Premium drink package clarification

[Octavias]

We’ve booked with Celebrity for May of next year and I’m reading the details of the packages we have and was surprised to see this on the premium drink package: 

 

• “Packages may not be shared, and do not include beverages sold in gift shops, mini-bar or room service.“

 

so if we order room service the food is included but the drinks are extra?  So much for some OJ with breakfast.    Do they really charge you for room service drinks?   Also, would it be in poor taste to ask the butler to clear out the mini bar?

[RTShaker]

2 minutes ago, Octavias said:

We’ve booked with Celebrity for May of next year and I’m reading the details of the packages we have and was surprised to see this on the premium drink package: 

 

• “Packages may not be shared, and do not include beverages sold in gift shops, mini-bar or room service.“

 

so if we order room service the food is included but the drinks are extra?  So much for some OJ with breakfast.    Do they really charge you for room service drinks?   Also, would it be in poor taste to ask the butler to clear out the mini bar?

OJ is included with breakfast, and it isn't an issue to have the fridge cleared out. The room service charge is for alcoholic beverages.

[WestLakeGirl]

Alcoholic drinks, bottled water and carbonated soft drinks, when ordered as room service or taken from mini bars are not included in beverage packages.  
 

room service breakfasts do include juices, coffee and tea at no extra charge.

 

it is not in poor taste to ask that your mini bar be emptied.

 

there are some different rules for suites and non suites when it comes to room service.  Your butler can advise you.

[Octavias]

21 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

Alcoholic drinks, bottled water and carbonated soft drinks, when ordered as room service or taken from mini bars are not included in beverage packages.  
 

room service breakfasts do include juices, coffee and tea at no extra charge.

 

it is not in poor taste to ask that your mini bar be emptied.

 

there are some different rules for suites and non suites when it comes to room service.  Your butler can advise you.

Well that’s a bummer, I’m a Diet Coke drinker.  Guess I’ll have to get my bum outta bed and go get one or start drinking coffee in the mornings! 

[barbpretz]

@Octavias There's no need to get out of bed to get your Diet Coke fix.  If you have the beverage package, you could just stop at a bar and get a couple of Diet Cokes to take to your room before you go to bed.  I'm never without a Diet Coke (or 2) in my cabin.  

 

[Octavias]

1 minute ago, barbpretz said:

@Octavias There's no need to get out of bed to get your Diet Coke fix.  If you have the beverage package, you could just stop at a bar and get a couple of Diet Cokes to take to your room before you go to bed.  I'm never without a Diet Coke (or 2) in my cabin.  

 

Ah yes!  Much better plan.  

[cdn_tbird]

17 minutes ago, Octavias said:

Well that’s a bummer, I’m a Diet Coke drinker.  Guess I’ll have to get my bum outta bed and go get one or start drinking coffee in the mornings! 

duplicate response.

Edited May 16, 2023 by cdn_tbird

[markeb]

You mention your butler. Are you in the Retreat? Sky Suite or above?

 

If so, in all likelihood your butler will stock your suite with your preferred beverages. There's a cooler in the Retreat lounge that's normally full of water and soda, so you don't even need to go to a bar to grab a Diet Coke for the morning (or evening, or afternoon, or pretty much anytime of the day).

 

I've never done one of the extra charge fresh squeezed juices with room service, but good old OJ, coffee, milk, tea, etc., are all included.

 

Rules are tighter if you're not actually in the Retreat, but the suggestion to grab a diet coke when convenient on the way back to your cabin still works.

[Octavias]

1 minute ago, markeb said:

You mention your butler. Are you in the Retreat? Sky Suite or above?

 

If so, in all likelihood your butler will stock your suite with your preferred beverages. There's a cooler in the Retreat lounge that's normally full of water and soda, so you don't even need to go to a bar to grab a Diet Coke for the morning (or evening, or afternoon, or pretty much anytime of the day).

 

I've never done one of the extra charge fresh squeezed juices with room service, but good old OJ, coffee, milk, tea, etc., are all included.

 

Rules are tighter if you're not actually in the Retreat, but the suggestion to grab a diet coke when convenient on the way back to your cabin still works.

Yes, we are in a MS suite.  I’m a little confused how that would work…. If the butler stocks the mini fridge for us, will we get mini bar charges?  

[markeb]

2 minutes ago, Octavias said:

Yes, we are in a MS suite.  I’m a little confused how that would work…. If the butler stocks the mini fridge for us, will we get mini bar charges?  

 

So, there is stated policy and actual practice...

 

On our last cruise, our butler asked questions about drink preferences, etc., on their first visit. They cleared the minibar and restocked with water and (ironically) Diet Coke, and kept them restocked. There were no minibar charges. They also volunteered to bring a glass of wine with our afternoon snacks (also no charge). From reading threads on here on CC, that is neither unusual nor universal. Clearing the minibar is pretty universal. Some folks have had an evening G&T delivered, for instance. Your butler does almost everything for you. They deliver your room service. They bring back your laundry. They can do a lot of guest service things (although the Retreat concierge has direct computer access and is probably a better choice for most guest services requests). 

 

They also received a nice additional gratuity at the end of the cruise...

[cruisestitch]

10 hours ago, Octavias said:

Yes, we are in a MS suite.  I’m a little confused how that would work…. If the butler stocks the mini fridge for us, will we get mini bar charges?  

I’m not familiar with an MS suite. What is that?

[Octavias]

44 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

I’m not familiar with an MS suite. What is that?

It is the suites within the footprint of the magic carpet feature.  

[terrydtx]

We only book Sky suites with Celebrity and post Covid our butler has at our request, stocked our min fridge with only beer and Evian bottled water and we have not paid any extra. Our butlers also have brought either mimosas or bloody mary's with our breakfast orders at no cost. We have used the butler to bring us drinks from the bar to our cabin a few times as well. You will love the Retreat suites experience on Celebrity. I am sure your butler will keep you well stocked with your favorite sodas. We prefer the glass bottled Evian water over the standard canned bottled water and have those removed from our suite by our butler.

Edited May 16, 2023 by terrydtx

[CHEZMARYLOU]

12 hours ago, Octavias said:

We’ve booked with Celebrity for May of next year and I’m reading the details of the packages we have and was surprised to see this on the premium drink package: 

 

• “Packages may not be shared, and do not include beverages sold in gift shops, mini-bar or room service.“

 

so if we order room service the food is included but the drinks are extra?  So much for some OJ with breakfast.    Do they really charge you for room service drinks?   Also, would it be in poor taste to ask the butler to clear out the mini bar?

Non alcohol drinks are available through room service. You can ask that the mini bar be emptied but some butlers will tell you to take water soft drinks and beer.

[Octavias]

18 hours ago, markeb said:

 

So, there is stated policy and actual practice...

 

On our last cruise, our butler asked questions about drink preferences, etc., on their first visit. They cleared the minibar and restocked with water and (ironically) Diet Coke, and kept them restocked. There were no minibar charges. They also volunteered to bring a glass of wine with our afternoon snacks (also no charge). From reading threads on here on CC, that is neither unusual nor universal. Clearing the minibar is pretty universal. Some folks have had an evening G&T delivered, for instance. Your butler does almost everything for you. They deliver your room service. They bring back your laundry. They can do a lot of guest service things (although the Retreat concierge has direct computer access and is probably a better choice for most guest services requests). 

 

They also received a nice additional gratuity at the end of the cruise...

What would qualify as a “nice” additional gratuity?  I’m a planner and am trying to pencil out what this is realistically going to cost.  I’m gathering that people often tip beyond the included gratuities but am unclear of how much? 

[neverlaysup]

8 hours ago, Octavias said:

It is the suites within the footprint of the magic carpet feature.  

Last time we were in a Sky Suite, the butler took the mini bottles (vodka...) out of the fridge and told us to help ourselves to everything else (this is NOT policy). He also then kept it stocked with diet cokes for us the rest of the cruise. If you need, just visit the Retreat lounge and grab as many as you can carry back to the cabin.

[Sigyn]

2 hours ago, Octavias said:

What would qualify as a “nice” additional gratuity?  I’m a planner and am trying to pencil out what this is realistically going to cost.  I’m gathering that people often tip beyond the included gratuities but am unclear of how much? 

I've read that some people give the butler $10 a day pp in the suite, per day for the cruise, some give more. I plan on giving our butler somewhere between $100 and $200 at the end of our 7-day cruise in a sky suite, depending on how much we use them and what the experience is like. I'm guessing we'll need to tip the concierge too, but I need to figure out how much. We also have always tipped about $5 extra on, say, a $25 order at the bars when we order drinks, just to show appreciation, and about $20 if we do dinner at specialty restaurants. 

Edited May 17, 2023 by njsmom

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, Octavias said:

What would qualify as a “nice” additional gratuity?  I’m a planner and am trying to pencil out what this is realistically going to cost.  I’m gathering that people often tip beyond the included gratuities but am unclear of how much? 

 

We are kind of like @njsmom when it comes to additional gratuties.

 

We budget $10 pp a day for our Butler and $5 pp a day for the room steward.  How much we end up tipping depends on how well they meet or exceed our expectations.  

 

We seldom make use of the Retreat Host and so only tip them if they do something over and above the normal service. 

 

In the Retreat Lounge we tip the bartenders on a daily basis.  We usually leave a $10 tip at the end of each night and on a lot of cruises when the bartenders have been fantastic, weven give a tip at the end of the cruise. 

 

Outside the retreat, it's normally a $1  - $2 per drink service.  

 

 

[markeb]

4 hours ago, Octavias said:

What would qualify as a “nice” additional gratuity?  I’m a planner and am trying to pencil out what this is realistically going to cost.  I’m gathering that people often tip beyond the included gratuities but am unclear of how much? 

 

Just seeing this. On our last cruise on Equinox we had a significant amount of OBC and used a lot of it for gratuities at the end (you can get a form from the concierge for additional gratuities that will be charged to your account; no need to bring extra cash). I think we did around $80 to the butler (could have been $100) and some to our room steward and the Retreat bartender. That was for a 7-day cruise and actually the concierge mentioned the bartender when we were asking about the form. I actually might have forgotten him! You will likely see the butler far more than your room steward, which is probably unfair to the steward for additional tips.

 

We didn't ask the concierge to do anything for us (other than the gratuities form) and didn't give them anything extra. Honestly, I'm a little confused with them these days as they're now wearing (hotel) officer's uniforms and I'm left believing they're fully salaried. I'd probably only tip them if they did something crazy like get you into a sold out specialty restaurant. Kind of like I normally wouldn't tip a hotel concierge for giving me a map or helping me figure out subway routes, but definitely would if they got me into a Michelin 2-star in Manhattan (if they got me into a 3-star, I couldn't afford the tip...).

[Sailing12Away]

First trip with celebrity coming up in November and with all the reading I did, I thought I understood what comes with the premium drink package but now I'm confused again. We'll be in the retreat - so is the mini bar in the room included or not? I keep hearing different answers.

Yes, sometimes I understand you may get something that you normally aren't 'supposed to' - but what is the official ruling? Are you able to get pitchers of juice or soda in the fridge if cans are 'not allowed'?

[Northern Aurora]

6 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

First trip with celebrity coming up in November and with all the reading I did, I thought I understood what comes with the premium drink package but now I'm confused again. We'll be in the retreat - so is the mini bar in the room included or not? I keep hearing different answers.

Yes, sometimes I understand you may get something that you normally aren't 'supposed to' - but what is the official ruling? Are you able to get pitchers of juice or soda in the fridge if cans are 'not allowed'?

 

Technically contents in the mini bar are not covered by either the Premium or Classic beverage packages.  But very often the Butler will tell their folks to help themselves the canned sodas and beer.  They will often also ask if you like the bottled ice teas and if so will stock them for you as well.  

 

We have never asked for a pitcher of juice.  And the soft drinks in the mini-bar will be in cans.  Actually, the soft drinks will be in cans all across the ship.

[DaKahuna]

17 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

First trip with celebrity coming up in November and with all the reading I did, I thought I understood what comes with the premium drink package but now I'm confused again. We'll be in the retreat - so is the mini bar in the room included or not? I keep hearing different answers.

Yes, sometimes I understand you may get something that you normally aren't 'supposed to' - but what is the official ruling? Are you able to get pitchers of juice or soda in the fridge if cans are 'not allowed'?

 

The alcohol in the mini-bar is not included.  Feel free to drink the water and soda that is there. 

 Not sure where you got that cans were not allowed.  We've always kept cans of water and soda in ours for our consumption.  

 

The fridges are not large enough for pictures of anything.  We have our Butler remove the bottles of wine and we tell our butler what our beverage preference are.  Most of the time our butler has simply put multiple cans/bottles of the non-alcoholic drinks (sodas, Vitamin Zero water, bottle water, etc.) on the counter top above the mini-fridge and we placed them in the fridge ourselves. Our butler then replenishes what's on the counter top as necessary. 

 

Yes, there are times when the butler has told us to go ahead and drink what's in the mini-bar but there have been more times when the butler has pointed out that the alcoholic beverages are not included.