Princess' Wine Bottle Package

[jagoffee]

We are going on the STAR in a few weeks and called Princess to inquire about the wine card program and the rep knew nothing about it. Claimed that there was no such thing on Princess. I wasn't surprised to hear this as they aren't really brought up to speed on all the changes -- however, she did know they reduced the amount of wine you can bring (even on a longer cruise) to one 750 ml bottle per adult pax.

Not sure why Princess would do this without any real notice such as they did with the new smoking policy. We like to bring our own special bottles of wine onboard since we are in the middle of wine country. Argh....no more of that for us?? I wish they would have allowed us to bring it on and pay corkage up front such as they do (used to do) on Norwegian. That way, they get their money and we get to drink the wines we like. Sounds like a better plan to me. I would be more than willing to pay an extra $15 a bottle to get those wines we like to drink that you cannot find outside the wineries. Everyone is happy that way....and I will most definitely include this on my comment card.

 

I suggest that you ignore the comment about the one bottle it certainly was not true on the 2/7 Island Princess cruise.

[WVBill]

...- however, she did know they reduced the amount of wine you can bring (even on a longer cruise) to one 750 ml bottle per adult pax.

Not sure why Princess would do this without any real notice such as they did with the new smoking policy. We like to bring our own special bottles of wine onboard since we are in the middle of wine country. Argh....no more of that for us?? .

 

I suggest that you ignore the comment about the one bottle it certainly was not true on the 2/7 Island Princess cruise.

 

 

Would like to hear more recent actual experiences - particularly out of FLL. We're on Ruby on March 25th and planning to bring 6 bottles of Northern Virginia wine country wine with us. Would hate to get refused at the pier......

[cruzinchris]

Would like to hear more recent actual experiences - particularly out of FLL. We're on Ruby on March 25th and planning to bring 6 bottles of Northern Virginia wine country wine with us. Would hate to get refused at the pier......

 

DH and I usually carry four bottles of wine onboard for a 7-night cruise. We each have one in our carry-ons and put the other two bottles in the large bag that we leave at the pier. Works out just fine ;) We don't take them to dinner, though; our carry-on wine is specifically for our stateroom.

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[paul929207]

I just ordered flowers for our upcoming cruise and asked the Princess rep about the wine package. As luck would have it, she was recently on the Coral and took advantage of it. She could not find a schedule for the roll out.

[as19111]

Someone previously asked about using the wine card on a b2b. We just returned from the Crown, sailing 2/4 through 2/18. We inquired about the card the first day and specifically asked about using it both weeks because that would dictate what we purchased and we were told that we could use it for the duration that we were on the ship. So we purchased the 12 bottle package. They did not ask us if we had booked the trip as one 14 day voyage or a true b2b....it didn't seem to matter. In any case, we enjoyed using the package at dinner through both weeks. Dave

 

We specifically asked this question on the Coral in January. "If we don't fill the card on this cruise, can we use it on the next cruise?" Of course, the best deal is the largest bottle package. The staff stuttered and stammered (in more than one location) and could not answer the question. After the coffee card dust up, we decided not to take a chance on "leaving wine on the table". It is a great deal, but our favorite wine is now $49 a bottle on the ship and wouldn't be included. They never offered us the make-up the difference option. They did stress that we could have the wine in our cabin, but I was under the impression that we could also use the card with room service delivery.

 

Still, we like the program and may try it on a future cruise, once they figure out how the program really works.

[NewPennCruiser]

We specifically asked this question on the Coral in January. "If we don't fill the card on this cruise, can we use it on the next cruise?" Of course, the best deal is the largest bottle package. The staff stuttered and stammered (in more than one location) and could not answer the question. After the coffee card dust up, we decided not to take a chance on "leaving wine on the table". It is a great deal, but our favorite wine is now $49 a bottle on the ship and wouldn't be included. They never offered us the make-up the difference option. They did stress that we could have the wine in our cabin, but I was under the impression that we could also use the card with room service delivery.

 

Still, we like the program and may try it on a future cruise, once they figure out how the program really works.

 

I definitely agree with your comment about how they really need to figure out how they want the program to work. All the waiters were willing to sell you the package but as soon as you asked a question, they had to run and find someone else to help you. What I failed to previously mention is that it did take questioning 3 people about whether we could use the card for both weeks until we finally got an answer from the Head Waiter who actually did seem to know what he was talking about. We love the program and hope they roll it out as an option on all ships. It won't appeal to everyone but it does to us because we saved a lot of money on 12 bottles of wine over the two week period. We prefer to drink wine at dinner and not in our room so we rarely take more then 1 or 2 bottles with us and do usually purchase wine at dinner. We also didn't have any problem finding enough options on the wine list that still fell within our package price range. Reds on their list do seem to be pricier then the whites, but we eat a lot of seafood and drink mostly white wines so it worked out great for us. Dave

[Treven]

Though living in Northern Calif. it's very easy to pick up some wine from the Napa or Sonoma :D regions, pack the bottles in my checked wheeled duffels and enjoy the wines I know & want to drink on my cruises.

[Astro Flyer]

The wine package was not offered on our recently completed Sapphire Princess cruise so it hasn't been implemented fleetwide yet.

[Katie333]

If one buys a package, do you have to use your card in the dining room? For example, can you opt to have the wine delivered via room service or in one of the lounges?

 

In addition, does anyone know it would extend to the sparkling wines/champagnes on the wine list? (I presume it would since the wording says for any item on the wine list).

[OkanaganRon]

WE brought 3 bottles (magnums) aboard the Emerald on the Feb. 6th sailing, no problem. Hopefully it has not changed.

[Cruise Raider]

I suggest that you ignore the comment about the one bottle it certainly was not true on the 2/7 Island Princess cruise.

 

Good to know...I think we will try bringing a few bottles and buy a few onboard.

Does anyone know if they have rolled this out on the Star?

[sentrydriver]

If one buys a package, do you have to use your card in the dining room? For example, can you opt to have the wine delivered via room service or in one of the lounges?

 

In addition, does anyone know it would extend to the sparkling wines/champagnes on the wine list? (I presume it would since the wording says for any item on the wine list).

 

Yes, you may get sparkling wine with the package. We had the silver package on the Coral Princess in January and Korbel Brut was one of the available choices. We had a "leftover" punch the last night of the cruise and shared a bottle of Korbel with our tablemates with dessert.

[VirtualRain]

These wine packages sound good at first but when you look at the wine list... Not so much. Especially if they're not giving you credit for wines over the limit. You save only when the wine you choose is between the avg for the package $31/$32 for 5/7 bottles and the limit... $45 for Gold.

 

The problem with this is there are only a half dozen choices in that range, and many of them are closer to the bottom than the top. You will end up saving a few bucks here and there but you're limiting your selection unnecessarily.

 

If they offered a flat 25% discount on a commitment of five bottles or more, that would be a package worth considering.

 

As it is, I think you're better off bringing some wine on board and paying corkage and even buying the odd other bottle at full price instead of these overly restrictive packages.

Edited March 12, 2012 by VirtualRain

[!David!]

These wine packages sound good at first but when you look at the wine list... Not so much. Especially if they're not giving you credit for wines over the limit. You save only when the wine you choose is between the avg for the package $31/$32 for 5/7 bottles and the limit... $45 for Gold.

 

The problem with this is there are only a half dozen choices in that range, and many of them are closer to the bottom than the top. You will end up saving a few bucks here and there but you're limiting your selection unnecessarily.

 

If they offered a flat 25% discount on a commitment of five bottles or more, that would be a package worth considering.

 

As it is, I think you're better off bringing some wine on board and paying corkage and even buying the odd other bottle at full price instead of these overly restrictive packages.

 

 

 

 

Bringing wine on board is always best. Some has said now only one bottle per person. There is always a better way to offer a package but we have to deal with the hand we are dealt. Crusing soon so any updates will help.

 

Thanks

[BJzink]

We have purchased wine packages on RCCL, Carnival, and HAL in the past couple of years. We assumed that it would be available on the Princess ships also. We are sailing in the fall on the Ruby Princess. Does anyone know if it will be offered by then? Also, we bought a bottle of wine onboard from several of our port stops - no problem as long as we kept it in our cabin. Is this OK on Princess?

[paul929207]

The wine package has been reported as available on the Coral, Crown and Island (I believe). No one has published a schedule for rolling it out.

 

A couple of weeks ago, I asked a Princess Rep about it and she checked and could not find a schedule.

[Luvmyrotti]

The wine package has been reported as available on the Coral, Crown and Island (I believe). No one has published a schedule for rolling it out.

 

A couple of weeks ago, I asked a Princess Rep about it and she checked and could not find a schedule.

 

My TA just checked for me yesterday with her Princess contact and there continues to be no ETA for rollout beyond the "pilot" ships. We sail on the Grand in just over 3 weeks and would have loved to have this available.

[Liz54]

We were on the Crown B2B Feb 11 -25th.

We had read about the package here. Staff were not well informed about the plan. Only CC members seemed to know anything about it.

 

However, we (3 couples) each bought a package, had no problem carrying it over on the B2B. Also no problem buying a wine over the $29 limit and being credited for the $29.00 and paying the difference.

 

The card the use is very flimsy and they caution you that if you lose it it cannot be replaced. At the cost of say, a ten bottle package, losing it is a scary thought.

 

All in all, we LOVED the package. However I am afraid since they are making no effort to market it, they may think it was not a success and discontinue its use without going fleet wide.

 

Great idea, poor execution....Hope it survives!

[GoBlueCruiser]

We were on the Crown B2B Feb 11 -25th.

We had read about the package here. Staff were not well informed about the plan. Only CC members seemed to know anything about it.

 

However, we (3 couples) each bought a package, had no problem carrying it over on the B2B. Also no problem buying a wine over the $29 limit and being credited for the $29.00 and paying the difference.

 

The card the use is very flimsy and they caution you that if you lose it it cannot be replaced. At the cost of say, a ten bottle package, losing it is a scary thought.

 

All in all, we LOVED the package. However I am afraid since they are making no effort to market it, they may think it was not a success and discontinue its use without going fleet wide.

 

Great idea, poor execution....Hope it survives!

 

I completely concur. The dining room staff on our January 28 voyage on the Crown were totally lacking in knowledge regarding the wine package. When our Jr. Waiter asked for our wine order at the Sailaway Dinner, we inquired about the Wine Package and it took several different staff before we found someone who had even partial information.

 

Don't know why the rollout fleet-wide is not continuing when the program seemed like a real winner to us.

 

Mike

[CanadaBunny]

Just back from the Crown March 10 to 17. When we asked our waiter about the wine package, he said it was no longer available. He said it might return, but they were waiting to hear from head office in Los Angeles.

[jimpod]

We are just back from the Golden to Hawaii and were able to get the wine package. Very good value although it wasn't widely publicised.

[Smokeyham]

Many of you have asked for information about the new Wine Bottle Package that is being test-marketed on select Princess ships. DH and I purchased a 7-Bottle Gold Tier package last week onboard the Crown and also got a copy of the full description of the program from a lovely restaurant hostess. We have additional information based on conversations with waitstaff and Maitre d' and will answer questions as we are able.

 

*********************************

 

Princess' Wine Bottle Package

Crown Princess, January 28-February 4, 2012

 

The wine bottle package is a two-tiered wine by the bottle promotion whereby passengers can prepay for bottles of wine of varying quantities at a discounted rate.

 

Silver Tier Wine Bottle Program (Tier 1): Any bottle of wine up to and including $29 in retail value. Bottle packs of 5/7/10/12 will be available.

 

Gold Tier Wine Bottle Program (Tier 2): Any bottle of wine up to and including $45 in retail value. Bottle packs of 5/7/10/12 bottles will be available.

 

In the instance that passengers wish to buy a bottle of wine in excess of either the Silver or Gold Tier, an onboard credit can be made for either $29 or $45 which can be applied to the higher-end bottle of wine.

 

Passengers choose (in the future, pre-orders via Special Services) the package they prefer and receive the relevant punch card. As passengers order bottles, servers bring the punch card to the bar to have it processed and punched.

 

Following packages are available:

 

Silver Tier Bottle Program (Tier 1) - any bottle up to $29

5 Bottle Pack: $120/av$24/bottle

7 Bottle Pack: $161/av$23/bottle

10 Bottle Pack: $210/av$21/bottle

12 Bottle Pack: $240/av$20/bottle

 

Gold Tier Bottle Program (Tier 2) - any bottle up to $45

5 Bottle Pack: $160/av$32/bottle

7 Bottle Pack: $217/av$31/bottle

10 Bottle Pack: $290/av$29/bottle

12 Bottle Pack: $336/av$28/bottle

 

Thanks so much for posting this. It does not appear that they are offering this on the Sapphire Princess yet, but hopefully it is available throughout the fleet shortly.

[Murphey]

What would be really good is to be able to purchase this ahead of time!!! Wine card in your cabin upon arrival...prepaid....I'd love that!

Edited April 18, 2012 by Murphey

[Astro Flyer]

What would be really good is to be able to purchase this ahead of time!!! Wine card in your cabin upon arrival...prepaid....I'd love that!

Knowing if it's available in advance would also help us decide whether we want to bring wine or use their wine package.

[Tedferg]

Can someone help me with the Math of this package. Looks like a 17% discount at lower package levels. Correct? (Buying individual bottles would also have 15% gratuity, so that's a wash)

 

The part that is hard for me is street cost for a bottle plus corkage versus package price for same bottle. I guess this is hard to do without knowing wine list and then comparing street price.

 

If we brought four bottles on board, paid corkage for two of these and bought two bottles in the MDR. Seems hard for us to justify the five bottle package on a twelve night cruise. Another comparison is bottle brought on board plus corkage versus a similar type of wine on the list.

 

Maybe the wine card works best for wines on the list that are special to you.

 

Are you allowed to bring a glass of wine into MDR or is this frowned upon. DW rarely has more han a glass of wine with dinner.