Typical wine by the glass prices?

[DCGuy64]

One thing we noticed is that sometimes they don't charge for the nicer wines. My wife ordered a $17 glass of wine at La Cucina, which was technically over the $15 limit, and wasn't charged. OTOH I ordered a $20 glass of Chandon sparkling wine and was charged the $5 + 20% gratuity, at Savor. The good news is that our TA got us $100 OBC for our next cruise, so we may just put that towards a few glasses of the good stuff. 🙂

[RocketMan275]

33 minutes ago, fastpitchdad said:

 

I was just pointing out that it also qualifies in the decent category 🙂. We are getting Premium Plus for our cruise next week as well. If you do upgrade and your ship has a Cellars, go there and talk to the Sommelier,  they often have some other good options for you to try.

Thank  you.  We're on Prima.

[Karaboudjan]

5 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

I used to feel the same way about inexpensive wines but as I grew older I began to appreciate the finer wines.   It's very much like the saying 'You won't want to go back once you've been in the Haven.'

 

I am just the opposite.  When I was young, I spent way more than I should have on fine wines.  Now that I could better afford them I just don't find it worth the extra money.

 

But I have also been in the Haven and have not gone back, so maybe I am just wired wrong...  🤔

[InnerChild]

If you purchase a bottle and have the basic wine package, how do they calculate the up-charge? Or, do you just have to pay the full price? I really enjoy the East-West Blend and would gladly order the bottle if there was an up-charge option.

[Pitzel]

Just now, InnerChild said:

If you purchase a bottle and have the basic wine package, how do they calculate the up-charge? Or, do you just have to pay the full price? I really enjoy the East-West Blend and would gladly order the bottle if there was an up-charge option.

If you have the basic FAS beverage package, you get 20% off of the price of the bottle.

[InnerChild]

Just now, Pitzel said:

If you have the basic FAS beverage package, you get 20% off of the price of the bottle.

Thanks -looks like the charge per glass is a better deal (depending on the pour!!)

 

[Pitzel]

Just now, InnerChild said:

Thanks -looks like the charge per glass is a better deal (depending on the pour!!)

 

Not all wines are available by the glass, which is why the discount sometimes comes in handy. If a wine is offered by the glass, typically you get a better deal that way with the basic FAS beverage package (since the first $15 of each glass is essentially covered).

[MagnoliaBlossom]

8 hours ago, ggTexasGal said:

The ongoing situation does provide incentive to carry onboard favorite wines.

The fact that NCL no longer charges the "corkage fee" to do so has increased the incentive to have what we truly prefer.  (In reality, we might, or might not, do so.)

And it’s a win for NCL if you choose between paying 18+ dollars for a decent wine vs having you to pay for the basic Bev pkg, “allowing” you to bring on your own wine, and then not have to serve you wine out of their cellar.  I notice they have discontinued their North South and East West wines from the Mondavi vineyards.  I enjoyed North South but last time I had it, it too, was no longer in the basic list.

Edited August 9, 2023 by MagnoliaBlossom

[DCGuy64]

15 hours ago, Pitzel said:

If you have the basic FAS beverage package, you get 20% off of the price of the bottle.

But don't you still have to pay the 20% gratuity on top of that? So if the wine costs $50/bottle and you have the FAS package, it's discounted by $10 so now costs $40, but then they levy a 20% gratuity on the $40 of bottle of wine and it becomes $48. That was my understanding, anyway.

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

But don't you still have to pay the 20% gratuity on top of that? So if the wine costs $50/bottle and you have the FAS package, it's discounted by $10 so now costs $40, but then they levy a 20% gratuity on the $40 of bottle of wine and it becomes $48. That was my understanding, anyway.

Yes, but it’s still cheaper than if you didn’t have the FAS because you pay full price for the bottle plus the gratuity.

[luv2kroooz]

On 8/9/2023 at 8:40 AM, RocketMan275 said:

Just my opinion.  Life is too short to drink cheap wine.

 

I'll pass on enjoying wine onboard NCL ships at those menu prices. I can enjoy fine wines at fair prices the other 11 months of the year when I am not on an NCL ship. Their printed menu prices are comical.

[RocketMan275]

Not totally out of line with restaurant prices ashore.

If these prices bother  you then bring  your own wine.

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Not totally out of line with restaurant prices ashore.

If these prices bother  you then bring  your own wine.

Dang, they must be charging a ton for wine in North Alabama! Even here in overpriced DC, they don't charge $25/glass! Yikes.

[RocketMan275]

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

Dang, they must be charging a ton for wine in North Alabama! Even here in overpriced DC, they don't charge $25/glass! Yikes.

Depends upon the wine.  

Typically a restaurant will double the wholesale price and then divide that by four to get the per glass price.  They do that in DC too.

A bar manager says his typical customer picks out his wine by this process: If it's red meat, he looks for the cheapest red.  If it's seafood, he looks for the cheapest white.

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

Depends upon the wine.  

Typically a restaurant will double the wholesale price and then divide that by four to get the per glass price.  They do that in DC too.

A bar manager says his typical customer picks out his wine by this process: If it's red meat, he looks for the cheapest red.  If it's seafood, he looks for the cheapest white.

In my experience, cruise line prices for wines are always higher than land-based establishments. I'll pay $10-12 for a glass of wine here that NCL charges $18-20 for. So I do think their prices are out of line, but then that's why I get the package because the cost is built in. I would never do pay-as-you-go on a cruise unless I was having only 1 drink per day.

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Dang, they must be charging a ton for wine in North Alabama! Even here in overpriced DC, they don't charge $25/glass! Yikes.

I went to an annual event in Philadelphia (dance competition, wine was necessary). I’d pay $15 for a glass of Woodbridge Cabernet, which retails around $5. We’d spend a lot of time in the bar area, so I’d bring my own wine in a bag and fill up my glass from there (did I mention it was Irish dance?) I wonder how much it costs now.

[fastpitchdad]

5 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Not totally out of line with restaurant prices ashore.

If these prices bother  you then bring  your own wine.

 

If you like good wine bringing your own is the best thing you can do, especially when most people will have no corkage. 

[RocketMan275]

11 minutes ago, fastpitchdad said:

 

If you like good wine bringing your own is the best thing you can do, especially when most people will have no corkage. 

We always brought our own wines when we drove to the ports.  

We have to fly on our next two cruises.  I'm uncertain if I want to fly with wine in checked bags.

[fastpitchdad]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

We always brought our own wines when we drove to the ports.  

We have to fly on our next two cruises.  I'm uncertain if I want to fly with wine in checked bags.

 

I am literally packing for a cruise out of Lisbon now, we use these wine angel bags and have never had an issue). 

 

[RocketMan275]

12 hours ago, fastpitchdad said:

 

I am literally packing for a cruise out of Lisbon now, we use these wine angel bags and have never had an issue). 

 

 

Question: do you also get the plus drink package?

[dbrown84]

On 8/9/2023 at 11:29 AM, RocketMan275 said:

I used to feel the same way about inexpensive wines but as I grew older I began to appreciate the finer wines.   It's very much like the saying 'You won't want to go back once you've been in the Haven.'

Is That the saying???? 🤣

[KateQ22003]

On 8/9/2023 at 5:21 PM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

And it’s a win for NCL if you choose between paying 18+ dollars for a decent wine vs having you to pay for the basic Bev pkg, “allowing” you to bring on your own wine, and then not have to serve you wine out of their cellar.  I notice they have discontinued their North South and East West wines from the Mondavi vineyards.  I enjoyed North South but last time I had it, it too, was no longer in the basic list.

Where are you seeing that they discontinued their East West wines from Mondavi??? They had it on the Pearl two weeks ago. That's all I drink with dinner; I am not going to be happy if that wine is gone!

[fastpitchdad]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Question: do you also get the plus drink package?

 

Sometimes. On the cruise we are leaving for today we did through Free At Sea Plus. I needed unlimited internet for work anyway, my wife is a big fancy coffee drinkers, and we have 10 ports (although we didn't use all of the excursion credits) and it is our anniversary cruise so it seemed worth it. We are only bringing 6 bottles of wine which might be 5 by the time we board. If we don't get get the plus drink package we will bring a bottle for every day we are on the ship (which once included a 9 day Baltic cruise 🙂 ). 

[RocketMan275]

51 minutes ago, fastpitchdad said:

 

Sometimes. On the cruise we are leaving for today we did through Free At Sea Plus. I needed unlimited internet for work anyway, my wife is a big fancy coffee drinkers, and we have 10 ports (although we didn't use all of the excursion credits) and it is our anniversary cruise so it seemed worth it. We are only bringing 6 bottles of wine which might be 5 by the time we board. If we don't get get the plus drink package we will bring a bottle for every day we are on the ship (which once included a 9 day Baltic cruise 🙂 ). 

Thanks.  I'm trying to decide if I want the Plus  drink package.  We don't need the extra internet or meals since we'll be in the Haven.  I'm also trying to decide how many bottles to bring.  Normally, for a seven day cruise I would bring six.  I'm thinking with the plus package four at most.  (Plus one for the room the night before the cruise.)  I can check three bags each for my wife and I. I'm thinking of one bag for myself, one for my wife, and a small carry-on for the wine.

[djasinsk]

On 8/10/2023 at 12:10 PM, RocketMan275 said:

Depends upon the wine.  

Typically a restaurant will double the wholesale price and then divide that by four to get the per glass price.  They do that in DC too.

A bar manager says his typical customer picks out his wine by this process: If it's red meat, he looks for the cheapest red.  If it's seafood, he looks for the cheapest white.

Try 3-4x the per bottle price not 2x.  
 

NCL wine by the glass prices are completely non competitive in the cruise industry at this point.   
and even compared to land prices which are higher their price for brands like Decoy and La Crema are significantly more than most restaurants. 
 

ncl pricing strategy is clearly to make people “package up” to get decent stuff.  Want good food, pay extra for specialty dining every day.  Want good wine, 36 bucks a day extra. Good service? Tip extra over the $20 pppd.