Windstar Alcohol Beverage Package

[tomstur]

Does anybody have any information on the newly revised alcohol beverage package? I purchased the package for my wife and I for our next Surf sailing and did receive a phone call with a reduced price which generated an onboard ship credit. So, that was good. I just can't find any information on what is included in the drink package now. Last year, they eliminated the cabins mini bar from the package but rumor has it the mini bar is now included in the new program. Also some wine related changes. Any up to date info would be apprecitated as Windstar reps are not sure of this.

[Mands&Ian]

Does anybody have any information on the newly revised alcohol beverage package? I purchased the package for my wife and I for our next Surf sailing and did receive a phone call with a reduced price which generated an onboard ship credit. So, that was good. I just can't find any information on what is included in the drink package now. Last year, they eliminated the cabins mini bar from the package but rumor has it the mini bar is now included in the new program. Also some wine related changes. Any up to date info would be apprecitated as Windstar reps are not sure of this.

 

According to the Windstar blog minibar charges, for alcohol, are not included.

 

The current packages appear to be these:

 

Option 1:

Unlimited premium cocktails, wines and champagnes, imported and domestic beers, soft drinks and bottled water. $54 per person, per day.

Option 2:

Unlimited non-alcoholic wines and beers, “virgin” cocktails, soft drinks, and bottled water. $18 per person, per day.

Beverage Package Terms:

 

Beverage packages must be booked on the first day of the cruise at the reception desk.

Beverage packages are based on unlimited consumption, including drinks with meals.

Wine and champagne selections based on wine by the glass up to $11.50 per glass.

Mini-bar consumption is not included.

Super Premium Cognacs and Deluxe Cognacs not included.

Both guests in a cabin must purchase beverage packages.

All package prices inclusive of applicable taxes.

All beverage packages are subject to a 15% gratuity.

 

HTH,

Mands

[tomstur]

Thanks for the info, but that is the old plan. Water and soft drinks are now included with no charge on all Windstar cruises. The price was reduced to $47 a day I think.

[themutis]

I asked this question on their blog and here is their response - the new plan includes mini-bar and room service beverages as well :)

 

 

Thank you for your interest! The details of our Premium Beverage Package are listed below.

 

* Unlimited premium cocktails

* Unlimited wine by the glass from the per glass wine menu

* Unlimited house champagne and beer

* Includes mini-bar beverage selections

* Includes beverages provided through room service

 

$48 per person, per day*

 

*Premium beverage package details:

Packages are only sold per cabin and must be purchased for all guests occupying a cabin. Package must be added by the first day of the cruise and must be purchased for the full duration of the cruise. Package price is U.S. $48 per person, per day including applicable taxes and price does not include the standard 15% beverage service charge. Beverage package does not include super premium liquor brands such as X.O. and Louis XIII or select malt whiskeys. Includes unlimited house champagne and beer, plus wines from the Wine by the Glass menu up to US $11.50 maximum per drink. Pricing subject to change. Minimum drinking age aboard Windstar Cruises is 21 years old.

[6rugrats]

They recently mailed out their new brochure with a 2012 Pricing Guide which has all this information. If you are on their mailing list, you should receive it soon. It would be nice if they sent a copy to their customer service reps.

 

The above post has the correct information.

 

For those interested - the Laundry Service Package price is $109 per cabin, and includes both cabin occupants. Single cabin occupant package price is $54.50. Package must be added by the first day of the cruise. Package price is inclusive of applicable taxes. Prices subject to change. Dry cleaning not available.

Edited December 8, 2011 by 6rugrats

[tomstur]

Thanks so much Themutis. Most all the changes are positive except for, "price does not include the standard 15% beverage service charge". That will more than wipe out the price reduction from $54 to $48. Those that have cruised with them in the past will be in for a not so nice surprise when they get the cabin statement as all taxes and tips were all inclusive in the past. We have always taken care of the bar tenders and servers with cash on the last day of our trip. Guess it all works out as a wash in the end! Five more weeks and I can tell you all about it!

[themutis]

I believe the previous 54.00 was also subject to a 15% gratuity. At least that is what Windstar had posted. I have not sailed on Windstar before, so I am only going by what they have posted.

 

I am glad that the mini bar and room service beverages are included. We are thinking about doing this.

 

Has anyone else done this with Windstar? I found an old list of beverages on this site and previously (ok 2009) drinks like a Cosmo were not included. I have asked for a beverage list from Windstar, but was told I would have to check when I boarded. So we will look at the beverage list and see what is included once we board and make our decision then.

[tomstur]

We have purchased the drink package our last three sailings. The Windstar and twice on the Surf. The one price included all gratuities. I never read the exact wording, so maybe it will stay the same. We have come out ahead each and every time by going this way. However, now water is included for no charge and we drink a ton of bottled water. So now, it will be interesting to see if it is worth it. The selection is very broad and most everything we would ever drink is in the package. It appears the wine part of the package has changed to by the glass, which is actually a better deal I think. Before, we could order one bottle for the two of us at diner and they only had a few bottles to select from within the price range limit of the package. According to what I am reading, you can now order as much wine as you want with $11.25 limit per glass. That could open up the selection for sure.

[tomycruse]

Any current information on this Beverage package?

Room service and mini-bar included yes or no and the price including service charge or not.

Thank you

[6rugrats]

A cruiseline's webpage is usually full of information:

 

Thank you for your interest! The details of our Premium Beverage Package are listed below.

* Unlimited premium cocktails

* Unlimited wine by the glass from the per glass wine menu

* Unlimited house champagne and beer

* Includes mini-bar beverage selections

* Includes beverages provided through room service

$48 per person, per day*

*Premium beverage package details:

Packages are only sold per cabin and must be purchased for all guests occupying a cabin. Package must be added by the first day of the cruise and must be purchased for the full duration of the cruise. Package price is U.S. $48 per person, per day including applicable taxes and price does not include the standard 15% beverage service charge. Beverage package does not include super premium liquor brands such as X.O. and Louis XIII or select malt whiskeys. Includes unlimited house champagne and beer, plus wines from the Wine by the Glass menu up to US $11.50 maximum per drink. Pricing subject to change. Minimum drinking age aboard Windstar Cruises is 21 years old.

[yogagal47]

I wonder if it would include drinks at the beach barbecue?

[themutis]

When we sailed the Barbados-Barbados cruise in January it DID include the beverages for the Beach BBQ on Mayreau and also Windstar set up a bar on Pigeon Island.

 

For these two day we could use the beverage plan on shore.

[chefchick]

I see above that it says the package does not include premium whiskeys, but what about items such as grey goose and other "top shelf" liquors? For those who have used this recently can you have your cocktails made with premium liquors or just the house brands for example?

 

Also, I like the idea of wines by the glass. That way I can have a separate white or red with different courses, but if the wine I would like costs more than $11, can I just pay the difference? Any experience with that?

 

Thanks.

[themutis]

I had no problem ordering premium vodka, specialty drinks, cosmos, etc... the only items not included were most of the the single malts - the only one included in the plan was Glenfiddich 12 year. My DH really likes Black label, and it was included.

 

Wines up to 11.50 were included.... but if you ordered a 15.00 glass of wine you had to pay the full 15.00. I enjoyed both the white and red wines 11.50 and under.

[Magnum60]

All beverages in or out of the AIBP are subject to a 15% tip on Windstar. No problem with that but I'm confused as to how the gratuities are added if you bought the AIBP. Let's say you've purchased the AIBP and order a $10.00 drink how is the 15% on that $10.00 drink added?

Is there a line item on your end of cruise bill showing, "beverages served within the AIBP = $500.00. Total beverage charges under the AIBP = $0.00. Tips charged at 15% for $500.00 of consumed drinks = $75.00.

Seeing that those who bought the AIBP will have to sign for every drink they order just like everyone else, why bother with the plan? Unless you and yours consume $160.00 worth of drinks per day where's the value? Is there any other incentive I might have missed for buying the expensive AIBP?

[Mrs_Tiki]

Hi there, I have been trying (unsuccessfully, but that's a post for a different thread) to buy a beverage package for my upcoming WS cruise.

 

The charge for a 7-day package (for 2 people) is $ $869.40.

 

That equates to $54/day x 2 people x 7 days + 15% gratuity.

 

I don't believe that any additional gratuity is charged, even if the number of beverages you order exceeds the daily rate for the package. On our recent WS cruise, the bar servers quickly learned our cabin number and remembered that we had the package after checking our cards the first time. I believe that they may have kept a tally, but we never signed a charge slip or received any additional charges for gratuities.

[Magnum60]

Thanks family Tiki for your reply. My real question is if your final bill showed exactly what and how many drinks the two of you actually ordered. There must be some way to document what you're paying the 15% tip on. The bar staff on my last Windstar cruise knew my wife and me before the pilot left the ship (Windstar crews are renowned for that ability) plus the Cruise director knew me well from several cruises we'd done together on Seaborne. It's possible that I did but I don't recall ever being asked to sign a chit each night when retiring to our cabin. I know I signed for a few bottles of wine purchased in the MDR at dinner but that's it.

I did a very casual review of our final bill which was pretty small because we pay as much of our trips expenses as possible up front. I don't know or remember where the mandatory 15% drink tips were shown in that review.

So the question remains - how are the 15% drink tips added and then documented as a proper charge?

As a post script - all the staff that make any of our cruises outstanding get a cash reward before our final bill is slipped under our cabin door. They work long and hard hours and never seem to run out of smiles.

[Mrs_Tiki]

I am sorry if I am not communicating clearly. The 15% gratuity is based on the cost of the package, not the actual value of drinks consumed. In other words, it is a fixed charge based on the cost of the package and is paid at the time of purchase.

 

I think that it is similar to the daily fixed charge for gratuities for other staff. Since WS does not have assigned dining, it would be impossible for those tips to be allocated directly to the staff providing the service, so they must have some formula to split them equitably among the staff. I would think that the prepaid gratuity related to the beverage packages would be distributed similarly among the bar servers.

 

The only line items/charges for beverages that were shown on our final bill were for a couple of bottles of more expensive wine that were not included in the package and the gratuity associated with them. There were no $0 entries for drinks ordered under the package and/or entries for any associated per drink gratuity.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Mrs_Tiki

[Magnum60]

I think you just cleared something up that's been discussed time after time on Cruise Critic.

Well done!

I hope the good folks at Windstar read your explanation of how THEIR plan works and have their IT team put your wonderfully simple description of how the 15% drink gratuity is added into print. It wouldn't hurt for the TAs out there to read your description as well.

[unccruzer]

How much is a glass of "house wine" on the Windsurf?

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

This reviewer posted photos with wine by the glass prices:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=522656

[unccruzer]

Thanks. This was very helpful.

[jpver]

I have been previously on 2 of the 3 "sisters" as they were called during the Seabourn times! And some years agoo on the Windstar itself.

 

With Seabourn everthing was clear. All inclusive wine, coctails and other drinks everywhere on the ship. Also no stupid tipping system charged to your invoice end of the cruise.

 

Now within the Windstar system it is not at all clear to me what is or is not included, because there have been several changes since the 3 sisters went over to Windstar.

 

Can somebody indicate how it works now and if there are differences on the "yachts" or on the "Sailing ships" ????

[sb44]

Windstar is very simple. All ships work the same. You can buy beverage package on embarkation. The price depends on the number of days duration. There is a 15% gratuity based on that price. Only you can decide if it's worth it based on your drinking habits. Bottles of wine in dining room not included. Bottles are reasonably priced as well as all drinks. We do not drink enough to buy package but appreciate ability to buy a bottle, drink half, and have it held in dining room for next night. I don't like all inclusive like you mentioned on Seaborne because I'm a one glass at dinner drinker, a cocktail after dinner, maybe one during cocktail hour, so I am ultimately paying for other people's drinks. Our liquor bill at the end of the cruise is always around half of the package cost. We also get off at each port and generally have drinks with our lunch or stop for a beer during the day. I've seen people get drunk on the last day to make sure they get their money's worth.[emoji15]

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[nszzya]

Windstar is offering a Pick Your Perk promotion. One of the choices is the Yacht VIP Package which includes the Beverage Package, Complimentary Wifi (for up to two devices) and Complimentary Gratuity. For three guests on our eight day cruise, this would normally cost $1490, $250 and $288 respectively (total $2028). With the promotion, the total added cost would be $735. If I subtract the gratuity cost of $288 which I would likely pay anyway, the total for the Beverage Package and Wifi is $447 or $18 additional/guest/day (plus a 15% added gratuity for beverages I believe). It seems like a no brainer if each of us has more than one drink/day. I couldn't access the drink list someone posted in in this thread. What is the average cost of a drink on a Windstar cruise? Is my math okay? Good deal? Thanks!