Captain and Commodore Wine Packages

[mercury7289]

25 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Yet with the Black Friday offers (also 20%) you could still get your loyalty discount deducted 🤔

 

Given that these packages restrict your choice and, for higher loyalty tier customers the discount would effectively only be 10%, I can’t imagine that they sell too many of them?

We have had the Commodores package on most of our cruises, it includes the wine that we would normally drink at restaurants when we go out out. On the first night, we choose the first bottle and also the second bottle for the ensuring evening. When we arrive at my table the wine is already there, so its all about convenience for us. No wine and food matching, we drink what we like. We also only order whilst on board

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, mercury7289 said:

We have had the Commodores package on most of our cruises, it includes the wine that we would normally drink at restaurants when we go out out. On the first night, we choose the first bottle and also the second bottle for the ensuring evening. When we arrive at my table the wine is already there, so its all about convenience for us. No wine and food matching, we drink what we like. We also only order whilst on board

Indeed convenience is the reason we bought it, coupled with the fact the money is a gift and we wanted to be able to,have something we could tell the person was an extra we wouldn't normally have.  We've actually added a gift package from the Black Friday sale to use the remainder of the money given to us.  On this occasion any discount didn't really worry us, particularly as the wine package covers a lot of wine we actually know and will happily drink.

[mercury7289]

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Indeed convenience is the reason we bought it, coupled with the fact the money is a gift and we wanted to be able to,have something we could tell the person was an extra we wouldn't normally have.  We've actually added a gift package from the Black Friday sale to use the remainder of the money given to us.  On this occasion any discount didn't really worry us, particularly as the wine package covers a lot of wine we actually know and will happily drink.

We can confirm after looking at our Aurora May statement, that the wine packages are priced nett no further discount

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by mercury7289
typo

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, mercury7289 said:

We can confirm after looking at our Aurora May statement, that the wine packages are priced nett no further discount

 

Am I correct in thinking that the facility to have the restaurant hold on to part used bottles of wine for your next visit is still restricted to Club (fixed) dining only on Aurora? On Ventura the other week they wouldn’t do it at all, even in Club

[mercury7289]

2 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Am I correct in thinking that the facility to have the restaurant hold on to part used bottles of wine for your next visit is still restricted to Club (fixed) dining only on Aurora? On Ventura the other week they wouldn’t do it at all, even in Club

Never been in that position🤣

[mercury7289]

6 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

Never been in that position🤣

Selbourne

I am aware from your previous postings that you tend to have two bottles on the go, white and red.

We are on Aurora again on Friday, I will ask the question for you and report on our return. Also for your upcoming adventure may I suggest that you down load and print off,16 square sudoku, I find they keep me occupied on sea days.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, mercury7289 said:

Selbourne

I am aware from your previous postings that you tend to have two bottles on the go, white and red.

We are on Aurora again on Friday, I will ask the question for you and report on our return. Also for your upcoming adventure may I suggest that you down load and print off,16 square sudoku, I find they keep me occupied on sea days.

Thank you. I recall @jeanlyon saying that when she was on Aurora in the summer they were holding unfinished bottles in Club but not in Freedom, but that may have changed. As our long cruise was booked on a Saver, we won’t know until we board whether we are Club or Freedom.
 

Hopefully you will see engineers with ‘Starlink’ uniforms on board fitting the new improved WiFi that P&O assures us is now on all their ships - but isn’t!

 

Wishing you both a fabulous cruise. 

[mercury7289]

39 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Thank you. I recall @jeanlyon saying that when she was on Aurora in the summer they were holding unfinished bottles in Club but not in Freedom, but that may have changed. As our long cruise was booked on a Saver, we won’t know until we board whether we are Club or Freedom.
 

Hopefully you will see engineers with ‘Starlink’ uniforms on board fitting the new improved WiFi that P&O assures us is now on all their ships - but isn’t!

 

Wishing you both a fabulous cruise. 

Although it is of no interest to us, as we cruise under the radar, not even a phone, I will ask, and report back on our return

[cheshire]

10 hours ago, mercury7289 said:

We have had the Commodores package on most of our cruises, it includes the wine that we would normally drink at restaurants when we go out out. On the first night, we choose the first bottle and also the second bottle for the ensuring evening. When we arrive at my table the wine is already there, so its all about convenience for us. No wine and food matching, we drink what we like. We also only order whilst on board

Is this with fixed dining in MDR?  We are on Britannia and will hopefully be in epicurean etc and get freedom dining? 

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

Although it is of no interest to us, as we cruise under the radar, not even a phone, I will ask, and report back on our return

Much appreciated. We have never paid for WiFi in all our years of cruising, but we have some anxiety about being away for so long this winter, so wish to be in touch with home, hence buying the WiFi package for the first time, albeit at a heavily discounted price. 

[mercury7289]

5 minutes ago, cheshire said:

Is this with fixed dining in MDR?  We are on Britannia and will hopefully be in epicurean etc and get freedom dining? 

I do not think it is limited to fix dining, I have had bottles from the package in the Glasshouse and in Sindu,

[Purdey16]

On 11/28/2023 at 6:42 PM, mercury7289 said:

We are on Aurora again on Friday

We will be joining you on Friday, have a good cruise and safe journey to Southampton 

[mercury7289]

43 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

We will be joining you on Friday, have a good cruise and safe journey to Southampton 

Thank you,

Off today stopping overnight in Ringwood.

[Selbourne]

On 11/28/2023 at 8:38 PM, cheshire said:

Is this with fixed dining in MDR?  We are on Britannia and will hopefully be in epicurean etc and get freedom dining? 

When we were on Britannia in July (Freedom Dining) there was no facility to have unfinished bottles retained for your next visit. Any unfinished bottles had to be taken with you when you left. Obviously, as you don’t know which table you will be on the next time you visit, it’s not possible to pre order or have your next bottle waiting for you. You need to order once seated.
 

Since the policy change we now order by the glass rather than by the bottle. Thankfully it’s no more expensive. In fact, we found that we spent much less on wine than under the previous system, where we used to always have a bottle of red and a bottle of white on the go.

[Fionboard]

Varies by ship. Arcadia kept bottles in club last month,  Ventura this month did not. 

[Selbourne]

27 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Varies by ship. Arcadia kept bottles in club last month,  Ventura this month did not. 

Yes and I believe Aurora does it in Club (only) also. I don’t believe that any ship does it in Freedom now. 

[sandancer]

Not on Arvia or Azura, the two ships we sailed on this year. 

[Selbourne]

44 minutes ago, sandancer said:

Not on Arvia or Azura, the two ships we sailed on this year. 

Nor the 3 we’ve been on (Iona, Britannia or Ventura). Seems to be restricted to Club Dining (only) on Aurora and Arcadia (only). 

[kayelbee]

If you do not finish your bottle of wine in a restaurant I assume you can take it back to your cabin and then, the next day take it with you to a bar or restaurant.

Is the bottle marked or stamped to show you it's one bought on the ship?

[lebreos]

3 hours ago, kayelbee said:

If you do not finish your bottle of wine in a restaurant I assume you can take it back to your cabin and then, the next day take it with you to a bar or restaurant.

Is the bottle marked or stamped to show you it's one bought on the ship?

 

Yes if you dont finish it you just take the bottle with you - all bar 1 french white we tried were screw top. I'm sure the waiters know what brands and wines they sell on board, apart from a table number they didnt mark the bottles. Corkage fee is supposed to apply if you take your own to a dining room.

 

[JeanieC,Aston]

Hi

They sell a Prosecco on board called ‘Canti’’ it’s available in all supermarkets £7.50 to £8.5O a bottle.

They wouldn’t know on board where you got it from.

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by JeanieC,Aston

[9265359]

On 11/30/2023 at 9:49 AM, Selbourne said:

Since the policy change we now order by the glass rather than by the bottle. Thankfully it’s no more expensive. 

 

Likewise, but the downside I find is that the wine by the glass in the MDR can be a bit hit and miss, particularly if you order something that sells less well and the bottle may have been open a while, and also the white is not always chilled as well as it could be if you order something popular where it is constantly restocked and a bottle taken from the front.

 

Therefore I have resorted to going via the Glass House on the way to the MDR to pick up a couple of glasses of wine on the way, as their stock control and presentation seems better - but then it is a bit rubbish having to carry the wine to the MDR.

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

Likewise, but the downside I find is that the wine by the glass in the MDR can be a bit hit and miss, particularly if you order something that sells less well and the bottle may have been open a while, and also the white is not always chilled as well as it could be if you order something popular where it is constantly restocked and a bottle taken from the front.

 

Therefore I have resorted to going via the Glass House on the way to the MDR to pick up a couple of glasses of wine on the way, as their stock control and presentation seems better - but then it is a bit rubbish having to carry the wine to the MDR.

You raise an interesting point that I hadn’t considered. Out of interest, when we were on Ventura a few weeks ago we had loads of OBC and I decided to treat myself to a large glass of the most expensive red at £20.95 (a Shiraz) and I wasn’t impressed. I much preferred the cheapest Shiraz which was £8.45 for a large glass. It hadn’t occurred to me that the most expensive one might have been open for a few days whereas the cheaper one would almost certainly have been opened that day. I also agree that it’s a bit naff having to carry wine around the ship.

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

Likewise, but the downside I find is that the wine by the glass in the MDR can be a bit hit and miss, particularly if you order something that sells less well and the bottle may have been open a while, and also the white is not always chilled as well as it could be if you order something popular where it is constantly restocked and a bottle taken from the front.

 

Therefore I have resorted to going via the Glass House on the way to the MDR to pick up a couple of glasses of wine on the way, as their stock control and presentation seems better - but then it is a bit rubbish having to carry the wine to the MDR.

Because my wife now drinks very little I now buy wine by the glass, and over the last 5 or 6 years I have never had a dodgy one, but I do normally drink red. 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

You raise an interesting point that I hadn’t considered. Out of interest, when we were on Ventura a few weeks ago we had loads of OBC and I decided to treat myself to a large glass of the most expensive red at £20.95 (a Shiraz) and I wasn’t impressed. I much preferred the cheapest Shiraz which was £8.45 for a large glass. It hadn’t occurred to me that the most expensive one might have been open for a few days whereas the cheaper one would almost certainly have been opened that day. I also agree that it’s a bit naff having to carry wine around the ship.

If the most expensive one was French, then that does not surprise me. I find New World wines to be far more consistent than the traditional European vineyards.