HAL wine packages, advice please

[neptuno]

Hello all HAL watchers, we are considering the ms Amsterdam 12/22, nine Carib islands in fourteen nights. Of course we hope the dog issue has been resolved, but we are also concerned about the wine packages and lack of affordable or reasonably priced selection. I understand we can order seven bottles of entry level wines for $199+15%, or roughly $33/bottle, not exactly a bargain by any means. We do not qualify for any "Star" discounts. Can you recommend an alternative other than lugging our own and paying the $18/bottle corkage fee? Is there a prepaid beverage card which would allow us to order wines by the glass for a discount? Thanks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL has the Signature Beverage Package -- each person in the cabin must buy the package and the only glasses of wine for this package is the house wine which is deferring by ship lately.

From HAL's site:

Our convenient, affordable Signature Beverage Package allows you to select from a variety of wine, beer, spirits, cocktails (including non-alcoholic), sodas & coffee! Includes any beverage priced at a $7.00 or lower menu price. Up to 15 beverages per day. * Prices are per day; Signature Beverage Package for $44.95* per day, per person a 15% service charge is not included and will be automatically applied to your purchase. The package must be purchased for the entire duration of the voyage. Up to a 15-drink maximum per day. All adults over 21 years old booked in the same stateroom must also purchase the package. Participants may order only one drink at a time. No sharing is permitted. Excludes Mini Bar, In-Room Dining, & beverages on Half Moon Cay. Packages are not transferable or refundable. Beverage management reserves the right to revoke the package if misused and reserves the right to refuse service for any reason; including refusing service of alcoholic beverages to intoxicated customers. Must be 21 years or older to purchase and agree not to give to minors.

[neptuno]

Thanks for responding. Doing the math the SBP would cost us $1447.39 for the two weeks, half of what the cabin cost, so out of range. HAL tells us there are house wines by the bottle for $27.50, has anyone tried them?

[summersigh]

DH and I are not big wine connoisseurs. We especially enjoy Zinfandel and Malbec which are only offered on the more expensive of the 2 levels of packages offered. Over the course of a 7 night cruise we'll normally have 5 bottles of wine in the MDR with dinner.

 

Looking at the prices of wines available on the "indulgences" menu for booked guests we found that ordering the wines we prefer was considerably cheaper by the bottle than in the package so that's what we'll probably do. Any bottle that you don't finish in the MDR can either be taken back to the cabin or held by the table waiters until the next night.

 

This will be the first time we're doing it this way - wine package has changed since our last cruise.

[DaveOKC]

Thanks for responding. Doing the math the SBP would cost us $1447.39 for the two weeks, half of what the cabin cost, so out of range. HAL tells us there are house wines by the bottle for $27.50, has anyone tried them?

 

I like the Chardonnay house wine - Santa Carolina. Our table mates on the last cruise were drinking this and they enjoyed it as well (we had not suggested it or anything). This is probably your best deal to fit your needs. I am not fond of the house reds though.

Edited December 10, 2014 by DaveOKC

[neptuno]

I like the Chardonnay house wine - Santa Carolina. Our table mates on the last cruise were drinking this and they enjoyed it as well (we had not suggested it or anything). This is probably your best deal to fit your needs. I am not fond of the house reds though.

 

Thanks for the advice, it is good to know the house wine is Santa Carolina. We are tempted to bring a case of Kendall Jackson, even though the corkage fees would be $216. The KJ is $54 on their wine list!

[sandthrush]

Thanks for the advice, it is good to know the house wine is Santa Carolina. We are tempted to bring a case of Kendall Jackson, even though the corkage fees would be $216. The KJ is $54 on their wine list!

 

Don't even get me started on the KJ, it's one of my favorites, but not at that price. :eek: That's why we "lug" our own, or go on another cruise line. Unfortunately, we have never been big fans of HAL's wine lists.

Edited December 10, 2014 by sandthrush

[pamelabrown53]

IMHO, it's better to bring what you really enjoy and pay the corkage. We leave on the Westerdam on Dec. 20th and already have the wine carry on snugly packed. 6 bottles corkage and one for the room. I'm going to carry on a 2 bottle neoprene carrier with my "free" room bottle and a corkage fee for a bottle of champagne to be consumed at sail away. If 2 people drink wine, why not drink what brings you pleasure, rather than pay higher prices for inferior wine? Salute! :D:D

[neptuno]

IMHO, it's better to bring what you really enjoy and pay the corkage. We leave on the Westerdam on Dec. 20th and already have the wine carry on snugly packed. 6 bottles corkage and one for the room. I'm going to carry on a 2 bottle neoprene carrier with my "free" room bottle and a corkage fee for a bottle of champagne to be consumed at sail away. If 2 people drink wine, why not drink what brings you pleasure, rather than pay higher prices for inferior wine? Salute! :D:D

 

Thanks, we're leaning in that direction, as the house wine may not please, even at $27.50, still expensive for a low end wine. Does anyone have any feedback on the Navigator wines?

[DaveOKC]

Thanks, we're leaning in that direction, as the house wine may not please, even at $27.50, still expensive for a low end wine. Does anyone have any feedback on the Navigator wines?

 

I tried the Navigator packages a couple of times. The first time I was disappointed with the reds (tried two and did not like), but the whites were fine.

 

This last cruise I started with a Chardonnay from CA - I think it had Dreamer in the name - and it was fine, so I just stuck with that for three bottles.

 

DaveOKC

[kazu]

I tried the Navigator packages a couple of times. The first time I was disappointed with the reds (tried two and did not like), but the whites were fine.

 

This last cruise I started with a Chardonnay from CA - I think it had Dreamer in the name - and it was fine, so I just stuck with that for three bottles.

 

DaveOKC

 

To add to what Dave has said, IMO - if you like whites the Navigator has some that are better than the Admiral (and the cellar master agreed) but if you like reds, I think the Admiral package is the better choice. It depends upon which way you lean.

 

There is also a bottle you can order from the indulgences packages - something like "Rudi's Select" - there is a red and a white for around $36. We ordered the red for DH and guests and it was quite decent in his opinion.

 

edited to say - of course you can take that to the dining room if you like as it is HAL's wine :)

Edited December 11, 2014 by kazu

[neptuno]

I've read the Dreaming Tree Chard is full bodied and 'oakey'. Thanks for the advice on the others. Finding decent wine at a decent price on HAL is definitely a challenge.

[Wakepatrol]

I know that Holland America is known for it's oenophiles but I learned on Shark Tank the other night that

 

97% of the wine sold in the U.S. sells for under $10 a bottle

[DaveOKC]

I've read the Dreaming Tree Chard is full bodied and 'oakey'. Thanks for the advice on the others. Finding decent wine at a decent price on HAL is definitely a challenge.

 

Thats the one I was referring to - I thought it was pretty good, but I am not a wine expert either.

 

DaveOKC

[taxmantoo]

I know that Holland America is known for it's oenophiles but I learned on Shark Tank the other night that

 

97% of the wine sold in the U.S. sells for under $10 a bottle

 

In Canada, with our low dollar and higher wine prices, that number is now around $15.00.

Another interesting fact, or not, is that over 90% of the wine bought in our provincial sales outlets is consumed within 4 hours. So much for aging your wine ;)

[OTOW guy]

there was really nothing to excite e. The best selections at a reasonable price are from the Canalleto lis at $25. Since we usually drive we take our favorites and pay the corkage.

[neptuno]

there was really nothing to excite e. The best selections at a reasonable price are from the Canalleto lis at $25. Since we usually drive we take our favorites and pay the corkage.

 

The corkage may be the way to go. Thanks.

[DaveOKC]

there was really nothing to excite e. The best selections at a reasonable price are from the Canalleto lis at $25. Since we usually drive we take our favorites and pay the corkage.

 

As a 4 Star, the wine packages are a decent deal IMO. You get 50% off the normal price. I think you end up paying about $20 per bottle for the Navigation package.

Edited December 12, 2014 by DaveOKC

[neptuno]

As a 4 Star, the wine packages are a decent deal IMO. You get 50% off the normal price. I think you end up paying about $20 per bottle for the Navigation package.

 

Thanks for mentioning that. As a newbie here, how long until I become 4Star?

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for mentioning that. As a newbie here, how long until I become 4Star?

 

Depends on how offten you cruise, and the kind of cabin you pick. My guess it could be four or five years. Sorry.

[RuthC]

Thanks for mentioning that. As a newbie here, how long until I become 4Star?

That depends on how often you cruise, whether or not you cruise in a suite, and how much on-board spending you have.

You need 200 days in HAL cruise credits to reach 4* level. Each day is one credit; a suite doubles that. Each $300 in on-board spending is another day, up to the number of days in the cruise.

So, a 7-day cruise in a suite can earn up to 21 days. A 10-day cruise can earn up to 30 days.

[OTOW guy]

the wines weren't worth drinking.

[neptuno]

the wines weren't worth drinking.

 

Are you referring to the Navigator or Admiral packages, and/or the house wine by the glass included with the SBP? Hope we don't have to skip wine with our dinner.

Edited December 12, 2014 by neptuno

[visagrunt]

It depends on how much effort you are willing to undertake to save a buck.

 

In my view, buying anything outside the $15-$50 range (BC prices) is a waste of money--below that the quality is poor, and above that the incremental quality for the added price is negligible. (Except for the special case of Champagnes and other high quality sparklers.)

 

Very high quality bottles simply don't travel well. That First Growth you have been very carefully cellaring for 15 years is going to respond very poorly to having its lees dredged up while packed in a suitcase and loaded onto planes, buses, taxis and ships. With the best will in the world, the wine steward is not going to be able to keep it horizontal and still. They don't have decanters (or as far as I am aware, cradles). High quality wine on ship is just pointless--and let's be honest, the quality of cuisine simply doesn't merit that calibre of wine. This isn't Tour d'argent after all.

 

The Navigator wine package has some decent bottles. The Alice White Shiraz is a perfectly acceptable bottle in my view. In the whites there are a couple of nice numbers. Sure the bottle price is excessive when compared with liquor stores, but the markup is no more outrageous than what is charged in restaurants. Once you have your third mariner star, that price drops, too. The Admiral package is not worth the increased price of admission. The incremental quality simply isn't there.

 

So, pay $33 per bottle for the package, or buy the bottles and pay $18 corkage. Frankly, I would rather not deal with the hassle of lugging a bunch of wine around. I might buy a couple of decent bottles of bubbles as our freebies to avoid the high markup that an expensive bottle attracts. But beyond that, it's just not worth all that effort to save a few bucks.

[summersigh]

I broke out LOL in the grocery today. Beringer's White Zin is normally $9 a bottle. Today it was on sale at 2 for $9 ... then had a $2 off a bottle tag around the neck. So my final price was $2.50 a bottle :D

 

Price on HAL (and other lines as well) around $38 a bottle. Nice profit margin I'd say :D:D

 

And before I get flamed ... we will be buying at least 5 bottles of wine for dinner on board during our 7 night cruise ... so we're not "cheap" ... just amused.

We're like the poster above and don't care to drag any more wine aboard and then carry it to the dining room other than the 2 bottles we'll bring to consume in the cabin on sailaway and sea days.

Edited December 12, 2014 by summersigh