Holland America Reduces Bring-On Wine Allowance

[PunkiC]

Good morning,

 

We recently cruised on the Oosterdam (22-29 Sep) embarkation: Seattle- we brought aboard a number of reds and whites which we enjoy, the number which would have exceeded the new wine policy to be implemented in January 2014.

 

Here's what we experienced. The experiences of others may vary.

 

We hand-carried our wines, after we passed through security we were asked to declare the number of bottles to a member of the wine staff, and sign the declaration - the list had name, cabin, number of wines and signature - many other cruisers had brought aboard between 1-12 bottles of their favorites. After that the only time the presence of our wines were mentioned was to collect the corkage when we brought a bottle out of the cabin. We took all our dinners in the MDR, did not have a bad meal, and enjoyed wine we knew with each meal.

 

 

Very interesting. Thank you for posting.

 

Has anyone else experienced this inventory process? If so how long ago did it happen?

 

Maybe this is their attempt at getting an idea of how much wine folks bring on board and where it is consumed.

 

They should also be asking whether restricting wine brought on board will influence the choice of cruise lines for future cruises.

[chrispb]

Good morning,

 

We recently cruised on the Oosterdam (22-29 Sep) embarkation: Seattle- we brought aboard a number of reds and whites which we enjoy, the number which would have exceeded the new wine policy to be implemented in January 2014.

 

Here's what we experienced. The experiences of others may vary.

 

We hand-carried our wines, after we passed through security we were asked to declare the number of bottles to a member of the wine staff, and sign the declaration - the list had name, cabin, number of wines and signature - many other cruisers had brought aboard between 1-12 bottles of their favorites. After that the only time the presence of our wines were mentioned was to collect the corkage when we brought a bottle out of the cabin. We took all our dinners in the MDR, did not have a bad meal, and enjoyed wine we knew with each meal.

 

Day 1 and 2 we were offered a new style of beverage card ~$45/day/person for up to 15 beverages alcohol or not which had a price of under $7 per beverage - we asked to taste the under $7 wines and were provides a tasting on day 1 by an accommodating bartender. We found the white and reds to be very sweet and not to our taste, we prefer a dryer type of wine - personal choice. We tasted a couple of others, in the greater than $7 category and they were more to our liking, they were $9 for what looked like a 7 oz pour. We did not purchase the beverage card.

 

We attended two wine tasting events during the cruise. The first event $15/each was held in the main dining room and had over 120 in attendance. The second event was premier wines at $35/each and was held in the Pinnacle grill and had about 60 in attendance (limited seating at this event and every seat was sold). Alvin the Wine Captain did an outstanding job at each event, explained the wines and discussed the broad range of wines they had aboard. The costs for the events were discounted as we attended both and we received a 5% discount and a 25% discount on any wine we purchased that had been featured at the premium tasting (we purchased the Champagne (Mumm) for the formal night dinner and enjoyed it very much).

 

We reviewed the wine list in the bars and dining room - they are different (we were successful in having a wine from the dining room list brought to the Crows Nest). We noted the presence of wines we had enjoyed in the past and which met our taste (Rosemont, Kendall Jackson). We ordered the Chef Rudi branded Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon - both of which were sold at $29 (discounted on International Night in the MDR to $25) - these wines come from Woodhouse Winery (in Woodinville) and we viewed the price point for the quality to be excellent (your taste and POV may vary). Indeed the Chardonnay was the same white wine which we had paid ~$14 at the winery in Woodinville (our town) and paid a $18 corkage.

 

Wine selection: In our comments to the wine captain and wine steward, we asked for consideration in expanding the selection of affordable wines (less than $9/glass) to compliment the ones they already had aboard which matched out personal tastes. In the post-cruise review, we expanded our comments to articulate the same.

 

In sum - we brought what we liked, searched for what we might like off the wine list and bought some more.

 

The future: We determined that we'd be taking a wait and see position with respect to future cruising with Holland America. While the wine is not the most important criteria (#1 destination, #2 accommodation #3 food) the absence of wines we enjoy at meals or the increased costs to obtain those that we do, may provide other cruise lines an opportunity to compete for some of our limited cruise budget in the future.

 

Hope the above is of assistance to others.

 

Enjoy

 

The beverage package sounds like a real rip-off - I think most people would have a problem having 15 drinks a day. Perhaps they should reduce the price and the number of permissible drinks.

 

I wouldn't pay $18 dollars corkage, either:cool: That works out at approx. £12 - another rip-off, especially as I buy wines at home when they're half price (not that I'd carry wine across the pond).

[startwin]

The beverage package sounds like a real rip-off - I think most people would have a problem having 15 drinks a day. Perhaps they should reduce the price and the number of permissible drinks.

 

I wouldn't pay $18 dollars corkage, either:cool: That works out at approx. £12 - another rip-off, especially as I buy wines at home when they're half price (not that I'd carry wine across the pond).

 

I agree - if I had 15 drinks in a day I'd miss the rest of the cruise:cool:

[kazu]

Very interesting. Thank you for posting.

 

Has anyone else experienced this inventory process? If so how long ago did it happen?

 

Maybe this is their attempt at getting an idea of how much wine folks bring on board and where it is consumed.

 

They should also be asking whether restricting wine brought on board will influence the choice of cruise lines for future cruises.

 

Yes, they took inventory at two of our ports of call when we were on the P'dam in June - I reported it on my live thread and feared that this meant something was up. When I asked the steward why he did not know - just said he was told to do it.

 

Prior to this - I had never seen inventory taken on all of our HAL cruises.

[GeriatricNurse]

Email address please - snail mail to slow from Australia:D.

 

Help - I've been searching but can't find the email address for Mr Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America so I can write to him.

 

The e-mail address of Mr. Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America has been indicated here on another thread as follows:

Officeofthepresident@hollandamerica.com :)

[RuthC]

We hand-carried our wines, after we passed through security we were asked to declare the number of bottles to a member of the wine staff, and sign the declaration - the list had name, cabin, number of wines and signature - many other cruisers had brought aboard between 1-12 bottles of their favorites.

I, too, find this very interesting. It's a totally new procedure in recent months, and must have a reason. Perhaps Seattle is gathering data to be used in revisiting the new wine policy?

One can hope that adjustments to the policy can be made before it's implemented. There has to be a fair policy that meets HAL's goal of increased income, while still allowing passengers to enjoy wines of their choosing.

[KirkNC]

I agree - if I had 15 drinks in a day I'd miss the rest of the cruise:cool:

 

I would be curious how many of these they sell, I can't believe it is very many. It really is a horrible deal.

[KirkNC]

Yes, they took inventory at two of our ports of call when we were on the P'dam in June - I reported it on my live thread and feared that this meant something was up. When I asked the steward why he did not know - just said he was told to do it.

 

Prior to this - I had never seen inventory taken on all of our HAL cruises.

 

Thats werid as they did not do this on our Sept P'dam cruise. They did check our bottles in Bordeaux to make sure they were not fortified wines but then in Lisbon they did not. Who knows!

[kazu]

Thats werid as they did not do this on our Sept P'dam cruise. They did check our bottles in Bordeaux to make sure they were not fortified wines but then in Lisbon they did not. Who knows!

 

It is weird Kirk as they didn't seem to do it with everyone either. Talking to some, it was not done - so I don't know if they selected certain times or certain cabins. Since the list was easy to read when we signed - I did take notice of certain things.

[sail7seas]

I, too, find this very interesting. It's a totally new procedure in recent months, and must have a reason. Perhaps Seattle is gathering data to be used in revisiting the new wine policy?

 

One can hope that adjustments to the policy can be made before it's implemented. There has to be a fair policy that meets HAL's goal of increased income, while still allowing passengers to enjoy wines of their choosing.

 

 

Just what I was thinking.... :)

 

[Host Walt]

I would be curious how many of these they sell, I can't believe it is very many. It really is a horrible deal.

 

The package includes all drinks, soft and hard, not just booze. The deal is still not very good and, IMO, promotes excessive consumption.

[Host Walt]

I, too, find this very interesting. It's a totally new procedure in recent months, and must have a reason. Perhaps Seattle is gathering data to be used in revisiting the new wine policy?

 

One can hope that adjustments to the policy can be made before it's implemented. There has to be a fair policy that meets HAL's goal of increased income, while still allowing passengers to enjoy wines of their choosing.

 

Perhaps...but I wonder if they jotted down any of the labels to see what BYOW'ers are bringing aboard so they can enhance their offerings.

 

In any case, the optimists among us can join Ruth in hoping this inventory process is a positive sign.

[Mumsysailor]

I would have thought a $45 Beverage Card restricted to say, 10 drinks but with a limit of $10 per drink. That's still a bargain price for a similar total value of drinks but with the option of the better wines etc.

 

I'd struggle to drink that much alcohol per day and probably still wouldn't use the 10 drink limit even with coffees but it's much more realistic and less likely to encourage excessive consumption.

 

Mumsy.

[kazu]

Perhaps...but I wonder if they jotted down any of the labels to see what BYOW'ers are bringing aboard so they can enhance their offerings.

 

In any case, the optimists among us can join Ruth in hoping this inventory process is a positive sign.

 

Not when they did our inventory - they just wrote down the number of bottles of wine and our room number and we signed.

[glak66]

We were on this sailing as well and had the same experience with the wine inventory upon embarkation. I am quite sure they are gathering data to see how much wine people are bringing on board and breaking down into maybe four or so groups.

 

1. Those that brought no wine on board -- no loss for HAL.

2. Those that brought on the amount that the new policy would allow -- still no loss for HAL.

3. Those that brought on a little more than the new policy would allow -- not much risk in HAL's eyes.

4. Those that brought on significantly more than the new policy would allow -- will they really lose these passengers?

 

Once they have this data, someone will crunch the numbers and they will decide if they will really be losing a significant number of passengers due to this policy. How many bookings per cruise might they lose? If they think it will be a very small number, They won't go back no matter how loud people scream.

 

We brought two bottles back on board in Juneau and they did not inventory them to my knowledge although perhaps the screener was taking note.

 

I think not being able to bring a bottle in while at port is more troubling than bringing on a case of wine for a shorter cruise and they should think about changing the port aspect of the policy for the long cruises.

 

I could be wrong but I don't think the last AK cruise of the season gives them the best picture of their core clientele either. I picked this sailling due to price, airfare, and for what my ROI would be and got that same feeling from many others I talked to regardless of their Mariner Level. I sail less than once a year and it has been over four years since my last cruise due to the economy. I have sailed PCL 2X, RCL 2X, HAL 2x and NCL 1X. I am more interested in itinerary and price than accumulating enough days on a line to make the discounts awarded meaningful. I can buy a laundry package on HAL if I want that and not spend a fortune always sailing them to get to that point. Bringing on extra wine is just one more factor of many into my choice.

 

I do lose some respect for any company that reduces a real or perceived advantage from a customer service standpoint just to align themselves with the rest of the industry. Goodbye brand recognition, you just made yourself a commodity.

 

Just some thoughts...

 

Andy K

[Woodinville]

Perhaps...but I wonder if they jotted down any of the labels to see what BYOW'ers are bringing aboard so they can enhance their offerings.

 

In any case, the optimists among us can join Ruth in hoping this inventory process is a positive sign.

 

Walt - they just counted the bottles, no inspection per se, not even an opening of my carry-box - the cruise bill showed "corkage" each instance - 85% was to Holland and 15% was service - total $18.

 

And the beverage card - included all drinks - soft and hard, I think the consumer break-even is at about 6/7 drinks, as with everything, our mileage and tastes vary.

 

Glad the original post was of interest.

Cheers

[CowPrincess]

Not when they did our inventory - they just wrote down the number of bottles of wine and our room number and we signed.

 

I wonder if they later correlated that info with info from the various venues where you (not you personally) would have paid corkage. That might present some interesting results.

[TiogaCruiser]

Not when they did our inventory - they just wrote down the number of bottles of wine and our room number and we signed.

 

Kazu: what were you signing? Was there an agreement or MOU so to speak that your wine wouldn't be drunk in the public spaces without corkage?

[kazu]

Kazu: what were you signing? Was there an agreement or MOU so to speak that your wine wouldn't be drunk in the public spaces without corkage?

 

no - nothing like that - the steward wrote down our cabin number and # of bottles and we were asked to sign as to correctness only. That was it. No kind of agreement at all.

[kazu]

I wonder if they later correlated that info with info from the various venues where you (not you personally) would have paid corkage. That might present some interesting results.

 

Actually, I was hoping they would since we do order their wine at dinner. so, they would have seen that they had lost very little :D

[bvm49]

The e-mail address of Mr. Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America has been indicated here on another thread as follows:

 

Officeofthepresident@hollandamerica.com :)

 

Thanks for the replies.

[MR NW GUY]

Anyone ever wonder about the comments being made in HAL's corporate office and marketing department assuming they are monitoring these threads?

 

I can only imagine what they might be saying....

 

Cheers!

[KrausHaus]

I just finished a 22 night Athens to Barcelona cruise on the Noordam. I brought several bottles from home (CA) and purchased a few more bottles in ports. I also bought a few bottles aboard ship. I just sent the following to Mr. Kruse stating my feelings:

Hello Mr. Kruse,

Through Christine Ferris, you recently responded to my email regarding your new wine policy effective next year. I had then then stated that my then upcoming cruise might just be my last one with HAL and now that the cruise has finished (Athens to Barcelona via Noordam) I can easily say that it will be my last with HAL. I will now be using other cruise lines. Read on to find out why..

We are not wine snobs but we do enjoy our favorite wines. That's why we like to bring our wines aboard. We did just that with this last cruise but we also tried some of the wines on board. The selection of wines on board is abysmal. And we found that the wines that we might have liked WERE VERY OFTEN NOT AVAILABLE. The worst case was on our last night on ship when we ate at the Lido in order to have time to pack. It took more than a half hour to get a bottle of wine to drink. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. We first wanted Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc but of course it was not available and she instead brought some Washington State Sauv Blanc that was not acceptable. So we asked for any other Sauvignon Blanc, and no, there was nothing. So we found a Pinot Noir (Meridian) that we would like and a second choice of the Mark West. She returned with 4 bottles of Red wine, none even close to a Pinot Noir. So we opted for Chardonnay which she was able to find. While pouring it, she broke a glass which shattered on the table - in my food and in my wine glass. I needed to go get more food and then the wine steward came back with small PLASTIC glasses so that she would not break another. One had some white wine in it but by no means enough to justify the loss of wine in my glass as well as the time lost, dinner lost, and the whole sordid situation. In any other venue, there would have been some sort of compensation for this, like a free bottle of wine. That doesn't happen on Holland America though. The only thing she offered was to go and get more food for me. And I’m sure she was not authorized to do any more than that. Which seems to be the case with ANY mishaps that occur. They lose a shirt in the laundry and the only thing that they can do is apologize. Breakfast comes either a half hour early or a half hour late to the room (a 90 minute space) and no one can do anything about it.

And if you are continuing to read, we found the port information woefully lacking. I admit that I would normally have done a lot more homework before the cruise but could not this time. Maps of a port that were provided in the room were not helpful. They were often inaccurate and there’s no excuse for that. That’s easily fixable. But I suppose the focus is to sell more shore excursion making Port Info a second though for HAL.

This letter may make it sound that we are spoiled American tourists. Not true. We are quite cognizant of the cultural differences between ourselves and the cruise staff. The Indonesian crew members are especially wonderful. But they are only able to work with what they are given and it does impact your passengers in a big way. Some passengers may feel it more than others. Personally, I’ve seen the degradation of your overall product over the past several years and that’s why I’ll be choosing other carriers in the future.

It seems to me that Princess and NCL each still have a sensible wine carry-on policy so I’ll now be going with them. I’ll gladly pay $15 a bottle upfront for each that I carry on upon embarkation. And the same $15 when I find I find a wine in a port that I’d liked (as I did in Dubrovnik a couple weeks ago) and be able to drink it with dinner on the ship. The only way that I will come back to HAL is if you upgrade (only slightly, good wines aren’t that expensive) your wine selections. You’re already charging an upgraded price, now just make the wines match.

[Wakepatrol]

I just finished a 22 night Athens to Barcelona cruise on the Noordam. I brought several bottles from home (CA) and purchased a few more bottles in ports. I also bought a few bottles aboard ship. I just sent the following to Mr. Kruse stating my feelings:

Hello Mr. Kruse' date='[/i']

Through Christine Ferris, you recently responded to my email regarding your new wine policy effective next year. I had then then stated that my then upcoming cruise might just be my last one with HAL and now that the cruise has finished (Athens to Barcelona via Noordam) I can easily say that it will be my last with HAL. I will now be using other cruise lines. Read on to find out why..

We are not wine snobs but we do enjoy our favorite wines. That's why we like to bring our wines aboard. We did just that with this last cruise but we also tried some of the wines on board. The selection of wines on board is abysmal. And we found that the wines that we might have liked WERE VERY OFTEN NOT AVAILABLE. The worst case was on our last night on ship when we ate at the Lido in order to have time to pack. It took more than a half hour to get a bottle of wine to drink. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. We first wanted Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc but of course it was not available and she instead brought some Washington State Sauv Blanc that was not acceptable. So we asked for any other Sauvignon Blanc, and no, there was nothing. So we found a Pinot Noir (Meridian) that we would like and a second choice of the Mark West. She returned with 4 bottles of Red wine, none even close to a Pinot Noir. So we opted for Chardonnay which she was able to find. While pouring it, she broke a glass which shattered on the table - in my food and in my wine glass. I needed to go get more food and then the wine steward came back with small PLASTIC glasses so that she would not break another. One had some white wine in it but by no means enough to justify the loss of wine in my glass as well as the time lost, dinner lost, and the whole sordid situation. In any other venue, there would have been some sort of compensation for this, like a free bottle of wine. That doesn't happen on Holland America though. The only thing she offered was to go and get more food for me. And I’m sure she was not authorized to do any more than that. Which seems to be the case with ANY mishaps that occur. They lose a shirt in the laundry and the only thing that they can do is apologize. Breakfast comes either a half hour early or a half hour late to the room (a 90 minute space) and no one can do anything about it.

And if you are continuing to read, we found the port information woefully lacking. I admit that I would normally have done a lot more homework before the cruise but could not this time. Maps of a port that were provided in the room were not helpful. They were often inaccurate and there’s no excuse for that. That’s easily fixable. But I suppose the focus is to sell more shore excursion making Port Info a second though for HAL.

This letter may make it sound that we are spoiled American tourists. Not true. We are quite cognizant of the cultural differences between ourselves and the cruise staff. The Indonesian crew members are especially wonderful. But they are only able to work with what they are given and it does impact your passengers in a big way. Some passengers may feel it more than others. Personally, I’ve seen the degradation of your overall product over the past several years and that’s why I’ll be choosing other carriers in the future.

It seems to me that Princess and NCL each still have a sensible wine carry-on policy so I’ll now be going with them. I’ll gladly pay $15 a bottle upfront for each that I carry on upon embarkation. And the same $15 when I find I find a wine in a port that I’d liked (as I did in Dubrovnik a couple weeks ago) and be able to drink it with dinner on the ship. The only way that I will come back to HAL is if you upgrade (only slightly, good wines aren’t that expensive) your wine selections. You’re already charging an upgraded price, now just make the wines match.

 

 

Too hard to read... it's destined for the shredder

[kazu]

I just finished a 22 night Athens to Barcelona cruise on the Noordam. I brought several bottles from home (CA) and purchased a few more bottles in ports. I also bought a few bottles aboard ship. I just sent the following to Mr. Kruse stating my feelings:

Hello Mr. Kruse' date='[/i']

Through Christine Ferris, you recently responded to my email regarding your new wine policy effective next year. I had then then stated that my then upcoming cruise might just be my last one with HAL and now that the cruise has finished (Athens to Barcelona via Noordam) I can easily say that it will be my last with HAL. I will now be using other cruise lines. Read on to find out why..

We are not wine snobs but we do enjoy our favorite wines. That's why we like to bring our wines aboard. We did just that with this last cruise but we also tried some of the wines on board. The selection of wines on board is abysmal. And we found that the wines that we might have liked WERE VERY OFTEN NOT AVAILABLE. The worst case was on our last night on ship when we ate at the Lido in order to have time to pack. It took more than a half hour to get a bottle of wine to drink. TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. We first wanted Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc but of course it was not available and she instead brought some Washington State Sauv Blanc that was not acceptable. So we asked for any other Sauvignon Blanc, and no, there was nothing. So we found a Pinot Noir (Meridian) that we would like and a second choice of the Mark West. She returned with 4 bottles of Red wine, none even close to a Pinot Noir. So we opted for Chardonnay which she was able to find. While pouring it, she broke a glass which shattered on the table - in my food and in my wine glass. I needed to go get more food and then the wine steward came back with small PLASTIC glasses so that she would not break another. One had some white wine in it but by no means enough to justify the loss of wine in my glass as well as the time lost, dinner lost, and the whole sordid situation. In any other venue, there would have been some sort of compensation for this, like a free bottle of wine. That doesn't happen on Holland America though. The only thing she offered was to go and get more food for me. And I’m sure she was not authorized to do any more than that. Which seems to be the case with ANY mishaps that occur. They lose a shirt in the laundry and the only thing that they can do is apologize. Breakfast comes either a half hour early or a half hour late to the room (a 90 minute space) and no one can do anything about it.

And if you are continuing to read, we found the port information woefully lacking. I admit that I would normally have done a lot more homework before the cruise but could not this time. Maps of a port that were provided in the room were not helpful. They were often inaccurate and there’s no excuse for that. That’s easily fixable. But I suppose the focus is to sell more shore excursion making Port Info a second though for HAL.

This letter may make it sound that we are spoiled American tourists. Not true. We are quite cognizant of the cultural differences between ourselves and the cruise staff. The Indonesian crew members are especially wonderful. But they are only able to work with what they are given and it does impact your passengers in a big way. Some passengers may feel it more than others. Personally, I’ve seen the degradation of your overall product over the past several years and that’s why I’ll be choosing other carriers in the future.

It seems to me that Princess and NCL each still have a sensible wine carry-on policy so I’ll now be going with them. I’ll gladly pay $15 a bottle upfront for each that I carry on upon embarkation. And the same $15 when I find I find a wine in a port that I’d liked (as I did in Dubrovnik a couple weeks ago) and be able to drink it with dinner on the ship. The only way that I will come back to HAL is if you upgrade (only slightly, good wines aren’t that expensive) your wine selections. You’re already charging an upgraded price, now just make the wines match.

 

Good for you for writing back:D

 

I had no problem reading your post;)