Holland America Wine Packages, Wine List and Prices

ByJanice and George Updated on
Holland America Wine Packages

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If you’re going on a Holland America cruise, you might be interested to know about the wines you can drink onboard.

There are different drinks packages on Holland America that you can buy.

We’re more into drinking wine than cocktails or hard liquor. So on our HAL cruise on the Rotterdam, we bought one of the Holland America Sommelier Suite packages.

These wine packages bundle wines by the bottle. HAL says they can save you up to 25% off the price of a bottle.

Let’s go into the details of these packages, onboard wine menus, wine prices and more…

A couple drinking wine

Note: All prices shown below are in U.S. dollars.

Featured comment

“Thank you for this great information!

We are about to go on a Holland America ship and want to purchase a wine package. Do we purchase this on the app? Or do we buy it from the waiter? Since we have “As You Wish” dining, how do the waiters keep track of our usage?

If you know the answers, I would so appreciate your knowledge.”

~ Lorrie

Holland America wine packages

Holland America Line Sommelier Suite

You can choose from three Sommelier Suite wine packages on Holland America cruise ships.

All bottles have to be picked from the same Cellar in the package. (Or the next Cellar down. So if you have bought Cellar No. 2, you can also pick a wine from Cellar No. 1).

Many of the Cellar wines are not found on the wine list in the main dining room (the James Suckling JS90+ Wine List, covered below) or wine menus in Holland America’s specialty restaurants.

Three Cellar wine packages

1) Cellar No. 1

This package contains what’s referred to as “popularly priced wines”:

  • 4 bottles = $119
  • 6 bottles = $169
  • 8 bottles = $219
Holland America Line wine package, Cellar No. 1

2) Cellar No. 2

This HAL wine package features premium wines:

  • 4 bottles = $149
  • 6 bottles = $229
  • 8 bottles = $289

We chose the Cellar No. 2 wine package on our most recent Rotterdam cruise.

Cellar No. 3 wine package on Holland America Line

We’re serious fans of the Meiomi. Part of the reason for indulging in this HAL wine package was to drink the Meiomi.

As it turned out, the Meiomi Pinot Noir wasn’t available one night. We were offered a Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir instead as an alternative.

Actually, some other wines in the Sommelier Suite list also weren’t available.

But we were offered good substitutes (for example, an interesting dry Gewurztraminer instead of the Ruffino Pino Grigio from Italy).

3) Cellar No. 3

The third and most expensive of Holland America’s Sommelier Suite packages bundles some wine aficionado favorites:

  • 4 bottles = $189
  • 6 bottles = $269
  • 8 bottles = $329
Holland America Cellar No. 3 Wine Package

Package details: Purchasing, sharing and more

Unlocking your wine package

So you’ve bought a wine package… Now, when you want a bottle of wine, simply let your waiter know, browse the wine list and pick your bottle from within your Cellar package.

Your waiter will ask for your room key card. It does the magic – it contains your booking details and is linked to all your onboard purchases, including your wine package.

Two bottles, twice the taste

Want both a red and a white wine? No problem. You can have two bottles opened at a time – perfect for pairing with different courses.

Do you both have to buy a Sommelier wine package on Holland America?

No. On our Rotterdam cruise, we only bought one package onboard for the two of us, so each night we’d share a bottle of wine.

Mind you, we thought about buying a second package after we finished it. But it was better wallet-wise to buy just two more bottles to get us through to the end of the cruise (rather than a whole new package).

What if you don’t finish a bottle at one sitting?

If you don’t finish a bottle of wine one night, ask your waiter to keep it for you for another night. He/she will label it with your cabin number on it and store it for you.

You can even ask for your unfinished bottle of wine another night at a different restaurant, though there might be short wait while it’s retrieved.

And if you don’t finish all the wines you buy, you can take any unopened wine bottles home with you in your checked luggage.

How do you buy HAL’s wine package?

You can buy a wine package before your cruise several ways:

  • Log into your Holland America account to purchase it online.
  • Call the Ship Services department at 1-800-541-1576.
  • Email HAL_Ship_Services@HollandAmerica.com and the Ship Services department can help.

You can also buy one or more of the Sommelier packages onboard.

Holland America wines by the glass

You can also buy wines by the glass.

Or, if you have one of HAL’s alcohol packages, you can choose wines by the glass.

The Holland America Signature beverage package, for example, allows you up to 15 alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks a day. In this package, you can choose wines up to $11 a glass.

If you have the Elite beverage package, you can choose wines by the glass that cost up to $15 each.

In both cases, if you pick a pricier wine by the glass, you just have to pay the difference.

Some of the wines by the glass are also highly ranked by James Suckling (see below).

Holland America white wines by the glass

Holland America wine list of white wines by the glass

Holland America red wines by the glass

Holland America red wines by the glass

About Holland America’s wine list

HAL’s wine list has been chosen by James Suckling.

A former senior editor and European Bureau Chief at Wine Spectator, he’s one of the world’s top wine critics.

All the wines on this list have consistently scored 90 points or above (on his 100-points scale) in recent vintages. A score of 90 to 94 is “outstanding” and a score of 95 to 100 is “truly great.”

You’ll find a great selection – more than 100 wines by the bottle – from France, California, Washington state, Italy, Spain, Chile, New Zealand and other places around the world.

Holland America white wines by the bottle

HAL’s prices for bottles of white wine range from $36 to $125 (for the Cakebread Chardonnay Reserve, Napa Valley).

Most whites are in the $40 to $50 range.

Holland America wine list (white wine)
Holland America Line wine list
Holland America wine list

Holland America red wines by the bottle

The Holland America wine list prices for bottles of red range from $40 to a high of $284 (for the Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington state’s Columbia Valley).

Red wines outnumber whites on the wine menu – most are priced between $40 and $70.

Here are the red wines by the bottle, continuing from Page 9 of HAL’s wine list. (The Pinot Noirs are shown in the above image after the white wines.)

Holland America red wines by the bottle

James’s “Rock Star” wines

These are the best wines on James Suckling’s list – described as “some of the best in the world.”

Of course, they’re more pricey!

The Opus One from Napa (which we’ve tried before – scrumptious!) goes for $369. The most expensive wine is Penfolds Grange from South Australia – for an eye-popping cost of $789.

The wine menu has two pages of Rock Star wines.

James Suckling Rock Star wines on Holland America Line
James Suckling Rock Star wines on Holland America Cruises

Can you bring wine on a Holland America cruise?

Yes, you can bring wine onboard. But you’ll have to pay to do so. For each bottle of wine you bring, you’ll be charged a $20 corkage fee.

However, Holland America’s wine policy doesn’t apply to wine you buy on a wine-focused shore excursion organized through the cruise ship. In this case, you may bring one bottle back to the ship without having to pay the corkage fee on it.

That’s it for our guide! We hope you’ve found it helpful. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the Comments section below to see questions and feedback from other readers.

How to save on your next HAL cruise

Here’s a quick tip: You can save up to 75% on your next Holland America Line cruise by booking online through CruiseDirect. They typically offer way better prices than booking directly with HAL – along with perks like an onboard credit or discounts on shore excursions.

CruiseDirect has earned a solid reputation in the travel industry, backed by tons of travel industry awards, including the “World’s Leading Cruise Travel Agent.”

You’ll want to note HAL’s cancellation policy, plus CruiseDirect’s $35 USD cancellation fee per guest (but you can use it as a credit toward a future cruise booking). Be sure to get travel insurance to protect your plans.

(Full disclosure: If you book through our CruiseDirect link, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!)

See our other Holland America cruise guides

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Hotels: Booking.com is perfect for scoring a “wow” hotel – or at least a decent one – at lower rates than the hotel’s own website. We especially like Booking’s flexible cancellation policy!

Vacation homes, condos and rentals: We prefer and use Vrbo (Vacation Rentals by Owner).

Cruises: CruiseDirect offers amazing deals on cruises (including Holland America, Viking Ocean Cruises, Seabourn and other lines we’ve reviewed).

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Tours: For the best local food, walking and other guided tours, plus skip-the-line tickets to attractions, check out Viator (a TripAdvisor company) and GetYourGuide.

Car rental: Renting a car is often a great way to explore off the beaten path. Discover Cars searches car rental companies so you get the lowest rates.

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Travel insurance: SafetyWing is designed for frequent travelers, long-term adventurers and digital nomads. It covers medical expenses, lost checked luggage, trip interruption and more. We also have and recommend Medjet for global air medical transportation.

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About the authors

Janice and George Mucalov are award-winning travel journalists who’ve explored all seven continents. They share destination guides, luxury hotel reviews, cultural adventures, cruise insights, travel tips and more on their luxury travel blog, Sand In My Suitcase. See About.

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17 Comments

  2. Hi,
    Just planning a cruise with HAL. The info you provided is awesome! Thank you!
    My one question is: If you buy a wine package can you have any of the bottles (leftover, or unopened) delivered to your room?
    Thanks for any info!

    Reply

    1. Good question.
      Frankly, we don’t know the “official” answer, but it would make sense that you could have the HAL purchased wine delivered to your cabin, since you can pay to bring wine onboard with you.
      We’ll try to find out from HAL :-)

      Reply

    1. No, you can’t bring alcohol onboard. The only exception is wine and champagne (a $20 USD corkage fee is applied – unless it’s wine bought during a HAL winery shore excursion, and then only one bottle p.p. is allowed). See HAL’s policy on this.

      However, you can order a bottle of liquor from HAL for your cabin before you sail. While onboard, you can also order it from room service to be delivered to your room.

      Hope this helps!

      Reply

    2. Hi,
      l was wondering if you bring your own bottles of wine onboard and pay the $20 per bottle, can you take them to drink when dining in the restaurants? Also what is the surcharge on top?

      Reply

      1. Yes, you can take your own wine to the restaurant to drink there. And the fee of $20 per bottle is the corkage fee, so there’s no extra surcharge. See details of HAL’s policy on bringing wine (and alcohol) onboard.

        Reply

  4. We mainly drink wine and the odd beer, so we are considering buying a wine package on the Oosterdam [Holland America]. We travel in February.

    Do you know how this works please? Do we both have to buy a package? If so, can they differ, and how do we access our bottles once purchased in the restaurant(s) and at the bars? And what if we don’t finish a bottle between us in one sitting, where will it be? Do we have to have two bottles on the go at the same time or can we share? I cannot find these details.

    Also, is it possible and cheaper to pre-book your wine package?

    Reply

    1. Hi Pauline,

      Thanks for asking these questions! You’ve prompted us to add the answers to your questions in the body of our post above!

      (In a nutshell, though, you can buy one wine package and share it between the two of you, and your waiter can store any unfinished bottles for you, so you don’t have to drink a whole bottle in one sitting.)

      Enjoy your cruise :-).

      Reply

  5. Loved your site!

    We’re heading out on a 7-day Alaska cruise on the Zaandam from May 15 to 22nd. We love the cruise line. It will be our 4th time and prices for the cruise are great.

    However, for the wine packages I’m trying to purchase, I can only find one for $265 for 6 bottles.

    The choices you show for HAL are three different prices. So I have printed these and will try to buy one of them onboard.

    Reply

    1. Let us know what you find out onboard. We’d love to know if things have changed. Hopefully, you can find a wine package that suits you :-).

      Have a wonderful Alaska cruise!

      Reply

  6. I was recently on a Eurodam cruise. I bought 8 bottles of St. Michelle Chardonnay. The bottles were NOT the standard 750 ML size. They were much smaller and only yielded 3 glasses each.

    Is this true of all their wine selections?

    Reply

    1. Hmmm… We don’t know about this. When we bought wines by the bottle, they were the normal size.

      Maybe someone else out there can add something useful?

      Reply

  7. We’re leaving on the Noordam soon and I wanted to know if there’s a different place to purchase the Sommelier packages, as they are $50+ more than you published.

    Reply

    1. Hi Tim,

      You can only buy the wine packages through Holland America:-).

      And remember there are different wine packages, with different prices. The cost might have gone up very recently (?). If you see different prices, please let us know!

      Reply

  8. Thank you for this great information.

    We are about to go on a Holland America ship and want to purchase a wine package. We have done this with other cruise companies but not Holland.

    Do we purchase this on the app? Or do we buy it from the waiter? Since we have “As You Wish” dining, how do the waiters keep track of our usage?

    If you know the answers I would so appreciate your knowledge.

    Reply

    1. Yes, you can buy the package online before your cruise or when you board.

      When you order drinks, you show your room key card to the waiter. It has all your booking information on it (like the package you’ve bought). It tracks your usage.

      One other point which you might find helpful. If you don’t finish a bottle of wine one night, you can ask the waiter to put your cabin number on it and they’ll store it for you, so you can ask for the unfinished bottle the next night – even if you’re at a different restaurant.

      Have a great cruise!

      Reply