Ordering wine before boarding

[Little Feet]

Help! A while back I read a thread that described how to pre-order bottles of wine for use on board. The price was very reasonable and the wine steward selected the bottles. I want to do this for our upcoming cruise, but cannot find reference to it. Does anyone know about this?? Thanks for any info you can provide!

[like2cruise]

Initially the wine was $14.00 a bottle. When we ordered for our upcoming cruise it went up to $15.00. It is still probably a great deal unless you are very particular about your wine. You just call 1-800-541-1576 and tell them how many white (chardonnay) and how many red (merlot) you want. They will also want to know if you prefer it in your cabin or at your table in the dining room. If you prefer to fax the form you can download the order form at Holland's website. Enjoy!!

[jollycruiser]

Last word has it now up to $18 bottle and rising. Another reasonable amenity is dissappearing.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

Before HAL began early embarkation, there used to be a wine steward roaming through the terminal. You could buy individual bottles or one of the package deals.

We have not seen them lately - maybe we get on the ship too early.

:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi KK, When we were on the Oosterdam in May we boarded about noon. There was a table set up at the back of the Lido Pool area that took ordered for the week. About a month before we sailed I had called guest services and at that time they could of done our wine order on the phone or she siad we could order on the ship and told us where they would be located. For November I plan to just call guest services and do it ahead of time.;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

We waited until we were on the ship and called to place an order.

But this fall we are thinking about placing an order the first of October for our Oct 15th cruise.

:)

[akeka]

I just downloaded the gift order form and it's still 14 dolars a bottle. The revision date on the bottom left corner states 6/04.

I would think if I faxed in this form, they'd have to honor the price. What do you think?

[FlorenceItaly]

Akeka - I think it is worth a try. I see you are in Wichita...We use to live in Derby..only for 10 months though, then we moved to Missouri.

Marie

[DrSHF]

Still confused. Is the wine CHEAPER if you pre-order it, or is it just a conmvenience? Thanks

[Little Feet]

If we can get it for $14.00/bottle it is much cheaper! I'll be on a B to B, so I'm going to order several! Thanks everyone for the info!

[Leslieswiger]

:D I ordered ten bottles also from HAL and they said it was $14.USD. When I received my visa they charged me 18.50USD. However, when I called HAL they did give me a ship board credit. It's just being told one thing and charged another that I DO NOT enjoy.:mad:

[DrSHF]

But is a $18 bottle of wine (the current quoted price) available ONLY to be pre-booked, or can one order it once one is on board?

[wcolucci]

you must order pre boarding. usually within 7 days to avoid a "penalty"....don't gripe, there are logistics here to deal with so a last minute order can be more cumbersome, ie costly, to the cruise line.

i just spoke to them re: another issue and they said it is still $14 per. Which brings up aniother question, why am I doing this when I should be working??? :-)

generally they provide a wine you can buy retail for $6-8, (we ended up w/ Caliterra, a joint venture of Kendall JAckson of California and a Chilean group), If you're looking for a good sound wine to sip on instead of $6 per glass, it is an exceptional buy. Quite honestly I don't know why they do it...

these are the facts...and they are undisputed

[FlorenceItaly]

Just off the Maasdam...I had pre-ordered the $14 bottle of wine, but did notice the Sutter Home White Zinfandel for $18 a bottle. I think this was the least expensive wine on the menu. It is what they gave me, as I requested it(for my $14 bottle of wine). I do know that by Thursday evening they were all out of the Sutter Home White Zinfandel.

Marie

[Little Feet]

I ordered 6 bottles and faxed it in....I'll be interested to see that the charge to my credit card is $14.00 each. Next I need to pre order some gin, vodka, tonic , and scotch. I did not find them listed on the gift order.....do I have to call to order that?

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your info.


We don't care for White Zinfandel (or any Zinfandel for that matter) so we probably should not preorder wine. If that is what they brought us, we would have wasted $14.

I was interested to see that they had a Merlot but wonder which brand.

[Little Feet]

Sail7Seas, we do not care for most white wine either, so we ordered 6 bottles of the Merlot. I will report on what kind of wine we get...but it will be a long wait. We are not cruising until December.
I have not received any confirmation from HAL ship services yet that they have received my faxed order...maybe they don't confirm! I will call my TA and inquire if she can find out that the order is correct.
Still wondering about how to get a list of liquor that can be pre-ordered?? Anyone know? Do we have to call to order these?

[sail7seas]

Thanks, Little Feet. We'll be on Maasdam in two weeks and I will try to get a list while aboard of what can be pre-ordered so I will know for our next cruise. For this cruise, we will wait and order whatever we are going to have from the wine steward but if I find we can pre-order (at a better price) wines we like, we will do it next cruise.


I'll post a listing if I am able to get it while aboard the ship.

[Little Feet]

sail7seas: Thanks, and have a wonderful cruise!