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Why No Glass of Wine?


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I was wondering why no alcohol is included on any expeditions? I did a lot of research prior to booking and many, especially "high end" cruises/expeditions, now include at least wine and beer with dinner. We have traveled with Viking and I do not consider them "high end" and they include wine and beer with lunch and dinner (river and now ocean cruises). Admittedly, it is not alway "great" wine, but still.... It is like getting free wifi at Hampton Inn, but having to pay for it at the Ritz Carlton? I am paying $1000 per day per person, so I was wondering why they could not pour a glass of pinot noir with my dinner? Just curious.

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They do offer some "we'll pay your bar tab!" discounts closer to sailing on stuff that doesn't sell out. Usually Sea Cloud trips.

 

In general, it wouldn't surprise me if Lindblad wanted to discourage bookings from those people for whom such things were quite important.

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They do offer some "we'll pay your bar tab!" discounts closer to sailing on stuff that doesn't sell out. Usually Sea Cloud trips.

 

In general, it wouldn't surprise me if Lindblad wanted to discourage bookings from those people for whom such things were quite important.

 

Lindblad puts more emphasis on the adventure, natural history and experiences than the wine list. Wine, etc. is available, at reasonable prices, if you want it.

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Perhaps I should have explained further. We traveled on the Orion several years ago, prior to their association with Lindblad and yes, we did pay for our wine with dinner. It was New Zealand and the wine was actually excellent. We did an excursion out of Napier to several wineries, so Orion definitely did not discourage folks who were interested in wine as well as nature and adventure. The meals were also wonderful as the menu was by Sydney's Serge Danseraeu of the Bathers' Pavilion restaurant. The 2015-2016 brochure states this is still the case for the Orion. Also, since this cruise is in the Baltic and visits several European cities, perhaps they will be okay with us wine drinkers joining the expedition? Orion Expedition Cruises certainly was welcoming to us.

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If people want to drink on Lindblad ships, Lindblad will certainly sell them alcohol. On our Antarctic trip, a $400 bottle of Scotch was available for anyone interested in trying a recreation of Shackleton's abandoned hooch.

 

For most of the clientele, drinking is not one of the objectives of the expedition--so building booze into the price wouldn't be attractive to such prospective passengers.

 

There certainly are other lines for those who prioritize drinking.

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I've been on several Lindblad cruises. Drinking is definitely not frowned upon! But, the point of the cruise is the destination itself, the history, the natural history, and getting out and into the environment. You'll find most people have a glass of something in their hands during the evening talks. And at dinner, most tables have at least one bottle of wine being passed around.

 

What you're paying for on a Lindblad cruise is the high staff ratio, the zodiacs and kayaks, the photography expert to help you maximize your cell phone pics (at least my cell phone pictures), and the team of historians and naturalists. Booze, good food, and relaxation are definitely part of the package, just not the main part.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have just made a reservation for a B2B on Orion for its 2016 European trips (unlike any other Lindblad offerings) alcohol is included and gratuities are included as well.

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After more than a dozen trips on Lindblad, on both the Explorer and Orion, concluded that the bar is a big revenue generator for them. A majority of the guests enjoy recap with a drink or drinks and routinely enjoy wine with dinner. Have mentioned in our evaluations that the inclusion of wine with dinner would be a nice touch, matching some of the other similar operators with similar price points. As often as we travel with them, the "nickel and dime-ing" gets old.

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Have just made a reservation for a B2B on Orion for its 2016 European trips (unlike any other Lindblad offerings) alcohol is included and gratuities are included as well.

hrprof, I was wondering where you read/saw that alcohol and gratuities were included on your Orion sailing? We too are booked on the Orion in Europe in 2016 and I could not find these inclusions. (Hence my original post to start this thread.)

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  • 3 months later...

I am the OP, so I thought I would clarify. Lindblad's website now says all alcohol will be included on their Europe 2.0 (2016) sailings on the Orion. Tips to the crew and onshore will also be included. I was happy to read this as during our previous sailing on the Orion (prior to Lindblad) this was not the case. It could be a little awkward, as we often joined others for the recap and dinner and wondered if we should share the bottle we purchased, etc.

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Interesting - received Conde Nast Traveler yesterday and came upon a 2 page colorful advertisement devoted solely to the Orion 2016 Europe itins. Have never seen a Lindblad ad so large and so focused. No mention of included booze or grats!

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  • 4 months later...

We went to the Galapagos with Llinblad and Nat Geo where the destination and naturalists are the trip. It was wonderful but alcohol was not important to enjoying the cruise. But, they had a Captains cocktail evening and a beautiful outdoor wine-tasting of 8 Equadorian wines that were very good. We bought wine at meals for about $9.00 per bottle.

 

I wish I could find some of the wine here.

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Since someone replied to this post, I thought I would offer an update. I am the OP. All of the Orion's European sailings for this year now include alcoholic beverages. This is noted in their brochure entitled Europe 2.0.

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  • 10 months later...

Based on their mailings in the past few months, it seems they have started to include alcohol and crew gratuities on selected ships and/or itinerary. However, their prices have also gone up accordingly (about 15%), so it is not even a wash, it's a bad deal for non-drinkers.

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