Typical cost of a bottle of wine

[sjf]

We'll be on the Zaandam next month.

 

Can anyone please tell me what price a single bottle of wine starts at in the dining-room.

I am wondering whether we should buy a wine package. HA give the price of a package, but I can't find the price of single bottles to compare that with.

 

Can I also assume the gratuity added will be the same on both?

Thanks.

[RocketMan275]

Here's the answer to your question.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Dining-Room-Wine-Bottles.pdf

 

Strongly suggest your book mark and explore this site. Answers many more questions than you've asked.

 

Also, just off Westerdam last Saturday. We carried six bottles on board. As an example for comparison, a bottle of Coppola wine (Claret) sold on board for $54. Same bottle in Sam's club is $14.

[serendipity1499]

Here's the answer to your question.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Dining-Room-Wine-Bottles.pdf

 

Strongly suggest your book mark and explore this site. Answers many more questions than you've asked.

 

Also, just off Westerdam last Saturday. We carried six bottles on board. As an example for comparison, a bottle of Coppola wine (Claret) sold on board for $54. Same bottle in Sam's club is $14.

 

I agree with RocketMan, however he failed to tell you, that if you bring your own wine on board you will be required to pay a corkage fee for more than one bottle per person..

 

Believe that corkage fee is $18.00 which now brings the $14 bottle up to $32.00.. We find that purchasing HAL's wine packages are actually a better deal for us, even if the price is higher, instead of lugging our own wine on board..

[SilvertoGold]

The Admiral's Package usually has some good choices at reasonable (for HAL) prices.

[boze9999]

We are not wine snobs, however we truly enjoy wine (especially red wine) and will always have at least two glasses each of wine with dinner. If this describes you, then a wine package is for you. If you don't drink the entire bottle, you can take it to your room, to another ship cocktail lounge or leave it for another evening in the dining room or other restaurant. You will always save money with the packages (we prefer the Admiral package). If you enjoy less wine, but VERY good bottles, then you will find some of the wines on the "by the bottle list" to be extremely good values. (I have priced our faves out at a variety of wines stores and believe HAL is far more reasonable than the markup at most land based restaurants!) Check it over yourself and make the decision most appropriate for your preferences and tastes.

Edited March 16, 2016 by boze9999

[RocketMan275]

I agree with RocketMan, however he failed to tell you, that if you bring your own wine on board you will be required to pay a corkage fee for more than one bottle per person..

 

Believe that corkage fee is $18.00 which now brings the $14 bottle up to $32.00.. We find that purchasing HAL's wine packages are actually a better deal for us, even if the price is higher, instead of lugging our own wine on board..

 

Yes, I forgot to mention that. But, you may or may not be charged corkage. Numerous people have said they were not. Here's what happened to me when I tried to pay corkage.

 

We carried six bottles on board last week. When we went through security, there was no one manning the wine table. First, a Holland employee wanted to confiscate my wine saying I would get it back after the cruise. Then they wanted me to leave the wine at the unmanned table along with my room number. Supposedly, the wine would be billed and delivered to my room. Then I was told to take the wine leaving the bottle count and my room number at the table. The wine stickers would be delivered to my room.

 

Although the stickers not yet arrived, we did take a bottle of wine with us to dinner. The wine steward asked about our unstickered wine bottle. I explained the situation, that I was more than willing to pay the corkage for that bottle then and there but only if the steward could ensure that I would not be double charged. Finally, the steward just opened the bottle and went on his way. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed the wine. We took the rest of the wine back to our cabin.

 

The next day, I went to Guest Services to inquire about the wine. The young lady behind the counter said that someone would come to my room to take care of the wine. About 30 minutes later, a gentleman did come and placed stickers on four of the wine bottles. To the best of my knowledge, and I checked on the last day of the cruise, no charges were placed on my account for the four bottles of wine.

 

I tried to pay corkage. I went out of my way to pay corkage. No one would take my money.

[Overhead Fred]

Unless you are very particular about your wines, I would not recommend the wine packages. We found serviceable reds (mostly Australian) in the $29-35 per bottle range. The house wines (around $5-6/glass & about $15 for a carafe) were also OK. The wine lists had much more expensive choices as well. If you want to go for the higher end wines, then one of the packages may make sense.

[USN59-79]

One thing that wasn't mentioned about the wine packages is that they are discounted for those who cruise a lot. Four star Mariners get a 50% discount on a wine package. However, you are charged a 15% gratuity on the original price of the package. So, for example of the package was originally $200, it would normally be $230 total. For a four star Mariner it would be $130. Last time I bought the package it brought the cost of each bottle to something like $22. each.

[RocketMan275]

 

Believe that corkage fee is $18.00 which now brings the $14 bottle up to $32.00.. We find that purchasing HAL's wine packages are actually a better deal for us, even if the price is higher, instead of lugging our own wine on board..

 

Question: Do you pay 15% gratuity on a bottle bought on board? I didn't ask if the $54 bottle included gratuities or not.

[dakrewser]

Question: Do you pay 15% gratuity on a bottle bought on board? I didn't ask if the $54 bottle included gratuities or not.

 

Yes, 15% is added to all wine purchases

[hawkeye3d]

I only paid the $18 when I brought wine aboard, and only when my pack was x-rayed on the ship. When x-rayed on shore you could just walk on. We did encounter several instances where they wanted to confiscate our wine and we had to insist that a manager be called. After the second occurrence the manager just waived the $18.

 

Bob

[sjf]

Thanks to all who responded.

 

We will probably bring a bottle each of something nice on board as we will be visiting a couple of Chilean wineries the day before we set sail. Then we will most likely wait until we are on board to decide whether or not we would be better off with the wine package.

[DaveOKC]

Unless you are a 4 or 5 Star Mariner (and get the 50% wine package discount), I would opt for just using the normal wine list, as I do not think the saving is that significant and the selection is far less.

[SeaBands]

and pay the corkage since we know what wines we like and belong to a wine club and get very good prices for our favorites. The next cruise we will have to fly and plan to buy the wine on the ship. We like the Canaletto selections that run in the $20s as they are good and cheaper than the usual wines on the dinner list. You can order them in any dining room but you have to ask.

[boucherie]

What do you suppose is the true cost of a bottle of wine purchased by HAL which they in turn sell for $40., considering they do not pay any duty or sales tax on their purchase?

[dakrewser]

What do you suppose is the true cost of a bottle of wine purchased by HAL which they in turn sell for $40., considering they do not pay any duty or sales tax on their purchase?

 

They do pay duty and/or federal taxes - everybody does.

 

Compare the price to what your favorite restaurant sells a bottle for.

[kevingastreich]

Here's the answer to your question.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Dining-Room-Wine-Bottles.pdf

 

Strongly suggest your book mark and explore this site. Answers many more questions than you've asked.

 

Also, just off Westerdam last Saturday. We carried six bottles on board. As an example for comparison, a bottle of Coppola wine (Claret) sold on board for $54. Same bottle in Sam's club is $14.

 

I'm not a wine connisoure. Either is DW, but she bought a bottle "on sale" one time for $20 and I gotta say...it was terrible.

[sail7seas]

We are not wine snobs, however we truly enjoy wine (especially red wine) and will always have at least two glasses each of wine with dinner. If this describes you, then a wine package is for you. If you don't drink the entire bottle, you can take it to your room, to another ship cocktail lounge or leave it for another evening in the dining room or other restaurant. You will always save money with the packages (we prefer the Admiral package). If you enjoy less wine, but VERY good bottles, then you will find some of the wines on the "by the bottle list" to be extremely good values. (I have priced our faves out at a variety of wines stores and believe HAL is far more reasonable than the markup at most land based restaurants!) Check it over yourself and make the decision most appropriate for your preferences and tastes.

 

My late DH and I always have wine with dinner on the ships. We once bought the wine package and when we saw the list of wines from which we could choose, there was no wine we wanted. The list was not at all to our taste. The wine steward kindly canceled the wine package, refunded our money and brought us a regular wine list. :)

 

Be sure there are wines you wish to drink included in the wine package or it isn't worth much to you. I don't think anyone wishes to drink wine they don't enjoy.

 

[RocketMan275]

I'm not a wine connisoure. Either is DW, but she bought a bottle "on sale" one time for $20 and I gotta say...it was terrible.

 

Neither are we. There are some wines wife and I do not care for. Champagne for one. Sauvignon Blanc upsets my stomach.

 

A cruise is a special occasion for us and we want to enjoy good wine. The wines I carried on would have cost ~$100 on board. I paid $20-$40 at costco. I bought wines we had tried before (we don't usually spend that much but we splurge occasionally). It would kill me to pay $100 for a bottle and then find it was terrible. Since it is a splurge, we buy very good wines we know we like rather than gamble on something we haven't tried before.

[sail7seas]

I don't equate cost as the higher the better the wine. That is not always the case.

 

I really love Cloudy Bay Sauvignon blanc.

I was served Villa Maria and really enjoyed that.

 

It is the same grape and about $60 difference in price. HAL likely charges over $100 for Cloudy Bay now. It's been a while.

 

I happily order the Villa Maria and enjoy so it is not a 'high price' wine snob thing at all.

It is merely how much I enjoy the taste.

 

We couldn't find any wines in the package that were to our taste. It was not a price issue but limited choices..... especially given some on the list weren't even available. :rolleyes:

 

[Aegis1984]

They do pay duty and/or federal taxes - everybody does.

 

Compare the price to what your favorite restaurant sells a bottle for.

 

Perfect example of this: One of my favorite wineries, Church & State, has a Red called Quintessential. Their current vintage, 2011 (soon to be 2012) sells for $55 CAD per bottle. A local restaurant, The Pan Eatery, sells the current vintage by the bottle and charges $95/bo. The winery is in BC, just south of Oliver, and the restaurant is in Prince George, BC, less than a day's drive away. Same country, same province, same taxes, no duties.

 

Markup is a fact of life and how they make their money to pay the bills.

[veryseasonedtraveler]

You could attend Happy Hour and buy one glass at regular price and the second is $1. They also have a pairing in the Mix every night, which is a good value. Where there's a will, there's a way.

[donaldsc]

I agree with RocketMan, however he failed to tell you, that if you bring your own wine on board you will be required to pay a corkage fee for more than one bottle per person..

 

Believe that corkage fee is $18.00 which now brings the $14 bottle up to $32.00.. We find that purchasing HAL's wine packages are actually a better deal for us, even if the price is higher, instead of lugging our own wine on board..

 

If it costs you $54 on board and $32 with corkage to bring it on, you are saving $22 per bottle. If you drink 6 bottles of wine per cruise which is a reasonable amount to drink, that means that you save $132. I am perfectly willing to do a bit of lugging to save $132.

 

DON

[RocketMan275]

If it costs you $54 on board and $32 with corkage to bring it on, you are saving $22 per bottle. If you drink 6 bottles of wine per cruise which is a reasonable amount to drink, that means that you save $132. I am perfectly willing to do a bit of lugging to save $132.

 

DON

 

Actually, I believe I saved more than $132. It would appear that the markup is about 4 times store price. ($54/14=3.85) The wines I carried on had an average price of about $30. 30*3.85=115. Savings = 115-(30+18) = $38 per bottle or $220 more or less.

[dakrewser]

If it costs you $54 on board and $32 with corkage to bring it on, you are saving $22 per bottle. If you drink 6 bottles of wine per cruise which is a reasonable amount to drink, that means that you save $132. I am perfectly willing to do a bit of lugging to save $132.

 

DON

 

If the wine list price is $54, then the wine package price is approx $48, A 3* mariner gets it for $36 and a 4 or 5* pays only $24. So, no appreciable savings at all.