wine packages

[vistaman]

Oceania did discontinue the wine packages - 3 bottles and a 30 % discount when puchasing the package.

Said that : the wine list on Riviera was just bad - not only caused by the outrageous prices and 18 % service on it

but it is simply a jumble listed by "grape" and some heavy mistakes on it.

maybe as an European we are used to country and area listing however it is difficult to understand that a company boasting on F and B operations and even does cooperate with a wine magazine is presenting such a mess.:(

[JimandStan]

Oceania did discontinue the wine packages - 3 bottles and a 30 % discount when puchasing the package.

Said that : the wine list on Riviera was just bad - not only caused by the outrageous prices and 18 % service on it

but it is simply a jumble listed by "grape" and some heavy mistakes on it.

maybe as an European we are used to country and area listing however it is difficult to understand that a company boasting on F and B operations and even does cooperate with a wine magazine is presenting such a mess.:(

 

The Wines which may or may not be bundled for Sale at the beginning of each cruise are basically close-outs and overstock from the Oceania Cellars.

I'm sure that your local Wine Merchant runs a similar Discount bin.

 

If the merchandise is in a jumble, that is the reason

[JPR]

Don't understand the first sentence of Vistaman's post. What "wine package" has Oceania "discontinued"?

[vistaman]

you were able to buy 3 bottles from a list - not from the complete wine list- and you did receive 30 % on the total price

[orchestrapal]

you were able to buy 3 bottles from a list - not from the complete wine list- and you did receive 30 % on the total price

 

It's clear.

The discounts are offered on bottles from previous lists and not the current one. Since the lists are compiled mainly for American cruisers you can not expect them to be what you as Europeans are used to.

[Flatbush Flyer]

i just can't let that last comment be misunderstood by any wine tyros reading the comments.

 

Just because a wine is from France or Italy doesn't suggest that it's better than the wines of California, Oregon and Washington. On a recent list of Oceania wine offerings, I found a few northern California entries that would clearly surpass in quality anything in the same varietal and price range from Europe. And let's not forget our southern hemisphere friends from Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia, where many winemakers bring the science from Fresno State and UC Davis to bear on their ideal climate and soul conditions.

 

Don't mean to start a whole new discussion here. I just have a problem with blanket comments about euro wines (except perhaps for the deserved praise for the emerging wine excellence in Sicily).

 

 

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[JPR]

1. The 30% discount (sliding scale for fewer bottles purchased) never applied to the wine list; always a special offer starting on the first day of the cruise.

 

2. I agree 100% with the comment about wines of the world. The Renacer "Enamore" Malbec-Cab blend from Argentina is our favorite red on Riviera's wine list...

[orchestrapal]

i just can't let that last comment be misunderstood by any wine tyros reading the comments.

Just because a wine is from France or Italy doesn't suggest that it's better than the wines of California, Oregon and Washington. On a recent list of Oceania wine offerings, I found a few northern California entries that would clearly surpass in quality anything in the same varietal and price range from Europe. And let's not forget our southern hemisphere friends from Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia, where many winemakers bring the science from Fresno State and UC Davis to bear on their ideal climate and soul conditions.

Don't mean to start a whole new discussion here. I just have a problem with blanket comments about euro wines (except perhaps for the deserved praise for the emerging wine excellence in Sicily).

 

The reference was to the way the wines were listed and not to the wines themselves.

[bonefishbruce]

Oceania did discontinue the wine packages - 3 bottles and a 30 % discount when puchasing the package.

Said that : the wine list on Riviera was just bad - not only caused by the outrageous prices and 18 % service on it

but it is simply a jumble listed by "grape" and some heavy mistakes on it.

maybe as an European we are used to country and area listing however it is difficult to understand that a company boasting on F and B operations and even does cooperate with a wine magazine is presenting such a mess.:(

A question and a couple of comments. What do you mean by "heavy mistakes"? Were some wines misclassified as to varietal or do you simply disagree with their place on the wine list?

As to prices. It's Oceania. Look at the tour prices. What do you expect? FDR's idea of a sale is to cut the price to retail............plus 18% service. Half the reason we're on CC is to arrange our own tours. We can also bring our own wine aboard if we choose.

In the new world, wine lists are often classified by grape instead of country or region. That's largely because the different grapes are often grown across vast areas. Different rootstocks, different latitudes, different terroir all conspire to make your preferred wine list less useful than the one Oceania employs.

Lastly, if you want something to complain about, why not start a rant on the beer list. As a resident of a country that appreciates beer, you should be at least a little disgusted at the insipid collection of light and lighter beer. It's like they had a beer tasting and all the beer you could taste got thrown off the ship.

[vistaman]

despite being belgian i never do drink beer - sorry i did try a vast variety going from lagers , luxury lagers to monk style , heavy beers, sweet ones, fruit taste - well beer is not my beverage; neither is whisky or rum or those french items with anisette.

i noticed the classification by grape on other - four starred lines - as well when visiting those ships in antwerp or zeebrugge

i was in quite a lot of "better" restaurants in the US and i never saw such a winelist so far - ok it was always on the "coastline"

i simply find it wrong to classify a french burgundy - pommard , an italian pinot nero or a pinot noir from oregon of washington as "equals "

same sauvignon blanc : sancerre , cloudy bay or an US one .

and i do drink a lot of "not french not italian" in europa known as new world wines.

and who will drink Pétrus - merlot:cool: - or de Brignac Champagne on Oceania? like announcing Dom Pérignon by the glass in a local bar.

[wripro]

Not all French burgundies are Pommard. There are many whose quality is far inferior to a very good Oregon or California pinot noir.

[beardedshark]

A question and a couple of comments. What do you mean by "heavy mistakes"? Were some wines misclassified as to varietal or do you simply disagree with their place on the wine list?

As to prices. It's Oceania. Look at the tour prices. What do you expect? FDR's idea of a sale is to cut the price to retail............plus 18% service. Half the reason we're on CC is to arrange our own tours. We can also bring our own wine aboard if we choose.

In the new world, wine lists are often classified by grape instead of country or region. That's largely because the different grapes are often grown across vast areas. Different rootstocks, different latitudes, different terroir all conspire to make your preferred wine list less useful than the one Oceania employs.

Lastly, if you want something to complain about, why not start a rant on the beer list. As a resident of a country that appreciates beer, you should be at least a little disgusted at the insipid collection of light and lighter beer. It's like they had a beer tasting and all the beer you could taste got thrown off the ship.

 

As a beer drinker from a beer loving country I agree the beer on oceania is REALLY poor, but what can I do about it?:confused:

[LHT28]

As a beer drinker from a beer loving country I agree the beer on oceania is REALLY poor, but what can I do about it?:confused:

 

Bring your own ;)

[pinotlover]

1. It is Oceania, and the wine was grossly overpriced. Most wine sold for 3-4X retail by the bottle + 18%. So when O marked it down 30%, it is still grossly high.

 

2. We always do the premium drink package and the wine selections do fine with the meals.

 

3. I was amazed at the poor beer selections on board. While visiting Germany, even on the premium package, one had to pay $5+ to have a German beer. I believe we only drank a beer one hot day down at the pool bar.

 

4. I'm not sure about actual policy, but since I always do the premium drink packages for my wife and myself, some of the somms don't charge us corkage when we bring our own wine into the restaurants. Especially when you share abit with the somm! Shhh;)

[Andromeda93]

As a beer drinker from a beer loving country I agree the beer on oceania is REALLY poor, but what can I do about it?:confused:

 

Agree totally with you and PinotLover; O's beer selection is woefully limited. The only thing we can hope to 'do about it,' I guess, is to continue to mention it until someone at O notices.

 

Given that beer does not 'age' well in bottles for the most part, perhaps the issue is inventory-management-related. But even diet soft drinks have a 'shelf life' and O doesn't seem to have trouble providing those.

 

There's so much great, interesting and varied beer being made in the world today; it would sure be nice if O made an effort to have a decent selection available in at least one or two venues. This goes double for cruises where O is visiting ports with a great local beer tradition.

[Travelcat2]

Does anyone know why cruise ships cannot have draft (or draught) beer on board? It could have something to do with the kegs I suppose.

 

In terms of having a beer selection that many/most people would like, that would be quite a challenge. We live in the a part of the U.S. where there are microbrews available in every dining establishment -- almost anything you could possibly want (in terms of styles). Still, some people want Bud or Bud light, Coors, Coors light, etc. People from Europe might love to see beers that are brewed in their part of the world (the list of those is endless - most are delightful). IMO, it would be more difficult to please passengers that enjoy beer than to please passengers who prefer wine. :)

[beardedshark]

Can't see any reason why they could not stock some keg beer (awful though it generally is) however real beer in barrels would not settle with the motion of the boat.

 

There are some really good and interesting bottled beers in the UK and Europe (I have little knowledge of american beers apart from the appalling tasteless coors, type light beers). Surely it is not beyond the wit of a man like FDR to stock some of these. I would be more than happy to recommend some if he wants to get in touch:D

[Mura]

I'm no beer expert (I like what I like) but I believe that the major U.S. brands are indeed lighter than European beers. The microbreweries can produce an excellent product, but I also avoid the big labels here. So I cannot disagree with your castigation of the U.S. product!

 

Mura

[kiawahdon]

Just completed a "grand Cruise" (b2b), and on each cruise these was a wine extravaganza where orphan bottles of wine were offered at a discount. These were 6 bottles of this and 4 of that, etc. All with a 20-30% discount. Some of the wines were very good at a decent-not great though- price.

We bought 6 bottles twice and put most in the cellar for use at dinner; but a couple bottles went back to our stateroom.

I thought this was a great approach to offering volume discounts off the wine list pricing.

[bk travels]

My husband and I really enjoy a glass of beer, especially with a casual lunch by the pool. When we booked our upcoming cruise, I was just appalled to see the beer selection listed in the bar menu. We do like Sam Adams, however, and that was added to the revised bar menu that was posted a number of months ago. It's a start, but they really need to add some of the wonderful microbrews and craft beers available both here in the U.S. and abroad. Someone is not paying attention. For a line with such distinguished food and beverage offerings, O is really missing the boat in this area.

[vistaman]

on Hapag Lloyd draught beer is served as is on the British P & 0

the choice of beer was very good on Silversea , decent on Crystal and good on Seabourn

i noticed Heineken and Amstel light on O - and despite i do not drink beer ( not a good Belgian for that aspect ) beer experts do " sniffle " on those ones :eek:

[Travelcat2]

Can't see any reason why they could not stock some keg beer (awful though it generally is) however real beer in barrels would not settle with the motion of the boat.

 

There are some really good and interesting bottled beers in the UK and Europe (I have little knowledge of american beers apart from the appalling tasteless coors, type light beers). Surely it is not beyond the wit of a man like FDR to stock some of these. I would be more than happy to recommend some if he wants to get in touch:D

 

Actually, microbrews (in kegs) from the United States have won many awards. I have not seen "real beer in barrels" - ever. I think it is fair to say that some people in the U.S. do not care for beer in the UK and visa versa. IMO, that is much more of a fair statement than assuming that "american" (assuming you mean the United States?) beers are "appalling tasteless". My DH (from the UK) will not drink beer in bottles since they are pasteurized which he feels affects the taste. He will drink Guinness in a can but generally prefers dark microbrews on draft (my preference as well).

 

In any case, the movement of the ship is probably why most ships do not have draught/draft beer. It is difficult enough to pour a proper pint of beer without having the beer constantly being stirred. Assume you would get more foam than beer:)

 

Agree with bk travels that microbrews from different places in he world would be welcomed by passengers. The problem would probably be availability. Many microbrews are only available for purchase in the towns/cities whey they are brewed. The beers mentioned on this thread, Coors, Amstel, Sam Adams and Heineken are not to our taste. The typical types of microbrews include IPA (India Pale Ale), Stouts, Porters, Hefeweizen and ESB (English style pale ale).

 

Getting back to the topic, I am a bit surprised that the almost constant movement of the sea does not affect the taste of wine.