Classic Beverage Package Changes and Devaluation

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, twobeautifulgirls said:

I am booked in an Aqua class room so we both have the classic drink package. My daughter is only 19 so I asked the TA if we still have to pay the premium for the classic package as opposed to the zero package which is $50 a day cheaper. I was told we have no option since it is part of Aqua. I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for a refund of a drink package for a minor. I mean, she would love an unlimited drink package but if they won't serve her why should I pay for it?

Here is a link to the Beverage Package FAQs.  If you look at the question regarding beverage packages for those pregnant, medical issues, etc I think you will find the answer.  Your daughter will have the Zero Proof package. 
Celebrity does not reduce the price of an All Included booking when one person can’t have or doesn’t want a beverage package. 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/beverage-packages

[jagoffee]

17 hours ago, RichYak said:

IMO your card will be coded according to what you paid for. For what you were told will require a fight. Please don’t take it out on the bartender who must charge you for your sparkling water. Take your fight to guest services afterwards. 

I believe Sparkling water has always been included in the Classic ((AI), just not Pellegrino.  
 

Might be wrong about this, but is the way that I remember.

Edited February 16, 2023 by jagoffee

[jagoffee]

13 hours ago, CruiseCrew123 said:

The rep is incorrect. Smoothies (think kale etc from the spa cafe ) are not included and neither are fresh juices - just the watered down version from the ocean view . Sparkling water in the form of club soda is available but not pelligrino or Perrier . I was on celebrity 2 weeks ago 

Just to be clear.  You asked specifically for Perrier (or ordered it) and it was not included on the Classic package?  I was almost certain that Perrier was always included in the Classic non alcoholic drink package.  I always get the Premium, so I am 100% certain,  

[zitsky]

46 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Just to be clear.  You asked specifically for Perrier (or ordered it) and it was not included on the Classic package?  I was almost certain that Perrier was always included in the Classic non alcoholic drink package.  I always get the Premium, so I am 100% certain,  

I drink Perrier but I’ve not seen the word anywhere on the Celebrity site, just San Pellegrino.  I’d prefer club soda over San Pellegrino.

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

I believe Sparkling water has always been included in the Classic ((AI), just not Pellegrino.  
 

Might be wrong about this, but is the way that I remember.

I believe sparkling water is a premium water and as such has not been included in the Classic package. Not sure which one of us is right. 

[Duhey2]

On 2/15/2023 at 1:26 PM, j0hnnyb0yyyyy said:

Yes. They’ve definitely changed it from when i booked. 

 

Look at your order date for the beverage package (like someone said, click your initials and look for the picture of the limes).  I booked my cruise in January and the order date for my Classic package is now 02/14.  Why is it not when I originally booked my cruise last month?  

[prmssk]

Someone currently on the Eclipse just posted in a FB group I participate in a photo of a list they received from Guest Services regarding what is included in each package.  The Classic Package lists Canned Soda, Non-premium bottled water, juices, speciality espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes, and frozen drinks.  The Premium package lists Evian, San Pellegrino, Perrier, Vitamin Water, Red Bull, and Juices. 

 

This matches with what I recall these packages typically covering.

Edited February 17, 2023 by prmssk

[Bo1953]

13 hours ago, Lisah101 said:

I thought the smoothies included greek yogurt so that would not be vegan.

Greek yogurt added is only an option....

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[Bo1953]

12 hours ago, slonich said:

Nooo! 

Thanks so much for pointing that out. I'll obviously need to do some more research. He's been a vegan for a long time and is pretty good at magically finding stuff to fit his diet anywhere we go. I still like to do some prep work and get a rough idea of what may be available at which restaurant before we make reservations. 

Do you know if Spa Cafe makes the smoothies from fresh fruit, or from premixes?

Everything in smoothies from the Spa Cafe is fresh and to order....

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Duhey2 said:

Look at your order date for the beverage package (like someone said, click your initials and look for the picture of the limes).  I booked my cruise in January and the order date for my Classic package is now 02/14.  Why is it not when I originally booked my cruise last month?  

If you outright purchase a beverage package it shows generally within 24 hrs.  When you book with AI the wi-fi and beverage packages don’t show up for weeks or even months   As long as the AI is what your booking confirmation says then that is the critical document.   We have a cruise we booked on 2/18/22 and the beverage package and wi-fi were loaded to Order History on 7/1/22. 

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

Someone currently on the Eclipse just posted in a FB group I participate in a photo of a list they received from Guest Services regarding what is included in each package.  The Classic Package lists Canned Soda, Non-premium bottled water, juices, speciality espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes, and frozen drinks.  The Premium package lists Evian, San Pellegrino, Perrier, Vitamin Water, Red Bull, and Juices. 

 

This matches with what I recall these packages typically covering.

Cannot disagree with the facts.

[miched]

On 2/15/2023 at 1:48 PM, Guindalf said:

Classic drinks package has NEVER included Evian, Red Bull, vitamin water, etc., so where you got this idea from is beyond me.

 

I have always upgraded to Premium for the simple reason that I prefer S. Pellegrino and have the option for Agua Panna, and so on (I also prefer the premium spirits offered like Grey Goose, Woodford Reserve and more).

 

This leads me to be completely confused by your complaint. You must have misread (or misunderstood) something along the way.

Totally agree.   I don’t know where the OP seen where it was.

 

My frustration was when we were on the Equinox in Nov they didn’t have any Woodford and we had the premium package.   They also have very few wines that were in the premium package that we had  on other cruises. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[slonich]

20 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Everything in smoothies from the Spa Cafe is fresh and to order....

 

Cheers and bon voyage

 

Thank you, that is great to hear.

Spa Cafe stays on our list then and Vitamix stays home 🙂

[Bo1953]

3 minutes ago, slonich said:

 

Thank you, that is great to hear.

Spa Cafe stays on our list then and Vitamix stays home 🙂

I think a Vitamix is used in the SC for the smoothies, I cannot quite remember...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[Hlitner]

There is some humor to these packages.  A few years ago, shortly after LLP started her "death by a thousand cut-backs" we were in Aqua Class on a cruise.  The 2nd or 3rd day we ran out of bottled water (was always included in AQ and simply the cheap plain bottled water) and ask our steward if he would replace our water.  He got his supervisor who explained that the policy had just changed, and Aqua Class only included the 2 small bottles that were in the cabin on embarkation day.  That was followed by an apology and explanation that the new policy "came from the top."  Since we had the premium drink package, we simply asked for 2 bottles of Pelligrino whenever we left a bar to return to our cabin.  We even used that Pelligrino to brush our teeth (it is quite nice) and drank a lot of the stuff instead of the cheap bottled water that USED to be included for Aqua.  

 

That was also the last Celebrity cruise we have taken since that voyage.  We normally would have been on X for at least a month every year, but we replaced that with other lines (Seabourn, HAL, Princess, MSC Yacht Club, etc).  All because LLP thought it was good business to take away a few cents of bottled water from AQ.  For us, it had nothing to do with the cost of the Celebrity bottled water (it cost the company no more than 10 cents a bottle) but the principle.  Yes, we could replace that previously supplied bottled water with all the bottled water we wanted..as long as we got it at a bar.  And since we had to stop at a bar to get water, we would usually also get a glass of wine or a cocktail to take back to the cabin.  So that cost cutting (by eliminating a 10 cent bottle) ended up costing X a lot more money for Pelligrino and quite a few extra glasses of wine.  And we have talked to others who had a similar attitude.

 

I get it...when cruise lines want to enhance their bottom line and think that cut-backs are a good path.  But what looks good on a spreadsheet can often have unintended consequences.  A company (like Celebrity) can spend decades building goodwill with their customers, but a CEO like LLP can throw away all that goodwill over a few minor things like a bottle of Celebrity water.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Ex-Airbalancer]

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

There is some humor to these packages.  A few years ago, shortly after LLP started her "death by a thousand cut-backs" we were in Aqua Class on a cruise.  The 2nd or 3rd day we ran out of bottled water (was always included in AQ and simply the cheap plain bottled water) and ask our steward if he would replace our water.  He got his supervisor who explained that the policy had just changed, and Aqua Class only included the 2 small bottles that were in the cabin on embarkation day.  That was followed by an apology and explanation that the new policy "came from the top."  Since we had the premium drink package, we simply asked for 2 bottles of Pelligrino whenever we left a bar to return to our cabin.  We even used that Pelligrino to brush our teeth (it is quite nice) and drank a lot of the stuff instead of the cheap bottled water that USED to be included for Aqua.  

 

That was also the last Celebrity cruise we have taken since that voyage.  We normally would have been on X for at least a month every year, but we replaced that with other lines (Seabourn, HAL, Princess, MSC Yacht Club, etc).  All because LLP thought it was good business to take away a few cents of bottled water from AQ.  For us, it had nothing to do with the cost of the Celebrity bottled water (it cost the company no more than 10 cents a bottle) but the principle.  Yes, we could replace that previously supplied bottled water with all the bottled water we wanted..as long as we got it at a bar.  And since we had to stop at a bar to get water, we would usually also get a glass of wine or a cocktail to take back to the cabin.  So that cost cutting (by eliminating a 10 cent bottle) ended up costing X a lot more money for Pelligrino and quite a few extra glasses of wine.  And we have talked to others who had a similar attitude.

 

I get it...when cruise lines want to enhance their bottom line and think that cut-backs are a good path.  But what looks good on a spreadsheet can often have unintended consequences.  A company (like Celebrity) can spend decades building goodwill with their customers, but a CEO like LLP can throw away all that goodwill over a few minor things like a bottle of Celebrity water.

 

Hank

 

Hank

wow, it been 9 years since Lutoff-Perlo become the President, so you haven’t been on a Celebrity cruise for years

And your not going to coming back , time to move on 

[zitsky]

9 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Greek yogurt added is only an option....

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Maybe they could offer a tofu smoothie?  Would that be drinkable? I’m not saying they offer it now but that maybe they could?  🤔

Edited February 17, 2023 by zitsky

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

There is some humor to these packages.  A few years ago, shortly after LLP started her "death by a thousand cut-backs" we were in Aqua Class on a cruise.  The 2nd or 3rd day we ran out of bottled water (was always included in AQ and simply the cheap plain bottled water) and ask our steward if he would replace our water.  He got his supervisor who explained that the policy had just changed, and Aqua Class only included the 2 small bottles that were in the cabin on embarkation day.  That was followed by an apology and explanation that the new policy "came from the top."  Since we had the premium drink package, we simply asked for 2 bottles of Pelligrino whenever we left a bar to return to our cabin.  We even used that Pelligrino to brush our teeth (it is quite nice) and drank a lot of the stuff instead of the cheap bottled water that USED to be included for Aqua.  

 

That was also the last Celebrity cruise we have taken since that voyage.  We normally would have been on X for at least a month every year, but we replaced that with other lines (Seabourn, HAL, Princess, MSC Yacht Club, etc).  All because LLP thought it was good business to take away a few cents of bottled water from AQ.  For us, it had nothing to do with the cost of the Celebrity bottled water (it cost the company no more than 10 cents a bottle) but the principle.  Yes, we could replace that previously supplied bottled water with all the bottled water we wanted..as long as we got it at a bar.  And since we had to stop at a bar to get water, we would usually also get a glass of wine or a cocktail to take back to the cabin.  So that cost cutting (by eliminating a 10 cent bottle) ended up costing X a lot more money for Pelligrino and quite a few extra glasses of wine.  And we have talked to others who had a similar attitude.

 

I get it...when cruise lines want to enhance their bottom line and think that cut-backs are a good path.  But what looks good on a spreadsheet can often have unintended consequences.  A company (like Celebrity) can spend decades building goodwill with their customers, but a CEO like LLP can throw away all that goodwill over a few minor things like a bottle of Celebrity water.

 

Hank

 

Hank

When did they get rid of the 2 daily bottles of water?  It's still listed as an amenity on their Aqua page.  Maybe they added it back?

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/aqua-class-stateroom

 

Either way, this would be by far the most trifling thing I've heard of for someone to completely drop considerations for future vacations. I was honesty shocked when reading your post.  I understand that you're attributing it to principle, but my guess is that any cutback that may have affected you in the slightest would have tipped you over the edge and caused you to not book again.

 

 

[RichYak]

40 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Either way, this would be by far the most trifling thing I've heard of for someone to completely drop considerations for future vacations. I was honesty shocked when reading your post.  I understand that you're attributing it to principle, but my guess is that any cutback that may have affected you in the slightest would have tipped you over the edge and caused you to not book again.

If one is already teetering on the edge, which Hank may very well have been at the time, it takes very little to tip the balance. I didn't find his post shocking nor his reasons trifling. Just my 2 cents.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

5 minutes ago, RichYak said:

If one is already teetering on the edge, which Hank may very well have been at the time, it takes very little to tip the balance. I didn't find his post shocking nor his reasons trifling. Just my 2 cents.

Well now we've got 4 cents 😄 I agree that its likely a straw that broke the camel's back situation. Which is a very fitting idiom.

[OysterD]

48 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

When did they get rid of the 2 daily bottles of water?  It's still listed as an amenity on their Aqua page.  Maybe they added it back?

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/aqua-class-stateroom

 

Either way, this would be by far the most trifling thing I've heard of for someone to completely drop considerations for future vacations. I was honesty shocked when reading your post.  I understand that you're attributing it to principle, but my guess is that any cutback that may have affected you in the slightest would have tipped you over the edge and caused you to not book again.

 

 

I thought the same when I read that, I can't understand the rationale. Although I'm also not someone who uses San Pelligrino to brush my teeth, I thought that was what the taps are for in the bathroom!

 

Also, in case anyone is wondering, AQ does get 2 bottles (they're in metal containers, not bottles) of water every day, at least that was the case a few months ago.

 

There we go, I've rounded it up to 5 cents 🙂

 

 

[Hlitner]

If LLP has restored the previous included bottled water, in Aqua, then that is a plus.  We have not given up on X and would book tomorrow if we found the right deal on the right itinerary.  But, given the current pricing on the smaller suites (which we prefer) it is unlikely we would book X because we find better value on several other cruise lines.  When it costs less, per person day, to cruise on lines like Celebrity, MSC's Yacht Club,  or the new Explora Journeys than it does on X (in a Sky Suite or similar) our decision making is very simple.  As to the AQ water thing breaking the camel's back (even camels need some water) that was just a very minor issue.  What we found more disturbing was that the things that drove us to cruise Celebrity in the first place, very good cuisine, excellent service and decent entertainment, was no longer up to the standards we had always expected from X.  As frequent cruisers, DW and I will admit to missing the S-Class ships and some wonderful friends we had made within the Celebrity family.  Our history with X goes back to the Meridian but may have ended with our last X cruise.  Kind of sad, but such is life.

 

Hank

[miched]

In AQ it was unlimited.  Then it was changed to 2 bottles per cruise don’t remember if it was 2 pp or per cabin.  Now I guess it is 2 per day.    With the drink package we always get a bottle on our way to the cabin.  
 

Not a big issue unless you don’t have a drink package and that may be the reason that the classic package is included in AQ 
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[poffles]

On 2/15/2023 at 2:06 PM, j0hnnyb0yyyyy said:

Just needed to vent my frustrations. I decided I wanted an “elevated” cruise experience for a quick, semi last minute cruise getaway. I’m normally a Carnival and Royal Caribbean guy. Ive sailed celebrity once before and had fun. But honestly, Celebrity tends to be a little over my budget ordinarily. So we booked a cruise that was 58 days out, and booked an Aqua class room. Wasn’t cheap, but it presented a good value for the dollar in my opinion. And i showed this value to 7 other people to get them to book as well. 4 rooms in total. Now since my booking, a little over 2 weeks ago, they changed the contents of the Classic Beverage package, and took away the full inclusion of the contents of the ZERO PROOF package, and left over some basic stuff like coffee, etc.  I personally found value that it, when i booked, included items like Evian, Redbull, and Vitamin Water. Now that is no longer included, and am now  told to pay the difference for the premium package if i want those things, instead of honoring what I originally purchased. I like to think im a man of principle. And i cant just cancel the “package”, as a vote of my wallet, as it was included in the original fare, which i obviously cant adjust now being so close to sailing. Ive just never seen such blatant disregard for guests concerns from a hospitality company before. 

END RANT lol

 

Have you sailed Celebrity before?  I will not argue that there was one location online that showed Zero Proof to be included in Classic but based on my own past experience it was viewed as an oversight/mistake on Celebrity's part, other areas did not show the Zero Proof in the Classic listing and people on board were proving it to be a mistake.  I seen what you were seeing for my own upcoming cruise and just kept shaking my head on how misleading it was and if someone purchased based on that they would get a shock on board if ordering a Perrier and getting charged.  This description was wrong since the Zero Proof was introduced beginning of January so it hasn't been a short window of oversite and people are definitely justified in being angry over this.

 

What I currently see on my booking now for Classic (if purchasing) there is no mention at all for sodas/coffees ... nothing, just alcohol for Classic which is also clearly an oversight (better be!) That said, I upgraded my package to Premium as I like getting Perrier and better drinks so will be good either way.

 

Why they can't seem to get this straight is beyond me (no answer expected!)  One can say blame IT but at this point the blame should extend beyond any one team as this has to be known beyond them.  IT does not necessarily maintain site content and how it gets written.  I work in IT and along my path I was administrator for a divisions website but mostly uploading/updating what other team members passed along to post, I was not an editor.  I suspect the same  may apply here.  Moot point but still worth a mention, oversite and quality control of the overall online content seems to be a challenge for Celebrity.

 

.

Edited February 17, 2023 by poffles

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

wow, it been 9 years since Lutoff-Perlo become the President, so you haven’t been on a Celebrity cruise for years

And your not going to coming back , time to move on 

Our last X cruise was in May of 2019.   We are currently back to cruising over 70 days a year (will likely go over 100 days a year) but no X cruises on our radar.  Given the right set of circumstances we will certainly be back.  Just 2 weeks ago we deciced to book a late 2023 Caribbean cruise and we again looked at X as well as MSC, Princess, and Seabourn.  We decided to book a mini-suite on Princess since it was a far better value than X and we do enjoy the Princess ships.  To be very honest, our preference would have been to book MSC (Yacht club) but their itineraries were awful except for the usual visits to Ocean Cay.

 

So lets put it all in perspective, value wise.  If we had booked a Sky Suite on the Apex for 2 weeks it would have cost us somewhere around $15,000 (with all the nice amenities).  A mini-suite on Princess will cost us about 1/2 of that price (with tons of amenities and lots of OBC).  Even if we were to give extra points to X because of the Retreat benefits, there is just no way to justify twice the price!  If we had booked 2 weeks in MSC's Yacht Club it would have cost approximately $9200.  And the YC actually has a much nicer set of amenities than you get with the Retreat stuff.  The Seabourn Quest would cost about the same price as the X Sky Suite...but that price does also include over $2000 in fees/taxes because of the Panama Canal tolls.   

 

We are Elite Plus on X and long time Elite on Princess so do have a good feel for both lines.  There are some things better on X and some things better on Princess.  We used to rate the food on X far superior to Princess. But no more.  So how does one justify spending twice the price to go on the Apex?  For us the decision to go on Princess was a no-brainer.

 

Hank