Elite Drink Package

[sillypuppy]

We are on our first Alaskan Cruise this coming May!!  We are debating between the signature and elite drink package. Is the wine really that bad with the signature package?  All other drinks we would have are under the $9 limit for the signature. Just wondering if it is worth the upgrade just for wine. 

[CruiserBruce]

Depends on your taste in wines. We don't think the wines are that bad.

[kazu]

27 minutes ago, sillypuppy said:

We are on our first Alaskan Cruise this coming May!!  We are debating between the signature and elite drink package. Is the wine really that bad with the signature package?  All other drinks we would have are under the $9 limit for the signature. Just wondering if it is worth the upgrade just for wine. 

 

If you are the least bit fussy with wine, then yes, I would go for the Elite package.

 

The whites are just “ok” in the SBP.  The reds are borderline for DH.

 

But everyone’s tastes are subjective.

The wine is not ‘bad’ but the choices are really limited and we had SBP last cruise for one segment and the wine steward was surprised when we ordered bottles of wine in the MDR.  No way were we having that at dinner and we like variety 😉 

[SWFLAOK]

The wines for 9 dollars a glass or less were quite good, and we usually drink good wine at home with dinner. We didn't have any problems with our sommelier offering us anything higher in price without letting us know,  and once she knew what we liked, she offered us something she knew we would like. We tasted each wine before we accepted it the first time.

We did have trouble with one of the bars adding a dollar to the price of a drink on the menu for a premium spirit that we didn't order .That would have made us pay for the entire cost of the drink (9.50 or 10.00 plus 15% tip). When we pointed it our, they removed the charge. They did it a second time, and after that we had our cocktails elsewhere.

We brought 2 bottles of good champagne on board since we were on a holiday cruise, and we had those bottles in our cabin with an ice bucket included without a corking charge.

[OVgirl]

You could check out some of the bar menus that have been posted, find the wines included in SBP, buy them at home and try a tasting before you go on your cruise. Don't imagine that the wines will be very expensive.

[Jareds_mommytoo]

I hope you don’t mind me jumping in to, so other then if you are into wine I get the impression it’s not worth upgrading? We have been thinking about it to

[tv24]

The Elite package is indeed expensive, but...We love to drink wine with dinner and a glass after dinner is nice as well.  The limited selection in the Signature package was not suited to us wine snobs so we splurged on Elite and will do so again on the Noordam in April.  Nice to have access to cocktails and coffee drinks as well.  We love our lattes.

[Hawaiidan]

If I valued wine I liked,  I would bring my own  even if it were $18 per bottle  it still is a good deal  as you would be getting good wine by your standards, at half the price of any wine by the glass.   I brought on a 1982 Pomerol once and paid the corkage for s $$$$ bottle well worth it

 

  As far as hard liquor  Id buy several bottles for the cabin and  drink sparingly outside.  and save a bunch.     If HAL is like other lines and you pay the corkage, they will store your wine and bring it to your table when requested      Looking at the limits to either package I figured its not a good deal   Not only are limited to # of drinks and   pours ( single or double)  bit the price of the brand.....    

[sillypuppy]

If we purchase the Signature package ahead of time and decide while on board to upgrade to Elite, can we do this?  Do we have to do this right away or can we do it a day or two into the cruise?