Pre Ordering Wine Questions????

[birthdaysurprise]

I am thinking of ordering a few bottles of wine for our cruise. I have a few questions first.

 

1.If I order a certain bottle to be delivered to our stateroom can I specify the day for it to arrive(ie Valentines Day)? Or does it all arrive upon boarding?

2.If I order a few bottles of wine for the dinning room can I have it served in any dinning area, Chops and Portofino included?

3.Do they know you have pre purchasded wine or do you need to tell them?

4.Is there a larger selection of wine on the ship to choose from or is what you see on the website the entire list?

5.Is it more cost effective to pre purchase your wine or is it the same price on board as on the website?

6.If we don't finish a bottle at the meal will they save it for the next meal?

 

I think that is it for the questions thanks in advance again.:rolleyes:

[robtulipe]

I am thinking of ordering a few bottles of wine for our cruise. I have a few questions first.

 

1.If I order a certain bottle to be delivered to our stateroom can I specify the day for it to arrive(ie Valentines Day)? Or does it all arrive upon boarding?

Yes you can specify a delivery date as part of the order process

 

2.If I order a few bottles of wine for the dinning room can I have it served in any dinning area, Chops and Portofino included? Yes

3.Do they know you have pre purchasded wine or do you need to tell them?

Yes they will know because you will have specified a delivery date also for the dining room also but you must advise them if you are going to use one of the specialty restaurants

4.Is there a larger selection of wine on the ship to choose from or is what you see on the website the entire list?

I believe wines you see on the preorder list is all that is available on the ship but I've not checked this out. There may be some of the more costly wines available that aren't on the wine cellar list.

5.Is it more cost effective to pre purchase your wine or is it the same price on board as on the website?

From what i've seen the preorder wine list is $2 more per bottle but you don't pay the 15% gratuity so the greatest savings are with the more expensive wines.

6.If we don't finish a bottle at the meal will they save it for the next meal?

Yes

I think that is it for the questions thanks in advance again.:rolleyes:

You have greater savings by using the Wine & Dine package on board. The wine cellar gift selection has higher prices than the onboard prices by $2 a bottle but you don't pay the 15% gratuity. We did the Gold Wine & Dine on our last cruise and for example a bottle of Danzante Italian pinot grinio was $26 (avg. price inc. gratuity) with the gold W&D pkg, $35 to prebuy as gift and $38 with gratuity to buy separately onboard. The W&D pkgs have 5,7,10 and 12 bottles options and the gold one average out at $22.50 per bottle plus the 15% gratuity or about $26 total. You must prepurchase it or buy it on embarkation day as it isn't available after the first day onboard. If you want to have a bottle for your cabin just order while dining but tell the waiter to leave it corked as you are taking it with you. Your cabin steward will provide an ice bucket and cork screw if you request these items.

If your taste prefers more expensive wines they also have a platinum and diamond packages but note some of the lower packages' wines are also on the higher platinum or diamond packages.

[birthdaysurprise]

Thank you for the info Rob, very informative, answered all my questions, and makes me think the wine and dine pkg is the way to go! thanks again:)

[critterchick]

If you click on the link in my signature you can see the full wine list. If you like what's offered, the package is a good deal - if you order the higher priced wines on the list, you essentially get one free. We get a small wine package for some of the white wines that DH likes. I prefer red & don't much like what's offered on the list, so I buy those by the bottle. You will also get a C&A coupon for buy one get 10/15/20% (depending on your level in C&A Society), which we usually apply toward my wines. Have fun!

[abs711]

I am sailing with you. Were getting married on the 13th when were in St. Thomas and I had the same question!!! Sorry I know that doesn't help but I get excited when I see people on our ship :D

[robtulipe]

Thank you for the info Rob, very informative, answered all my questions, and makes me think the wine and dine pkg is the way to go! thanks again:)

If you go to the deal and gift section at RC web site, select Shop Gifts and Gear, select Wine & Dine, under each package is click here for wine selections. You then can compare this with the wine menu in critterchick wine menu photos.

[rtrtx2]

I always find it very hard to buy wine on our cruises, the price just kills me at two/two and a half times the "normal"land prices. I know its a cruise and they make their $$$ on liquor. I do not mind the by the glass price or the price of cocktails, they seem to be the same as on land. Oh, maybe that is where the issue is, I doubt I ever pay attention to the price of wine by the bottle at restaurants (hubby is not a wine drinker). I always buy at our local wineries.

[critterchick]

I always find it very hard to buy wine on our cruises, the price just kills me at two/two and a half times the "normal"land prices. I know its a cruise and they make their $$$ on liquor. I do not mind the by the glass price or the price of cocktails, they seem to be the same as on land. Oh, maybe that is where the issue is, I doubt I ever pay attention to the price of wine by the bottle at restaurants (hubby is not a wine drinker). I always buy at our local wineries.

 

2-3x retail is a normal markup for restaurants. RCI marks up its lower end wines 4-5x retail.:eek: But we've found some fair pricing in the mid-upper price range. In whites we like the Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay, which sells for $23-29 in LA stores and for $49 on the ships. In red I like the Byron Pinot Noir, $25 at the winery, $17.99 on sale in the markets, $44 on the ships. Out waiter in Chops on Radiance talked us into trying the Belle Glos Pinot Noir at $57; it's at least $30 on land. I figure it's pricey, but having a nice wine with dinner is part of the experience for me, so I budget for it. I don't make as many contributions to the casino as I used to.

[PhoenixCruiser]

I shared the online list of wines with my wine drinking family members before our cruise. I was glad that they didn't pre-order because the selection was much better once onboard.

 

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[mitaxi]

Last cruise I pre-ordered a 2 bottles of wine and they were not available when I sailed so were substituted for another selection...so will wait in the future and order on the ship..

[birthdaysurprise]

All the info is great ! I saw the list from critterchick and now I think I will just order the champagne to the room for sailaway and a bottle for Valentine's Day to our room. The rest I think I will pay as I go as I see the selection is better in the dinning areas.

 

Hey abs711 you must be really excited! I remember our wedding(17 yrs ago) seems like yesterday! Hope you marry a guy as wonderful as I did! I know your day will be everything you want it to be and more! Nice to "meet" someone already on the ship!:) :)

[FitzLA]

Just wanted to make one correction. The wine list onboard the ship is much more extensive and a much better selection. I would never order what they have on their pre-list. I always order what I want ON the ship.

 

Here is a link to the wine list onboard. Some selections may have changed, but it is pretty up to date.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/pdf/Domestic_Wine_List.pdf

[critterchick]

Just wanted to make one correction. The wine list onboard the ship is much more extensive and a much better selection. I would never order what they have on their pre-list. I always order what I want ON the ship.

 

Here is a link to the wine list onboard. Some selections may have changed, but it is pretty up to date.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/pdf/Domestic_Wine_List.pdf

 

Fitz, you know I love you, but no. The wine list I posted a link to is the current list, both domestic and international, and has the prices on it to boot.:p

 

I agree about not pre-ordering wine, though. On the Jewel last summer, we ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and they substituted a much less expensive one, saying that our choice wasn't available onboard. We had a Concierge, so brought that matter up with her and she said that they would have to email Miami for permission to upgrade the cheap wine even though they owed me about $20 for the substitution. As it was a 12-night cruise we had plenty of time and told her to go ahead. Miraculously, the correct bottle was waiting for us after muster drill. So no more pre-ordering for me! It's easy enough to find a bottle at a bar and bring it back to the cabin.

[rafab1]

Hi all. I'll be on the Navigator of the Seas out of Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 17, 2007.

 

Can someone tell me how I go about ordering wine on board? From reading everyone's posts, I tihnk I'll go the Wine & Dine route (probably Platinum because I do enjoy a nice bottle of wine). Do I have to go somewhere specific on the ship in order to do this?

 

Thanks in advance.

[critterchick]

We've always seen somebody outside the Windjammer, and there will probably be somebody on the pool deck as you board. But I think you can even wait until dinner - it used to be that you had to order on Day 1 and that was it, but I think you can now order a package whenever you want to. We ordered a 5 bottle package on Radiance and were told that we could "upgrade" to a 7 or 12 bottle package if we needed to (we didn't).

 

But if you really enjoy a nice bottle of wine, order off the full list. Much, MUCH better selection.

[Merion_Mom]

It's easy enough to find a bottle at a bar and bring it back to the cabin.

Jean, when you do this, do you:

 

a. have them open the bottle for you at the bar

b. have them give you a corkscrew

c. use a corkscrew that you carry on with you

 

Carol

[critterchick]

I bring my own corkscrew. But some of the nicer wines they carry are screwtops, too - Jibe Pinot Noir and Conundrum are two that come to mind.

 

On Vision in 2006 we were hosting a sailaway party. Room service wasn't available until 7:00, so I went to the Champagne Bar and got 2 bottles plus 6 glasses. The bartender opened both bottles and told me to hold still while he arranged everything, then accompanied me to the elevator and pressed the button. Everything was fine until I got to the cabin. When our guests arrived, the door closed behind them, and here I was with all that stuff perfectly arranged. I don't think that I dented the door when I started kicking....:D

[uktraveller]

If your taste prefers more expensive wines they also have a platinum and diamond packages but note some of the lower packages' wines are also on the higher platinum or diamond packages.

 

This is an excellent point and I'm sure we're not the only one's who have done this! LOL - RCI must love us!!

We bought the most expensive package of 7 bottles and didn't realise till near the end of the week that all the wines we had selected were also on the cheapest package! On the last 2 nights we went for the most expensive "champagne not" to try to make up for it!

[rafab1]

Thank you for the info Rob, very informative, answered all my questions, and makes me think the wine and dine pkg is the way to go! thanks again:)

critterchick:

 

Thanks for the info. This is my first time on a RCL ship but I'm sure I'll find my way to the Windjammer in no time. Aren't the RCL ships (Navigator, in this case) much larger than NCL and Carnival?

 

Should be quite a challenge getting around to every spot on the ship and getting to know it, huh?

 

Rafab1

[critterchick]

I haven't been on a Voyager class ship, but they are quite impressive, size-wise. Nor have I sailed on Carnival or NCL, so I can't give you a comparison. You should be able to get a little foldup map of the ship to help you find your way around. Navigator has a wine bar in the Royal Promenade (Deck 5), where you might be able to get a glass of something you won't find in the other bars onboard (since this is a wine thread, afte all:p ).

 

We're sailing on Mariner in March. I think I'll pack my rollerblades to get around...