will probably stick with the basic in the future. 

 

Seems to me they picked a really bad time to increase the price of the packages if they are aware of their supply issues. 

 

Just my take, as I've seen posted by others that they are ok with not getting what you paid extra for. I wouldn't go so far as to call it bait and switch, but it's close. 

[capecodmercury]

 I am cruising on the Summit this fall with a premium plan, and I highly doubt I will go thirsty. As many have already stated, the reason I am convinced of this is that am flexible.   I am sure there will be high quality gin of some sort at the Martini Bar for my pre dinner cocktail (and on prior cruises, I've enjoyed working through the options) and some type of single malt or good bourbon to sip for a nightcap. As for standard mixed drinks or pool drinks, most of the time, I'm not sure my palate is refined enough to distinguish whether the rum in my rum punch is classic or premium grade.

 

As for wine in the MDR, I've always had good luck with my Sommelier.   I don't go in looking for a specific wine brand, or even varietal.  In fact, I let the Sommelier know I am open to trying different varietals that I may not be too familiar with that may go well with what I am eating.  Most of the time I don't even know the cost per glass of what I am drinking and I end up drinking different wines most nights. I simply try to work with the Sommelier to pair the wine to the food.

 

That being said, the changes to the drink packages have lessened the need to upgrade to premium.   When the classic package was limited to drinks under a certain value and did not permit you to pay just the upcharge, the premium package was a necessity if you wanted to go to the Martini Bar or World Class Bar. One Martini or drink at the World Class bar per day covered the upgrade cost.  Now, you need to see if you are drinking enough premium drinks to cover $16 per day.

Edited June 12, 2022 by capecodmercury

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, jakebloke said:

I also just got off the Summit this am.  On the whole, enjoyed the cruise, but one of the biggest issues I had was the lack of drink selection.  I have 2 main drinks of choice.  Tanqueray Gin and pretty much any Sav Blanc from New Zealand,  I couldn’t find either one anywhere on this cruise.  We upgraded as soon as we got on the ship but soon started to question whether it was worth it.  I always have an Aperol Spritz at lunch, and they ran out of Aperol on like day 8 I think.  Yesterday I ordered one if the MDR for lunch just to see, figuring they would come back and tell me they were out.  NOPE they brought one, but made it with Campari…thinking I wouldn’t taste the difference?   Or notice the slightly more red in color?  It’s more of the deception that bothers me…..just be honest.  

PSA…go for the Hendricks Gin…

[jakebloke]

2 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

PSA…go for the Hendricks Gin…

I know.  Hendricks didn’t show up until day 8.  At least not for me.  

[cangelmd]

There was no Mer Soleil or Caymus on our cruise, and more to the point, no Cherry Pie, which is one of our default go tos. We didn’t go thirsty, we had acceptable wines, and by the end of the cruise when the bugs got worked out, excellent service, but flexibility is key.

[cmoore5524]

3 hours ago, cangelmd said:

There was no Mer Soleil or Caymus on our cruise, and more to the point, no Cherry Pie, which is one of our default go tos. We didn’t go thirsty, we had acceptable wines, and by the end of the cruise when the bugs got worked out, excellent service, but flexibility is key.

Oh my, I’m not sure I can survive a week in Luminae without Mer Soleil (and I’m being serious). It’s my go to wine in the Retreat and dinner. Fingers crossed for our July Alaska sailing. 

[drakes2]

11 hours ago, capecodmercury said:

 I am cruising on the Summit this fall with a premium plan, and I highly doubt I will go thirsty. As many have already stated, the reason I am convinced of this is that am flexible.   I am sure there will be high quality gin of some sort at the Martini Bar for my pre dinner cocktail (and on prior cruises, I've enjoyed working through the options) and some type of single malt or good bourbon to sip for a nightcap. As for standard mixed drinks or pool drinks, most of the time, I'm not sure my palate is refined enough to distinguish whether the rum in my rum punch is classic or premium grade.

 

As for wine in the MDR, I've always had good luck with my Sommelier.   I don't go in looking for a specific wine brand, or even varietal.  In fact, I let the Sommelier know I am open to trying different varietals that I may not be too familiar with that may go well with what I am eating.  Most of the time I don't even know the cost per glass of what I am drinking and I end up drinking different wines most nights. I simply try to work with the Sommelier to pair the wine to the food.

 

That being said, the changes to the drink packages have lessened the need to upgrade to premium.   When the classic package was limited to drinks under a certain value and did not permit you to pay just the upcharge, the premium package was a necessity if you wanted to go to the Martini Bar or World Class Bar. One Martini or drink at the World Class bar per day covered the upgrade cost.  Now, you need to see if you are drinking enough premium drinks to cover $16 per day.

The 2 bottles of Evian and perrier per day covered my upgrade but I was still disappointed in the wine offerings. Love my big bold cabs especially with beef and the closest they had was Decoy but they ran out.  Once paid an extra $10 per glass for an upgrade but after that took the Elegance pinot noir. Wish they had some nice Aussie cabs but couldn't find any.  Looking at a 10 night November - December cruise prefer to sail on the Edge but may give the Enchanted Princess a try, all is dependent on pricing. 

[cruisestitch]

I’m trying to figure out how the OP could apply for any sort of refund. How would you document the number of times you attempted to order a premium wine but a lesser one was substituted?  How would they know that you didn’t, on that occasion, just order the lesser wine?  Did you use the premium package for smoothies or sparkling waters or Vitamin Water or coffees with alcohol? What percent of the daily cost was wine, how much was liquor or other drinks?
 

 How much refund do you think you should get?

[drakes2]

15 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

I’m trying to figure out how the OP could apply for any sort of refund. How would you document the number of times you attempted to order a premium wine but a lesser one was substituted?  How would they know that you didn’t, on that occasion, just order the lesser wine?  Did you use the premium package for smoothies or sparkling waters or Vitamin Water or coffees with alcohol? What percent of the daily cost was wine, how much was liquor or other drinks?
 

 How much refund do you think you should get?

I didn't bother asking for a refund as I got my money's worth in water and some bar drinks at the the World class bar, however, after sailing exclusively on Celebrity since 2014 I'm now looking at a Princess cruise for this fall. 

[LGW59]

8 hours ago, cmoore5524 said:

Oh my, I’m not sure I can survive a week in Luminae without Mer Soleil (and I’m being serious). It’s my go to wine in the Retreat and dinner. Fingers crossed for our July Alaska sailing. 

Oh yes, CC will collectively cross our fingers that you can have the wine you cannot survive without 

[PTC DAWG]

12 hours ago, jakebloke said:

I know.  Hendricks didn’t show up until day 8.  At least not for me.  

That’s not good..I haven’t seen a shortage of Hendricks on any recent cruises..Celebrity and Royal..

[Redtravel]

23 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

Waiting to get off Summit. I upgraded prior to the cruise. No Decoy Cab, no Villa Maria SB from day 1.  All bars but casino ran out of Aperol. DD drinks white zin which was hard to find also. Some nights, no classic Pinot Grigio in MDR and DH was not offered anything else. 
We enjoyed the cruise but did find it annoying. 

We enjoyed the cruise too. We also were very annoyed at the shortages.  We never asked for anything exotic. Often were told no.  Canadian club, Aperol, diet ginger ale, cranberry juice, cookies, most varieties of Tea Forte in Cafe Al Bacio.,etc.  there were so many times that we were told that they didn’t have what we wanted.  Add to that the awful internet and crowds.   Laundry service was bad.  I could go on and on.  Perhaps it was too soon to return to cruising.  Our next cruise will not be in Celebrity.  

[cruisestitch]

27 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I didn't bother asking for a refund as I got my money's worth in water and some bar drinks at the the World class bar, however, after sailing exclusively on Celebrity since 2014 I'm now looking at a Princess cruise for this fall. 

Have there been any reports from Princess of similar shortages?  Or other lines?  Or is this specific to Celebrity?

[PTC DAWG]

6 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Have there been any reports from Princess of similar shortages?  Or other lines?  Or is this specific to Celebrity?

You can search “shortage” on any forum here, plenty of examples.

Edited June 13, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[emmas gran]

As I read this the OP hasn't boarded yet so is envisioning the shortages, maybe she should alter her PBP to CPB then will not be so disappointed.

[cruisestitch]

10 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

You can search “shortage” on any forum here, plenty of examples.

Thanks.  That’s what I thought

[Guppy99]

15 hours ago, jakebloke said:

I also just got off the Summit this am.  On the whole, enjoyed the cruise, but one of the biggest issues I had was the lack of drink selection.  I have 2 main drinks of choice.  Tanqueray Gin and pretty much any Sav Blanc from New Zealand,  I couldn’t find either one anywhere on this cruise.  We upgraded as soon as we got on the ship but soon started to question whether it was worth it.  I always have an Aperol Spritz at lunch, and they ran out of Aperol on like day 8 I think.  Yesterday I ordered one if the MDR for lunch just to see, figuring they would come back and tell me they were out.  NOPE they brought one, but made it with Campari…thinking I wouldn’t taste the difference?   Or notice the slightly more red in color?  It’s more of the deception that bothers me…..just be honest.  

Unlikely that it was an attempt at deception. The waiter placed the order and the bartender tried his best to give you what you wanted. The waiter, if he knew, probably couldn't explain the substitution.

[Guppy99]

On 6/11/2022 at 4:56 PM, flifish64 said:

Nope, paid for premium and being told only classic wines are available.

Was just referencing the current policy of Celebrity that if you paid for Classic and then ordered a premium wine they charge you the difference.

Therefore it seems the reverse happening should have Celebrity giving me a credit of the difference.

That is flawed thinking. The premium package  merely elevates the allowable limit for each beverage.  Therefore, if you ask for a coke you don't get a refund because you failed to pay the maximum for that beverage serving.  You order a wine or cocktail that is not on the "premium' list, then you do not get a refund for each serving.  It is irrelevant if the specific wine or liquor you requested is unavailable.  

[Guppy99]

42 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

As I read this the OP hasn't boarded yet so is envisioning the shortages, maybe she should alter her PBP to CPB then will not be so disappointed.

I think it's more likely, based on the wording, that she was just trying to make a provocative post.

[Fly and Sail]

This isn't just an issue with the alcohol packages, the same thing happens all the time with Premium Non Alcoholic (PMNA). Since I'm usually on a casino booking I have to pay for my beverage packages so PMNA makes most sense plus whatever alcoholic drink I like I pay in cash.

 

A permanent pet peeve of mine is that they almost never have ice tea even though they clearly advertise it for the packages. Not that the temporary lack of Arizona Ice Tea would be the end of the world but I've been on five sailings now where none was stocked at all from day one. On one sailing they had no Pellegrino sparkling water either.

[WIBadgerFan]

I wish we could hear why different lines have shortages and others don't or deal with them better.  These experiences on Celebrity recently sound similar to my Royal cruise in March.  On Virgin in May, several wines were unavailable but the liquor selection was outstanding.  Plenty of T&T, at least 4 Macallans, etc.

[mayleeman]

I like the approach suggested by the OP. Lets say you paid for a Premium wine and they only have things at the Classic level. So they refund you the difference every time you order. Call it $5 per glass. After 4 orders a day, you not only get the upgrade fee back, but soon you are making money!

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

I like the approach suggested by the OP. Lets say you paid for a Premium wine and they only have things at the Classic level. So they refund you the difference every time you order. Call it $5 per glass. After 4 orders a day, you not only get the upgrade fee back, but soon you are making money!

Not having any wine at a price above the Classic level is a lot different that having every wine on the Premium list.

[Covepointcruiser]

To solve this dilemma downgrade to the classic package and pay the difference when/if you discover they have a better wine or liquor.   Good luck finding a cruise line that is not experiencing shortages.

[flifish64]

So a lot of ideas and good news for me was that there are several premium wines available by the glass only select shortages which is not an issue for us.  We are flexible with wines

premium pkg is worth it to me for the Evian and smoothies and husband likes high end scotch and Hendrix

 

Just had concerns after reading others reviews. You have erased those concerns

 

thank you

 

carol