Prem+ Drink Package - at the moment

[ElizaSTN]

Again, we are on the Escape right now and I wanted to share our experience with the Premium Plus beverage package for anyone considering buying the package AT THIS TIME.  We upgraded unreservedly - we drink wine and scotch, love a good latte, prefer sparkling water (me at least) and often need some sports drinks after a night out. And despite what I’m going to say next, we’d probably still do it and it probably still paid for itself.

 

HOWEVER.  The ship clearly has a wine supply issue at this time.  The PP+ comes with a bottle of wine per person at dinner each night…specialty restaurants have almost none of the PP+ options available, at least of white wine.  At both La Cucina and Bayamo, there was 1 option each - a terribly oakey Chardonnay and the East West NCL brand (both among the cheapest bottles on the list, coincidently.)  I was given the hard sell to buy a la carte bottles, which was extremely annoying.  Also - despite my husband and I both having the package and both being entitled to a bottle, they wouldn’t give us the second bottle at La Cucina because we hadn’t finished the first (we ordering Moët with dessert.  No go.)  At both restaurants, options by the glass were also lacking.  And the wine stewards in both restaurants were…unhelpful.  The experience was unpleasant.

 

I know that the package specifies that the offered options can change without notice, but having a single, sub-par bottle of white available doesn’t really cut it IMO. 
 

I will say that options in the Haven restaurant were much much better.  But not everyone who is considering the package may be staying the in Haven.  We are dining at Le Bistro tomorrow night and will report back on how that goes.

 

I have no doubt that this is a temporary situation due to supply chain issues outside NCL’s control.  But I wanted to share this experience for anyone considering this package in the near future.  As I said, we are still glad we got it, and have gotten value out of it.  But the bottle situation has been a big disappointment and frustration. 

 

[Hutcha]

57 minutes ago, ElizaSTN said:

Again, we are on the Escape right now and I wanted to share our experience with the Premium Plus beverage package for anyone considering buying the package AT THIS TIME.  We upgraded unreservedly - we drink wine and scotch, love a good latte, prefer sparkling water (me at least) and often need some sports drinks after a night out. And despite what I’m going to say next, we’d probably still do it and it probably still paid for itself.

 

HOWEVER.  The ship clearly has a wine supply issue at this time.  The PP+ comes with a bottle of wine per person at dinner each night…specialty restaurants have almost none of the PP+ options available, at least of white wine.  At both La Cucina and Bayamo, there was 1 option each - a terribly oakey Chardonnay and the East West NCL brand (both among the cheapest bottles on the list, coincidently.)  I was given the hard sell to buy a la carte bottles, which was extremely annoying.  Also - despite my husband and I both having the package and both being entitled to a bottle, they wouldn’t give us the second bottle at La Cucina because we hadn’t finished the first (we ordering Moët with dessert.  No go.)  At both restaurants, options by the glass were also lacking.  And the wine stewards in both restaurants were…unhelpful.  The experience was unpleasant.

 

I know that the package specifies that the offered options can change without notice, but having a single, sub-par bottle of white available doesn’t really cut it IMO. 
 

I will say that options in the Haven restaurant were much much better.  But not everyone who is considering the package may be staying the in Haven.  We are dining at Le Bistro tomorrow night and will report back on how that goes.

 

I have no doubt that this is a temporary situation due to supply chain issues outside NCL’s control.  But I wanted to share this experience for anyone considering this package in the near future.  As I said, we are still glad we got it, and have gotten value out of it.  But the bottle situation has been a big disappointment and frustration. 

 

Thanks for the update. Yes, it is beyond NCL's control, but you shouldn't be penalized for it either. Perhaps a conversation with the food and beverage manager might help. They could at least comp you a nice bottle of wine for your Le Bistro dinner. How is the selection in the Haven restaurant for the Premium + bottles? We're cruising on the Bliss in 11 days.

[ElizaSTN]

35 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

Thanks for the update. Yes, it is beyond NCL's control, but you shouldn't be penalized for it either. Perhaps a conversation with the food and beverage manager might help. They could at least comp you a nice bottle of wine for your Le Bistro dinner. How is the selection in the Haven restaurant for the Premium + bottles? We're cruising on the Bliss in 11 days.

The only thing that I asked for that was not available in Haven was the Nicolas Feuillatte Rose Champagne, which was disappointing because I was looking forward to trying it.  But no big deal.  But I didn’t try asking for any reds so don’t know the status.  I think it’s different on each ship though, especially those out of different ports.  
 

At Bayamo, the only sparkling wine by the glass was the Chandon California, and the first glass they poured was flat (it was from an bottled that had been previously opened.) 😳

 

[JandC_Cruising]

2 hours ago, ElizaSTN said:

 Also - despite my husband and I both having the package and both being entitled to a bottle, they wouldn’t give us the second bottle at La Cucina because we hadn’t finished the first (we ordering Moët with dessert.  No go.)  At both restaurants, options by the glass were also lacking.  And the wine stewards in both restaurants were…unhelpful.  The experience was unpleasant.

We were on the Escape in December and tried to go without the Premium +.  We found we made a mistake.  We still got several premium scotches and bourbons (so that cost us).  We also intentionally tried ordering glasses of wine with our meals, but the service at the main dinning rooms was only "fair" so getting a second glass during the meal was difficult.  Wish we had ordered bottles.

We are on the Epic in March and plan on adding the + package as we have in the past. 

 

Most everyone can be reasonable when there is a bottle that is not available.  That happens. 

But, there is no excuse for not serving you the 2nd bottle of wine regardless of there being wine left in bottle one.  The program allows for this given you both had the upgrade.

Frankly, that is one of the big reasons we get the package.  Order a bottle of white (or champagne) to start and then move to a red later in the meal.  Or, perhaps one of us gets a white friendly meal while the other gets something that goes better with a red.  We don't always finish every drop in the bottle.

Absolutely go to to the Food and Beverage manager and get the situation rectified. 

 

Let us know how things go at Le Bistro....BTW we had excellent wine service when we ate there on our December cruise. We did splurge for glasses of Vueve and a nice bottle of Red for that meal.  That additional expense contributed to the realization we should have upgraded.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[charlie murphy]

I do hope this is a temporary situation. Working in an industry that is very oriented on the client expericence and satisfaction I would be very disapointed if I paid for a service a majority of the options were "so sorry that is not available" or if only the sub par bottles were available. The old car sales pitch " only one offered at this price", in fine print.  In realaity the wines by the bottle are not that impressive over all with only a couple exceptions.  I am surprised there was not some type of compensation with a wine at the same price point.  sorry for your experince, it sounds like you are dealing with the situation in a very mature manner. 

[charlie murphy]

"Go to the Food and Beverage manager and get the situation rectified."

what is the expectation is this situation? If there is no supply. I am asking in order  to get an idea of a realistic expectation. If i were presented with the same situation I don't now what i would expect be done and with the emotion that sometime influences the interaction. ( read "upset customer") I would not want to flip the script and be THAT GUY.   I appreciate going into the negociation with some real knowledge and expectation because you know this is not the first rodeo for the food and beverage manager. any insight would be appreciated. 

[Summerstravel]

3 hours ago, ElizaSTN said:

Again, we are on the Escape right now and I wanted to share our experience with the Premium Plus beverage package for anyone considering buying the package AT THIS TIME.  We upgraded unreservedly - we drink wine and scotch, love a good latte, prefer sparkling water (me at least) and often need some sports drinks after a night out. And despite what I’m going to say next, we’d probably still do it and it probably still paid for itself.

 

HOWEVER.  The ship clearly has a wine supply issue at this time.  The PP+ comes with a bottle of wine per person at dinner each night…specialty restaurants have almost none of the PP+ options available, at least of white wine.  At both La Cucina and Bayamo, there was 1 option each - a terribly oakey Chardonnay and the East West NCL brand (both among the cheapest bottles on the list, coincidently.)  I was given the hard sell to buy a la carte bottles, which was extremely annoying.  Also - despite my husband and I both having the package and both being entitled to a bottle, they wouldn’t give us the second bottle at La Cucina because we hadn’t finished the first (we ordering Moët with dessert.  No go.)  At both restaurants, options by the glass were also lacking.  And the wine stewards in both restaurants were…unhelpful.  The experience was unpleasant.

 

I know that the package specifies that the offered options can change without notice, but having a single, sub-par bottle of white available doesn’t really cut it IMO. 
 

I will say that options in the Haven restaurant were much much better.  But not everyone who is considering the package may be staying the in Haven.  We are dining at Le Bistro tomorrow night and will report back on how that goes.

 

I have no doubt that this is a temporary situation due to supply chain issues outside NCL’s control.  But I wanted to share this experience for anyone considering this package in the near future.  As I said, we are still glad we got it, and have gotten value out of it.  But the bottle situation has been a big disappointment and frustration. 

 

I would speak with the concierge in the Haven they can make things happen. Especially if they have better options in the Haven.  

[J&Bsail]

On the Breakaway recently with the PP+ package.  Had a bottle Bin 222 - Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé 2019 White (menu price $69 - real retail $27 local) almost nightly.  Found the PP+ in white wines OK. 🙂 

[JandC_Cruising]

20 minutes ago, charlie murphy said:

"Go to the Food and Beverage manager and get the situation rectified."

what is the expectation is this situation? If there is no supply. I am asking in order  to get an idea of a realistic expectation. If i were presented with the same situation I don't now what i would expect be done and with the emotion that sometime influences the interaction. ( read "upset customer") I would not want to flip the script and be THAT GUY.   I appreciate going into the negociation with some real knowledge and expectation because you know this is not the first rodeo for the food and beverage manager. any insight would be appreciated. 

 

3 hours ago, ElizaSTN said:

Also - despite my husband and I both having the package and both being entitled to a bottle, they wouldn’t give us the second bottle at La Cucina because we hadn’t finished the first (we ordering Moët with dessert.  No go.)

The expectation is that you can get 2 bottles of wine with dinner (one bottle per Premium + user).  There is nothing that can be done if they run out of a particular wine.  As I mentioned, most everyone can be reasonable with that issue. 

However, there is no reason to not allow the 2 bottles.  That is EXACTLY what the program allows.  That issue is what the F&B Mgr should be notified of and asked to ensure it will not happen again at their next dinner.  Ask the F&B mgr to send a bottle of the Moet (assuming it was available) to their cabin as a "we're sorry for last night"....

Lot's of options to fix what was clearly an error on the part of the staff at LaCucina.  They did not have to "finish the first" in order to get the second...that is not the way the Premium + works.  

[Hutcha]

32 minutes ago, charlie murphy said:

"Go to the Food and Beverage manager and get the situation rectified."

what is the expectation is this situation? If there is no supply.

 

3 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

There is nothing that can be done if they run out of a particular wine. 

Problem is, it wasn't just one wine they were out of. There were out of many. No one is suggesting being "that guy", but there is a certain level of service you should expect for paying a premium. The manager can offer a bottle above the + package at a free or reduced cost. They could get a bottle from the Haven, or another restaurant. 

[JandC_Cruising]

9 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

 

Problem is, it wasn't just one wine they were out of. There were out of many. No one is suggesting being "that guy", but there is a certain level of service you should expect for paying a premium. The manager can offer a bottle above the + package at a free or reduced cost. They could get a bottle from the Haven, or another restaurant. 

Absolutely agree!  

[RocketMan275]

4 hours ago, ElizaSTN said:

I have no doubt that this is a temporary situation due to supply chain issues outside NCL’s control.  But I wanted to share this experience for anyone considering this package in the near future.  As I said, we are still glad we got it, and have gotten value out of it.  But the bottle situation has been a big disappointment and frustration. 

Take  your own bottle on board and pay the corkage. That way   you'll get the wine you prefer.

I'm leaving early march and I've already laid the bottles back.

[PTC DAWG]

14 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Take  your own bottle on board and pay the corkage. That way   you'll get the wine you prefer.

I'm leaving early march and I've already laid the bottles back.

This does't really address the issue with wanting sparkling water/sports drinks and the Bourbon's and Scotch's etc that are included in the upgraded package.  

Edited February 16, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[dbrown84]

How was the scotch availability?  I'm thinking about getting the PP package solely for the Macallan 

[Hutcha]

14 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Take  your own bottle on board and pay the corkage. That way   you'll get the wine you prefer.

I'm leaving early march and I've already laid the bottles back.

Ok, that covers 1 night. What about the other 6?

[Summerstravel]

I also read on another site that the Breakaway was out of crown royal on the whole ship. 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Hutcha said:

Ok, that covers 1 night. What about the other 6?

Do what I do.  Take a bottle for every night.

[marktwothousand]

The food and beverage manager should send an employee off at the next available port (masked and physically distanced of course) and buy a few bottles of good wine. This isn’t a trans cruise, no reason why they couldn’t  stock up during the sailing. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by marktwothousand

[Lionkingrichard]

Any more updates and from other Ships?

 

Thinking about upgrading onboard, Hope they have not run out of the good stuff!🥂🥃

Edited February 17, 2022 by Lionkingrichard

[ElizaSTN]

***UPDATE***

 

Last night at dinner, both the Food and Beverage Manager and the Beverage Director were waiting for us at Teppanyaki when we arrived.  They conveyed their sincere regret about the experience we had and assured us that it was not typical and should not have happened.  They were extremely apologetic and gave us their cards and told us to call them personally with any further issues.  The wine steward then poured (and kept filled) glasses of Veuve for our entire group of 10, and offered a very nice Riesling to go with our meal.  Later that night we also (randomly) met the General Manager, who was also very apologetic and gave us his card as well.

 

This was an exceptional response and we felt it was obviously sincere and well-intentioned.  I accept that the issue with the second bottle of wine was likely a communication issue or perhaps a new crew member, but that it is not an overall change in policy or a reneg on what was promised.  There may still be some issues with the availability of certain bottles (which can happen any time, and particularly now) but I do think that if I had been more forceful in the moment, that some accommodation might have been reached.  
 

As I said in my original post, even without these hiccups we were still happy with the PP+ package and would get it again.  And for those considering it, I would say to do the math and go for it if makes sense - just be sure of what you’re entitled to and speak up if there is something you’re not satisfied with so it can be addressed.

 

Is there a way to edit my original post?  I’d like to add the update to it, so the resolution is clear.

 

 

 

[ElizaSTN]

22 hours ago, J&Bsail said:

On the Breakaway recently with the PP+ package.  Had a bottle Bin 222 - Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé 2019 White (menu price $69 - real retail $27 local) almost nightly.  Found the PP+ in white wines OK. 🙂 

The Pouilly-Fuissé is what I ordered the first night at La Cucina and was told they didn’t have it and that all they had from the list was the Terrazas Chardonnay, which I really didn’t like.  However, they *did* have the PF at the Haven restaurant the next night.  I assumed maybe the Haven kept stock in reserve, but perhaps La Cucina wasn’t able to send someone to get it?  Not sure.  But as I’ve updated, we seem to have gotten resolution and hope for a good experience at Le Bistro tonight.  

[Hutcha]

1 hour ago, ElizaSTN said:

***UPDATE***

 

Last night at dinner, both the Food and Beverage Manager and the Beverage Director were waiting for us at Teppanyaki when we arrived.  They conveyed their sincere regret about the experience we had and assured us that it was not typical and should not have happened.  They were extremely apologetic and gave us their cards and told us to call them personally with any further issues.  The wine steward then poured (and kept filled) glasses of Veuve for our entire group of 10, and offered a very nice Riesling to go with our meal.  Later that night we also (randomly) met the General Manager, who was also very apologetic and gave us his card as well.

 

This was an exceptional response and we felt it was obviously sincere and well-intentioned.  I accept that the issue with the second bottle of wine was likely a communication issue or perhaps a new crew member, but that it is not an overall change in policy or a reneg on what was promised.  There may still be some issues with the availability of certain bottles (which can happen any time, and particularly now) but I do think that if I had been more forceful in the moment, that some accommodation might have been reached.  
 

As I said in my original post, even without these hiccups we were still happy with the PP+ package and would get it again.  And for those considering it, I would say to do the math and go for it if makes sense - just be sure of what you’re entitled to and speak up if there is something you’re not satisfied with so it can be addressed.

 

Is there a way to edit my original post?  I’d like to add the update to it, so the resolution is clear.

 

 

 

Glad you got the resolution you deserved. I would have been very shocked if they did not try to rectify the situation.

 

No way to edit, past about the first 10 mins of a post, on CC. 

[charlie murphy]

thanks for the complete update. sounds like a good resolution and for the rest of us here, when the managers brief their people the conversation goes something like .... "this is unaccepable and this can not and will not happen again," and we all do not have to have your experience.  enjoy the rest of your cruise.  would not worry about the update in the original cruise I think most will read the thread to find out the rest of the story. 

[Lucinarei]

Thank you for updating us and I'm so glad the situation was resolved while you were still on board to enjoy! We're on the Escape Saturday and upgraded to the Prem+ package for the first time.

[smillerholmes]

I have upgraded to PP+ for my upcoming cruise on the Bliss, 2/27.  I will report back on the Bourbon, Moet and Veuve situations as that will be a focus for me.  😊