Jump to content

Actual Oceania Wine List Prices for Bottles


jeffrub
 Share

Recommended Posts

I know that there have been numerous threads about wine and liquor packages on Oceania, and I have seen prices of wines by the glass posted. I have even seen a wine list posted, but it did not show the bottle prices. Does anyone have an actual recent Oceania wine list with prices that they are willing to share?

 

With the recent suspension of the wine sale on board, I am trying to decide whether it is worth it to carry a few bottles on and pay the corkage or just bite the bullet and buy the bottles in the restaurant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not exactly sure of the base price on the wine list but I prefer big reds and in general have found that the cheapest I would order is around $35 before the 18% gratuity. That can be less expensive than buying a wine and then paying the corkage depending on what you want to drink.

 

(You can also buy a $200 bottle on board ... but you save the $25!)

 

Usually I just buy a bottle at dinner and nurse it as Jan has said she does (we both have hubbies that don't drink). Lately I've been bringing a few bottles on board and paying the corkage. I rarely buy wine at meal time by the glass. It's much easier bringing bottles on board if you are leaving from your home city (as we did on our last cruise), but that rarely happens, of course. I often intend to buy a few bottles in the departure port but usually run out of time and end up not doing so.

 

Maybe if I were a better planner ... :D

 

Mura

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pay the $25 corkage and you get to bring what you want to drink. In general the markups are 3 to 4X retail US prices and that is without the 18% serving fee.

 

I understand the $25 corkage, and I am fine with doing that. I was just curious about the wine list because shopping for wine to bring on board when we fly in the day before the cruise is not what I want to do unless I feel that it is the best option. Someone must have a copy of the wine list with bottle prices on it (he said hopefully).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand the $25 corkage, and I am fine with doing that. I was just curious about the wine list because shopping for wine to bring on board when we fly in the day before the cruise is not what I want to do unless I feel that it is the best option. Someone must have a copy of the wine list with bottle prices on it (he said hopefully).

 

Not likely, the Wine Lists vary from venue to venue, and I'd say that each of them is at least a ten page affair.

Wine-List.jpg

It's not even the kind of a thing that one could take out of the restaurant discretely.....perhaps by design :cool:

 

Oceania's Cellars are of a similar quality and price point to a fine restaurant in a major North American City, if you'd like to augment them with special wines from ashore then so be it, but it really isn't worth doing, otherwise.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just came off the Marina and scouted the menus for good drinkable bottles of wine that were not terrible expensive. The "least expensive" bottles of wine that I ordered were the white wines in the neighborhood of $35-40, without gratuity. The reds were slightly more expensive.

 

I also compared my bills from this cruise with last year's Oceania cruise. Last cruise I drank exclusively bottles of wine that I purchased on the ship, taking advantage of bottle discounts. This year I mostly bought bottles in ports and paid the corkage fee. My cost was significantly lower this year and I drank better wine. :)

 

I have become a convert of bringing bottles on board. I cannot wait for embarkation next year in Barcelona!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can, and do, enjoy almost any red wine. At home I drink 3 buck Chuck, and a couple of better box wines such as Black Box Shiraz or Cabernet. I appreciate some good wines but usually can't tell the difference. I'm willing to bet I'm not in a minority.

 

That said, the house red on Oceania, usually a Merlot, is actually pretty good, from my point of view. It's often offered for $26 plus gratuity, or about $31 with grat. There's also a decent Carmenera for $28 base. However, in my budget planning, I allow $40 per bottle with grat.

 

If you bring your own wine to table, there is no gratuity on the corkage fee. Thus, if you also like Charles Shaw, your cost is $28 --$25 for the fee and $3 for the wine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can, and do, enjoy almost any red wine. At home I drink 3 buck Chuck, and a couple of better box wines such as Black Box Shiraz or Cabernet. I appreciate some good wines but usually can't tell the difference. I'm willing to bet I'm not in a minority.

 

That said, the house red on Oceania, usually a Merlot, is actually pretty good, from my point of view. It's often offered for $26 plus gratuity, or about $31 with grat. There's also a decent Carmenera for $28 base. However, in my budget planning, I allow $40 per bottle with grat.

 

If you bring your own wine to table, there is no gratuity on the corkage fee. Thus, if you also like Charles Shaw, your cost is $28 --$25 for the fee and $3 for the wine.

 

Can we bring a box of white and them open the tap for us?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can bring boxes on board, but I don't because they don't fit well in the little fridge, and we keep our room temp higher than most. I've never seen anyone bring a box to the dining room, but I suppose you could try --real oenophiles would squirm in discomfort :p.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can bring boxes on board, but I don't because they don't fit well in the little fridge, and we keep our room temp higher than most. I've never seen anyone bring a box to the dining room, but I suppose you could try --real oenophiles would squirm in discomfort :p.

 

Just kidding. It would be worth it just to see the look on the sommeliers and other wine oenophiles faces. Don't even need a corkscrew for the boxes (lol).:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As long as we're kidding, has anyone tried to tell the sommelier that a plastic stopper is not a cork, and therrfore not subject to corkage fees?

 

It's a tappage fee. Actually I think the box bladders are better since they keep the air out of the wine and make for a better keeping wine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just curious. If you bring a bottle of wine to the dining room that has a screw top, what is the proper term for the fee? Screwage? :D

 

That's ridiculous

Who could imagine paying $25 for screwage!

well.....possibly in Bangkok

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Terr,

 

>....if you also like Charles Shaw, your cost is $28 --$25 for the fee and $3 for the wine.<

 

The engineer in me just cannot accept paying a $25 screwage fee for a $3 bottle of anything.

 

I'd rather bribe the waiter to substitute a better glass of wine than that offered by the beverage package. :)

 

((I))

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I certainly would like to think that in that circumstance there won't be a corkage charge.

 

There isn't for the top suites who have wine in their package. The bottle is clearly labeled that is it complementary with your room number. It would seem logical that in the case you mention the result would be the same.

 

It will be interesting to know if logic rules or RULES rule!

 

Mura

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If one sends a gift of wine via Oceania Gifts is that for consumption in stateroom only, or can it be taken to MDR & no corkage charged

There is no corkage fee for a present. I've gotten bottles of wine from my TA and just brought them in to whatever venue we were dining. They recognize their wine!! Arlene:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to the OP's question - Wine Prices. This post applies to those folks who like a "good" wine with meals. It does not apply to hondorner;)

 

We are just off a 20 day Nautica cruise. As stated the prices of wine on board are more or less comparable with a decent restaurant, perhaps a bit higher. That is to say, expensive :eek:. Because we are dining "out" we drink a lot more wine when we are cruising that we do at home. We do not normally dine out 20 nights in a row. So, it can get real costly over the length of the cruise especially if you tend to like the $80-120 bottles (that you can buy for $20-30 at home.)

 

In addition the selection of wine is pretty limited. This is OK in a restaurant because you are only there one night and can find something acceptable for that meal. If you eat in that restaurant for 20 consecutive nights you are going to run out of things you like or you are going to drink a lot of the same wine

 

It follows that we bring a lot of wine onboard with us. On this last cruise we found excellent buys on wine in England prior to boarding (really good prices on NZ reds and whites and on French wines). We also bought a couple of bottles in Norway (no tax in Spitsbergen). The bottom line is that even with the corkage fee we ended up paying around half (less on the more expensive wines) what we would have to get the same bottle of wine from the ship assuming they had it, which they did not. In addition we enjoyed a variety of wines we would not normally see.

 

Robbie the wino:cool:

Edited by robbie21
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to the OP's question - Wine Prices. This post applies to those folks who like a "good" wine with meals. It does not apply to hondorner;)

 

We are just off a 20 day Nautica cruise. As stated the prices of wine on board are more or less comparable with a decent restaurant, perhaps a bit higher. That is to say, expensive :eek:. Because we are dining "out" we drink a lot more wine when we are cruising that we do at home. We do not normally dine out 20 nights in a row. So, it can get real costly over the length of the cruise especially if you tend to like the $80-120 bottles (that you can buy for $20-30 at home.)

 

In addition the selection of wine is pretty limited. This is OK in a restaurant because you are only there one night and can find something acceptable for that meal. If you eat in that restaurant for 20 consecutive nights you are going to run out of things you like or you are going to drink a lot of the same wine

 

It follows that we bring a lot of wine onboard with us. On this last cruise we found excellent buys on wine in England prior to boarding (really good prices on NZ reds and whites and on French wines). We also bought a couple of bottles in Norway (no tax in Spitsbergen). The bottom line is that even with the corkage fee we ended up paying around half (less on the more expensive wines) what we would have to get the same bottle of wine from the ship assuming they had it, which they did not. In addition we enjoyed a variety of wines we would not normally see.

 

Robbie the wino:cool:

 

 

Thanks Robbie for getting back on point here. We do like a good bottle of wine with dinner as well, and Two Buck Chuck just is not going to cut it for us. I found the discounted wine sale on embarkation day very helpful on our last 2 Riviera cruises, and I was disappointed to learn that it has been discontinued. Perhaps when they realize that more and more people will be bringing wine on with them, they will bring the sale back. In the mean time I guess I will be shopping for wine the day before our upcoming cruise to carry on with us. I just wish that were leaving from Spain, Italy or France, not Miami. :eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, Jeff. In the past I really haven't taken the trouble to bring wines on board. When I discovered the sale I was very happy with it. Henceforth I'll make it a point to bring more on with me when we are cruising with O. I have several "wine caddies" that will allow me to pack wine in my suitcase without worry.

 

Mura

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Robbie for getting back on point here. We do like a good bottle of wine with dinner as well, and Two Buck Chuck just is not going to cut it for us. I found the discounted wine sale on embarkation day very helpful on our last 2 Riviera cruises, and I was disappointed to learn that it has been discontinued. Perhaps when they realize that more and more people will be bringing wine on with them, they will bring the sale back. In the mean time I guess I will be shopping for wine the day before our upcoming cruise to carry on with us. I just wish that were leaving from Spain, Italy or France, not Miami. :eek:

 

So, Jeff. Since we leave from Barcelona in 2 weeks what suggestions would you have for picking up some bottles there before boarding. I'm a little weak on my knowledge of Spanish wines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, Jeff. Since we leave from Barcelona in 2 weeks what suggestions would you have for picking up some bottles there before boarding. I'm a little weak on my knowledge of Spanish wines.

 

We have always picked up the cavas and riojas. The best place is actually the supermarket. There is also a huge "department store" called El Cortes Engles which has a huge wine selection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...