Wine shortage on Enchanted Princess September 17, 2022 and terrible boarding experience at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

[scanditaly]

Hello to my fellow wine lovers. And to OP, so sorry you had to sail without an appropriate quality wine. DH and I have been bringing our bottles on board for years now and I was hoping that this coming voyage (Nov 4, Enchanted) would allow us to enjoy premium wines by the glass. 
 

ciao for now, 

scanditaly

[Eglesbrech]

Has anyone who has been onboard when there are no decent wines available followed through with a complaint?

 

For me the additional cost for Premium over plus is all about getting decent wine. If it’s not available as advertised then I will expect a refund for the difference.

[Happy2cruise]

We are boarding on 11/5 and wonder if anyone might know where to get wheelchair assistance to embark?  Thanks

[SuiteTraveler]

13 hours ago, riffatsea said:

The area was on the left side of the big room next to the doors that led onto the ship

The sign only said Elite

The workers didn't know that suites should be on the sign too

The area had water,juice, and pastries

They did not have anyone escorting suites to the cabin as they do in the LA terminal

 

 

Interesting.  That is where the tables to get the medallion were set up - in front of that area, but it was dark and closed off as far as I could tell and the people who gave us the medallions knew we were suite guests and sent us to the big room.    

[CineGraphic]

11 hours ago, Ombud said:

. Has anyone found the wine desk at FLL terminal? I didn't find it last December.  Is it a thing of the past?

 

When boarding early at FLL, they usually aren't set-up yet, so we just walk on.

 

[malba2366]

12 hours ago, Ombud said:

Enchanted Princess was supposed to pick up supplies in Boston on 9/15/22 (or so I was told-- I disembarked 9/17/22) but we had to cross Atlantic near Bahamas bc of a hurricane. It was still very rough. So we missed Boston. In that they had 2 days noticed that we were too far south to hit Boston, I'm surprised they didn't reschedule delivery and pick it up when you stopped there

 

This is horrible planning on their part.  The cruise started in Brooklyn (not some remote island port)...they should be have been able to procure all the wine they needed within the 3-4 day period from when they decided to skip the Boston port and when they docked in Brooklyn.   If it were me I would request a refund of a significant part of the premier package cost as they did not provide what they advertised.

[loge23]

18 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We are very into wine and believe me, there is no wine shortage on the open market.  I think it is more a "shortage" of Princess wanting to spend the money on wine.

 

Big question is: are suppliers holding up orders over payment issues?

[LACruiser88]

1 minute ago, loge23 said:

Big question is: are suppliers holding up orders over payment issues?

This is a very strong possibility!

[nini]

The wine issue is not an isolated experience. We were on the Emerald in May (12 nights British Isles) and on the Grand last month (12 nights Alaska).

For our May cruise, only Princess Plus was available as the Premier Package had not yet been introduced. Even before the menus had changed, the wine selections were horrid- IF they even had a wine that was on the menu. So, the $12.00 limit choices were even more extremely decreased. One night in the dining room, they had Port on the menu so I ordered some. NOPE! They did not have any.

 

On the Grand in September, it was even worse as they now had like one Chardonnay available, etc. One time I ordered a Chardonnay and they said that they had to substitute a different Chardonnay. At least they did not give me a red wine as a substitute

[Suncitycruiser1925]

3 hours ago, Happy2cruise said:

We are boarding on 11/5 and wonder if anyone might know where to get wheelchair assistance to embark?  Thanks

You can call Princess on the phone or chat with a  customer service rep.  Give them your booking number and which passenger needs a wheelchair and they will add a wheelchair to your embarkation and debarkation.  I did it through their chat option on the Princess website .  It will then be on your travel summary under your personalizer when you print it.

Edited October 12, 2022 by Suncitycruiser1925
Typo

[SuiteTraveler]

1 hour ago, loge23 said:

Big question is: are suppliers holding up orders over payment issues?

That is something I have been wondering about.  But, if Princess cannot buy wine (probably due to Covid causing such a hefty financial loss to the cruise industry) they really should advise their passengers to bring their own and wave the corkage fee until things turn around. I think pretty much everyone on the planet understands that the cruise industry suffered greatly due to Covid.  It's just a matter of being honest with their customers vs. making them angry and disappointed.  As it is, my husband was so disappointed and frustrated about the situation that he doesn't really want to sail Princess again even though he thought our suite was great and enjoyed the food in the MDR. However, due to the missed ports, we got a lot of cruise credit, so I booked another cruise with them in 2 years.  Perhaps by then things will be sorted, but if not, that will be our last Princess cruise.

[Happy2cruise]

26 minutes ago, Suncitycruiser1925 said:

You can call Princess on the phone or chat with a  customer service rep.  Give them your booking number and which passenger needs a wheelchair and they will add a wheelchair to your embarkation and debarkation.  I did it through their chat option on the Princess website .  It will then be on your travel summary under your personalizer when you print it.

In Ft  Lauderdale you can get wheelchair assist before entering the terminal so wondering if it's the same. Thanks for your reply!

[CineGraphic]

27 minutes ago, SuiteTraveler said:

It's just a matter of being honest with their customers vs. making them angry and disappointed.

 

That'll never happen. They'd much rather apologize after-the-fact, with hopes that nobody will have the gall to ask for a partial refund.

[luvseaside]

I must admit this discussion re: wine availability is distressing to read.  I love my white wine on a cruise (by the pool and with dinner); so wine availability and choices are of interest to me.  In the past, even the "low-end" pinot grigio offered was drinkable (from Italy).  We have an upcoming cruise out of FLL on the Sky in December, and I'm concerned that the money we spent to buy the Plus Pkg is a waste (we had a special rate & had to buy the pkg separately).  I know Enchanted doesn't have a Vines but I'm hoping the Vines on Sky may be our saving grace (at least for evening libations).  

[SuiteTraveler]

It just occurred to me that we were on the MSC Seashore last May and they had all kinds of high quality wines and they change their white and red "house wine" each day or you can order any bottle you like.  In fact we bought a half case of Opus One from them.  That makes this situation all the more perplexing and disappointing.

Edited October 12, 2022 by SuiteTraveler

[SuiteTraveler]

55 minutes ago, luvseaside said:

I must admit this discussion re: wine availability is distressing to read.  I love my white wine on a cruise (by the pool and with dinner); so wine availability and choices are of interest to me.  In the past, even the "low-end" pinot grigio offered was drinkable (from Italy).  We have an upcoming cruise out of FLL on the Sky in December, and I'm concerned that the money we spent to buy the Plus Pkg is a waste (we had a special rate & had to buy the pkg separately).  I know Enchanted doesn't have a Vines but I'm hoping the Vines on Sky may be our saving grace (at least for evening libations).  

If I were you, I would find the Roll Call for the cruise on Sky at least 2 cruises ahead of your cruise and ask them about the wine on their cruise,  then you will be forewarned as to if you need to bring your own wine. Total Wine is a good place to buy wine in FLL.  Maybe you should cancel the drinks package you bought and wait until closer to your cruise?

[CineGraphic]

42 minutes ago, SuiteTraveler said:

Total Wine is a good place to buy wine in FLL

 

We pre-order on their app, and have our Uber stop there on the way to the ship. It takes less than a minute to pop in, get your wine, and back in your car.

[voljeep]

17 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

We pre-order on their app, and have our Uber stop there on the way to the ship. It takes less than a minute to pop in, get your wine, and back in your car.

can you still do that on your new cruise line?

[CineGraphic]

23 minutes ago, voljeep said:

can you still do that on your new cruise line?

 

yes!

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

2 hours ago, SuiteTraveler said:

Total Wine is a good place to buy wine in FLL

 

We pre-order on their app, and have our Uber stop there on the way to the ship. It takes less than a minute to pop in, get your wine, and back in your car.

Thanks for the info. Will order 2 bottles for curbside pickup 

[dog]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

woof-woof.  Great plan.

Not sure why this is necessary?

 

[Sail away MK]

I was on the September 17th sailing on the Enchanted Princess and had a very different experience.  When we arrived at the terminal around 10:30 they looked at my medallion and directed me to sit with the suite/elite/platinum guests (I am platinum) That is also where the B2B guests from the previous cruise were sitting.  Shortly after 11 they called the reboarding guests from the previous cruise, then suite and elite, then platinum.  We were onboard by 11:30.  Our friends who were ruby were onboard by 11:45.

I too love wine, particularly bold reds, and at our first lunch in Gigi's the waiter tried to get me to order a merlot.  I asked nicely if he could find a bolder zinfandel and he was on a hunt and returned with something bolder from Chile which was fine.  Later at Crooners I saw a bottle of Seghesio Zinfandel which was excellent. At $16 per glass it was in the premier package.  I took a picture of the bottle and asked for it specifically at every bar.  Since I frequented Take 5, they had a glass ready for me every evening.  

In the MDR the waiters did not seem to know about wine and the offerings on the menu were awful.  On night 2 we asked for the head waiter to discuss wines and miraculously there was a more upscale list where we always found something.  Our waiter said the only port available was what was listed on the menu, yet we called the head waiter back and asked if we could get a 20 year tawny, no problem.

In asking around, there were several very new crew members, and we "lucked out" with 2 brand new waiters who just joined in New York.  Everyone needs to learn their craft and we explained to the head waiter that we were not at all unhappy with our service, but asked him since he had more experience. As the cruise went on he checked back with us frequently and helped make the cruise totally enjoyable.

That being said, I usually wheel a case of wine onboard but wanted to see what the premium package would offer.  On my next cruise, I'm bringing my own case and paying the corkage.

[nini]

The Emerald and Grand crew were not newbies- just frustrated as their customers. It was not ignorance on their part, they just did not have much to work with.

[c-boy]

56 minutes ago, Sail away MK said:

I was on the September 17th sailing on the Enchanted Princess and had a very different experience.  When we arrived at the terminal around 10:30 they looked at my medallion and directed me to sit with the suite/elite/platinum guests (I am platinum) That is also where the B2B guests from the previous cruise were sitting.  Shortly after 11 they called the reboarding guests from the previous cruise, then suite and elite, then platinum.  We were onboard by 11:30.  Our friends who were ruby were onboard by 11:45.

I too love wine, particularly bold reds, and at our first lunch in Gigi's the waiter tried to get me to order a merlot.  I asked nicely if he could find a bolder zinfandel and he was on a hunt and returned with something bolder from Chile which was fine.  Later at Crooners I saw a bottle of Seghesio Zinfandel which was excellent. At $16 per glass it was in the premier package.  I took a picture of the bottle and asked for it specifically at every bar.  Since I frequented Take 5, they had a glass ready for me every evening.  

In the MDR the waiters did not seem to know about wine and the offerings on the menu were awful.  On night 2 we asked for the head waiter to discuss wines and miraculously there was a more upscale list where we always found something.  Our waiter said the only port available was what was listed on the menu, yet we called the head waiter back and asked if we could get a 20 year tawny, no problem.

In asking around, there were several very new crew members, and we "lucked out" with 2 brand new waiters who just joined in New York.  Everyone needs to learn their craft and we explained to the head waiter that we were not at all unhappy with our service, but asked him since he had more experience. As the cruise went on he checked back with us frequently and helped make the cruise totally enjoyable.

That being said, I usually wheel a case of wine onboard but wanted to see what the premium package would offer.  On my next cruise, I'm bringing my own case and paying the corkage.

👏  well done .

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I’ve had a less than experience with respect to white wine availability on the Ruby Sept 17 seven day. And now an equally disappointing experience on the Royal Sept 24 thru Oct 16 sailing.
 

It basically comes to making friends with a bartender who is then willing to find and stock something you will find palatable to drink.

 

It’s exhausting work and you’re reduced to drinking the same wine in the same bar the entire sailing.  I really do not want to drink the same wine for an entire cruise. 

While I am grateful to the bar tenders for doing this it is just wrong. I simply shouldn’t have to spend the first couple of days doing this.

 

 

Every white wine served to me on the plus package when I just walked up to a bar and asked for a glass was undrinkable swill. 

No thank you.