Navigator Wine Package (7 bottle) price reduction??

[Alphen]

Am I mistaken, or has the Navigator Wine Package (7 bottle) recently been reduced in price? For our cruise in December it was listed as $ 248.95, now it is listed $ 228.85, before mariner discount I assume, since I understand that the mariner discount is deducted afterwards on your onboard account?

[Aruba]

The 7-bottle Navigator Wine Package used to be $199, plus 15% gratuity equals $228.85. I don't think the price changed.

[Alphen]

The 7-bottle Navigator Wine Package used to be $199, plus 15% gratuity equals $228.85. I don't think the price changed.

 

Odd, bought one in august last year, with the included 15% it was $248.75 !

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

The 7-bottle Navigator Wine Package used to be $199, plus 15% gratuity equals $228.85. I don't think the price changed.

 

This is what the cost was in December on the Amsterdam. For the discount for 4 star mariners, you pay 1/2 the 199.00 plus the 15% on the 199.00.

[Aruba]

Odd, bought one in august last year, with the included 15% it was $248.75 !

That's really bizarre because that would say that the pre-tax, pre-Mariner Discount price of the 7 bottle Navigator Wine Package was $216.30.

[$216.30 x 1.15 = $248.75]

$216.30 would be a strange price for HAL to charge.

 

The last several times I've sailed HAL, pre-tax prices were:

$89 for 3-bottle Navigator

$149 for 5-bottle Navigator

$199 for 7-bottle Navigator

 

$118 for 3-bottle Admiral

$199 for 5-bottle Admiral

$269 for 7-bottle Admiral

[cruisinsince75]

Yes. They have lowered their wine packages prices. Not sure what they were before, but friends did say they came down from what had previously been published for their February cruise. They also said that there had been so much flack over their new alcohol policies, that HAL made the decision to lower the packages a bit to hopefully ease some of those tensions.

[Vict0riann]

That's nice to know. Now, if they would just increase the selection!:)

[kazu]

that's nice to know. Now, if they would just increase the selection!:)

 

amen:d:d

[innlady1]

Looks like I'm stuck with the current selection for our upcoming Noordam cruise. :( What are the current Chardonnay and Malbec selections in both packages...anyone know? 10 day cruise...guess we'll buy a 5 bottle package.

Edited January 19, 2014 by innlady1

[Aruba]

That's nice to know. Now, if they would just increase the selection!:)

 

amen:d:d

Amen is right. I don't think the choices have changed in...I don't know, seems like forever.:rolleyes:

[Aruba]

Looks like I'm stuck with the current selection for our upcoming Noordam cruise. :( What are the current Chardonnay and Malbec selections in both packages...anyone know? 10 day cruise...guess we'll buy a 5 bottle package.

For Naviator, the Chardonnay choices are Caliterra (Chile) and Toasted Head (CA). The Malbec is Diseno from Argentina.

 

For Admiral, the Chardonnay choices are Clos du Bois and Franciscan. There is no Malbec on the Admiral package...but the Red Guitar Tempranillo would be a possible substitute..

[Aruba]

I just remembered, there is another Chardonnay on the Admiral package: Laboure-Roi Macon Villages. Personally I don't like it at all...which is why I forgot it. But if you like old world, un-oaked chards, you might like it.

[2bout2c]

This is what the cost was in December on the Amsterdam. For the discount for 4 star mariners, you pay 1/2 the 199.00 plus the 15% on the 199.00.

The charge for 4 and 5 star discount is 50% but the 15% is on the total quote of the charge not the discount. So that means the 4 and 5 star mariners pay a 30% tip.

[Aruba]

The charge for 4 and 5 star discount is 50% but the 15% is on the total quote of the charge not the discount. So that means the 4 and 5 star mariners pay a 30% tip.

Yes, a 15% gratuity on the undiscounted price is equivalent to a 30% gratuity on the discounted price for 4- and 5-star Mariners. But personally I think it would be unfair to the hardworking wine stewards to penalize them by cutting their gratuity in half just because I get a 50% discount on the wine package price. Just my opinion.

[Hlitner]

You have to love HAL marketing. Lets take a bunch of cheap wines (most of which cost HAL less then $4 a bottle) and put it in a nice package. Then let's price that package at about $30 a bottle (a mark up in excess of 900%). And we will then offer that to our best customers (3, 4 and 5 Star Mariners) at a big discount. So, for example, a 4 Star Mariner is paying about a 400% mark-up for those "fantastic" wine that most would not consider drinking at home. Of course some experienced Mariners realized the folly and learned to bring their own wine selections (by the case) onboard and even pay the corkage fee. Their calculation was that even after paying that corkage fee. they were getting a real bargain when compared to the oft criticized wines on the HAL wine list or on the Navigator and Admiral Packages. So., HAL decided they had a better idea. And the word came forth from Seattle. NO MORE! We will not let you bring those excellent wines aboard (even if you want to pay us tribute) because we insist that you drink our lousy to mediocre wines at huge mark-ups. Otherwise, go drink water (but be careful because we now try to get you to also pay for water). As to the 15% that is just another way to separate passengers from their hard-earned money. So you buy a $10 bottle of wine that HAL sells for $60 and then HAL charges you $69 for that $10 bottle....which is OK since part of it is a "gratuity" that simply goes into a fund to be distributed to the crew. In other words, instead of HAL properly compensating their crew they expect the passengers to fork over part of the compensation. Ahhhh. what a wonderful world!

 

Ok, so now I will get "flamed" for telling it the way it is. And yes, like most of you we continue to cruise, pay the demanded "tribute.," follow the rules, traditions, etc. Even with all these silly marketing schemes, cruising is still one of the best travel modes out in this big world and we love it. And no, we will not express these thoughts when on any cruise since we are too busy having fun, buying the wine, etc. But CC is a wonderful place to vent.

 

Hank

[innlady1]

I just remembered, there is another Chardonnay on the Admiral package: Laboure-Roi Macon Villages. Personally I don't like it at all...which is why I forgot it. But if you like old world, un-oaked chards, you might like it.

 

Not I! I like oaky chardonnays...I believe Toasted Head is somewhat oaky. Don't know about the others.

[dr.dawg]

actually cc is not a wonderful place to vent, unless you want to get flamed and attacked by the cheerleaders. a better place is oceania lines' site; just go there and book now. better food, better ships, better wines, better smoking policy -- for smokeers- and much better 'bring aboard' policy. why fret with getting ugliness on the cc hal site???? oceania is a premium cruise line; not a small facsimile of carnival. look at oceania's cc board and you will immediately sense the difference.

[innlady1]

Welcome back, dr. dawg! So nice to see you again....

[Aruba]

Not I! I like oaky chardonnays...I believe Toasted Head is somewhat oaky. Don't know about the others.

I like the Franciscan. Toasted Head is OK but not great.

[SilvertoGold]

You have to love HAL marketing. Lets take a bunch of cheap wines (most of which cost HAL less then $4 a bottle) and put it in a nice package. Then let's price that package at about $30 a bottle (a mark up in excess of 900%). And we will then offer that to our best customers (3, 4 and 5 Star Mariners) at a big discount. So, for example, a 4 Star Mariner is paying about a 400% mark-up for those "fantastic" wine that most would not consider drinking at home. Of course some experienced Mariners realized the folly and learned to bring their own wine selections (by the case) onboard and even pay the corkage fee. Their calculation was that even after paying that corkage fee. they were getting a real bargain when compared to the oft criticized wines on the HAL wine list or on the Navigator and Admiral Packages. So., HAL decided they had a better idea. And the word came forth from Seattle. NO MORE! We will not let you bring those excellent wines aboard (even if you want to pay us tribute) because we insist that you drink our lousy to mediocre wines at huge mark-ups. Otherwise, go drink water (but be careful because we now try to get you to also pay for water). As to the 15% that is just another way to separate passengers from their hard-earned money. So you buy a $10 bottle of wine that HAL sells for $60 and then HAL charges you $69 for that $10 bottle....which is OK since part of it is a "gratuity" that simply goes into a fund to be distributed to the crew. In other words, instead of HAL properly compensating their crew they expect the passengers to fork over part of the compensation. Ahhhh. what a wonderful world!

 

Ok, so now I will get "flamed" for telling it the way it is. And yes, like most of you we continue to cruise, pay the demanded "tribute.," follow the rules, traditions, etc. Even with all these silly marketing schemes, cruising is still one of the best travel modes out in this big world and we love it. And no, we will not express these thoughts when on any cruise since we are too busy having fun, buying the wine, etc. But CC is a wonderful place to vent.

 

Hank

 

I don't know about the prices HAL actually pays for the wine they buy for the ships, but what you say seems about how a for-profit company works.

What the market will pay.

 

This is the main reason we don't drink a lot of wine anymore. Beer is a lot better buy for us: at least we do know what we are buying, unlike with the "never heard of" wines HAL has. That and Happy Hour drinks and we are satisfied with our consumption choices.

 

That said, if HAL were to pull out some reasonable wines for reasonable prices, they would be making a lot more money from us.

[cruisinsince75]

You have to love HAL marketing. Lets take a bunch of cheap wines (most of which cost HAL less then $4 a bottle) and put it in a nice package. Then let's price that package at about $30 a bottle (a mark up in excess of 900%). And we will then offer that to our best customers (3, 4 and 5 Star Mariners) at a big discount. So, for example, a 4 Star Mariner is paying about a 400% mark-up for those "fantastic" wine that most would not consider drinking at home. Of course some experienced Mariners realized the folly and learned to bring their own wine selections (by the case) onboard and even pay the corkage fee. Their calculation was that even after paying that corkage fee. they were getting a real bargain when compared to the oft criticized wines on the HAL wine list or on the Navigator and Admiral Packages. So., HAL decided they had a better idea. And the word came forth from Seattle. NO MORE! We will not let you bring those excellent wines aboard (even if you want to pay us tribute) because we insist that you drink our lousy to mediocre wines at huge mark-ups. Otherwise, go drink water (but be careful because we now try to get you to also pay for water). As to the 15% that is just another way to separate passengers from their hard-earned money. So you buy a $10 bottle of wine that HAL sells for $60 and then HAL charges you $69 for that $10 bottle....which is OK since part of it is a "gratuity" that simply goes into a fund to be distributed to the crew. In other words, instead of HAL properly compensating their crew they expect the passengers to fork over part of the compensation. Ahhhh. what a wonderful world!

 

Ok, so now I will get "flamed" for telling it the way it is. And yes, like most of you we continue to cruise, pay the demanded "tribute.," follow the rules, traditions, etc. Even with all these silly marketing schemes, cruising is still one of the best travel modes out in this big world and we love it. And no, we will not express these thoughts when on any cruise since we are too busy having fun, buying the wine, etc. But CC is a wonderful place to vent.

 

Hank

 

No flames here. In fact, all the things you've mentioned, we are in total agreement. On what was one of our favorite lines, their outrageous wine prices, limited selection, and new onboard alcohol policies are just some of the reasons why we are now choosing other lines.

[lastlook]

Looks like I'm stuck with the current selection for our upcoming Noordam cruise. :( What are the current Chardonnay and Malbec selections in both packages...anyone know? 10 day cruise...guess we'll buy a 5 bottle package.

 

We were just on the Noordam for New Year's and purchased the Admiral Package. We really enjoyed the Franciscan. It is currently priced at $18 here at home. Perhaps you might like to try it before you leave to see if it appeals to you?

[llou85]

Can you get a refund on the difference in prices?

[Aruba]

Can you get a refund on the difference in prices?

I don't think anyone has confirmed yet that there is in fact a reduction in price. At least no one has posted the new prices, if in fact there are new prices.

[ighten]

Has anyone got a link to any of the available wines on the navigators package at the moment.. If Ravenswood is still on I may be tempted - though its still cheaper just to bring a cpl of cases and pay the corkage - but Im thinking of the practicality