wine cellar vs wine dine

[ldpkp]

Has anyone ordered from the wine packages and which is a better deal?

Thanks

[Janet524]

We enjoy having wine with dinner, and have done the wine and dine packages on our last three cruises. The first time we did the "Diamond" package (the most expensive but with the largest selection). The average price per bottle (for a 7 bottle package) came to $31.05 per bottle. The subesquent times we chose the "Platinum" package with a per bottle average price of $28.42 per bottle. We found that the wines on the Platinum package list were quite satisfactory. I'd advise you to check the wine list per bottle (plus gratuity) price and compare what you would typically select versus the per bottle average price for the packages. If the wines you would pick come out to less than the $31.05 or $28.42 per bottle price, you might want to just purchase off the wine list. We found that we saved on average $7 to $8 per bottle based on what we ordered.

[BDL]

Take a look at each of the wines available for each package. For us, I ordered the Gold package for our upcoming Mariner cruise as there are 2 white wines on that list that I would be more than happy to order.

Looking at the wine list, the Pinot Grigio is $37.95 and the Sauvignon Blank is 29.90 if I ordered individual bottles. With the gold package averaging at just under $26 per bottle, this was a good deal for me.

[critterchick]

The Wine & Dine package offers a possible discount depending on which wines you order. The Wine Cellar charges the same price as ordering off the full wine list.

 

If you only care about saving money, order the Wine & Dine package and pick the most expensive wines to drink. If you care more about a good selection, wait until you're onboard and order from the full wine list (click the link in my signature to find it). The only reason I can think of to order from the Wine Cellar (which is only a partial list) is if you want wine in your cabin when you board. But we've had them switch the wine we ordered to a much cheaper one (with no refund, but we whined our way to satisfaction, pun intended), so I won't be pre-ordering again.:mad:

 

People often slam the RCI list as being overpriced. But the higher end wines are marked up the way a restaurant would do it - 2-3x retail, which I think is fair. At the lower end, wines that would cost $5-8 in California cost $25-35 onboard. I'd rather spend more money on a good wine than save money and pay too much for a cheap one.:)

[English_in_Spain]

Why can't cruise ships that are in Europe for a whole season buy their wines locally instead of sourcing from the same places that ships sailing out of USA or Caribbean do?

 

It would be so much cheaper to buy from a wholesaler in Europe (or even a supermarket) and hopefully pass at least some of the saving onto passengers.

 

I think it is crazy to pay $30 for a wine on a ship in the Med which you could buy in any shop ashore for $4-$5.

[ldpkp]

Thank you I appreciate the information. So if i order the packakge can I get a bottle for the cabin so we can have a glass of wine on the balcony? I would rather have the better wine. Thanks

[robtulipe]

Yes you can take a Wine and Dine bottle back to your cabin to enjoy but you must get it from a dining room.

[Happy ks]

We ordered the wine and dine package once and will not do it again. We found the list too limiting and they would not allow us to move to another level, even though we purchased the most expensive package.

 

So, we ended up ordering the same 2 or 3 wines all week, not much variety when we really like drinking a different bottle every night. We decided the small savings wasn't worth it for us.

 

If you want wine in your cabin, you can pre-order it in the gifts and gear section of rccl.com.

[robtulipe]

We ordered the wine and dine package once and will not do it again. We found the list too limiting and they would not allow us to move to another level, even though we purchased the most expensive package.

 

So, we ended up ordering the same 2 or 3 wines all week, not much variety when we really like drinking a different bottle every night. We decided the small savings wasn't worth it for us.

 

If you want wine in your cabin, you can pre-order it in the gifts and gear section of rccl.com.

The most expensive or Diamond W&D Pkg offers all the wines from the lower cost Gold and Platium Pkgs plus more so I don't understand your comment.

If anything you shouldn't overbuy if typically you select wines available on the lower cost pkg and just occasionally select the Diamond only wines. It makes more sense to select a lower number of bottles lower level pkg. and buy the higher selection by the bottle if you must have it occasionally.

I know on our last three cruises we have saved about 30% using the W&D Pkg.

[sharpasice]

Hi Karen, I just happened to call yesterday about the wine & dine pkg for our cruise next month. I was told that you get a sticker on your sea pass and when you go to the dining rm, Windjammer and/or the specialty restaurants you just show the waiter your seapass and tell them which wine you'd like (which u have previously chosen). If you do not finish the bottle at dinner they will, upon request recork and you can take what's left back to your cabin. You can also take any unopened bottles home. Hope this helps. Linda

[Josie2]

You do not need to have the wine and dine package to take a bottle back to your room. Frequently, after dinner, we order another bottle of wine, from the list. The waiter brings us the bottle and glasses (we travel, always, with a cork screw).

[DaveAndEllen]

You do not need to have the wine and dine package to take a bottle back to your room. Frequently, after dinner, we order another bottle of wine, from the list. The waiter brings us the bottle and glasses (we travel, always, with a cork screw).

 

Just to be clear. Are you saying that we can buy a bottle of wine at dinner and leave with in corked and uncork it and drink it in our cabin at a later time?

[bajathree]

Just to be clear. Are you saying that we can buy a bottle of wine at dinner and leave with in corked and uncork it and drink it in our cabin at a later time?

YES, that is correct.

[critterchick]

If you're on a ship with a Champagne Bar and/or Vintages, you can do the same thing there (bring an unopened bottle back to your cabin).

 

To be honest, I don't see any advantage to purchasing the wine before you go. They add the same 15% gratuity to the bottle that you pay onboard (but I would wager that the barstaff doesn't see it:rolleyes: ) and you run the risk of them not carrying the wine you order and trying to cheat you, as they did us. We've also had wines not show up at all and have had to track them down. It's always been less of a hassle for us to buy onboard.:)

[bajathree]

Wine package list is very limited. If you are into wine then don't buy any package as they have a "reserve" wine list in the Dining Room that has much nicer wines on it. Like previously mention I was also pleasantly surprised to find much more reasonable mark-up's on the higher end wines.

[bruce-r]

We're going with the wine and dine package because I'm getting it free from MyCokeRewards.

 

I'd like to be able to trade one of the choices for Asti Spumanti as that is DW's favorite. It isn't listed on the Diamond Package sheet. Do you think they will let me trade for it.

[Josie2]

As BajaThree said - that is correct. You can even go into the dining room at lunch, without having lunch there and ask for a bottle then to take back to your room.

That being said, we are BIG wine drinkers. So, we always buy the wine and dine package - the Platinum one for about 7 bottles. These are our "base" wines. We usually also pick from the wine list at dinner for something different. We can easily go through 2 bottles per day, including out by the pool, on the balcony, to the show, etc.

[Happy ks]

The most expensive or Diamond W&D Pkg offers all the wines from the lower cost Gold and Platium Pkgs plus more so I don't understand your comment.

If anything you shouldn't overbuy if typically you select wines available on the lower cost pkg and just occasionally select the Diamond only wines. It makes more sense to select a lower number of bottles lower level pkg. and buy the higher selection by the bottle if you must have it occasionally.

I know on our last three cruises we have saved about 30% using the W&D Pkg.

 

 

No it did not, at least when we bought the package. My sis and her husband bought the package one step below us and there was a bottle listed that we all enjoyed and we tried to order it, the head waiter would not allow it.

 

I think we should have studied the package a little further before purchase, so we do blame ourselves a bit thinking we were saving money this way. For us, the savings was not worth being stuck to the wines listed with our choices. Perhaps they have changed the program since December of 2006 and now allow more flexibility.

[robtulipe]

No it did not, at least when we bought the package. My sis and her husband bought the package one step below us and there was a bottle listed that we all enjoyed and we tried to order it, the head waiter would not allow it.

 

I think we should have studied the package a little further before purchase, so we do blame ourselves a bit thinking we were saving money this way. For us, the savings was not worth being stuck to the wines listed with our choices. Perhaps they have changed the program since December of 2006 and now allow more flexibility.

Then it has changed if this was the case in Dec.06. It wasn't like that in Sept.07

You can cheak the selection available with each package at

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/giftcatalog/category/home.do;jsessionid=00002_Nv_MDYZlHsnLuCUk30i9j:12hbiocak?catCode=WINDIN

and you will see that the higher packages offer the same wines as the package or packages below it plus other selections thus the Diamond Pkg offers the most selections with 22, followed by the Platium with 17 and Gold with 11 has the least.