Wine price list

[dandee2]

Good morning,

Is there a wine price list available? We do not have the O Life package on board and are wondering if paying for the corkage fee is more economical (and buying bottle on-board) than bringing wine on board ( for consumption inside cabin).

 

Regard,

 

Happy New Year.

[EJL2023]

17 minutes ago, dandee2 said:

Good morning,

Is there a wine price list available? We do not have the O Life package on board and are wondering if paying for the corkage fee is more economical (and buying bottle on-board) than bringing wine on board ( for consumption inside cabin).

 

Regard,

 

Happy New Year.

If you go to website and view the onboard dining, they have a list of wines with prices under Grand dining Room.  Prices shown are in line with what we experienced this past summer.  Most by the glass run 13-16….and with no beverage package you’d also pay a 20% gratuity on top of those prices. 

[AMHuntFerry]

1 hour ago, dandee2 said:

Good morning,

Is there a wine price list available? We do not have the O Life package on board and are wondering if paying for the corkage fee is more economical (and buying bottle on-board) than bringing wine on board ( for consumption inside cabin).

 

Regard,

 

Happy New Year.

The way this is worded sounds like you are paying a corkage fee for wine bought from O. The corkage fee is only for wine that you purchase elsewhere and brought onboard. Non-O wine bottles can be consumed in your room for no charge, or consumed in a dining room for a $25 corkage fee (paid once per bottle). Wine purchased from O is the price on the menu plus 20% gratuity. In general, if you are drinking inexpensive wine, the cost difference is small and the hassle of dragging around wine isn't worth it. If you are drinking expensive wine, bringing your own makes more sense fiscally.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

The way this is worded sounds like you are paying a corkage fee for wine bought from O. The corkage fee is only for wine that you purchase elsewhere and brought onboard. Non-O wine bottles can be consumed in your room for no charge, or consumed in a dining room for a $25 corkage fee (paid once per bottle). Wine purchased from O is the price on the menu plus 20% gratuity. In general, if you are drinking inexpensive wine, the cost difference is small and the hassle of dragging around wine isn't worth it. If you are drinking expensive wine, bringing your own makes more sense fiscally.

The average O markup for bottled wine is about 300%+/- over US retail prices at home.

IMO, bringing cheap wine onboard is a waste of time and energy. On the other hand, carrying on even a few select items that, onboard, would run several hundred dollars each (plus gratuity) makes the best sense.

[AMHuntFerry]

16 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The average O markup for bottled wine is about 300%+/- over US retail prices at home.

IMO, bringing cheap wine onboard is a waste of time and energy. On the other hand, carrying on even a few select items that, onboard, would run several hundred dollars each (plus gratuity) makes the best sense.

We seem to agree on this. Although I have a DP bottle that I keep thinking "I should bring this on a cruise", but when it comes down to actually bringing it, it's too much effort (I know, pretty sad). Luckily O has upped their gin game, so I'm happy.

[pinotlover]

For the OP;

 

Remember that there is not “ a” wine list. The Polo Grill, Toscana, and Jacques all have their own exclusive wine list with wines only available in that venue. 
 

However, as FF stated, the markups can be staggering.

[Tranquility Base]

9 hours ago, dandee2 said:

We do not have the O Life package on board and are wondering if paying for the corkage fee is more economical (and buying bottle on-board) than bringing wine on board ( for consumption inside cabin).

Speaking for ourselves, we found buying ashore and paying the corkage suited our wine drinking style.

We don't buy expensive wines.

In Italy, Croatia, Greece and Montenegro we asked our tour guides if they drank local red wines.

They recommended a wine able to be bought in the local supermarket / wine store which is exactly what we did.

We found them all very drinkable and suited to our taste.

In fact, at subsequent ports if we saw one or two of them again we bought some more. 

Those small purchase costs plus corkage suited our wine drinking style perfectly for 2 months.

Edited January 1 by Tranquility Base

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

We seem to agree on this. Although I have a DP bottle that I keep thinking "I should bring this on a cruise", but when it comes down to actually bringing it, it's too much effort (I know, pretty sad). Luckily O has upped their gin game, so I'm happy.

Yes to the Gin - they’ve now got Irish Gunpowder!

As for DP, I’m not a big DP fan. I find many NotCal sparklers to be more to my liking (and st far better prices).

[Hambagahle]

Even if you declined the OLife package you can probably switch to SimplyMore...the "new and improved excursion and drinks package".  We did.  Switching has saved us some money.  Not a lot - but some.  I am all for that!

[MEFIowa]

11 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Speaking for ourselves, we found buying ashore and paying the corkage suited our wine drinking style. We don't buy expensive wines. In Italy, Croatia, Greece and Montenegro we asked our tour guides if they drank local red wines. They recommended a wine able to be bought in the local supermarket / wine store which is exactly what we did. We found them all very drinkable and suited to our taste. In fact, at subsequent ports if we saw one or two of them again we bought some more. Those small purchase costs plus corkage suited our wine drinking style perfectly for 2 months.

While I don't pay any corkage fee and only drink my own beer, hard liquor and wine in our cabin, on our recent 20-night B2B in the Med on Riviera we found the local wines and spirits to be quite good, usually regardless of price. I had to get on my knees to find the least expensive bottle of Italian red wine I could find in a local grocery store in Naples. Was only E1.49. Delicious! Wish I'd have bought more than the one. But I bought alcohol pretty much at every port. Fell in love with the brandy from Greece, Serbia, and Spain! 

[BAMA_BOY]

Here's the wine list from Riviera 

[mountain grandma]

We are still booked on cruises with OLife and are curious if they still have the 7-bottle wine package.  Anyone know?

 

Thanks in advance,

Billie

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, mountain grandma said:

We are still booked on cruises with OLife and are curious if they still have the 7-bottle wine package.  Anyone know?

 

Thanks in advance,

Billie

Long gone. Once O figured out that savvy folks were buying seven of whatever was the “loss leader” on the list, they stopped the program. For example, whenever we saw Mirabelle sparkling wine  (often more than $20-25 retail back in the US), we’d grab seven bottles. Often the Mirabelle would be gone within a few days. Most of the rest of the stuff on the 7 bottle list was usually similar to the wine-by-the-glass offerings- about $10+\- retail at home (for which they were charging more than $40/bottle plus gratuity. Occasionally though they’d put one or two better quality wines in the program - usually the end of the bin stuff - to make way for new stock.
 

Speaking of which, the “bin end list” is still alive and well with discounts of up to 30% off the ship’s price. We’ll always check that out when we board and possibly buy a few to round out our personal stock.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, BAMA_BOY said:

Here's the wine list from Riviera 

That appears to be the wine-by-the-glass menu. Yet another reason to bring your own.

[mountain grandma]

Ok thanks for the info.  
 

Billie

[babysteps]

We asked to borrow a wine-by-the-bottle list when we boarded. Mostly fully (restaurant) priced but there are a few bargains, we even found one wine that we knew we enjoyed that was less than retail! Not going to name it in case O decides to correct that... 

[dandee2]

Thank you very much for your insight and suggestion. Have a Happy New Year everyone. :-)

[Cruisedreamer1]

We enjoyed the wine by the glass very much. It's not top drawer wine but not bah bah. It's worth not dragging your own wine.

[SATaxman]

I was fine with a couple of the whites, and a couple of the reds. They were "good enough".

[pinotlover]

44 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

I was fine with a couple of the whites, and a couple of the reds. They were "good enough".

+1. Nothing of outstanding qualities, but a couple of each that will go adequately with a meal. That is their primary purpose with the package, to complement the meal adequately. 
 

When cruising in wine making areas, we typically pick up high quality local wines and pay the corkage. However, not all areas are wine making areas, nor are high quality wines always available onshore. Then you suck it up and lean of those identifiable wines above.