How far will you go ???

[Hawkstar33]

I understand that prices are higher than in the past. The world is changing, yet people still cruising, regardless of rising cost. I'm not saying any of you are wrong, and what you do is your business, but after reading post after post, it just amazes me how far people are willing to go, and what they are willing to do, to avoid paying for a beverage package of any type, especially Elite n Elite+ cruisers..All the money that has been spent on cruises to get to that level, and this has become a major issue. ..Who luggage tags cases of bottled water. Who carries 2 bottles in their carryon bag to embarkation. Who fills their pockets with water bottles.  Who brings a giant yeti. Who carries a big tote to load up at Happy hour.  Who hits 8 different bars during HH, to fill the room fridge. Who is smuggling drinks out of Elite breakfast and HH. Who has a friend get them a drink off their package. Who goes to the breakfast first for the freebies, then hits Oceanview. Who plans their day around how they can skirt the system.  I'm sure there are other things done. Some say it's fun, but really.   Last thing I'm doing, is any of those things. And definitely Not worrying about it months in advance, and surely not when onboard.  While free, the limited choices are pretty much a joke, during those times for us personally.  So we pay.  Save in advance. Never think about it again.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

Respectfully, I'm struggling to understand your point.  Nothing wrong with being savvy as long as it's within the rules.  Those who bum a drink off someone else's package are outside the rules and I hope they get caught...seems more of a Carnival move to me, though.

 

We also have a drinks package, though we are Elite.  Like you, we never think about it again...

[Hawkstar33]

11 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Respectfully, I'm struggling to understand your point.  Nothing wrong with being savvy as long as it's within the rules.  Those who bum a drink off someone else's package are outside the rules and I hope they get caught...seems more of a Carnival move to me, though.

 

We also have a drinks package, though we are Elite.  Like you, we never think about it again...

I'm not sure I really had a point. Just personally feel that doing all these things, and limiting yourself while on vacation, is silly.  Kind of defeats the whole idea of luxury, relaxing vacation.  Again, to each his own. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

13 minutes ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Just personally feel that doing all these things, and limiting yourself while on vacation, is silly.

I will agree that it does seem like a lot of work.  Several years ago there was a crazy coupon clipping fad where people got on TV showing how much food they were able to get for next to nothing by maximizing the use of coupons in the grocery store. One of our Sunday papers (do people get those any more?) had double the amount of coupon inserts and that week Publix was doing a BOGO on Charmin.  I had twice the coupons and hustled over to get twice the TP using my new found coupons.  Thought I was a real coupon shark bc I had snagged enough for 3 months!  It was the thrill of the hunt...

 

Maybe it's the thrill of the hunt or a quest for savings (whether it's needed or not) that drives some of the cruising behaviors you've noted.  There's definitely a psychology lesson here somewhere 😊.

Edited January 16 by Georgia_Peaches

[Notagoose]

For a lot of people, a cruise is a major splurge, and while they may have managed to scrimp and save to get on the ship, finding an extra grand to spend on drinks, etc. may just be too much. On my first cruise, roughly 20 years ago, I just did not have a lot of extra money for that stuff, so I would walk to the buffet for my free water/fruit punch/lemonade/whatever, and heck yes I bought a case of soda and slapped on a luggage tag. No shame!

 

While I don't have to do that anymore, I still bring a Yeti-type insulated tumbler, because I like icy cold water when lounging in the sun, and I'm usually in some tucked away corner of the ship far from any server or bar. 

[CruiseRQA]

What does the premium drink package cost?  $70/day??

 

I might have a beer at the pool during the day and a glass of wine with dinner.   Water, ice tea remain "free".   My drink expense per day is maybe 20 bucks per day.

 

 

[tomcruiser1234]

I cant say that i have seen any passengers going to the extent you described.  However, you right it might appear that way, when you here on these sites folks ideas to save money (beat the system). 

 

Depending on the length of cruise, 2 large bottles of wine brought on (legal) can go a long way. Also you can buy a liter of spirits on the ship so using a Yeti poolside makes since. 

 

How we spend or dont spend money is crazy. We as a couple still split meals at restaurants. 

 

 

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Kind of defeats the whole idea of luxury

Actually, on a luxury cruise pretty much none of what you describe in your OP would be necessary as it would be all included. People do these things because it's not luxury.

 

FWIW, I always bring a yeti even with a drink package.

[cruisestitch]

I bring an insulated water jug because I like icy cold water, and and I prefer not to use so many plastic bottles.  Nothing to do with trying to cheat the system.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I don't do any of the above but since we book suites we get the beverage package included. Prior to the beverage packages we bought wine by the bottle at dinner, a few drinks during the day and an after dinner drink and coffee.  Our on board spend was more than we would pay for the beverage package because we were on vacation and factored the cost into the total we were paying.

[gcornell]

“To each their own” is just a cute way of judging someone else’s decisions similar to when one insults someone but prefaces it by saying “no offense but”.  Anything that comes before or after any of those words probably isn’t nice. 

[paulh84]

We've never cruised Celebrity without a drink package. If it becomes so cost prohibitive that we have to game the system to squeeze out the value we will be taking different vacations. I'm definitely not going grocery shopping around the ship. 

[SouKnoMe]

What’s wrong with bringing water, wine or an insulated cup on board? 
 

Can’t relate to the HH hoarding. That’s funny. 😂

[Hawkstar33]

11 minutes ago, gcornell said:

“To each their own” is just a cute way of judging someone else’s decisions similar to when one insults someone but prefaces it by saying “no offense but”.  Anything that comes before or after any of those words probably isn’t nice. 

Ok so let's change that...It's your choice would be better.   I admonish or insult nobody.   That's your interpretation..  

[Belgian fry]

We bring the allowed amount of wine on because their limited choice of not great wines make me ill (as in "requiring the hospital on board ship twice" ill). It was actually on board one of their ships that I had two serious allergic reactions to sulfites, although I didn't know at the time what was happening. So, if I want wines which are safer for me, I have to stick to European wines really, as they are less messed about.

[annandme]

2 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

"Who hits 8 different bars during HH, to fill the room fridge"

 

WOW!  I hadn't thought of that!  Thanks for the tip!  Woo Hoo!

[Pinboy]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It was the thrill of the hunt...

 

LOL--- No disrespect--Let's stay friends--

Don't ya think there's better ( more fun ) things to enjoy the " thrill of the hunt " than getting a deal on toilet paper ???

Example---- Let's say I'm sitting in the Solarium , very few seats available, " you know who " is  in the cabin, and this beautiful 32 yr old hops onto the lounge beside me, etc, etc---

Guess what happens ???  I wake up !!

[Hawkstar33]

1 hour ago, tomcruiser1234 said:

I cant say that i have seen any passengers going to the extent you described.  However, you right it might appear that way, when you here on these sites folks ideas to save money (beat the system). 

 

Depending on the length of cruise, 2 large bottles of wine brought on (legal) can go a long way. Also you can buy a liter of spirits on the ship so using a Yeti poolside makes since. 

 

How we spend or dont spend money is crazy. We as a couple still split meals at restaurants. 

 

 

We aren't wine drinkers, so that idea is a bust for us.  I like the Yeti idea, but when you have the package, the drinks are always cold..

[Andrewgary]

49 minutes ago, gcornell said:

“To each their own” is just a cute way of judging someone else’s decisions similar to when one insults someone but prefaces it by saying “no offense but”.  Anything that comes before or after any of those words probably isn’t nice. 

Right up there with "Bless your heart".

[dleahy4444]

29 minutes ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Ok so let's change that...It's your choice would be better.   I admonish or insult nobody.   That's your interpretation..  

I really don’t see the point of your post other than to wonder why people might go to extremes to not have to get the drink package. As another poster pointed out, many people do scrimp and save in order to afford a Celebrity cruise vacation. Since the prices are so high now, the cruise fare alone may be at the top of their budget. A drink package, especially if they don’t drink much, might be an unjustified additional expense. If the cruiser is Elite or above, the perks like the HH drinks are not “free”. They are well deserved perks earned by the money they have spent over the years as loyal customers, which they should take full advantage of, within the rules. 

[cgolf1]

For the 2 cruises we have booked, including the one in 2025, we have yet to see price increases. The price is still in a range that we are comfortable with. That said we mainly sail insides because the room itself is not important to us and a balcony or suite level room we found for us was wasted money because we didn't use it.

[At Sea At Peace]

4 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

I understand that prices are higher than in the past. The world is changing, yet people still cruising, regardless of rising cost. I'm not saying any of you are wrong, and what you do is your business, but after reading post after post, it just amazes me how far people are willing to go, and what they are willing to do, to avoid paying for a beverage package of any type, especially Elite n Elite+ cruisers..All the money that has been spent on cruises to get to that level, and this has become a major issue. ..Who luggage tags cases of bottled water. Who carries 2 bottles in their carryon bag to embarkation. Who fills their pockets with water bottles.  Who brings a giant yeti. Who carries a big tote to load up at Happy hour.  Who hits 8 different bars during HH, to fill the room fridge. Who is smuggling drinks out of Elite breakfast and HH. Who has a friend get them a drink off their package. Who goes to the breakfast first for the freebies, then hits Oceanview. Who plans their day around how they can skirt the system.  I'm sure there are other things done. Some say it's fun, but really.   Last thing I'm doing, is any of those things. And definitely Not worrying about it months in advance, and surely not when onboard.  While free, the limited choices are pretty much a joke, during those times for us personally.  So we pay.  Save in advance. Never think about it again.  

 

3 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

I'm not sure I really had a point. Just personally feel that doing all these things, and limiting yourself while on vacation, is silly.  Kind of defeats the whole idea of luxury, relaxing vacation.  Again, to each his own. 

 

I see your point as it has been very noticeable re: drink packages and alternatives in the threads and posts on CruiseCritic including Celebrity.  I'm not sure if it totally has to do with 'cutting costs to afford the cruise' though.  I believe a number of cruisers (us included) just so routinely bought the premium packages that, at some point, we just sort of took a step back to see if we really needed that.  We also all book at different times, for different reasons; and different specials and discounts are not constant.

 

I'm leaning towards more and more would prefer Celebrity would make a change (to what is varied) and the issue of packages required for non-participants.  

 

Now, it has been fun to learn all of the Elite and related plans (that others have posted and that you accurately noted and highlighted).  We'll be going package-free and also doing the 2 high end carry on wines (paying corkage), FIJI water package and generally planning to get by with HH for Elite and some breakfast items also (coffee and other 😉) or just going up to the bar and getting what we want. 

 

Such wasn't even in the game plan when booking and we've found really good cruises (recent Silhouette 10N SC, upcoming Ascent Prime Aqua and MSC Seascape Yacht Club) and prices (not all apples apples).

 

Again, leaning towards Celebrity is been customer behavior response to some flaws in their current offering(s).  You're being 'spot on' on noticing that it is happening.  👍

[mom says]

4 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

I'm not saying any of you are wrong, and what you do is your business...

Exactly this. As long as they are not breaking any rules, why should this bother you so much?  You accuse people of going out of their way to do these things, yet you seem to have gone out of your way to spend time tracking down and monitoring their actions. Who spends their day minding other people's  business?

[cruisestitch]

3 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

We aren't wine drinkers, so that idea is a bust for us.  I like the Yeti idea, but when you have the package, the drinks are always cold..

Not on shore…..

[Hawkstar33]

1 hour ago, dleahy4444 said:

I really don’t see the point of your post other than to wonder why people might go to extremes to not have to get the drink package. As another poster pointed out, many people do scrimp and save in order to afford a Celebrity cruise vacation. Since the prices are so high now, the cruise fare alone may be at the top of their budget. A drink package, especially if they don’t drink much, might be an unjustified additional expense. If the cruiser is Elite or above, the perks like the HH drinks are not “free”. They are well deserved perks earned by the money they have spent over the years as loyal customers, which they should take full advantage of, within the rules. 

Well, I kinda don't have a real point..I was reading, and the amount of folks posting about how they work their daily drinks out, just amazed me. And I understand the scrimping part. But if you have to scrimp like some are willing to do, it just ain't happening for me. That's all. Just saying that we will not play the game, and for us the package is it.  Covers every beverage from taking meds in the morning till bedtime, and even our during the night sip or two of water.  Mind you, we never drink at home.  So it's not about getting a package to get bombed..It's a matter of having it when you want it, whether it is 2 or 10 drinks, because we are on vacation.  No asking what we can and can't have, and not being upset when the cheap wine stinks. Or when they pour cheap rack booze into my glass instead of the good stuff, because what I drink is not available on a very limited, drink menu between 5-7.