Oceania wine questions

We are planning our first Oceania cruise and I'd like to ask some questions about drinking wine on board that I have not been able to find answers to online.

1. If I buy a glass of wine at a bar or during happy hour, would I be allowed to carry it into the dining room to finish drinking it with my dinner?

2. What is the cost range of single bottles of wine in the dining room?

3. Does the cost of the "House Select" wine package ($39.95 per person, per day) include the gratuities?

4. If I pay the $25 corkage fee for a bottle of white wine that I carry on board, will Oceania store and chill it for me?

Thank you for any help on these questions.

Quick answers

1. No problem, everyone does it!

2. Never looked as would just bring wine onboard and pay corkage, quite a few people do this. No point paying inflated prices

3. Yes it includes gratuities but worth paying extra for the prestige package if you like drinks in bars as a couple of cocktails or martinis adds up, and also it covers drinks round the pool

4. Yes, they will store it and they will deliver it to any restaurant (and a previous poster also said they will also deliver it to an on board bar)

2. Minimum priced bottle aboard is around $50, and prices go up to several hundred.

Expect lower priced wines to be priced about 4X US retail prices. As prices of the wine increase, the multiplier will slowly reduce through 3X down to about 2.5X retail prices. Consider it a bargain if under 2.5X, however you may be paying $600 for the wine to get it at the 2.5X level.

Yes, that sounds about right so you can spend USD 25 on a bottle ashore and pay the corkage for the same as the minimum priced bottle available on ship. That USD 25 bottle would cost you around USD 100 on board so you could splash out on something special ashore and end up quids in. Depends of course on where you are cruising but we are in the U.K. and for USD 30 we would get a very good bottle indeed.

Sample wine list: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/1695/Grand-Dining-Wine-list.pdf.pdf

Sample wine list: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/1695/Grand-Dining-Wine-list.pdf.pdf

Helpful ,but would have been more so with PRICES !!

2. Minimum priced bottle aboard is around $50, and prices go up to several hundred.

 

Expect lower priced wines to be priced about 4X US retail prices. As prices of the wine increase, the multiplier will slowly reduce through 3X down to about 2.5X retail prices. Consider it a bargain if under 2.5X, however you may be paying $600 for the wine to get it at the 2.5X level.

It doesn't sound like a very good value to me :(

It doesn't sound like a very good value to me :(

You're right, of course. But that's the way it is.

For perspective - the Oceania wine markups Pinotlover reported are pretty much what you would see in a nice restaurant anywhere in the states. Wine (and liquor) are significant profit centers in the business.

Again, for perspective, we might eat out at a nice restaurant once or twice a month while at home so the markup is not too bad a hit. But on a cruise we are "dining out" every night and it adds up dramatically. The $25 corkage fee is a wonderful benefit on Oceania and rarely, perhaps never, seen on any other cruise line.

We do spend a lot of money on wine while on a cruise but Oceania's liberal policy basically allows us to drink a wine comparable to their $200 (plus gratuities) for maybe $75 ($50 + $25 corkage). Pretty good deal all things considered.

Robbie

The $25 corkage fee is a wonderful benefit on Oceania and rarely, perhaps never, seen on any other cruise line.

Princess has a $15 corkage fee.

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp

"As provided in the Passage Contract, guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption, except one bottle of wine or champagne per adult of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed."

Carnival and Royal Caribbean also have a $15 corkage fee. Holland America's is $18. There might be more, but I have no recent experience with other cruise lines.

Princess has a $15 corkage fee.

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp

 

"As provided in the Passage Contract, guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption, except one bottle of wine or champagne per adult of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed."

 

Carnival and Royal Caribbean also have a $15 corkage fee. Holland America's is $18. There might be more, but I have no recent experience with other cruise lines.

The main advantage Oceania offers (re: wine) is the ability to bring unlimited amount on board....not the price of corkage.

The main advantage Oceania offers (re: wine) is the ability to bring unlimited amount on board....not the price of corkage.

I haven't personally tried to bring on board an unlimited amount of wine, but from their websites, it seems that some other cruise lines don't place a limitation on wine brought on board either:

Princess: "Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed."

Holland America: " Additional wine or champagne bottles (no larger than 750ml) in carry-on luggage are welcome, but will

incur a US$18.00 (subject to change) corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed."

When we were on an NCL cruise (admittedly a while ago, back in 2010) they totally banned bringing on your own wine or liquor -- which I've always assumed was typical.

Still, I find O's policy far more generous to those of us who DO want to bring on our own. I don't bring on a lot myself but I like that I can. And if it means a corkage fee for a favorite bottle of wine, I'm all for it. And I have no problem with either paying the corkage fee or drinking a glass in our room.

The wine list a while back started out at around the low $30s but now as has been said it is closer to $50. And that's for an inexpensive bottle. So unless I have a lot of OBC to blow, I'm more likely to bring on something I like and pay the corkage at dinner.

Mura

I haven't personally tried to bring on board an unlimited amount of wine, but from their websites, it seems that some other cruise lines don't place a limitation on wine brought on board either:

 

Princess: "Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed."

 

Holland America: " Additional wine or champagne bottles (no larger than 750ml) in carry-on luggage are welcome, but will

incur a US$18.00 (subject to change) corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed."

I know Celebrity has 2 bottle limit per cabin, and they try to enforce it

My brother, that lives in Fl and has sailed multiple lines sailing out of Port Caniveral, FLL, and Miami; says that most of the lines are fairly liberal with how much wine one brings aboard and pays corkage on. They’re mostly after those bringing in 750 ml six packs, or more, of tequila, vodka, whiskey and other hard liquor that often leads to other problems aboard.many of them won’t keep it in their cabins either!

Celebrity, unfortunately, only allows 2 bottles per stateroom, then charges a corkage fee unless consumed in your room. Oceania's liberal policy concerning bringing wine aboard is one of the reasons we are considering trying Oceania. Being on a cruise is a special time and we would like to drink wine a little better than what we might drink on a typical night at home. In fact planning what wine to bring would be part of the anticipation leading up to the cruise. Just have to find the right Oceania cruise to start with!

New to Oceania (cruising in July) and have a couple of wine-related questions:

I see people saying we’re allowed to bring an unlimited number of bottles of wine onboard with us yet on the website it says only 3 per person. Just wondering which it is.

Also, can I use my OBC towards the corkage fees?

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Mom Kaplan...here is a discussion from a while ago but most remains revenant today. Particularly note hondorner (Don Horner) input. Always accurate.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2226398

OBC available for corkage. Just returned from Riviera and brought cases of wine aboard. Never an issue over seventeen cruises.

Mom Kaplan...here is a discussion from a while ago but most remains revenant today. Particularly note hondorner (Don Horner) input. Always accurate.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2226398

 

OBC available for corkage. Just returned from Riviera and brought cases of wine aboard. Never an issue over seventeen cruises.

Thank you so much, Goldmann. Didn’t want to get sent to the “Naughty Room” on our first cruise with them![emoji846]

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Although we like wine, we don't drink a lot. Also, I and my wife generally don't like the same wine. If the quality and price is there we usually buy wine by the glass when we dine out. What is the quality of wine by the glass and about how much a glass?

It doesn't sound like a very good value to me :(

Well most fine dining places charge very similar prices and mark-up It is a business not a charity.

Many top restaurants will charge corkage of $30 to $150 AND will not allow you to bring in a wine that they have in their cellar !

Although we like wine, we don't drink a lot. Also, I and my wife generally don't like the same wine. If the quality and price is there we usually buy wine by the glass when we dine out. What is the quality of wine by the glass and about how much a glass?

There is a limited selection of wine by the glass 4 white 4 red and 2 sparkling. they vary from 15 to 25 a glass with tip included, ( as I remember( I have yet to have a bad one, Some are better than others but most all I would expect to be a Parker or Wine Spectator 85 to 90

You wont get to buy a Caymus, Screaming Eagle or Petrus

Although we like wine, we don't drink a lot. Also, I and my wife generally don't like the same wine. If the quality and price is there we usually buy wine by the glass when we dine out. What is the quality of wine by the glass and about how much a glass?

I posted some menus from our Dec cruise @

I posted some menus from our Dec cruise @

Thanks. That's very helpful. Someone posted that the pours when purchasing wines by the glass are very small. Would you agree?

Thanks. That's very helpful. Someone posted that the pours when purchasing wines by the glass are very small. Would you agree?

NO

small is relative

if you fill the glass then yes it will be small in comparison

the drinks seem normal to me sometimes even strong but then I do not drink a lot

I posted some menus from our Dec cruise @

Thank you.