New Wine Packages

[kazu]

I guess I'll wait til aboard in March to see WHAT Wine Package I will get the Mariner 50% credit on...as HAL's Mariner Reward info sez, '50% discount EXCEPT Cellar Packages', by the glass, etc. etc. Hmm.

 

Kftw is right on. To clarify, the Cellar Master Package is a special wine package with wine tastings, etc. It's not the same as the regular wine packages shown on this thread.

 

Anything with the words "Cellar Master" is excluded from the discount including the Cellar Master dinner but these are all special purchases - completely different than the wine packages.

 

The regular wine packages are ok with discount. It's the Cellar Master Wine Package that doesn't get a discount.

 

From HAL's website:

 

50% discount on wine packages (excluding wine

cards, Cellar Master packages, individual bottles,

wine-by-the-glass and beverage gift cards)§

 

 

Exactly ;)

[erewhon]

Thank you for posting the new wine packages.

 

Hope you are having a great cruise.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Price per bottle breakdown is:

 

Cellar #1

4 - $29.75

6 - $28.17

8 - $27.38

 

Cellar #2

4 - $37.25

6 - $38.17

8 - $36.13

 

Cellar #3

4 - $47.25

6 - $44.83

8 - $41.13

 

It's interesting to note that in Cellar #2 it's actually cheaper to buy 4 bottles than 6.

I may bring this up to them on Sunday, I think we will purchase Cellar#2 because it has the most wines I know we will like and had wanted the 6 bottles. I may question why it is cheaper for 4 rather than 6.

 

Thanks Dave for posting this info, definitely soemthing I needed to catch up on before I board the ship ;-)

Edited February 3, 2018 by LAFFNVEGAS

[portofrome]

Thanks so much for posting the new packages!

[Floridiana]

In whatever dining venue, your bottle can be retrieved. If you are in a Lounge, i.e. Ocean Bar, and your bottle is stored in the dining room's storage area, it may not be possible. A way to prevent that issue is to have a bottle be stored in whichever Lounge's Bar you prefer. A bottle stored at the Ocean Bar can be obtained by a Steward going from, let's say, MIX, to the Ocean Bar and obtaining your bottle.

 

Your Wine Steward will be pleased to mark your bottle of wine with your stateroom number/name. If you are at a Fixed Seating time, your bottle of Red Wine should be near where you sit at your table; a white wine will be in a wine bucket near your table.

 

Thank you very much, sounds good.

[sailingdutchy]

QUESTION: What will 4 or 5-Star Mariners pay for the new Wine Packages?

 

4 or 5 * Mariners would pay 50 % of the package price plus 15 % on the original package for service charge .

So the Cellar # 1 package is $ 109.50 plus 32.85 + $142.35 for 8 bottles or $ 17.79 per bottle :D

 

We find it best to purchase it on board so we get charged the correct price .

[akke29]

Thanks for posting this! We are sailing in a month on Oosterdam and am trying to nail down some details, like wether to buy a drink package or not. I'm thinking not, because purchasing the package for all people in the cabin is not only ridiculously expensive, but it doesn't make sense for us. The wine packages however are exactly what I was hoping for, since 2 of the 3 of us are generally wine with dinner drinkers only.

 

Question... it makes no mention of having to buy these wine packages per person in the cabin. So, am I right in deducing that the wine packages are for each cabin? We would all share the 8 bottles of our choosing from the package, for example, over the course of our 12 day cruise?

Edited May 22, 2018 by akke29

[taxmantoo]

Question... it makes no mention of having to buy these wine packages per person in the cabin. So, am I right in deducing that the wine packages are for each cabin? We would all share the 8 bottles of our choosing from the package, for example, over the course of our 12 day cruise?

 

Absolutely. Once you purchase the package, the 8 bottles (or however many you purchase) are yours to do as you wish. You can have them at dinner in the MDR, have some delivered to a favourite bar onboard, have some delivered to your room, etc... as you wish.

[akke29]

Absolutely. Once you purchase the package, the 8 bottles (or however many you purchase) are yours to do as you wish. You can have them at dinner in the MDR, have some delivered to a favourite bar onboard, have some delivered to your room, etc... as you wish.

 

Great! When you say "do as I wish" do you also mean I can pick the same bottle more than once, if I absolutely need more? lol.

[VMax1700]

Great! When you say "do as I wish" do you also mean I can pick the same bottle more than once, if I absolutely need more? lol.

 

Yes! Provided that they have sufficient stock. It pays to check with the wine steward if stock levels are ok.

[taxmantoo]

Great! When you say "do as I wish" do you also mean I can pick the same bottle more than once, if I absolutely need more? lol.

If you do like a particular bottle, you can ask your wine steward to put aside however many of those you wish to ensure they are still available later in the cruise. They will label them with your room number.

[TrolleyGirl]

Additionally, if you do not open all the bottles from your package, you can take your unopened bottles home with you.

[Tampa Girl]

Thanks Dave,

 

While the packages were posted, this makes an easy reference for anyone interested and, for those that may not have read the other threads.

 

Much appreciated :)

 

Kazu, I am interested in your spreadsheet but I don't want to highjack this thread. Can you email me at moorev64@yahoo.com? I don't know if we can do something like this for our upcoming Grand Asia, which is exactly four months out. Would like to hear from you if you have the time. Thanks. Virginia

[jshli]

Is there a cost savings to purchase the wine package rather than purchase by the bottle?

[Hlitner]

Is there a cost savings to purchase the wine package rather than purchase by the bottle?

 

Yes, there is always some savings although you do sacrifice the ability to choose better wines to get a discount on the package wines. Also keep in mind that 3, 4 and 5 Star Mariners get big discounts on the packages (25 or 50%) which is a big incentive for us to choose those packages. When we were at lower Mariner levels we were less inclined to use the packages.

 

Hank

[Cruise Junky]

- Are Villa Maria and Cloudy Bay the same grape? They taste the same to me and I really like both. :)

 

 

Dave, thanks for sharing this with us. very helpful.

 

They are both Wineries that produce a Sauvignon Blanc amount other varieties. But I'm assuming you're talking about the SB as that seems to be what most people drink from both Cloudy Bay & Villa Maria.

[vinonme2]

Don't see my absolute favorite, Spellbound Cabernet. That's been in the 2nd. package for years and was all we ordered.

 

Guess this means I'll have to do multiple wine tastings at home before my next cruise.

[Vict0riann]

Don't see my absolute favorite, Spellbound Cabernet. That's been in the 2nd. package for years and was all we ordered.

 

Guess this means I'll have to do multiple wine tastings at home before my next cruise.

 

One of our cruising friends said he missed the Spellbound, too, on Rotterdam. He asked his wine steward why it wasn't in the package and the wine steward let him include it in the package he had purchased.

[Cybercsp]

Our cruise companions were able to get Spellbound upon request as part of their package (Zaandam January 2018). Hope you will be as lucky!

[vinonme2]

One of our cruising friends said he missed the Spellbound, too, on Rotterdam. He asked his wine steward why it wasn't in the package and the wine steward let him include it in the package he had purchased.

 

Our cruise companions were able to get Spellbound upon request as part of their package (Zaandam January 2018). Hope you will be as lucky!

That's great news! Thank you both!

[Aruba]

Guess this means I'll have to do multiple wine tastings at home before my next cruise.

Tough job, but someone's got to do it... :cool:

[vinonme2]

Tough job, but someone's got to do it... :cool:

 

 

You're right!