Princess Wine Bottle Package Availability

[LunaSeaRetreat]

I have emailed Princess to find out if the wine package is available on my 28 day Star cruise in March. It will be a real problem lugging a lot of wine on board. I'll report back with their answer.

Cynthia

 

First I received a phone call confirming that the package would be offered on our Star cruise in March. I asked them to send me an email confirmation too. They said no problem. I received this nice email today. I will print it and take it with me.

 

First of all we are glad that you have chosen Princess Cruises for your next cruise vacation. We have received your enquiry regarding the availability of our Wine Bottle Program on your cruise onboard the Star Princess on March 26, 2013 sailing 28 days round-trip from Los Angeles. We have consulted with our Food & Beverage Department and they have confirmed that the Wine Bottle Program will be available during your cruise. If you have further questions feel free to contact us at 1-800-PRINCESS. We trust you will enjoy your cruise through the South Pacific and we look forward to welcoming you onboard Star Princess.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

 

Cynthia

[IECalCruiser]

First I received a phone call confirming that the package would be offered on our Star cruise in March. I asked them to send me an email confirmation too. They said no problem. I received this nice email today. I will print it and take it with me.

 

First of all we are glad that you have chosen Princess Cruises for your next cruise vacation. We have received your enquiry regarding the availability of our Wine Bottle Program on your cruise onboard the Star Princess on March 26, 2013 sailing 28 days round-trip from Los Angeles. We have consulted with our Food & Beverage Department and they have confirmed that the Wine Bottle Program will be available during your cruise. If you have further questions feel free to contact us at 1-800-PRINCESS. We trust you will enjoy your cruise through the South Pacific and we look forward to welcoming you onboard Star Princess.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

 

Cynthia

Please post the actual availability once you are on board next month. I hope they are correct, but I have had recent actual experience where someone from headquarters said one thing about availability only to find a different situation once on board. Enjoy your cruise :). That one is on our cruise bucket list Edited February 13, 2013 by IECalCruiser

[cboyle]

If Princess is to be believed, the Dawn, Sea and Sun are not offering the packages and the Caribbean has only been doing 7 day cruises since September (The 10 day on 10/31 was shortened by hurricane Sandy and doesn't count). The only ship that I need info from is the Coral to have a complete list for now. Looks like Diamond, Golden, Island, Ocean, Pacific and Sapphire offer the packages, Crown, Emerald, Grand and Star don't and your guess is a good as mine for the Ruby.

 

Thanks to all and please continue to provide updated info, especially if there is a change.

The wine package was not available on the Diamond Princess 14-day cruise from Sydney to Auckland on Dec. 14-28, 2012.

 

I was sure that I had received either an email or a letter from Princess that mentioned the wine package would be available for our cruise. However, when I asked our waiter about the package at dinner on the first night, he knew nothing about it. He asked the sommelier to come to our table so we could ask him about the package. The sommelier told us it was not available for our cruise and someone on the previous cruise (Bangkok to Sydney) had also asked about the package. That person also said she had received some communication from Princess stating that the wine package would be available.

 

The sommelier asked me to try to find the message about the package so he could use it to show the head office what pax were being told. I either deleted it from my email or it was a letter that I did not bring along, so I could not oblige him.

 

Moral: If you get an e-mail or letter from Princess saying that there will be a wine package on your cruise, take it with you. Then if you are told the package is unavailable, you can show it to the sommelier. Whether he will be able to do anything about it is another question.

[IECalCruiser]

Current tally (10 day or longer cruises):

Crown: 11/20/12 - 12 day Greek Isles - No (Reason: lack of sufficient wine inventory)

Crown: 12/02/12 - 20 day Med/TA - No (Reason: lack of sufficient wine inventory)

Diamond: 11/26/12 - 18 day Far East - No

Diamond: 12/14/12 - 14 day South Pacific - No

Diamond: 02/08/13 - 14 day South Pacific - Yes

Emerald: 01/06/13 - 10 day Eastern Caribbean - No

Emerald: 01/16/13 - 10 day Southern Caribbean – No (Reason: they kept running out of stock)

Emerald: 01/26/13 - 10 day Eastern Caribbean - No (Reason: they kept running out of stock)

Emerald: 02/05/13 - 10 day Eastern Caribbean - No (Reason: they kept running out of stock)

Golden: 01/16/13 - 14 day Hawaii – Yes

Grand: 09/04/12 - 17 day Mediterranean - No

Grand: 01/26/13 - 19 day South America - No

Island: 11/12/12 - 14 day Panama Canal - Yes

Island: 01/09/13 - 14 day Panama Canal - Yes

Island: 02/06/13 - 10 day Panama Canal - Yes

Ocean: 02/08/13 - 10 day South Pacific - Yes

Pacific: 01/17/13 - 10 day Eastern - Yes

Ruby: 09/03/12 - 12 day Mediterranean - Yes

Ruby: 10/09/12 - 19 day TA – No

Sapphire: 02/02/13 - 14 day Hawaii – Yes

Star: 09/26/12 - 10 day Mexico - No

Star: 10/06/12 - 15 day Hawaii - No (Reason: no wine sommelier was on board)

 

Looks like Golden, Island, Ocean, Pacific and Sapphire offer the packages, Crown, Emerald, Grand and Star don't and your guess is a good as mine for the Ruby. Hopefully the Diamond will continue offering after problems last year.

[Appaloosa Johnny]

We sailed on the Sea Princess, South Pacific, 27 days, Sept-Oct 2012 and wine packages were available, and staff were familiar with the details. We did the Gold Package, but I can see that a Silver Package could be a good bet as there were a number of reasonable wines in that category. We are booked on the Crown Feb, 2014 for 49 day South American Grand Adventure so hoping the wine packages will be available.

[edenrayne]

They really did not advertise the package. We just asked about it and we were told it would sold in the MDR. We ate in the Grill on the first night. They did not offer the package, but they went to the MDR and got the information for us. Thus we were able to buy it. They told me that they have offered the package for several months. I have yet to see it advertised.

 

No problem bringing on anything. It might be different depending on the port. We boarded in Papeete.

 

Sorry, more questions. It is purchased in the dining room, right?

Do you have to be at dinner to get it? Can you take the "package" back to your room when ever you buy it? We are more interested in having it on our balcony then in the dining room. Thanks for your reply. Sharon

[5326jan]

We had brought wine on board and didn't need any more in our cabin. We had not used two bottles :eek: in the Dining Room and took two to our cabin the last night to take home with us. I would assume we could have done that any other day. You apparently can only get bottles in the dining areas (DRs, HC, specialty restaurants), not bars. We did order bottles in the DR and the Bayou Cafe. The Island doesn't have a Vines but other posts appear to indicate that you can't buy or consume bottles from the Wine Bottle Package at Vines :confused:

 

You get a sheet of heavy paper a little larger than a coffee card and they punch it each time you get a bottle.

 

We had the Silver package. Were charged the full cost of the more expensive bottle of wine and our account was credited for a $29 bottle.

 

The above answers are based on our experience on our 01/09 - 01/23 Panama Canal cruise on the Island.

 

Thanks for answering all my questions!:)

[pandora518]

On our 18-night 12/2/2012 Med/TA onboard Pacific Princess, the packages were available, but we too thought the selections were very limited. We brought several bottles onboard (in checked luggage) and bought more in several ports, which of course was very visible when we boarded the ship each night. No one ever said a word about it and we were not charged a corkage fee (we drank the wine in our cabin.) You can only drink the wine package wines in dining areas, not in the bars or anywhere else. If there's any leftover you can take it with you.

 

I personally prefer HAL's wine cards, which you can use anywhere. And if Princess ever does really limit carry-ons to one 750ml bottle pp, we'll be booking more HAL cruises and fewer Princess cruises. Their wine prices are ridiculous. One of my favorite reds is Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir, which I can buy most anywhere for ~$11/bottle. It was $30/bottle on the Pacific.

[aikensbest]

On our 18-night 12/2/2012 Med/TA onboard Pacific Princess, the packages were available, but we too thought the selections were very limited. We brought several bottles onboard (in checked luggage) and bought more in several ports, which of course was very visible when we boarded the ship each night. No one ever said a word about it and we were not charged a corkage fee (we drank the wine in our cabin.) You can only drink the wine package wines in dining areas, not in the bars or anywhere else. If there's any leftover you can take it with you.

 

I personally prefer HAL's wine cards, which you can use anywhere. And if Princess ever does really limit carry-ons to one 750ml bottle pp, we'll be booking more HAL cruises and fewer Princess cruises. Their wine prices are ridiculous. One of my favorite reds is Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir, which I can buy most anywhere for ~$11/bottle. It was $30/bottle on the Pacific.

I must admit to being totally confused. I am not a wine drinker..prefer my bourbon..but can't believe folks base a cruise,or cruise line, on their wine alowances. I take a cruise for the itinerary, the comfort of my cabin, and never consider the wine pkg. Am I in the minority?

[pandora518]

I must admit to being totally confused. I am not a wine drinker..prefer my bourbon..but can't believe folks base a cruise,or cruise line, on their wine alowances. I take a cruise for the itinerary, the comfort of my cabin, and never consider the wine pkg. Am I in the minority?

 

I guess it just depends on how much you like wine. We love it. Neither of us drinks hard liquor or beer. As far as cabin comfort is concerned, we like HAL's cabins better too. Their beds are far superior, there's a tub instead of just the tiny shower (we book regular balcony cabins), the cabins are much larger, and we've had consistently better cabin service on HAL. But we've taken several Princess cruises based on the recommendations of friends. Both lines are excellent, their ships are lovely, and they have very similar itineraries. If it came down to it, yes, we'd choose whichever one had the better wine policies.

[magandy]

If Princess is to be believed, the Dawn, Sea and Sun are not offering the packages and the Caribbean has only been doing 7 day cruises since September (The 10 day on 10/31 was shortened by hurricane Sandy and doesn't count). The only ship that I need info from is the Coral to have a complete list for now. Looks like Diamond, Golden, Island, Ocean, Pacific and Sapphire offer the packages, Crown, Emerald, Grand and Star don't and your guess is a good as mine for the Ruby.

 

Thanks to all and please continue to provide updated info, especially if there is a change.

We were on the Star around South America last December 2012 and the wine package was available then.

[jagoffee]

Sorry, more questions. It is purchased in the dining room, right?

Do you have to be at dinner to get it? Can you take the "package" back to your room when ever you buy it? We are more interested in having it on our balcony then in the dining room. Thanks for your reply. Sharon

 

 

Yes, it is purchased in the MDR. I suppose you can get a wine bottle in the MDR and take it back to your room, but I have not done it myself. You can confirm before you buy it. I will let you know.

[LunaSeaRetreat]

We were on the Star around South America last December 2012 and the wine package was available then.

 

Thanks for reporting about the Star. It makes me feel even more hopeful.

 

Cynthia

[LARGIN]

Does the wine package include every wine on the wine list or is there a special wine package list? And yes i know you can pay the difference on wines costing more than $45 (Gold Package)

[IECalCruiser]

Does the wine package include every wine on the wine list or is there a special wine package list? And yes i know you can pay the difference on wines costing more than $45 (Gold Package)

The entire wine list.

[magandy]

Yes it includes all the wine on the list, there is no special list.

 

The Silver Package includes wine up to $29/bottle.

 

It also states 'Wine package cards are valid at all dining locations on this voyage and vessel. Bars and Room Service are not eligible in this program'

 

You can only use it on the voyage you are on, unlike the Coffee Card, where, if you have not used it up, you can take it with you and use it on a different Princess ship at a later date.

[trbarton]

Here's a report from Pia who is on a 49 day cruise: Buenos Aires is a city with lots of book stores; all over the place. We visited one interesting place which had a theater setting in the rear. Red velvet curtains; high ceilings. It was a coffee shop, but nothing like Barnes and Noble. I also saw lots of Starbucks, but alas, was never at the right place at the right time. We did stop at a supermarket and I bought several bottles of wine and some cans of beer. When reboarding the ship, it was business as usual. You just put your stuff thru the conveyer and nobody looks.

 

So go and try and figure their policy as to what you can bring back on board.

 

Tom:)

[jagoffee]

Yes, it is purchased in the MDR. I suppose you can get a wine bottle in the MDR and take it back to your room, but I have not done it myself. You can confirm before you buy it. I will let you know.

 

Confirmed.

[BarbaraP]

Does the wine package include every wine on the wine list or is there a special wine package list? And yes i know you can pay the difference on wines costing more than $45 (Gold Package)

 

I disagree with IECalCruiser, the wine list includes all the wines offered in the MDR only. In Oct. I was unable to get my favorite wine that I usually get from Crooner's or other bars. You cannot get the wine from room service either. I did not understand this when we purchased the wine package or I would have not purchased it. The first night of the cruise at the Crown Grill I ordered all 12 bottles to my table and asked for only one to be open. Since it was the first night of the cruise they said they didn't have that much unpacked yet, but they would deliver it to my room the next day, which they did. I originally thought the package was a good savings/idea, but for me I found it too inconvenient. At those prices, I like what I want when I want it. In the future I will just put money in my OB account before I travel or bring wine onboard and pay the $15 corkage fee:rolleyes:

[IECalCruiser]

I disagree with IECalCruiser, the wine list includes all the wines offered in the MDR only. In Oct. I was unable to get my favorite wine that I usually get from Crooner's or other bars. You cannot get the wine from room service either. I did not understand this when we purchased the wine package or I would have not purchased it. The first night of the cruise at the Crown Grill I ordered all 12 bottles to my table and asked for only one to be open. Since it was the first night of the cruise they said they didn't have that much unpacked yet, but they would deliver it to my room the next day, which they did. I originally thought the package was a good savings/idea, but for me I found it too inconvenient. At those prices, I like what I want when I want it. In the future I will just put money in my OB account before I travel or bring wine onboard and pay the $15 corkage fee:rolleyes:

I'm not quite certain what we are disagreeing about. It has been established that you can only use the card at dining venues, not bars or room service. And additionally you can take bottles from the dining room to your cabin. You can use the card to order any wine off the entire wine list in the MDR which was the question I was answering.

 

The Island doesn't have a Vines but on our cruise last month La Patisserie offered half a dozen wine flights and I noted that all of the wines were also on the MDR wine list. I have also checked the wine lists from 2009 and 2012 and the wine list in Crooner's from 2011 and 2012 and the wine lists appeared to have all of the options offered in Crooner's. I imagine that it might be possible that there are wines in bars that are not available in dining venues as was apparently the case with your favorite wine at Crooner's but that is probably the rare exception.

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Coral Princess 14-day Panama Canal 2012 - Yes

Golden Princess 14-day Hawaii 2013 - Yes

[IECalCruiser]

Coral Princess 14-day Panama Canal 2012 - Yes

Golden Princess 14-day Hawaii 2013 - Yes

Thanks for the info. Could you provide sailing dates?

[edenrayne]

I guess it just depends on how much you like wine. We love it. Neither of us drinks hard liquor or beer. As far as cabin comfort is concerned, we like HAL's cabins better too. Their beds are far superior, there's a tub instead of just the tiny shower (we book regular balcony cabins), the cabins are much larger, and we've had consistently better cabin service on HAL. But we've taken several Princess cruises based on the recommendations of friends. Both lines are excellent, their ships are lovely, and they have very similar itineraries. If it came down to it, yes, we'd choose whichever one had the better wine policies.

 

Ditto. Also for the fresh squeesed orange juice!!!!

[lv2cruiseanywhere]

Thanks for the info. Could you provide sailing dates?

 

The Coral Princess Cruise to the Panama Canal began on 02-14-12

 

The Golden Princess RT Hawaii began on 10-24-12 (sorry I wrote 2013 in error)

 

Our cruises on the Crown Princess (7-day cruises B2B) beginning 01-26-13 did not have the Wine Package available

[edenrayne]

Confirmed.

Thanks so much jagoffee!! Really do apprerciate your help.

We also are going on the Ocean Princess out of Papeete.

Thanks again. Sharon