New Wine cards

[CruzeQueen2]

A new wine card option was mentioned briefly about a month ago. It is very different from the GOLD and SILVER wine cards of pre-covid days. If anyone is currently onboard and/or has tried out this new option, please share your experiences here. I heard that there are limitations. I'm wondering if the wines offered are considered high-end, medium or low. Examples of the wines would also be appreciated.

Thanks for contributing to this thread.

[Rick&Jeannie]

LOL...I've not even heard of a wine card!  I constantly learn things here on CC!

[Steelers36]

News to me.  Was this on some other social media platform?

[JimmyVWine]

I’m not sure there is much need for a “Wine Card” now that they have spent so much effort in launching Plus and Premier. Where is the space that needs to be filled? Nevertheless, I have not heard of anything like this as being rolled out. Interested if anyone had. 

[Torfamm]

I’ve never heard of a wine card either. Whatever it is, I probably want one!

[neverbeenhere]

Is this the famous B2G2 promotion? 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(yes, buy two get two) 

[CruzeQueen2]

It is new. Different from before. Confirmed by a head waiter friend. I am trying to get more info. I have not purchased Plus, nor Premier for my next voyage in May. With the new wine offerings in Plus, I'm not interested in that level of wine. Will probably purchase bottles that I already know. Will report back. Stay tuned!

My contact says that in the new program, you don't get the flexibility to switch out the wines that are included. Now I want to know which wines are in the program. 

Wine cards in the past were not offered for purchase pre-cruise. They were offered on the first night of the cruise for sailings longer than 7 days. Wonderful program! Too bad they got rid of it.

Edited April 12, 2023 by CruzeQueen2

[PacnGoNow]

I have only heard mention, that there was a wine package once OB in the PAST.

 

Nothing about a new wine package.  Interesting, because they are so heavily pushing their beverage packages once OB these days.

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

I find it rather strange that so many of us "regulars" have not heard of this. Ok...maybe it *is* new...but why hasn't it been touted through the usual channels?

[PacnGoNow]

47 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I find it rather strange that so many of us "regulars" have not heard of this. Ok...maybe it *is* new...but why hasn't it been touted through the usual channels?

Yep.  Perhaps those OB currently, will give us feedback?

[capriccio]

Currently I am on board the Coral Princess out of Sydney Australia and there is no sign of a wine package nor any talk of one that I am aware of. In the days before the bundled packages we used to buy the silver or gold wine card (10 bottles up to a certain price for a reduced rate per bottle IIRC) but that was years ago.

[loge23]

Any enhancements at all to their wine program is welcome news. It's been a rather steep downhill slope for wine lovers on Princess in recent years with the absence of The Vines on their new ships and re-dos and the stock-out situation for many varietals. Then there's the simply unacceptable generic descriptors for wines by the glass (Cabernet, Pinot Noir, etc. with no label name).

[Thrak]

I remember the old wine packages being offered on some cruises. We never bought them but they were definitely available. I haven't heard any rumblings of a new wine package though.

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I remember the old wine packages being offered on some cruises. We never bought them but they were definitely available. I haven't heard any rumblings of a new wine package though.

I'm on board Sky - no news.

With the Plus and Premium packages, I'm not sure how many people would be interested.

20% discount if you buy 6 bottles ? Would anyone bite ?

[Torfamm]

Wine packages are available on the Caribbean Princess this week. Can’t say they look too exciting 

[voljeep]

so the packages are for pre-chosen wines and you don't get a list to choose from?

Not for us ...

[kiwimum]

We had similar packages on the Sapphire over the holidays.  Thought they were poor selections.

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, kiwimum said:

We had similar packages on the Sapphire over the holidays.  Thought they were poor selections.

Aside from what one thinks of the quality, the prices are extreme given that most of these wines are "by the glass" selections available within the Packages, perhaps with a couple of bucks extra per glass if one has Plus.  The retail value of the 7 wines in the largest package is $160. Princess lists it as being $427 and you get it for the bargain price of $235.  To be fair, if you went to Total and carried these wines on, you would pay $160 at the store plus 5 corkage fees which would be either $75 or $100. So your all in cost would be between $235-$260.  So in that respect the cost isn't terrible.  But I don't know why anyone would buy these wines to bring on board and incur a corkage charge given that they are readily available within the scope of the Packages.

 

One cost comparison might look like this:  (Many variables here, including coffee consumption, soft drink consumption and mocktail consumption)

A person who pays out of pocket for gratuities ($17), undiscounted Wi-Fi ($15), coffee and soft drinks ($8) is paying $40 per day for all of these.  The decision to purchase Plus or Premium will depend on their estimation of how much alcohol they will consume.  $20 per day and Plus makes sense.  Around $30 per day and Premium makes sense (after pro rating the value of the Specialty Dinners).    But if, as a couple, two people are going to drink no more than the equivalent one bottle of wine per day, they could make the 7 bottle package last a whole 7 day cruise. Assuming that there isn't an 18% charge added to the purchase price, (a big "if"), then each person is paying just under $17 per day for the wine. ($235 divided by 7 days, divided again by two people).   To me, this comes very close to the $20 per day that Plus costs, and if you buy Plus, you can treat yourself to more drinks each day at no extra cost, and still order the same wines that are in the Package by the glass.  Perhaps there might be a couple of bucks of overage cost for some of them. So it would appear that the 7 bottle package is only a value for people who are extremely disciplined and are not going to drink a drop more than the wine in the package.  Any additional alcohol consumed would make Plus the better buy.        

[Colorado Coasty]

3 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Wine packages are available on the Caribbean Princess this week. Can’t say they look too exciting 

Underwhelmed by these grocery store wines.

[CruzeQueen2]

4 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Wine packages are available on the Caribbean Princess this week. Can’t say they look too exciting 

Thank you @Torfamm Now we know!

Edited April 15, 2023 by CruzeQueen2

[CruzeQueen2]

@Torfamm Sorry to bug you! BUT, since you have come through with the information that I have been looking for, I would like to ask this. Would the cost of these packages have 18% gratuity added, additionally? Or, is this the all-in price?

Thanks for passing this forward. 

I agree that these wines are nothing special. Just average. Understood. 

[wowzz]

Whilst I know that the US makes some decent wine, Princess seems to have just about ignored the rest of the wine producing world in this selection. 

[kamelia]

I will be curious to see if the wine offerings improve once the new collaboration with Wagner is rolled out.  News from Princess yesterday is that "Caymus Vineyards Winemaker Dinners will be available on all ships sailing in North American (sic) starting by the end of April."  Here is the link to the video:

 

 

 

But if it gets taken down as being inappropriate by the board moderators here, you can find it on Princess Cruises' YouTube page.

 

@wowzz, yes, I know this means a US winery, and I agree, there are a lot of other regions with some great wines that Princess passengers would benefit from having on their menus!  Maybe there's hope for same on non-North American sailings!  😉

[c-boy]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

Whilst I know that the US makes some decent wine, Princess seems to have just about ignored the rest of the wine producing world in this selection. 

 I've been in the business, and I tend to agree with this statement. 

[Torfamm]

3 hours ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

@Torfamm Sorry to bug you! BUT, since you have come through with the information that I have been looking for, I would like to ask this. Would the cost of these packages have 18% gratuity added, additionally? Or, is this the all-in price?

Thanks for passing this forward. 

I agree that these wines are nothing special. Just average. Understood. 

I will try to remember to ask a bartender! The packages’ selections aren’t appealing to me, but they are definitely cheaper than buying the bottles individually from the MDR wine list. As an example, the sparkling wines are $59, $65, and $115 on the list in the app so $149 is a good price, IF you wanted those particular wines and would have purchased by the bottle.