New wine package on Coral Princess

Just got back from SFO to FLL Panama Canal (9/26-10/11) cruise on the COral Princess and wanted to let let you know about a new wine package that was offered on this cruise. I don't believe that is fleet wide yet and I don't know how many or on which ships it is offered yet.

For the 15 day Panama Canal cruise there were 6 different options available. I didn't keep all the info, so I can't tell you the exact price/limits for the options.

Basically there were two levels of packages gold and silver. Under the gold package you could select any wine on the wine list priced up to $45. The silver package had a lower limit - I think it was around $35, but we went with the gold package and I don't remember for sure.

Then for each level, you could select a package of 6, 10 or 12 bottles. Depending on the package bought the cost of the package varied a little bit. We bought the 10 bottle gold package for $280, an average cost of $28 per bottle.

Once you the bought the package you were given a card like the coffee card. When you purchased a bottle you gave your cruise card and wine card to your waiter, and a hole was punched in your card.

All in all I thought the system worked really well and was a win - win. We spent a little bit more on wine than we usually do, but we got to sample some wines that we normally would have passed up and we got a good price for the wines.

I will answer any questions if I can, but like I said I can't answer questions about the cost of specific package combinations. I a little surprised that I haven't seen any other mention of it, so I wanted to let you know.

Finally an affordable wine package. Thanks for sharing the info, that is great news! :)

That is awesome news. FINALLY!

I love this news :) Hopefully it will be offered in two weeks on the CB cause we would by buying that deal :)

The ten day package sounds great, I wonder if they let you take away any bottles that you don't drink?

Maybe a good deal or maybe not.. I took a quick look at the new Princess list that I posted earlier. Using the gold package where you can purchase 10 bottles up to $45 for $280

White wine..

12 bottles priced from $25 - $28

9 bottles priced from $29 - $35

1 bottle priced from $36 - $45

Red Wine

12 bottles priced from $25 - $28

17 bottles priced from $29 - $35

9 bottles priced from $36 - $45

Looks like drinking red wine is a better deal with better choices.. Unfortunately for me most of the reds that I prefer are a little above the $45 limit..

Is the wine package purchased on board or can you prepay it like RCI? We usually buy their wine package and find it a good deal.

I love this news :) Hopefully it will be offered in two weeks on the CB cause we would by buying that deal :)

 

The ten day package sounds great, I wonder if they let you take away any bottles that you don't drink?

As far as I know it is a only on the Coral Princess at this time a a test market. No idea about the schedule for bringing it to other ships.

Don't know if you can bring bottles with you when you leave. However, unlike the coffee card, the card is only good on the current cruise, so you can't keep unused punches to use on your next trip.

Is the wine package purchased on board or can you prepay it like RCI? We usually buy their wine package and find it a good deal.

Currently you purchase it on board. I don't see that changing any time soon.

I assume this will bring an end to BYOB...:mad:

I assume this will bring an end to BYOB...:mad:

Bit of a leap isn't it?

I assume this will bring an end to BYOB...:mad:

Not even close.. :D

:D Oh this is exciting, I would definitely go for one of the wine packages and not bother bringing wine on board. I hope they have this on the Golden cruises to Hawaii.

I assume this will bring an end to BYOB...:mad:

Not for those that sneak it on and drink in their stateroom.

Great idea I hope they offer it on the Island for our Panama Canal Cruise.

Hugh

Not for those that sneak it on and drink in their stateroom.

Why sneak it on? We openly bring wine aboard to drink in our stateroom. We also buy wine at dinner, so the package might be a great deal! Would love more details if anyone else is aware of the plan.

If this goes fleet wide I hope Princess will announce this and explain it further on the website. It may make the difference for me whether I buy the package or bring my own on board.

I think this is excellent and also think the price is pretty decent, even if you like the $28 bottles. We live near wine country and so like to take our own which is why Princess is such a great option for us, but it really only works when we are able to sail out of San Francisco. So...this is a fabulous option for us. Might even purchase it, if it is available, for those cruises we take out of the city to lighten our load a bit.

This is great news!:D

I'll be on Coral Princess in December. Hope they email some info or post on website soon.

Thanks, capnjack for the update.

capnjack -

Forgot to ask - does the price you quoted ($280) include gratuity?

Thanks.

capnjack -

 

Forgot to ask - does the price you quoted ($280) include gratuity?

 

Thanks.

No it does not include gratuity. In fact I went back and double checked the charge and I discovered that I was mistaken in my recollection of the price. The correct price was $290, or $29 per bottle before gratuity. With 15% gratuity, the charge to the account was $333.50.

Still a reasonable price in my opinion.

Thanks!

No it does not include gratuity. In fact I went back and double checked the charge and I discovered that I was mistaken in my recollection of the price. The correct price was $290, or $29 per bottle before gratuity. With 15% gratuity, the charge to the account was $333.50.

 

Still a reasonable price in my opinion.

John & I got the Gold 12-bottle package and that one was $28 per bottle. The total was $336, $386.40 with the 15% gratuity. We thought this was a very good deal.

You are limited to choosing wines that have a number on the wine list. None of the off-the-list wines are included. However, there is now a new wine list with a larger selection than on our previous cruises with Princess.

We were also told that if we had unused punches at the end of the cruise, we could choose an equivalent number of bottles to take home. We did not have any unused punches.

The sommelier, Andre, told us that there had been some glitches (we were definitely given some erroneous information by the person who sold the card to us) in the program that needed to be worked out before this package would be expanded to other sailings.

Was on Island )ct. 20 sailing and they had the wine package

Silver up to $29 7 bottles $161, 10 $210 and 12 $240

Gold up to $45, 7 $217, 10 $290 and 12 4336

Worked good for our group, we each got the Gold for 10 bottles.

If you drink mainly white wine you may want to go with the Silver as there is a very limited selection between $29 and $45 for white wine.

Red wines a better selection in that range.

One note last night two of ordered Stefano Farina Barolo and they ran out of it, and will not get any more for the next two cruises.

The card was very successful and they sold more wine on this cruise than they anticipated.

Is a package like this good only for wines served in the dining room? Can you purchase a bottle and take it back to your cabin? We like to have wine in both places. And, we are cruising on the Island in December. So, we were glad to hear that it might be an option for us then. Thanks in advance for your responses.

Barbara

You can only use in dining rooms, but just tell the server you want to take to room, if you have a corkscrew in room, just tell him/her not to open it.

You can only use in dining rooms, but just tell the server you want to take to room, if you have a corkscrew in room, just tell him/her not to open it.

That's exactly what I wanted to know!

Barbara:D