House beverage package

They say it includes champagne. Is that just at lunch and dinner or could i order a glass of bubbly at any time?

Thanks

Rob

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From the O website:

House Select

Unlimited Champagne, wine and beer with lunch and dinner

from $39.95 per day per person

Unlimited with lunch and dinner (meals). You will need to upgrade to the Prestige Pkg for anytime champagne.

+1

The takeaway here is that with the House Beverage Package, the alcohol literally needs to be served in conjunction with a meal.

Said meal may either be served in a Restaurant or in the Cabin via Room Service, but food must be involved in the process.

Anytime...then get the prem package. .......trust me 4 glasses a day of prem stock and your well over the 60 a day.....by a lot

Otherwise as Jim And Stan said only with your meal.............

A lot will depend on your taste, length of cruise and where the cruise goes....tropical, Med.....lots of drinking....colder climes not as much.

Be honest, do the math

Anytime...then get the prem package. .......trust me 4 glasses a day of prem stock and your well over the 60 a day.....by a lot

 

 

 

Otherwise as Jim And Stan said only with your meal.............

 

 

 

A lot will depend on your taste, length of cruise and where the cruise goes....tropical, Med.....lots of drinking....colder climes not as much.

 

 

 

 

 

Be honest, do the math

Actually, a better suggestion would be to do a CC search. There's like a hundred threads on house vs prestige package. Sorry for the mini-rant but somebody asks a similar question every other day. Bottom line is: "house" package is for tee-totalers who want to get wild and "prestige" package is for anyone who appreciates booze and can either average at least four drinks/day OR just doesn't want to deal with the minutia.

Well said Flatbush Flyer.

Likewise be aware that the term champagne is used in a non literal way. The selection may well be champagne, or it might be a sparkling wine, or a cremant, or a Cava, or a Prosecco, but not necessarily a champagne. ;)

Likewise be aware that the term champagne is used in a non literal way. The selection may well be champagne, or it might be a sparkling wine, or a cremant, or a Cava, or a Prosecco, but not necessarily a champagne. ;)

Speaking of sparklers: IMO, the best wine (quality and value) on the "by the glass" list is the Shramsberg Mirabelle.

I agree! :D

I agree! :D

I also think that there is one very decent wine-by-glass red (quality and value): Arboleda Carmenere from Chile.

The whites leave much to be desired. I wish they'd toss that Hoffman Chardonnay and consider striking a deal with Navarro (Philo, CA) for their lowest end Chardonnay (which is about $12 retail if you buy a case direct)- one of the best wine bargains I've found.

The DonnaFugata (Sicily) white blend is palatable but without much character.

Flatbush Flyer;

I agree with your thoughts about Navarro producing some excellent wines at lower prices. Problem is case count. Navarro rarely makes much over 2500 cases of any of its wine. O could take the entire production and blow through it in a quarter. Shramsberg, on the other hand makes 14,500 cases years of the Mirabelle Brut Rose, mentioned above. Unfortunately, the cruise ships only buy from large producers, in large quantities, and reap dirt cheap prices for doing so. With their buying power and licenses, they are buying wines at less than 50% normal retail prices. In some cases, maybe a third of normal retail prices. ;)

I agree! :D

Schramsberg is premimum quality...its the House choice of the French Laundry........ 2+

Thanks all. I was trying to understand the value I the house beverage package that is being offered now on the olife promo.

Rob

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Thanks all. I was trying to understand the value I the house beverage package that is being offered now on the olife promo.

 

Rob

 

 

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At present, they are allowing House Package holders to upgrade to the Prestige Package by paying the difference in the cost of the two packages ($20 per day).

A significant advantage, if the House Package comes as a part of Olife.

Thanks all. I was trying to understand the value I the house beverage package that is being offered now on the olife promo.

 

Rob

 

 

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You will value it even more for the $20 up grade pp/pd...the difference and flexibility is very very good....even as a lite drinker you will be pleased.

If you crunch the numbers the bev package, even the basic min by far out values either the OBC or the shore ex options ( which are grossly inflated in value)

Can you order booze via room service if you are using Prestige Select?

Likewise be aware that the term champagne is used in a non literal way. The selection may well be champagne, or it might be a sparkling wine, or a cremant, or a Cava, or a Prosecco, but not necessarily a champagne. ;)

I'm not even going to get into whether it's Sparkling wine or Campagne . But recently my wife ordered the champagne by the glass on Riviera . She drinks it often at home and can be a bit picky . But what she had on the ship was called champagne . It was French and billed at about $10 a glass and she liked it . Remember , at I think 5 PM it's 2 for one for an hour on I think all Oceana ships .

Can you order booze via room service if you are using Prestige Select?

Any time.... double tripple... grey goose, Hendricks .... your call

First time cruise in over 20 years, so need a little further explanation. On the OLife, the premium package is approx $60/person. My wife and I usually drink 5-6 glasses of wine/day on vacation and one of our friends likes Old Fashioned's. (I included our wine with meals as well.

Would we be better off going per drink or getting the package?

Also, when do you purchase the package, when you get on the ship or before?

First time cruise in over 20 years, so need a little further explanation. On the OLife, the premium package is approx $60/person. My wife and I usually drink 5-6 glasses of wine/day on vacation and one of our friends likes Old Fashioned's. (I included our wine with meals as well.

Would we be better off going per drink or getting the package?

Also, when do you purchase the package, when you get on the ship or before?

For each glass of wine and each old fashioned, the retail price is between $9 and $11, depending on your choice of tipple, plus an 18% mandatory automatic tip.

In your case the cost of the alcohol itself would have you breaking even if you bought the Prestige Package, but the inclusion of the tip within its' $60 per day cost means that the Package would work out to be a better deal for you.

Packages may be purchased both before and during the cruise, but if you want to use On Board Credit to buy it, you must wait until you are on the ship.

So does the $60/day include the tip or is that in addition to the $60? If it does, then I agree. I haven't seen yet where I can purchase the package, but we aren't cruising until October so it may be too soon. I just like to prepare.

Jonathan

So does the $60/day include the tip or is that in addition to the $60? If it does, then I agree. I haven't seen yet where I can purchase the package, but we aren't cruising until October so it may be too soon. I just like to prepare.

Jonathan

You can purchase it onboard or call Oceania & purchase it before you go

If you are taking the OLife choice of the House Select then you have to wait until you board to upgrade to the Prestige package

Yes tip is included in the Package price

Want to purchase beverage package when we get onboard next week, but now am wondering, since we are boarding and cruising in Italy will we be subject to that 22% tax. Wanted to use some OBC to help pay. That is quite a high tax. Also, if you don't have a package, are you charged that tax on each drink? Thanks

Want to purchase beverage package when we get onboard next week, but now am wondering, since we are boarding and cruising in Italy will we be subject to that 22% tax. Wanted to use some OBC to help pay. That is quite a high tax. Also, if you don't have a package, are you charged that tax on each drink? Thanks

If you're talking about the VAT being applied to shipboard purchases, that was an issue for cruises commencing in Spanish ports, not Italian.

If you're talking about the VAT being applied to shipboard purchases, that was an issue for cruises commencing in Spanish ports, not Italian.

Pretty sure if you go back to the many VAT discussions, there is VAT applied for cruises commencing in Italian as well as Spanish ports. Just did a google search and appears the Italian VAT on cruises is still alive and being charged. The parameters as to how and when these taxes are charged varies from country to country so beware of these significant charges that may end up on your final shipboard bill.