Lets share wine info, please.

[mems]

Hi People,

 

Since I can't get a glass of wine before dinner in the CL because I only have 15 cruise credits. (Shame on you RCL) I looked into ordering wine on the "Wine and Dine" program and then I checked out their wine cellar. Then I compared wine prices on line. What a shock! I only drink white wine so I will stick with only white wine prices for comparison. Heaven knows what the mark up is on those foo foo drinks.

 

RCL claims to have, "50 bottles of wine and champagne from around the world" in their wine cellar then list 26 wines. Prices for white wines per bottle were from $56 to $31 if you buy from them and they are really cheap wines (hey,some may taste good). Checking prices here, all were under $20 a bottle except 2.(one was $16.99 and one was $20 at the web sites I checked).

I'm not a wine snob and I'm not a whiner but their prices are enough for me to say, "forget it". That is a huge markup.

When ordering a drink on the ship I usually ask for a glass of chardonnay. On our last cruise I noticed there were different charges for a glass of chardonnay. Was told, "Oh, you didn't ask for the house chardonnay". Does anyone know what, the "house chardonnay" is?

Well just sharing my thoughts. mems

[audome78]

La Terre.

 

Don't ask.

[mems]

La Terre is the house wine?

[Ephraim]

1. I'm not going to be buying any wine called "The earth" for fear it will taste exactly as it's name implies.

 

2. If it is really La Terre... would you like some for USD$3.59 a bottle?

[mpbmark]

First, I'm not a RCCL booster. Second, I like and drink wine (too much, says my wife) and belong to several wine clubs.

 

When you compare wine prices, you cannot compare the RCCL cost in the dining room with an online price, the Costco price or the Bev Mo price. To really compare apples to apples, look at the RCCL price and then look at the same bottle at a local, moderately priced restaurant. Of course, that assumes you can find a similar bottle at your restaurant.

 

I think you will find that RCCL marks up about 300% to 400% on most of the lower value wines, e.g.white zin and takes a smaller markup on the more expensive Chards and Cabs. That is why there are different prices, for instance, on their Chards.

 

That being said, I believe their prices are too high for the quality of wine offered and this upcoming cruise will be the first where I won't be purchasing a wine package. The selections are not worth the slight savings being offered. I will pay a little more per bottle and drink what I like.

 

BTW, if you haven't seen it, here is a link to a package breakdown.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=805524

 

You may be interested in reading the whole thread

[cb at sea]

Wine is EXTREMELY overpriced! I drink wine at home, but will NOT pay those prices! On a cruise, I stick to beer or Vodka-tonics! More "bang" for your buck! I can do without a bit of the "grape" for 1 week!

[ikelmay]

I really, really don't understand the logic behind this - it is just asking for people to smuggle their own favourite wines on when you sell cheap plonk at ludicrously inflated prices.

 

By all means, take a reasonable mark-up - but if you insist on fleecing a captive audience, then sooner or later, they will take whatever measures they deem appropriate,

[EV2008]

Hi People,

 

Since I can't get a glass of wine before dinner in the CL because I only have 15 cruise credits. (Shame on you RCL) I looked into ordering wine on the "Wine and Dine" program and then I checked out their wine cellar. Then I compared wine prices on line. What a shock! I only drink white wine so I will stick with only white wine prices for comparison. Heaven knows what the mark up is on those foo foo drinks.

 

RCL claims to have, "50 bottles of wine and champagne from around the world" in their wine cellar then list 26 wines. Prices for white wines per bottle were from $56 to $31 if you buy from them and they are really cheap wines (hey,some may taste good). Checking prices here, all were under $20 a bottle except 2.(one was $16.99 and one was $20 at the web sites I checked).

 

I'm not a wine snob and I'm not a whiner but their prices are enough for me to say, "forget it". That is a huge markup.

 

When ordering a drink on the ship I usually ask for a glass of chardonnay. On our last cruise I noticed there were different charges for a glass of chardonnay. Was told, "Oh, you didn't ask for the house chardonnay". Does anyone know what, the "house chardonnay" is?

 

Well just sharing my thoughts. mems

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you never ordered a bottle of wine in a Restaurant?? They do not sell it to you for what you can buy it in the store. Like any other buisness they have to make money to stay in buisness. Don't hold it against them for trying to make a profit. If I had a buisness I would try and make a profit.

[bruce-r]

Or you can cruise on HAL or Disney and bring on board all the wine you can carry if you wish.

 

You just have to prioritize.

[dutchess43]

As I have been known to drink my wine through Europe, USA & where ever I have a wine distribution friend & asked why he did not sell any of his wines to cruise lines. What an earful I got! First they pay next to nothing or nothing at all for the least expensive wines. That is where they make the most mark up. The cruise lines claim to fame is they they are giving the wineries free advertising by having their wine on the menus & not charging them for that privilege. Wait that will be coming next. They have a point but they do not take into consideration that when you like a wine & go to your wine store at home & nearly have a heart attack when you see the price & realize the mark up. We all know that they have to make a profit but they are way higher then any restaurant that I have had wine in. You also have to consider where are you going to go? No wine in the middle of the ocean.

[Bruinboy]

My DW and I owned a wine store for a number of years. mpbmark is spot on. Most restaurants mark up double the price you can buy retail. The more expensive the restaurant the more significant the mark up (in most cases). My recommendation, look at the wine and dine packages, sample some of the whites prior to cruising, see if you like any of them, and determine if the package price makes sense to you. DW and I will purchase wine on board, but will stay clear of the package. Like mpbmark, we will order and drink what we like. And we also drink martini's before dinner, which we usually don't at home, just to be different.

[SI Cruiser]

Wine or Alcohol in general is marked up just as much as a soft drink or a cup of coffee.

 

Many people will pay $2.50 for a 12oz glass of Pepsi in a restaurant. You will also pay a ridiculous, sometimes $3.00, amount for a 25 cent cup of coffee.

 

It is all relative. Restaurants and cruise lines have alot of overhead to cover thereby requiring 300 to 400% markups.

[publicpersona]

I think one expects to pay about double the retail price for wine at a restaurant. I could tolerate that on a ship. Say, a $9.95 Kendall Jackson Chardonnay for $20-$22 onboard. But paying $25 for a $4 bottle of wine? Please.

[Cindy]

We also steer clear of the packages and order what we like. For most of the wine we order, the markup is about what you'd find in a good land-based restaurant. I agree that the markup on the less expensive wines is ridiculous!

Just a side note...I was surprised to see Cakebread Chardonnay on a downtown Houston restaurant's wine list for quite a bit more than the going rate on Royal Caribbean! I always assumed the mark up with RCCL was going to equal or exceed what I see at home except in the most expensive of restaurants. I actually thought the price of a couple of the bottles we purchased on Voyager last month had gone down since 2008!:eek:

[KeywestK]

I happen to agree completely with MPBMARK's comment. DH and I are also wine drinkers, and while we do not claim to be experts on any level, we know what we like, and we know what good wines are at all price points. On our last few cruises we attempted to purchase a wine package, but the wines offered on those packages were not to our liking. On our upcoming cruise, we will opt to purchase a bottle at a time, and regardless of what we pay for it, we will at least have wine that we enjoy. No way will we purchase a wine package and not love the wines!;)

 

Karen

[mems]

Good Morning,

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. I agree with many of you that selling cheap wine at such an inflated price is a rip off. But then again we are a captive audience arn't we? mpb thanks for the link it is very well done. mems

[Catperson]

Is La Terre really under $4.00 a bottle? I don't think they sell this wine in the Toronto area. In fact, a bottle of any wine under $5.00 is unheard of.

[mems]

We recently returned from two months in Naples, Florida and some of the wine prices I found were in a catalog from the "Total Wine" superstore in Naples, a city not know for bargin prices. Most of the wines on board ship are in the lowest price range. Not to say they aren't good, just that they don't cost much. I couldn't find La Terra in that catalog but it sells for $4 here at home.

[mpbmark]

Good Morning,

. . . mpb thanks for the link it is very well done. mems

 

Thanks for the compliment, but I can't take credit for any of the work. I just stumbled onto the page where it was located.

 

. . . I couldn't find La Terra in that catalog but it sells for $4 here at home.

 

Don't miss the point, here. It isn't what you can buy the wine for, but rather what you would pay in a reasonably priced restaurant. Frankly, I doubt you could find La Terra in any restaurant, but if you could, it would probably be in the $18 to $21 range. For instance, Beringer white zin is priced by the ship at $27. I quick look on line will get a price as low as $6. In local restaurants, it will be on the menu at about $23. Howver, the Carmenere, Arboleda, Colchagua Valley, Chile is on line at about $17 and on board, it is $35, about the same as in the restaurants.

 

Wine can always be purchased at a retail store at a price below the restaurant price. Therefore, you can't compare the Costco price with the price being charged on board. The ship must cover the cost of getting the wine on board, storing it, serving it and the usual corkage/breakage add on. A restaurant has to do the same. Costco only has to sell it so the overhead is considerably less.

 

The least expensive wines will have a greater markup than the better quality wines because.............well, I don't have an answer to that. It has always been that way and maybe someone else can shed some insight.

 

The bottom line: the ship prices on the less expensive wines are out of line for the quality but there are "bargains" to be found on the higher end products if you know the "restaurant" prices as a comparison. Otherwise, consider spending your "alcohol" dollars somewhere else.