Viking Ocean wine lists

[claranda]

I read recently that Viking has cut the number of wines it offers. Can someone on board very kindly post the current wine list?

[oskidunker]

The wine list prices are very reasonable. Plus they do not add a gratuity like some cruise lines. The best deal is the Roederer crystal champagne for $160.00. It is double that at Total wines in my area. They have Tattinger for $85 which is only about 50% higher than here. 
 

the white wines by the glass were decent. I did not care for the red, although for $8.00 there is a nice French Syrah and a Spanish Tempranillo   . We would never buy the beverage package as we don't drink hard liquor. 
 

they have Silver Oak, Duckhorn  Merlot and Rombauer Chardonay along with Montellena. 

[TayanaLorna]

The old wine list for premium wines by the glass was easy to photograph and post as the reds and whites each had 2 pages and the rose a quarter page.  On our 2/23 cruise the new wine list was organized by country, listed all the wines by the bottle both red and white and their cost.  If a wine was offered by the glass from that country, then it showed $8.00 per glass.  The only wines offered as part of the SSBP were the by the glass priced ones.  All the others had an * with notation that they were not part of SSBP.  There were many pages to look through.  Sometimes only 1 white and 1 red per country were offered by the glass.  If you want to purchase a bottle and know what country, it is easy.  If you want to try different wines by the glass, the new list is a pain.

[deec]

and it is difficult at times to get a sommelier in the Main Dining Room to help. 

[amelia3171]

13 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

The old wine list for premium wines by the glass was easy to photograph and post as the reds and whites each had 2 pages and the rose a quarter page.  On our 2/23 cruise the new wine list was organized by country, listed all the wines by the bottle both red and white and their cost.  If a wine was offered by the glass from that country, then it showed $8.00 per glass.  The only wines offered as part of the SSBP were the by the glass priced ones.  All the others had an * with notation that they were not part of SSBP.  There were many pages to look through.  Sometimes only 1 white and 1 red per country were offered by the glass.  If you want to purchase a bottle and know what country, it is easy.  If you want to try different wines by the glass, the new list is a pain.

 

It is a pain. 
 

Bad photos from the Jupiter last week, list seems same this week. 
 

By the glass wines are ok, not found a red entirely to my taste but the Pinot and the Nero d’Avola are fine and the New Zealand Greystone white is pleasant. 

[TayanaLorna]

@amelia3171. Thanks.  I tried to do the same thing for my personal use but they were so blurry i just deleted them.  Some of the wines are different from our cruise on the Sea.  But like your list, there were no whites by the glass from France or Germany and more reds per country.

[loriva]

The Viking website says "Our newly enhanced Silver Spirits Beverage Program is now $25 USD per night.  The package includes:
Any drinks up to $18.00 including premium wines by the glass, cocktails, & aperitifs
Now includes house champagne by the glass
Premium wines by the glass, cocktails and aperitifs
Selection of applicable wines change twice per cruise
30% discount on premium beverages above $50.00 USD
50% discount for premium tasting events
The Chefs Table premium wine pairing
Wide range of upgraded selection of whiskeys & whisky’s
Wide range of upgraded wines and spirits
Soft drinks & juices
--Both guests in a stateroom must purchase the package for the full length of the cruise for it to be valid.  A 15% service charge per person is included with the price."

 

Viking mentions "premium wines by the glass" three times (if you count the Chef's Table pairings) in their description of the SSBP.  But what I'm seeing on this thread is that premium wines by the glass no longer exist--there are only the ordinary wines by the glass.  Is that a correct conclusion?

 

The SSBP also notes a 30-percent discount on premium beverages above U.S. $50.  But all of the bottles of wine on the list have a notation that they are "not included" in the SSBP.  So, if you buy the French white for $51 it is that price (plus 15-percent gratuity?) not $35.70 (30-percent discount, again not sure if 15 percent is added to that as gratuity)?

 

Still trying to decide if the SSBP is for us or not.  We bought it on our Viking River cruise as it offered us a much-better selection of wines.  VO does things differently, however, and not sure the SSBP now offers the possibility of upgraded wines.  (Based on the photographs of the wine list, it doesn't even appear one can buy a premium wine by the glass independent of the SSBP.  I do understand Viking allows one to bring wine on board and enjoy it without a corkage fee.)  Would appreciate comments, please.
 

[wine-wine-wine]

On 4/11/2023 at 5:56 AM, deec said:

and it is difficult at times to get a sommelier in the Main Dining Room to help. 

We made friends with all of the sommeliers on Jupiter last December and luckily had no problem getting their attention… maybe it was because we attended all of the tastings. 

[wine-wine-wine]

1 hour ago, loriva said:

The Viking website says "Our newly enhanced Silver Spirits Beverage Program is now $25 USD per night.  The package includes:
Any drinks up to $18.00 including premium wines by the glass, cocktails, & aperitifs
Now includes house champagne by the glass
Premium wines by the glass, cocktails and aperitifs
Selection of applicable wines change twice per cruise
30% discount on premium beverages above $50.00 USD
50% discount for premium tasting events
The Chefs Table premium wine pairing
Wide range of upgraded selection of whiskeys & whisky’s
Wide range of upgraded wines and spirits
Soft drinks & juices
--Both guests in a stateroom must purchase the package for the full length of the cruise for it to be valid.  A 15% service charge per person is included with the price."

 

Viking mentions "premium wines by the glass" three times (if you count the Chef's Table pairings) in their description of the SSBP.  But what I'm seeing on this thread is that premium wines by the glass no longer exist--there are only the ordinary wines by the glass.  Is that a correct conclusion?

 

The SSBP also notes a 30-percent discount on premium beverages above U.S. $50.  But all of the bottles of wine on the list have a notation that they are "not included" in the SSBP.  So, if you buy the French white for $51 it is that price (plus 15-percent gratuity?) not $35.70 (30-percent discount, again not sure if 15 percent is added to that as gratuity)?

 

Still trying to decide if the SSBP is for us or not.  We bought it on our Viking River cruise as it offered us a much-better selection of wines.  VO does things differently, however, and not sure the SSBP now offers the possibility of upgraded wines.  (Based on the photographs of the wine list, it doesn't even appear one can buy a premium wine by the glass independent of the SSBP.  I do understand Viking allows one to bring wine on board and enjoy it without a corkage fee.)  Would appreciate comments, please.
 

This isn’t how I understand it at least as of our December cruise.
 

All wines are available for purchase by everyone regardless of whether they have the package. 
 

I seem to recall that all bottled wines were eligible for discount via the package except French Champagne. 
 

Here’s the good news. You can buy the package when you board so you can have a discussion with a bartender or sommelier first. 
 

Viking is also very lenient on bringing your own alcohol on board. There are no bottle limits or corkage fees. 
 

[oskidunker]

The wine list prices are very reasonable. Plus they do not add a gratuity like some cruise lines. The best deal is the Roederer crystal champagne for $160.00. It is double that at Total wines in my area. They have Tattinger for $85 which is only about 50% higher than here. 
 

the white wines by the glass were decent. I did not care for the red, although for $8.00 there is a nice French Syrah and a Spanish Tempranillo   . We would never buy the beverage package as we don't drink hard liquor. 
 

they have Silver Oak, Duckhorn  Merlot and Rombauer Chardonay along with Montellena. 
 

there is no gratuity added. 

[dd57]

Speaking only of wines, each day there is a "wine of the day" red and a "wine of the day" white that is included in your fare.  If you want a glass of a different wine, you have to pay for it, thus it is "premium".  You can either pay as you go or pre-pay via the SSBP.

[FetaCheese]

3 hours ago, dd57 said:

Speaking only of wines, each day there is a "wine of the day" red and a "wine of the day" white that is included in your fare.  If you want a glass of a different wine, you have to pay for it, thus it is "premium".  You can either pay as you go or pre-pay via the SSBP.

Re:  wine of the day.  On Venus, Dec. 2021, wife asked for a different white, included, and requested a Riesling.  Was no problem, they poured it, no extra charge.  Not sure they would do it all the time, but  cruise was during restart, and guess they wanted to be very accommodating.  Was a terrific voyage.

[claranda]

A big thank you, Amelia 3171, for going to such trouble to post the full list! Cheers!

[dd57]

Once I asked if they still had what was being poured the day before.  They did and I was able to get it at no charge.  I would guess that that doesn't always work either.

[MELSMOM47]

On 4/11/2023 at 9:06 AM, amelia3171 said:

 

It is a pain. 
 

Bad photos from the Jupiter last week, list seems same this week. 
 

By the glass wines are ok, not found a red entirely to my taste but the Pinot and the Nero d’Avola are fine and the New Zealand Greystone white is pleasant. 

Thank you for this list. It’s very helpful in my decision to buy the package. 
 

[LindaS272]

We’ve never had SSBP, but I usually get a different red than the pour of the day, particularly in Manfredi’s. Many times, the waiter will automatically refill it for me but I only get charged for one glass. Sweet—especially when it was only $5/glass. 🫣

[MELSMOM47]

7 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

We’ve never had SSBP, but I usually get a different red than the pour of the day, particularly in Manfredi’s. Many times, the waiter will automatically refill it for me but I only get charged for one glass. Sweet—especially when it was only $5/glass. 🫣

I think we will likely buy a bottle here and there on shore too. 

[oskidunker]

The whites were good. Did not lime the reds. There is a french syrah for $8 that is pretty good. 

[loriva]

19 hours ago, dd57 said:

Speaking only of wines, each day there is a "wine of the day" red and a "wine of the day" white that is included in your fare.  If you want a glass of a different wine, you have to pay for it, thus it is "premium".  You can either pay as you go or pre-pay via the SSBP.

 

Thank you very much for this.  So Viking's definiation of "premium" is "something other than the wine of the day."  That would not be my definition!  But that information is VERY helpful to know.  I'm thinking the SSBP for VO might not be for us.

 

Thanks again,

[wine-wine-wine]

4 minutes ago, loriva said:

 

Thank you very much for this.  So Viking's definiation of "premium" is "something other than the wine of the day."  That would not be my definition!  But that information is VERY helpful to know.  I'm thinking the SSBP for VO might not be for us.

 

Thanks again,

We did not often care for the wines of the day. We found a few reds by the glass on the SSBP that we liked and stuck with those. We live in Northern California and are pretty picky about our wine and immediately sign up for SSBP when we book a VO cruise. But to each their own. 

[Mich3554]

40 minutes ago, loriva said:

 

Thank you very much for this.  So Viking's definiation of "premium" is "something other than the wine of the day."  That would not be my definition!  But that information is VERY helpful to know.  I'm thinking the SSBP for VO might not be for us.

 

Thanks again,

Pretty much, and you do not have to have the package to get access to these wines, they just charge you per glass.

We drink wines that are not always the house wines.  When I have gone back and looked at our bar tab for what SSBP would cost us vs what we spend in alcohol, we are somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of what the package would cost in the 7 cruises we have taken.  
The river cruise was the lone exception as we really liked the house wines.  I think our bar tab for that cruise was $80, or about 1/5 or so.

[MICHE99]

I’ve decided that I’m not going to stress about anything. If I decide to buy a top end bottle on board I’ll do it. 🤷🏼‍♀️ We’ll need to spend $750 to break even. I doubt we will but…… If I spend a little more or a little less it will be fine. Serenity now!!! 😅

[wine-wine-wine]

Just now, MICHE99 said:

I’ve decided that I’m not going to stress about anything. If I decide to buy a top end bottle on board I’ll do it. 🤷🏼‍♀️ We’ll need to spend $750 to break even. I doubt we will but…… If I spend a little more or a little less it will be fine. Serenity now!!! 😅

Yes! And I failed to mention that we enjoy spirits as well which makes SSBP a good deal for us. For a relatively light (compared to us 🥴) wine only drinker, SSBP might not make sense.  
 

Whatever you do, enjoy and don’t stress about this. You’ll have such a wonderful cruise!

[loriva]

26 minutes ago, MICHE99 said:

I’ve decided that I’m not going to stress about anything. If I decide to buy a top end bottle on board I’ll do it. 🤷🏼‍♀️ We’ll need to spend $750 to break even. I doubt we will but…… If I spend a little more or a little less it will be fine. Serenity now!!! 😅

 

Not stressing, just learning about VO to decide what works best for us.   This is what CC.com has always been about for me--know before you go.

 

We only have $500 OBC to spend.  After we pay the suggested gratuities for our cruise ($476), we'll only have $24 left.  (Maybe a bit more if we decide to book a new cruise onboard--thanks again to all here for the tips on not to pre-pay gratuities or the SSBP for that reason.)  The SSBP would put us $676 in the hole from day one otherwise.  We drink spirits, wine, and beer but do not think we've ever ended up with a bar bill that high after any two-week cruise.  If there were truly a "premium" wine by the glass--say $15 instead of $8--it might tip the scale toward the SSBP.  (And, yes, I realize we can buy any alcohol at any time on a VO ship regardless of whether we have SSBP or not.)

 

Thanks again to all for the information,

[MICHE99]

41 minutes ago, loriva said:

 

Not stressing, just learning about VO to decide what works best for us.   This is what CC.com has always been about for me--know before you go.

 

We only have $500 OBC to spend.  After we pay the suggested gratuities for our cruise ($476), we'll only have $24 left.  (Maybe a bit more if we decide to book a new cruise onboard--thanks again to all here for the tips on not to pre-pay gratuities or the SSBP for that reason.)  The SSBP would put us $676 in the hole from day one otherwise.  We drink spirits, wine, and beer but do not think we've ever ended up with a bar bill that high after any two-week cruise.  If there were truly a "premium" wine by the glass--say $15 instead of $8--it might tip the scale toward the SSBP.  (And, yes, I realize we can buy any alcohol at any time on a VO ship regardless of whether we have SSBP or not.)

 

Thanks again to all for the information,

Forgive me. 🙏🏻  I’m the one stressing. Reservations for the specialty restaurants, excursions and the SSBP package. It’s my nature. I’m in agreement. I’m so thankful for all the help here. It has allowed us to make an informed decision and now that we have, I’m going to stop. I’m not going to second guess myself. 
Have a wonderful cruise.