Wine and Dine Packages

We just received our docs for our 9-night Grandeur of the Seas cruise out of Baltimore. In our booklet, it talks about three wine packages which are available-Gold, Platinum and Diamond. (I realize these have nothing to do with C&A status-I had to explain that to the husband!) What kinds of wines are available in the three packages. I don't need the entire list-just some examples. Do you have to buy it for the entire cruise (9 nights) or can you select the # of nights you want for the package. What is the approximate cost? I looked on the RCCL website, but could only find a very general description of the program.

Thanks !

We just received our docs for our 9-night Grandeur of the Seas cruise out of Baltimore. In our booklet, it talks about three wine packages which are available-Gold, Platinum and Diamond. (I realize these have nothing to do with C&A status-I had to explain that to the husband!) What kinds of wines are available in the three packages. I don't need the entire list-just some examples. Do you have to buy it for the entire cruise (9 nights) or can you select the # of nights you want for the package. What is the approximate cost? I looked on the RCCL website, but could only find a very general description of the program.Thanks !

We were on a 9 night VOS cruise in July and purchased one of the wine & dine packages. The difference is in the selection of wines offered. They each offer a nice selection of wines to choose from, with the platinum package offering a larger selection than the gold & diamond a larger selection than the platinum. The larger the selection, the higher the price. We went with platinum since it had a couple of wines we liked. We purchased a 5 bottle package. They also offered a 7 or 9 bottle deal. My wife and I only drank 4 bottles during the cruise so we took one bottle home with us.

I'll type it out for you from the brochure we picked up in April on Navigator. You owe me a glass of wine for this. :)

Gold Selection:

Korbel Brut Sparkling - California

Stone Cellars Chardonnay, Beringer - California

Lindemans bin 77, Semillon-Chardonney - Australia

Danzante Pinot Grigio - Italy

Caliterra Sauvignon Blance - Chile

Woodbridge White Zinfandel (Mondavi) - California

Georges duBouef Beaujolais Villages - France

Stone Cellars (Beringer) Cabernet Sauvignon - California

Woodbridge Twin Oaks - Cabernet Sauvignon - California

Vina Tarapaca Merlot - Chile

Footprint Shiraz - Australia

Prices:

5 bottles - Value $165; Price - $113

7 bottles - Value $231; Price - $158

10 bottles - Value $330; Price - $226

12 bottles - Value $396; Price - $273

Platinum Selection:

Korbel Brut Sparkling - California

Argyle Brut Sparkling - Oregon

Stone Cellars Chardonnay, Beringer - California

Badger Mountain Organic Chardonnay - Washington State

Lindemans bin 77, Semillon-Chardonnay - Australia

Chateau St. Michelle Johannesburg Riesling - Washington State (really)

Danzante Pinot Grigio - Italy

Caliterra Sauvignon Blanc - Chile

Woodbridge White Zinfandel (Mondavi) - California

Beringer White Zinfandel - California

Georges duBouef Beaujolais Villages - France

Stone Cellars (Beringer) Cabernet Sauvignon - California

Woodbridge Twin Oaks - Cabernet Sauvignon - California

Robert Mondavi Private Selection Merlot - California

Vina Tarapaca Merlot - Chile

Faustino VII Rioja - Spain

Footprint Shiraz - Australia

Red Zinfandel - Cline - California

Prices:

5 bottles - Value $185; Price - $125

7 bottles - Value $259; Price - $173

10 bottles - Value $370; Price - $250

12 bottles - Value $444; Price - $299

Diamond Selection:

Korbel Brut Sparkling - California

Argyle Brut Sparkling - Oregon

Stone Cellars Chardonnay, Beringer - California

Meridian Vineyards Chardonnay - California

Badger Mountain Organic Chardonnay - Washington State

Lindemans bin 77, Semillon-Chardonnay - Australia

Chateau St. Michelle Johannesburg Riesling - Washington State (really)

Danzante Pinot Grigio - Italy

Caliterra Sauvignon Blanc - Chile

Woodbridge White Zinfandel (Mondavi) - California

Beringer White Zinfandel - California

Georges duBouef Beaujolais Villages - France

Stone Cellars (Beringer) Cabernet Sauvignon - California

Woodbridge Twin Oaks - Cabernet Sauvignon - California

Arboleda Carmenere - Chile

Robert Mondavi Private Selection Merlot - California

Vina Tarapaca Merlot - Chile

Beringer's Founder's Estate Pinot Noir - California

Faustino VII Rioja - Spain

Footprint Shiraz - Australia

Rosemount Shiraz - Australia

Red Zinfandel - Cline - California

Prices:

5 bottles - Value $190; Price - $137

7 bottles - Value $266; Price - $189

10 bottles - Value $380; Price - $274

12 bottles - Value $456; Price - $329

You have to pay the 15% gratuity on top of the price of any package, as with all drinks. Selections are available in the Main dining room, specialty restaurants and Windjammer. Selections are subject to availability and the line reserves the right to substitute a similar wine for one on the list if it becomes unavailable. Package is valid only on the voyage purchased and you may take home any unconsumed bottles.

Thanks!

Schplinky-if we ever cross paths on a cruise ship, I'll buy you that glass of wine.

Hubby and I bought the 5 bottle Diamond pkg and it lasted the entire time. If you only finish half the bottle one night, they will cork it for you for the next night.

Hubby and I bought the 5 bottle Diamond pkg and it lasted the entire time. If you only finish half the bottle one night, they will cork it for you for the next night.

If you don't finish it at dinner, can it be taken back to your room?

Hubby and I bought the 5 bottle Diamond pkg and it lasted the entire time. If you only finish half the bottle one night, they will cork it for you for the next night.

Did you buy the 5 bottle for a longer than 5 night cruise? We were told on the Navigator that for our 7 night cruise only the 7 bottle package was available:confused:

Cheers,

Schplinky,

I enjoy your posts. I wish you were going on our Constellation cruise. I would buy you a glass of wine.

Have fun on your cruise as I am sure we will.

Katie

we just had the 5 bottle platinum on our 7 night cruise. it was worth it, even if the choices weren't as wide as the main wine list it was still good for us. One night we only each had one glass and then the next night we were at Portofinos and decided on a different bottle of wine so when we went back to the main dining room we were a little weary on how our old bottle kept but it was surprisingly better after breathing for two days.

If you don't finish it at dinner, can it be taken back to your room?

Looks to me like this is not much of a "deal." Thanks to the poor soul who typed out the entire wine lists. Although the prices looks reasonable, these wines are all in the $6-$10 range at the discount liquor store I frequent. The best wine on the list, without a doubt, is the Rosemount Shiraz. About 1/2 of the selections are Mondavi (no suprise since he's partnered with RCCL), but they are all his uninspired budget brands (i.e. Caliterra (Chile), Private Selection (Cal) and Woodbridge (Cal)). All of the wines on the list are very drinkable - but nothing to go "wow" about. My experience on cruise ships is that you can find a pretty good wine on the normal wine list for $30. So if you bought 5 of those, that would be $150 (which is not too much more than the prices in the wine and dine "deal"). Plus, you will be drinking much better wines with more depth and flavor. For me, it's probably worth the extra $25 for the week to drink good wines.

Another option for those of us "budget-minded" individuals is to buy wine at the ports. Sure, you'll have to pay the corking fee in the dining room, but trust me, no matter how expensive the corking fee is, it's not as much as the mark-up you pay for a $6 bottle of Woodbridge.

Enjoy.

My husband had the exact same reaction as emtaylor. He took one look at the list and said "its mostly low end Mondavi". We did not know that Mondavi had an affiliation with RCCL. We had hoped that the Diamond package might include something like Sonoma Cutrer (sp?) or Ferrari Carano or some of the other better wines we have had on previous cruises. We will be ordering from the separate wine list. We have a $200 booking credit on our on board account and that should get us 5 or 6 decent bottles of wine.

I don't mind a low-end Mondavi, I just don't want to pay $25 for it.

BTW, Woodbridge is a Mondavi label.