Confused by wine prices

[babs135]

The cheapest wine package is $175 which for four bottles is a little steep, especially when you can buy a not unreasonable white wine for £5 in the local supermarket!! However, we're on holiday and decided we want to treat ourselves.

 

I tried to do a comparison of four bottles bought separately but the wine list seems to only show expensive wines and I couldn't find the bottles that are in the package . We've had bottles of wine on board (QM2) before and I'm sure we didn't pay telephone number prices. Either I'm missing something here or prices have soared since we last had a bottle. I'm sure DH wouldn't spend much more than about £20-£25 a bottle.

 

All helpful advice gratefully received.

[PORT ROYAL]

The cheapest wine package is $175 which for four bottles is a little steep, especially when you can buy a not unreasonable white wine for £5 in the local supermarket!! However, we're on holiday and decided we want to treat ourselves.

 

I tried to do a comparison of four bottles bought separately but the wine list seems to only show expensive wines and I couldn't find the bottles that are in the package . We've had bottles of wine on board (QM2) before and I'm sure we didn't pay telephone number prices. Either I'm missing something here or prices have soared since we last had a bottle. I'm sure DH wouldn't spend much more than about £20-£25 a bottle.

 

All helpful advice gratefully received.

 

A budget of £20/25.00 maximum? Then visit the supermarket and pay the $20.00 corkage fee. Simples :)

[kentchris]

I tried to do a comparison of four bottles bought separately but the wine list seems to only show expensive wines and I couldn't find the bottles that are in the package.

That's surprising - two or three months ago I took a careful look at the packages and I found 12 out of 14 Captain's Collection wines in the main list, mostly priced at $40. Most of the Commodore's Collection wines were also on the main list at $55 or $60. All of the onboard wine prices seem steep to me in comparison with my experience on P&O and Saga, but they look like they're roughly on par with Cunard's US competition. I don't recall seeing anything below about $32.50 (before gratuity) which is around the £25 mark at the moment, so phone number prices seem to be the rule.

 

In December I'll be sticking to the 'cheap' end of the main wine list for everyday drinking and I'll see what bin ends if any the sommeliers offer for something more interesting. I'll also take one or two expensive bottles from my collection and try to guess how much Cunard would charge for them.

[Underwatr]

By the way, it's always a bad idea to compare the lower end of any restaurant's wine list with prices for the same or a comparable bottle at the supermarket.

 

Cunard isn't far out of line here. Their markup on the more expensive bottles (say $60 and up) is more reasonable, but I still find it better to buy retail in the $40 range and pay corkage. You just have to be willing to discount the hassle factor for hauling to the ship and possible breakage.

[BklynBoy8]

By the way, it's always a bad idea to compare the lower end of any restaurant's wine list with prices for the same or a comparable bottle at the supermarket.

 

Cunard isn't far out of line here. Their markup on the more expensive bottles (say $60 and up) is more reasonable, but I still find it better to buy retail in the $40 range and pay corkage. You just have to be willing to discount the hassle factor for hauling to the ship and possible breakage.

I did one time research the prices and saw the markup. But we are not one to take bottles in our packing.

 

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[Underwatr]

We drive to Brooklyn so it's an easier decision for us.

[HelloKittysMum]

We flew to New York for Carribbean Christmas with 18 bottles of wine spread across 6 people's luggage for 4 adults. We vought a few bottles on board but paid corkage on our champagne and other wine. We are driving to Southampton in August for a TA with my parents who are doing back to back TA and I anticipate we will take 24 bottles with us. We usually drink wine around the £10 mark but interesting wines from small producers which is more interesting.

 

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[babs135]

Thanks everyone. Helpful advice as always.

 

Two more questions if you don't mind

 

How much is corkage?

If we do end up taking our own wine, do I give the bottle to the wine steward when he comes to the table?

[HelloKittysMum]

$20per bottle.

 

Yes you can give it to the sommellier. We didn't always finish each bottle each night (there were 4 of us and sone night 3 were on red with only me on white) and the wine was brought back the next evening. Some nights we took white wine down in the afternoon to be chilled.

 

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[Jack E Dawson]

At the beginning of May we took the E-W TA out of Southampton. We opted to spend the weekend before in London then take the Cunard sponsored motor coach on Monday morning to Southampton. One block from the bus terminal is the Majestic Wine Store (164 Buckingham Place Road, Victoria London). We popped in there on the way to the bus terminal and picked up 5 bottles of wine. This is a large full service wine store with very good prices. Spent $51. Of course there was no problem bringing these on board. Now you would think that 5 bottles for a 7-night cruise would be enough but we did find it necessary to purchase additional wine by the glass on the ship. Usually a glass at dinner and then a glass or two in the Queens Room during the evening dancing. We found the Cunard house cab to be very nice and consistent with normal restaurant prices for a house wine. On a few nights we ended our evenings with a drink in the Chart Room or Commodore's Lounge with either bourbon or a liqueur. These drinks were always around $8 which we found very reasonable for top shelf brands like Jack Daniels and Grand Marnier.

[insanemagnet]

The cheapest wine package is $175 which for four bottles

 

I tried to do a comparison of four bottles bought separately but the wine list seems to only show expensive wines and I couldn't find the bottles that are in the package.

 

That's odd, because I looked the other day and all the wines I checked were on the main list. Those from the $175 list are showing mostly at $40 on the main list, so $46 with the 15% gratuity. That means you would save $9 from buying the package.

 

I did one time research the prices and saw the markup.

 

I did the same yesterday for the $30, $35, and $40 wines.

 

$30 wines ($34.50 inc) tended to retail in the UK for about £7 ($8.50), so Cunard are selling for just over 4.1 times the retail price. $35 wines ($40 inc) retail for £8.50 ($10), so 3.9 times retail, and $40 wines ($46 inc) retail for £10 ($12), so 3.8 retail.

 

If you took the wine and paid the $20 corkage, you would save £5 ($6) on a $30 bottle, £8.50 ($10) on a $35 bottle, and £12 ($14) on a $40 bottle.

 

At the bottom end of the wine list there seems little point in the hassle of taking the wine and paying the corkage to save £5, and only starts to make sense once you get to the $40 bottles or higher.

[dfwguy]

Our 2nd crossing. In both instances, we have brought our own wine on board, paid the corkage fee and very happy about our decision.

In future, would do it again.