Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Booked a BCC Cruise - Now How to Maximize the Deal?

GonzoWCS

By GonzoWCS,
in Celebrity Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

GonzoWCS

GonzoWCS

Posted
Posted

Hello All.  Here is our predicament/challenge for the Blue Chip Club (BCC) folks as well as the experienced Celebrity Cruisers.

 

We have a 10 Day Cruise that we were offered by the BCC and for 10 days we have a Balcony and ZERO amenities but we have invested only $330.60 so far.  We know we will have to pay gratuities so add another $350.  $680.60 so far. 

 

Now how do get the best bang for our buck?

 

We plan on getting WiFI so Premium for one of us with 2 devices seems to be the best bet.  -- Thoughts?

 

Celebrity allows us to bring two (2) bottles of Wine per person - so there's 4 bottles...  True?    Drinks ala-cart we believe will be our best bet as we used the calculator below to figure out our habits and the costs.  Are we allowed to bring a case of water on board?  Also we have heard/read that while in the casino we are able to order drinks from the bar?  Is that beyond while doing any gambling or no?

 

Want to figure out the best way to maximize this almost freebie -  Fire away folks looking to those tips from the smart folks!

 

https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/cruise-drinks-package-calculator/

 

Cheers

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NorthStarStateCruiser

NorthStarStateCruiser

Posted
Posted

I'm in the same boat as you that I have a comp no perk cruise and am figuring out ways to cut costs.

 

You could save some money by not purchasing the wifi if you don't need it every day. Carriers offer international day passes where you can use your current plan's talk/text/data while you're in port for around $10/day. 

 

42 minutes ago, GonzoWCS said:

Celebrity allows us to bring two (2) bottles of Wine per person - so there's 4 bottles...  True?

Yes, 4 bottles total if there are 2 people.

If one of you likes cocktails and the other just beer or wine, it might be cost effective to purchase the drink package for the cocktail drinker and a la carte for the beer/wine drinker. This is what my wife and I are doing. Guess who the beer drinker is. 😆

 

FYI, you can purchase the drink packages through BCC at a 15% discount no matter your status with the casino.

 

52 minutes ago, GonzoWCS said:

Also we have heard/read that while in the casino we are able to order drinks from the bar?  Is that beyond while doing any gambling or no?

There have been mixed reports on getting drinks at the casino bar while not gambling. Seems to be ship dependent.  Don't rely on this being an option.

 

Something that may apply to you.  I came across the cabana rentals in the cruise planner. For the ones on the Edge class (so this may or may not apply to you), they come with some added perks such as lunch service, unlimited sodas, 6 beers, and a 1L bottle of Grey Goose which they said can be exchanged for a 1L bottle equivalent in value. For $150 for the 2 person cabana, we find this a good value and are doing it on our first sea day to stock up my booze for the rest of the sailing. 

 

Another tip if you drink beer, you can buy 6 at a time at the pool bar for the price of 4.

 

Hope this helps and happy sailing!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
kwokpot

kwokpot

Posted
Posted

I see you're mainly a Princess,Carnival, and NCL cruiser. FYI Celebrity doesn't have self service laundry rooms, so you'll have to pack accordingly. You cannot bring aboard bottled water. You're experienced cruisers so a Celebrity cruise isn't all that different. You didn't mention which ship or what type of dining you chose, so if you can let us know there can be more ship specific helpful hints given to you. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GonzoWCS

GonzoWCS

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Do you have any status from Captains club?  Captains club perks may get you some real value if the BCC deal allows it.

Currently horrible, but doing the PuP thing.  Thanks for the response!

 

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GonzoWCS

GonzoWCS

Posted
  • Author
Posted
7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

You're supposed to be gambling when you're ordering drinks in the casino. 

Dig it thanks.  NCL in the past gave us a separate card for use in the casino for ordering drinks.  Appreciate the response.

 

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kwokpot

kwokpot

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, GonzoWCS said:

Dig it thanks.  NCL in the past gave us a separate card for use in the casino for ordering drinks.  Appreciate the response.

 

Cheers

Once you achieve a certain tier level within BCC you get a drink package as part of the bennies, which doesn't require you to be gambling to get a drink in the casino. Same with Carnival; certain casino offers require you to play in order to receive a drink while there are other offers that give you a beverage package anywhere on the ship. Royal's the same way too. NCL may be more liberal with their initial free drinks under their casino program but remember they are the ONLY cruiseline that charges a stupid 'Administration Fee' to book a comped cruise under their casino program unless you're in the highest tier. Carnival charges a non refundable fee but you get the same amount back with OBC so basically no fee. We stopped cruising  with NCL's casino program due to that ridiculous fee. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DCPIV "Live from...." Rare

DCPIV

Posted
Posted

Well, the best "bang for your buck" is to go on the cruise and then enjoying yourself as much as you can knowing that you got a 10-night veranda cruise fare for $0.00.  While trying to spend as very little as possible might be an interesting challenge, seeing how hard I can squeeze a nickel starts to wear on me a bit and gets in the way of enjoying the trip.  It's that joy that's the real value, not just time on board.  Back when my wife and I were counting every penny and trying to game out every free thing we could, I always felt more like I was a stowaway than on holiday.

 

That said, there are some ways to get some good value. 

 

Data/Text/Talk: Someone mentioned the International Day Pass that AT&T (and perhaps other carriers) make available.  That really is great at $10/day, and it's only if you use it.  I like that a lot, and it's great for working around the ship wifi while you are in port (but only while you are in port).  If you have some Captain's Club minutes available to you, that might be all you want or need for the cruise.

 

However, getting the premium wifi for 2 devices will alleviate all those concerns.

 

Drinks: If a la carte works for you, go for it.  However, I personally hate trying to plan everything around CC happy hours and the other (very limited) free events.  That's not fun, and I'm not there to see how little fun I can have. 

 

For water, the ship's tap water is very good.  If you really are pinching pennies on this trip, bring your own Yeti/Camelbak water bottles and just refill them.

 

Don't count on free drinks in the casino. 

 

Shoot, yeah, bring on the wine if you like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
boontj2003

boontj2003

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

We went to our AT&T store and put my email on my husbands phone. He has unlimited WiFi with 30% off ( elite status) . I had to call to get the discount. It doesn’t show on the website.

If he is elite, that means you are too! You have the same benefits 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JFontaine

JFontaine

Posted
Posted

The most expensive aspect of the free cruise is gambling enough to get another one. If you play table games let the pit boss know so they can rate you. Make sure your cabin card is inserted into the video machine so that you get credit there, and use the credit before the end of the cruise. If you play a fair amount, on the last night ask the casino host what he/she can do for you. Depending on play, you can have your bar tab or other on board expenses wiped out. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
GonzoWCS

GonzoWCS

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hello folks back from this Cruise on the Constellation.  Wanted to give everyone a wrap up of how the costs broke down.  

 

First off want to say what a wonderful time we had on the Constellation for this 10 day cruise.  It was a top notch experience and we will be back.

 

Breakdown:

   BCC:  $330

   Internet Pre-Cruise Premium 2 Device: $479

   Ala-Cart Drinks:  $803

 

  So for a 10 Day great itinerary we got out for about $1600 smackers.  I call that a pretty good deal. 

 

Thanks again for everyone's input here.

 

Cheers

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dazey

dazey

Posted
Posted

We have sailed with a BCC comp cruise no perks several times recently.  I was worried it would ruin my vacation but we are elite(5-7 HH-drinks and water and some Wi-FI minutes) and then there are free drinks in casino. BCC also has some allowance for Wi-Fi.   I found that it was fairly easy to not get the drink package($1480 for 10 day cruise) and still have fun.  We order nice wines or sake when dining sometimes or bring a drink from a bar into the main dining room.

 

So we paid $460 for fees and taxes and had a great time.  We did pay for airfare and gratuities. We paid for drinks that we wanted when any "free" drinks were not offered and it came to nowhere the $1480.  In the past we always would get the premium drink package which is now approx. $1800.  I think we forgo the wine at lunch every day. 

 

We always wondered how it would work and surprised that it did especially since we had the BCC and Elite offers to get us through.  I do not play to get a free cruise and have no idea why this last year we had such good BCC offers.  Had to take them up on it for sure.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NutsAboutGolf Holiday Sharing Rare

NutsAboutGolf

Posted
Posted
On 10/11/2022 at 7:59 AM, DCPIV said:

Well, the best "bang for your buck" is to go on the cruise and then enjoying yourself as much as you can knowing that you got a 10-night veranda cruise fare for $0.00.  While trying to spend as very little as possible might be an interesting challenge, seeing how hard I can squeeze a nickel starts to wear on me a bit and gets in the way of enjoying the trip.  It's that joy that's the real value, not just time on board.  Back when my wife and I were counting every penny and trying to game out every free thing we could, I always felt more like I was a stowaway than on holiday.

 

That said, there are some ways to get some good value. 

 

Data/Text/Talk: Someone mentioned the International Day Pass that AT&T (and perhaps other carriers) make available.  That really is great at $10/day, and it's only if you use it.  I like that a lot, and it's great for working around the ship wifi while you are in port (but only while you are in port).  If you have some Captain's Club minutes available to you, that might be all you want or need for the cruise.

 

However, getting the premium wifi for 2 devices will alleviate all those concerns.

 

Drinks: If a la carte works for you, go for it.  However, I personally hate trying to plan everything around CC happy hours and the other (very limited) free events.  That's not fun, and I'm not there to see how little fun I can have. 

 

For water, the ship's tap water is very good.  If you really are pinching pennies on this trip, bring your own Yeti/Camelbak water bottles and just refill them.

 

Don't count on free drinks in the casino. 

 

Shoot, yeah, bring on the wine if you like.

 

Cell phone carrier international day pass, as you state it doesn't work on seadays which is usually when people want the internet.  In port, there's often free wifi at the terminals or near by bars/restaurants.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...