Wine package - be careful !!

[Rollingstone43]

My wife and I spent two weeks on Freedom a couple of weeks ago. At the start of the first week we bought the 6 bottle wine package. It looked, on the face of it, quite a good choice of wine. For people who aren't aware, this package effectvely gives you the right to choose 6 bottles from a bespoke list over the course of your cruise.

 

So we bought the package. On the final night of that week I asked for a particular Cab Sav from the list, and was told that it was "out of stock". I accepted that since it was the final night. For our second week, I purchased another package and on my first night of that week, asked for this same wine again, thinking they would have stocked up in Orlando. Still out of stock. Hmmn.

 

In fact there were a number of wines out of stock - I had to go with my fourth choice. Not ideal.

 

On Day Four we went to Portofino. In conversation with the waiter I mentioned the out of stock Cab Sav. Lo and behold he produces a bottle from their cellar !!

 

On Day Five we are back in the main dining room and I ask for the same wine - I explain that they have it in Portofino so can they please get me a bottle - after I have effectively paid for it through my package !

 

After an interminable wait the waiter comes back with a cheap bottle of Chainti...."is this it?" "Err....well, I wanted an Australian Cab Sav - so....no"!

 

To cut a long story short, this conversation ensued for 30 mins before the Maitre D came over and apologised, saying that we had consumed the very last bottle of this Cab Sav the night before !! What a coincidence!!

 

If you are still with me on this tale of woe, you're probably building up a picture of some kind of wine snob. Absolutley not true !! But I just wanted to order what I had paid for in good faith at the start of the week !! Part of the attraction of the package is the variety of wine, and when you have to go for your 3rd or 4th choice each night that rather defeats the point.

 

We were lucky enough to be in a suite and so I mentioned all this to our concierge on Day Six. In truth the whole experience in the dinig room was rather embarrassing and I just wanted to let him know. I also wanted to see if I could have a different bottle for our last night. Not a better one, just a change.

 

Guess what - he appears with another bottle of the very Cab Sav that we had been told we had consumed the last bottle of !

 

This kind of made things worse since we knew at that point that we had been lied to............

 

So the moral of this long-winded story is - if you buy a wine package BE AWARE that there is a chance only certain wines will be available if you eat at premium resturants - if you eat at the main dining room every night you may have a real battle on your hands to get all the variety you want !!!

 

Not a great customer experience I'm afraid.........

[The Sunset Glow]

Sorry you had a terrible experience with the wine package. We had no issues with it on our recent cruise but if we had the problems you had I would be contacting someone about this for sure. This is unacceptable IMO. Please, for the sake of yourself and all of us who buy wine packages, write RCI a letter about this. If they are going to sell you a product then they better be backing it up by having the selections on the list available for the most part. Like you said, maybe towards the end of the cruise one may not be available and that would be acceptable, but what you described is not.

 

The only issue we had with the package was we could not get one of our bottles at Vintages as some had suggested we could on here.

[Morgans]

Could you tell me how much the wine package cost? Thanks for the warning. Depending on the price we may have a rethink!

[39august]

That is just ridiculous. I would have contacted the Beverage Manager after the so-called "last bottle" comment. Having to substitute once might be acceptable, but certainly not what you experienced.

[justfred]

My wife and I spent two weeks on Freedom a couple of weeks ago. At the start of the first week we bought the 6 bottle wine package. It looked, on the face of it, quite a good choice of wine. For people who aren't aware, this package effectvely gives you the right to choose 6 bottles from a bespoke list over the course of your cruise.

 

So we bought the package. On the final night of that week I asked for a particular Cab Sav from the list, and was told that it was "out of stock". I accepted that since it was the final night. For our second week, I purchased another package and on my first night of that week, asked for this same wine again, thinking they would have stocked up in Orlando. Still out of stock. Hmmn.

 

In fact there were a number of wines out of stock - I had to go with my fourth choice. Not ideal.

 

On Day Four we went to Portofino. In conversation with the waiter I mentioned the out of stock Cab Sav. Lo and behold he produces a bottle from their cellar !!

 

On Day Five we are back in the main dining room and I ask for the same wine - I explain that they have it in Portofino so can they please get me a bottle - after I have effectively paid for it through my package !

 

After an interminable wait the waiter comes back with a cheap bottle of Chainti...."is this it?" "Err....well, I wanted an Australian Cab Sav - so....no"!

 

To cut a long story short, this conversation ensued for 30 mins before the Maitre D came over and apologised, saying that we had consumed the very last bottle of this Cab Sav the night before !! What a coincidence!!

 

If you are still with me on this tale of woe, you're probably building up a picture of some kind of wine snob. Absolutley not true !! But I just wanted to order what I had paid for in good faith at the start of the week !! Part of the attraction of the package is the variety of wine, and when you have to go for your 3rd or 4th choice each night that rather defeats the point.

 

We were lucky enough to be in a suite and so I mentioned all this to our concierge on Day Six. In truth the whole experience in the dinig room was rather embarrassing and I just wanted to let him know. I also wanted to see if I could have a different bottle for our last night. Not a better one, just a change.

 

Guess what - he appears with another bottle of the very Cab Sav that we had been told we had consumed the last bottle of !

 

This kind of made things worse since we knew at that point that we had been lied to............

 

So the moral of this long-winded story is - if you buy a wine package BE AWARE that there is a chance only certain wines will be available if you eat at premium resturants - if you eat at the main dining room every night you may have a real battle on your hands to get all the variety you want !!!

 

Not a great customer experience I'm afraid.........

 

Hi rollingstone43

 

I agree its not very good customer service, the very same thing happened to us on the Brilliance ots a few years ago when the wine that we had pre ordered six months in advance was not available on the first night of the cruise, we were very not amused and we made a big fuss and they allowed to order a more expensive wine at their cost, and so they should, after all it was their mistake not ours, they need to get their ordering sorted out.

Like you we are not wine snobs, but we know what we like.

At the end of the day they were more than happy to accept my payment in their bank for six months.

 

Happy drinking

 

Christine & Pete

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Just off Vision last week. The "new" Platinum wine package lists Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet as one of the choices. Guess what? It's not available and they're substituting a lower priced bottle of Cabernet. Glad we didn't buy it pre-cruise or on embarkation day and waited until we were in the dining room so we could check on the availability of the listed wines.

 

I'd be curious is others are experiencing this "substitution" on other ships.

[reney313]

I agree this is terrible CS. It almost makes you feel like bait/switch. As in, they have the nicer bottle that is advertised in the package, but they aren't making it available in MDR. This then "forces" you to pick a less desirable option from the list.

 

I do hold firm that if they run out of bottles that they have advertised in the package, they should allow substitution to a bottle in the more expensive package, or comparable and above off the package list.

 

I do hope that you send a note to RCI.

 

I AM happy though to see that your concierge was able to secure a bottle for you. I'm just disappointed the MDR staff obviously lied 2X.

[melbur]

This isn't good news. On the old wine pkg, they have run out of our choice of wine, but always substituted it for something of better quality. We won't be pre-booking on line and wait to see what's in inventory.

[sandian]

We only once bought the package and vowed we would not do so again. The wines we requested were never available and we just thought why pay for something you cannot get. Really bad

[bobinfl]

Just disembarked the Freedom this morning. We had ordered the Platinum package well in advance. Every wine we requested was available.

[marci22]

I have seen other people post the same complaint in regards to the wine package.

[EVALUATOR]

I agree it's wrong. While a free cruise might be excessive, a full refund for the wine package would seem fair for being lied to. Possible tip reduction for the liars as well.

 

Otherwise what would deter continued poor service.

[Rollingstone43]

Thank you all for your support.

 

In truth I felt that raising it with our concierge would have been enough to flag up a sense of us being wronged - but he didn't really get that side of it, just wanted to make sure we had a bottle of wine that night.

 

My reason for raising it here was to warn people to be careful -but the general consensus is that I should write to RCI, which I think I will now do.

 

 

I will feedback any response !!!

 

Thanks

RS43

[north29]

Before I start thanks for sharing I have often wondered about such issues.

The last cruise we were on I check the wine price of the package against the single bottle price. Maybe I cannot do math well, but I really saw little/no different in single bottle price, including gratuity for my preferred wines over buying the wine package.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Thank you all for your support.

 

In truth I felt that raising it with our concierge would have been enough to flag up a sense of us being wronged - but he didn't really get that side of it, just wanted to make sure we had a bottle of wine that night.

 

My reason for raising it here was to warn people to be careful -but the general consensus is that I should write to RCI, which I think I will now do.

 

 

I will feedback any response !!!

 

Thanks

RS43

 

I agree....and look forward to hearing their response. You can also call 800 256-6649 for after cruise concerns.

[knittinggirl]

I'm just wondering if you can check the inventory, and have them save the bottles for you before purchasing the package. Maybe even have them sent to the cabin.

[EVALUATOR]

I'm just wondering if you can check the inventory, and have them save the bottles for you before purchasing the package. Maybe even have them sent to the cabin.

 

Sounds good in theory. But it still comes back to selling a package, saying they do not have a listed option only to find they do.

 

At least your way you could check and get the bottles or choose not to buy the package. I wonder how often the requested bottle would be found if it otherwise meant not selling the package.

[Verfai]

I also have to agree with this story, we have experienced this as well…It is not only with wines but near every product they serve.

 

When asking for a mojito we have had waiters over TWO SHIPS (LOS & NOS) tell us that the ship was out of limes, however in another bar we would see people consuming mojitos later in the night…So we order and no problem getting one.

On allure in Johnny Rockets last month, when going for a milkshake asking banana flavor, they prompted us on day two that the ship has no bananas anymore!? On day six we returned (the two buy one get one free coupons from the C&A booklet :D ) same answer…I got real mad that it is impossible for a ship like Allure the run out of the a basic fruit as bananas in the tropics and surprise, surprise they magically made bananas appear……….

 

A lot is due to the sear laziness of some crew members of them NOT wanting to run down to a stock room or other bar, very unacceptable for the cruise liner.

[westwood65]

We had the same experience on our most recent cruise. We had ordered the wine package. The first night we ordered a bottle of Robert Mondavi wine and quite enjoyed it. We were able to order a 2nd bottle on another occasion as well. When we went to order the same wine another night we were told that they where out of stock. The thought that went through my mind was strange already sold out on the 3rd night of the cruise. The other though was they didn't want us to continue to order the same wine as it was a more expensive bottle. The wine person came over and convinced us to order the Chianti which after checking the price was a considerably less expensive bottle of wine. Another strange thing, when we boarded the ship we went up to the bar and ordered a drink while we were waiting to get into our rooms. The bartender was telling us of the beer special. You would get 5 bottles of beer and be able to get keep the new ice bucket that came with it. Day 3 of the cruise we were supposed to be in Labadee but ended up having to miss the port so we spend the day by the pool on the ship. My husband ordered the beer special. When the waiter came back he said the they did not have any of the cooler bags. OK fine. We bought the beer anyway. Lo and behold the last day at sea what are they promoting in the promenade, the beer coolers!!!!

Not that we needed a beer cooler nor needed to be carting it home in our luggage but thought it odd, was the waiter to lazy or just trying to promote selling more beer instead of buying one or two at a time.

[digital_curator]

Sorry to hear about your problem. We have had a gold wine package on every RCI cruise we have been on and on the few occasions that they ran out of a bottle, they offered to substitute a more expensive bottle.

 

Did you go to customer service?

 

We tend to go on long cruises and have been on ships where, in the last few days, they have run out of certain foods which is unfortunate but we just made do with something else.

 

Cheers,

[tribeagle]

We just came off the Indy this morning. We had the 12 bottle package. What we did is take that little pamphlet that lists the package wines and sat down with the wine menu to write down the per bottle prices. We also encountered the replacing the Mondavi cab with the Kendall Jackson. The head waiter made it sound like it was a supply issue. We enjoyed the rest of our selections, but the guy at the table next to us did send the Malbec back.

[OzKruser]

We recently spent 28 nights on board Voyager in South Pacific/Aus/NZ (they were two cruises back to back).

My husband bought a wine package for the first cruise. He bought the Aus/NZ wine package becasue he loves NZ Sauvignon Blanc and this list had some on there.

 

By day 4 or 5 they had run out of all this wine and there was nothing else he liked on the list. The waiter at our table allowed him to select from a different list and he got something that he still enjoyed.

By the end of the first crusie (9 nights) there was still no solution to the wine list.

The cruise docked back in sydney and we stayed on board ready for the next cruise. We then bought another wine package and were told all wine had been restocked. This second cruise was for 18 nights. Immediately the same wines were not available and in fact waiters now carried an A4 page with them of all the wines that were now unavailable so there was nothing that my husband liked to drink and therefore could not use his wine package that he had PAID for.

Our waiter on this cruise was relucant to assist with alternatives so we made a compliant to guest relations. The manager there was very helpful and said that on the next evening we would be provided with an alternative list to pick from. Poor communication followed and we were not provided with an alternative list and our waiters knew nothing of this solution. Another complaint to guest relations folliowed and the following evening the Head Waiter told us we could select from a list that included red wines (which my husband doesn't drink) and the same list of whites on our first list so we were no better off.

The irony of all this is that this second cruise went to NZ. The wines they ran out of were new zealand wines!! Yet we went from port to port and wines were not restocked.

We went to guest relations again and the manager said she was going to raise the matter at the morning management meeting and would get back to us which she did. The Food and Beverage manager then left us a message on our phone saying that they apologised for this and that it was not a simple matter just to pick up some more wine in any port. He advised that arrangements were being made to buy more in the next port.

This was at least 8 days into the cruise.

Long story short, it baffles me how the inventory manager doesn't manage this better when they are running out of something. It also baffles me that RCI has been operating in Australia for years now and should have a better idea of what sells in terms of wine and what doesn't. I was dissappointed with this level of service and the fact that they are too happy to sell you the package but never tell you at the point of sale that half the products on the list were not available.

On a NZ cruise, running out of NZ wine is just laughable.....

I was also frustrated that bar and wait staff were not empowered to offer alternatives or didn't take the time other than to say "sorry we have run out, there is nothing I can do....".

Anyone else experienced this....?

Ally

[Georgiagolfer]

Reading more and more about the wine packages on different threads. I am convinced, we will just order a bottle of what we like each evening instead of the package. At least we will like the wine, unless they runout of our preferred wine(s).

[George C]

I have seen same thing on other lines. Really love RCCL but have been sailing Hal which allows you unlimited byob ( 18 dollar corkage ) so we drink the exact wine we want each night, will bring on at least a case for next cruise

[sandravb79]

I have never bought the wine package. My only complaint (until now) is how they advertise the drink of the day (buy the drink of the day and keep your souvenir glass).

Order drink of the day. They bring it in a regular glass. When I asked about the souvenir glass, they tell me I had to ask for it specifically and that the price is higher (??? This is not how the promotion was worded).

 

On another cruise, they said the souvenir glasses were not available (so why still keeping the promotion?) but on a later day at another bar, people were still getting them.

 

The logic sometimes escapes me...