Wine and Beer Questions

[claudiaYVR]

We just booked our first Oceania cruise and will be sailing on Regatta on January 30. This was a last minute decision based on itinerary and our work schedules and we're really excited but I have a few questions I hope you'll help me with:

 

1. We are not heavy drinkers, usually one beer for my husband and one or two glasses of wine for me per day. Does it make sense to buy a beverage package or pay as we go?

2. If I bring a bottle of wine or buy a bottle on board and pay the corkage fee at a dining venue, what happens with the bottle if I only have a glass or two? will they keep it for me or will I have to lug it to my cabin after dinner? 

3. When you buy a drink on board, do you physically sign a chit every time or swipe your card?

 

Many thanks,

[Paulchili]

Not a drinker, but IMO:

1 No

2 They will keep the bottle for you and present it in any venue you ask for it

3 Yes - how else would they know you bought a drink?

[claudiaYVR]

 

26 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Not a drinker, but IMO:

1 No

2 They will keep the bottle for you and present it in any venue you ask for it

3 Yes - how else would they know you bought a drink?

Thanks Paulchili, that's very helpful. My last question was whether they made you sign OR swipe your card.

[Paulchili]

I have never had to do this but have often observed the procedure at nearby tables. The sommelier takes your card and then brings a bill for you to sign - that way you too have a copy to keep track of your charges and/or contest the bills if necessary

Others who have used this service will correct me if this is not correct.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Paulchili

[LHT28]

31 minutes ago, claudiaYVR said:

 

Thanks Paulchili, that's very helpful. My last question was whether they made you sign OR swipe your card.

Of course they do  you sign at the  end of the meal  or what you are leaving the bar

 

  but it is painless 😉

[Mura]

In case it isn't clear, no they don't swipe your card.  They have it on record from when you boarded.  You just sign a chit.  There are people to object to signing, but we aren't among them!

 

For the amount you say you drink, why would you pay $60/day per person????  (Okay, if you've taken the oLife package then it's only $20/day pp additional.)

 

I say this as someone who wouldn't consider the package.  There are reasons why that work for us.  People who like the package have their equally valid reasons!  Some object to signing and that's enough for them, but it seems that many seem to drink more often during the day than we do.  By that I mean people can very likely drink MORE on vacation than they would at home.  So if you want beer or wine with lunch, a drink around the pool, a cocktail before dinner, wine WITH dinner and maybe an after-dinner drink ... then yes, the package is certainly worth it!  If I have a vodka on the rocks in our room before dinner and a glass or two of wine with dinner (but not with wine or during the day), then it isn't.

 

My husband doesn't drink, so no package for him.  Because we don't go to the bars, no package for me!  I usually have a bottle of vodka for a pre-dinner cocktail (which I either bring on board or if we should be in a top suite Oceania will provide it for me).  *I* will buy wine by the bottle for dinners rather than be limited to the per-glass choices available on the package.  Or I may have brought some nicer wine that I bought on land for a lot less than Oceania's prices.

 

For us we just don't buy enough drinks to justify the cost of a package.  And we wouldn't take the oLife package under any circumstances because it's limited to drinks with a meal.  If we want to have a drink outside of hours (I admit I can't remember when that happened!), it wouldn't be of value.

 

I also say you need to decide what it is worth to you.  Per drink costs on Oceania are rather high for a smaller drink.  But if you only have a beer or a couple of glasses of wine for dinner, I'd say no, it isn't worth the package.  (Unless you are one who objects to signing a chit!)

 

Mura

 

[StanandJim]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

I have never had to do this but have often observed the procedure at nearby tables. The sommelier takes your card and then brings a bill for you to sign - that way you too have a copy to keep track of your charges and/or contest the bills if necessary

Others who have used this service will correct me if this is not correct.

I drink a great deal, and Paul is correct.  The server takes the card, swipes it "backstage" and then presents an invoice as in any shoreside restaurant, bar or club.

[claudiaYVR]

All clear now. Thanks everyone. No I don’t object to signing, it’s just been a long time since the last time we had to and I was just pretty clueless about the cost of drinks “as you go”. Definitely no package for us, we will instead pick a few nice bottles to take on board. I also saw on a different thread that the complimentary bottle of champagne in the concierge cabins can be replaced with wine. I do love champagne but between the two of us we hardly make it through half a bottle and I hate to waste it. May ask for it to be replaced.

[Mura]

4 minutes ago, claudiaYVR said:

All clear now. Thanks everyone. No I don’t object to signing, it’s just been a long time since the last time we had to and I was just pretty clueless about the cost of drinks “as you go”. Definitely no package for us, we will instead pick a few nice bottles to take on board. I also saw on a different thread that the complimentary bottle of champagne in the concierge cabins can be replaced with wine. I do love champagne but between the two of us we hardly make it through half a bottle and I hate to waste it. May ask for it to be replaced.

As I have suggested elsewhere, IF you want to share tables at dinner -- bring the bottle and share it.  That's what we do, even with total strangers.  I guess we've always been lucky in that our dinner companions were very happy to share.

 

I was on a cruise many years ago where I met a high school classmate who had been delayed in boarding because of flight problems.  They actually caught the ship a couple of days after departure.  It turned out that she and her husband were both recovering alcoholics and so they didn't appreciate the ship's gift of a bottle of champagne.  You would have thought that the ship would have exchanged the alcohol for something else, but they wouldn't!  Bear in mind this happened 12 years ago and I doubt this would have happened today.

 

Mura

 

[LHT28]

10 hours ago, claudiaYVR said:

 May ask for it to be replaced.

Yes  they will give you a bottle of  red or white  house wine

[Mahogany]

Anyone know if they have those nifty champagne stoppers in the room? I travel solo, and the champagne goes flat soon without them. Or can butler find one?

[KS&JW]

4 hours ago, Mahogany said:

Anyone know if they have those nifty champagne stoppers in the room? I travel solo, and the champagne goes flat soon without them. Or can butler find one?

I have used one (the cabin attendant proactively put it on our half empty bottle).  I had never used one before that trip and was quite surprised how well they work.  

Edited December 7, 2018 by KS&JW