Wine & Dine Package

[crjj]

My family and I are sailing on the Brilliance of the Seas for a 12-night cruise out of Barcelona on June 27th. We've taken four other cruises including two on RCCL. We've cruised one other time in the Mediterranean.

 

We are thinking about pre-purchasing the Wine & Dine Package. The following excerpt is from the RCCL website:

 

"Discovering new wines is fun and romantic. With Royal Caribbean's Diamond, Platinum or Gold Wine & Dine packages, you can purchase wines from our special selection and save up to 25% off regular wine list prices. Once onboard, proceed to the Wine & Dine station to confirm your pre-order and finalize your wine selection. You will receive a Wine & Dine sticker for your SeaPass card. Simply present this sticker to the waiter during your dining experience to receive one of the wines from your selection."

 

Any past experiences in purchasing these packages? Pros v. Cons? Is one package a better value/deal than another? Thank you very much for the recommendations and insights?

 

chester

[critterchick]

You only get to choose from a fraction of the wines on the full wine list (which you can see in the link in my signature). On a 12 night cruise I would prefer to try a lot of different wines rather than limiting myself to the two or three in the package that I like.

 

To me, something is a "bargain" only if it give me what I want at a discount. The W&D package does not. But if you see a few wines on there that would make you happy for 12 nights, then it should be a good deal for you.:)

[DireMongoose]

We've done a Wine and Dine package on our last few cruises.

 

Basically, the Gold/Platinum/Diamond are different tiers/qualities of wine. Maybe the Gold list is 10 wines, the Platinum list is the Gold list plus 5 more expensive wines, and the Diamond is the Platinum plus 5 even more expensive wines. I haven't looked it up and I'm sure those numbers are wrong, but you get the idea. There, I'd say take a look at the actual/current wine list and decide what makes sense for you. I think we got the Platinum the last time because there were some wines on the Platinum list that weren't on the Gold that we wanted, but not much additional on the Diamond list we really wanted. Your tastes in wine I'm sure will differ from ours.

 

In addition to the tier choice, you also get a choice of how many bottles of wine you want. For example, on our last 7 day cruise, we opted for a 5 bottle/night wine package, and had a bottle of wine off the list 5 of the 7 nights of the cruise.

 

If there's enough stuff on the list that you'd like to try, I'd say go for the package. You don't need to buy a 12 night one just because it's a 12 night cruise -- decide based on how often you'll want wine and how often you'd like something off the package list.

 

Does that help any?

[tomko2]

We generally opt for the Platinum package; for a 12 night cruise we order the 7 bottle package. I don't drink red wine so having the package works well for us. On the first night we each order a bottle (I really enjoy the Badger Mountain Organic Chardonnay and the Danzante Pinot Griorgio); our waiter tags and keeps our bottles for the next evening. If we go to Chops or Portofino, we ask our server there to arrange to get our bottles. If we are planning on going to the Windjammer then we just stop by the dining room and pick up our bottles.

Based on the wines we order we are saving about 25% off the wine list prices.

Hope this helps.

Kathy:)

[MAZANDSTEVE]

For us in the UK now its almost as cheap to buy on board and you get more choice on board.

[cruisejunkie136]

Being a wine lover, I purchased the wine and dine package on the Adventure for the first time and chose the Diamond package

[cruisejunkie136]

OOOPS..... my fingers moved a little too fast this morning..(And...NO... I was not drinking any wine:p:p)

 

Being a wine lover, we purchased the wine and dine package on the Adventure for the first time and chose the Diamond package, the disappointment came a few days into the cruise when we were told our favorite wines in Diamond were sold out and we would have to choose from the other levels.

It was a little upsetting to choose a package because of certain preferred wines, pay a premium for it yet not get the wines desired.

This didnt ruin our cruise but was a little disenchanting.

[fluffych]

OOOPS..... my fingers moved a little too fast this morning..(And...NO... I was not drinking any wine:p:p)

 

Being a wine lover, we purchased the wine and dine package on the Adventure for the first time and chose the Diamond package, the disappointment came a few days into the cruise when we were told our favorite wines in Diamond were sold out and we would have to choose from the other levels.

It was a little upsetting to choose a package because of certain preferred wines, pay a premium for it yet not get the wines desired.

This didnt ruin our cruise but was a little disenchanting.

Last year DH and I purchased the Plat. level pkg. and after 3 days they told us they were out of the wines that we preferred(the ones we actually bought the pkg for) They didn't offer us to chose something from the Diam.pkg either. I thought about it later and I really should have said something to the waiter. We our going on the AOS again in 3 weeks and if it happens again, I won't be so quiet!

[robtulipe]

I would suggest that you review all the W&D packages as the same wines sometimes are offered on all three levels as is the case with the Danzante Italian pinot grinio and the Lindemans Semillon/Chardonnay, two of our favourites. Why play for the Diamond package when you can get the wines you like on the less expensive Gold pkg. One confusing thing is if you buy the W&D pkg online precruise the price indicated includes the 15% gratuity and when you buy it onboard, it is advertised without the gratuity which is than added on when you purchase this package. In both case the end price is the same

[micruiser2002]

Somewhere on this board is a great thread with a file that compares each package wine by wine in the package vs purchasing an individual bottle. It is great for making a decision on if the package will be right for you.

 

Here it is,

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=789821&highlight=wine+dine

[crjj]

Somewhere on this board is a great thread with a file that compares each package wine by wine in the package vs purchasing an individual bottle. It is great for making a decision on if the package will be right for you.

 

Here it is,

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=789821&highlight=wine+dine

 

Thanks for the link. It was very helpful. Here is the analysis overview and pdf file from the aforementioned thread:

 

Okay, so I've been curious about how good a deal the Wine & Dine Package is. Then I saw Critterchick's typing of the wine list (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...7#post14967328) and that was the motivation to compare the wine list and the Wine & Dine Package list

 

Of course I went overboard, but thought maybe some of you would like to overly analyze the deal too. (If I can figure it out) I'll attach a copy of the PDF file that I made.

 

Notes:

-Where it lists the savings if it is blank that means it's better to buy the wine separately than choose it in the package.

-When I say good deal I'm only comparing the wine list price with the package price. When compared to the grocery store / liquor store price none are a good deal, but that's not really a fair comparison and I left it out.

-If you see a typo / mistake let me know and I'll fix it.

-The package prices (and wine list prices) don't include the 15% gratuity.

-I got the wine & dine lists from the RCI website.

-I got the wine & dine prices from the RCI website (then deducted the 15% gratuity).

Attached FilesRCIWinePackage.pdf (23.1 KB, 1230 views)

[sewingsmurf59]

Just looking at the wine list for the various levels - I'm not very impressed and would think it would be better to buy when you want wine - although I have no first hand experience on board! I thought the information that you could carry over a wine from one night to the next was VERY helpful!

 

Novice sailor!:confused:

[The Francophile]

Hi,

 

Many thanks to CRJJ for his post containing wine comparison pdf, for Royal Caribbean. Brilliant saved us hours working it out!

 

Hope you have a great cruise and enjoy your wine -cheers!