Update for Wine By The Bottle Package

[2SeaAll]

The 7 bottle minimum package was announced in November 2014, but put into place starting with sailings in October 2014. Our experience onboard our October cruise was that the package structure was very inflexible - 7 bottles, no more, no less and had to be charged to one account, thus discouraging sharing. At that time the list was expected to change from cruise to cruise. An onboard sommelier explained to me that Oceania was promoting the package as curated, but was really offering a "clearance" package including end-of-stock inventory and slow sellers, interspersed with a few good wines.

 

If the program remains in place as established in October/November we will purchase a few bottles of wine in Barcelona prior to our next cruise and happily pay the $25/bottle corkage onboard, and then buy a few bottles in France during the cruise. We used to buy 3 or 4 bottles on day one at the pop-up display (usually by the pool) from a decent wine list at a package 30% discount, and were very satisfied with the prior plan, its offerings and its convenience.

 

Any updates that will help us plan for our upcoming cruise would be most appreciated.

[travellerin1984]

We are planing our honeymoon on Riviera in August. We have been discussing buying couple of bottles in Barcelona or buying the wine package. It seems quite a hassle to carry on wines from the city but might be worth it. What is the normal retail price for wine they are selling by the package? 25 $ corkage fee added to bottle price adds up quckly.

[Hambagahle]

I think - but am not completely sure - that the Oceania price of wines by the bottle is from about $45 to $hundred(s) depending on the wine. The package of 7 bottles works out to about $42/bottle I think. And I haven't heard that you cannot share a bottle of the "package" wines with other guests if you want to. I do know that with the "Beverage Package" you can only order drinks for yourself...

 

Maybe JimandStan have a wine list they could post, with prices? All I have to work on is the very short list under "Bon Voyage" gifts.

[roger b]

The 7 bottle minimum package was announced in November 2014, but put into place starting with sailings in October 2014. Our experience onboard our October cruise was that the package structure was very inflexible - 7 bottles, no more, no less and had to be charged to one account, thus discouraging sharing. At that time the list was expected to change from cruise to cruise. An onboard sommelier explained to me that Oceania was promoting the package as curated, but was really offering a "clearance" package including end-of-stock inventory and slow sellers, interspersed with a few good wines.

 

If the program remains in place as established in October/November we will purchase a few bottles of wine in Barcelona prior to our next cruise and happily pay the $25/bottle corkage onboard, and then buy a few bottles in France during the cruise. We used to buy 3 or 4 bottles on day one at the pop-up display (usually by the pool) from a decent wine list at a package 30% discount, and were very satisfied with the prior plan, its offerings and its convenience.

 

Any updates that will help us plan for our upcoming cruise would be most appreciated.

 

The wine package did not work for me, I purchased 21 bottles on the first day of my 18 night cruise in January.

I like a glass of wine at lunch time, I found it impossible to secure this when eating in the terrace café as they had to go to the depths of the ship to retrieve my bottle, I had finished my lunch before the bottle arrived , it once took 30 min before it arrived.

I cancelled my package after 6 days and bought wine by the glass.

[robbie21]

We are planing our honeymoon on Riviera in August. We have been discussing buying couple of bottles in Barcelona or buying the wine package. It seems quite a hassle to carry on wines from the city but might be worth it. What is the normal retail price for wine they are selling by the package? 25 $ corkage fee added to bottle price adds up quckly.

 

The package deal offers mostly convenience not value. If you were to select only the most expensive wines offered you would probably yield a small saving over buying your wines one at a time onboard. The other problem is the selection. Although selection varies on each cruise it is very limited for anyone who likes a variety of wines with different meals. Note also that the wine lists are fixed by the corporation and there is no additional local wines offered. If you want to enjoy the local stuff you will have to bring it aboard.

 

The basic ship price of wine is similar to normal restaurant markup which is roughly 2.5 to 3.5 times "normal" store or supermarket retail. You can do your own math but for me and the wines we normally like to drink the local purchase option and the corkage fee usually constitutes a savings. If addition, we get to try a "unique" wine that is not available on board and often not available at all at home.

 

As to the "hassle" of carrying the wine on board - that is up to you. There has never been a problem bringing wine aboard so if you see a wine store or visit a market or, better yet, a winery then you have to decide if you want to carry it around. A backpack or a shoulder bag (messenger bag) work well for a couple of bottles :).

 

Enjoy! Robbie

 

PS - In Barcelona there is a wine store in the cruise terminal!! The selection was probably similar to a supermarket - not much top end wine but lots of local wines. Prices were, of course, a bit higher that outside.

 

PPS - I have been know to buy a 6 Pack of wine and carry it aboard upon embarkation. Wine store will usually have these boxes (wineries will for sure) and they have handles. It's not too big a hassle for me :D

[Coach Tom]

Just finished 39 days on Regatta and took 2 cases aboard in Miami. I summarized the wine options (I also took pics of the 7 bottle wine list and the full wine menu). If interested in the summary and/or pics email me at

xsoccer1 at yahoo dot com

 

Coach Tom

[Leejnd4]

I received a recent price list of available wines on Riviera, although I cannot for the life of me find it now or remember where I got it from (I've been doing so much research into my cruise!). I did some checking, and I too found that in virtually every case, carrying it aboard and paying the $25 corkage is a cost savings...in some cases, significant. Even factoring in shipping it, which I will have to do (from LA to Miami)...it was markedly less expensive to carry on any of the wines that were on that list. And there weren't too many on there that I even liked.

 

Hence, I decided that I'm just going to bring on all of the wine that I intend to drink on my upcoming cruise. I will bring a case of various wines, and treat it like any other luggage.

[krillsister]

So if you bring your own wine aboard, and pay $25 corkage fee is it only for drinking in dining room/restaurants? Can you bring it to one of the bars?

Can you drink in room and not pay corkage fee?

Edited March 12, 2015 by krillsister

[LHT28]

Can you drink in room and not pay corkage fee?

 

Yes if you drink it in your cabin no corkage fee

 

Cannot help on taking it the bars

[critics0001]

you cannot bring the bottle to the bar and not pay corkage

[Mura]

Then again, if you have paid the corkage fee and not finished the bottle (whether you started it in a bar or in a restaurant) you can have it sent to other venues. There won't be a second corkage fee.

 

And as has been said, no corkage fee if you consume the wine in your room.

 

For people in top suites who have the liquor set-up, the wine bottles are clearly marked so that no corkage fee will be charged.

 

Mura

[newbie60]

There used to be some gems among the 7 bottle wine by the package, but current experience is that the bottles are mostly in the $10-15 retail level, making the $42.50 per bottle price a good deal -- but only for Oceania!

 

Bring your own wine, purchase it on shore, and happily pay the $25 corkage!

[Jay23]

Is the 18% Service Charge added to the $25 corkage, or is $25 an inclusive charge?

[Pet Nit Noy]

We are planing our honeymoon on Riviera in August. We have been discussing buying couple of bottles in Barcelona or buying the wine package. It seems quite a hassle to carry on wines from the city but might be worth it. What is the normal retail price for wine they are selling by the package? 25 $ corkage fee added to bottle price adds up quckly.

 

In Barcelona, the pier is close to the downtown/historic area, as in next to one another. I actually think that the amount of luggage you plan on bringing will be the biggest issue. How many carry-on pieces will you have without adding a wine carton or two? You'll hand over your large suitcases to the baggage handlers, but you'll be expected to carry on luggage with cameras and medicine.

 

When we did a cruise that included Bordeaux, we bought five bottles of wine on a day trip through the vineyards. We paid between 60 Euros and 90 Euros for each bottle. This price range is more than we typically spend for a bottle of wine, but was still far cheaper than we would pay if buying the equivalent bottles in the US. For us, the corkage fee was worth being able to have our top-flight wine with our meals, but we could have drunk the wine in our room for free. (We saved the best bottle for our meal in Polo. When we finished the bottle, the sommelier asked if he could keep the bottle for the small display of wine bottles in the restaurant. Oceania used to sell that particular wine, a Chateau Lynch Bages, but discontinued it when it became too expensive for all concerned.)

 

For the rest of our meals, we bought wine from the ship's selection.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[cruisingxpert]

Is the 18% Service Charge added to the $25 corkage, or is $25 an inclusive charge?

 

$25 includes the 18%.

[cruisingxpert]

There used to be some gems among the 7 bottle wine by the package, but current experience is that the bottles are mostly in the $10-15 retail level, making the $42.50 per bottle price a good deal -- but only for Oceania!

 

Bring your own wine, purchase it on shore, and happily pay the $25 corkage!

 

I heard that they don't have Perrier Jouet anymore. Is the Grgich Hills Chardonnay gone as well?

 

Hope you had a fabulous cruise down under.

 

C

[Jay23]

$25 includes the 18%.

 

Thank you.

[2SeaAll]

I heard that they don't have Perrier Jouet anymore. Is the Grgich Hills Chardonnay gone as well?

 

Hope you had a fabulous cruise down under.

 

C

 

Thank you to all for responses, with special call out to Coach Tom who gave me some great info by e-mail.

 

I've settled on bringing 2-3 very good bottles from home, and then buying selectively in port during the cruise. The lack of transparency and predictability in the 7 bottle package, along with the lack of flexibility to build a "right-size" package for our particular cruise were the determining factors rather than the cost per se.

 

Starting in day 3 and through day 9 we will be in French, then Italian ports, so the buying opportunities are obvious. On day 9 we are doing a full day Tuscany tour with a highly acclaimed sommelier that hopefully concludes with some bottles to bring home, using the space allocation and wine diapers that we packed to bring wine from the U.S. On a different itinerary/different number of cruise days it could be a different result, but this should work for us this time.

 

Thanks again.

[newbie60]

I heard that they don't have Perrier Jouet anymore. Is the Grgich Hills Chardonnay gone as well?

 

Hope you had a fabulous cruise down under.

 

C

 

All good wines are gone from the list Catherine - the P-J was $97 on the regular bottle list :(

 

We had a great cruise, going home tonight. Were fortunate to spend lots of time in Australia and New Zealand wine regions and so purchased relatively few bottles on board - just our standard French rose wine for lunch occasionally.

 

Hope to sail with you and the Ontario gang again soon!

[potterhill]

We bought this package in November. We shared with our friends. It was charged to my card and they gave me half in cash. We had terrific wines for the price of 42/bottle.

 

It was the perfect amount for us. We were 3 wine drinkers in a group of 4. Some days I drank very little as I occasionally get headaches which are exacerbated by wine. I would do again in a flash. We were on a 7 day cruise.

 

Mo

[no fuss travel]

We purchased the 7 bottle package with having the sommelier recommend which wines we would enjoy the most. It also includes the gratuity (18%) so having reviewed the wine list, it was the least expensive way for us to go. The wine list changed from one cruise to the next with two bottles only remaining on the list of wines available from the first cruise to the second cruise. The only problem we had was that we had half a bottle of wine left from our first cruise and since we changed cabins, somehow the unused wine disappeared. It was made up to us in a satisfactory way, so we were happy with the outcome. We saw no wines on the list below $42 so with the gratuity included it was a win win situation.

[krillsister]

How many bottles of wine can you bring on board Marina?

If you buy it in port is it confiscated and given back at end of. Cruise?

[Mura]

There doesn't appear to be a limit as long as you are a responsible drinker. I've never heard of anyone being booted off the ship (because they became obstreperous) or their wine confiscated.

 

But I HAVE heard of people bringing on a case or two of wine without a problem. (It can depend on the length of the cruise, however. I mean two cases of wine for a 7 day cruise would seem to be excessive ...)

 

In the past I haven't brought on much, I bought from the wine list. But on my upcoming cruises I do expect to bring several bottles.

 

Mura

[travellerin1984]

Thank you for the answers. How does it work if you don't finish the bottle? We enjoy white wine/champagne for the starter and maybe red wine for the main course. If you carry on you own bottles will the staff still manage to handle two bottles per evening and spare the rest for the next evening? Or is it just easier to go by the wine bottle package? I guess waiters are more motivated when they get better gratuities from the wine package bottles than from the corkage fees? We are used to the drink package on Celebrity so we dont have any experience about buying the bottles on any cruise line. The most convinient way is to buy the wines by the glass but I think the prices are high....

[robbie21]

Thank you for the answers. How does it work if you don't finish the bottle? We enjoy white wine/champagne for the starter and maybe red wine for the main course. If you carry on you own bottles will the staff still manage to handle two bottles per evening and spare the rest for the next evening? Or is it just easier to go by the wine bottle package? I guess waiters are more motivated when they get better gratuities from the wine package bottles than from the corkage fees? We are used to the drink package on Celebrity so we dont have any experience about buying the bottles on any cruise line. The most convinient way is to buy the wines by the glass but I think the prices are high....

 

They will store your partially consumed bottle(s) in their central location and bring them to you when asked. Note that it often takes a while to fetch the bottles so get that request in as soon as you are seated. If you choose to buy by the glass those wines are open and immediately available in the serving area. I have never noticed any difference in service - actually I believe I have gotten better service when I bring my own wine. The stewards want to know what it is and sometimes want to taste it :).

 

Enjoy, Robbie