Wine and dine - wine package worthwhile?

[bjbecks]

Hi there,

We enjoy a bottle of wine with our dinner and I have had a look at the various wine packages on offer by Royal Caribbean. Is it worthwhile signing up for the packages on offer or better just to choose from the wine list daily? What are the benefits, if any, of the Wine and Dine package?

Thanks

Elizabeth

[icruiz2]

We did it once. While we saved ALITTLE money with the wine & dine package, we weren't completely thrilled with the selection. This means something, because we are NOT picky wine people. Won't do it again.

[honeywell]

I agree - I prefer the broader selection on the wine list over saving a few dollars with the Wine and Dine package. The W&D list is just too limited, IMHO.

[ndfaninal]

Similar but unrelated question - I'm the only drinker in our family, and I won't drink more than 1 or 2 glasses of wine at a time. But I do like to have my glass at each meal when on vacation. Up till now I've always ordered by the glass, but I think I'd probably prefer to buy one of the nice bottles instead. What will the waiter do with the 2/3 of a bottle that is left after my meal? Do they keep if for the next night in the dining room, or can I take it to the room? I'm okay either way but thought I'd ask.

[Jan_In_Maine]

I know they will keep the bottle until the next night ... and I "believe" that you can take it back to your room with you (but someone needs to say for sure on that one).

 

Our first cruise we ordered the wine & dine (I believe there was more selection then) ... we haven't done it since as we found that there were some meals that we wanted a cocktail with dinner and to skip the wine.

 

I've "pre-ordered" a favorite wine before, so that it was at our table on a certain night. Unfortunately the latest list does not include it. (Wolf Blas Merlot). Jan

[LAngle]

I've gotten a wine package the last two crusies we've taken. It's worth it to me as I love some of the whites they offer. You can leave the unfinished bottle and the waiter will bring it out the next evening, or you can take it to your cabin.

 

Once, the waiter offered to deliver a full bottle to our cabin (also an option). We agreed and went on our way to spend some time in martini bar. At midnight he showed up there looking for us! He said they can't deliver to the cabin if we aren't there to let them in! I was surprised they couldn't just take it inside and leave it, but even more surprised that he was looking for us to tell that! Another example of great service!

 

I like having wine with dinner and a glass before dinner - so the package works well for me!

[gtragitt]

I bought the top package. I was very pleased with the wines in the package. I believe the savings were worthwhile. It was also nice not to have to sign for wine every time I wanted some. The only disappointment was that some of the wines became unavailable. They will substitute other wines not in the package for those that are unavailable.

[MJL]

We go with the top tier package and live with the selections. We know that on a cruise we'll have a bottle every evening at dinner. So, this becomes a way of budgeting. We are will not be ordering $40 and $50 per bottle wines (as much as we would like to.)

 

BTW, I kept for a long time the the link to the wine package over-analysis thread. I think user woofy or someone made an extensive analysis.

 

Mike

[bjbecks]

Thanks for all of your posts.

 

I had a theory that having ordered some of the lower priced wines on the first few nights of the cruise these then became unavailable. I wondered whether they were trying to sell you up to higher priced bottles and whether advance buying the package would avoid this. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

Elizabeth

[critterchick]

I think what is more likely to happen is that they would run out of the higher priced bottles and force you to accept the lower-cost bottles on the list. But I am nothing if not cynical.:rolleyes:

 

We have ordered the package in the past but have gotten more adventuresome in our wine drinking and don't want to limit ourselves to the three or four wines on the list that we actually like and don't think are hideously overpriced even on the package (4-5x retail). If you are on a wine budget, then the savings may be worth that tradeoff. It just isn't to us.

 

I've "pre-ordered" a favorite wine before, so that it was at our table on a certain night. Unfortunately the latest list does not include it. (Wolf Blas Merlot).

 

Unless RCI has changed the full wine list since 2008 (the last time I took pictures), they do offer the Wolf Blass Merlot. They've cut way back on their Wine Cellar list for pre-cruise ordering, but the onboard list still has it.:)

 

You can find the full wine list by going through the link in my signature.

[cecelia0613]

Similar but unrelated question - I'm the only drinker in our family, and I won't drink more than 1 or 2 glasses of wine at a time. But I do like to have my glass at each meal when on vacation. Up till now I've always ordered by the glass, but I think I'd probably prefer to buy one of the nice bottles instead. What will the waiter do with the 2/3 of a bottle that is left after my meal? Do they keep if for the next night in the dining room, or can I take it to the room? I'm okay either way but thought I'd ask.

 

They will either hold it for you until the next dinner or you can take it to your room. This happened to us last week when hubby got sick and we had purchased a wine package. I could not drink an entire bottle but wanted to put it in my fridge for the next day. Not a problem!

 

One word of caution on wine packages. We were on a 7 night cruise and usually between us we can drink 7 bottles. With hubby being sick we got stuck with an extra bottle and had really no way to bring it home on the plane. They would not give us credit for it so we got the bottle and gave it to our driving table mates. Next time we'll only do a 5 bottle package.

 

As for the wine list, we can typically find 5 different types of wine on the list to purchase.

[Jan_In_Maine]

I think what is more likely to happen is that they would run out of the higher priced bottles and force you to accept the lower-cost bottles on the list. But I am nothing if not cynical.:rolleyes:

 

We have ordered the package in the past but have gotten more adventuresome in our wine drinking and don't want to limit ourselves to the three or four wines on the list that we actually like and don't think are hideously overpriced even on the package (4-5x retail). If you are on a wine budget, then the savings may be worth that tradeoff. It just isn't to us.

 

 

 

Unless RCI has changed the full wine list since 2008 (the last time I took pictures), they do offer the Wolf Blass Merlot. They've cut way back on their Wine Cellar list for pre-cruise ordering, but the onboard list still has it.:)

 

You can find the full wine list by going through the link in my signature.

 

That's nice to know that they (should) still have it ..... they used to have it as part of the wine cellar list, but I will be really happy if I can order it on board. (I know they had it in August .... I drank two bottles of it then :D). Thanks for the info. Jan