wrvrwego

That price did include the gratuity so not quite that bad.

 

Drinks prices were very high on Solstice but who cares with a package. I don't even know what the wine prices were as we just told our sommelier what we'd chosen to eat and let him pick the wines for us. They were always good, much better than on Dawn Princess in August. I think we actually got to try some wines that weren't on the Solstice MDR wine list, and there was great variety.

 

I think our sommelier really enjoyed finding good wines for us to try as most of the others at our table rarely drank wine, only one other did and he stuck to the same red each night. At least we gave him a challenge. ;)

We were on Infinity back in March and our Sommelier (from Romania I think) was great. He loved talking wine and suggesting wines, I would make suggestions back and we had great wines all around Sth America and up through the Panama Canal. He even made a small mistake on cruise changeover and we received a free bottle (less a small taste).:)

You assume correctly that you have to buy a package per person. And to my knowledge there are no packages that include bottled wine. Only wine by the glass. It's not bad wine, but not GREAT wine either.

 

BTW: One of the best parts of cruising is that if you do buy a bottle of wine, you can drink a couple of glasses and have them bring it back for you the next night. They do that all the time.

Thks for for confirming. We've done the buy a bottle at the bar before on Diamond Princess and it worked out well, mainly for my wife, as I used to have a pre-dinner beer.;) It's just that the Aussie $ is disappearing rapidly and the daily rate adds nearly $2k to 28 days of cruising per person (that's the cost of a cruise each) Think I'll get the wine package for the dining room and try & find good coffees on shore on Port days and the Cafe Baccio ones on sea days.:eek:

Shows what a boozer I am. I never bothered with anything else. :D

I presume that you have to buy a package per person, that you can't "share " the package between two. Certainly adds a large whack to your bill if you don't have access to any of 123 etc packages. I like my "good" coffee and my red wine (as long it is at least reasonable). I am presuming that the wine packages can be used per couple, we certainly wouldn't drink a bottle each per day :p. I remember we taught the Barista on Century how to make Cappuccinos Aussie style back in 2011 when we sailed from Hawaii to Australia, he became quite skilled.

I have several sport coats but I don't have a flirty sundress. Or any sort of sundress. Might be exactly the sort of individualistic chic they're going for though...

Great news. I can now rearrange what I need to pack as long distance air travel is included in our South America cruises so weight is always a consideration. :p

Definitely save a lot of angst for all concerned. You have a fixed price for your cruise that is all inclusive (apart from booze, specialty restaurants etc). You also don't have problems caused by exchange rates (currently $US11.50 is about $A15.50).

Being an Aussie cruiser I would like to point out that tipping is not custom with us due to the fact that workers are paid well and when tips are paid it is due to exceptional service. It is true that international passengers sailing on cruises out of Oz do get hit with the auto gratuity and the cost is included in our fares. We are not able to book cruises in Oz outside of the country so pay a higher fare, with the gratuities already included. I'm sailing on Diamond Princess in two weeks time and my Travel Agent has provided written advice that out tips are included. That being said, I still like to tip my cabin steward and table waiters if we have had a great time.