Wine By The Glass -Limited choices, even with Premium Package

[PRH]

If you have a friendly and good sommelier, they will ask what you like--red/white, oaky or not, etc. and we've found that with the premium package they will consider opening a bottle not on the menu and sell the contents by the glass. You have to build a relationship with them and they will make suggestions and bring surprises. We've had this on our past three cruises. One even left the bottles on our table having probably charged us for six glasses. Who knows but it led to our satisfaction and a nice tip for the sommelier. No incentive to purchase the bottles outright at a mere 20% discount but this is a win win. The inventory turns over, they probably get more " credit" for glasses sold, and we are happy.

 

 

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[chisoxfan]

The response you referred to was a question about the corkage fee for bringing your own bottle.

Celebrity is $25 - Princess is $15

 

If you're asking about the by-the-glass- limits for wine in drink packages,

Celebrity's Classic package is (I think) $9/glass and the Premium is $13.

(We always upgrade, which is why I'm not positive what the Classic limit is)

With Princess's beverage package the limit is $10/glass.

HOWEVER, that $10 glass covers most of their by-the-glass wines and is far more comprehensive than Celebrity's wine by the glass offerings.

 

Like you though, we save our fine wine drinking for home and have no problem finding something within package limits wherever we are.

 

Thanks for the correction! I did have in my mind that the Princess drink limit used to be 15 and you were referring to that not to corkage fee.

Also appreciate your comments on Princess wine selection as we are returning to Princess for a cruise next Jan.

[kathynorth]

I have read this with interest. Lots of good discussion, pertinent for us because we have 3 upcoming cruises, B2B, on Eclipse for the first time. The first is a TA which goes to Lisbon.

 

If we bought two bottles of wine in Lisbon, they would confiscate them--would we get them back at the end of that first cruise or would they hold them till the end of the third cruise? Does anyone know?

 

This response is not from personal experience. I recall other posters reporting that all confiscated bottles are sent to passenger cabins on the last night of each leg of the cruise. This has allowed B2B passengers to enjoy purchases made while visiting ports during the second leg of their trip.

[tnfcruise]

Currently on Eclipse. Luminae sommelier Maggie is excellent. We leave the choice to her based on our premium package and what food we are choosing and her choices have been excellent.

 

Our visit to Murano was also satisfactory but in Tuscan as soon as the sommelier knew we were on a package he completely disengaged with an inferior offer and we had to plead for a refill so the individual serving makes the difference.

 

 

I hope the Select MDR sommelier is as good as Maggie --sounds like she does exactly what a good wine steward should do...know what's available, and making those excellent picks for the wine drinker.

 

And, thanks for the other dining venue sommelier heads up. I appreciate you taking the time while sailing to discuss.

 

 

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[tnfcruise]

We are also wine collectors, sailing with wine collectors. I will discount a few remarks, especially the person who mentioned white zinfandel in the same breath as wine.

 

We always say that anyone can spend $50 retail for wine and pick out a good wine, but it's spending less than $15 for a good wine that is a skill. However, I also don't like to pay $60 a bottle for a $15 bottle of wine.

 

Can anyone give me an idea of what good red wines they may sell on board for $100? I went to the list someone posted of wines by the glass. Their 2nd most expensive white was Conundrum for $14.50. I have bought that on sale for around $18, it is a great white wine for BBQ time.

.

 

Loved your post, Robinsilver, especially the parts quoted above. ^

 

 

 

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Edited January 29, 2017 by tnfcruise

[tnfcruise]

Here's one unfortunate observation on our current trip. I wanted to try the Pacific Rim riesling desert wine in Luminae. Unfortunately the sommelier was out but would get 'the bottle' the following night which she did.

 

 

 

It was quite enjoyable so tried to order a glass the following evening too. Only to be told that it had all been sold. So.... despite being advertised on the Luminae desert menu nightly, the ship set sail with one bottle. Or to be more exact, one half bottle.

 

 

 

Maggie did however produce a delightful moscatel instead though.

 

 

Another post that makes me wish/hope that Maggie-type of sommelier is around on our March Eclipse sailing.

 

 

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[tnfcruise]

If you have a friendly and good sommelier, they will ask what you like--red/white, oaky or not, etc. and we've found that with the premium package they will consider opening a bottle not on the menu and sell the contents by the glass. You have to build a relationship with them and they will make suggestions and bring surprises. We've had this on our past three cruises. One even left the bottles on our table having probably charged us for six glasses. Who knows but it led to our satisfaction and a nice tip for the sommelier. No incentive to purchase the bottles outright at a mere 20% discount but this is a win win. The inventory turns over, they probably get more " credit" for glasses sold, and we are happy.

 

 

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Another post about the importance of "a friendly and good sommelier". I think you really lucked out on those last three sailings. I'm hoping to get the sommelier you mentioned who left the bottle.

 

 

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[clc6p]

I thought no wine was allowed on board in checked bags, only carryons. If they scan and find bottles in checked you get called down to the naughty room to hand it over, or they can also remove the wine when they find it and send your bag up to the cabin.

If each person tries to bring 2 in carryon, when they see the 2 bottles they ask who you are with and see what that person has in their carryon. Ppl have said the only way around this is to board separately, tell them your partner is somewhere behind you, but it can't be too far away b/c you normally have to get your ship cards together, which is right after security. Has anyone here ever boarded at a separate time than their partner, each with a copy of the boarding pass, and got their ship cards separately? It's quite a game isn't it?

 

 

I always have mine in my checked luggage. I was called to the naughty room on my last 2 cruises, but all they did was inspect my bottles to make sure it was really wine. Then I was allowed to take my two bottles and proceed to my cabin.

 

 

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[clc6p]

The response you referred to was a question about the corkage fee for bringing your own bottle.

 

Celebrity is $25 - Princess is $15

 

 

 

If you're asking about the by-the-glass- limits for wine in drink packages,

 

Celebrity's Classic package is (I think) $9/glass and the Premium is $13.

 

(We always upgrade, which is why I'm not positive what the Classic limit is)

 

With Princess's beverage package the limit is $10/glass.

 

HOWEVER, that $10 glass covers most of their by-the-glass wines and is far more comprehensive than Celebrity's wine by the glass offerings.

 

 

 

Like you though, we save our fine wine drinking for home and have no problem finding something within package limits wherever we are.

 

 

I wish celebrity would eliminate the corkage fee like RCL has done.

 

 

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[GeorgiaPeach51]

This response is not from personal experience. I recall other posters reporting that all confiscated bottles are sent to passenger cabins on the last night of each leg of the cruise. This has allowed B2B passengers to enjoy purchases made while visiting ports during the second leg of their trip.

 

Thanks for the response! Good to know. Very reasonable of Celebrity, I think. Now to decide what to buy in Lisbon! A good problem to have, for sure.

[clc6p]

Thanks for the response! Good to know. Very reasonable of Celebrity, I think. Now to decide what to buy in Lisbon! A good problem to have, for sure.

 

 

My bottles have only been confiscated in ports of call, and just as may times I have walked right on with one.

 

 

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[SoFloChica]

Hi, All, I'm sailing the Silhouette next weekend to the Western Carribean. The classic beverage package was included in my ticket price. I asked my travel agent if there was a way to upgrade to the premium but she said no. After reading several reviews, I feel that that information might've been miscommunicated.

Does anyone know if you can upgrade, and if so, how much it costs?

I read that the martinis from the martini bar are not included in the classic package, but are the smoothies and the specialty coffees from the coffee bar?

In the case that I don't/can't upgrade, can you simply pay the difference for those specialty drinks & not pay the full price as if you had no package option?

Lastly, regarding the prefix price for the specialty restaurants, how do the drinks work? Can you still get alcoholic beverages as part of your package without paying extra, or are the drinks a la carte?

 

Thank you in advance for your guidance! :-)

[kathynorth]

Yes, you can upgrade from classic to premium alcohol package for $11.80 per night of your cruise if you do this before boarding. It's the same rate per night for the # of nights left for your cruise if you upgrade during your cruise. This means you can use the classic for the first couple of nights and if you find you'd like to upgrade along the way you can still upgrade for the remaining nights. I think upgrades are only available prior to the last 2-3 nights of the cruise.

 

Booking onboard makes it possible to use OBC for the upgrade. Also, if you upgrade onboard then you can upgrade as an individual rather than automatically upgrading both passengers in the cabin.

 

The large sized martinis from the Martini bar cost more than the max classic package cost/drink limit. Some posters have reported that bar tenders have provided smaller versions for patrons with the classic package when not too busy. The coffees from Cafe Baccio are included. Some of the smoothie drinks are included and others are not, you'd have to check the cost/drink. Easiest thing is to ask the bartender if the drink you want is include in the classic package or to make a suggestion for the type of drink you want that is in the package. They are used to these questions.

 

If you have the classic package and a drink cost more than the max $ then you have to pay the full price for that drink. If you have the premium package and the drink cost is more than max you can pay the difference.

 

Alcoholic beverages are not included in the specialty restaurant fees. However, you can use your drink package in these restaurants.

Edited January 30, 2017 by kathynorth

[tnfcruise]

I knew this topic would eventually devolve into the usual martini/upgrade questions, even though there are dozens of threads with titles that would lead one easily to those answers.

We made it to 10 pages and almost 200 comments, though, and kathynorth was nice enough to thoroughly answer the oft-asked questions.

Not to chide the questioner, but if someone is new to the thread and has something to add to the "Wine By The Glass" discussion, don't let the last couple of comments dissuade you.

SoFloChica, have a great cruise and enjoy your beverage package!

 

 

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[Vehorn]

Just returned from 10-day cruse to the Caribbean on the Equinox and the only criticism I have is with the wine selection. It was the worst we have ever had on a cruise ship. It took seven days before we finally got a decent white wine. there is no wine list for the dining room, so it is hit or miss. strangely there were some good wines in a couple of the lounges but they were not available in the dining room. Go figure. Have another Equinox cruise coming up in Oct and hope for improvement.

[Cruise Raider]

Just returned from 10-day cruse to the Caribbean on the Equinox and the only criticism I have is with the wine selection. It was the worst we have ever had on a cruise ship. It took seven days before we finally got a decent white wine. there is no wine list for the dining room, so it is hit or miss. strangely there were some good wines in a couple of the lounges but they were not available in the dining room. Go figure. Have another Equinox cruise coming up in Oct and hope for improvement.

 

We will be sailing on the Equinox in a couple of weeks after sailing on her a few times in the past. We miss Cellar Masters ... at the risk of repeating myself.

Can you tell me what is the decent wine you found in a couple of lounges .. and which lounges were those?

I hate that there is no wine list in the dining rooms ... I just don't know how that can be but encountered the same thing on our Equinox cruise a little less than a year ago. We were even hard pressed to get a choice of wines in the specialty restaurants.

[bigbenboys]

Just back from 12 nights on Millennium in Asia. We had the PDP. Every time I asked for wine in Luminae or Michael's Club they had wine. If you dont like what they have by the glass then you buy a bottle of what you like.

[killsport]

What most people (myself included) are frustrated with is the lack of selection within the premium list. The print media states: "We offer a large global assortment of red, white and

sparkling wines by the glass" under the Premium Package.

When the cruiseline displays the Wine Spectator award very proudly and visibly aboard the ships, it would stand to reason that they would, in fact, have a LARGE assortment of red, white, and sparkling within the Premium Package. Most venues have a very SMALL assortment (less than I'd find at my local mom and pop restaurant), and the quality of those selections is questionable at best. Honestly, if they'd allow unlimited wine brought on board for those with a beverage package, I'd be happy to provide my own. That would allow the cruiseline to save money, and me to actually enjoy decent wine on my cruise (at a reasonable price).

[Pavovsky]

For sparkling I recommend the Chandon Brut. For reds anything by Gerard Bertrand is usually good. But I understand your point.

[Hlitner]

Just back from 12 nights on Millennium in Asia. We had the PDP. Every time I asked for wine in Luminae or Michael's Club they had wine. If you dont like what they have by the glass then you buy a bottle of what you like.

 

We hear you! On the other hand, some folks figure if they are paying over $60 per person/day for "premium" beverages by the glass...they should not have to pay even more to buy a bottle....because there are few to no premium wines available by the glass. By using your logic, those that are not happy with the quality of food in the MDR...could simply pay $100 a day (per couple) to dine in Murano. And then they could pay another $100 per day...for a really good wine in Murano.

 

Hank

Edited January 31, 2017 by Hlitner

[Straughn]

Just back from 12 nights on Millennium in Asia. We had the PDP. Every time I asked for wine in Luminae or Michael's Club they had wine. If you dont like what they have by the glass then you buy a bottle of what you like.

 

This was my experience on Equinox on our last cruise. I had no issues getting something good to slightly better than good (I won't go as far as excellent) in Luminae. After some discussion with the somelier in Murano, he produced two more than acceptable reds that were within the premium package. Now that may have been helped by the Luminae manager stopping in to check on us just as we were having this discussion.

 

Tuscan Grille was a disaster for both wine and service in general. We would have been better off if the somelier hadn't shown up with his "advice".

 

We don't frequent the lounges very often, except for maybe an after dinner drink. In the theatre, I usually order a glass of the Celebrity Chardonnay. Not gonna get something better as the servers in there are rushed and are not familiar with wine other than to say they have red, white or pink.

[WestCoastFlyer]

We thought that it was just our group who thought this. We are just back from 14 nights on the Eclipse. We upgraded to the premium package and could not have been more disappointed with the red wine selection in the MDR.

 

There were several different varieties of wines by the glass available in the MDR - 1 cab, 1 merlot, 1 chianti, etc. However, most of them were low quality. One tasted so bad it was almost like it was within hours of turning to vinegar. They were also the same wines that were available on the classic package. Two of our family members had the classic package and there wasn't a single red that wasn't part of their package or at least they were never told that a glass they wanted wasn't included. There was ZERO benefit to paying for the upgrade.

 

We mentioned the quality to our sommelier and he had the head sommelier stop by. He started with there were no other options available in the MDR. However, he finally admitted that there were other red wines available by the glass on the ship in several of the bars that were only on the premium package, by they were not "allowed" to serve them in the MDR. We were welcome to carry them in with us or we could buy wine by the bottle. :mad:

 

It really makes us question the benefit of paying for the premium upgrade, especially on a 14 night trip.

[81Zoomie]

We thought that it was just our group who thought this. We are just back from 14 nights on the Eclipse. We upgraded to the premium package and could not have been more disappointed with the red wine selection in the MDR.

 

There were several different varieties of wines by the glass available in the MDR - 1 cab, 1 merlot, 1 chianti, etc. However, most of them were low quality. One tasted so bad it was almost like it was within hours of turning to vinegar. They were also the same wines that were available on the classic package. Two of our family members had the classic package and there wasn't a single red that wasn't part of their package or at least they were never told that a glass they wanted wasn't included. There was ZERO benefit to paying for the upgrade.

 

We mentioned the quality to our sommelier and he had the head sommelier stop by. He started with there were no other options available in the MDR. However, he finally admitted that there were other red wines available by the glass on the ship in several of the bars that were only on the premium package, by they were not "allowed" to serve them in the MDR. We were welcome to carry them in with us or we could buy wine by the bottle. :mad:

 

It really makes us question the benefit of paying for the premium upgrade, especially on a 14 night trip.

 

This was also our experience on our Reflection cruise. We decided there was no reason to upgrade the package because the included premium wines were so poor and it was almost impossible to get better wines by the glass in the MDR. In Murano, all drinkable wines were not included. Many bars only stocked the house wines.

 

On our next cruise we will stick with the classic package. For a special dinner we will buy a bottle. Other than that we will drink spirits and water.

 

On HAL and Princess we cart our own wine when it is convenient. Azamara has a reasonable $10 corkage and we brought a special bottle for our anniversary even though they had 5 daily wines included.

 

Perhaps X should change the name of the pkg from premium to simply "upgraded." While the spirits are upgraded, the wines could hardly be considered anything but bottom tier.

 

Why not roll out an upgraded wine package???

[janetz]

Interesting to read.

I was just thinking about upgrading to premium as I enjoy good wine.

After reading, I will bring my own onboard. :)

Edited February 1, 2017 by janetz

[Cruise Raider]

 

 

We mentioned the quality to our sommelier and he had the head sommelier stop by. He started with there were no other options available in the MDR. However, he finally admitted that there were other red wines available by the glass on the ship in several of the bars that were only on the premium package, by they were not "allowed" to serve them in the MDR. We were welcome to carry them in with us or we could buy wine by the bottle. :mad:

 

It really makes us question the benefit of paying for the premium upgrade, especially on a 14 night trip.

 

This is just incredible to me ...they have a sommelier, which is no longer even a position on some cruise lines, yet, they can only pour a very limited selection of wines in the MDR?? Isn't the MDR where you would like to use the expertise of a well trained sommelier??

I am just a bit in shock over 'they are not allowed to serve decent wines in the MDR'. Was there a particular bar we can go to order and carry a glass of wine with us? I just don't know why they have to make this so difficult.

I am with you ... questioning whether or not upgrading will be worth it.