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Dining and Drinks - 1st time Cruiser


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We have the deluxe drink package, and I'm a little confused with dinner and drinks.  In the MDR, can I order more than one glass of wine with my dinner?  Do they have a separate drink menu, or you can ask for whatever?  Am I limited to certain wines, because I like a good Riesling with dinner

Same goes for Specialty Dining, can I order more than 1 glass of wine with dinner?

For the specialty drinks, I've seen different pricing, we are on Oasis in a couple weeks, what is the max price before I have to pay out of pocket?  I've seen $13 and I've seen $12 (not that it matters too much, we've given ourselves a $100 budget for going over,  it's our  25th Anniversary, and new empty nesters, so I plan on enjoying myself a little more than normal)

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2 minutes ago, newcruiser2018 said:

In the MDR, can I order more than one glass of wine with my dinner?

Yes, you can order as much as you like. If you have a drink package, then as long as the wine is less than the drink package threshold ($12 or $13, depending on the ship) per glass then there is no additional charge. Else, you pay the difference.  If you do not have a drink package, then you pay for what you order.

3 minutes ago, newcruiser2018 said:

Do they have a separate drink menu, or you can ask for whatever?

There is a menu, but they have a full bar so you can order whatever.

3 minutes ago, newcruiser2018 said:

Am I limited to certain wines, because I like a good Riesling with dinner

I assume you mean with the drink package. Your only limit, per se, is with which wines per glass come in under the drink package allowance.

3 minutes ago, newcruiser2018 said:

Same goes for Specialty Dining, can I order more than 1 glass of wine with dinner?

Yes, same answer as for the MDR.

4 minutes ago, newcruiser2018 said:

For the specialty drinks, I've seen different pricing, we are on Oasis in a couple weeks, what is the max price before I have to pay out of pocket?

For Oasis and Quantum Class, it's $13. The rest of the fleet is $12.

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1 hour ago, newcruiser2018 said:

Am I limited to certain wines, because I like a good Riesling with dinner

The wine list for the main dining room is fixed, but if your ship has a Vintages wine bar on board you can find a much bigger selection there. You're completely free to get a glass there and carry it around the ship, including to the main dining room, so if you don't find any wines to your liking in the MDR then you can go this route your other nights. If you note down the name of the wine you want / got from Vintages, you might even be able to ask your waiter to get a second glass for you after the first runs out.

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I pretty much drink only Riesling, and that's what I had in the MDR every night.  It's not a huge selection of Rieslings, but I liked what they had. And yep, you can have more than one. The first night they brought me a second glass without asking ... I'm pretty much a lightweight as I don't drink much at home, so that was interesting, lol.

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Most ships do offer a by the glass Riesling in the MDR and most specialty restaurants (likely exception being something like Johnny Rockets)  I'm partial to Sauvignon Blanc and was delighted when I saw not one but 2 offerings.  One goes slightly over the cost of what's allowed in the deluxe beverage package but I'm more than willing to spend a little more to try something new.  Not to mention if I happen to love the wine, I can buy a bottle of it at a reduced price with the deluxe beverage package.  

Also keep in mind that you can bring 2 bottles of wine onboard.  So if there's a particular Riesling that  you prefer, bring it in with your carryon luggage!  You can ask to be served that for dinner and they will store your wine for you.  A corkage fee MAY be imposed but if you're particular about your wine, its a small price to pay to have your preferred wine (imo)

Also tell your waiter, the maitre d, your room steward, anyone who may serve you more than once, that you're celebrating your 25th wedding anniversary!  That corkage fee may magically not appear on your bill, that 20 dollar glass of wine may magically become part of your deluxe beverage package.  You never know.  But it never hurts to say something.   

 

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On 3/5/2019 at 11:08 AM, JLMoran said:

The wine list for the main dining room is fixed, but if your ship has a Vintages wine bar on board you can find a much bigger selection there. You're completely free to get a glass there and carry it around the ship, including to the main dining room, so if you don't find any wines to your liking in the MDR then you can go this route your other nights. If you note down the name of the wine you want / got from Vintages, you might even be able to ask your waiter to get a second glass for you after the first runs out.

Does Vintages take the drink package or are you 100% out of pocket?  I was a little confused on that point on the Allure.  Maybe it was just the food bites that had an upcharge.

On 3/5/2019 at 1:33 PM, Ogalthorpe Haywood said:

Often times it’s tough getting drinks in the mdr, we always bring a full drink in and get another as soon as the bar waiter comes around. 

 

On 3/5/2019 at 3:53 PM, Matt said:

I've definitely experienced this. It's rather hit or miss.

I think they've got the standard house wines and basic coffees within easy reach; I've always had that refilled quickly.  But cocktails take foooooreeeeeeeevvvveeeer.  And specialty coffee drinks were even worse.

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3 hours ago, Orange Crush said:

Does Vintages take the drink package or are you 100% out of pocket?  I was a little confused on that point on the Allure.  Maybe it was just the food bites that had an upcharge.

On both of my cruises so far -- Freedom and Anthem -- Vintages honored the drink package and just charged me any overage, like @WAAAYTOOO. Freedom was easier to find wines at or below her $12 limit; Anthem had almost nothing that was at or below the $13 limit on that ship, but its menu was also waaaay smaller, which I found really disappointing.

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17 hours ago, JLMoran said:

On both of my cruises so far -- Freedom and Anthem -- Vintages honored the drink package and just charged me any overage, like @WAAAYTOOO. Freedom was easier to find wines at or below her $12 limit; Anthem had almost nothing that was at or below the $13 limit on that ship, but its menu was also waaaay smaller, which I found really disappointing.

10 dollar bottles of wine from the local grocery store run 16.00 a glass on the ships nowadays.  Specifically talking about Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc as an example.  And i dont buy at the 50,000 bottles a week volume prices.  

RCL has the highest out of pocket drink prices compared to any of its competitors.  

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Just now, marti314 said:

10 dollar bottles of wine from the local grocery store run 16.00 a glass on the ships nowadays.  Specifically talking about Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc as an example.  And i dont buy at the 50,000 bottles a week volume prices.  

RCL has the highest out of pocket drink prices compared to any of its competitors.  

I won't argue that. I sometimes switch from my preferred Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel (8 bucks a bottle for a great zin!) and will get a bottle of Ravenswood Old Vine Zin instead. That'll run me maybe $10 or $11, $9 on sale, and on Anthem they were charging $14 a glass for that. And I much prefer a good super-Tuscan, Chianti, or Malbec when I'm on the ship and have the package; those will run $25 to $45 a bottle on land, so I don't normally buy them. But paying $4 overage for a glass (or two) with dinner while on board is fine by me!

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  • 2 years later...

Newbie question. Scenario 1: So, I go to Vintages for a nightcap, 5oz glass of red vino, and I can take it back to my cabin, right? Scenario 2: To economize with my nightcaps, I go to Vintages and buy a bottle of red vino instead of a glass, and I can take the bottle back to my cabin. Right? Or wrong?

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@adwo41, Scenario 1 is a definite “yes”.

With scenario 2, I think what will happen is the same as if you brought a bottle from your cabin to the MDR, or bought it there; they will seal and store the bottle with your cabin number noted, and you can request it from any other venue when you want to have another glass.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/16/2021 at 6:13 AM, adwo41 said:

Newbie question. Scenario 1: So, I go to Vintages for a nightcap, 5oz glass of red vino, and I can take it back to my cabin, right? Scenario 2: To economize with my nightcaps, I go to Vintages and buy a bottle of red vino instead of a glass, and I can take the bottle back to my cabin. Right? Or wrong?

Scenario 1, yes you can get a drink and take it back to your cabin and scenario 2 they will not let you take the bottle you will get it at the end of the cruise if your not opening it straight away. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/2/2021 at 7:33 AM, roybthered said:

Scenario 1, yes you can get a drink and take it back to your cabin and scenario 2 they will not let you take the bottle you will get it at the end of the cruise if your not opening it straight away. 

Scenario 2 then. So, I buy a bottle, have it opened, and drink a glass from it in Vintages. Can I then take the uncorked bottle back to my cabin?

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On 9/16/2021 at 10:41 AM, JLMoran said:

With scenario 2, I think what will happen is the same as if you brought a bottle from your cabin to the MDR, or bought it there; they will seal and store the bottle with your cabin number noted, and you can request it from any other venue when you want to have another glass.

@adwo41 See above. I wouldn't know for sure, as I don't drink, but I can't imagine them letting you take the whole bottle back to the room.

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  • 1 year later...

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