Celebrity Push Boat Out For Pre-Packaged Drinks

Celebrity Cruises are busy patting themselves on the back with their latest initiative under the rather cumbersome 'Designed for You' marketing platform, but they may well have something.

Several operators (Royal Caribbean for soft drinks, Holland America with their Signature Cocktails Card) have already dabbled in the pre-packaged drinks option, but no-one seems to have done it with such a key eye as Celebrity, who released a big press announcement about it earlier today.

If you can filter out the self-congratulatory tone, it read:

MIAMI, May 3, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --Discerning cruisers have long applauded Celebrity Cruises for its award-winning ships' ability to deliver outstanding service, world-class cuisine and enriching activities in a stylish atmosphere. Now, inspired by its "Designed for you" brand platform and guests' positive response to being able to pre-book aspects of their cruise vacation such as shore excursions and specialty dining reservations, Celebrity has created a way for guests to purchase a variety of beverage packages before their cruise.

"We took our guests' favorite beverages and bundled them into packages that are simple to order from home," said Jacques Van Staden, Vice President, Culinary Operations. "By the time guests board the ship, they can relax knowing that their favorite drinks are arranged for; they can then focus on enjoying themselves in the spa, exploring destinations through shore excursions, or simply lounging by the pool."

What it all means in real terms is as follows. Celebrity has created 4 beverage packages - two 'classic' options and two 'premium' options.

The "Classic Non-Alcoholic Package" features soft drinks, bottled and fresh-squeezed juices, premium coffee and bottled water, and is available at $14.95/person, per day.

The "Premium Non-Alcoholic Package" includes everything in the classic non-alcoholic package but adds speciality non-alcoholic coffee drinks, name-brand bottled water, canned energy drinks and flavoured bottled water, smoothies and frozen non-alcoholic drinks, at $18.40/person, per day.

Celebrity's "Classic Package" features everything in the classic non-alcoholic package, plus beers with a value of up to $5 per serving and spirits, cocktails and wines by the glass with a value of up to $8 per serving. It costs $44.85/person, per day.

The "Premium Package" features all the beverages in the non-alcoholic package plus all beers, spirits, cocktails and wines by the glass with a value of up to $12 per serving, and costs $56.35/person, per day. All prices include a standard 15% service charge.

My only question would be: Would people really spend $57/day under normal circumstances (making sure they have at least 5 drinks a day)? Alternatively, would it encourage more people to drink WAY too much?

Of more interest, perhaps are Celebrity's wine packages, which can also be pre-booked. These include the "Sommelier's Package," the choice of a 3, 5 or 7-bottle lineup of premium wines; a wider variety in a "Captain's Package"; or a "Build Your Own" package designed for those who want to maximize their taste in wine while enjoying a discount (at $114, $148.50 and $225 per package).

The "Build Your Own" package allows connoisseurs to select three upper-range bottles of wine that each cost at least $75 and enjoy a 15% discount. Bottles of wine in any of Celebrity's wine packages can be uncorked in one onboard venue, then recorked and stored until the guest is ready to reopen them.

Celebrity's beverage packages, which are sold on a per-person basis, can be purchased up to 4 days before sailing, via the line's website, www.celebritycruises.com/beveragepackages.

Guests also can access the ordering system via a link in Celebrity's electronic pre-cruise documents, which also provide links to facilitate pre-cruise booking of other offerings such as shore excursions, speciality dining reservations and main dining room preferences. However, guests can also purchase the beverage packages onboard after sailing.

When a guest pre-purchases a beverage package, it will flag the check-in system to add corresponding graphic icons per package to the guest's SeaPass card. A guest will simply need to present his or her SeaPass card in bars, restaurants or by the pool, to enjoy the pre-purchased package.

The packages will become available between May 14 and 21, as ships have different launch dates for the new packages. Celebrity Xpedition, the 92-passenger vessel sailing year-round in the Galapagos Islands, already offers complimentary alcoholic beverages and soft drinks as part of the all-inclusive fare. The wine packages are not available on Celebrity's Solstice-class ships.

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