newbie60 Posted September 24, 2013 #26 Share Posted September 24, 2013 We've just returned from 21 days on Regatta, going from San Francisco to NYC thru the Panama Canal. The entire cruise was outstanding but the reason I am on this board is to thank everyone for their comments about bringing wine on board at embarkation. We have a large wine cellar at home and hate to pay for overpriced wine in restaurants of any kind - especially if there is a choice. We brought a case of rather expensive stuff from home. It was packed it in a wine carrying case (clearly marked "winecheck"). The case is bright red and has wheels. We dropped it at the curb (properly marked w/Oceania tag) along with our luggage in San Francisco and it was delivered to our PH along with our other bags. During the journey, we enjoyed bringing special bottles to the various restaurants and sharing tastes with the Sommeliers. They enjoyed the opportunity to taste older wines that they will likely not get onboard. The $25 corkage fee was cheap in order to enjoy special wines and it's no more than the 18% you would pay if purchasing off their list. IMO, it's all about how one conducts oneself. So thanks again CC folks for helping with our learning curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiawahdon Posted October 17, 2013 #27 Share Posted October 17, 2013 A bit off topic, but still involving adult beverages. Does anyone know if the terminal(s) at Southampton have duty free shops for the purchase of your favorite beverage prior to boarding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koko's_mom Posted October 17, 2013 #28 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Assuming we were to bring a few bottles of wine onboard to enjoy in our cabin or take along to dinner.....what is the corkage fee in the restaurants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted October 17, 2013 #29 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Assuming we were to bring a few bottles of wine onboard to enjoy in our cabin or take along to dinner.....what is the corkage fee in the restaurants? The Corkage fee' date=' which applies only to the Restaurants, although the open bottle may follow you throughout the ship, is twenty five dollars, and worth every penny. [img']https://saveursdumonde.blob.core.windows.net/saveursdumonde/site/content/148.jpg[/img] The Wine is served immaculately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted October 17, 2013 #30 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I just saw at one of my newsletters that Holland-America's $45/day beverage package limits you to no more than 15 drinks in a day ... I consider myself a pretty good drinker, but I don't think I could manage that much! They also charge 15% gratuity, so they are cheaper than O's package ... But they also require any companion in the cabin over 21 years of age to participate. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koko's_mom Posted October 17, 2013 #31 Share Posted October 17, 2013 The Corkage fee, which applies only to the Restaurants, although the open bottle may follow you throughout the ship, is twenty five dollars, and worth every penny. The Wine is served immaculately. Thank you for the info. If we we take a bottle to dinner one night but don't finish it, is it a one time corkage fee if the bottle follows us to the following night's dinner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted October 17, 2013 #32 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Yes, one fee per bottle. After that, you may call for said bottle at any meal, regardless of Restaurant, or in any Lounge. :D Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koko's_mom Posted October 17, 2013 #33 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Thank you JimamdStan. Love the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vistaman Posted October 19, 2013 #34 Share Posted October 19, 2013 A bit off topic, but still involving adult beverages. Does anyone know if the terminal(s) at Southampton have duty free shops for the purchase of your favorite beverage prior to boarding? i do not think so - heathrow does have a - small - duty free for arrivals - usually there is a special offer on one of the Champagnes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted October 19, 2013 #35 Share Posted October 19, 2013 I just saw at one of my newsletters that Holland-America's $45/day beverage package limits you to no more than 15 drinks in a day ... I consider myself a pretty good drinker, but I don't think I could manage that much! They also charge 15% gratuity, so they are cheaper than O's package ... But they also require any companion in the cabin over 21 years of age to participate. Mura This probably includes, waters, sodas, coffees, juices, smoothies etc., which are not part of a drink package on Oceania, as they are already included. I'm not familiar with HAL's program but I know that Celebrity's has those included in the package, they would be extra if you didn't have a package. The difference is Celebrity's has no limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted October 19, 2013 #36 Share Posted October 19, 2013 The difference is Celebrity's has no limit. I HATE the way that Celebrity handles their Beverage Package(s). Regardless of which one you choose, they only cover drinks up to a certain dollar amount, so you either wing up juggling your order to stay under the "LIMIT" or you wind up paying all kinds of surcharges. Tacky Tacky Tacky :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RalBel Posted October 30, 2013 #37 Share Posted October 30, 2013 The question of whether or not to purchase a drinks package depends in part on how much drinks cost purchased individually. Can someone please comment on how much premium bar drinks, a glass of wine, and a range for mid-priced bottles of wine cost? Thanks - and I very much appreciate the previous discusson of bringing wine and liquor aboard. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moyaroo Posted October 30, 2013 #38 Share Posted October 30, 2013 I found that a good bottle of wine purchased in Italy (a Valpolicella ripassa) at @18 us plus the $25 corkage was still better than the closest equivalent quality on board. Admittedly if corkage was a more reasonable $15 I would be happier but it was still a win :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TERRIER1 Posted October 30, 2013 #39 Share Posted October 30, 2013 The question of whether or not to purchase a drinks package depends in part on how much drinks cost purchased individually. Can someone please comment on how much premium bar drinks, a glass of wine, and a range for mid-priced bottles of wine cost? Thanks - and I very much appreciate the previous discusson of bringing wine and liquor aboard. Fred In April 2013 a glass of house wine with gratuity was around $9US. The house wines were fine with us. There is a happy hour from 5 to 6 pm with 2for1. We have noticed that O has been increasing the price about a $1 a year so this might all be different in 2014 or 2015. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvmovielover Posted November 2, 2013 #40 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Ok, got the flight info for Tahiti, so now I must plan my wine drinking for real. 1) What is the best way to pack wine in the checked luggage-box? 2) Are there wine stores in LAX? (Sorry but never been there) 3) I liked the above written comparison of cost of drinks one at a time vs your own stuff, etc. Can anyone tell me if I buy the 3 bottle pack on the Marina, how does that compare to buying one by one on board or bringing my own and paying the corkage fee? I understand about the wine packages but they are not set up the way just the two of us drink. One is too much and the other too little maybe. This is a good thread that made me happy to take an Oceania cruise as opposed to those lines that have wine police (an insult to ALL adults). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted November 2, 2013 #41 Share Posted November 2, 2013 I found that a good bottle of wine purchased in Italy (a Valpolicella ripassa) at @18 us plus the $25 corkage was still better than the closest equivalent quality on board. Admittedly if corkage was a more reasonable $15 I would be happier but it was still a win :) Agreed and we drank a good bit of that on our recent O cruise. It was better wine than was available on board and for a better price. We purchased a wine package and also paid corkage on the wine we brought aboard and drank in the restaurants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted November 2, 2013 #42 Share Posted November 2, 2013 The question of whether or not to purchase a drinks package depends in part on how much drinks cost purchased individually. Can someone please comment on how much premium bar drinks, a glass of wine, and a range for mid-priced bottles of wine cost? Thanks - and I very much appreciate the previous discusson of bringing wine and liquor aboard. Fred A bloody mary with bar brand vodka was ~12 with service fee. A Grey Goose martini was about the same. There was daily happy hour but it was too early for us. Glasses of wine were between 8.50-12.50 as I recall but we always ordered by the bottle or paid a corkage to drink our own, which we preferred as we were able to drink some lovely local wines. We did purchase a few bottles on the package and they averaged 45-50 plus 18% for what we chose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted November 2, 2013 #43 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Ok, got the flight info for Tahiti, so now I must plan my wine drinking for real. 1) What is the best way to pack wine in the checked luggage-box?2) Are there wine stores in LAX? (Sorry but never been there) 3) I liked the above written comparison of cost of drinks one at a time vs your own stuff, etc. Can anyone tell me if I buy the 3 bottle pack on the Marina, how does that compare to buying one by one on board or bringing my own and paying the corkage fee? I understand about the wine packages but they are not set up the way just the two of us drink. One is too much and the other too little maybe. This is a good thread that made me happy to take an Oceania cruise as opposed to those lines that have wine police (an insult to ALL adults). buy your wine in Tahiti...they have great French wines, at very low prices. LuAnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvmovielover Posted November 2, 2013 #44 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Thank you LuAnn. I would love to buy French wines there but we are arriving in Papeete at 8 pm and leaving at 5 am the next day. Are these wines available on some of the other islands as well or in the airport? Timing may not be my friend in this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted November 3, 2013 #45 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Thank you LuAnn. I would love to buy French wines there but we are arriving in Papeete at 8 pm and leaving at 5 am the next day. Are these wines available on some of the other islands as well or in the airport? Timing may not be my friend in this. I don't know. We bought the wines and cheese/pate' while staying on the island after the cruise at one of their supermarkets. You could sure check as you go along...what are you other ports? If you have to bring it with you in your checked luggage I've had good luck with putting the bottle inside a couple of pair of men's "gym sock" and placing them in the middle of the suitcase. Never had any break but it would be a bummer if one did!!! :eek: LuAnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted November 3, 2013 #46 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Magellan sells what they call "Bottle Armor" which holds a bottle quite safely. They're on sale right now for $18.75 for two. It is very sturdy. There are also rum runners but that's basically a plastic kind of material and I don't think any of us would want to put good wine in there. With the Bottle Armor you can put the whole bottle inside the container. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvmovielover Posted November 4, 2013 #47 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Thanks LuAnn and Mura. We are going only to islands near Tahiti-not sure how many are big enough to have a grocery store with French wine (though I will be looking especially in Bora Bora and Moorea which I think are a bit bigger). I also may ask the taxi driver if a supermarket is still open after we are on our way to the ship. Thanks to Mura I now know a lot about Bottle Armor when before I never heard of that and was uninterested in pouring a bottle of wine or anything else in a rum runner no matter how good the reviews. We do not usually check a bag but will this trip to bring our own snorkel gear. In case anyone else is interested, the Magellan bags come with a corkscrew and foil cutter for the price. Amazon also has a different version of the same thing well rated by users-who knew? I looked there because Amazon now sells some Magellan products. Lastly, Bottle Armor reviewers say to wrap bottle in an umbrella bag to get it in and out of the bag with ease. Anyway thanks to both again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted November 5, 2013 #48 Share Posted November 5, 2013 French wine is quite well priced in Tahiti. There are grocery store for sure on moorea and bora bora which carry wine. I would vote for buying there. In Papeete, we were able to buy a couple of bottles of French wine for less than we could have at our local wine store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvmovielover Posted November 5, 2013 #49 Share Posted November 5, 2013 The idea of the reasonable French wine is getting me even more excited about this trip since I can definitely get some in Moorea and Bora Bora if no time in Papeete. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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