Wine Lovers and Drink Packages

[Cruise Arizona]

We will be sailing on the Equinox in November and have been milling over the idea of getting a drink package instead of just paying for wine by the bottle and wine tastings.

 

The only advantage I can see it that it puts a controlled, fixed cost on beverage expenses, but I am worried that I would miss out so much on the "Wine Experience".

 

We will be Elite on this voyage, so we will be able to enjoy the complementary drinks in Michael's from 4-6. Since we can enjoy a drink there for free, I am not so sure that we would spend more on wines by the bottle vs. the drink package. The cost of a premium package wold be $46.85 per person per day when you include gratuity.

 

So here is what I'm weighing, should we go with the package and just get our wines by the glass with dinner. I think I would miss having the wine steward's help in picking out the wines, the ceremony of them presenting the wine, poring the first taste and their excellent service in refilling the glasses. We also ordered dessert wine bottles from which they would just pour a small glass and save for us. Sometimes we would really splurge and order a fine bottle of wine. We have been so pleased with the wine service, I am really worried that I will miss that aspect of enjoying my wines if we went with a beverage package.

 

We also liked to try the different wines in the Cellar Master using the auto dispensers and the cards. I loved the ease of the system and the opportunity to try all of their different wines.

 

We also did wine flights pre-dinner in Cellar Masters. I think I would miss this, though I suppose that you could do you own "wine flight" with your beverage package.

 

So have any of you wine lovers out there tried Beverage Package? How did the feel of ordering by the glass compare with the wine by the bottle experience?

[lhsail]

I was on the Solstice in June and had the premium beverage package. Based on your comments, you seem to enjoy the whole experience surrounding ordering a bottle of wine. You won't get that with the package. The variety of wines by the glass in the dining room is limited. I found myself drinking the same wines night after night, but that did not bother me.

 

As for Cellar Masters, I've never gotten the card and used the dispensers, but our service and variety there using the package was very good. The wine steward did an excellent job of recommending wines that would allow us to make the most of the package.

 

I have no regrets about getting the package and my husband and I will probably do the same in December, although we've also talked about losing the opportunity of ordering different bottles, etc. (My June cruise was a girls' trip, so no hubby to share the bottle with.) One thing for sure, if you're a true wine lover, you'll want the premium package. Although there are some satisfactory wines within the regular package $8 limit, those of us that like good wines need that $12 limit.

[Geenie]

What are the cards for the Cellar Masters?

[Cruise Arizona]

The cards for the Cellar Master work with their automatic dispensing machines. You can preload (Prepay) for an set amount, say $40. Then whenever you want to try a glass of wine from their auto dispenser machines, you simply put your card in the machine. It shows that amount of money you have on your card and the the prices for a 1 oz, 2 oz or 4 oz taste of each of the different wines. Put your glass under the spout for the wine you want, press the button for the size of glass you want and then it deducts the amount from your card. Use your card until it is empty or low, then toss it or add more money to the card. Prices range from around $3 for a house type wine to over $20 for a taste of Opus One.

[Cruise Arizona]

Typo, that should be 56.85 for the Premium Package.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We will be sailing on the Equinox in November and have been milling over the idea of getting a drink package instead of just paying for wine by the bottle and wine tastings.

 

The only advantage I can see it that it puts a controlled, fixed cost on beverage expenses, but I am worried that I would miss out so much on the "Wine Experience".

 

We will be Elite on this voyage, so we will be able to enjoy the complementary drinks in Michael's from 4-6. Since we can enjoy a drink there for free, I am not so sure that we would spend more on wines by the bottle vs. the drink package. The cost of a premium package wold be $46.85 per person per day when you include gratuity.

 

So here is what I'm weighing, should we go with the package and just get our wines by the glass with dinner. I think I would miss having the wine steward's help in picking out the wines, the ceremony of them presenting the wine, poring the first taste and their excellent service in refilling the glasses. We also ordered dessert wine bottles from which they would just pour a small glass and save for us. Sometimes we would really splurge and order a fine bottle of wine. We have been so pleased with the wine service, I am really worried that I will miss that aspect of enjoying my wines if we went with a beverage package.

 

We also liked to try the different wines in the Cellar Master using the auto dispensers and the cards. I loved the ease of the system and the opportunity to try all of their different wines.

 

We also did wine flights pre-dinner in Cellar Masters. I think I would miss this, though I suppose that you could do you own "wine flight" with your beverage package.

 

So have any of you wine lovers out there tried Beverage Package? How did the feel of ordering by the glass compare with the wine by the bottle experience?

 

We are doing a B2B this fall, on the 1st cruise we will be spending most of our time on the ship. We have not ordered the beverage package for all of the reasons you stated. When I checked our bar bill for our last curise the we spent the majority of our money on wine at dinner, often ordering a fine wine. We too would miss that with a wine package.

 

Mary Lou

[FinelyCruising]

Suzanne - We will not be taking the packages in October. I will let you know how that turns out, but I don't expect it to be a regret unless the staff in Blu is so busy with wines by the glass for dinning guests that those who want to order wine by the bottle with dinner are not able to be attended to as they once were. Now I'm not saying that anyone with a package should be in an alternate order, I'm just concerned with the packages and the limited number of Sommeliers that something has to give. It will be interesting to see how it works out. :)

[laurieb]

maybe one of the wine packages would be a better choice. We are bringing some onboard with us, but we will also check out the offerings for the packages once onboard. At least that way you would have the opportunity to enjoy the "ceremony" that you like.

[FinelyCruising]

maybe one of the wine packages would be a better choice. We are bringing some onboard with us, but we will also check out the offerings for the packages once onboard. At least that way you would have the opportunity to enjoy the "ceremony" that you like.

 

Many who enjoy some of the finer wines with dinner do not find them in the packages be it by the glass or by an alcohol or a wine package. I don't dislike a nice KJ Chardonnay though.

[happy cruzer]

We would consider the the premium package because of the other included beverages. Unless I misunderstood, you would have the bottled water, and other drinks included. We are thinking of is to have three glasses of different wines each night with dinner and have the other included beverages during the day.

 

Has anyone one done a glass of sparkler, white wine, and then red. We don't care it they come at the same time or not at dinner but to get the variety would be worth the expense of the card, we are thinking :)

[Lsimon]

Wine selection is one of the main reasons we're not interested in the packages. We too pick our wine by the bottle and enjoy the broad selection of wine available on the bottled wine list. From some of the postings on these boards it looks like they've expanded the by the glass list a little but the bottle list is still much larger. We also occasionally enjoy a glass of champagne before dinner and the by the glass prices for most champagnes are above the $12 limit for the premium package.

 

So we've decided to pass on the packages for now. We'll take a closer look at the options on our next cruise in order to re-evaluate for cruises beyond that, but I think we'll be sticking with the pay-as-you-go plan.

[msrizzo]

I'm mulling over the same issues. I don't think I'm going to care for the choices of wine by the glass with the package, but for some reason, even though I mostly drink wine, I feel like I want the option of being more adventurous with the other alcoholic beverages so I might try the package. We will bring two bottles of good wine with us and if we find the wine choices too depressing at dinner we may order a bottle or two just for the heck of it. I'm thinking that its still a good idea for us to control and prepay expenses as much as possible just to stay on budget when we get back home!

 

If they had a wine package that included the other beverages...premium coffees and non alcoholic beverages....it would be a no-brainer because I would just have the occasional cocktail but mostly stick with the wines.

[IslandThyme]

As a wine lover I too find the by the glass selection to be disappointing-looking, but since my husband doesn't drink, I'm getting the premium package for myself. I don't think ordering by the bottle is very feasible for a single drinker.

[Lsimon]

... I don't think ordering by the bottle is very feasible for a single drinker.

 

Actually it works out just fine since there is no need to finish a bottle in one siting. Your sommelier will cork the bottle for you and bring it out again the next night. We've even started a bottle in a specialty restaurant and send the remainder to the main dining room. We know other cruisers who will start a bottle in the dining room and send the left overs to their stateroom (they'll deliver it for you) or to a specific lounge for later that night. The staff is very accommodating.

[Ember50]

The cards for the Cellar Master work with their automatic dispensing machines. You can preload (Prepay) for an set amount, say $40. Then whenever you want to try a glass of wine from their auto dispenser machines, you simply put your card in the machine. It shows that amount of money you have on your card and the the prices for a 1 oz, 2 oz or 4 oz taste of each of the different wines. Put your glass under the spout for the wine you want, press the button for the size of glass you want and then it deducts the amount from your card. Use your card until it is empty or low, then toss it or add more money to the card. Prices range from around $3 for a house type wine to over $20 for a taste of Opus One.

 

 

Hi there, my first cruise coming up on the 11Sept. So some newbie questions. Does the drinks package cover wine (of appropriate value) from Cellarmasters? How does using cellarmasters and a premium drinks package work?

[chicagogal]

I was so glad to see this thread because it is exactly what my husband and I are struggling with, too. The package is certainly convenient but if we get the premium one for each of us on our 11 day cruise and pay over $1200 for it, I don't think we will also want to buy bottles of wine to get what we want in wine.

 

So hard to decide ...

[Project_gal]

Actually it works out just fine since there is no need to finish a bottle in one siting. Your sommelier will cork the bottle for you and bring it out again the next night. We've even started a bottle in a specialty restaurant and send the remainder to the main dining room. We know other cruisers who will start a bottle in the dining room and send the left overs to their stateroom (they'll deliver it for you) or to a specific lounge for later that night. The staff is very accommodating.

 

In fact, it does not have to be one bottle allowing you to have, say, a glass of red and and glass of white with different parts of your meal. It became quite complicated on our last crusie because we had multiple bottles in both the MDR and the SS United States but the sommeliers always knew what bottles we had and were able to produce them for us wherever we were eating.

 

Sue

[FinelyCruising]

In fact, it does not have to be one bottle allowing you to have, say, a glass of red and and glass of white with different parts of your meal. It became quite complicated on our last crusie because we had multiple bottles in both the MDR and the SS United States but the sommeliers always knew what bottles we had and were able to produce them for us wherever we were eating.

 

Sue

 

I agree, a good Sommelier will manage this well for you.

[SusieV]

What we decided to do was get the premium package for me and nothing for my husband. Neither of us was impressed with the wine by the glass list, but I figured that I'd enjoy being able to order anything I want more than I'd be disappointed by not being able to order a botte of my favourite wine.

 

He's just going to order drinks a la carte like he used to, and order bottles of wine at dinner since that's what he'd prefer.

 

I'm more excited about being able to drink bottled water all the time if I want to, getting fresh squeezed orange juice, and not feeling that I should limit myself to the DODs. I used to order a bottle of wine in the ~$80 range at dinner and save half for the following night, so I may actually be saving money with this package!

[dexter99]

In restaurants on land (going on first cruise soon on Infinity) we seldom buy wine by the bottle because we like to pair with each course. But since the by the glass selections are very limited we might end up going for bottles on the ship, I can see us buying a bottle of white and a bottle of red at most dinners. Even though it is just two of us, we could end up wanting 5 or 6 different varietals in one meal even...

 

So here's a couple of questions:

 

1) is it possible to order a good bottle of white (i.e. something that isn't on the regular bar menu) somewhere before dinner, have a glass as an apertif, and have the rest of the bottle in the dining room.

2) when you don't finish a bottle with your meal, can you have the rest sent back to your cabin or some other bar or lounge area?

3) if you want them to keep it for the next day, how do they store it? Do they have a good storage method (maybe an inert gas system, for example) or do they just put a cork in it?

4) and what about decanting? Is there a way to order a bottle in the afternoon and have them let it breathe for a coupe of hours before serving?

5) how is the port and dessert wine selection?

[Lsimon]

>>>1) is it possible to order a good bottle of white (i.e. something that isn't on the regular bar menu) somewhere before dinner, have a glass as an apertif, and have the rest of the bottle in the dining room.

I think this can be done. But if I were doing it I'd visit with a bartender in that lounge ahead of time and pre-order the bottle. This could save you a lot of time as they may not have a copy of the large wine list at the bar and they won't stock the wines there so your waiter may have to go get both for you (two trips) which will take a while and might be difficult for the waiter at busy times. This might not be an issue at all at Cellar Masters Lounge on the S class or the Constellation but would likley be the case at many of the other lounges or on other ships. We've ordered a very nice bottle of wine this way once to enjoy at the aft bar with some cheese from the buffet while enjoying sunset and sail away from a port and the live guitar payer there....ahhhhhh..... but finished the bottle there.

>>>2) when you don't finish a bottle with your meal, can you have the rest sent back to your cabin or some other bar or lounge area?

Yes

>>>3) if you want them to keep it for the next day, how do they store it? Do they have a good storage method (maybe an inert gas system, for example) or do they just put a cork in it?

They just put a cork in it.

>>>>>4) and what about decanting? Is there a way to order a bottle in the afternoon and have them let it breathe for a coupe of hours before serving?

I've seen this done but not done it personally. I'm pretty sure you could arrange this with your dining room sommelier - especially for a nicer quality wine.

>>>>5) how is the port and dessert wine selection?

I don't know that much about these, but have a copy of a main dining room wine list (not current but still pretty representative of what you'll find on board) -

click here

This lists a few dessert wines but no port - I think those are on a separate menu and you may also find a wider selection at Micheal's club and/or the nicer specialty restaurants than in the main dining room - if so and you'd like them in the main dining room they may be able to be ordered there.

If you are very big on nice wines and want to do a lot of special ordering like this you might want to speak to your dining room sommelier the first night about the possibilities and/or ask to speak to the cellar master (head sommelier) on board.

[Project_gal]

In restaurants on land (going on first cruise soon on Infinity) we seldom buy wine by the bottle because we like to pair with each course. But since the by the glass selections are very limited we might end up going for bottles on the ship, I can see us buying a bottle of white and a bottle of red at most dinners. Even though it is just two of us, we could end up wanting 5 or 6 different varietals in one meal even...

 

So here's a couple of questions:

 

1) is it possible to order a good bottle of white (i.e. something that isn't on the regular bar menu) somewhere before dinner, have a glass as an apertif, and have the rest of the bottle in the dining room.

2) when you don't finish a bottle with your meal, can you have the rest sent back to your cabin or some other bar or lounge area?

3) if you want them to keep it for the next day, how do they store it? Do they have a good storage method (maybe an inert gas system, for example) or do they just put a cork in it?

4) and what about decanting? Is there a way to order a bottle in the afternoon and have them let it breathe for a coupe of hours before serving?

5) how is the port and dessert wine selection?

 

My suggestion would be to speak to a sommelier [the cellar master, if possible] when you board and explain what you would like to do. I am sure he will suggest the best place to pick up your bottle at the start of the each evening. you can also discuss pre-decanting [is that a word?] your wine before dinner.

 

The port and dessert wine selection is best in the SS United States where there is a good choice.

 

Sue

[FinelyCruising]

In restaurants on land (going on first cruise soon on Infinity) we seldom buy wine by the bottle because we like to pair with each course. But since the by the glass selections are very limited we might end up going for bottles on the ship, I can see us buying a bottle of white and a bottle of red at most dinners. Even though it is just two of us, we could end up wanting 5 or 6 different varietals in one meal even...

 

So here's a couple of questions:

 

1) is it possible to order a good bottle of white (i.e. something that isn't on the regular bar menu) somewhere before dinner, have a glass as an apertif, and have the rest of the bottle in the dining room.

2) when you don't finish a bottle with your meal, can you have the rest sent back to your cabin or some other bar or lounge area?

3) if you want them to keep it for the next day, how do they store it? Do they have a good storage method (maybe an inert gas system, for example) or do they just put a cork in it?

4) and what about decanting? Is there a way to order a bottle in the afternoon and have them let it breathe for a coupe of hours before serving?

5) how is the port and dessert wine selection?

 

I wanted to share some of our experinces on some of your questions:

 

Rearding Question #1, Based on our tastes, our last Sommelier worked with us and provided us with some off menu wines at exceptional discounts. These wines were probably part of some older menus or part of a special wine pairing dinner or event. I would ask the Sommelier what opportunites there are for wines they think you would like based on a plannned dinner choice or one that you would otherwise not have the opportunity to try.

 

Others have already given you good ideas of what to do with your unfisnished wine...

 

For an added note: Please check your Captain's Club coupons, in may instances discounts are available for when ordering more than one bottle of wine at a time, so make sure you don't miss out on that if you can.

 

Cheers:)

[Alsmez]

We decided to do what another poster mentioned and get the premium package for my husband (who is not a huge wine drinker) and no package for me, since I prefer to have the flexibility to order by the bottle and will likely want to use the enomatic machines at Cellar Masters. I wouldn't be inclined to spend extra money on those things if I had a package - I'd want to stick with what's included. For me it works out extra well, because I don't really drink soda, smoothies, or any of the other beverages included in the package aside from an occasional espresso - I'd have to get my "money's worth" with liquor, and I just really don't think I'm up to that challenge! :D

[chefchick]

If we purchase the premium pkg can we order more than 1 glass of wine with dinner? Either by course or even refills of the same varietal? I guess this is question refers to having more than one drink at a time in front of you. Has anyone done it?

 

Also, it seems the wine flights are not available in the master cellars ($15 ea) but couldn't i technically make my own flight out of $12/under glasses? Again this might be answered above. One more MC question. The wines here seem very nice. Could these also be added to the wines by the glass offerings in the MDR, etc if I pick them up on my way into one of the restaurants?