San Diego Wine / Liquor store

Does anyone know if there is a wine store close to the port in San Diego. I would like to buy some wine and champagne before boarding the ship.

Thanks

Brewster

Hi.

Here is a reply I received to an earlier post.

Horton Plaza is a short cab ride away if you need to make any last minute purchases. We buy our wine there, plus Pepsi (only Coke products are available on the ships) and some bottled water.

Billy

Does anyone know if there is a wine store close to the port in San Diego. I would like to buy some wine and champagne before boarding the ship.

 

Thanks

 

Brewster

There's a Ralph's grocery store about 3 blocks away, easy walk. (Use it on every cruise out of SD) They have a large wine and alcohol selection. Also less expensive than anything in Horton Plaza. Just check their website for address.

There is also a Rite Aid that is within easy walking distance of the pier. Large selection. Also, Holiday Inn on the Bay across the street from the terminal carries a few wines in their gift shop. Not a big selection and sort of pricey - but if you're pinched for time.

Ralphs has the best prices.

Thanks everyone for the great info. Ralph's it is.

Brewster

Ralph's is about 8 blocks away, not 3. The Rite Aid is 3 blocks, up Ash to Kettner.

David

Rite Aid has a surprisingly good selection of wines, though probably not as extensive as Ralphs, but much closer and very walkable.

Thanks everyone for the great info. Ralph's it is.

We purchased some vino at Ralph's to bring on a cruise in Dec/07. At the check-out, the cashier offered us membership in Ralph's Club which entitled us to 10% off our total purchase. It was a simple, on-the-spot application that didn't ask any personal details beyond name & address. It didn't even matter that we lived out of state. So we did it, got the extra 10% and a bonus wine carrier bag emblazened with Ralph's logo.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Thanks for posting the question and all the responses...I can get to Ralphs next Tuesday and pick up 2 cases (a bit much perhaps) of Pepsi products for $9 to take on the 15-day Hawaii cruise leaving next Wed....this internet thing is wonderful, I hope it catches on and stays around for a while.

It is well worth the extra effort to go to Ralphs. It is located just across the street and more or less of south of the of Hortons Plaza. It's got lots of liquid refreshment and the price is right. .

If you don't mind going a little more out of your way (under $15.00 for a cab) you could check out Bevmo.com. You can pre- order all your wine from the comfort of home via the internet and simply pick it up. (They also have a delivery service). I pre-ordered two cases prior to my cruise in April. The prices were fantastic. They had a sale on at the time I ordered, buy one the second bottle of the same wine was a nickel (yep 5 cents). One wine I selected was on the ships wine list at $185 per bottle. I got two bottles through Bevmo for $40.04.....that is quite the savings....one bottle alone saved enough to cover the cost of the cab. Also picked up a case of water, case of coke and pina colada and daquari mix for the rum that was pre-ordered through the ship. It was nice to have lots of time to sit and browse and select the wines before arriving in San Diego.

Whatever you decide, enjoy your wine shopping and don 't forget to pack a corkscrew in your checked luggage ( don't carry in your carry-on).

Enjoy your cruise....

Rochelle

Ralph's is great and all, but if you want *great* wines, hit the Wine Bank in the Gaslamp.

http://www.sdwinebank.com/

Prices are reasonable and their selection of wines that don't originate in California is much better. I've lived in San Diego for the last year, (transplanted from the East Coast) and it bothers me to no end that the "California" section everywhere is like 10 times the size of everything else. The new Vons in Point Loma (which has an awesome wine section, btw, and is not far from the airport) has like 5 rows of California and half a row of Germany. HALF A ROW!

The Wine Bank is two floors, floor to ceiling, of wine. All vintages, all price ranges. And spirits, but the high end ones, like $200 tequilas. It's a really quick cab ride, and if a convention is in town at the tim, you can take the free convention shuttle from whatever hotel you're in downtown (the Holiday Inn, probably?) over to the convention center and walk across the street to the gaslamp. It took me like 8 months to realize there were those free convention shuttles. (One of the stops is around the corner from where I live, so, I can get downtown without having to park. Yay!)

There's also Bacchus Wine (http://www.shopbacchuswine.com), whose prices *might* be cheaper but their selection isn't as vast.

Oh, yeah - and both stores, you can call in advance and ask what you want, and they'll get it for you if they don't already have it, or set it aside if they do. I had the Wine Bank track down a specific vintage for me once, and when they looked it up, they decided they wanted it for the store too, so they went to a wine auction and got a few cases and sold me me a few bottles at cost.

Ralph's is great and all, but if you want *great* wines, hit the Wine Bank in the Gaslamp.

 

http://www.sdwinebank.com/

 

Prices are reasonable and their selection of wines that don't originate in California is much better. I've lived in San Diego for the last year, (transplanted from the East Coast) and it bothers me to no end that the "California" section everywhere is like 10 times the size of everything else. The new Vons in Point Loma (which has an awesome wine section, btw, and is not far from the airport) has like 5 rows of California and half a row of Germany. HALF A ROW!

 

The Wine Bank is two floors, floor to ceiling, of wine. All vintages, all price ranges. And spirits, but the high end ones, like $200 tequilas. It's a really quick cab ride, and if a convention is in town at the tim, you can take the free convention shuttle from whatever hotel you're in downtown (the Holiday Inn, probably?) over to the convention center and walk across the street to the gaslamp. It took me like 8 months to realize there were those free convention shuttles. (One of the stops is around the corner from where I live, so, I can get downtown without having to park. Yay!)

 

There's also Bacchus Wine (http://www.shopbacchuswine.com), whose prices *might* be cheaper but their selection isn't as vast.

 

Oh, yeah - and both stores, you can call in advance and ask what you want, and they'll get it for you if they don't already have it, or set it aside if they do. I had the Wine Bank track down a specific vintage for me once, and when they looked it up, they decided they wanted it for the store too, so they went to a wine auction and got a few cases and sold me me a few bottles at cost.

Thanks I appreciate the additional info. We will be staying at the Sheraton on the marina so maybe there will be a shuttle. As well we are also flying in the night before and we are thinking of getting a car so that we can tour around a bit. By that I mean going to the factory outlets for shopping. My wife loves the outlets and we do not have them where we live. That said we might just get a cab to both.

Thanks

Brewster

The Sheraton is one of the Shuttle stops :)

You can check the convention schedules at: http://www.visitsandiego.com/

And the outlets are NOWHERE NEAR cab range. You'll pay more than it would cost to rent a car. They're in Carlsbad (30 miles) or San Ysidro (20 miles) away.

The Sheraton is one of the Shuttle stops :)

 

You can check the convention schedules at: http://www.visitsandiego.com/

 

And the outlets are NOWHERE NEAR cab range. You'll pay more than it would cost to rent a car. They're in Carlsbad (30 miles) or San Ysidro (20 miles) away.

Thanks again. There are in fact two conventions when we are there so the shuttle is a viable option to get the wine. Just checked car rental prices and it is only $20.00 for the day os we will go with a car.

Do a google search on the name of the two conventions to make sure they're big enough to offer a shuttle service - not all of them are.

But, of course, if you're renting a car you're all good anyway. And you could hit up the Vons on Truxton Road (near your hotel) and WineSteals, which is right next to it and avoid the hassle of trying to deal with downtown entirely.

http://www.winestealssd.com/

Do a google search on the name of the two conventions to make sure they're big enough to offer a shuttle service - not all of them are.

 

But, of course, if you're renting a car you're all good anyway. And you could hit up the Vons on Truxton Road (near your hotel) and WineSteals, which is right next to it and avoid the hassle of trying to deal with downtown entirely.

 

http://www.winestealssd.com/

Thanks again I really appreciate all the info.

Brewster

No problem -

I liveaboard a yacht in a marina right down the street from the Sheraton. This is my 'hood.

I see the cruise ships come in and out all the time - can tell what time of day it is by what cruise line's ship is pulling past Island Prime.

"Oh, Carnival - must be 4:30."

"HAL - 5:15!"

Thanks again I really appreciate all the info.

 

Brewster

I also appreciate the San Diego wine info. We are staying at the Hilton Gaslamp and planned to buy wine for our Nov 1st cruise the night before.

Thanks

I was also needing this info,thanks a bunch,I am new to this forum

irishjim.

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I also appreciate the San Diego wine info. We are staying at the Hilton Gaslamp and planned to buy wine for our Nov 1st cruise the night before.

Thanks

Here is a wine store that has been recommended by a couple that lives in SD. the Wine Bank inc. @ 363 5th Ave (corner of 5th & 3rd) San Diego 619-234-7487

Wine tasting on Friday night 5-7 $20.00 pp

http://www.sdwinebank.com

Hope this helps.

Shirley

 

 

Here is a wine store that has been recommended by a couple that lives in SD. the Wine Bank inc. @ 363 5th Ave (corner of 5th & 3rd) San Diego 619-234-7487

Wine tasting on Friday night 5-7 $20.00 pp

http://www.sdwinebank.com

Hope this helps.

Shirley

See post #13 in this thread :)

See post #13 in this thread :)

:oOops, sorry, guess I had too much wine. Well with both of us recommending the Wine Bank it can't be too bad! Might want to give it a try.

Shirley

Its definitely a great little shop. It doesn't look like much when you go in, but then you notice the stairs...

Of course, if you have a car, it is always preferable to avoid going downtown (unless you want to go sightseeing - but there really isn't much to "see" in the Gaslamp, more like stuff to "do".)

And I just remembered - you can get to the San Ysidro outlets by taking the trolley - it takes a while, and will probably end up costing as much as renting a car, but if you're nervous about getting lost:

http://www.sdcommute.com/TripPlanner/index.asp