TA Wine Gift

[george/patricia]

Our TA has given us three bottles of wine for our upcoming Amsterdam cruise.

It is our understanding that the bottles of wine will be in our suite when we arrive. Will we be able to send them to the GDR/bars without paying a corkage fee? TA is out of town.

[fann1sh]

Yes, you can (if someone tells you otherwise, remind them this is ship's own wine, sent by your TA). Also, if you do not care for the wine chosen (I usually don't :o) you can turn it in for credit, and pick what you like....or just leave it on your account as on board credit. and spend it on something else.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You can take the bottles to your table without any problems. The wine steward will come over. He will recognize that the bottles are from HAL. Also agree that if you don't like the choices - you can either exchange them for a wine you like or ask for shipboard credit. You can either take all 3 bottles to the dining room at once and he will tag them or you can take them one bottle at a time. There will be no corkage fee.

[sail7seas]

Your steward will send them to the dining room for you, if you wish. Tell him your dining time and table number.

 

If you have AYW, that might not work out so well. Another 'inconvenience' associated with AYW.

[innlady1]

You can take the bottles to your table without any problems. The wine steward will come over. He will recognize that the bottles are from HAL. Also agree that if you don't like the choices - you can either exchange them for a wine you like or ask for shipboard credit. You can either take all 3 bottles to the dining room at once and he will tag them or you can take them one bottle at a time. There will be no corkage fee.

 

And, if you don't like the choice (which we did not last year), where do we "exchange" it? In the dining room?

[sail7seas]

You can speak with your Wine Steward. He will know the bottle was purchased aboard as a gift for you and will credit you the price of it for you to apply against the purchase of a different bottle. They never mind doing that.

[george/patricia]

Thanks for the info.

 

sail7seas: What is AYW?

[sail7seas]

The new Any Way You Want Dining Program. :)

 

[Sunshine91]

You can take the bottles to your table without any problems. The wine steward will come over. He will recognize that the bottles are from HAL.

 

If I remember correctly, we had to sign a card for the wine steward, acknowleding receipt of the bottle from the TA. That's how he knew it was a gift & not to charge the corkage.

[cruznon]

How nice that you've all had TA's that send wine! Never had a TA do that.

[sail7seas]

:) We can pretty well guess the price of the wine was included in the price we paid for the cruise, I imagine. ;)

 

[Hoyaheel]

:) We can pretty well guess the price of the wine was included in the price we paid for the cruise, I imagine. ;)

 

Sure, but if you're comparing 2 TAs with the same price on the same cabin, and one gives you wine--choose the wine:p It's not like I say "oh, this TA is charging $500 more for that balcony cabin, but she'll give me 2 bottles of wine. I'll choose her"

[lvtotrvl1]

:) We can pretty well guess the price of the wine was included in the price we paid for the cruise, I imagine. ;)

 

 

Most likely not. As a TA, any gifts I send come from my commission, not your cruise price.

[sail7seas]

That's very generous of you, lvtotrvl.

 

We don't shop around TA's. We always book our cruises with the same person. For many years (10+), we used a local brick and mortar. Within the last year or so, we left there and now use the same new person for all our bookings.

 

We are appreciative of any gifts they send us and totally enjoy them. Whether they are indeed included in our price or not would not factor in any way whether we use them again. It is fun to receive the gift and gift card. Adds to the excitement when first arriving at our cabin.

 

[ekerr19]

We always get gifts from our TA - wine, flowers etc.

 

I think it's nice and we appreciate it. :) We've been booking with her for the past five years or so and have been with the agency since 2000.

 

I especially love the flowers she sends. Even more so on a Holiday sailing, she sent us a Christmas "tree" one year - the kids were thrilled. :)

[george/patricia]

I check prices with other TAs and always end up with the same one (I have never met him). He not only gives us the best price but always includes a freebee such as wine, gratuities or a ship credit. We are sailing Oceania for 35 days in 08 and he included the gratuities (35 x $25 = $875 for a couple) plus a $100 credit. I don't think he pays but the company he works for does because he always checks what freebees are included.

[lvtotrvl1]

I check prices with other TAs and always end up with the same one (I have never met him). He not only gives us the best price but always includes a freebee such as wine, gratuities or a ship credit. We are sailing Oceania for 35 days in 08 and he included the gratuities (35 x $25 = $875 for a couple) plus a $100 credit. I don't think he pays but the company he works for does because he always checks what freebees are included.

 

Most times you have to have the discount approved by the company prior to giving them.

[jtl513]

What is AYW?

As You Wish - see the sticky at the top of the forum for an explantion and a looooong discussion! :)

[Sunshine91]

How nice that you've all had TA's that send wine! Never had a TA do that.

 

On our most recent Noordam cruise she sent a bottle of wine, a Pinnacle dinner & a gift card for a photo. All of these were waiting for us in the cabin upon boarding - total surprises & completely unexpected. We had no idea they would be there. Kind of made the gifts even more special. :)

 

Upon our return we sent her a thank you note with a pic of us that John snapped in Tortola, with Noordam & Zuiderdam behind us.

 

We use a real-person TA at a brick & mortar office. We go to visit her to book the trip & stop by the office once in a while with questions, so there is a personal, not just an electronic relationship. Perhaps that makes a difference?

[Gsel]

Just out of curiosity, can you do this with champagane? DH and I don't care for the stuff, even the very good champagne! Can we exchange it for wine? Really never thought of doing that after all our cruises and usually just give it away or leave it. (Now isn't that crazy?)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes - you can inquire about exchanging the champagne for wine.

[Gsel]

Thanks, I can spell "champagne", just had not had my coffee yet! We will ask about exchange, it has been hard to leave a bottle behind, but neither of us really care for it and prefer a good bottle of wine.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I never noticed that you had champagne spelled incorrectly.

[gebo]

We don't open champagne because only my sister and I drink and can't finish a bottle. Last cruise Ibrought it home and shared it with friends at holliday. Reading threads I found out a nice trick...take it to dinner and share it with table mates (if you like them). It kills the bottle and makes one feel generous!

[sail7seas]

In the days of gracious cruising, people always expected to share wine with their tablemates. It would rotate around the table night to night and one person (couple) then the next would order the wine and all would share. It was a nice tradition that was almost de rigueur.