HAL Mariner Wine Packages Are No More?

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Is this it?

 

Yes, that's it 🙂. You are a gem.  Thanks 😄

 

So it was July, 2013.  Tiogacruiser's memory is right on.

[*Miss G*]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 

Yes, that's it 🙂. You are a gem.  Thanks 😄

 

So it was July, 2013.  Tiogacruiser's memory is right on.

I didn’t use the search feature so that’s why I found it.  

 

I was actually exploring some of the features on the new site and came across it quite by accident.

[TiogaCruiser]

17 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Is this it?

That’s it. Obviously the first, of several.😩

I’m surprised it was that late in the month because I remember coming across it as we were driving to the beach to celebrate my birthday. 

[DeeniEncinitas]

17 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Yes, that's it 🙂. You are a gem.  Thanks 😄

 

So it was July, 2013.  Tiogacruiser's memory is right on.

We did a 24 day Med cruise on The Nieuw Amsterdam August 2013 Barcelona to Venice 

and that was the last cruise where we were able to bring as much wine on board!!

Our cruise on The Nieuw out of FLL doing a 14 day cruise in March of 2014 we could not bring wine on board anymore just one bottle apiece!! I don’t even remember receiving a notice !

I sure hope HAL does come through keeping the wine discounts!

Denise😊

[Vict0riann]

I emailed our PCC yesterday for information about Club Orange, and about the wine discount.  Her reply:  " I have not heard they are removing the discount yet for sure."  

 

So. All is (not) revealed!  

[mcrcruiser]

We never book any thing prior to the cruise . As far as wine is concerned ,we bring our own on board & pay the $18 corkage .We buy far better wines for far less cost than HAL's wine list prices . 

 

 

 

 

[knittinggirl]

We'd never pre-purchase a wine package.  I want to see what's on the list and how many bottles they have before we hand over our seapass card.

[kazu]

49 minutes ago, knittinggirl said:

We'd never pre-purchase a wine package.  I want to see what's on the list and how many bottles they have before we hand over our seapass card.

 

I pre-book lots of stuff, but never a wine package.  The packages change, availability changes, etc.  So, it's better to wait until you are on board IMO.

 

We do ths ame as you.

[Vict0riann]

If they don't have this all sorted out to our satisfaction before our December 5 cruise, I think we will bring a lot of wine on board with us!

[knittinggirl]

We'd never pre-purchase a wine package.  I want to see what's on the list and how many bottles they have before we hand over our seapass card.

[POA1]

I cleaned this letter up to protect the identities of the people involved, but this is from someone I know personally who cruises HAL frequently - and usually gets the wine packages. It's from Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

[*Miss G*]

On our September cruise we were handed a tablet to research our own wine at dinner.  (We dined in the Pinnacle.) I was entirely prepared to discuss preferences with the Sommelier and explore their offerings until that happened.  She just handed it to me and walked away, telling me she’d be back to take my order.  What the?  😲  I am not at Buffalo Wild Wings!  

 

On the second night she tried to hand it to me again but I was not having it.  I ordered Cellar Package #2.  

 

In December I will stop by Total Wine in Fort Lauderdale before boarding. Their wine experts are amazing.  They are generous with their time and knowledge and are a pleasure to deal with.  That’s what I expect from a Sommelier on board, but if that’s not what I am going to get I will go elsewhere.

Edited October 26, 2018 by *Miss G*

[cruising cockroach]

3 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

On our September cruise we were handed a tablet to research our own wine at dinner.  (We dined in the Pinnacle.) I was entirely prepared to discuss preferences with the Sommelier and explore their offerings until that happened.  She just handed it to me and walked away, telling me she’d be back to take my order.  What the?  😲  I am not at Buffalo Wild Wings!  

 

On the second night she tried to hand it to me again but I was not having it.  I ordered Cellar Package #2.  

 

In December I will stop by Total Wine in Fort Lauderdale before boarding. Their wine experts are amazing.  They are generous with their time and knowledge and are a pleasure to deal with.  That’s what I expect from a Sommelier on board, but if that’s not what I am going to get I will go elsewhere.

 

I just wouldn't be surprised if HAL mgmt will one day revisit their idea of 5 years ago to prohibit all BYOW corkage pair or not, fallout be damned.

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

On our September cruise we were handed a tablet to research our own wine at dinner.  (We dined in the Pinnacle.) I was entirely prepared to discuss preferences with the Sommelier and explore their offerings until that happened.  She just handed it to me and walked away, telling me she’d be back to take my order.  What the?  😲  I am not at Buffalo Wild Wings!  

 

On the second night she tried to hand it to me again but I was not having it.  I ordered Cellar Package #2.  

 

In December I will stop by Total Wine in Fort Lauderdale before boarding. Their wine experts are amazing.  They are generous with their time and knowledge and are a pleasure to deal with.  That’s what I expect from a Sommelier on board, but if that’s not what I am going to get I will go elsewhere.

 

YIKES!!!  I've always had a wine steward willing to talk to me about the packages.

 

Definitely a difference between ships 😞. Was this your last cruise where you did the LIVE thread?  

 

I expect the same as you do in terms of service.  We won't have the benefit of Total Wine on our next cruise, but I suspect with our walking tours planned, one of the locals may help me in choosing Portuguese wines 😉 

[kazu]

7 minutes ago, cruising cockroach said:

 

I just wouldn't be surprised if HAL mgmt will one day revisit their idea of 5 years ago to prohibit all BYOW corkage pair or not, fallout be damned.

 

Really?  On what basis?

 

Fall out will happen.  ship choices are shrinking so there are lots of options out there where you can bring wine on without corkage.  Yes, those are premium + lines, but there are a lot of people that sail one ship (which is leaving) and it's price is not cheap so the jump isn't that high.

 

HAL will shoot themselves in the foot if they do this IMO, but what do I know?  I'm not in charge - I just know what I will do for certain cruises 😉

[Kynana]

2 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I cleaned this letter up to protect the identities of the people involved, but this is from someone I know personally who cruises HAL frequently - and usually gets the wine packages. It's from Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

Thanks. I feel vindicated. I didn't want to cause an unnecessary uproar, but when I was told by my TA and the Mariners' Desk and the Customer Service Rep, I thought others should be made aware. Thanks to all who contacted HAL. It will be interesting to see what the next surprise will be. 

[*Miss G*]

11 minutes ago, cruising cockroach said:

 

I just wouldn't be surprised if HAL mgmt will one day revisit their idea of 5 years ago to prohibit all BYOW corkage pair or not, fallout be damned.

 

And yet it doesn’t have to be that way.  🙁

[*Miss G*]

12 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

YIKES!!!  I've always had a wine steward willing to talk to me about the packages.

 

Definitely a difference between ships 😞. Was this your last cruise where you did the LIVE thread?  

 

I expect the same as you do in terms of service.  We won't have the benefit of Total Wine on our next cruise, but I suspect with our walking tours planned, one of the locals may help me in choosing Portuguese wines 😉 

 

Yes, the LIVE thread cruise.  First time I haven’t given an extra tip to a Sommelier.  In fact, I thought she was just a beverage server from the way things were handled.  In reality, the beverage server handled the wine questions and recommendations much better than she did.  I actually wasn’t going to go with the wine package until that happened.  Saved myself a whole lot of $$$ and hassle.

[*Miss G*]

Just now, *Miss G* said:

 

Yes, the LIVE thread cruise.  First time I haven’t given an extra tip to a Sommelier.  In fact, I thought she was just a beverage server from the way things were handled.  In reality, the beverage server handled the wine questions and recommendations much better than she did.  I actually wasn’t going to go with the wine package until that happened.  Saved myself a whole lot of $$$ and hassle.

 

And I would just like to point out that you know your Sommelier is lacking when you resort to asking the beverage server.

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Yes, the LIVE thread cruise.  First time I haven’t given an extra tip to a Sommelier.  In fact, I thought she was just a beverage server from the way things were handled.  In reality, the beverage server handled the wine questions and recommendations much better than she did.  I actually wasn’t going to go with the wine package until that happened.  Saved myself a whole lot of $$$ and hassle.

 

1 minute ago, *Miss G* said:

 

And I would just like to point out that you know your Sommelier is lacking when you resort to asking the beverage server.

 

 

Wow, that is really sad, MIss G.

 

glad you wine server gave you service but one should expect more from the Sommelier. They are supposed to be encouraging you to buy the wine packages.  No advice is not encouraging 😞

[DeeniEncinitas]

WOW! ILL BE ON THE ROTTERDAM SWITCHING TO OCEANIA TO CONTINUE ON OUR TA. I SURE LIKE THE PERKS WITH O!  Sure I PAY MORE BUT IVE BEEN WITH HAL EXCLUSIVE AND FELT GUILTYFOR GOING ON OCEANIA! AS A 4STAR I EXPECT THEM TO WANTTO KEEP EVERYONE 😃 IF I SEE CHANGE ON OUR CRUISE WITH HAL ON THE WINE PACKAGES MAYBE O WILL BE OUR CRUISE SHIP.

😒

Denise

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

WOW! ILL BE ON THE ROTTERDAM SWITCHING TO OCEANIA TO CONTINUE ON OUR TA. I SURE LIKE THE PERKS WITH O!  Sure I PAY MORE BUT IVE BEEN WITH HAL EXCLUSIVE AND FELT GUILTYFOR GOING ON OCEANIA! AS A 4STAR I EXPECT THEM TO WANTTO KEEP EVERYONE 😃 IF I SEE CHANGE ON OUR CRUISE WITH HAL ON THE WINE PACKAGES MAYBE O WILL BE OUR CRUISE SHIP.

😒

Denise

 

 

O didn't care about how much wine we brought on (we did have to carry it).

 

but, that was a couple of years ago.  I don't think the policy has changed though so you might want to check the O boards or their version of "Know Before You Go".

 

I hope you have a great Rotterdam and O cruise.  Would love to hear how it goes when you return if you don't mind to share.

 

Never feel guilty.  We are free to choose with what ship we want to cruise 😉. 

[cruising cockroach]

Oceaneer (deliberate sp). does charge $25 for corkage IIRC and that was 5 years ago.  That's a lot more profit than HAL.

[cruising cockroach]

48 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

On our September cruise we were handed a tablet to research our own wine at dinner.  (We dined in the Pinnacle.) I was entirely prepared to discuss preferences with the Sommelier and explore their offerings until that happened.  She just handed it to me and walked away, telling me she’d be back to take my order.  What the?  😲  I am not at Buffalo Wild Wings!  

 

 

Labour expense savings?  Not that they're paid that much.  If your have to order through the tabet (Celebrity does that as a feature with Qsine - though that's apparently going away), more confirmation.  HAL already cut down on MDR wine servers a few years ago so they're more rushed.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Oh Jacqui thank you!! Yes you can still bring wine AND even spirits on board.

since we did not need the air package included they gave us credit of 1,800.00 which came off our price. Got included Bev package laundry internet so will see!

Denise😊