Wine prices

[Perezcruz]

i felt wine prices were excessive, any comments?

[ToadOfToadHall]

What do you call excessive ?

[Perezcruz]

Charging £26 for a very ordinary £5 bottle of supermarket wine.

[ToadOfToadHall]

Exactly the same bottle you have seen in a UK supermarket ? Do you have a link to the product ?

[Andiamo]

Yes. I have thought so. My favorite is Santa Margarita Pino Grigio. They no longer carry it, but when they did, over the years it went from $63 to about $67 a bottle. Now, on the Caribbean trips, I just pick up a few bottles in port for about $15 each and pay the corkage fee, plus the 15%. In my case, it is not necessarily about the money, but having the wine I want. I admit to being a little embarrassed bringing it in the dining room, but having something I enjoy trumps it. (At home, in NY, the range is $19.99 up to $24.99.)

 

However, I do believe alcohol has the highest markup, whether on land or sea.

 

Jeanne

[welshgirl001]

was looking through the wine list on VP and fancied a nice red and saw Old Vine Zinfandel Ironstone Lodi priced onboard at $51.75

 

Was in Tesco today and saw the exact same one at £10 so 1 jumped in my case :D maybe I should have got more :eek:

 

on a similar note on the TA last month the wine tasting for platinum members was on the final full day which I found strange as it is nice to taste and then know to buy one you liked. The ones tasted were around the $40 mark.

Not good marketing on Cunards part!

 

2 days until boarding the QE :D:D

[Underwatr]

Any restaurant will charge much more for a bottle of wine than you would pay at a shop.

 

But price is one of the reasons I avail myself of the opportunity to carry on my wine. The other is selection.

[Host Hattie]

It's a little unfair to compare wine prices to supermarket prices, restaurants wine prices would be a better comparison.

[Perezcruz]

If you are prepared to pay excessive prices for very ordinary wine that is your choice.

[ToadOfToadHall]

If you are prepared to pay excessive prices for very ordinary wine that is your choice.

 

Can I conclude from your answer that "Charging £26 for a very ordinary £5 bottle of supermarket wine." refers to a bottle of wine that you consider in your opinion to be a £5 bottle of supermarket wine as opposed to an actual bottle that retails for £5 ?

[robbie_3]

I can't say I found the wine on board QM2 much different to restaurant prices which is what I personally expected. Of course sometimes it can even be a little difficult to draw some direct label comparisons with the various chateaux, for example Malbec and Chateauneuf du pape on board the QM2 is very drinkable while a well known supermarket's Chateauneuf du pape and Malbec is pretty much undrinkable.

[laktex]

One example: Pinotage, Rhebokskloof is $42.50 on board. At Corney & Barrow in the UK it costs £11.50 or $17.20. That's a 240% mark up + the 15%. Certainly not the 500% implied by Perecruz!

[tv24]

In my experience, the mark up on Cunard is about the same as the mark up in a restaurant in our part of the world, the San Francisco Bay Area. High, but normal for us. Taking wine on board and paying the corkage fee can be a good idea, depending.

[pepperrn]

I've found the prices for wine onboard Cunard's ships to be roughly similar to that charged in many UK restaurants I've dined in.

 

I've never had a bad or undrinkable bottle of wine on board, whereas I have had this happen on land once or twice over the years.

Edited December 21, 2015 by pepperrn

[ToadOfToadHall]

I've found the prices for wine onboard Cunard's ships to be roughly similar to that charged in many UK restaurants I've dined in.

 

I dined in a large Italian restaurant on Saturday night (it's fairly up market) and wine prices ranged from £18 to £35 a bottle. A month ago we had dinner in a gastro pub, £17 to £37 was the range.

 

And I've paid £5 for a pint of lager. And this is Chester, it's not London.

 

I find the prices on board Cunard to be in line with pubs and restaurant.

[Host Hattie]

One that is fairly easy to do a direct comparison is Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc - it retails for around £20, is £49 at a local restaurant & $60 on the Cunard list.

Cunard's mark up seems reasonable in this particular case.

 

As others have suggested, if you find the wine prices excessive, you always have the option to take your own and pay the corkage.

[HelloKittysMum]

We had some nice wine on our TA crossing in August but tell selection was somewhat limited and the markup was high (compared to our part of the UK). We have just flown into NY to join QM2 tomorrow and have brought some wine with us. Partly for cost reasons (corkage seems more reasonable than markup) but more for choice. We've bought some of my favourite champagne, a 28 year old sauternes that my husband used to woo me with 22 years ago and some reds we bought in a vineyard tour of South Africa. There are four of us travelling so we know we'll drink more than we did on the summer crossing.

[rakkor]

I concur with the mark-up being in line with restaurants for the wine, but I find the price of a glass of house in the bars to be a bit expensive - It's cheaper to have a cocktail than a glass of wine

 

Jim

Edited December 21, 2015 by rakkor

[balf]

I dined in a large Italian restaurant on Saturday night (it's fairly up market) and wine prices ranged from £18 to £35 a bottle. A month ago we had dinner in a gastro pub, £17 to £37 was the range.

 

 

 

And I've paid £5 for a pint of lager. And this is Chester, it's not London.

 

 

 

I find the prices on board Cunard to be in line with pubs and restaurant.

 

 

It's a long time since I had a pint in Chester, though it's just down the road but lager at a fiver a pint is a pound more than Stella on QM2.

 

Where was it so I know to avoid.

 

David

[majortom10]

I think all alcohol prices are excessive throughout in all the bars. On our recent roundtrip Transatlantic on QM2 never seen so many order tap water from a not very impressed drinks waiter.

[Mid-Atlantic Ridge]

I think all alcohol prices are excessive throughout in all the bars. On our recent roundtrip Transatlantic on QM2 never seen so many order tap water from a not very impressed drinks waiter.

 

I am happy to pay the equivalent of £6.10 for a measure of my favourite whisky on board which includes the service charge. Greater measure than a British pub, brought to me with a smile, a few nibbles to accompany and consumed in elegant surroundings. What's not to like about that?

 

M-AR

[ToadOfToadHall]

It's a long time since I had a pint in Chester, though it's just down the road but lager at a fiver a pint is a pound more than Stella on QM2.

 

Where was it so I know to avoid.

 

David

 

I am talking about Peroni (which is expensive anyway), but Telfords Warehouse, The Architect and the bar at the station are a fiver a pop !

 

I paid £15 for 2 double Cointreaus a few weeks ago in The Botanist.

 

Adrian

[ToadOfToadHall]

I think all alcohol prices are excessive throughout in all the bars. On our recent roundtrip Transatlantic on QM2 never seen so many order tap water from a not very impressed drinks waiter.

 

Drinks prices are comparable with city centre bars, I would not call them excessive on the ship.

[ToadOfToadHall]

I am happy to pay the equivalent of £6.10 for a measure of my favourite whisky on board which includes the service charge. Greater measure than a British pub, brought to me with a smile, a few nibbles to accompany and consumed in elegant surroundings. What's not to like about that?

 

M-AR

 

I drink Jonnie Walker Black Label on the ship, it's $8.25 + 15% @$1.50/£, that's £6.32 for what is almost a UK pub double. That's less than you'd pay in any UK pub.

[robbie_3]

I am talking about Peroni (which is expensive anyway), but Telfords Warehouse, The Architect and the bar at the station are a fiver a pop !

 

I paid £15 for 2 double Cointreaus a few weeks ago in The Botanist.

 

Adrian .

TOTH, Unfortunately there are also plenty of pubs in tourist areas of Cornwall serving £5+ pints, a well known pub on the beach in Perrinporth is one of the worst offenders. However I'm transgressing, actually I think some of the wine on board is quite reasonable, I mean $95 dollars (£63) for a vintage bottle of verve clicquot on the QM2 isn't that much more than some supermarkets charge here in the UK. I must confess I partook in this bargain more than once.

Edited December 21, 2015 by robbie_3