Price Of Beverages/Per Drink

[m8zenblue]

I think I saw this somewhere on the board but cant find it now.

Is there a price list for individual alcoholic beverages, Cafe Al Bacio and bottles of water.

We use to get Classic Beverage package as a perk and upgrade to Premium.

Since we no longer can get the "All Included", and the purchase price of a package is sky high we were looking at buying drinks per glass.

 

[jelayne]

Wine lists are available in the app on dinner menus of the dining room.

Al Bacco menu has prices. 
I have never seen an extensive cocktail menu.  Each bar has a drink menu but that primarily their specialty drinks, most on the premium package.  Martini bar martinis are $17 +tip.  Drinks with well liquor are in the $8-10 + tip range.

[cruisestitch]

Cafe Al Bacio

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, m8zenblue said:

Since we no longer can get the "All Included", and the purchase price of a package is sky high we were looking at buying drinks per glass.

Why can you no longer get the All Included fares?  The only thing that changed in 2023 with that option was the elimination of the gratuities from AI.  Basic WIFI and Classic beverage package are still offered with AI, both which can be upgraded to Premium.  Most itineraries are offering Standard and this revised AI fare structures.

[PTC DAWG]

23 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Why can you no longer get the All Included fares?  The only thing that changed in 2023 with that option was the elimination of the gratuities from AI.  Basic WIFI and Classic beverage package are still offered with AI, both which can be upgraded to Premium.  Most itineraries are offering Standard and this revised AI fare structures.

Came here to say the same thing…

[m8zenblue]

Excuse me, maybe I said that incorrectly.

I meant we no longer get the All Included cuz it adds a lot to your cost.

We want to go bare bones on our next cruise, buying beverages by the drink/glass, we always have wifi due to status.

On a normal day we have 7-9 beverages a day.

 

[pacurnl]

Do you qualify for the Elite Happy Hour?  That is the only way I see you would be able to save money by not getting the all-inclusive package.  You also get gratuities and some shipboard credit with the all-inclusive, so if you factor that in, the total cost of the drink package is much less than purchasing it alone.

[leaveitallbehind]

4 minutes ago, m8zenblue said:

Excuse me, maybe I said that incorrectly.

I meant we no longer get the All Included cuz it adds a lot to your cost.

We want to go bare bones on our next cruise, buying beverages by the drink/glass, we always have wifi due to status.

On a normal day we have 7-9 beverages a day.

 

If you normally have 7-9 beverages per day each, including port days, then typically the AI beverage package would be of good value.  The rough overall breakeven typically is around 6 -7 or so beverages per day.

 

The way to find out the cost for sure is to do a mock booking on your desired cruise, first with standard no perk pricing, then with AI to see what the total difference is.  In your comparison, remember that basic wifi will be included.  Usually the AI "package price" is lower than purchasing both separately, either through the planner or on board.  As I'm sure you are aware, depending on CC tier level, the included wifi is not 24/7 as it would be with AI, but some level of total time usage.  

 

For overall a la carte planning, the information presented by @cruisestitch will provide a good guideline.  But, based on your described 7-9 beverages per day, my guess is if you construct a mock daily beverage total from that times your cruise length, it will compare similarly to the AI pricing.  If not, then you have your decision.

[leaveitallbehind]

6 minutes ago, pacurnl said:

Do you qualify for the Elite Happy Hour?  That is the only way I see you would be able to save money by not getting the all-inclusive package.  You also get gratuities and some shipboard credit with the all-inclusive, so if you factor that in, the total cost of the drink package is much less than purchasing it alone.

Gratuities was removed from the AI fares last fall.  It now only includes basic wifi and the classic beverage package.  That significantly reduces its value, but also should be a reduction in total AI package price.  But I agree that should still be of good value v a la carte purchasing at the OP's reported daily beverage levels.

 

And to my understanding the Elite Happy Hour, which is from day 2 on, less the Captains night (to which elites are included) only allows 3 drinks maximum during the scheduled hours from a somewhat limited menu. We usually just go to any bar on board as they tend to be less restrictive on the ordered beverages.  But you are correct that those beverages being at no charge would benefit the OP.  

Edited February 29 by leaveitallbehind

[cruisestitch]

31 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

 

And to my understanding the Elite Happy Hour, which is from day 2 on, less the Captains night (to which elites are included) only allows 3 drinks maximum during the scheduled hours from a somewhat limited menu.

 

that is incorrect.  There is no limit on the number of drinks you can order then.

 

 

 

[leaveitallbehind]

Interesting.  @cruisestitch the reason I mentioned that is on Summit a couple of years ago they definitely were taking our cards and limiting our drinks to 3 during the HH. I challenged that as it had not happened in prior cruises but was told that is now "the policy".  Don't recall that on an Equinox cruise since then, but we spent little time at the HH on that cruise, preferring the other bars instead.  Wil be on Eclipse this June - I will see what happens then in the hope that you are correct and it was just a misinformed bar crew on Summit. 

 

Editing to add:  From all I have been reading here and on the Celebrity website and remembering of previous Celebrity cruises, I have to think you are correct and this was a singular incorrect experience with Summit.  But as it did occur as I described, it left a rather strong impression that it was now the way of things.

Edited February 29 by leaveitallbehind

[tschwa2]

If 6 of the 7-9 drinks a day are $4 coffee and soda drinks and the other 1-3 are drinks in the $8-12 range and/or part of the elite HH, then skipping the AI would save money.  

[leaveitallbehind]

15 minutes ago, tschwa2 said:

If 6 of the 7-9 drinks a day are $4 coffee and soda drinks and the other 1-3 are drinks in the $8-12 range and/or part of the elite HH, then skipping the AI would save money.  

Agree.  While the OP does list some non-alcoholic drinks that they would include, they did not break down the 7-9 total by type.  If you flip your model the opposite may be true.

 

That is why I suggest doing the mock bookings to determine the AI cost v STD and then compare to a daily mix cost times the sailing days to compare value, keeping in mind the wifi component for both of them.  That would give them the best guess by which to decide. 

 

My only real point is that the AI package pricing is usually favorable compared to STD pricing with wifi and beverage packages bought separately.  The a la carte comparison, as we are discussing, is harder to make, which is also why I suggest that 6 or so (alcohol) drinks per day is about a typical breakeven to the beverage package costs.

Edited February 29 by leaveitallbehind

[cruisestitch]

51 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Interesting.  @cruisestitch the reason I mentioned that is on Summit a couple of years ago they definitely were taking our cards and limiting our drinks to 3 during the HH. I challenged that as it had not happened in prior cruises but was told that is now "the policy".  Don't recall that on an Equinox cruise since then, but we spent little time at the HH on that cruise, preferring the other bars instead.  Wil be on Eclipse this June - I will see what happens then in the hope that you are correct and it was just a misinformed bar crew on Summit. 

 

Editing to add:  From all I have been reading here and on the Celebrity website and remembering of previous Celebrity cruises, I have to think you are correct and this was a singular incorrect experience with Summit.  But as it did occur as I described, it left a rather strong impression that it was now the way of things.

I’m sure that was more than a couple of years ago.  At one time there was a three drink rule.  We each received three coupons to exchange for drinks.  But that was probably about ten years ago.

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

I’m sure that was more than a couple of years ago.  At one time there was a three drink rule.  We each received three coupons to exchange for drinks.  But that was probably about ten years ago.

I thought it was our first post pandemic Summit to Bermuda.  But it could have been previous to that and pre pandemic, but not as long back as you suggest.  We have done that itinerary many times and they all tend to run together so I will yield in my senior moment to your judgement that it was more than 2 years ago, but I can assure you less than ten.  

 

Either way, unlimited is good and I certainly take you at your word.  Thanks for the input.

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Interesting.  @cruisestitch the reason I mentioned that is on Summit a couple of years ago they definitely were taking our cards and limiting our drinks to 3 during the HH. I challenged that as it had not happened in prior cruises but was told that is now "the policy".  Don't recall that on an Equinox cruise since then, but we spent little time at the HH on that cruise, preferring the other bars instead.  Wil be on Eclipse this June - I will see what happens then in the hope that you are correct and it was just a misinformed bar crew on Summit. 

 

Editing to add:  From all I have been reading here and on the Celebrity website and remembering of previous Celebrity cruises, I have to think you are correct and this was a singular incorrect experience with Summit.  But as it did occur as I described, it left a rather strong impression that it was now the way of things.

There is no limit on the # of drinks one can have during the 2 hr Happy Hour.  You could have  3 drinks and then take a glass of wine to dinner and get a bottle of water to take to your cabin. Your Summit cruise was a couple of years ago and since the restart many things have changed, in fact changes occur almost weekly. 

[leaveitallbehind]

38 minutes ago, jelayne said:

There is no limit on the # of drinks one can have during the 2 hr Happy Hour.  You could have  3 drinks and then take a glass of wine to dinner and get a bottle of water to take to your cabin. Your Summit cruise was a couple of years ago and since the restart many things have changed, in fact changes occur almost weekly. 

This has been correctly pointed out to me, and I have acknowledged pre and post pandemic cruise experiences and that I could have been incorrect on the sailing date.  I appreciate your comments.

Edited February 29 by leaveitallbehind