Wine Packages Buyer Beware

[Pushka]

Goodness. Goes from bad to worse.

[cunardaddict]

I'm not a regular contributor to the Cunard Board, but without wishing to be rude, I believe you have managed to offend most of North America and the UK, not to mention a significant number of the posters.

 

As I wrote, it was a comment not aimed at any of the posters. If you feel that a whole group of nations was hit by this, I can't be to wrong, can I? Have you noted all the negative remarks on Germans in general on this forum?

 

I haven't sailed with Cunard for a couple of years, but to be honest most of the passengers we interacted with were VERY polite, well mannered AND considerate of the crew, be they in QG or anywhere throughout the ship. That is what makes Cunard different. You will always get the odd "bad apple", but to generalise as you do is frankly laughable.

 

Nowhere I did say that everybody of a certain nation was behaving the way descripted in my posting, I only stated that I met this behaviour and in most of this cases it has been a member of one of this nations.How can you call this a "generalization"?

I agree totally that most of the passengers are very polite to each other, apologizing the usual routine manner when passing too close etc.. I also agree that Germans are not as polite as those permanent "apologizers".

When it comes to interacting with the staff, the amount of polite people decreases. You may not note this as it seems to be a popular way of behaving and maybe I have more trained eyes and ears for this. I have never notice any rude reaction of a crew member towards a passenger with the exception of a reply to previously made severe insults by the passenger. To judge individual cases we need to look at the full story. Sometimes the reaction is not even caused by the passenger, but by a previous action of another passenger.

 

Some languages influence the intonation of English in a way that the expressions sound rather rude, but aren't. I do include Dutch, German and Russian in this incomplete list.

 

We have to accept that crew members are also humans and they have their limits of patience.

 

If you have such an issue with your fellow passengers and enjoy the QG, why do you not try MV "Europa" or "Europa II"? HAPAG LLOYD, sounds much more up to your "high social standards"... ?

 

Too many Germans on board ;-)

 

"Europa II" is an informal cruiser, no comparison to "Europa". Both ships are rather small and their destinations and trips don't match my aims. 50% of my journeys with QM2 are business trips.

 

For me, I'm looking forward to my crossing next year on QM2, and the truly unique atmosphere that Cunard still provides on these voyages.

 

You will certainly enjoy your journey.

[Pushka]

I think you have attributed (negative) behaviours to different nationalities. When you use comments like "Germans do this and people from the USA do that" this is exactly what you are doing.

[paulista1950]

Goodness. Goes from bad to worse.

 

Besides being EXTREMELY rude he also made a few no-sense observations!

 

"If someone brings in wine in the value of 500$ this causes a loss in consumption for the ship of 2.000$ plus 15%service charge and tip"

Once again: THAT'S NOT THE CASE! The wine was bought onboard and the price included the 15%.

 

300%?? 300% ????????????????? It's outrageous even here in Brazil where most of the restaurants try to make wine their gold mine.

250% is considered too much and 200% a fair number

 

"selecting, buying, delivering, storing and serving in a luxury surrounding"

Why would think that a store or a super-market doesn't spend money selecting, buying, delivering and storing wine? Does it falls from the sky right to their shelves?

 

But all of this is nothing more than plain bs. Things starting to get REALLY ugly here:

 

"The time of slavery is over. "

 

We all know it's over since the XIX century. Not in Germany where it ended in 1945 (1989 in East Germany).

 

" I have noted on many occasions that a lot of passengers, mostly originating from the US and UK have an absolutely inacceptable attitude towards staff."

Really? According to what standards? Those from people living and travelling on a high social level in a very good German hotel?

 

And which are the very good German hotels? Would Kempinsky, property of the Thailand Crown be one of them? Is the Ritz-Carlton, american property, another? :confused:

[Norfolk Brit]

Cunardaddict, I have to agree with everything that PS Caledonia has said. You missed an opportunity to help put things "right", instead you dug a deeper hole, sadly.

 

Great minds, old boy, though I was idly wondering whether there was one of those interminable German words for "when you're in a hole, stop digging".

 

Sir Martin

[Victoria2]

Oh for goodness sake.

 

All nationalities have their quirks and all quirks cross international boundaries. I have yet to see anti social behaviour on Cunard and yet I heard from some wait staff about an unpleasant couple in the restaurant on a cruise before ours last year who treated the staff in a less than polite manner, so it DOES happen.

 

Accept it happens and let's avoid an international spat!

[Austcruiser84]

I too bought a wine package to make it easier at dinner time on my QM2 voyage. Never thought to drink it anywhere else, but I admit I prefer spirits and cocktails outside the dining room (the bar staff were excellent and Commodore Club staff were very good at remembering my favourites so early in the voyage - which means they are either extremely attentive, or I drink too much :) ).

 

I could be wrong, but I think the information they give you when purchasing a package states that bottles can only be consumed in the stateroom or in the restaurant.

 

It makes sense, I suppose, lest they have people wandering about the ship with bottles of wine in hand.

 

Perhaps bar staff could give those passengers brown paper bags to store them in transit :)

[gentlemancruiser]

. This is, in my 58 years of experience in living and travelling on a high social level,

 

4. I have noted on many occasions that a lot of passengers, mostly originating from the US and UK have an absolutely inacceptable attitude towards staff. Living in a luxurury surrounding of European standards requires some adaption to the social standards of this type of society.

 

It certainly is not ment to ruin a big birthday coming up on Thursday. I will raise my glass on thursday 6pm. CEST and cheer!

 

Wow, it sure was cold when I awoke in my log cabin this morning up here is chilly Canada, I had to run to the shed and fetch a huge pile a wood to keep warm!!!!

 

Boys I can'ts waits until I gets tu see some of dem dere posh urapeein folks come back here next summer to visit us . Until then I guess I'll just have to go talk to the beavers and the moose

[pepperrn]

Oh for goodness sake. All nationalities have their quirks and all quirks cross international boundaries. I have yet to see anti social behaviour on Cunard and yet I heard from some wait staff about an unpleasant couple in the restaurant on a cruise before ours last year who treated the staff in a less than polite manner, so it DOES happen. Accept it happens and let's avoid an international spat!

Speaking personally, I also hope this doesn't get sidetracked into an "international differences" thread, as it were. We are all different*, thank goodness.

 

My comments have been about one person's politeness to another. Or not, in this case.

 

Post #2 should not have been posted as a reply to post #1. Simple. It does not belong in this thread as it is on a different subject. I've seen thread drift, but never as quickly as the second post in a thread!

 

(*Some of us are more different than others of course ;) ).

[cunardaddict]

Besides being EXTREMELY rude he also made a few no-sense observations!

 

"If someone brings in wine in the value of 500$ this causes a loss in consumption for the ship of 2.000$ plus 15%service charge and tip"

Once again: THAT'S NOT THE CASE! The wine was bought onboard and the price included the 15%.

 

300%?? 300% ????????????????? It's outrageous even here in Brazil where most of the restaurants try to make wine their gold mine.

250% is considered too much and 200% a fair number

 

I was not discussion wine bought onboard vs. prices in thr MDR.

 

Example: The lately changed Amarone in the MDR is now from Montezolvo.

 

I can buy 600 bottles of the 2010 as 17 Euro per bottle. Cunard sells it for absolutely agreable $75 plus 15%. Here in the restaurant we pay 98€ for a slightly better produce inclusive of 15% service charge and 19% VAT. That has to compare net with roughly 90$ to Cunards 75$.

 

If I buy a single bottle in a german shop I will have to pay 25€ per bottle incl 19%VAT when buying 6 bottles. That makes 32$ per bottle and comes close to 200% in Brasil vs. Cunard.

 

I have no idea of the prices of this wine in the US because I always drink local produce if available when travelling.

 

Hopefully we can agree on this?

[Victoria2]

Speaking personally, I also hope this doesn't get sidetracked into an "international differences" thread, as it were. We are all different*, thank goodness.

 

My comments have been about one person's politeness to another. Or not, in this case.

 

Post #2 should not have been posted as a reply to post #1. Simple. It does not belong in this thread as it is on a different subject. I've seen thread drift, but never as quickly as the second post in a thread!

 

(*Some of us are more different than others of course ;) ).

MY comment was a general one and not aimed at any individual member.

 

The second post is certainly a 'little' blunt and probably not the most relevant of replies!

 

We never bother taking alcohol on-board. There again, we have a supply in our cabin which is refreshed as and when.

Sometimes we buy a couple of wine packages, sometimes we don't. I thought them quite clear where they can be consumed.

[balf]

All nations have their own characteristics. Americans are all fat and wear check trousers when abroad, Germans are all 6'6" and push you to one side in a bar, French people, ahem, are strangers in the shower room, Belgians are invisible and Australians drink prodigious amounts of beer and shout all the time.

 

Brits are a combination of all the above.

 

If this one doesn't get the axe what will?

 

David.

[Salacia]

All nations have their own characteristics. Americans are all fat and wear check trousers when abroad, Germans are all 6'6" and push you to one side in a bar, French people, ahem, are strangers in the shower room, Belgians are invisible and Australians drink prodigious amounts of beer and shout all the time.

 

Brits are a combination of all the above.

 

If this one doesn't get the axe what will?

 

David.

 

You'll have to try harder, David, as you're getting quite a bit of competition from that tall pushy guy at the bar.:D Well, I'm off to the store to buy a pair of uni-sex American check trousers and some high-calorie snacks - gotta prepare for my next holiday abroad.:D:D:D -S.

[vcdarty]

I am _so_ enjoying these brittle little exchanges. Dunno what it reminds me more of--Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad (thanks Canada) or Henry James.

 

But vastly entertaining to this Yankee Yokel. Fanget An!!!

 

J

[barbjd106]

I also had a terrible experience after purchasing two wine packages for a recent Canada New England Cruise. I asked for the wine to be delivered to the stateroom - it was not. When we went to Todd English on the 2nd night, it took forty minutes for the staff to understand 1. That we had a wine package but were never given 'coupons' (which I think is tacky and old fashioned in this age of computers) and 2. That we purchased a Todd English dinner online prior to embarkation and did in fact have a voucher for that.

 

To have to wait forty minute after sitting down for a glass of wine is ridiculous. We should have been offered a glass at the ship's expense due to their confusion and unprofessional behavior.

 

The last straw was that O sent my husband a 'Thank You' note along with the coupon for Todd English - Cunard spelled his name wrong!!!!

The wine we purchased was by no means a money-saving or cut-rate package. We thought it would be a smooth and convenient way to try different wines.

 

Barbara

[Pushka]

Coupons? They use coupons?

 

The wine package doesn't really make that much economic sense then. I'll just wing it I think.

[turquoise 6]

I must respectfully disagree, Cunardaddict.

 

Why should I pay Cunard $40- 50 dollars more PER bottle of Banfi than I can get it for here at home? Can I afford to pay that extra premium price? Yes, I can. Do I want to? No, not at all. That's one of the reasons I am hoping I can bring a case or two aboard for the full worldie.

 

ETA: Alas they do not offer the wines OR varietals I enjoy on any of the wine packages, so the packages are off the table for me.

I know a wine outlet, where the wines are great prices. The Chablis(French) sells for $ 23 and the same bottle may be $48 on board. I know there is a big difference in price, but when I am on aboard an Ocean liner, I take this into account. The QM2,QE,QV is not an outlet, it is the Cunard Line. So I pay the price and budget myself if needed.

[Strictly Ballroom]

I know a wine outlet, where the wines are great prices. The Chablis(French) sells for $ 23 and the same bottle may be $48 on board. I know there is a big difference in price, but when I am on aboard an Ocean liner, I take this into account. The QM2,QE,QV is not an outlet, it is the Cunard Line. So I pay the price and budget myself if needed.

 

 

While that is fine for a few weeks, over the course of four months, that comes to a pretty great expense.

[turquoise 6]

While that is fine for a few weeks, over the course of four months, that comes to a pretty great expense.

An yes. I agree. I was thinking of weekly transatlantic or

Cruises

[Salacia]

I know a wine outlet, where the wines are great prices. The Chablis(French) sells for $ 23 and the same bottle may be $48 on board. I know there is a big difference in price, but when I am on aboard an Ocean liner, I take this into account. The QM2,QE,QV is not an outlet, it is the Cunard Line. So I pay the price and budget myself if needed.

 

Hi turquoise. Yes, that makes sense to me. When I was on board last month, I asked the wine steward to select a bottle of wine that would go well with my meal. He asked a few questions about my preference, but the first question was "What price range are we looking at?"

 

"About Fifty Dollars" I replied, knowing that the wine would be about half that cost on shore, and was therefore rather down-market. Nevertheless, the wine was served well, and I was pleasantly surprise by his selection.

 

Just to mention that on a previous voyage, the wine steward recommended a bottle of wine, and told me that if I didn't like it, he wouldn't charge me. Well, I didn't like it as he could see from my facial expression on the first sip. He took it away and did not charge me. (A different bottle was suggested which was very nice.)

 

I have also ordered wine by the glass while on board, having found that a good way to sample different wines. I'm thinking that is my preference -- certainly not wine packages.

 

Point being: there are various ways to order wine, and as you indicated, something for every budget.

Cheers,

-S

[balf]

An yes. I agree. I was thinking of weekly transatlantic or

Cruises

 

So are you saying you would change your principles if you took a World Cruise.

 

David.

[SALAD MUNCHER]

Just for extra info:

 

1. Yes, they do use coupons - you get a book (2"x2" approx) containing the equivalent number of bottles you have bought. You have to hand one signed coupon in each time you request a bottle.

 

2. The wine package we chose had 14 different wines to choose from and we studied them beforehand to ensure we were OK with most (if not all) of them. In fact During a Platinum WC Wine tasting three of the four wines tasted were from our chosen collection. It worked out at an equivalent of $37 each bottles (inc. the 15%) which is quite reasonable as the wines included had a range from $30 to $45 (not inc 15%).

 

3. The package is a good option for those of us not in the QG. as in QG you can get wine instead of spirits included in your fridge if you request it. Therefore as previously mentioned by another poster maybe a package is not such a great option for those lucky enough to be in QG.

[turquoise 6]

So are you saying you would change your principles if you took a World Cruise.

 

David.

Good morning David

Good point. The OP has a money problem on a World Cruise. 3 months wine at ship board prices. I could understand bringing a bottle here and there

But NO. When I sail don't bring my own wine, Alcohol .

And I am not in favor of everyone bringing their own Alcohol

[paulista1950]

" When I sail don't bring my own wine, Alcohol ."

Me neither, but I don't care if anyone else does it.

"And I am not in favor of everyone bringing their own Alcohol"

I don't think it's a matter of being against or in favor, at least

not more than other people preferring tea instead of coffee

[Strictly Ballroom]

Good morning David

Good point. The OP has a money problem on a World Cruise. 3 months wine at ship board prices. I could understand bringing a bottle here and there

But NO. When I sail don't bring my own wine, Alcohol .

And I am not in favor of everyone bringing their own Alcohol

 

We're also making an overnight call in San Francisco. One of the excursions is a 'best of Napa Valley'. That's wine country! With this whole attitude of 'don't bring wine aboard', I would have to take a pass on purchasing any wine? I certainly could not order it and have it sent to my home, as I will still be aboard for a further three months after that. . .

 

 

Hey, I *get* Cunard charging a profit for their wine. But there is a difference between a profit and in some cases a 40%-50% mark up!

 

For the record? This is the FIRST time I have ever entertained bringing my own wine aboard. It is simply because of the length, I have always bought from the ship in the past. My bottles of Banfi with the service charge ran me about $120 per bottle just last month on HAL. I went through three in a week. Now. . . lets multiply that times 16 weeks? That would be approximately $5,700.