Wine Card Warning!!!

[SakeDad]

As I just haven't had a chance to write my review I thought I'd post something very important to know about the wine cards.

I ordered one online before I left and was relieved to find it in the cabin. The first night I ordered a glass of wine with dinner. After dinner I gave my card to pay for it and was informed I had ordered a "premium" glass of wine and only "house" wines were covered on the card. There is absolutely NO DISTINCTION on the wine menu as to what is premium or house! The wine steward came over and said they could either charge me for the wine or take 2 wine stamps off the card:mad: That's not a good option as you'd then be paying $14 a glass, not $9. When I expressed my displeasure that this was not explained anywhere online when purchasing the wine card he said....and I quote..."Yes sir, we are aware of the problems with Seattle and wine cards. THEY ARE OUR ENEMY" So I paid the $9 and got house wine the rest of the trip.

Also, the Pinot Grigio is better than the Chardonnay but toward the end of the week all the bars were running out of Pinot Grigio and trying to substitute Chardonnay without informing you. When I mentioned this to Boris, the bar manager, he explained they had mis-ordered for Alaska on many fronts and they were still trying to figure out what Alaska travelers were drinking.

Hopefully everyone else has better luck with this. Forewarned is foraremed.

[hammybee]

The onboard crew, in the LIDO, on embarkation day, went out of their way to explain the strenghts/weaknesses of wine and cocktail cards. Bottom line, if one is drinking house brands, the card is the equivelent of a free glass of wine or a free cocktail. It makes no sense to use the card to buy the "cocktail of the day" cause then you are loosing money.

 

I did not think to ask if the card was reusable on another cruise if one did not use it all up. Maybe someone has the answer to this.

 

We drank the Shiraz and they ran out of this too. We got the same story as Sake Dad- that they were still figuring out what Alaska Pax drink, and thus far have guessed wrong. Premium wines were far outselling the house brand.

[photodoodle]

When I expressed my displeasure that this was not explained anywhere online when purchasing the wine card he said....and I quote..."Yes sir, we are aware of the problems with Seattle and wine cards. THEY ARE OUR ENEMY".

 

Holy Moly! What an astonishing thing to say. As someone with years of management experience, this looks to me like an organization that is at war with itself - a very bad thing and a possible sign of decline. It certainly doesn't create value for the customer.

 

Based on the problems I am having with Holland America regarding getting my air travel straightened out, I'm not surprised. I've noticed a couple of things as I try to sort out my air travel problem. These issues come up in some of the other threads describing passenger problems - notably the denial of public space to paying customers.

 

1. Holland America sometimes does not properly communicate with its passengers and set expectations so that they can exceed them.

 

2. When confronted with passenger dissatifaction, Holland America employees sometimes point the finger at another part of the orgaization. Passengers seem to have difficulty finding any HAL employees willing to be accountable and to find a solution.

 

3. Holland America seems to be making some very short sighted trade-offs regarding small amounts of money and ensuring passenger satisfaction. Someone should have been empowered to apologize to Sake dad and comp him a drink for the misunderstanding. Think how different that experieince would be - and it would cost very little.

[CruiseBumm]

O also bought a wine card online. I was a ware of all the drawbacks because it has been discussed here several times. It is nice to know that I have to be aware of what wines in the dinning hall are primium and what aren't.

Thanks for the reminder.

[rkacruiser]

My recommendation based upon my experience is to NOT buy the wine card in advance. Ask questions of your wine steward as to exactly what types of wines are available and decide then if you will be satisfied with this. Contrary to what some have said on this Board, the choices are not just "Red" or White". There were at least two Reds and two Whites as well as a sparkling wine offered aboard the Amsterdam in April.

[hammybee]

Holland America seems to be making some very short sighted trade-offs regarding small amounts of money and ensuring passenger satisfaction. Someone should have been empowered to apologize to Sake dad and comp him a drink for the misunderstanding. Think how different that experieince would be - and it would cost very little.

 

Yeah, in another place and time, this might have been nice and then 2000 pax would have the same "misunderstanding" and expectation of a free pour X 52 weeks = > 100,000 free drinks/year.

 

When one is in the business of mass-marketing/yield management, it leaves very little room for individual discretion. I can pay multiples and cruise with a luxury cruise line and not be concerned with stuff like drink cards, sometimes indifferent /unempowered home office employees or inconsistent web sites/cruise documentation. Or, I can choose to sail whatever I determine to be "best in class" and take what comes, in stride.

 

Consumers determine what what service levels are acceptable to them versus the price they pay. That more people shop at Walmart than traditional service -oriented department stores, fly cramped discount airlines and forced traditional carriers to compete and choose their cruise vacation based upon the per person price, tells the seller what is important. We get what we pay for.

[Grumpy1]

It is nice to know that I have to be aware of what wines in the dinning hall are primium and what aren't.

Thanks for the reminder.

If it's listed by name on the menu, it isn't a house wine. Just tell them you want the house red or house white if you aren't too particular. You can try specifying house Merlot or house Pinot Grigio. Sometimes they have them, sometimes they will ask if Chardonney or Cabernet Sauvignon will be all right. And I suspect that sometimes they serve one of the latter offerings, regardless of what you ask for, figuring that anyone that orders "house" isn't going to know the difference.

[Jade13]

The onboard crew, in the LIDO, on embarkation day, went out of their way to explain the strenghts/weaknesses of wine and cocktail cards. Bottom line, if one is drinking house brands, the card is the equivelent of a free glass of wine or a free cocktail. It makes no sense to use the card to buy the "cocktail of the day" cause then you are loosing money.

 

I did not think to ask if the card was reusable on another cruise if one did not use it all up. Maybe someone has the answer to this.

 

We drank the Shiraz and they ran out of this too. We got the same story as Sake Dad- that they were still figuring out what Alaska Pax drink, and thus far have guessed wrong. Premium wines were far outselling the house brand.

 

As far as reusable, they are probably not supposed to be like the cola cards. Not knowing that, I gave a half used cola card to my boss. After I had sent it off I happened to ask Ship Services, as I was calling about something else. They said everything was for the one cruise only and that also different ships were experimenting with different methods (We used and like the punch cards). They also asked how close I was with my boss, because maybe someone would take it. He was on the same ship and had no problem.

[Jade13]

If it's listed by name on the menu, it isn't a house wine. Just tell them you want the house red or house white if you aren't too particular. You can try specifying house Merlot or house Pinot Grigio. Sometimes they have them, sometimes they will ask if Chardonney or Cabernet Sauvignon will be all right. And I suspect that sometimes they serve one of the latter offerings, regardless of what you ask for, figuring that anyone that orders "house" isn't going to know the difference.

 

How much is the House Wine? Based on the cost of the card, it doesn't seem worth it to purchase just to get one free drink. The reason if is someone only likes Pinot Grigio (my favorite "House"), they may be disappointed.

 

So, how much is it per drink (10 drinks) vs the cost with the 15% added?

[Roz]

Sakedad, I agree with you that the house Pinot Grigio is better than the Chardonnay.

 

Roz

[Jemima]

I ordered a wine card online for use on the Veendam and had no problems with it. I knew it was house wine from both this board and from the online order information. When the wine steward came around on the first evening, I told him I had the card and asked what house wines were included. He stopped at the table each evening to see if I'd be ordering. He was very pleasant and helpful each time.

The only complaint I heard onboard was one person who wanted the wine glass full. They would do that, but charged her two punches. The amount in a "pour" was fine for me.

[fatcat04]

Thanks for the heads up. Good wine is a major part of all vacations for us and we are always looking for ways to make more economical choices.

 

We had a similar problem with the X1 package on our Costa Med cruise this last March though I think we did a pretty good job of getting our monies worth. Now we know... and knowing is half the battle ;)

 

I think anyone that has worked on the front lines of a service/retail industry where there is a disconnect with the folks on the backside of the operation can appreciate the "THEY ARE OUR ENEMY" comment. :D I actually snickered.. been there, done that. :p

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Have not checked into this but how much are they Wine Cards? And how many punches are on each card?

[hammybee]

I think the ten punch wine card goes for about $50, +/-.

 

Unless you are not particular about the wine you drink, I would order by the glass.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tom and I normally order bottles of champagne and in the past we special order a particular Asti we like but this time we decided to be different. During the Alaska season HAL normally carries Alaskan Amber Ale for beer on board so I think he plans to be drinking a few more of them while I think I will have those Henkle Splits of Sparkling Wine:D But who knows we may break down and have a bottle or two of Champagne;) Too bad one could not use those Wine cards for the Henkle Splits.

[jtl513]

... either charge me for the wine or take 2 wine stamps off the card:mad: That's not a good option as you'd then be paying $14 a glass, not $9.

I don't follow your math. The 10 glass card is $41.40 and the 20 glass card is $77.63 including the 15% service charge. No matter which you had, two punches is less than $9 ... plus the $9 doesn't include the 15%.

 

Furthermore, the on-line description clearly states

"House pouring Wine Card for 10 glasses

This wine card is valid for 10 glasses of house pouring wine which includes Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, White Zinfandel and Sparkling Wine."

(and the equivalent for the 20 glass card)

 

Did you not understand these terms when you bought the card, or did you not understand what a "house pouring" wine was?

 

Have not checked into this but how much are they Wine Cards? And how many punches are on each card?

See above.

[SakeDad]

I don't follow your math. The 10 glass card is $41.40 and the 20 glass card is $77.63 including the 15% service charge. No matter which you had, two punches is less than $9 ... plus the $9 doesn't include the 15%.

 

Furthermore, the on-line description clearly states

"House pouring Wine Card for 10 glasses

This wine card is valid for 10 glasses of house pouring wine which includes Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, White Zinfandel and Sparkling Wine."

(and the equivalent for the 20 glass card)

 

Did you not understand these terms when you bought the card, or did you not understand what a "house pouring" wine was?

 

See above.

 

The $9 is the price for the premium wine I had, not the house wine. Sorry, I should have made that clearer.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we bought our wine card on Line in January before our Feb/Mar Maasdam cruise, it specifically said on-line "House Wines". So we knew this before we even got on the ship.

 

I even wrote about the cards and prices and what wines were avaiable when we returned home.

 

So SakeDad and Lisa, if you had read my threads and you would have known everything.

[jtl513]

The $9 is the price for the premium wine I had, not the house wine. Sorry, I should have made that clearer.

I understood that, but you said in your original post "or take 2 wine stamps off the card:mad: That's not a good option as you'd then be paying $14 a glass". Two punches on a 10-pour card would be $8.28, two punches on a 20-pour card would be $7.76 including the 15% service charge. Both would be a bargain price for your premium wine at $9 + 15% = $10.35. You should have taken that deal every night.

 

BTW, I'm still waiting to hear how you liked the "ship to shore bridge" in Sitka. :D

[mariner]

I posted in February of the pitfalls of wine/drink cards.

 

Just like the soda card, GIMMICK.

[Jemima]

We had a wine card and soda cards on our recent cruise. We were happy with both types of cards. They are clear on what you get with the cards. I wanted a single glass at dinner, house wine is fine with me, and I didn't want the same wine every night. We also tried a soda card. We found we usually liked getting just a glass. The few times we wanted cans, we'd order those and not use the card.

[sapper1]

I found my wine card to be a very good deal because many times, over the course of 10 days, although I would lay the card on the table it did not get punched. The card lasted me through lunch, cocktails and dinner for the whole 10 days before it was used up!!! This was on the Volendam a few months ago.

[sail7seas]

We don't use the wine or soda cards but I have read about them. Seems pretty clear to me what the terms are. I don't understand the confusion.

 

 

 

[WillieF]

>>>>>>> The wine steward came over and said they could either charge me for the wine or take 2 wine stamps off the card:mad: That's not a good option as you'd then be paying $14 a glass, not $9. >>>>>>>>

 

We haven't cruised in about 3 years so would appreciate some answers if you have a moment, please.

Ouch! $9.00 a glass? with a wine card!!!!! and plus 15% I assume!

How much are the cards?

How much is it per glass if you don't have a card?

Would not buying by the bottle as needed be cheaper?

[RustaRoo]

How much are the cards?

From message #16 on this thread:

"The 10 glass card is $41.40 and the 20 glass card is $77.63 including the 15% service charge."