Rare CDNPolar Posted February 27 #26 Share Posted February 27 34 minutes ago, DaveA said: How does it work in restaurants? Do they top up house wine glasses without being asked? Does the same happen if I order a different wine on the SSBP list? In the restaurants, they look you up on their handheld device and then know if you are SS or not. In all cases of Ocean cruises I have been on you have a different wine glass if you are on SS from house wines. This is true in each restaurant too. This has to be the case because we have often been sitting with folks that are not on the SS and we are, or the opposite. Yes, they constantly top your glass whether you are on SS or house wines. You typically don't have to ask. If you are SS you can change the wine you are drinking too at anytime. Well, in fact with house you can change from white to red or sparking too. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveA Posted February 27 #27 Share Posted February 27 Great, thanks. That is, for me, a big benefit of the package. I like to try different wines with different courses and wouldn’t want to be having to order each glass separately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted February 27 #28 Share Posted February 27 1 hour ago, DaveA said: How does it work in restaurants? Do they top up house wine glasses without being asked? Does the same happen if I order a different wine on the SSBP list? Regardless of SSBP or not, it’s our experience that the waitstaff keeps your glass full. You have to tell them you’re done. If this doesn’t happen, it’s typically because the staff may be new. If you make a point of talking to the wine steward for a recommendation, they will take good care of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetcbl Posted February 27 #29 Share Posted February 27 1 hour ago, DaveA said: How does it work in restaurants? Do they top up house wine glasses without being asked? Does the same happen if I order a different wine on the SSBP list? When we had the SSBP package we asked for a particular wine in the restaurant which was then kept available for us each night. We ate at the same table so the waiter got to know this and he brought it without asking. I don’t know how it works if you ask for a different special wine each evening or eat infrequently in the Restaurant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted February 27 #30 Share Posted February 27 3 hours ago, janetcbl said: When we had the SSBP package we asked for a particular wine in the restaurant which was then kept available for us each night. We ate at the same table so the waiter got to know this and he brought it without asking. I don’t know how it works if you ask for a different special wine each evening or eat infrequently in the Restaurant. We tend to ask for the same table in the Restaurant each night so that exactly as you say, the wine steward and the servers know your preferences and they start to react to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GonzoWCS Posted February 28 #31 Share Posted February 28 Thanks for this information! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRH Posted March 27 #32 Share Posted March 27 Well, Jupiter ran out of Woodford Reserve before we even left Brazil and no more until at least Spain. This happened before and why i was reluctant to purchase SS. The Beverage Manager keeps getting away when we try to talk with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CCWineLover Posted March 27 #33 Share Posted March 27 10 hours ago, PRH said: Well, Jupiter ran out of Woodford Reserve before we even left Brazil and no more until at least Spain. This happened before and why i was reluctant to purchase SS. The Beverage Manager keeps getting away when we try to talk with him. We have had the same issues sometimes on Viking with supply. The danger is when you want a very specific brand - there is that risk - weather liquor or wine or whatever. We know folks who bring their own brand liquor onboard to guarantee availability!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted March 28 #34 Share Posted March 28 12 hours ago, CCWineLover said: We have had the same issues sometimes on Viking with supply. The danger is when you want a very specific brand - there is that risk - weather liquor or wine or whatever. We know folks who bring their own brand liquor onboard to guarantee availability!! We also have to remember that Viking ships are SMALLER than many of the other cruise lines. Many of the larger cruise lines have bigger stores areas and can bring more on board. You will notice that when you are in many of the ports, there are skids of all kinds of supplies including wine and spirits being loaded. Viking does not load a the beginning of the cruise with a full supply to last the entire cruise... they restock along the way. This is just part of sailing Viking. I do get that some folks like a particular brand, but sometimes it may run out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare island lady Posted March 28 #35 Share Posted March 28 At this point in our age....having everything "all inclusive" has an appeal to us. Cost smart...maybe not, .....but Viking is not a bargain discount line anyway. 😉 We prefer higher end wines. Three drinks a day all through the day for us...not a problem. Not interested in splitting hairs and the taking out a calculator for price of each drink. Eh..... 🙃 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CILCIANRQTS Posted March 29 #36 Share Posted March 29 On 2/27/2024 at 4:03 PM, CDNPolar said: We tend to ask for the same table in the Restaurant each night so that exactly as you say, the wine steward and the servers know your preferences and they start to react to them. We ask for the same waiter, so the waitstaff knows preferences and to develop better relationships - which results in better service. Tipping during the cruise also helps - if you’re so inclined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted March 29 #37 Share Posted March 29 3 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said: We ask for the same waiter, so the waitstaff knows preferences and to develop better relationships - which results in better service. Tipping during the cruise also helps - if you’re so inclined. 100% agree with you. I like sparkling water - not the Viking kind but Club Soda or Perrier. This is what I want at the start of a meal and not just still water. When we have the same serving team each night in The Restaurant, the good ones know this and it just appears shortly after sitting down. We have other preferences too. We usually start with a glass of the Prosecco and then move to white or red depending on what we are eating. The serving team and the wine steward in that section know this too and it just happens. These are the folks that we end up tipping out by hand 4-5 nights in because they go above and beyond, and we have a good time with them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch1994 Posted March 30 #38 Share Posted March 30 Certainly we didn't get our $700.00 worth of wine or drink that we paid for the package. Could have just spent that amount and picked out what we wanted from the wine list instead of buying it by the glass from the silver spirits list. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CCWineLover Posted March 30 #39 Share Posted March 30 2 hours ago, hutch1994 said: Certainly we didn't get our $700.00 worth of wine or drink that we paid for the package. Could have just spent that amount and picked out what we wanted from the wine list instead of buying it by the glass from the silver spirits list. Don't beat yourself up. You had to try it to learn this. We went through the same experience (buying it once) and now we just pick out what we want! We felt that most of the Silver Spirits folks were cocktail drinkers (and large ones!) rather than wine drinkers like we are. I think it might have benefited them, but for wine drinkers, it didn't seem to so much. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted March 31 #40 Share Posted March 31 16 hours ago, CCWineLover said: Don't beat yourself up. You had to try it to learn this. We went through the same experience (buying it once) and now we just pick out what we want! We felt that most of the Silver Spirits folks were cocktail drinkers (and large ones!) rather than wine drinkers like we are. I think it might have benefited them, but for wine drinkers, it didn't seem to so much. We are same boat (no pun intended) now. We are not cocktail drinkers - just wine. We buy as we go if the included wine does not work for us that day. It would be interesting to know if Viking make more money from selling SSBP or from charging for individual drinks. When we started sailing Viking in 2017 the SSBP was a good deal for us. Now, the price has gone up too much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squawkman Posted March 31 #41 Share Posted March 31 It would be interesting to know if Viking make more money from selling SSBP or from charging for individual drinks. At the Meet & Mingle on a Med cruise 4 years ago, my wife chatted with the Chief Financial Officer who indicated the SSBP is a money maker. He told her our cruise had 38% SSBP which was low. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Peregrina651 Posted March 31 #42 Share Posted March 31 6 minutes ago, Squawkman said: It would be interesting to know if Viking make more money from selling SSBP or from charging for individual drinks. At the Meet & Mingle on a Med cruise 4 years ago, my wife chatted with the Chief Financial Officer who indicated the SSBP is a money maker. He told her our cruise had 38% SSBP which was low. I wonder what the numbers are these days now that the package prices have gone up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insanityx4 Posted March 31 #43 Share Posted March 31 We bought the SSP for the first time on our last cruise which was on an Expedition Ship and had a $1,000 on board credit so used it for that. We really liked the package and the convenience but we also had a Nordic Suite so the mini bar went untouched. We just booked another cruise on a Ocean ship in a Penthouse Veranda category and will not get the SSP since we will have the mini bar in our room. We can always get a drink at any bar on the ship if we want and pay for it for far less. I do think we drank way more with the SSP because we wanted to get our $25 pp per days worth! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJANDH Posted March 31 #44 Share Posted March 31 1 hour ago, Insanityx4 said: We bought the SSP for the first time on our last cruise which was on an Expedition Ship and had a $1,000 on board credit so used it for that. Can you buy the SSP with OBC ahead of boarding or do you wait until on board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetcbl Posted March 31 #45 Share Posted March 31 (edited) 2 hours ago, Insanityx4 said: We bought the SSP for the first time on our last cruise which was on an Expedition Ship and had a $1,000 on board credit so used it for that. We really liked the package and the convenience but we also had a Nordic Suite so the mini bar went untouched. We just booked another cruise on an Ocean ship in a Penthouse Veranda category and will not get the SSP since we will have the mini bar in our room. We can always get a drink at any bar on the ship if we want and pay for it for far less. I do think we drank way more with the SSP because we wanted to get our $25 pp per days worth! You can ask for wine to be added to the minibar in PV and above. I don’t know if you can get the wine in addition to the liquor or if you have to trade it for the liquor. Anyone? Edited March 31 by janetcbl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insanityx4 Posted March 31 #46 Share Posted March 31 We don't drink hardly any wine at all anymore. Married to a winemaker for 50 years. He prefers beer and good scotch these days! We have cases and cases in our garage which we mostly give away. We were part owners of a winery so still get all of the new releases. On the expedition ship they kept delivering wine and champagne to our cabin. We gave most of it to our room stewards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare island lady Posted March 31 #47 Share Posted March 31 Interesting observations...thanks all. I did not have the SS package on our 3 week Viking river last year. Did I miss it...sort of...but could have bought one by one if we so desired. The allure of not having to nickel and dime the thought process is appealing, anyway...making it more of an "all inclusive". I have the package for our 45 night B2B Aussie/NZ adventure on Venus and Orion early next year. Will compare that experience as to if we need it on the B2B Great Lakes and NW passage on Octantis later in the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insanityx4 Posted March 31 #48 Share Posted March 31 48 minutes ago, CJANDH said: Can you buy the SSP with OBC ahead of boarding or do you wait until on board? It depends where your OBC comes from. Ours was from Viking because they changed ships and dates on us so the Polaris could be repaired after the rogue wave. It was already in our account. If it comes from a travel agent as a perk it's not usually added until you board the ship or a few days before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CCWineLover Posted March 31 #49 Share Posted March 31 4 minutes ago, Insanityx4 said: We don't drink hardly any wine at all anymore. Married to a winemaker for 50 years. He prefers beer and good scotch these days! We have cases and cases in our garage which we mostly give away. We were part owners of a winery so still get all of the new releases. On the expedition ship they kept delivering wine and champagne to our cabin. We gave most of it to our room stewards! How interesting! May I ask, what winery in NorCal? I've met so many winemakers who are really more beer drinkers. One told me it takes good beer to make good wine, so to speak! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CCWineLover Posted March 31 #50 Share Posted March 31 1 minute ago, Insanityx4 said: It depends where your OBC comes from. Ours was from Viking because they changed ships and dates on us so the Polaris could be repaired after the rogue wave. It was already in our account. If it comes from a travel agent as a perk it's not usually added until you board the ship or a few days before. @Insanityx4 Our travel agent gives OBC's as a perk and they get applied to our Viking Cruise anywhere from 60-90 days out, so we usually have used it for excursions. Didn't know that some people don't see the TA OBC until you board the ship or a few days before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now