DCL Wine Packages

[emedal]

Hi - I'm going on the dream on the 27th of Feb and was wondering if anyone has ever done the wine packages. It says that it is 25% off what you would pay on the boat. Is this true? If so, it seems that it would make sense. Thanks for any advise!

[bsg1003]

Originally Posted by emedal

Hi - I'm going on the dream on the 27th of Feb and was wondering if anyone has ever done the wine packages. It says that it is 25% off what you would pay on the boat. Is this true? If so, it seems that it would make sense. Thanks for any advise!

Just got off the Dream. There are 2 wine packages available with a selection of sparkling, white and red in each. There is the regular package and the premium package. If you are drinking wine every night (a full bottle) then it makes sense to do the package as it is about 20-25% cheaper than buying a la carte every night (as long as the packages have the wine types/vineyards you like). If you don't think you will drink a bottle every night, then it isn't worth it.

The packages allow you to order all 4 bottles (assuming 4 night cruise) on one night or traditional every night of cruise.

[AddictedtoFL]

Let see if I can break it down for you:

Yes you can bring your favorites wines with you on board.
Yes you will save on the wine packages if you choose to buy them.
No the wine lists they have are not exactly the same as the one they have in Palo.
When buying the wine packages, they will deliver all of them to your room along with a cork opener. So you must open the bottle and bring it to your dinning or you will be charge $18 corking fees.
Your server will keep your unfinished bottle for you for the next meal regardless of where the bottle came from. You can also ask your Palo server to fetch your unfinished bottle from your server if you are dinning in Palo.

Until Disney allow me to keep all of my onboard wine purchased with them and only bring them out when I request for them, I will continue to bring my favorites wines onboard (totally legal, no need to smuggle) open the bottle before bringing it to dinning and make sure I tips my server generously at the end of the first meal.

[ducklite]

If you bring a bottle to the dining room--opened or not--you will pay corkage on it.

We will be bringing all of our own wine aboard as there is really nothing on the wine list that appeals, and I have a vintage bottle of Super Tuscan I'll bring along for Palo where I suspect the wine list is a bit broader. I have no problem paying corkage for my bottles, I'm still drinking 95+ point wine with no markup and in the perfect drinking window as opposed to supermarket brands at 300% markup.

[monobrow1]

any recomendations for Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay

[ducklite]

Originally Posted by monobrow1

any recomendations for Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay

To bring onboard or to buy from the DCL wine list?

[monobrow1]

bring onboard

[ducklite]

Originally Posted by monobrow1

bring onboard

I'm not much of a pinot gris fan, but I have enjoyed some Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris from the Alsace AOC in France. For a US Pinot Grigio, I'd look to Robert Sinsky or maybe Flora Springs.

Chardonnay's are a different beast entirely. You can either go heavily oaked (lots of vanilla--think Kendall Jackson) or unoaked (lots of pear and apple and great acidity, comparable to some sauvignon blancs), or someplace inbetween, which is the style I prefer and represents most of what I've listed below.

My choices would probably be a Grgich Hills or a Cakebread, both from Napa. I prefer the Californian chards over the French white Burgs, personal opinion, I do like a controlled malolactic fermentation and a bit of aging in oak as opposed to stainless. I actually prefer Peter Michael, Shafer, Kistler, Parallel, and Ramey, although most of those can be very difficult to find, even in many better wine shops.

[AddictedtoFL]

Originally Posted by ducklite

If you bring a bottle to the dining room--opened or not--you will pay corkage on it.

We will be bringing all of our own wine aboard as there is really nothing on the wine list that appeals, and I have a vintage bottle of Super Tuscan I'll bring along for Palo where I suspect the wine list is a bit broader. I have no problem paying corkage for my bottles, I'm still drinking 95+ point wine with no markup and in the perfect drinking window as opposed to supermarket brands at 300% markup.

So let me ask you this question, if you buy the wine package, they will bring them to your room, you must open the bottle yourself and bring it to the dinning room or you will be charge corking fees. so how can the server tell if the wine is purchased on board or your own?
And if they will charge the corking fee regardless of where the wine is purchased, they why would somebody buy them on board at 3 times the cost.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Originally Posted by AddictedtoFL

So let me ask you this question, if you buy the wine package, they will bring them to your room, you must open the bottle yourself and bring it to the dinning room or you will be charge corking fees. so how can the server tell if the wine is purchased on board or your own?
And if they will charge the corking fee regardless of where the wine is purchased, they why would somebody buy them on board at 3 times the cost.

I have had the wine package, it is not delivered to your stateroom, you go to the restaurant, any rotation you are on, or Palo, and you select a wine from the list of the package you have purchased, one at a time -there is no corkage fee.

The wine package does save you a lot of money, and its served to you, cool/cold, and you do not have to navigate elevators, or decks or queues with a wine glass spilling it.

Unless you select 'Cider' each night, on the cheapest package, you 'will' save money, the price is comparable with mid range restaurants on land, and if you compare to the price of a cruise, its actually quite reasonable, any unused wine bottles can be taken back to your room or off the ship. Half used bottles including sparkling can be held over per night/meal for you, or delivered to your room.

[ducklite]

Originally Posted by AddictedtoFL

So let me ask you this question, if you buy the wine package, they will bring them to your room, you must open the bottle yourself and bring it to the dinning room or you will be charge corking fees. so how can the server tell if the wine is purchased on board or your own?
And if they will charge the corking fee regardless of where the wine is purchased, they why would somebody buy them on board at 3 times the cost.

When we cruised DCL, if you bought the package there was no corkage. You got to choose a bottle per night off the list designated for the package, and could take the leftover with you if you wanted.

As to why people would buy onboard for any reason, good question. Ignorance to the markup? Not thinking ahead? I can't answer.

[AddictedtoFL]

Interesting, because I asked the sale staff on board regarding the wine package and she told me that i have to bring the bottle which they will deliver to my room to my dinning (which i think it is so stupid). I like some of the wine they offer and it wasn't much more if i bring the same bottle myself.
I guess she was one of the 30% new staff disney has on board.

[ducklite]

Originally Posted by AddictedtoFL

Interesting, because I asked the sale staff on board regarding the wine package and she told me that i have to bring the bottle which they will deliver to my room to my dinning (which i think it is so stupid). I like some of the wine they offer and it wasn't much more if i bring the same bottle myself.
I guess she was one of the 30% new staff disney has on board.

If they've changed the delivery scheme, I'm sure they somehow place a sticker or something on the bottles upon delivery to your room so there is no corkage charged when you bring them to dinner. That said, it doesn't make sense, as they'd want to keep the whites chilled prior to serving.

[Danvers14]

I have purchased many wine packages on RCCL and the wine was ordered and served in the dining room. How can DCL ask you to choose your wine (and deliver it to your room) before you know what's on the menu. My family is sailing on the Magic out of NYC on July 20th. I am confused by all the different replies on the wine package. Does anyone who has sailed on DCL previously know how the package works on DCL. What I'm reading, doesn't make sense.

[ACQUADUCK]

Wine package has options of delivery to the MDRs or stateroom, when ordered it includes 15% auto tip, and is NOT subject to any additional tip or Corkage fee, You get a 'ticket' in your room saying you have purchased the Wine package, ( if ordered in advance) and you take that to your server. They have a record on their computer that you have the wine package, and will hold any unused bottles or opened bottles, overnight or send to your stateroom

Note again NO corkage charge, I have done it.


Note, and you can check under DCL T&Cs in the FAQ, any drink they you bring onaboard, cannot be used in ANY Public areas.

Significant savings are made by using the wine package, against going to/from stateroom, with glasses that do not go through a hygene clean like your hands when entering the MDRs. IE can spread germs.

[rjmols]

We got the wine package on our first DCL cruise in 2005 and we chose the wine we wanted on the night or finished off the previous nights bottle which they kept in the fridge with our name tagged. None was delivered to our state room therefore no corkage fees applied. We have not done it since for various reasons, however I would do it again if there were more adults in my party.
Even I can't do a bottle a night on my own on holiday