Celebrity Cruises Adds Surcharge for Promotional Drink Packages

For passengers who sail with Celebrity Cruises, the company has added a new surcharge on complimentary beverage packages selected as promotional booking perks.

According to CruiseCritic.com, Celebrity’s formerly free Classic Beverage Package will now cost travelers $14 per person, per day starting October 10. The beverage package is one of the perks offered as a booking promotion, in addition to onboard credit, prepaid gratuities and more.

“Since we began offering perks, we have not increased package pricing for our guests,” a Celebrity Cruises spokesperson told Cruise Critic. “We’ve been absorbing the increased cost and utilization of beverage perks for some time, and are now updating the fare to reflect this.”

Celebrity clarified the price of a standalone Classic Beverage Package has not changed. The $14 daily surcharge is only applied to passengers who booked the incentive as part of promotional perks.

Other cruise lines have added similar fees, including Norwegian Cruise Line, which charges a 20-percent gratuity on complimentary drink packages selected as a booking perk.

Last month, Celebrity reversed course on its previous decision to remove free in-cabin movies from all of its ships, saying the negative feedback from customers forced the company to reconsider.