Surcharges for drinks in Retreat Lounge

[Dolebludger]

FWIW, we really liked our cruises on in 2018 and 2019 in CS and RS. But, for the future, it seems that things we liked then may no be there now, and the fares now are astronomical and not competitive. I wish this were not true.

[Orator]

There are strong future sales on all suites. Celebrity would be fools if they didn't get what the market dictates. Prices will only be lowered when demand comes down.

[RichYak]

11 minutes ago, Orator said:

There are strong future sales on all suites. Celebrity would be fools if they didn't get what the market dictates. Prices will only be lowered when demand comes down.

Here's a cruise I was looking at yesterday. Edge r/t Seattle to Alaska 6/7/24. These are the available S1 cabins (red boxes and 1 green box).

 

[Baynanno1]

5 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I believe this all started when Celebrity raised many of their former Premium Drinks Package wine by the glass by $2-$4 over the $17 cap this month. It does IMO look like just more nickel and diming by Celebrity. $19 for a glass of Cherry Pie Pino is higher than most retail stores sell by the bottle. Same for Decoy Cab at $20 when it retails by the bottle for less. This type of pricing just makes so many in this forum go crazy. Not good PR by Celebrity. BTW on our HAL cruise last month Cherry Pie Pino sold for $12 a glass.

 

Some are $8 above the Premium limit of $17.

Post #2 in this thread has photos of the Classic, Premium and Elevated (above Premium to make more money) wines :

 

 

[Orator]

17 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Here's a cruise I was looking at yesterday. Edge r/t Seattle to Alaska 6/7/24. These are the available S1 cabins (red boxes and 1 green box).

 

I'd keep an eye on this for a price reduction as you get closer to the sail date. Supply and demand rule!

[terrydtx]

12 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

Some are $8 above the Premium limit of $17.

Post #2 in this thread has photos of the Classic, Premium and Elevated (above Premium to make more money) wines :

 

 

I was at my HEB grocery store this morning and the Decoy Cab was selling for $18.95 a bottle. The Cherry Pie Pino was $16.95, buy 6 and get 10% off too.  The store wine manager, who knows me, asked if I needed any of the above wines and I told her I was just price checking and how much Celebrity was charging by the glass.  She was totally blown away and said most high-end restaurants would love to be able to get away with those prices. 

Edited December 20, 2023 by terrydtx

[asctony]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

we only sail X..and maybe Cunard so we pick what works best for us when we book...

Ok, now I understand your opinion.

I cruise X, RCI, Princess, NCL, MSC & HAL. No one cruise line provides it all. They all have their pluses & minuses.

 

[PTC DAWG]

Some of yall should start a cruise line, go to Costco and stock up on wine, sell it on board for exactly what you paid for it..that makes as much sense as comparing the prices to your local market. 

[Whinenowine]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Since they already list wines  by the glass above the PDP as "Elevate Wines"  I could see a new DP called Elevate DP. 

Yeah that's certainly what it first sounded like--three tiers of drink packages.  Above and beyond the ridiculous wine/bourbon pricing we're now seeing on X, my major concern about that is availability.  Over the past few years so much of what I wanted (and saw listed on the drink menus) wasn't actually available.  

 

It's one thing to sail in the Retreat and have the premium package already 'inlcuded' in your pricing.  But to pay more for an Elevate Package and then not have confidence you can actually get what you paid extra for....that's a concern.  So I'd just continue to pay the incremental $4-5/drink excess

[Whinenowine]

1 hour ago, Orator said:

There are strong future sales on all suites. Celebrity would be fools if they didn't get what the market dictates. Prices will only be lowered when demand comes down.

Yup, that's why while I personally refuse to pay current Retreat pricing, I understand why they're jacking things up so high. Charge what the market will bear.   Now...I DO think this is short-sighted and long-term detrimental to the brand (time will tell), but the Exec Office is much more concerned about remaining a going concern today, not what tomorrow may or may not bring.

[Dolebludger]

Of course, there is nothing we can do about all the cuts in service and inclusions, and fare increases, except "vote with our wallets" and book cruises on lines that still offer value. It can be done.

[asctony]

7 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

Of course, there is nothing we can do about all the cuts in service and inclusions, and fare increases, except "vote with our wallets" and book cruises on lines that still offer value. It can be done.

Totally agree with you.

Too bad others seem to make jokes and act so high & mighty.

LOL

[Rmoosh]

I’m sorry but there’s no wine on the ships IMHO that is worth more than $17 a glass. And if they are up charging now in the Retreat Lounge for wine and drinks …..yup no way my husband will wanna cruise again on Celebrity !

[jelayne]

4 minutes ago, Rmoosh said:

I’m sorry but there’s no wine on the ships IMHO that is worth more than $17 a glass. And if they are up charging now in the Retreat Lounge for wine and drinks …..yup no way my husband will wanna cruise again on Celebrity !

Are you onboard now, what did you order that was a upcharge?

[JLMcruise]

Maybe Celebrity is figuring out that guest don't buy the beverage package and instead put the money towards a move up bid then plan to drink in the Retreat Lounge for free if the bid is accepted. They only buy the beverage package if they are unsuccessful at winning the bid. I know quite a few people who do this.

 

[billc23]

7 hours ago, groryjm said:

 

In a upper suite you get a bottle of veuve clicquot in the suite.  Can bring that down and have the Bartender keep it behind the bar for me? 

They have allowed me to bring my preferred bourbon on board if they cannot source what I want. I usually bring a bottle to Michael's club to be kept behind the bar. 

 

[Rmoosh]

51 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Are you onboard now, what did you order that was a upcharge?

I am not on until February 

[cruisestitch]

1 hour ago, billc23 said:

They have allowed me to bring my preferred bourbon on board if they cannot source what I want. I usually bring a bottle to Michael's club to be kept behind the bar. 

 

How in the world did you arrange that????? 

[jelayne]

1 minute ago, cruisestitch said:

How in the world did you arrange that????? 

Curious drinkers want to know!

[billc23]

2 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

How in the world did you arrange that????? 

I requested what they did not have, and could not provide, and asked if I could bring my own. I was given permission but they never checked my luggage. I got the idea when I asked for Lagavulin. They told me they would try to get some in port and gave me permission to bring my own. It was cleared with the beverage manager who was to be contacted but no intervention was required. I ended up with 3 bottles and let the concierge (John from the UK - aka the iPhone expert) have one. 

 

The Jefferson 17yo with the red wax seal from Stitzel Weller is one of the nicest (wheat) bourbons I have enjoyed. Same distillery that the marketers sourced Pappy from and what a marking job they did! Then there is the new Pappy made by Buffalo trace... I have been a collector for a long time.

 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

5 hours ago, Orator said:

There are strong future sales on all suites. Celebrity would be fools if they didn't get what the market dictates. Prices will only be lowered when demand comes down.

That may be true but our former cruise on Beyond in March was sold out a while ago.  We cancelled our RS in September. Now there are a number of suites available so I guess people are figuring out the price is not worth it.  We also cancelled an open passage a week ago. There were no cruises we were interested in at a price we felt reasonable for the Retreat. Added to this, our CVP was laid off and a new one was never assigned. Just no incentive to book another cruise. And with some of the new changes, such as the $2 upcharge for wines we like even in the retreat we might cancel our December cruise. Heads up for anyone looking for a PH next December. 

[DaKahuna]

4 hours ago, billc23 said:

They have allowed me to bring my preferred bourbon on board if they cannot source what I want. I usually bring a bottle to Michael's club to be kept behind the bar. 

 

 I love your taste in bourbon.  We can't get any of those shown in your picture here except through auction and so far I have not had the luck of the draw smile upon me. 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 12/18/2023 at 9:03 PM, CruisersTimesThree said:

The post was on FB and I think the OP interpreted incorrectly. The retreat passenger apparently questioned the retreat concierge about certain wines  that have now been overpriced out of the premium package and was told that retreat guests would be charged the extra + gratuity if they ordered them. The poster apparently went as far as asking the F&B manager to  confirm this.  
Drinks in the retreat lounge are complimentary and no one asks for your seapass card when you order something.  But who knows with this new CEO if one day she takes that privilege away from people paying 10’s of thousands of dollars to cruise! 

 

Thanks for the clarification and I agree with you.  However the "new CEO" is seemingly the parent group's board since they stripped the CEO title when LLP left.  LLP was CEO and President, Laura is only the President

[terrydtx]

15 hours ago, Whinenowine said:

Yeah that's certainly what it first sounded like--three tiers of drink packages.  Above and beyond the ridiculous wine/bourbon pricing we're now seeing on X, my major concern about that is availability.  Over the past few years so much of what I wanted (and saw listed on the drink menus) wasn't actually available.  

 

It's one thing to sail in the Retreat and have the premium package already 'inlcuded' in your pricing.  But to pay more for an Elevate Package and then not have confidence you can actually get what you paid extra for....that's a concern.  So I'd just continue to pay the incremental $4-5/drink excess

Here is one of the former PDP wines that got "Elevated" to $19 a glass, more than I can buy a bottle retail at my local Total Wine.

[terrydtx]

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Edited December 21, 2023 by terrydtx