Ordering a wine package

[Divi]

We are considering ordering a wine package on our next cruise. Should we wait until we are in the MDR the first night and order it from the wine steward or should we order before we board?

I'm assuming the wine steward would get a credit if we order from him but I don't know for sure.

Thanks.

[Skipper's Mom]

We are considering ordering a wine package on our next cruise. Should we wait until we are in the MDR the first night and order it from the wine steward or should we order before we board?

I'm assuming the wine steward would get a credit if we order from him but I don't know for sure.

Thanks.

 

We always wait until we are on board. If you order in the MDR, your wine steward will get credit and be a happy camper! :D

[trixiee]

That's good to know! :)

[kazu]

My understanding is that the bar tips are shared. that being said, we now always order from the wine steward. #1 - we can check to see what wines are on board and in stock as well as his/her recommendations.

 

#2 - they know we will be drinking wine and will take good care of us:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have only done a couple of wine packages. We waited until we were on the ship to order the packages.

The bar staff share all the tips -- from the dining room, the Lido, all bars and lounges.

[Vict0riann]

We order on the ship, our first night in the MDR. It means we can chat with the wine steward for a few minutes and make a new friend! We get good service after that. :)

[puppycanducruise]

We ordered our wine package before the cruise so that it was paid for ahead - one less thing to pay for at the end.

[jtl513]

We ordered our wine package before the cruise so that it was paid for ahead - one less thing to pay for at the end.

Or, you could just buy OBC in advance to cover the wine you order on board. No chance of something going wrong with your wine pre-order, and any OBC you don't use is refunded at the end.

[Divi]

Thanks for your replies.

We will make our wine steward happy and order on board .

Do we choose from the list as needed or pick all of them when we place the order?

[Boytjie]

We received a wine package as a gift and I assume ordering it beforehand would work the same. When we boarded there was a gift card in our cabin and we took it to the MDR the first night, gave it to the wine steward and selected one bottle for that dinner. At subsequent dinners we just reminded the wine steward that we had a package and then selected another bottle from the list for that dinner.

[Hlitner]

Thanks for your replies.

We will make our wine steward happy and order on board .

Do we choose from the list as needed or pick all of them when we place the order?

 

You choose as you please when you please. DW and I usually drink 1/2 of a bottle with each dinner, and have them recork and hold the remainder. There are even times when we might have a half bottle of both a red and a white in storage. I would add that the quality of wines on both packages leave a lot to be desired if you are a Oenophile. 4 Star Mariners get 50% off (3 Stars get 25 % off) of the two packages and we get the feeling that the wines are carefully selected to generate a hefty profit when even sold at half price. That being said, we usually do buy the package (we get 50% off) but did not buy the packages until we became 3 Star).

 

Hank

[mjrider]

Do 3 and 4 Star Mariners recieve their percentage discount when ordering wine packages as a gift?

[OVgirl]

We order on the ship, our first night in the MDR. It means we can chat with the wine steward for a few minutes and make a new friend! We get good service after that. :)

 

Value of a friend....priceless.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

I ordered it ahead of time online from HAL last time and we just gave the card that was in the stateroom to the wine steward the first night and it worked out just fine. This time I have a bit of OBC waiting for us, so I am going to wait and order the package from the wine steward the first day/night on board. I hope it works as well as it did last time.

[cruz chic]

Do 3 and 4 Star Mariners recieve their percentage discount when ordering wine packages as a gift?

No, HAL's systems aren't smart enough to do that. I like to keep my preorders to a minimum for that reason. I don't want to have to remember to look/chase down the discount once on board. I know plenty of people will tell you it's not a problem. I have enough to keep my mind occupied already.

[Divi]

The wine steward on our last cruise suggested we order a wine package when we cruise again after he heard we were 3*.

On the Zuiderdam last month I had pre-booked and apparently

pre-paid :confused: a dinner for six at the Pinnacle.

My bill was adjusted, without asking, to reflect our discount.