Premium + Drink Package

[KathyC]

Sooooo torn about this package.  It looks like such a great deal! 

$67.50 per person a day (INCLUDES gratuities) x 6 night cruise = $405 per person

What you get:

Premium drink package

2 bottles of wine delivered to your cabin

wine tasting seminar

$50 casino credit

If more than 1 person in the cabin gets the P+, then the mini bar is also included and will be refilled once per day.

 

We will be Elite, so unlimited free drinks from 5-7 daily.  But we usually like to eat dinner around 6, so we're missing out on half of that, or we have to wait until 7 to get in line at Blu.  We don't currently have a drink package, and figured we'd bring on two bottles of wine when we embark.  We were not planning on getting a drink package, just pay as we go.  Three & half days at sea, two port days.  

Current price for the premium package is $69 a day plus 20% gratuities or $496.80 per person.  So a definite savings.  Traveling with just the two of us. 

HELP!!!! 

 

[JLMoran]

That does seem like a pretty good deal. I still think going a la carte with your own bottles of wine will work out better. Unless X charges so much more per preferred drink that you could actually hit $67 a day, especially when you’ll already have two bottles of wine delivered to your stateroom, it seems like it would still be difficult to “break even”.

[KathyC]

3 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

That does seem like a pretty good deal. I still think going a la carte with your own bottles of wine will work out better. Unless X charges so much more per preferred drink that you could actually hit $67 a day, especially when you’ll already have two bottles of wine delivered to your stateroom, it seems like it would still be difficult to “break even”.

We're looking at as this: $405-50 casino credit (love that the casinos are non-smoking!!) = $355 per person so it's really $59.16 per person per day, including gratuities.  The 2 bottles of wine we would've brought on board would cost about $40-45 so if you split that in two, say $20 each so $355-20 = $335, or $55.83 a day per person, including gratuities...see how it keeps getting cheaper and cheaper? 

 

[esmoov]

Thats a good deal.  Then again it depends upon how much you drink.  Personally I like wine with dinner and maybe a beer or 2 during the day, my wife can barely finish one glass of wine if at all.  You need between 5-7 drinks per day to break even (thats why on a port intensive cruises it is more difficult to get the full value).  So in your case (length of the cruise) if I brought two bottles and then ordered another two for the other nights, the package would not make sense.

 My only tip on the premium package is that you must always request the premium booze or wine when ordering. The Celebrity waiters, bartenders and sommeliers will always serve you the cheaper stuff unless you specifically ask for the premium booze.

So if you order a cabernet at diner you will be served the jug wine even though you present a sea pass that says "premium." So therefore look at the list of premium spirits and order by name.

Recently traveled on Edge in April and this default mode happened in every venue so that it was clear to me that all staff must be instructed to pour the plastic bottle vodka unless the customer asks for the Grey Goose.

Also there are certain pourings which are above the premium list and are not included in the plans.

[KathyC]

1 hour ago, esmoov said:

Thats a good deal.  Then again it depends upon how much you drink.  Personally I like wine with dinner and maybe a beer or 2 during the day, my wife can barely finish one glass of wine if at all.  You need between 5-7 drinks per day to break even (thats why on a port intensive cruises it is more difficult to get the full value).  So in your case (length of the cruise) if I brought two bottles and then ordered another two for the other nights, the package would not make sense.

 My only tip on the premium package is that you must always request the premium booze or wine when ordering. The Celebrity waiters, bartenders and sommeliers will always serve you the cheaper stuff unless you specifically ask for the premium booze.

So if you order a cabernet at diner you will be served the jug wine even though you present a sea pass that says "premium." So therefore look at the list of premium spirits and order by name.

Recently traveled on Edge in April and this default mode happened in every venue so that it was clear to me that all staff must be instructed to pour the plastic bottle vodka unless the customer asks for the Grey Goose.

Also there are certain pourings which are above the premium list and are not included in the plans.

Thanks, good to know.  I've noticed on Royal more often than not, the same thing happening.  Even when the menu says "Tito's" in the description, they pour the cheaper stuff. 

Still not sure what we're going to do, have a couple weeks left before the promotion expires.  We CAN drink enough to make it worthwhile, but do we WANT to?  That's the question.  If we got the package we wouldn't bring on our own wine.  I love that Celebrity still lets only one person in the room get the package.  May be worth it for my hubby, who enjoys the premium whisk(e)ys, where I do not.