Another wine card question

[CRUZBUDS]

I'm thinking of trying the wine card on our upcoming Zaandam cruise. I've read the threads that are out there and I think it would work for me. I like better wines, but I am usually satisfied with most house wines. I drink reds.

 

Does anyone know the brand of the the house wine? I'd like to try it before we board so I can plan how much wine we may want to bring. We're local so carrying it is not a huge issue.

 

Thanks for your advise!

[drhry]

hi Cruzbuds,DH always buys the wine card and we are very happy with the wine can not recall the brands but DH is a wine snob so if he likes it -it must be sufficient.We may purchase a special bottle one or two nights. I like the wine card as we can use it in the buffet also.Can not remember for sure if it usable at all bars .last HA cruise was Nov. 2007

[catl331]

I don't know the brand name either. I suggest at embarkation that you bring just enough wine to get you to your first port. By that time you'll have sampled the ship's house wine, and you can decide how much to buy at each port.

[oliverbc]

We did all of the wine tastings this cruise (3) plus the sommelier dinner and found the choice of wine of the wine cards quite tasty.Not to say we know what we are drinking but it always seemed great to me and the cards are so convenient.

[Krazy Kruizers]

For a couple of years it was Stonebarn.

But on our Westerdam cruise this past April/May it was changed to California Vintners.

[CRUZBUDS]

Thank you for the input. I think I'll go for the card. I'm trying not to gain much weight on this trip and I might be inclined to drink a bit less than ordering bottles. I'll drink even less if I don't like it ;)

 

With my luck I'll get one of those generous servers that some people have mentioned. Oh well, either way, I won't be driving.

[New Jersey Pat]

I would recommend that you try a glass first before purchasing a wine card. We drink wines at home in the $8 to $10 range and find the house wine on HAL (we drink reds) undrinkable. Many people find it to their liking and you may be very pleased with it--we were not.

[iancal]

I really like the wine card program on HAL. I may be mistaken but I think there were 2 types for the 10 glass card...a higher end and a lower plonk end for scruff such as myself (this is what I signed up for). DW is a TT(cheap date and designated driver). I drink plonk at home..mostly from Chile, Argentina, or Australia. Usually red. I found the house plonk on HAL to be fine. Not great, not terrible, just in between. Can't remember which one I settled on but it was fine. And about 1/4 of the time they did not 'punch' the card (and we tipped accordingly). The pour was generous as well. I wish other cruise lines would have this. This was augmented by a selection of my own personal 'reserve' that I brought aboard.