Purchasing Bottles of Wine from RCI

[ncnickel]

My partner and I were planning to bring 2 bottles of red with us for our 7 night cruise. However, 2 bottles will typically last us three, maybe four dinners. Since we will be having 7 dinners (and perhaps wine with a lunch or two), we have been wondering which would be more cost effective:

ordering a bottle at a meal (I cannot find the prices for bottles of wine served in dinning rooms on Oasis of the Seas) or doing one of those gift things and having the wine delivered to the room as a gift, purchased from RCI. 

Second question though, if we do order a bottle of wine before boarding from RCI as a gift (to ourselves) on the cruise planner or what not, will we be charged a corkage fee if we bring it to the dinning room or to a meal? Or will they know that we've purchased that from RCI?

 

Sorry for the dumb question. 

[KristiZ]

Not dumb at all!

I would recommend buying by the bottle in the dining room (once you've guzzled up your own, of course!  ). That way you have far more choice than you would with the gift packages. They will store your bottle if you don't finish it and pour more for you the next night. Unless you want to take it with you back to your cabin. You can do that too. Bottle prices will run you $16ish to $more-than-you-can-ever-want, just like restaurants on land.

As I recall, when we got gift bottles in the past they were marked, so no fees. Not sure how it's handled these days, but I'm sure there's some kind of plan. Someone else will likely know the answer!

[ncnickel]

Super helpful! Thanks for that. And 16-dollars-ish for a bottle is not bad from the MDR!

[Stephanie]

I personally don't recall seeing $16 / bottle, but I'm sure it depends on the ship and the brand of wine.  I usually buy bottles in the main dining room and have never been charged a corking fee.  The only (small) downside I've ever seen with this option is that if you sit in a different section each night, it can sometimes take the wait staff a little while to find your bottle.  Sitting in the same area helps to alleviate this issue.  I usually have 2 glass with my meal and then have them fill my glass again before I leave so I can take my 3rd glass to whatever show we're headed to after dinner.

[JLMoran]

I can't say I've ever seen a bottle of wine on board that went for $16 either. I want to say the least expensive I've seen in reds averaged at least $30 a bottle, and those were wines I drink or have had back at home and I know go for $10-$12 a bottle.

I will say that when you compare the price per glass vs. the price of a bottle, a bottle does work out better per glass if you don't have the DBP and you expect to drink an entire bottle's worth over the course of your sailing.

[ellcee]

The corkage fee can be charged but I've never seen it and from what I've read it's rare...basically they reserve the right to charge it.

If you have a dining package the wine is a good percentage off, I wanna say 50% but not entirely sure.

[KristiZ]

Thinking back, the $16 bottles might have been on Explorer a couple of years ago when they were trying to "clean out" their cellar in advance of a refresh. I remember they had one or two bottles that were "the last one on the ship". 

So I apologize if I got your hopes up, @ncnickel But hopefully you'll be able to find some interesting options, at least!

[ncnickel]

32 minutes ago, KristiZ said:

Thinking back, the $16 bottles might have been on Explorer a couple of years ago when they were trying to "clean out" their cellar in advance of a refresh. I remember they had one or two bottles that were "the last one on the ship". 

So I apologize if I got your hopes up, @ncnickel But hopefully you'll be able to find some interesting options, at least!

HAHAHA! No worries. I am sure we will. This has been incredibly helpful. I wasn't aware of all the wine options (still am not but am sure that I can find some that I like). We were on the fence re: the drink package, but my partner does not drink much - at all - and so we knew we wouldn't reach the 5 drinks per day over the course of the trip... maybe I would, but he certainly would not. *sigh. such is life. I wish they still had that wine package I was reading about. 

[KristiZ]

1 hour ago, ncnickel said:

 We were on the fence re: the drink package

Be sure to keep an eye out for the 10-drink card. It's a great deal and can be shared. Hopefully it'll show up in the middle of your trip!

Also, the Drink of the Day is a decent deal. If you're not too picky  

[ncnickel]

1 hour ago, KristiZ said:

Be sure to keep an eye out for the 10-drink card. It's a great deal and can be shared. Hopefully it'll show up in the middle of your trip!

Also, the Drink of the Day is a decent deal. If you're not too picky  

Whoa! I had no idea of those - the 10 drink cards or the drink of the day. Do they announce that in the compass?

[KristiZ]

1 hour ago, ncnickel said:

Whoa! I had no idea of those - the 10 drink cards or the drink of the day. Do they announce that in the compass?

Yes they do! Sometimes (rarely anymore I think) the DotD is in a souvenir cup, which means no discount. But you can ask for it without the cup no problem. All the bars will also advertise both items, or at least tell you about them if you ask.

[ellcee]

8 hours ago, ncnickel said:

Whoa! I had no idea of those - the 10 drink cards

If it shows up (it has to do with alcohol sales for each sailing) it typically shows up later in the cruise. The two I clearly remember, one was 2 days before cruise ended and the next was the day before. You can share the 10 drink card but it has to show up in time for you to be able to use.