Upgrading drinks package before cruise

[misslab]

Please don't yell at me...I have scrolled thru pages of posts and used the search function but can't find the specific answer I am looking for.

 

We are sailing on January 2, full payment has been made, and would like to pay to upgrade our drinks package from Classic to Premium.  I have read (on forums and on Celebrity FAQs) that you can do that on the cruise planner, but where?  I am not seeing that option anywhere.  If you click on Manage Trip> Drink Packages, you get the list of options at full price - Premuim package $75.99 per day.  Has anyone successfully done this online?  I really hope I don't  have to call Celebrity to do this, I can't spare 2+ hours on hold.

 

Thank you in advance!

[megr1125]

You can't anymore.  It must be called in, sorry. Plus if you're a Captain's Club member, you MAY (depending on level) get a better discount.  

 

In the past, maybe just over 3-6 months ago, you did have the option. 

 

I called the other day and wasn't on hold that long.  800-722-5491 was the number given to me by the agent after I spent an hour being on hold and passed around 4 times, including once to Royal.  Oops. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by megr1125

[20165]

we asked the same thing for our cruise a couple weeks ago. We didnt call but rather upgraded at guest services when we boarded and yes, i know the bar tenders get some time of bonus if you upgrade with them, but guest services were able to give us new cards on the spot when they did the upgrade which was nice. I think it was $15ish extra per day.

 

[stellarose]

was hoping to find some cyber deals on upgrading drink package. 

[misslab]

Thanks for the info everyone!  🙂

 

 

[HangryGrl]

I just upgraded 1 of our packages via phone and I was only on hold maybe 30 seconds.  Quick and easy.  I called the main Celebrity number and routed through the options to note.

[megr1125]

1 hour ago, stellarose said:

was hoping to find some cyber deals on upgrading drink package. 

There aren't any but call since if you have Captains Club status, the price may be lower.  

[stinsowm]

7 hours ago, megr1125 said:

You can't anymore.  It must be called in, sorry. Plus if you're a Captain's Club member, you MAY (depending on level) get a better discount.  

 

In the past, maybe just over 3-6 months ago, you did have the option. 

 

I called the other day and wasn't on hold that long.  800-722-5491 was the number given to me by the agent after I spent an hour being on hold and passed around 4 times, including once to Royal.  Oops. 

 800-722-5491 tried to get me to take out a medical alert. Wasn't Celebrity cruises. : )   

[LIMPIT]

10% Discount if you quote your CC Number when you call, no provision to upgrade an existing package online, and operator was unable to offer any explanation why.

[SUESEABE]

If I call to upgrade drink package will I be able to use Celebrity OBC or will they want credit card #? Cruise is not until March. 

[QTS]

I just called in for a price to upgrade the drink package from Classic to Premium and it seems that we are getting stiffed. Aparently the upgrade price is now 18 USD per person per day.

I was quoted $480 CDN to uprgrade after our Classic Club discount. Since we booked the cruise in Canada, we are unable to pay in USD which would still be 342 USD. So it appears that Canadians may be better off to purchase onboard using USD if you already have it.  I believe she advised me that there was 18% gratuity included that.

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by QTS

[CaroleSS]

11 hours ago, SUESEABE said:

If I call to upgrade drink package will I be able to use Celebrity OBC or will they want credit card #? Cruise is not until March. 

Any OBC which was provided by X can be applied to the cost, but if you have OBC from a TA, it cannot as it will not show up until you board.

[CaroleSS]

10 hours ago, QTS said:

I just called in for a price to upgrade the drink package from Classic to Premium and it seems that we are getting stiffed. Aparently the upgrade price is now 18 USD per person per day.

I was quoted $480 CDN to uprgrade after our Classic Club discount. Since we booked the cruise in Canada, we are unable to pay in USD which would still be 342 USD. So it appears that Canadians may be better off to purchase onboard using USD if you already have it.  I believe she advised me that there was 18% gratuity included that.

 

Wow! Is this because of the CDN to USD conversion or has the price jumped?

[prmssk]

1 minute ago, CaroleSS said:

Wow! Is this because of the CDN to USD conversion or has the price jumped?

$18 (USD) is now the regular full-price for an upgrade from classic to premium.  That is obviously before any cruise planner discounts pre-cruise or loyalty discounts.  The jump in price occurred a number of months ago when they increased drink package prices.

[cmaleblanc]

47 minutes ago, prmssk said:

$18 (USD) is now the regular full-price for an upgrade from classic to premium.  That is obviously before any cruise planner discounts pre-cruise or loyalty discounts.  The jump in price occurred a number of months ago when they increased drink package prices.

We are going on a Cruise in Feb, and upgraded our Drink from Classic to Premium about a month ago, but noticed the other day our TA only got us a 5% discount, I contacted Celebrity and had them take a look and advised that the price of the drink package upgrade had increased and due to the lower price and the older discount, we actually got a better rate it was going to be an increase of about $60 (total) if I wanted to get my Select discount now. Seemed strange but I didn't keep an eye on the price itself, so I took the word of the Celebrity employee. 

[jean87510]

Would it be better to just pay the difference at the bar?  Asking because we have the classic from always in plus we are elite.  We don't really drink that much.

[stellarose]

I am toying with upgrading but think I will just pay the difference at the martini bar. its a very port intensive  trip to it won't be worth it to upgrade. 

[TravelingCircusof5]

21 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Would it be better to just pay the difference at the bar?  Asking because we have the classic from always in plus we are elite.  We don't really drink that much.

This is what I an wondering too. I don’t drink that much-  it will probably be 2-3 glasses of wine per day, bottled water, 1 coke… what I have read though is that when one actually gets to a bar, they have been told there are basically no wines in the basic options, so everything is an upgrade. Is this true?

i don’t want to drink really terrible wine, but don’t have super pricey tastes either (in chardonnay.) 

So, it almost seems like I should remove the AI package for me all together and just buy what I want? Or still better to get the basic and pay the difference? 

Dh drinks more than me, but mostly beer, and he will want the more interesting beers on the premium list. 

[CaroleSS]

I put together a spreadsheet with the drink locations (Martini bar, World Class bar, Sunset, dining room) and the max dollar amount for something I would want to drink.....example, $13 for a drink at the Martini bar. I then guesstimated how many I would do at each location for the duration of the cruise. I then told the dollar amount minus $9 (the max for the classic package) * 1.2 (for gratuities) to find out how much it would cost for each location, then summed up all the locations for a trip total. I then compared that to the cost of upgrading to premium (don't forget to subtract your CC %age)

 

For DH, it was just slightly less to upgrade, but not for me. I went ahead and bit the bullet and upgraded for both of us ($15/day/person). I did so because I hate dealing with the signature slips plus if I tried something new and didn't like it, I'd grumble at the lost expense.

 

I've been watching the cost for a while and was hoping for a Black Friday sale, but no dice. Oh well.....

[jean87510]

3 hours ago, TravelingCircusof5 said:

This is what I an wondering too. I don’t drink that much-  it will probably be 2-3 glasses of wine per day, bottled water, 1 coke… what I have read though is that when one actually gets to a bar, they have been told there are basically no wines in the basic options, so everything is an upgrade. Is this true?

i don’t want to drink really terrible wine, but don’t have super pricey tastes either (in chardonnay.) 

So, it almost seems like I should remove the AI package for me all together and just buy what I want? Or still better to get the basic and pay the difference? 

Dh drinks more than me, but mostly beer, and he will want the more interesting beers on the premium list. 

I've got about $50 in OBC.  I think we will just use as we go on our 9 day Equinox for maybe a special martini or a glass of wine.  I just can't justify the upgrade to myself.  

[stellarose]

I completely forgot I can use OBC for the drinks. I pay upfront for the excursions. 

[SUESEABE]

Is there a specific phone number to call in order to upgrade the drink package prior to cruise? If so, could someone post it. TIA.

[cmaleblanc]

14 hours ago, SUESEABE said:

Is there a specific phone number to call in order to upgrade the drink package prior to cruise? If so, could someone post it. TIA.

You should be able to reach someone via the number found on the website. 1-888-751-7804

 

If you have CC status they should be able to provide you the additional discount, although I would make sure to ask just to be safe.

 

If you are a BCC member you may get a better offer, but will need to call the BCC group to get that added. 

 

If you went through a TA your TA should be able to make the change for us. I normally have my TA do the upgrade, and if the discount is wrong, I call the number above and Celebrity makes the correction for me.