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Wine prices and gratuity

jff50

By jff50,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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jff50

jff50

Posted
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Trying to decide whether to pre-order wines or just buy on board.

 

I just downloaded (and was looking at) NCL's list for preordering wine. Trying to figure out how the 15% gratuity works on pre-ordered wine. The wine list states that "Prices listed do not include 15% gratuity". Yet on the wine order form there is no place for the 15% gratuity. Does anyone know how NCL handles the gratuity on wines that are pre-ordered for onboard delivery? Does the wine end up costing 15% less if pre-ordered (no gratuity)? Is the price shown on the list higher than you would see in the restaurant (that is how Carnival seems to do it, but NCL's prices don't look like they are high enough)?

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Newbie0210

Newbie0210

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Just got back from the Pearl. On day one, we ordered 8 bottles from a short list. We got a 20% discount on all bottles. We didn't get a receipt at the time, but I later asked the reception desk for a printout of it. The 15% gratuity was added to the total. We received little slips of paper with the name of the wine listed on it. We gave that paper to a server at dinner and there was a space for them to list the date and their name, so I guess they then got the gratuity since they served it to us.

 

We got a Beringer White Zinfandel, list price of $24, discounted price of $19.20, plus the gratuity. We can buy this at home for $7, but we didn't go want to go through the hassle of bringing it on board.

 

We also got some red wines for $34 and $49 list prices then discounted 20%. It's a great deal. We used all 8 bottles by Wednesday and had to buy other bottles at full price for the last two nights.

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jjtt

jjtt

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Just got back from the Pearl. On day one, we ordered 8 bottles from a short list. We got a 20% discount on all bottles. We didn't get a receipt at the time, but I later asked the reception desk for a printout of it. The 15% gratuity was added to the total. We received little slips of paper with the name of the wine listed on it. We gave that paper to a server at dinner and there was a space for them to list the date and their name, so I guess they then got the gratuity since they served it to us.

 

We got a Beringer White Zinfandel, list price of $24, discounted price of $19.20, plus the gratuity. We can buy this at home for $7, but we didn't go want to go through the hassle of bringing it on board.

 

We also got some red wines for $34 and $49 list prices then discounted 20%. It's a great deal. We used all 8 bottles by Wednesday and had to buy other bottles at full price for the last two nights.

 

 

We are going on Majesty in a couple of weeks and was thinking of doing the same thing as you. Did you order the wine package near the buffet at lunch on the first day? I know (on another cruiseline) when you went to lunch on embarkment day they were by the buffet entrance.

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

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On the Pearl on embarkation day, they were set up in the main Atrium next to the bar. It was the same table where they were selling the Soda Card program.

 

great idea..Anything is a savings and it seems like that might be better than paying a $15 charge (corkage fee) and bringing your own wine on board.

 

Nita

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globetrecker

globetrecker

Posted
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Just got back from the Pearl. On day one, we ordered 8 bottles from a short list. We got a 20% discount on all bottles. We didn't get a receipt at the time, but I later asked the reception desk for a printout of it. The 15% gratuity was added to the total. We received little slips of paper with the name of the wine listed on it. We gave that paper to a server at dinner and there was a space for them to list the date and their name, so I guess they then got the gratuity since they served it to us.

 

We got a Beringer White Zinfandel, list price of $24, discounted price of $19.20, plus the gratuity. We can buy this at home for $7, but we didn't go want to go through the hassle of bringing it on board.

 

We also got some red wines for $34 and $49 list prices then discounted 20%. It's a great deal. We used all 8 bottles by Wednesday and had to buy other bottles at full price for the last two nights.

 

Thanks for the info and is there also a similar set-up for other non-wine alcoholic beverages?

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Newbie0210

Newbie0210

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I didn't see any kind of special discounts for non-alcoholic wines, but I did see some on the menu.

 

There were only about 12 wines or so that were available for the discounted wine package. But if you asked to see a wine list in any restaurant, there were many, many more to choose from...100 maybe?

 

I tried to get an extra copy of the wine package list when we were signing up for it, but they wouldn't let me take one.

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jff50

jff50

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IMHO, White Zinfandel isn't wine. ;p It's party punch! ;p

While I'm not a big fan of White Zinfandel, it seems to me that others are entitled to like it without being critiqued.

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missdenise

missdenise

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I am ordering the Anniversary package on our next cruise which comes with a bottle of wine in the room. If I take this bottle to dinner, how will they know that I did not bring it from home and not charge me a corkage fee...I don't want to pay for it twice??

Also, are there cork screws in the room?

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PangeanSir

PangeanSir

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Thanks!! I wasn't sure how they did that.

 

The wine that is included in the anniversary package is a 'house label' so all the staff will know that its legit. If you bring wine on board in your carryon and it is discovered (generally a 50/50 proposition) or you declare it you they will put a small sticker on it to indicate that corkage had been paid. In one instance they applied the sticker, but didn't charge us the corkage.

 

P.

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suzyed

suzyed

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great idea..Anything is a savings and it seems like that might be better than paying a $15 charge (corkage fee) and bringing your own wine on board.

 

Nita

It depends on what wines you like to drink....for ex. we brought on a bottle of champagne that we bought for about $42 dollars + the $15 corkage fee, for a total of $57. That same bottle went for $80 on board. For us..it has been worth it dollarwise to bring our own and pay the corkage fee.

 

As far as purchasing wine onboard...the first day we saw a table where you could purchase 6 bottles for the price of 5....good deal!

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suzyed

suzyed

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I am ordering the Anniversary package on our next cruise which comes with a bottle of wine in the room. If I take this bottle to dinner, how will they know that I did not bring it from home and not charge me a corkage fee...I don't want to pay for it twice??

Also, are there cork screws in the room?

The anniversary package provide a bottle of sparkling wine in the cabin. You can take to dinner..they know what it is. The wine is included with dinner in Le Bistro...you can also upgrade to a nicer bottle if you desire.

 

Yes, there is a corkscrew in the cabin...at least there was in our AE suite.

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Cruise Raider Great Review Rare

Cruise Raider

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We sailed on the Wind a couple of times way back when -- they had a special that wasn't all that advertised, but we ended up purchasing our wine from the same steward so she told us about it. If you bought a number of bottles (cannot remember how many were required now), the next bottle was without charge. I think what they did was take off the cheapest one you bought...which was fine.

 

Last year on the Sun, we inquired about this and they no longer had it in place. Does anyone know if this is now on all NCL ships? Their wine is rather pricey so the buy so many, get one free or the 20% discount makes it much more attractive.

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