Wine Packages - What's the difference?

[Never2MuchTravel]

I was just going to place my order for a wine package online and was trying to figure out the differences between them. When you look at the pdf brochure, the Gold package seems to have more choices than the others and it's the cheapest. Am I missing something here? I would have thought that it would be the reverse. Does anyone know if the current Wine Package brochure is wrong?

[mamaza]

There was a thread here a while ago where they compaired the prices of each package. The Plantinum, 7 bottle plan came out as the best value when you choice the wines that stood ahead of the mean price (divide the cost of the plan by the number of bottles you are getting.) eg: if the mean price is $25.00 per bottle then you only want to buy bottle above that price. Rioja, Faustino VII, Rioja, Spain is a very good value at $42.00 a bottle as is Pinot Grigio, Danzante at $38.00 per bottle. The white Zins (which my wife loves) are a washout and no savings, so we buy them separately. The 5 bottle Platinum was also not a bad value.

 

It's been a while since I've updated prices, but I'm betting it's still pretty much the same. I wish I had the link for you. If I find it I'll come back to this thread and post it.

[Never2MuchTravel]

Thanks Marc. When I originally looked at this in April, it also seemed to me that the Platinum was the way to go. But the brochure now shows the Gold plan as having all of the choices, Platinum a few less, and then the Diamond as having the fewest. I'm thinking that they have mixed them up and reversed the order. I am tempted to just order the Gold (as it shows all of the wines included) but maybe if it's a mistake I should go for the Platinum.

[mamaza]

Go to this thread, post number 1:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=805524&highlight=wine+package+analysis

 

At the bottom of his message is a link to an attached file which looks like what I've pasted below: download that: Great info. the prices might have changed by now the the general info is the same. You should be able to clic on the link I've made below also (but maybe not:confused:)

 

Attached FilesRCIWinePackage-v3.pdf (30.4 KB, 777 views)

 

 

Good luck,

[Never2MuchTravel]

Marc,

 

Perfect! This is just what I was looking for. As I thought, the current brochure online in MyCruise is switched between the Gold and Diamond. I would not have been happy with the Gold package.

 

Patty

[Brickwood]

I thought all the Gold selections are also available in Platinum and all of the Platinum (and Gold) are available in Diamond. The higher priced packages are just listing wines that are available in addition to those in the lower category....is that not correct?

[Captain Jake]

I thought all the Gold selections are also available in Platinum and all of the Platinum (and Gold) are available in Diamond. The higher priced packages are just listing wines that are available in addition to those in the lower category....is that not correct?

 

Yes.That is why you need to buy based on your likes.Buying diamond and drinking mostly gold is a waste.I've also read on past threads they have ran out of diamond/Platinum selections and have forced you to choose gold instead of a comparible substitute though I had no trouble\

:cj

[ahornb]

Yes.That is why you need to buy based on your likes.Buying diamond and drinking mostly gold is a waste.I've also read on past threads they have ran out of diamond/Platinum selections and have forced you to choose gold instead of a comparible substitute though I had no trouble\

:cj

 

I'd be really upset and disappointed if I pre-ordered a platinum or diamond package and could order what I wanted from the list I pre-paid for. I hope they would offer a comparable substitute.

[Albert Ross]

I was just going to place my order for a wine package online and was trying to figure out the differences between them. When you look at the pdf brochure, the Gold package seems to have more choices than the others and it's the cheapest. Am I missing something here? I would have thought that it would be the reverse. Does anyone know if the current Wine Package brochure is wrong?

I think they have their .pdfs the wrong way round! The Gold is the base package and the Platinum and Diamond have additional bottles included. There is no way that the Gold should have the most bottles, it should have the lowest number of bottles and least variety and choice.:rolleyes:

[newlu]

It happened to me once out of maybe 4 times, they had no more of the Rioja after 2 nights!! They do not offer anything else, you must choose from the rest of the list...

 

newlu

[mamaza]

I think they have their .pdfs the wrong way round! The Gold is the base package and the Platinum and Diamond have additional bottles included. There is no way that the Gold should have the most bottles, it should have the lowest number of bottles and least variety and choice.:rolleyes:

The first 3 pages do show gold with the least selections and Diamond with the most. The last page shows with Plat/Dia only the additional selections allowed beyond the basic gold in each package. (boy, that came out confusing) Plat has what gold has plus some and Dia has what Plat has plus more. (is that better?)

 

The Selections and pricing might have changed since this page was made but the premise is still there. How it was made?: you divide the package price (include the 15% if not already included) by the number of bottles in the package and that gives you a base price per bottle. Then take the RCCL list price and subtract it from that price to see how much you save by using the package to buy that wine. BTW, I didn't create this study.

 

I AGREE: First you must buy the wine you like; if you don't like what's on the Dia/Plat, then it's not a great value and could cost you more ... take the Woodbridge White Zinfandel as an example. In Dia it cost you more per bottle, Plat the savings is minimal and in Gold it's a good value ... Second, only buy if you are going to drink that much wine anyway and like the selections offered for that package. DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

 

We buy plat because we love Rioja and Danzante and Mondavi Merlot - it's a middle of the road, good value. If I only wanted Semillion/Chardonnay, the Woodbridge White Zin and the Danzante, I'd go with the Gold as the savings is so much better.

 

But this is all my opinion. I am glad the creator of the study made the .pdf cuz it saved me a lot of work and made me think about what I was buying ahead of time.