Silver Spirits Add-on - timing on when to get?

[CCWineLover]

I am wondering about the Silver Spirits package and when one can get it.  I assume you can normally get it when you arrive on board, as I know people have done so.  However, I am wondering if you can still sign up for it on day 2, or day 3, or whatever, in order to give yourself a chance to see if you really want it or not.   We are mostly wine drinkers and not hard liquor drinkers.  In our past cruises we observed that it seemed most of the package people were either very hard liquor drinkers or both wine and hard liquor.  People we spoke to also agreed.

However - the convenience of having a glass of wine when you want it, or perhaps even an after dinner port or something, is appealing.

Wondering how lenient Viking is on waiting a day or two to sign up and then pro-rating the daily $40 fee (per cabin).

Has anyone had any experiences with this?

[BTB3]

I’m pretty sure you can buy the SS onboard, but I don’t believe that Viking would prorate the SS package if you bought it a few days into your cruise. On CC and other sites I’ve seen Viking drink price lists. Why don’t you call or EM Viking Customer Relations to get optional wine lists and wine and hard liquor drink prices for your specific cruise, and then estimate your drink bill to see if the SS package would be beneficial to you. Also ask if the SS package is possible to prorate mid-cruise. Don’t forget that you can also buy a bottle in port and bring it aboard with no corkage fee. Although we had extra drinks on our cruises when we wanted them, it hasn’t been cost efficient for us to buy the package. Good luck!

 

 

 

[imcpa]

They will not prorate the package.  We ordered it before we boarded and it was great.  We definitely got our $s worth and all of the bartenders quickly learned who we were and our drink preferences.  We sail Viking again in December this year and will definitely purchase the package.  

[deec]

Our favorite Viking bartenders even tried to have stuffed blue cheese olives on some days!!!!

We have enjoyed the SS package of Ocean Voyages...can't decide if we will buy it for an upcoming river cruise.

[Maggers]

I can confirm what others have said above - you can buy the package after being onboard a few days but it will not be prorated.  As wine drinkers ourselves, I can say that the package was worth it just for the upgraded wines at meals and, of course, availability of wines outside of mealtimes.

[CCWineLover]

Thank you all for your very good inputs!   We'll see if we can find out from Viking what the wine/drink lists are for our Dec. South American cruise coming up - and can then research whether it makes sense for us.   Our good friends are on a Viking cruise now and let us know that they ordered the SSP the day after boarding-first full day (so the boarding day didn't count).  So if you have a 15 day/14 night cruise, you really would be paying for 13 days, since the first day is embarkationg and the  final day is disembarkation early.

[just_dont]

The best time to get the SS package is when they include it as a promo during booking [emoji6].

It was the promo last August (?) when we booked the Midnight Sun cruise we're on right now.

Chef's Table wine pairings have been amazing, and being able to just order whatever we want from any bar at any time is wonderful.

 

Yes, you can add it at any time once onboard, but as said before, it won't be prorated. And you must get it for both pax in your cabin.

 

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[CCWineLover]

40 minutes ago, just_dont said:

The best time to get the SS package is when they include it as a promo during booking .

It was the promo last August (?) when we booked the Midnight Sun cruise we're on right now.

Chef's Table wine pairings have been amazing, and being able to just order whatever we want from any bar at any time is wonderful.

 

Yes, you can add it at any time once onboard, but as said before, it won't be prorated. And you must get it for both pax in your cabin.

 

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Wow!  I'll have to look for promos!  We certainly did not know about any promos nor have we heard about them even from our travel agent and this will be our 4th Viking Ocean Cruise.

Thanks for the tip/point on the Chef's Table wine pairings as well - that might be the kicker since I see it costs $25/pp for those and we love the Chef's Table - will try to go there 4 or 5 times in a cruise.  Thank goodness a lot of people on the cruises we've been on like the other restaurants better, since we've never then had an problem getting into CT going "standby" !!    Wonder if CT is ever popular on any of the Viking Cruises, or were we just lucky?

[RetroRod]

We were booked on a Viking Ocean Cruise last year and a few months after we booked Viking ran a “Promo” offering the SSP. Our TA looked into it and found the cost of the promo cruise was higher than what were booked for. Food for thought. Also just completed a HL Cruise on the Sea and found the included wines to be very drinkable and were varied throughout the cruise. We purchased wine by the glass at other times at what I feel are very reasonable prices. I included a link from a previous post that shows what drinks were available and the prices. Note: the higher end wines are not included in the SSP

https://sandinmysuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Viking-Ocean-Cruises-Wine-List.pdf

[CCWineLover]

2 minutes ago, VJMAZZ said:

We were booked on a Viking Ocean Cruise last year and a few months after we booked Viking ran a “Promo” offering the SSP. Our TA looked into it and found the cost of the promo cruise was higher than what were booked for. Food for thought. Also just completed a HL Cruise on the Sea and found the included wines to be very drinkable and were varied throughout the cruise. We purchased wine by the glass at other times at what I feel are very reasonable prices. I included a link from a previous post that shows what drinks were available and the prices. Note: the higher end wines are not included in the SSP

https://sandinmysuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Viking-Ocean-Cruises-Wine-List.pdf

 

This is great!  Thank you so much VJMAZZ and fellow Californian wine drinker I see!

[Lotusgirl22]

We had the silver spirit package on our recent cruise on the Viking Sky.  We purchased it on embarkation day.  We were pleased with the package and thought it worthwhile.  We enjoyed the choices at dinner.  We ate at the Chef's Table 3 times, and liked the pairings.  

[just_dont]

Wow!  I'll have to look for promos!  We certainly did not know about any promos nor have we heard about them even from our travel agent and this will be our 4th Viking Ocean Cruise.
Thanks for the tip/point on the Chef's Table wine pairings as well - that might be the kicker since I see it costs $25/pp for those and we love the Chef's Table - will try to go there 4 or 5 times in a cruise.  Thank goodness a lot of people on the cruises we've been on like the other restaurants better, since we've never then had an problem getting into CT going "standby" !!    Wonder if CT is ever popular on any of the Viking Cruises, or were we just lucky?

Viking (in the US) have a booking promo every month. Often it is airfare-related (free, $$-off, etc.)

There were 5 CT menus offered on our current cruise, and if it weren't for an unexpected seafood buffet at the Pool Grill early in our cruise, would have ended up trying all of them. Xiang and Mexican were amazing, and the wine pairings are a must. They have been fantastic and really complete the whole experience. CT has been pretty full when we've been there, but didn't have trouble getting reservations onboard.

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[just_dont]

We were booked on a Viking Ocean Cruise last year and a few months after we booked Viking ran a “Promo” offering the SSP. Our TA looked into it and found the cost of the promo cruise was higher than what were booked for. Food for thought. Also just completed a HL Cruise on the Sea and found the included wines to be very drinkable and were varied throughout the cruise. We purchased wine by the glass at other times at what I feel are very reasonable prices. I included a link from a previous post that shows what drinks were available and the prices. Note: the higher end wines are not included in the SSP
https://sandinmysuitcase.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Viking-Ocean-Cruises-Wine-List.pdf

Without the SS package, your wine choice at lunch/dinner is 'red' or 'white'. Whatever they offer (I have no idea) may be just fine. However, with the package we can have the sommelier come over and suggest the best wine to pair with whatever we're planning to order.
The selection has been more than sufficient. Many of the available choices (they are all on an iPad) say $25/bottle, and some also say $6/glass. I assume those are the prices for those without the package, and I assume the ones that don't show a per-glass price cannot be ordered by the glass if you don't have the package.



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[Jmroby]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

 

This is great!  Thank you so much VJMAZZ and fellow Californian wine drinker I see!

Thanks for posting the wine list.  When you say higher priced, do you mean all that are not available by the glass? or where is the cutoff? 

[RetroRod]

26 minutes ago, Jmroby said:

Thanks for posting the wine list.  When you say higher priced, do you mean all that are not available by the glass? or where is the cutoff? 

The wine list has an asterisk next to many of the wines to indicate they are not on the SSP. They  are the higher priced wines by the bottle wines. If I remember correctly the SSP also doesn’t include wine/champagne over $15 per glass. 

[just_dont]

The wine list has an asterisk next to many of the wines to indicate they are not on the SSP. They  are the higher priced wines by the bottle wines. If I remember correctly the SSP also doesn’t include wine/champagne over $15 per glass. 

Hmmm. Maybe it's something new on Jupiter (the newest ship), but there is no printed wine list with asterisks. Just an iPad with all the wines. There is a tab for the SS package, and it provides the entire selection of available wines, including a picture of the bottle and basic info for each. If you select one, it brings up a full-page description of the wine. There are also search features and basic recommendations (are you looking for a sweet white wine? )
I know there are more wines onboard than shown on the app, because the sommelier mentioned several of the CT pairings were only available there.

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[Vineyard View]

I think I remember reading somewhere that if you have SSP you can request wines by the glass that are part of the CT upgraded pouring when in different venues and not just CT. Anyone know if this is true?

 

We very much enjoy nice wines. Being in PV we will have ‘minis’ Stocked in the refrigerator along with mixes. I believe that we can also request wine instead of hard liquor mini if we want?  We are going to wait until we are on board to see what the included vs SS options are for our itinerary, then decide if we will purchase SSP. 

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, just_dont said:

Hmmm. Maybe it's something new on Jupiter (the newest ship), but there is no printed wine list with asterisks. Just an iPad with all the wines. There is a tab for the SS package, and it provides the entire selection of available wines, including a picture of the bottle and basic info for each. If you select one, it brings up a full-page description of the wine. There are also search features and basic recommendations (are you looking for a sweet white wine? )
I know there are more wines onboard than shown on the app, because the sommelier mentioned several of the CT pairings were only available there.

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When you say there is "an iPad" - what do you mean?  Is that an iPad that you have, or one on the ship in the restaurants / bars that you can look at briefly, or what?

[RetroRod]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

We very much enjoy nice wines. Being in PV we will have ‘minis’ Stocked in the refrigerator along with mixes. I believe that we can also request wine instead of hard liquor mini if we want?  We are going to wait until we are on board to see what the included vs SS options are for our itinerary, then decide if we will purchase SSP. 

Just completed the HL Cruise on the Sea. We were in PV and had all the liquor removed from the mini fridge and replaced with white wine. Since our fridge didn’t get the wine very cold our steward got us a bucket for the wine and kept it stocked with ice everyday and a new bottle as needed. Both stewards received addition tips for their extra effort. 

[Vineyard View]

33 minutes ago, VJMAZZ said:

Just completed the HL Cruise on the Sea. We were in PV and had all the liquor removed from the mini fridge and replaced with white wine. Since our fridge didn’t get the wine very cold our steward got us a bucket for the wine and kept it stocked with ice everyday and a new bottle as needed. Both stewards received addition tips for their extra effort. 

Thank you! Were you SSP and able to pick a bottle from that listing for the fridge? 

If no package and they used the included wine,  Were you able to choose which wine that you wanted (sometimes there is more than one white or red). Appreciate this information 

[RetroRod]

13 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you! Were you SSP and able to pick a bottle from that listing for the fridge? 

If no package and they used the included wine,  Were you able to choose which wine that you wanted (sometimes there is more than one white or red). Appreciate this information 

No SSP. The wine selections changed a couple times during the cruise and found them to be pretty good. Only exception was a Riesling that was too sweet for my taste but the wife liked it😊 

[CCWineLover]

56 minutes ago, VJMAZZ said:

Just completed the HL Cruise on the Sea. We were in PV and had all the liquor removed from the mini fridge and replaced with white wine. Since our fridge didn’t get the wine very cold our steward got us a bucket for the wine and kept it stocked with ice everyday and a new bottle as needed. Both stewards received addition tips for their extra effort. 

Wow!  Did not know you could substitute liquor for wine!  PV liquor replacement benefit was of no interest to us but now...

can anyone else verify?  Or was this possibly a one off?

[vnb2003]

6 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

I think I remember reading somewhere that if you have SSP you can request wines by the glass that are part of the CT upgraded pouring when in different venues and not just CT. Anyone know if this is true?

 

Yes, this is true. We had the wine we liked in CT not only in the restaurant but in Explore lounge as well.

 

 

[just_dont]

 
When you say there is "an iPad" - what do you mean?  Is that an iPad that you have, or one on the ship in the restaurants / bars that you can look at briefly, or what?

The waiters have a tablet, which they present to you like a wine menu.
I'll admit it can be a bit 'glitchy', so they're probably still working things out with it. On one occasion I started at the top and scrolled through maybe 30 wines, but when I scrolled back up, there were only maybe a dozen, and I couldn't find the one I'd decided on. The waiter clicked back to the main screen and then re-selected the SS list, and they were all back. On another occasion, when I scrolled through, there weren't very many shown. I re-selected the SS list as the waiter had previously, and the full list returned. On a third occasion, I'd tentatively selected a wine, but called the sommelier over for a 'professional' opinion, and he suggested a similar wine, but when he scrolled through the list on the tablet, he couldn't find it. He clicked some things that "reset the filters," and suddenly there were more wines on the SS list, including the one he recommended.
I haven't noticed any wines that are beyond the SS package, but if I remember I'll ask about it.

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[just_dont]

Yes, this is true. We had the wine we liked in CT not only in the restaurant but in Explore lounge as well.

 

 

There MAY be some that are exclusive to CT. At least that's what Ivan our sommelier told us. Although, as accommodating as Viking is, if you were to ask for a glass of one of those 'exclusive' CT wines in one of the other venues, they may just fetch you one.

 

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