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Specialty Restaurants and Premium Drink Package


bbtondo
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27 minutes ago, bbtondo said:

So, are spirits/liquor included in the Specialty restaurants?  If not, and things have changed, that's pretty bad... What's the point then?

If no one else answers I'll let you know in 4 or 5 weeks. 

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Our first trip isn't until November, but the description for the beverage upgrade on Oceania's web page says the following:  "

PRESTIGE SELECT

Enjoy unlimited premium spirits, Champagne, wine and beer wherever and whenever you wish . . . .
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We have had both the house and the premium drinks package - last was November on Marina and with the house could order wine at any dining venue including specialty restaurants and with premium could order liquor at any dining venue (except a few specialty drinks).  Will be on Regatta in September and let you know if anything has changed.

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1. First of all, let’s get past the “ unlimited “ claim. If one is in any restaurant and the wine steward only makes it to your table 2-3 times during the meal, you only get that many drinks.Therefore, claims of unlimited are laughable. On full capacity ships the Terrace is for Teatotallers. One

might only see a wine steward once during their meal. How unlimited does one (1) sound?

 

2.  Once aboard, you will find a bar menu in each of the bars and restaurants. A. The wines “ By the Glass” are exactly the same in all venues. Those wines are included in both packages. B. The liquor drinks on the menus may vary by venue. For example, in Martinis the bar menu typically features a host of martinis!! These are included in the premium package. All drinks may not be available in all the bars.  C. The Specialties often have drinks and wine listed on the DINNER menu ( not the bar menu) that are not included in the Packages . ASK before ordering.

 

D. Waves Bar and the Terrace Cafe are infamous in having daily special beers, wines, and fufu drinks that are not in the bar menu and are not included in the packages. Be aware of what you order.

 

3. the Wines by the glass rarely if ever change during a cruise. They might run out of a wine and replace it with another, or they may just be out of that wine for the remainder of the cruise. My tip is once you get the bar menu, and the list of wines therein, study it a bit because that’s what you’ll have for the cruise unless you buy other wines.

 

4. Even though certain mixed drinks may be included in the package, all such drinks are not available in all venues. One might not be able to get that martini they liked in Martinis in Horizons or Toscana.

Edited by pinotlover
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24 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

1. First of all, let’s get past the “ unlimited “ claim. If one is in any restaurant and the wine steward only makes it to your table 2-3 times during the meal, you only get that many drinks.Therefore, claims of unlimited are laughable. On full capacity ships the Terrace is for Teatotallers. One

might only see a wine steward once during their meal. How unlimited does one (1) sound?

 

2.  Once aboard, you will find a bar menu in each of the bars and restaurants. A. The wines “ By the Glass” are exactly the same in all venues. Those wines are included in both packages. B. The liquor drinks on the menus may vary by venue. For example, in Martinis the bar menu typically features a host of martinis!! These are included in the premium package. All drinks may not be available in all the bars.  C. The Specialties often have drinks and wine listed on the DINNER menu ( not the bar menu) that are not included in the Packages . ASK before ordering.

 

D. Waves Bar and the Terrace Cafe are infamous in having daily special beers, wines, and fufu drinks that are not in the bar menu and are not included in the packages. Be aware of what you order.

 

3. the Wines by the glass rarely if ever change during a cruise. They might run out of a wine and replace it with another, or they may just be out of that wine for the remainder of the cruise. My tip is once you get the bar menu, and the list of wines therein, study it a bit because that’s what you’ll have for the cruise unless you buy other wines.

 

4. Even though certain mixed drinks may be included in the package, all such drinks are not available in all venues. One might not be able to get that martini they liked in Martinis in Horizons or Toscana.

We need this as a sticky. 

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On 8/14/2022 at 3:23 PM, ORV said:

Was this wine on the By The Glass on the standard bar menu and available in the GDR or Terrace with the package? 

No, it was offered by the glass only at Polo Grill.  I was surprised they offered wines by the glass outside of the package.  But, as I said, I like the wine and choose to pay for a glass.

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20 minutes ago, jondfk said:

No, it was offered by the glass only at Polo Grill.  I was surprised they offered wines by the glass outside of the package.  But, as I said, I like the wine and choose to pay for a glass.

I'd say it was one of those situations Pinotlover was referencing. 

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Be aware that if you choose drink package as you O Life choice, then add $20 to upgrade, you cannot get 20% off La Reserve. That offer is only open to people who purchase the whole prestige package. 
We always choose drink package and upgrade when embarking. 2 drinks outside of meals, costs more than $20 a day. 

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7 hours ago, janecambridge said:

Be aware that if you choose drink package as you O Life choice, then add $20 to upgrade, you cannot get 20% off La Reserve. That offer is only open to people who purchase the whole prestige package. 
We always choose drink package and upgrade when embarking. 2 drinks outside of meals, costs more than $20 a day. 

You should include the cost you're paying for the OLife beverage package amenity in your OLife fare to get a true comparison of the cost per day for the drinks.  

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5 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

ou should include the cost you're paying for the OLife beverage package amenity in your OLife fare to get a true comparison of the cost per day for the drinks. 

There are no drinks provided outside of meals (as Jane stated) so there is no need to include the cost of that package. She is making the case for upgrading.

 

…or are you making a point about the value of the OLife choice of the Prestige package? We do choose this and find it to be good value as we use more inexpensive private tours to the Oceania excursion offerings.

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37 minutes ago, Robjame said:

There are no drinks provided outside of meals (as Jane stated) so there is no need to include the cost of that package. She is making the case for upgrading.

 

…or are you making a point about the value of the OLife choice of the Prestige package? We do choose this and find it to be good value as we use more inexpensive private tours to the Oceania excursion offerings.

No exactly.  What I was trying to say is that you can only upgrade to the Prestige Package for $20 only if you chose the House Select as an OLife benefit.  So to get the Premium package upgrade you have to pay the OLife fare.  So the total cost of the Premium package is $20 per day plus the Olife cost (for which you can figure out the per day cost). 

 

I think you're saying that if look at the additional cost of $20 per day as the cost of drinks outside the wine and beer at lunch and dinner, it's a good deal.  But to find out whether it's a good deal for you need to ask how the per drink costs of wine and beer and cocktails in total would be for the cruise compared the the OLife +$20 per day (or $60 per day if you simply buy the Prestige Package).  So we compare what we would spend per adult beverage for the cruise length vs $60 pd (or Olife+$60 pd) for all our alcoholic drinks on board.  For us, it doesn't make sense, since we only occasional have wine or beer with meals.

 

Edited by 1985rz1
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7 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

No exactly.  What I was trying to say is that you can only upgrade to the Prestige Package for $20 only if you chose the House Select as an OLife benefit.  So to get the Premium package upgrade you have to pay the OLife fare.  So the total cost of the Premium package is $20 per day plus the Olife cost (for which you can figure out the per day cost). 

 

I think you're saying that if look at the additional cost of $20 per day as the cost of drinks outside the wine and beer at lunch and dinner, it's a good deal.  But to find out whether it's a good deal for you need to ask how the per drink costs of wine and beer and cocktails in total would be for the cruise compared the the OLife +$20 per day (or $60 per day if you simply buy the Prestige Package).  So we compare what we would spend per adult beverage for the cruise length vs $60 pd (or Olife+$60 pd) for all our alcoholic drinks on board.  For us, it doesn't make sense, since we only occasional have wine or beer with meals.

 

Well, I like single malt scotches, generally get a double, that alone can be in the $40 range. One drink makes that up for me. And I will have more than one drink a day, not all scotches, but usually a double, with a premium alcohol. 

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23 minutes ago, ORV said:

Well, I like single malt scotches, generally get a double, that alone can be in the $40 range. One drink makes that up for me. And I will have more than one drink a day, not all scotches, but usually a double, with a premium alcohol. 

My point (with which I think your post agrees) was that it is best to avoid generalities on whether it's a good deal, since it's a function of how much and what you drink in a typical cruise day.  No size fits everyone.

 

In our case, we're not scotch drinkers, and by taking advantage of Happy Hour, we rarely exceed $25 per day (per person) in alcoholic beverages, and once the free drinks at the Captain's reception and loyalty reception, we average even less.  But even if we miss Happy Hour occasionally, we have a hard time spending $50 on that day.  Our calculations on cost of Prestige with an O-Life upgrade is about $45-47 per day per person.  But that's just us.

Edited by 1985rz1
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