# Wine package on Cruise?



## richmke (Feb 24, 2016)

I just found out that they offer a Wine package for the Cruise. They only allow you to bring on 2 bottles (one bottle, no larger then 750ml, per Adult), so the rest I have to purchase.

Any thoughts on the packages they offer? The 5 bottle packages cost $131, $153, and $193 (cost includes a 15% gratuity).

https://help.carnival.com/ci/fattach/get/583/1431372509/redirect/1/filename/MWLF_WP5_1214_2.pdf

We are mainly Red drinkers. The WE Petite Verdot, and a 750ml bottle of WE Chocolate Raspberry Port, is what I am bringing on.
If I buy the wine package, maybe I can fill a wine bottle with Vodka ::


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## ibglowin (Feb 24, 2016)

Holy SH!T Batman!

The "low end" $131 package are all wines well under $10. Barefoot is on sale quite often for like $5 a bottle in these parts.

The "Deluxe" wines are about $15 a pop in the stores. 

Quite the markup!


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## Boatboy24 (Feb 24, 2016)

Those prices are absolutely insane. As Mike said, Barefoot can be had for about $5. Overall value aside, I think you get the most bang for your buck with the $153 'Deluxe' Package.


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## DoctorCAD (Feb 24, 2016)

Limited market = as much as they want to charge. Its not like you can go to the next store and get it cheaper.

Went on a cruise once, before projectile vomiting and intense diarrhea were the norm and ships with many problems, fires, sailing into bad weather, etc.

Never again...if I want to get sick I will just go to Chipolte.


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## wineforfun (Feb 24, 2016)

Hold on folks. I have been on numerous cruises. Do mostly AI's now.
Anyway, keep in mind that is how they make their money. Not justifying it, just explaining. The food, entertainment, cabin is already taken care of in the cruise price.
With that said, do some math. The last one we went on, we bought a bottle of Hornitos tequila for $55 for a 1l bottle. Waiting in my room for me. Now that is approx. 3x what I can get it at home for, approx. $18 for 750ml. 
So at $6 - $7 per drink, give or take depending on what your drink is, and figuring there are approx. 33 ounces in 1l, and figuring they are only using 1oz. per drink(again, depending on your drink), that equates to $180 - $200 for that same $55 bottle of tequila. 
It is all part of the cruising game, you know this ahead of time. Yes, it is overpriced but it is much cheaper than buying all those drinks onboard.

The best I can tell, on average, not everywhere, is that the first group are $5 bottles of wine, second group are $10 bottles of wine and the third group are $15 bottles of wine.


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## jgmann67 (Feb 24, 2016)

Another consideration - if you're not a big drinker and don't want to spend the money on their booze pass, buying the wine package is a good option. We priced the bottles out on the Carnival Cruise we were on and found it worthwhile. With the Deluxe package, the wines are very drinkable. We'd have a glass of wine with dinner, take the second glass to go to the next event (like the comedy club or one of the on-board shows). If that's all you're drinking (along with the two bottles you bring with you from home), the math works.

But, if you're thinking about testing the theory of whether you can stay drunk from the moment you leave, till the moment you return, this ain't for you. Get the booze pass and see how many brain cells you can cull from the herd.


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## Brian55 (Feb 24, 2016)

Why you'd subject yourself to a cruise ship is your business. But if I had to suffer through it, this is how I'd work around the overpriced booze scam: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiIcXX-xcCU[/ame]


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## richmke (Feb 24, 2016)

There current booze pass is $50/day, and includes 15 drinks that are $10 or less. Effective for cruises after March 1, 2016, the pass is still the same cost, but now includes drinks up to $50/glass and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages. Not sure what they serve that is $50/glass. I am guessing that the better wines are NOT sold by the glass. Maybe Port or aged scotch?

Definitely an improvement, but not in my price range. A drink or two at dinner is about my limit, so the booze package was never a consideration.

The $193 is $38.60/bottle, but also includes a 15% gratuity, bringing the base cost down to $33.50/bottle. Which, is about in-line with restaurant prices of 2x wine store cost.

I'll probably pass. We might have been able to go through 7 bottles of wine in 7 days, but that would have been pushing it. My wife would probably prefer to have a mixed drink ($9) instead. I'll stick with the free iced tea, and splurge on the unlimited molten chocolate cake.


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## vacuumpumpman (Feb 24, 2016)

Fill it with vodka or even something higher and add some food coloring or just plain OAK 

I prefer a good Port !


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## Johnd (Feb 24, 2016)

richmke said:


> There current booze pass is $50/day, and includes 15 drinks that are $10 or less. Effective for cruises after March 1, 2016, the pass is still the same cost, but now includes drinks up to $50/glass and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages. Not sure what they serve that is $50/glass. I am guessing that the better wines are NOT sold by the glass. Maybe Port or aged scotch?
> 
> Definitely an improvement, but not in my price range. A drink or two at dinner is about my limit, so the booze package was never a consideration.
> 
> ...



I did the drinking pass when my wife and I did a Carnival cruise out of NO for Mardi Gras last year. In addition to getting my money's worth in drinks on deck, we were entitled to 50% off of wines in the fancy restaurant on the top deck of the Dream. 

So they had Opus One 2011 up there, $200 bottle of wine, the sommelier offered it to us for $150 as they were making room for restocking. I bought the last three bottles (with the 50% discount) for 75 bucks each. We ate dinner up there three times and enjoyed an excellent bottle all three nights.


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## jgmann67 (Feb 24, 2016)

richmke said:


> There current booze pass is $50/day, and includes 15 drinks that are $10 or less. Effective for cruises after March 1, 2016, the pass is still the same cost, but now includes drinks up to $50/glass and unlimited non-alcoholic beverages. Not sure what they serve that is $50/glass. I am guessing that the better wines are NOT sold by the glass. Maybe Port or aged scotch?
> 
> Definitely an improvement, but not in my price range. A drink or two at dinner is about my limit, so the booze package was never a consideration.
> 
> ...




You can pick the wine package on board if you change your mind, and you can take any unopened bottles home with you.


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## Boatboy24 (Feb 25, 2016)

Brian55 said:


> Why you'd subject yourself to a cruise ship is your business. But if I had to suffer through it, this is how I'd work around the overpriced booze scam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiIcXX-xcCU



I just want to know if this actually worked.


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## Brian55 (Feb 25, 2016)

Boatboy24 said:


> I just want to know if this actually worked.



According to Doug, yes it worked.


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