Prices for bottles of wine in MDR on Rotterdam

[Travelexpert35]

I haven't sailed on Holland America for quite a while and am taking my Mom on the Rotterdam in Nov. Just wondering what the bottle of wine prices would be compared to buying one of the wine packages.

[avian777]

If having this information is important to you, I suggest you contact HAL Ship Services directly, as much of what appears on here is anecdotal and may not be current or even accurate.

Smooth sailing :ship: :ship: :ship:

[taxmantoo]

The price of the wine different packages is available directly on the HAL website. The price of individual bottles varies from approx $25 to over $300. It is up to you to figure out the types of wine you prefer and if a package is worth it or not.

[Travelexpert35]

I’m looking at the $25-$35 range for wine and whether there is a decent selection vs the 3 bottle Navigator package.

[RocketMan275]

I’m looking at the $25-$35 range for wine and whether there is a decent selection vs the 3 bottle Navigator package.

In my opinion, you're better off bringing your own wine and paying the corkage.

Totalwine is next to the pier in fort lauderdale. Suggest you visit their website and compare prices on board with what you can get at totalwine. For example, the Chateau Ste Michelle chardonnay is less than $8 per bottle at totalwine and $38 on board.

 

Roger jett has the on board prices at his very useful website.

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/hal-beverage-menus/

 

http://www.totalwine.com/

 

You can order on line and they will have it ready for you to pick up.

I will pick up six bottles there before my next cruise.

[taxmantoo]

I’m looking at the $25-$35 range for wine and whether there is a decent selection vs the 3 bottle Navigator package.

Although HAL does advertise standard packages on their website, situations often occur where some of the wines in the packages are temporarily unavailable and replaced by others wines. The best suggestion is actually to wait until you board and see what is available before deciding to purchase a package. There are decent selections in both the Navigator and Admiral packages in your price range. Pricewise, the packages are advantageous over single bottles 100% of the time.

[CherryG]

We have bought the wine package 3 times, but when we cruise in a few weeks, we're just going to purchase bottles as needed. I don't think you save any money doing the prebuy wine package, and you don't have that much choice in selection of wine. Keep in mind that if you don't finish your bottle at dinner, they bring it back the next night for you. We aren't big drinkers so each cruise we had prebought, we never finished all the wine and just offered to our table mates on the last night.

[drlee]

It's close, in my opinion, to a wash. Our experience is that a $13-15 bottle of wine locally will be $35-40 on board. If you bring a $15 bottle on, and pay the $18 corkage, you're out $33, so not worth the effort to me to bring on board. Buying the wine package will save a little (emphasis on little). If you have three or four star status, you can discount the package 25% or 50% respectively. That makes it more reasonable. If you pine for better wines, you will pay dearly for them. A rule of thumb for us has been that on board wine not in a package will sell for three times what you'd get it for in a liquor store. Total wine will be cheaper as pointed out. If your cruise includes a drink package (explore 4) you can get by satisfactorily with wine by the glass. You might anyway, if you're the one glass at a meal type. $8 for a glass for two is $16 a night. Whether you buy by the glass, via a package or by the bottle, you will pay an extra 15% service fee for the wine steward. As pointed out, wine package contents and prices change, but at embarkation you'll find brochures with prices and included wines.

[kazu]

I agree with waiting to get onboard. Sometimes there are substitutions in the wine packages which are better wines (if you like them) at the same price.

 

As to bringing wine on board, we do it and enjoy.

 

A nice bottle of wine which will be much pricier on HAL than paying corkage. A cheaper bottle - not much difference.

 

But we don't do it for the money - but rather the change and the opportunity to have wines that we can't get here and that HAL doesn't offer. We usually use their package in the dining room with the odd switch up with our own bottle.

 

We like to keep our wine steward happy ;). And busy ;)

[Harpo]

Just checked this today for our upcoming cruise. A bottle of generic "red" and "white" go for $30/bottle. A bottle of Beiringer White Zinfandel ($6 at a local wine store) goes for $36, so 6x the cost. As you go up to the higher priced wines, the multiplier goes down slightly, but is still over 4x for every wine I checked. Example is Ferrari‑Carano Chardonnay, which sells for about $20 at a wine store, is $92.50 onboard. So expect a 4-6x price multiplier on any wine you buy onboard. Most cruise ships are good at listing a lot of relatively unknown labels so that you cannot easily price reference check while reading the wine list. And yes, there is an app for that (Vivino), but most don't have the app or don't want to use Internet time checking wine prices at dinner.

 

Which makes it worthwhile to pay the $18 corkage fee (and no corkage fee on your first two bottles per cabin), unless you don't want to go through the hassle of selecting exactly what you want in advance and hauling it onboard.

[RuthC]

Which makes it worthwhile to pay the $18 corkage fee (and no corkage fee on your first two bottles per cabin), ....

Two corrections to that:

It's one bottle per person, not two bottles per cabin. There's a difference.

And, the corkage fee is applied if you bring the 'free' bottle to the dining room, or other public venue.

[RocketMan275]

It's been my experience that you can take the bottle price on shore and that will correspond closely to the per drink price on board. The bottle price will be about four times the on board drink price.

 

For example, Duckhorn Decoy Merlot is $17,99 at total wine. It's on the Pinnacle Grill wine list at $18 per glass and $72 per bottle.

[Harpo]

Two corrections to that:

It's one bottle per person, not two bottles per cabin. There's a difference.

And, the corkage fee is applied if you bring the 'free' bottle to the dining room, or other public venue.

 

It is two bottles per cabin assuming you have two adults (or more) in the cabin. If you have a third or fourth adult in the cabin, it's still two bottles. But if there is only one adult in the cabin, it is only one bottle, not two.

 

The corkage fee applies to anything over the one bottle per adult/two per cabin (if two in the cabin), regardless of whether you bring it to the dining room or any public venue. Your first two bottles (again, assuming two adults in the cabin) are free, no corkage, as long as you cork them in your own room. I've never seen any cruise ship object to taking a glass of wine from your room to the dining room or public venue, just don't bring the bottle. But if you bring on let's say four bottles (with two adults in the cabin), you will be charged $18 corkage on two of the bottles, regardless where you have them corked (or even if you do it yourself).

[taxmantoo]

It is two bottles per cabin assuming you have two adults (or more) in the cabin. If you have a third or fourth adult in the cabin, it's still two bottles. But if there is only one adult in the cabin, it is only one bottle, not two.

 

The corkage fee applies to anything over the one bottle per adult/two per cabin (if two in the cabin), regardless of whether you bring it to the dining room or any public venue. Your first two bottles (again, assuming two adults in the cabin) are free, no corkage, as long as you cork them in your own room. I've never seen any cruise ship object to taking a glass of wine from your room to the dining room or public venue, just don't bring the bottle. But if you bring on let's say four bottles (with two adults in the cabin), you will be charged $18 corkage on two of the bottles, regardless where you have them corked (or even if you do it yourself).

Nobody has ever been charged a fee on a ship for "corking" a bottle. In fact, people actually get paid for putting the corks in at wineries ;p The charge on cruise ships is for "uncorking" the bottle.

[RuthC]

It is two bottles per cabin assuming you have two adults (or more) in the cabin. If you have a third or fourth adult in the cabin, it's still two bottles.

No, it's still one per adult. A third adult brings an allowance for a third corkage-free bottle to the cabin; a 4th adult brings a fourth free bottle.

The corkage fee applies to anything over the one bottle per adult/, regardless of whether you bring it to the dining room or any public venue.

That is correct.