Rare little britain Posted April 9, 2006 #1 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Read that there is a wine package for $119 - and that gives you 6 bottles of wine and some water....please can someone give me details - what quality of wine do you get - is it the house special [and if so is it drinkable!]. Seems a good bargain - do you buy it beforehand or do you buy this package on board? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondello Posted April 9, 2006 #2 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Read that there is a wine package for $119 - and that gives you 6 bottles of wine and some water....please can someone give me details - what quality of wine do you get - is it the house special [and if so is it drinkable!]. Seems a good bargain - do you buy it beforehand or do you buy this package on board? thanks Hi LB, Your cruise is 13 months away, please chill out. The wine/water package offers both convenience and value. First off, the water is a $20 value as Costa charges $2 per bottle onboard. you get 10 bottles, choice of regular/spring water or carbonated "gas" water. The wine, you receive six (6) coupons to be redeemed for your wine, you can choose to use the coupons for the same variety of wine if you find one you love. There are two (2) packages available, one is white wines and the other is red/rose'. The package includes, 1 of the 6 bottles is a champagne (Prosecco) if I recall correctly. As to your inquiry if its drinkable, that depends on how big of a wine snob you are. All wine is drinkable. As to whether its to die for, everything is relative. You are paying about $16.50/bottle and with Costa's profit markup, these are probably about $10/bottle values. Last of all, you can order the wine/water package in advance or wait until your first day aboard. Bon Voyage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted April 9, 2006 Author #3 Share Posted April 9, 2006 Thanks for your very clear descriptive answer! FYI - I am totally chilled out this wet Sunday evening here in England .......I just like finding out facts - and along the line I hope that the questions I ask may be of use to others on this fantastic website! ps: $10 a bottle seems like classy stuff to me!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatlover Posted April 9, 2006 #4 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I am sailing in just a few weeks. Let me see if I understand the details - For about $120 I get: 20 bottles of water - what size? 5 bottles of red/white wine - can I mix it up? 1 bottle of champagne/prosecco I have tried the Costa website for these details but find it to be somewhat unclear. Infact, I am finding the website to be of little help in general. Is that a common experience or just me? We booked just about 10 days ago so we haven't received our documents yet, I assume there is info included in there? Quite anxious to get these. This will be our first time on Costa, really looking forward to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarbabe61 Posted April 9, 2006 #5 Share Posted April 9, 2006 If you go to the Costa Website and put in your booking number, you can then add things like wine package, excursions etc. Depending on how you booked your cruise it may be better to book these direct with Costa. For example, I booked my cruise through the travel agent where I work, direct with Costa. The price we got was a "pronto" price. That entitles you to a 10% discount on the wine package. I emailled Costa to ask if I should book via the website or through them direct. I received a reply advising to get the discount I would need to book through them. The prices they gave me in the email of 24th October was WINE PACKAGE "CLASSIC" - £60.12 WINE PACKAGE "SPECIAL" - £65.55 Hope this helps/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted April 10, 2006 Author #6 Share Posted April 10, 2006 If you go to the Costa Website and put in your booking number, you can then add things like wine package, excursions etc. The price we got was a "pronto" price. That entitles you to a 10% discount on the wine package. WINE PACKAGE "CLASSIC" - £60.12 WINE PACKAGE "SPECIAL" - £65.55 Hope this helps/ 10% off the wine package as well - now that is a good tip! What is the difference between the 'classic' and the 'special' packages - is that just the red/white difference?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarbabe61 Posted April 10, 2006 #7 Share Posted April 10, 2006 No its different qualities of wine. As my booking has expired :( I cannot access the website. If you access the website and enter your booking number you will be able to view what is in each package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taf Posted April 10, 2006 #8 Share Posted April 10, 2006 We have tried the wine package and it is a good deal, delicious Italian wine. You get 6 vouchers for wine (1 of them Prosecco) and 10 vouchers for 1lt bottles of water. But the wine is named bottles - you can`t swap. You can redeem the vouchers at any bar or with the wine waiter at dinner, and they store it for you if you don`t finish it with your meal (???). We took bottles back to enjoy in the cabin too, and used the water vouchers to keep water in the cabin and also to take on excursions. You can book it on board, and I think there is a 20% discount if you are a past Costa cruiser - I read it somewhere!! We will definately have it again this year at Christmas on the Magica. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondello Posted April 10, 2006 #9 Share Posted April 10, 2006 We have tried the wine package But the wine is named bottles - you can`t swap. Sorry, but many other CC members have posted that Costa allows guests to swap the coupons for their choice of any of the wines offered in the package as these are all similiar priced wines. That is just like choosing ice cream, if it is a dollar a scoop, they don't care what flavor you choose. Although they would refuse to allow you to swap for a more expensive wine choice that was not offered as part of the package, they can and do allow guest to swap coupons for their choice among the offerings in the package. Sorry if they didn't allow you to swap in the past, but they should allow you to on your next Costa cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taf Posted April 10, 2006 #10 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Hey Mondelo Thanks for the tip - I will ask on the Magica next cruise. They didn`t let us swap on the Atlantica, but to be honest we didn`t insist and it all tasted great anyway so it was no problem for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondello Posted April 10, 2006 #11 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Glad to hear the whole package was fine. I was on the 3/5-3/12 Magica and I loved it. It just seemed like my waiter and room steward genuinely cared that I enjoyed my cruise. Hope you have a great time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondello Posted April 12, 2006 #12 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Hi LB, I had my cruise docs out and discovered that I have posted incorrect information. The 2 wine packages offered were not for a choice of red/rose' or white. Costa offered (Magica 3/5) two packages: "Classic" was $137.31US and "Special" was $149.96US." Each package includes 10 bottles of water, 1 Prosecco Champagne and 5 bottles of wine. The prices include the 15% service charge that Costa adds to all bar orders. If you enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner each night, either of the packages would be worth considering. Especially with the possible 10-20% discounts mentioned by others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyce and Tim Posted April 12, 2006 #13 Share Posted April 12, 2006 We were able to swap at dinner (we liked one of the whites we'd had on the list and swapped it for the reds) but not the time we tried it at lunch. And we could not swap the prosecco...can't remember why we wanted to do that exactly! It was a nice package deal (esp considering the service charge). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted April 13, 2006 Author #14 Share Posted April 13, 2006 If you enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner each night, either of the packages would be worth considering. Especially with the possible 10-20% discounts mentioned by others........thanks for the update - yes, a bottle of wine with dinner is no problem - it is when we have finished the first bottle by the time the first course has been eaten is when the problem arises!:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondello Posted April 13, 2006 #15 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Hi LB, Well, definitely buy the package if you're up for a bottle each night. You should also consider bringing some of your own, especially if you were serious about having more than 1 bottle a night. Costa was very lenient about guests bringing aboard their own supply of liquid refreshments. They had their hands full getting everybody aboard the ship and did not seem to care. Check these boards next season as your sail date nears and see if Costa changes their ways. I saved $50 just bringing a case of bottled water and a bottle of sparkling wine. The savings made it worth the effort. I had a 1/2 case of water in a collapsible cooler atop my wheeled carry-on and they didn't bat an eye. I didn't try to put any glass bottles in my checked bags as I didn't want to risk the porters breaking anything, but many others have posted that they didn't have any trouble getting their libations aboard. Just something to consider to make your money go farther. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted April 13, 2006 Author #16 Share Posted April 13, 2006 You should also consider bringing some of your own, especially if you were serious about having more than 1 bottle a night. . Mondello - you are speaking to an expert!!! Just got off NCL where the Booze Police are notorious for conviscating your booze - and managed to get 5 litres on board - contents of a few wine boxes in their 'bladders' - don't show up on the x-rays and I get to enjoy a glass of wine in the cabin before dinner! NCL charge you $15 per bottle if they catch it - but all the CCers we met up with on our roll call had managed to get some booze on in a variety of ingenious ways! We had actually gone across to France for lunch [as us Brits tend to do] and the wine prices there are incredibly cheap - a 3 litre box of drinkable wine cost us €9 [that is about $11] and NCL were selling a 70cl bottle of the same stuff for $22 +15% service.......go figure...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audreyt26 Posted April 13, 2006 #17 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Hi Everone! Just came off the Mediterrenea from 4/2 and I had ordered the package on the website beforehand. Let me tell you what I learned: 1. When you book online it will be delivered during your first dinner - the coupons. If you don't dine in the restaurant - no coupons! 2. If you get your coupons, you can also give them to your cabin steward and he can bring your bottled water to your room for you and put it in your fridge - which I think is sweet! I think they'll do it for wine too! 3. If you were unfortunate enough not to get to dine in the restaurant, the guest services will refund you the money. 4. The water served in the buffet is fantastic - I only ordered bottled wine to take with us in excursions and for the room at night. I hope you have a fantastic time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseclues Posted April 15, 2006 #18 Share Posted April 15, 2006 little britain, Our Costa Mediterranea site is not ready at all, but the Wine List page (which includes the packages), and the Bar List page at least has the scanned images. Wine List Bar Menus We really enjoyed the Costa Mediterranea. :) :cool: :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmlf Posted April 15, 2006 #19 Share Posted April 15, 2006 Costa is very lenient on the booze...you can take anything aboard and also take liquor you buy at ports to your cabin...I didnt see anyone get it taken away. As a matter of fact I bought things on the ship and they let me take them to my cabin. Its the most lenient Ive seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted April 17, 2006 Author #20 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Thanks to Cruiseclues - looks like a good package and good to see some wine that is not too $$$$ on the list! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soukara Posted April 19, 2006 #21 Share Posted April 19, 2006 What about beer ? Has anyone tried bringing their own ? Is there any room in the servi-bar or is it an actual fridge ? Do they have functioning good draft beers on board ? at a semi reasonable price ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondello Posted April 19, 2006 #22 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Hi Soukara, Yes, you could bring your own beer if you wish. I would think that it would be safer to pack cans instead of bottles. Because of the additional weight, buy it in FLL and spread it among your checked luggage before you get to the Port. The money you save by bringing your own will make it worth the bother. In your cabin is a mini-bar refrigerator, which is very small. You can request that your room steward empty the minibar sometime the first day. This is worth an extra tip, but most of the room stewards and waiters are worth extra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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