Select alcohol package versus Premier

[pinotlover]

ICT Lineman;

 

Looks like we’ll be onboard together in BA next Monday. Don’t understand your comment about difficulty in bringing wine abroad on that cruise, especially the first 1/2. We are doing winery visits on day 2&3. Then again in the Casablanca Valley from San Antonio. Also Ushuaia produces cool weather wines such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Then don’t forget the pisco!!! 
 

After leaving Lima, I agree, a wine desert! However, that 18 day leg is a new segment.

[ICT lineman]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

ICT Lineman;

 

Looks like we’ll be onboard together in BA next Monday. Don’t understand your comment about difficulty in bringing wine abroad on that cruise, especially the first 1/2. We are doing winery visits on day 2&3. Then again in the Casablanca Valley from San Antonio. Also Ushuaia produces cool weather wines such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Then don’t forget the pisco!!! 
 

After leaving Lima, I agree, a wine desert! However, that 18 day leg is a new segment.

 

Wife is occasion wine drinker only at Dinner. With 3 Oceania Club comp Chardonnay she will be good. For me, will definitely look for Pinot or AU/NZ Shirah in Montevideo and Ushuaia.

 

For us, there are only 5 new ports so will not be doing many excursions and our second Panama Canal transit. Hope to meet you onboard. Cigars in Pool deck smoking area at 2 PM … bringing mix of Cuban and Dominican.

[hamrag]

On 2/15/2023 at 6:48 PM, REDSTRIPETYPE said:

....So my question is how strict are they about getting up from the table with a fresh drink.....at the end dinner can I get my wine topped up and leave the dining room with it?

 

During lunch can I drink wine and get a beer with desert and walk away with the beer?....

Yes is the answer to both questions.

[WayneLaR]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm new to the Oceania world and have been reading this board diligently for the last few days trying to learn as much as I can.  I have a question about the drink packages.  My frame of reference is Celebrity as that is the only line we have ever cruised with.

 

On to my question, with Oceania does the Prestige Select open up better (or more expensive) wine and beer options than you would get with House Select?  This is the way the Celebrity packages work, if you have the Premium drink package better quality wines and imported beer are available.

 

Just curious how Oceania does it.  Thanks, now back to reading!

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, WayneLaR said:

On to my question, with Oceania does the Prestige Select open up better (or more expensive) wine and beer options than you would get with House Select?  This is the way the Celebrity packages work, if you have the Premium drink package better quality wines and imported beer are available.

 

Just curious how Oceania does it.  Thanks, now back to reading!

no same by the glass  wines in each package

The Prestige  includes  spirits /wine/beer /champagne by the glass  anytime

House select is just wine /beer & champagne by the glass at lunch/dinner

[WayneLaR]

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

no same by the glass  wines in each package

The Prestige  includes  spirits /wine/beer /champagne by the glass  anytime

House select is just wine /beer & champagne by the glass at lunch/dinner

Thanks LHT28, appreciate it.  Not sure the Prestige package would make sense for me.  I only upgrade on Celebrity because it opens up more selection.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, WayneLaR said:

Thanks LHT28, appreciate it.  Not sure the Prestige package would make sense for me.  I only upgrade on Celebrity because it opens up more selection.

Do the math  then decide

There are photos of the drink menus  at

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2904150-riviera-new-bar-drinks-menus-and-prices/

 

[WayneLaR]

8 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Do the math  then decide

There are photos of the drink menus  at

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2904150-riviera-new-bar-drinks-menus-and-prices/

 

Thanks and I sort of did in my head.  Generally, the only drinks we would want outside meal times is a pre-dinner cocktail in one of the bars, and a nightcap on the veranda, but that could be addressed with a bottle or two of fine sippin' whisk(e)y brought onboard. 😀

 

So for basically one cocktail a day, Prestige definitely wouldn't make sense, especially if we catch happy hour pricing! 

[poinsettiaplate]

Does one also have the option of purchasing bottles of wine onboard for consumption in any restaurant and in the cabin?

[AMHuntFerry]

27 minutes ago, poinsettiaplate said:

Does one also have the option of purchasing bottles of wine onboard for consumption in any restaurant and in the cabin?

Yes, there is a wines by the bottle menu. They can keep your bottle stored and you just ask for it at any restaurant, or you can have it in your room. There are often "deals"; to see them, go to the display on embarkation day (I think in Terrace).

[poinsettiaplate]

Does anyone have a menu of wines by the bottle?  Or is it unique to each ship and/or cruise?

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, poinsettiaplate said:

Does anyone have a menu of wines by the bottle?  Or is it unique to each ship and/or cruise?

A bit of both. According to the head wine steward on a recent cruise. All wines, beers, and liquor are bought out of the Miami office. It is literally unheard of for a ship to do any local procurement. The beverages are then shipped to Oceania/NCL’s major distribution hubs ( such as Miami, Lisbon, etc) where the ships routinely pass through and inventory replenished. If a ship runs out of a particular wine, it remains out until it gets back to one of those hubs. With this system most of the offerings are the same fleet wide.

 

However, On the second part, sometimes Miami does make huge regional purchases when opportunities exist. An example of this was that the Nautica was in South Africa one winter, corporate got a huge deal on a variety of those wines,  and the ship took on a huge cache! The other ships didn’t have those wines and Nautica passengers were left drinking them for months. Some were just plain bad and the burden wasn’t shared across the fleet.

[Nashna]

On 2/19/2023 at 6:12 PM, Sthrngary said:

@Woodrowst You know, your question/comment is very fair and I want to give you my perspective on it.  I don't think the way I feel is the way everyone feels however it might be, so here goes.

 

My cruise vacation experiences started four decades ago.  At first, it was just having a nice vacation.  When you grow up poor, you dream about having a nice vacation.  My first cruise was my honeymoon, 44 years ago.  Prior to that cruise, our only vacation was visiting my family.  Doing that was something to really look forward too and all we knew.  That first cruise was so "over the top", it got me hooked on cruising.  

 

My life, like many had a career that got better and better.  This allowed my wife and I to go from an inside cabin with bunkbeds to a port hole.  Life financially got better so we were able to get a very small balcony.  This led to suites and we had a family where my then very young children could join.  Mostly Mainstream cruising out of Miami to the Caribbean. When you start with nothing, then life gives you opportunities, for what every reason, you look to enhance that experience.  Over decades that is what we did.  Not saying always looking for improving the experience is right or healthy for everyone. 

 

About 10 years ago, my wife explained to me, she she would love to have a bottle of wine in the cabin for for night time private time on the deck.  The Mainstream drink packages only allowed you to have one glass at a time which was ok.  But my wife deserved more and I always was very cost focused. We knew we could bring bottles onboard with some rules different brands had in place. Then I started to study cruise brands drink packages, I looked for ways to get every bit of value from the drink packages that I could.  NCL had an enhanced program that gave you bottles of selected wine at meals that allowed you to take the remain bottle back to your stateroom. I found that this special upgraded drink package would allow me to have very high end spirits I would never have allowed myself to have at home.  So I splurged. When you started out poor, you always feel like you will never have enough because your remember your humble beginnings.  Again, this is just me and very personal. 

 

Every time from that point forward we upgraded our drink program and to be frank, it made us feel like we were kind of like "Rock Stars".  Every time we ordered wine or a drink, we had to show our stateroom card to access those drinks.  For us, that was just the way it was, so when folks say, "Yes, but you have to show your card for a drink every time", it is just what we are used to.  The only exception was our very first and only "Luxury" (Not ultra-luxury) and cruise on Crystal Cruise where the drink package was the same for everyone and no need for showing your stateroom card.  It was nice, I must admit.  

 

Our choice to cruise on Oceania Cruises was to again, to enhance our cruising experience now with our best friends joining us. At mid-60's we no longer needed waterslides, go-cart tracks, and laser tag. We just wanted a much more relaxed and classy experience that would provide much better ports to adventure. That was our evolution. My approach is to work within the cruise brands policies.  Showing your stateroom card for every drink is just the rules. My wife understands the bottles of selected wines is a "No Go" and she is fine.  I know, shots of tequila 1942 is not going to happen on this cruise. 

 

If I know the rules, I accept them so I learn them and embrace them.  My use of the term "Convenience" is much more about creating the impression of an "All Inclusive" experience on brands that are NOT "All Inclusive".  Convenience for me is simply not having a HUGE bill on my stateroom portfolio at the end of the cruise.  That mistake only happened once and we learn from our mistakes. 

 

So we pay a premium to have the best drink package available based on what is provided by the brand.  In this case the brand is, Oceania.  We accept from day one that we are over paying.  We fully understand this adds revenue to the cruise brand.  We accept that and understand it as well.  For our friends joining us, they are really pushing their budget to join us. They have never cruised before so for them, they are thrilled to show their card to gain a drink and know that for the most part, the cruise fare and the Prestige package allow them to have a drink or wine anytime they want which is again for them, "Rock Star" status. The $600.00 fee (10 day cruise) is actually less then the cost of the enhanced drink package received on Mainstream Brands like NCL. 

 

With cruises, for us and especially for our friends; this will be very special.  You see it is all relative to the experiences one has in their life time.  To go to a nice lounge/bar, with a well trained staff in a lovely atmosphere and for the most part order what you want on a ship forced on personalized service, enhanced dinning and drinks is all we can ask.  My choice of words may not have expressed accurately what we are receiving.  My choice of words was poor but I hope that makes sense. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.  

Taking our first Oceania cruise next January...I hope you are an example of the type of passenger who sails on Oceania.  

[Sthrngary]

1 minute ago, Nashna said:

Taking our first Oceania cruise next January...I hope you are an example of the type of passenger who sails on Oceania.  

@Nashna Your comments is quite nice, thank you.  Truth be known, I studied many cruise brands.  One of them was a very well known Ultra-Luxury Brand.  In that study, I was still on FaceBook which I deleted about four years ago.  The Ultra-Luxury Brand loyal guests were quite rude to me on FaceBook.  They could not understand why I was asking so many questions and thought I wanted to injure the brand. I made my decision that day to delete facebook and never consider that brand.  

 

I have found that the Oceania guests on this and other Oceania blogs are not only quite helpful, they are very realistic.  The seem to embrace not guest like you and I as we venture in to the brand they love so much.  My guest is that many current and future Oceania Guests are like you and I which is a benefit to all.

 

Social media gives all of us a choice.  The high or low road.  My goal and the people I gravitate to seems to mostly choose the High road.  That is my take on Oceania Guests.  Hope that makes sense and thank you again.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Nashna]

15 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Nashna Your comments is quite nice, thank you.  Truth be known, I studied many cruise brands.  One of them was a very well known Ultra-Luxury Brand.  In that study, I was still on FaceBook which I deleted about four years ago.  The Ultra-Luxury Brand loyal guests were quite rude to me on FaceBook.  They could not understand why I was asking so many questions and thought I wanted to injure the brand. I made my decision that day to delete facebook and never consider that brand.  

 

I have found that the Oceania guests on this and other Oceania blogs are not only quite helpful, they are very realistic.  The seem to embrace not guest like you and I as we venture in to the brand they love so much.  My guest is that many current and future Oceania Guests are like you and I which is a benefit to all.

 

Social media gives all of us a choice.  The high or low road.  My goal and the people I gravitate to seems to mostly choose the High road.  That is my take on Oceania Guests.  Hope that makes sense and thank you again.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

I can take a guess as to the ultra-luxury brand you referenced.  While we totally enjoyed sailing on Regent, Windstar, and Azamara in addition to our mainstream cruises, our Seabourn cruise was not as enjoyable.  Fortunately, we did meet some fantastic fellow passengers on CC before the cruise.  These lovely people made up for some of the entitled folks we encountered onboard Seabourn.