Any wine lovers out there?

[terri23]

We are just off the Rhapsody (2/13 sailing – fantastic!) and purchased the Wine & Dine 10-bottle platinum package (see the listing below). We had hoped to take a few “special occasion” wines aboard to supplement the RCI offerings (and would happily pay a corkage fee to do so), but Guest Services informed me that no alcohol of any kind may be brought on board (their new policy). I’m sure you can try to bring some on in your checked luggage (perhaps subject to confiscation), but I would never risk fine wines this way. IMHO this is not a very interesting selection and the regular wine list markup is very high. Also, the wines are only available in the Dining Room and Windjammer (it took 20 minutes to get a bottle of champagne in the Windjammer in the afternoon – I don’t think they get many requests!). I was surprised to find that you can’t even get a bottle at the champagne bar under this program. I’d like to hear everyone else’s opinion on RCI wines and the Wine & Dine program – and do other cruise lines have better offerings? We are rookie cruisers (only two) but hope to make a habit of it!

 

 

 

GOLD PACKAGE

5 BOTTLES $113 7 BOTTLES $158

10 BOTTLES $226 12 BOTTLES $273

 

SPARKLING

Korbel, Brut

 

WHITE WINES

Chardonnay, Stone Cellars, Beringer

Semillon-Chardonnay, Lindemans-Bin 77

Pinot Grigio, Danzante

Sauvignon Blanc, Caliterra

White Zinfandel, Woodbridge, Robert Mondavi

 

RED WINES

Beaujolais Villages, George duBoeuf

Cabernet Sauvignon, Stone Cellars, Beringer

Cabernet Sauvignon, Woodbridge Twin Oaks

Merlot, Vina Tarapaca

Shiraz, Footprint

 

 

 

 

 

PLATINUM PACKAGE

5 BOTTLES $125 7 BOTTLES $173

10 BOTTLES $250 12 BOTTLES $299

 

SPARKLING

Argyle, Brut

Korbel, Brut

 

WHITE WINES

Chardonnay, Stone Cellars, Beringer

Organic Cardonnay, Badger Mountain, Estate Grown

Semillon-Chardonnay, Lindemans-Bin 77

Johannesburg Riesling, Chateau St. Michelle

Pinot Grigio, Danzante

Sauvignon Blanc, Caliterra

White Zinfandel, Beringer

White Zinfandel, Woodbridge, Robert Mondavi

 

RED WINES

Beaujolais Villages, George duBoeuf

Cabernet Sauvignon, Stone Cellars, Beringer

Cabernet Sauvignon, Woodbridge Twin Oaks

Merlot, Robert Mondavi Private Selection

Merlot, Vina Tarapaca

Rioja, Faustino VII

Shiraz, Footprint

Zinfandel, Cline

 

 

 

 

 

DIAMOND PACKAGE

5 BOTTLES $137 7 BOTTLES $189

10 BOTTLES $274 12 BOTTLES $329

 

SPARKLING

Argyle, Brut

Korbel, Brut

 

WHITE WINES

Chardonnay, Stone Cellars, Beringer

Chardonnay, Meridian Vineyards

Organic Cardonnay, Badger Mountain, Estate Grown

Semillon-Chardonnay, Lindemans-Bin 77

Johannesburg Riesling, Chateau St. Michelle

Pinot Grigio, Danzante

Sauvignon Blanc, Caliterra

White Zinfandel, Beringer

White Zinfandel, Woodbridge, Robert Mondavi

 

RED WINES

Beaujolais Villages, George duBoeuf

Cabernet Sauvignon, Stone Cellars, Beringer

Cabernet Sauvignon, Woodbridge Twin Oaks

Carmenere, Arboleda

Merlot, Robert Mondavi Private Selection

Merlot, Vina Tarapaca

Pinot Noir, Beringer Founder's Estate

Rioja, Faustino VII

Shiraz, Footprint

Shiraz, Rosemount Estate

Zinfandel, Cline

[mikecanuk]

I agree with you that the wine list is not very impressive, but the markup doesn't seem too bad. Prices here in Toronto are probably more than what you have to pay, but most of the reds are about $15 cdn, and typically if I go out for dinner and order that type of wine I'll pay $30-35 cdn. So at $25 (US) its reasonable.

You would think with the clientele on baord they would have some really good wines, but this is the third cruise line we've been on (Carnival, NCL and RCCL next week) and none of the selections stood out. You would also think that they would cater more to wine drinkers since wine consumption is up and beer is either flat or down.

I read somewhere that Celebrity has much better wine selction.

Mike

[BobBeaSea]

Thanks for the info Terri. I now know which package we will be buying next week.

[Gabbiegirl]

Price isn't bad, but selection is pretty poor.

[FinelyCruising]

Selections have been this way for a while unfortunately. If there is one area of the RCCL experience I wish they would improve it is their wine list.

[rykersdad]

thanks for posting......... we usually buy if available, we smuggle, and we preorder to room.... we'll be on the sister ship in Sept, so hope it's available there too.

mark up is ridiculous

and you're right selection is low

and if we run out????????? we'll order more !

[mj from katy]

One thing we noticed during our recent Radiance cruise was that some of the selections listed weren't available. Very strange.

 

That said, we found some very drinkable wines: Stone Cellars Chardonnay was my favorite while the DH like the Footprint Shiraz. I also had the Lindemann's Semillon-Chardonnay and the Robert Mondavi Merlot made its way to our table.

 

We had one bottle left over and were able to take it home with us.

[wwinfl91]

When did RCI start stopping people from bringing their own wine on board? We were on Princess last fall and HAL last spring and on both cruises we brought our wine with us and no one gave us any problems.

 

Has anyone seen people at the dock having their wine taken away from them? Does the cruise line give it back to you at the end of the cruise?

 

One of the reasons I like taking ships leaving from Florida where we live is being able to bring some wine abroad with us. One more reason I will be considering other cruise lines after this next cruise with RCI if they are going to enforce this policy.

 

Thanks for any information on this issue.

[shmthaus]

We brought a couple of bottles in our checked luggage and asked the cabin steward for extra ice bucket. Of course, we did leave him a large chocolate bar with $20 bill sticking out the top as a pre-tip.

 

We just had the wine in our stateroom, not in the dining room.

 

The white Zin's (Beringer and Woodbridge) were ok, but for what they were, wouldn't pay the cost. The Riesling was very good and would pay the cost.

 

Not much of a red wine drinker, so can't help you there.

[terri23]

Shmtaus, I agree - I was drawn to RCI (after only one cruise with Carnival) for a lot of reasons including the flexibility wrt bringing wine on board. This policy has changed only very recently. The customer service rep I talked to didn't really know what was going on wrt bringing special wines on board, except to say the new policy is "none". I had sent an email (using the RCI link) asking about bringing a couple of special bottles (varietals that weren't offered) and no one ever answered...

 

Thanks to all who responded - I would really like to see some better italian & Spanish wines and pinots on the list (I usually lean towards the red), and a better quality sauvigon blanc or fume blanc. Anyway, would like to see them allow us to bring a bottle or two on board again, and don't care about the corkage fee.

 

Happy cruising!

[CGAGE]

We've brought wine and champagne on board almost every single cruise we've been on! Our favorite selections have honestly been on Carnival. I'm speaking strictly of the selection from any and all bars on the ship...not the dining room list. On Carnival...you can get a bottle of Korbel for about $20-23 a bottle at just about any bar...including the pool! On RCCL...you only can get their house champagne by the glass at most bars...and I didn't care for it personally. RCCL's Korbel is $26 or $29 a bottle and it's hard to get! Fortunately for us...we drink George Debeuf Beajulois a lot and were glad to see it on the 5 bottle Diamond Package we purchased on the Radiance a couple of weeks ago! We also love Veuve Cliquot and Moet White Star...so we usually bring a few bottles of those selections on most of our cruises. I hope RCCL updates their wine lists and soon! The La Terre they offer just isn't cutting it for us!

BTW...there is an interesting article on the opening page of Cruise Critic right know about about Bob Dickinson and the wine they serve on Carnival!

We'll probably continue to bring wine on any cruise we go on and just take our chances...even if it's on RCCL!

 

Please excuse any words that I may have mis-spelled!

Thanks!