Elite Drinks

[baldilocks]

We are D+ from Royal so that makes us Elite on Celebrity. It is our first Celebrity cruise (Constellation Dec. 12th). I know Elite's get free drinks, but I am confused in the way Celebrity handles this.....how many and when? I know it is different from Royal.

[prmssk]

As many as you can drink from a select menu at most bars from 5-7pm each night except embarkation night. 

[cruisestitch]

[basenji56]

Are those the only three beers available?

 

[DaKahuna]

9 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Are those the only three beers available?

 

For free under the Captains Club Elite program - yes. 

 

[basenji56]

34 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

For free under the Captains Club Elite program - yes. 

 

Wow.  

[DaKahuna]

8 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Wow.  

 Of course, as always, Celebrity reserves the right to substitute due to availability issues.  

 Full disclosure, I have never ordered a beer during Elite Happy Hour but have seen a lot of Heinekin and Bud Lite consumed.  I usually have a red wine or vodka tonic. 

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

8 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Wow.  

Have had other beers available depending on availability and where you are cruising.  Peroni, Crown, Sam Adams, Moosehead and others at times.

[basenji56]

1 minute ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Have had other beers available depending on availability and where you are cruising.  Peroni, Crown, Sam Adams, Moosehead and others at times.

That makes more sense.  Bud Light and Heineken are pretty mediocre beers for someone who loves beer.  

[read2learn]

I ordered a rose wine and was given Mateus. I drank that in my 20's and thought it waas sophisticated after Boones Farm!!  LOL!!!! Very limited selection in my opinion. 

[drakes2]

3 minutes ago, read2learn said:

I ordered a rose wine and was given Mateus. I drank that in my 20's and thought it waas sophisticated after Boones Farm!!  LOL!!!! Very limited selection in my opinion. 

Well at least its better than that godawful Beringer rose they serve.  Tastes like fruit juice IMO.

[Nachosdelux]

2 hours ago, basenji56 said:

That makes more sense.  Bud Light and Heineken are pretty mediocre beers for someone who loves beer.  

don't forget about the O'Doul's LOL

[baldilocks]

Thank you for the list. But...no Tom Collins???  Odd.

[cruisestitch]

They are giving you drinks from their limited menu and of course you are free to buy drinks that are more to your taste.

[the penguins]

11 hours ago, baldilocks said:

We are D+ from Royal so that makes us Elite on Celebrity. It is our first Celebrity cruise (Constellation Dec. 12th). I know Elite's get free drinks, but I am confused in the way Celebrity handles this.....how many and when? I know it is different from Royal.

No free drinks on the first night. Unless you have booked a Sail Only rate it's now pretty much a meaningless benefit .

[WestLakeGirl]

But if you HAVE booked Sail Only, it’s a very appreciated feature.

[Jcol5786]

We are RC Diamond as well and have been looking at Celebrity. Thanks for the info about the Elite happy hour drinks. My question is what do folks do for the rest of the day? Do you purchase an addition beverage package or pay as you go? When I do a test booking on the web-site I see the cruise only fare and the all included fare. Don't see the point in purchasing the all in fare when we are getting some free drinks but is there a different  option to purchase to fill in the rest of the beverage day?

Thanks

[sgmn]

53 minutes ago, Jcol5786 said:

We are RC Diamond as well and have been looking at Celebrity. Thanks for the info about the Elite happy hour drinks. My question is what do folks do for the rest of the day? Do you purchase an addition beverage package or pay as you go? When I do a test booking on the web-site I see the cruise only fare and the all included fare. Don't see the point in purchasing the all in fare when we are getting some free drinks but is there a different  option to purchase to fill in the rest of the beverage day?

Thanks

We tend to drink the 'free' included drinks during the day, coffee, tea, flavoured waters etc. All our celebrity cruises have been in Europe with long port days and very few sea days so we are off ship mostly during the day anyway. 

After 7pm we pay as you go, maybe just have a couple of drinks . Don't forget you can bring wine on board and there is usually a couple of top tier events where cocktails are offered. 

Pity they don't offer happy hour for sail away on first evening but their rules I guess

Edited December 6, 2022 by sgmn

[drakes2]

16 minutes ago, sgmn said:

Don't forget you can bring wine on board and there is usually a couple of top tier events where cocktails are offered. 

Pity they don't offer happy hour for sail away on first evening but their rules I guess

On my September October 10 night cruise there were quite a few events that I was invited to. My favorite was the Mixology held in the Sky lounge with a live band. We were the first ship and sailing to test it our. Three drinks were made and we each got to try all three  full drinks  afterward plus appetizers.  I couldn't keep up as we only had an hour. 😆 

[cruisestitch]

1 hour ago, Jcol5786 said:

We are RC Diamond as well and have been looking at Celebrity. Thanks for the info about the Elite happy hour drinks. My question is what do folks do for the rest of the day? Do you purchase an addition beverage package or pay as you go? When I do a test booking on the web-site I see the cruise only fare and the all included fare. Don't see the point in purchasing the all in fare when we are getting some free drinks but is there a different  option to purchase to fill in the rest of the beverage day?

Thanks

You are getting some free alcohol during a two hour window to be sure.   Outside of that you might want fresh please juice, cappuccino, a beer or two at lunch, two or three bottles of water, a fancy hot chocolate in the afternoon, a glass of wine at dinner, and an after dinner drink.  If so, look at the ALways Included because you are approaching where it might make sense for you. 

[prmssk]

3 hours ago, Jcol5786 said:

We are RC Diamond as well and have been looking at Celebrity. Thanks for the info about the Elite happy hour drinks. My question is what do folks do for the rest of the day? Do you purchase an addition beverage package or pay as you go? When I do a test booking on the web-site I see the cruise only fare and the all included fare. Don't see the point in purchasing the all in fare when we are getting some free drinks but is there a different  option to purchase to fill in the rest of the beverage day?

Thanks

I suggest doing the math to see what the increase in cost is for the AI fare and compare that to how much you would drink outside the Elite events.  (And remember the AI fare also comes with internet and included gratuities.)  In some cases, it will make more sense to just pay the AI fare.  In other cases, it will make more sense to pay the cruise only fare and just pay out of pocket for the additional drinks you want.

 

Because of how much more the AI fare was and the fact they were offering OBC with the cruise only fare, we will be doing cruise only for our next one with the expectation I will pay a little out of pocket for some additional drinks.

[the penguins]

37 minutes ago, prmssk said:

I suggest doing the math to see what the increase in cost is for the AI fare and compare that to how much you would drink outside the Elite events.  (And remember the AI fare also comes with internet and included gratuities.)  In some cases, it will make more sense to just pay the AI fare.  In other cases, it will make more sense to pay the cruise only fare and just pay out of pocket for the additional drinks you want.

 

Because of how much more the AI fare was and the fact they were offering OBC with the cruise only fare, we will be doing cruise only for our next one with the expectation I will pay a little out of pocket for some additional drinks.

When doing the math also allow for the other Elite benefits:

1) internet : 90 minutes free each. You can use the minutes whenever you like. (Elite+ get 240 minutes each). A good tip is to share the first 90 and see how you get on. Then for the second 90 you still have the choice of using it as minutes or as a discount on a package by which time there might be a special for the remainder of the cruise. If you prepare all messages "offline" then log on, push send, log off, then read downloaded incoming messages you will be surprised at how long the 90 minutes last. We have never used our 90 x 2 minutes. 

2) the Elite breakfast also includes mimosas, bloody Mary's and sparkling wine + speciality coffees.

3) the Elite drinks also includes bottled (actually canned now) water and you can get enough to take you through the next day.

 

[thebutlerdidit]

21 hours ago, read2learn said:

I ordered a rose wine and was given Mateus. I drank that in my 20's and thought it waas sophisticated after Boones Farm!!  LOL!!!! Very limited selection in my opinion. 

I saw Mateus on this menu and my mind immediately went back to an early Elton John song called Social Disease whose lyrics include “I get juiced on Mateus and just hang loose!” 
I am definitely trying  Mateus on my next cruise, just because I know I can. 🍷 

[westcoasttech]

You used to be able to get a little "creative" with the spirits and soda combinations ... I would ask for a vodka with ginger beer and extra lime (in other words, a "deconstructed" Moscow Mule)!  I haven't had to try that since the re-start, but will probably be trying it on my Apex sailing in a couple of weeks as I'm "cruise only" on that one.  

 

When RCCL had Happy Hour only Diamond drinks, I would ask for a "Diamond Chocolate Martini" - vodka, Baileys and chocolate syrup - once the bartenders got to know you (I used to do the longer repositioning trips), they were happy to oblige!

 

I thought Baileys used to be on the Celebrity drink list too, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore??

 

[Am I the only one who sees the typo in the Rose wine listing ...😁???]

[sdnich]

18 hours ago, westcoasttech said:

You used to be able to get a little "creative" with the spirits and soda combinations ... I would ask for a vodka with ginger beer and extra lime (in other words, a "deconstructed" Moscow Mule)!  I haven't had to try that since the re-start, but will probably be trying it on my Apex sailing in a couple of weeks as I'm "cruise only" on that one.  

 

When RCCL had Happy Hour only Diamond drinks, I would ask for a "Diamond Chocolate Martini" - vodka, Baileys and chocolate syrup - once the bartenders got to know you (I used to do the longer repositioning trips), they were happy to oblige!

 

I thought Baileys used to be on the Celebrity drink list too, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore??

 

[Am I the only one who sees the typo in the Rose wine listing ...😁???]

I just had to reread the rose whine listing 🤣 

we are doing our first cruise only in March on the edge and are trying to decide if we could go without the beverage package. we are now elite plus so we’re trying to decide if we can just go with the bringing on our four bottles of wine ,elite breakfast and happy hour.And just purchasing  a few cocktails  or beers .

 

After your Apex cruise could you come back and let us know the different cocktails that you could get at happy hour . We do tip good and always like to find a fav bartender.

 

I’m also curious if we can go to the martini bar to get our happy hour cocktails between 5-7 ?? I know on the edge they are more expensive?

Edited December 7, 2022 by sdnich