Marina wine list?

[clairol]

Does anyone have a link or a photo of a current wine list from Marina? Thank you in advance!

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, clairol said:

Does anyone have a link or a photo of a current wine list from Marina? Thank you in advance!

There are multiple wine lists for different venues and most are multiple pages long. Theone you want to get hold of is the "bin end list" - a constantly changing single page of few remaining bottles needing to make way for new orders. Among them are some decent items at up to 25%+ off the ship's retail price.

[clairol]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

There are multiple wine lists for different venues and most are multiple pages long. Theone you want to get hold of is the "bin end list" - a constantly changing single page of few remaining bottles needing to make way for new orders. Among them are some decent items at up to 25%+ off the ship's retail price.

Sorry, I should have clarified, I am looking for the wine list offered in the GDR. I am particularly interested in the Chardonnays they are offering these days.

[LHT28]

wine by the glass list or wine by the bottle ?

The lists  can change  depending on  what they get

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

wine by the glass list or wine by the bottle ?

The lists  can change  depending on  what they get

 

Wine by the glass is "slim pickin's" with usually only one inexpensive NorCal Chardonnay and a bunch of foreign stuff I've never heard of. Their is the occasional worthwhile pick like Shramsberg Mirabelle sparkling wine. But news travels fast and they often run out.

The GDR list is large but, as one might expect aboard any cruise ship, outrageously marked up at 300% plus over US retail.

The "seven bottle" deal requires some wine knowledge to pick the two or three decent ones. But, recognize that most of those average $40+ bottles retail for $10.

As aforementioned, the "bin end list" is where there may be a bargain or two. But, I still recommend doing some research and stocking up in embarkation ports. For example, Total Wine in Miami, Australia Wine Center in Sydney, Hedonism Wines in London, etc.

[witt's end]

We are on the Insignia and white wine is a real issue. They ran out of Pinot Grigio on the second day and only had one French Chardonnay until they ran out of that yesterday.

It puts the sommeliers in a tough spot, trying to explain to guests (particularly those who bought the packages), that they seem to only have Sauvignon Blanc or Soave. 

They are also out of cranberry juice and Coke Zero is hard to find.

 

We are at sea today and back to NYC tomorrow. I trust that this will be resolved for the next cruise.

For us, it is disappointing.

Edited August 24, 2019 by witt's end

[clo]

8 minutes ago, witt's end said:

For us, it is disappointing.

I would say so.  I'm no oenophile but that really shouldn't happen.

[robbie21]

1 hour ago, witt's end said:

We are on the Insignia and white wine is a real issue. They ran out of Pinot Grigio on the second day and only had one French Chardonnay until they ran out of that yesterday.

It puts the sommeliers in a tough spot, trying to explain to guests (particularly those who bought the packages), that they seem to only have Sauvignon Blanc or Soave. 

They are also out of cranberry juice and Coke Zero is hard to find.

 

We are at sea today and back to NYC tomorrow. I trust that this will be resolved for the next cruise.

For us, it is disappointing.

 

Sorry to hear this.  Stocking adequate quantities of wine seems to be a recurring problem for Oceania.  It happened to us on an Australian cruise a couple of years ago and again on Nautica in June this year. And I have read a number of similar reports over the last couple of years.

 

The logistics of purchasing and shipping wine and other commodities to meet up with ships all over the world is an awesome challenge. Even more intimidating is the challenge of predicting months ahead the rate of consumption of those goods.   Nevertheless, that is their job and, apparently, they have not been doing it very consistently for some time.  The only good news is that Oceania permits you to bring wine aboard at every port.  Perhaps when they are completely out of a category of wine they might consider waving the corkage fee.

 

Robbie

Edited August 24, 2019 by robbie21
grammar fix

[robbie21]

To answer part of your specific question - they generally have a fair selection of pinot grigio, sav blanc and chardonnay from California and, lately, Chile.  Sav Blanc from NZ and Chile. Decent wines that you might see in supermarkets, noting spectacular.

 

Assuming they don't run out 🙁

[clo]

1 hour ago, robbie21 said:

Perhaps when they are completely out of a category of wine they might consider waving the corkage fee.

What a reasonable suggestion.

[JPR]

We always being several bottles of wine and a medium size Woodford Reserve Bourbon and do not take the beverage package.

 

We generally don’t care for their wines by the glass and would have to each drink several cocktails/spirits daily to make the package worthwhile, particularly when you consider the various 2 for 1 daily specials and complimentary events.

[StanandJim]

1 hour ago, clo said:

What a reasonable suggestion.

+1 and the resultant loss of revenue might wake up the bean counters in the purchasing dept.  

[KBgirl]

We always bring our own wine and pay the corking fee of $25 for a bottle - they save what you don't drink for other nights, and you can have what you want at a much cheaper price.

[jawlaw]

Just off the Marina.  Suggest that you buy by the bottle, which will then “follow” you around the ship to any dining venue. By the time you buy two glasses, you might as well pay for a bottle. Much more economical.  

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, jawlaw said:

Just off the Marina.  Suggest that you buy by the bottle, which will then “follow” you around the ship to any dining venue. By the time you buy two glasses, you might as well pay for a bottle. Much more economical.  

That would be some expensive glasses of wine

Most of the bottle we saw were over $50

[jawlaw]

Not really.  One $18 glass of wine is almost $22 with the 18% added.  So two glasses would cost nearly $45.  A bottle of wine has 5 glasses.  

[LHT28]

12 minutes ago, jawlaw said:

Not really.  One $18 glass of wine is almost $22 with the 18% added.  So two glasses would cost nearly $45.  A bottle of wine has 5 glasses.  

well in that case  a bottle might be better

i usually drink the $10-12 glasses of wine 😉

A couple of the bottles we did have were $75 +  ..thank goodness for OBC 😁 😎

[clairol]

Thanks, everyone. We have never taken the beverage package and end up buying a $72 bottle of wine at dinner every night that back home only costs $20 something... just wondering if there were other palatable options these days. 

[jawlaw]

We were traveling with another couple.  We spent the night in London before our cruise left from Southampton.  We went to Selfridge’s, which has a world class wine shop.  While our wives were shopping, my buddy and I each picked out 6 bottles of wine, ranging in cost from $20-$35 per bottle.  The store gave us a 10% case discount (which is pretty standard).  For another $6, we each also bought a canvas bag specifically designed to carry wine, and we each carried our six bottles on board, no problem.  Each night, we brought a red, a white - sometimes one of each - to our restaurant of the night, paid the corkage fee, and got to drink what we wanted at an overall reasonable price.  If we didn’t finish a bottle, it was stored and brought to our table at whichever restaurant we went to next.  Worked out great.  (We each also received a gift bottle from our AMEX TA, and they did not charge a corkage fee on that bottle.)

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, clairol said:

Thanks, everyone. We have never taken the beverage package and end up buying a $72 bottle of wine at dinner every night that back home only costs $20 something... just wondering if there were other palatable options these days. 

Depends on your palate

Do not think I have seen bottles for under $40  onboard

We found some nice wines that we had not tried before  or ones we cannot get in Canada 

they were fine  for us  .....your palate may differ 😉

You could always bring  bottles of wine that you prefer  that are in your  price range

[Flatbush Flyer]

On 8/28/2019 at 1:13 AM, LHT28 said:

well in that case  a bottle might be better

i usually drink the $10-12 glasses of wine 😉

A couple of the bottles we did have were $75 +  ..thank goodness for OBC 😁 😎

Why drink mediocre wine?

A top quality single vineyard Pinot Noir or Cab from NorCal could easily cost $50-75 retail on shore. Add the $25 corkage fee and that <$100 bottle (18% tip included) you've brought onboard is a far better deal than the $200+\- you'd pay for the same/similar wine onboard.

[jjones1622]

On 8/24/2019 at 1:58 PM, JPR said:

We always being several bottles of wine and a medium size Woodford Reserve Bourbon and do not take the beverage package.

 

We generally don’t care for their wines by the glass and would have to each drink several cocktails/spirits daily to make the package worthwhile, particularly when you consider the various 2 for 1 daily specials and complimentary events.

Cool Cruiser, I am a Woodford fan and my wife is into wines.  Do they care that you bring things other than wine on board?  Do you have to do it at embarkatioon, or can you do it at a subsequent port?

[jjones1622]

Cool Cruiser, I am a Woodford fan and my wife is into wines.  Do they care that you bring things other than wine on board?  Do you have to do it at embarkatioon, or can you do it at a subsequent port?

[ORV]

3 hours ago, jjones1622 said:

Cool Cruiser, I am a Woodford fan and my wife is into wines.  Do they care that you bring things other than wine on board?  Do you have to do it at embarkatioon, or can you do it at a subsequent port?

Nobody cares. You can bring it on whenever you want. 

[JPR]

jjones1622:

 

Bring whatever wines and spirits you want...within reason. You don’t want to have to cart unopened bottles back home on the plane! Though you could leave them for staff as tips...

 

 (It’s “JPR”, by the way; we are both “Cool Cruisers”!)