wine packages? Still availabe?

[brenjmull2]

I read on these boards a while back that they were being discontinued and wanted to see if that was true or not? We are sailing Grandeur Feb 18th and was hoping it was available.. The 40$ pp a day for the wine drink package is way more then we would drink.. My hubby and I drink about a bottle a day,, that is for the two of us and we get a few of the frozen drinks here and there.. thanks for any info

[Janet524]

The wine package is still available, but it has changed. There are no longer 3 levels (gold, platinum, diamond) to choose from. It's just one list and IMO it is no longer as good a value as many of the wines are the lower priced ones.

 

Here is the list of the wines in the package:

 

Sparkling Wines

 

Korbel Brut

California, USA

 

White Wines

 

Moscato, Castello del Poggio,

Pavia, Italy

 

Pinot Grigio, Attems,

Venezia Giulia, Italy

 

Sauvignon Blac, Kim Crawford,

Marlborough, New Zealand

 

Sauvignon Blac, Caliterra

Central Valley, Chile

 

Chardonnay, Penfolds, “Koonunga Hill,”

Australia

 

Chardonnay, Glen Carlou

Paal, South Africa

 

Chardonnay, Aussières Blanc by Barons de Rothschild - Lafite

Languedoc, France

 

Chardonnay, Mer Soleil, Santa Lucia Highlands,

California, United States

 

White Zinfandel, Beringer

California

 

Red Wines

 

Pinot Noir, Spy Valley,

Marlborough, New Zealand

 

Merlot, Charles Krug

Napa, California

 

Carmenère, Arboleda

Colchagua, Chile

 

Tempranillo, Torres, Ribera del Duero, "Celeste"

Crianza, Spain

 

Malbec, Familia Rutini, "Trumpeter"

Mendoza, Argentina

 

Shiraz, Peter Lehmann, "Weighbridge"

South Australia

 

Sangiovese, Marchesi de' Frescobaldi, Chianti Rufina, "Castello di Nipozzano"

Riserva, Italy

 

Cabernet Sauvignon, Penley Estate, "Phoenix"

Coonawarra, Australia

 

Cabernet Sauvignon, Robert Mondavi Winery,

Napa, California, United States

 

Cabernet Sauvignon, Aussiéres Rouge by

Barons de Rothschild - Lafite

Languedoc, France

 

Prices:

 

5 bottles @ $165 (= $33/bottle + gratuity)

7 bottles @ $220 (= $32.43/bottle + gratuity)

10 bottles @ $300 (= $30.00/bottle + gratuity)

12 bottles @ $335 (= $27.92/bottle + gratuity)

All plus a 15% gratuity

 

My advice is to check the prices on the general wine list and see if the wines you would prefer would make purchasing the package the best way to go.

[Daghis]

Using some pricing information I found online, I put together a spreadsheet to compare the cost per bottle of the wines in the packages versus buying them separately.

 

In case it's useful for you to consider the value of the package, here's what I came up with:

 

[oneputt18]

Here are the unlimited drink packages:

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/beverage_package_flyer_faq.pdf

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Thanks for putting this together. For some the package might not be a good value but for us, the new wine package, is definitely a good value. We like the Charles Krug Merlot, Robert Mondavi Napa Cab, Spy Valley Pinot Noir, Frescobaldi Chianti and Mer Soleil Chardonnay. :)

 

 

Using some pricing information I found online, I put together a spreadsheet to compare the cost per bottle of the wines in the packages versus buying them separately.

 

In case it's useful for you to consider the value of the package, here's what I came up with:

 

Edited January 6, 2014 by suzyluvs2cruise

[brenjmull2]

Wow,, thanks so much for doing that list.. great to see what we would pay for bottle versus package,, I think we are better off by the bottle as we don't really need to go for the best.. ,, hmmm, but maybe we will since we are on vacation and our boys gave us a GC for 225$ to use on the cruise..

[brenjmull2]

Soo, just so I understand,, If we get the 7 bottle package for 220, we can choose any?? of the wines listed??? If that is correct I would definitely go for the package as there are some great cabs listed that we love..

Is there anyway to prepay for the package before boarding??

Edited January 6, 2014 by brenjmull2

[Medicalley]

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a wine package and spread it over the 2 legs of a back-to-back? Or would we have to drink it all..;)

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Soo, just so I understand,, If we get the 7 bottle package for 220, we can choose any?? of the wines listed??? If that is correct I would definitely go for the package as there are some great cabs listed that we love..

Is there anyway to prepay for the package before boarding??

 

Yes...it's available to buy pre-cruise in your reservation in My Cruises on the RCI site. Yes, you can choose any of the wines listed. Enjoy :)

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a wine package and spread it over the 2 legs of a back-to-back? Or would we have to drink it all..;)

 

Yes you can carry it over b2b cruises. You need to talk to the Head Waiter on cruise 1 and he/she should be able to take care of it for you. We've done it on our last 2 b2b cruises without any problem. Enjoy! :)

[Medicalley]

Yes you can carry it over b2b cruises. You need to talk to the Head Waiter on cruise 1 and he/she should be able to take care of it for you. We've done it on our last 2 b2b cruises without any problem. Enjoy! :)

That's great news! Thanks Suzy!

[brenjmull2]

thanks for the info.. I am going to book the package I think before we leave..I cant wait to CRUISE again..

[LovesCruising]

We bought a 7 bottle package on a 7 night cruise recently - according to the above spread sheet - we saved $25 - think its a good deal and it was easy to use.

[Summerwalk]

Thank you so much for doing this. I'd decided today was the day I was going to do a chart like this as my daughter and all of her husband's family (17 in total) will be on a cruise in a few months and are interested in the wine package. While I didn't think the current wine package was quite as good as the previous 3-level package (I'd always purchased the mid level platinum one), I still felt it worthwhile when we purchased it for our Nov. 2013 cruise. For us it was worth it because we did like some of the higher priced ones, like the Mer Soleil Chardonnay and the Marchesi Sangiovese. I was disappointed that they did not have the Mondavi Cabernet available on this cruise but didn't feel it was worth making a fuss as they had other high quality Cabernets to offer.

[steamboats]

I was disappointed that they did not have the Mondavi Cabernet available on this cruise

 

Must be a pattern... They didn´t have the Mondavi on the Navigator late October either. So we got stuck on the Sangiovese as red and the Mer Soleil as white wine :D!

 

steamboats

[Clarea]

... I was disappointed that they did not have the Mondavi Cabernet available on this cruise but didn't feel it was worth making a fuss as they had other high quality Cabernets to offer.

They substituted Oberon Cab for the Mondavi for us on Legend recently. We liked it just as well as the Mondavi.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

They substituted Oberon Cab for the Mondavi for us on Legend recently. We liked it just as well as the Mondavi.

 

We had the same experience on Brilliance and Oasis. :)

Edited January 8, 2014 by suzyluvs2cruise

[Clarea]

We had the same experience on Brilliance and Oasis. :)

They also took away the Mondavi Cab as a D+ amenity choice. Unfortunately, it has not been replaced with the Oberon, or anything in the same class.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

They also took away the Mondavi Cab as a D+ amenity choice. Unfortunately, it has not been replaced with the Oberon, or anything in the same class.

 

That's disappointing. We board Serenade Jan 25. Will be interesting to see what we're offered as a replacement. ;)

[Daghis]

They substituted Oberon Cab for the Mondavi for us on Legend recently. We liked it just as well as the Mondavi.

In August, they didn't have the Aussières Blanc and substituted something else. I didn't like it anywhere near as much, but that allowed us to be a bit more adventurous and try some new chardonnays that we came to like, so I guess it all worked out in the end.

 

I still missed my Aussières Blanc, though. :)

[summersigh]

Thanks for putting this together. For some the package might not be a good value but for us, the new wine package, is definitely a good value. We like the Charles Krug Merlot, Robert Mondavi Napa Cab, Spy Valley Pinot Noir, Frescobaldi Chianti and Mer Soleil Chardonnay. :)

 

Daghis ... thank you from DH and I as well. The spread sheet was very helpful. (it copies and pastes well into Excel from the CC thread too):)

[randych]

This is a really helpful thread. Thanks! Looks like the package makes sense for us.

 

I'd like to use an onboard credit to purchase this, and am assuming I won't be able to do that in advance. Is there any downside to waiting until we're on board to purchase? And will I be able to purchase this with an on board credit?

[Clarea]

This is a really helpful thread. Thanks! Looks like the package makes sense for us.

 

I'd like to use an onboard credit to purchase this, and am assuming I won't be able to do that in advance. Is there any downside to waiting until we're on board to purchase? And will I be able to purchase this with an on board credit?

No downside that I can think of to waiting until you are on board to purchase the wine package. You can use on board credit for virtually anything you purchase on board. The only exception that comes to mind is booking a new cruise. You cannot use your SeaPass for that, you have to use a credit card.

Edited January 20, 2014 by clarea