Talk to me about Beer/Wine packages...

[Clojel]

what's worth it? what isn't? we've only ever traveled concierge so I haven't looked into the packages in the past but we're traveling with a few family members this time and I'm trying to make the cruise as cost effective for them as possible. Any advice would be appreciated . Thanks!

 

[BrokeMack]

I like the mug club. 20oz beer for 16oz price. Doesn't really become cost effective until your ninth beer, but you can take the token home instead of the mug and bring it on your next cruise if it's a short one or if you don't drink enough.

 

[tvguy]

Depends how much you drink. We drank 4 bottles of wine on a 7 day cruise and getting 4 bottles a la carte was cheaper than the wine package.

 

[sadiecatie]

We were looking at the wine packages, but we decided against getting one because we didn’t want to feel like we *have* to drink wine at dinner every night - mostly because my husband likes the variety of having a beer or a cocktail if he wants. If you know you/your party will be consistent and want wine every night, it’s worth it because you’ll pay less per bottle but if you aren’t sure you’ll drink that much or you want to be able to decide as you go, it might not be the best.

Also keep in mind that each adult in your party can bring 2 bottles of wine or a 6-pack of beer on board when you get on the ship and at each port.

 

[CM Dad]

Depends how much you drink. We drank 4 bottles of wine on a 7 day cruise and getting 4 bottles a la carte was cheaper than the wine package.

Did you buy the 7 day wine package, or the 4 day package for your cruise? The naming of the package is somewhat misleading, since you are really just prepaying for that number of bottles of wine. If you drink about 2 bottles worth each day, you could buy the 7 night package for a 4 night cruise.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[tvguy]

Did you buy the 7 day wine package, or the 4 day package for your cruise? The naming of the package is somewhat misleading, since you are really just prepaying for that number of bottles of wine. If you drink about 2 bottles worth each day, you could buy the 7 night package for a 4 night cruise.

I did not buy a package. We bought bottles a la carte, 4 total for less than the 7 day package cost. That was my point in mentioning that you should consider how much your drink. We never would have used the 7 bottles in the 7 day package. There was no option for a 4 day package on a 7 day cruise.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We got a 3 bottle package on our last 7 days cruise and just managed to finish them (we were just 2, and we also had access to the concierge lounge for cocktail hour). I wouldn't get a wine package for less than a 7 day cruise. I'm hoping to try some of the cocktails on our cruise on the Dream.

 

[bakerworld]

Our last cruise I splurged on the beer package for DH and what a waste of $$. With taxes and fees the Beer Package was $40 and he left a beer in the fridge. The next cruise I'm going back to buying a 6-pk the day we leave for the cruise. $17 is a lot better than $40. He always does the beer mug and that's a good deal.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

Honestly, At the prices they want the Wine Packages aren't that great of a deal. I encourage people to bring their bottles/cans on at each port and on embark day to save money.

The original 4 ships have been doing happy hour's in the different bars and locations throughout the day. Usually there was a 5-6 PM hour option or two and then a 9-10/10-11 PM option for happy hour each night. I saw savings of 30-50% depending on the day and time.

The beer packages (Buy 5 get 1 free) are usually fine but laughable in "savings" when it comes to the final tab. I question what the savings actually is. It seems as though the favorite is definitely the beer mug 20 oz for 16 oz price.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I did not buy a package. We bought bottles a la carte, 4 total for less than the 7 day package cost. That was my point in mentioning that you should consider how much your drink. We never would have used the 7 bottles in the 7 day package. There was no option for a 4 day package on a 7 day cruise.

That doesn’t seem consistent with my experience, over 25 DCL cruises. I have never had a problem purchasing a smaller multi-bottle package on longer cruises, even including Panama Canal, Transatlantic, and Hawaii cruises of 14, 12, and 10 nights. They are really multiple-bottle packages. I usually get a 4-bottle package, even on longer cruises. DW does not drink alcohol, so I spread a single bottle of wine over two nights. The assistant server is always happy to close the half-full bottle and bring it to the next dining room. I have even had a bottle from the premium wine pachage opened in Palo and had the leftover half sent to the MDR where we were dining the following night.

One thing I do after the server has poured the initial glass of wine from a new bottle on the first night of a cruise: I tell the server that I will refill my own glass when I’m ready for more wine. Otherwise, they have a tendency to ”top up” the glass as soon as I’ve taken a few sips. It’s real easy to lose track of how much has been poured so you don’t have much left for the following night by the end of dinner if you’re not careful. This only works for red wines, since bottles of white are placed in an ice bucket that’s out of reach. Of course, the server who understands my plan will manage the pouring of white wines accordingly. In Palo, I make my two-night/bottle plan clear to the server, since they always hold the bottle in their serving area rather than placing it on the table.

 

[tvguy]

That doesn’t seem consistent with my experience, over 25 DCL cruises. I have never had a problem purchasing a smaller multi-bottle package on longer cruises, even including Panama Canal, Transatlantic, and Hawaii cruises of 14, 12, and 10 nights. They are really multiple-bottle packages. I usually get a 4-bottle package, even on longer cruises. DW does not drink alcohol, so I spread a single bottle of wine over two nights. The assistant server is always happy to close the half-full bottle and bring it to the next dining room. I have even had a bottle from the premium wine pachage opened in Palo and had the leftover half sent to the MDR where we were dining the following night.

One thing I do after the server has poured the initial glass of wine from a new bottle on the first night of a cruise: I tell the server that I will refill my own glass when I’m ready for more wine. Otherwise, they have a tendency to ”top up” the glass as soon as I’ve taken a few sips. It’s real easy to lose track of how much has been poured so you don’t have much left for the following night by the end of dinner if you’re not careful. This only works for red wines, since bottles of white are placed in an ice bucket that’s out of reach. Of course, the server who understands my plan will manage the pouring of white wines accordingly. In Palo, I make my two-night/bottle plan clear to the server, since they always hold the bottle in their serving area rather than placing it on the table.

As I recall there were like three tiers of wine package with each a step up on what your individual choices were. But all were 7 bottled on a 7 day cruise on the Magic.
But either way, I think my point is still valid, consider how much wine you will drink before deciding on a wine package. If they offer smaller numbers of bottles now, all the better.

 

[CaseyCruiser]

We always purchase a wine package. We always take our time at dinner and my wife enjoys selecting a bottle every evening. It is a great value and your assistant server takes care of the wine for you.

 

[Lady_S]

Bumping this to ask a related question rather than start a new thread - Is there any advantage to buying the beer cooler package or wine package online in advance rather than waiting until you are on board? Is there a discount? Or maybe you save on gratuity? TIA!

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Bumping this to ask a related question rather than start a new thread - Is there any advantage to buying the beer cooler package or wine package online in advance rather than waiting until you are on board? Is there a discount? Or maybe you save on gratuity? TIA!

None of the above, AFAIK. Certainly no to saving on the gratuity. It gets added to the advance purchase price. If you purchase the beer cooler online in advance, the cooler bag may be in your stateroom when you get there, or it may be delivered later in the day. We’ve done a water/cooler order in advance and had it both ways on different cruises, so I assume that the beer package may be similar. I prefer to do the wine package once we are onboard and have met our servers. I then add extra gratuity to the charge slip, since the autogratuities are shared among beverage staff, but the extra gratuity is specific to your individual serving team (server and assistant server).

 

[bigAWL]

So I did a little analysis using some 2019 wine menus, comparing single bottle prices of the wines available in each package. As you can see, each package can offer decent value if you choose the more expensive wines from the menu, with the Classic package being more fool-proof (since even the cheapest bottles are at least even with the package average). You can really get screwed on the Premium package if you choose less-expensive bottles. I used the 7-Night packages to calculate potential savings, so that can really start to drop for the packages with fewer bottles.

Classic Packages (per bottle average)
3-Night: 32
4-Night: 32
5-Night: 30
7-Night: 29

Classic Single Bottle Prices (and savings compared to 7-Night average)
Cheapest: 30 (2%)
Average: 35 (19%)
Highest: 42 (43%)

Premium Packages (per bottle average)
3-Night: 49
4-Night: 49
5-Night: 48
7-Night: 45

Premium Single Bottle Prices (and savings compared to 7-Night average)
Cheapest: 37 (-18%)
Average: 50 (10%)
Highest: 64 (42%)

Prize for the worst value goes to the Premium 3-Night package, where more than half of the available choices cost the same or cheaper by the bottle than the package average.

Again, this is using 2019 prices. Current packages run about $1 more per bottle, but I don't have a recent wine price list.