This article is Celebrity Clarified Cookie Situation. It is a follow up to the cruise news update from a few days ago titled No Free Cookies on Celebrity??
Cookies
Everyone loves free cookies so it was pretty sad news when it was announced that Celebrity started charging around $2.25 for a chocolate chip cookie on Celebrity Equinox.
The news broke a few days ago when passengers on Celebrity Equinox were complaining that the free cookies at Cafe al Bacio were no longer being offered complimentary but instead there was a sign listing cookies for $2 plus tax and gratuity.
Cafe Al Bacio
Cafe Al Bacio is one of my favorite places on Celebrity. I love how you can get a great coffee and sit near the Grand Plaza on Edge Class ships and people watch or just relax with friends.
One of the best things about Bacio is the pastries and baked goods that are available throughout the day for free.
As you can see above there were usually at least three free cookies available every day along with cakes and other treats.
Celebrity Responds
Over the weekend Celebrity responded to Cruise Hive about the cookie situation.
Celebrity confirmed that they did not remove the complimentary cookies from the ship. You can still get them at various locations.
On Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity is testing paid cookies. The cruise line said it is to to pair with the gelato option near Cafe Al Bacio on the ship.
They explained that the cookie was a warm, hot out of the oven chocolate chip cookie to be reminiscing of childhood.
This was a test that they are conducting on the ship to determine if it would be rolled out to the other ships.
It is common for cruise lines to test items on one or two ships before rolling them out. Such as new menus in the dining room, new entertainment experience or others things.
While the announcement brings clarity to the issue, it is still troublesome. This is another example of removing complimentary items from a cruise experience.
Bottom Line
Yes, you can still get free cookies in the Garden Cafe at the ice cream shop. In addition, you may find cookies at other locations on the ship.
Hopefully this will just be a short test on Equinox. I hope that it will not be rolled out to other ships. Enjoy the other great options at Cafe Al Bacio!