Viking Silver Spirits package

According to the Viking website a gratuity is added to bar/wine services. I am assuming this is included in the Silver Spirit package. Am I correct? Do you need to sign for all your cocktails/wine? This is our first time having this package. Thanks.

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We have had the Silver Spirits package on all of our river cruises and have never signed for anything. We have occasionally been asked for our stateroom number, especially the first day or two, but once the crew gets to know who you are, you should be all set.

We have had the Silver Spirits package on all of our river cruises and have never signed for anything. We have occasionally been asked for our stateroom number, especially the first day or two, but once the crew gets to know who you are, you should be all set.

Thanks!

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We never signed anything. We provided our room number 2 or 3 times.

According to the Viking website a gratuity is added to bar/wine services. I am assuming this is included in the Silver Spirit package. Am I correct? Do you need to sign for all your cocktails/wine? This is our first time having this package. Thanks.

 

 

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Yes, gratuities are include in the package. For those who are not using the package, bar prices include a 15% gratuity.

Does the beverage package include lattes and cappuccinos? I can't tell on the Viking website. Or they available at a self service coffee bar? Does it include full bottles of wine?

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but there are several different types of coffees at the included coffee bar. On the river cruises, the package does include full bottles of wine, even champagne (we brought a bottle of Drappier from the bar to our room). Note that Veuve Cliquot is not included :D!

Good answers to questions that we have as well. We did sign up for this package. It makes perfect sense and cents! Looking forward to the whole Viking experience after 37 voyages on Princess.

Good answers to questions that we have as well. We did sign up for this package. It makes perfect sense and cents! Looking forward to the whole Viking experience after 37 voyages on Princess.

Considering that Beer, wine & soft drinks with onboard lunch & dinner, 24-hour specialty coffees, teas & bottled water are all free, if you stick with the house wines and beers, getting the Silver Spirits package makes sense only if your bar bill--that is to say your consumption of soda, beer, wine and other spirits during non-meal hours-- is going to exceed $600 for two people for an entire 14 day cruise (or whatever the numbers work out to be for the cruise you have chosen). That is two+ mixed drinks or 4 beers or 6 glasses of soda per person each day and every day of the cruise. Unless, you are getting the package just for the convenience--and there are some people who do this -- do the math before you decide on the package.

(y)

"Do the math!

Dear travelingduo,

Thank you for considering our popular Silver Spirits Beverage Package! What Peregrina651 confirmed is indeed accurate for our ocean guests: gratuities are included as part of the package pricing. It is important to note, however, that river passengers do not incur this service fee and have the option to settle bar gratuities at the end of the cruise. Rest assured, a signature with each drink purchase is not required.

We hope this helps, and invite you, or any other cruiser, to reach out to us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com should you have additional questions.

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

According to the Viking website a gratuity is added to bar/wine services. I am assuming this is included in the Silver Spirit package. Am I correct? Do you need to sign for all your cocktails/wine? This is our first time having this package. Thanks.

 

 

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Dear travelingduo,

 

Thank you for considering our popular Silver Spirits Beverage Package! What Peregrina651 confirmed is indeed accurate for our ocean guests: gratuities are included as part of the package pricing. It is important to note, however, that river passengers do not incur this service fee and have the option to settle bar gratuities at the end of the cruise. Rest assured, a signature with each drink purchase is not required.

 

We hope this helps, and invite you, or any other cruiser, to reach out to us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com should you have additional questions.

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

My apologies. So much for assuming -- and vote for a more uniform policy across the divisions.

Considering that Beer, wine & soft drinks with onboard lunch & dinner, 24-hour specialty coffees, teas & bottled water are all free, if you stick with the house wines and beers, getting the Silver Spirits package makes sense only if your bar bill--that is to say your consumption of soda, beer, wine and other spirits during non-meal hours-- is going to exceed $600 for two people for an entire 14 day cruise (or whatever the numbers work out to be for the cruise you have chosen). That is two+ mixed drinks or 4 beers or 6 glasses of soda per person each day and every day of the cruise. Unless, you are getting the package just for the convenience--and there are some people who do this -- do the math before you decide on the package.

Indeed. We did the math and it still makes good sense to do the package. For those that aren't beer drinkers, not fans of the house wines, don't want to be bothered finding a bottle or two of alcohol which can be brought aboard and love to have a couple of "big boy" drinks, a good wine and probably an evening cocktail while on the open deck it does make good sense for us.

I'm sure that there are others that will also do the math and figure that the basic program is good enough and even supplemented by a drink or two still doesn't pass the test and we looked at that pretty hard.....but no.

One other consideration is that we have done the math regarding beverage programs while on our many Princess voyages and there isn't a way that we could justify the $59 per day per person especially if the voyage is port intensive. Even though this river voyage is very intensive, we still feel we can get our monies worth.

Final word is that you really need to do the math and Peregrina651 is correct is saying so.

Tried to find the most recent thread on this topic. Others have mentioned that there's an "excluded brands" list of those drinks that are not included in the Silver Spirits package. I asked the Viking sales rep I've been going through for a copy of that list and here's what he said:

It’s not any specific brand. Rather any drink that costs over $15 per pour. There are only a very small number of drinks that actually fall into that category on any given sailing, but since bar menus do vary somewhat by sailing, I cannot pin-point specific brands.

Which, fair enough - and I'm not really worried about a lack of options. It just seemed very different from what others have reported hearing. Has anyone else been provided with this strict $15/pour threshold?

Here is a link to a current European drinks menu: http://wpc.475d.edgecastcdn.net/00475D/PDF/Rivers_Bar_Menu_Europe_A4.pdf

The $15 (12.75 Euro) limit fits pretty well with what I remember as it only excludes a couple of the more expensive options leaving plenty of choice.

Here is a link to a current European drinks menu: http://wpc.475d.edgecastcdn.net/00475D/PDF/Rivers_Bar_Menu_Europe_A4.pdf

 

 

The $15 (12.75 Euro) limit fits pretty well with what I remember as it only excludes a couple of the more expensive options leaving plenty of choice.

Thanks for posting the link. We studied this before making our decision and after we did, it was a no-brainer!

We keep going back and forth on this pkg, but for basically $22 a day I can prepay and not worry about getting to try lots of different wines with dinner or take a bottle back to our room. I'm expecting to lose a little money on it, but I just don't easily to worry about it! Thanks everyone for the recent menu. Jane

Has anyone else been provided with this strict $15/pour threshold?

Did your Viking rep know you were asking about the SSBP on Viking River? The fact that the limit quoted in $ suggests s/he was talking about VO.

The $15 per pour limit is clearly indicated on VO’s description of the package but this is the first I’ve seen anyone suggest that it applies to VR where beverage prices are quoted in € for European cruises. The description of the package on VR’s site doesn’t mention any limit at all, reinforced by the way it’s worded, eg

‘Upgrade to the best spirits available during your cruise, and enjoy unlimited premium wine, beer, cocktails and more.’

It would be helpful if Viking’s CC rep could contribute again to this thread to clear this up. If it’s a case of their web site being out of sync with reality then experience shows that once they’re aware of the issue they’ll quickly fix it.

Did your Viking rep know you were asking about the SSBP on Viking River? The fact that the limit quoted in $ suggests s/he was talking about VO.

Entirely possible he misspoke - but he also knows that I’m only looking at VR (he helped us book the cruise already). But maybe he didn’t know what I was asking about and checked his manual - looked at the wrong thing. Definitely was not the answer I was expecting. If I follow up again, I’ll ask specifally about the VO vs VR language and report back.

First Viking river cruise coming up in a few months. Looking for some clarification about wine. I know that wine is complimentary during meals, and I know we can carry on bottles of wine, but are there options to purchase "better" wines, either by the glass and/or by the bottle. I didn't see any bottles listed on the sample bar menu that otherwise looked pretty thorough. We are pretty big wine drinkers and hoping for some options beyond a few house wines.

Also, I read something about drinks being available in the bar "during operating hours." What are the approximate "operating hours?" Say we are in port in the afternoon but choose to stay aboard and relax, is the bar open? Is it open if sailing in the afternoon? How late in the evening is it open? Anything else I might want to be aware of regarding bar hours of operation?

I was watching a YouTube video last night and there are definitely options to buy better wines by glad or bottle. The menus shown had at least 4 suggested "other wines". We decided to purchase the silver spirits package so we can try all the different wines at dinner and sitting in our room. Jane

Dear waterbug123,

It’s our pleasure to jump in and inform you that our river cruisers can expect to choose from more than 40 premium wines for purchase, for as long as they wish to! We aim to please, and our staff will be happy to attend to you until you choose to retire to your stateroom for the evening.

We hope you found this helpful as you finalize plans for your upcoming voyage, waterbug123, however should you or any other cruisers have additional questions as your voyage draws near, please don’t hesitate to contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

First Viking river cruise coming up in a few months. Looking for some clarification about wine. I know that wine is complimentary during meals, and I know we can carry on bottles of wine, but are there options to purchase "better" wines, either by the glass and/or by the bottle. I didn't see any bottles listed on the sample bar menu that otherwise looked pretty thorough. We are pretty big wine drinkers and hoping for some options beyond a few house wines.

 

Also, I read something about drinks being available in the bar "during operating hours." What are the approximate "operating hours?" Say we are in port in the afternoon but choose to stay aboard and relax, is the bar open? Is it open if sailing in the afternoon? How late in the evening is it open? Anything else I might want to be aware of regarding bar hours of operation?

Could someone tell me what they paid for the SS pkg per couple on an 8 night Viking River Cruise or more specifically the Paris to Swiss Alps Cruise? If you could specify which currency you are quoting, ie Euros or US $. Thank you in advance.

Could someone tell me what they paid for the SS pkg per couple on an 8 night Viking River Cruise or more specifically the Paris to Swiss Alps Cruise? If you could specify which currency you are quoting, ie Euros or US $. Thank you in advance.

I can't tell you for 8 days, but we just paid $150/person US for the 7 day Paris and the Heart of Normandy. When I started realizing the menu listed euro cost, I figured I wouldn't lose a lot of money/wouldn't need many drinks. Jane

Dear waterbug123,

 

It’s our pleasure to jump in and inform you that our river cruisers can expect to choose from more than 40 premium wines for purchase, for as long as they wish to! We aim to please, and our staff will be happy to attend to you until you choose to retire to your stateroom for the evening.

 

We hope you found this helpful as you finalize plans for your upcoming voyage, waterbug123, however should you or any other cruisers have additional questions as your voyage draws near, please don’t hesitate to contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

Thank you very much. That's what I needed to know!