tnfcruise

We were in St. Kitts just last week on the Reflection. We took the train tour and had a blast. We're seasoned cruisers so we know the islands well, and the train tour was one of the best. The shops around the port aren't anything special, if you want to enjoy and island you have to venture out, it's an education for the children to experience a different aspect of life than what they are used to seeing. Enjoy yourselves !

I second this! Loved the train -- interesting, a lot of fun, and unique island experience.

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They're some of my favorite cruise photos!

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So......what do the fine wine drinkers who enjoy their fermented grape juice think of the following wine by the glass list ? I have included info on suggested retail price/bottle per Wine Spectator ( or "actual retail" as per Wine Searcher) as well as production in cases ( if known).

 

 

 

REDS

 

 

 

Pinot Noir (Sonoma) Au Contraire $30 10,500 cases

 

Pinot Noir ( Sonoma) Chateau St. Jean $10 unknown

 

Pinot Noir ( Santa Barbara) Meiomi $25 555,000

 

Zinfandel (Sonoma) Seghesio $26 102,000

 

Merlot ( Napa) Duckhorn $54 48,300

 

Merlot (Sonoma) Kenwood $15 20,000

 

Cab Sauvignon (Calif.) 50 Acre Ranch $10 unknown

 

Cab Sauv. ( Knight's Valley) Beringer $34 55,000

 

Cab Sauv. (Stag's Leap) Chimney Rock $86 10,000

 

Cab Sauv. (Napa) Duckhorn $72 31,700

 

Cab Sauv. (Napa) Merryvale $65 3000

 

Cab Sauv. (Napa) Sanctuary Ushibelli $35 4000

 

Cab Sauv. (Napa) Uppercut $15 unknown

 

Meritage (Napa) Jayson, Pahlmeyer $75 1500

 

Meritage (Paso Robles) Pessimist, Daou $20 unknown

 

Meritage (Napa) Prisoner, Orin Swift $38 68,000

 

Meritage (Tuscany) Il Bruciato, Antinori $31 8000

 

Meritage (Argentina) Amancaya, Caro $20 13,500

 

Cab/Carmenere (Chile) Montgras "Antu" $20 5500

 

Malbec (Argentina) Terrazas de los Andes $20 90,000

 

Shiraz (Barossa) Woodcutters, Torbreck $ 20 8000

 

 

 

 

 

WHITES

 

 

 

Pinot Grigio (Italy) Santa Cristina $12 73,000 cases

 

Pinot Grigio (Italy) Santa Margherita $25 560,000

 

Sauv. Blanc (NZ) Kim Crawford $18 950,000

 

Sauv. Blanc (France) Michel Lynch $10 unknown

 

Sauv. Blanc (Napa) St. Supery $20 40,000

 

Rose (Washington) Chas. and Chas. $10 unknown

 

Gruner Veltliner (Austria) Laurenz V $20 4000

 

Riesling (Germany) S. A. Prum $14 41,000

 

Moscato (Chile) Terra Andida $15 unknown

 

Albarino (Spain) Torres $14 unknown

 

Pinot Gris (Oregon) A to Z $15 85,000

 

Chardonnay (Napa) Cakebread $37 40,000

 

Chardonnay (Monterray) Concannon $15 unknown

 

Chardonnay (Napa) Sonoma Cutrer RRR $25 180,000

 

Champagne (France) Veuve Cliquot, Yellow $ 50 >20,000

 

Brut (Calif.) Roederer Estate $23 80,000

 

Prosecco (Italy) La Marca $14 >20,000

 

 

 

Comments? Would this be preferable to the current wine list? Would you be willing to pay up to $25 per glass ( or $10-12 more than current ceiling on UDP) for some of these wines?

 

 

 

Oh, by the way..........this list comes from a Wine Spectator award winning restaurant chain........goes by the name Ruth's Chris.......:)

Yep, any number of these reds would be just fine with me, including with an upcharge. I particularly favor the Santa Barbara Pinot Noir and a couple of the Meritage...I'd like to try that Sonoma Zin, too.

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You might be pleased to know we've had our sommelier open a few bottles not on the wine per glass menu and only apply a modest up charge. The deal seems to be that she must get four glasses out of the bottle. In other words, you have to finish as she doesn't want to be stuck with a half full bottle she's not supposed to sell by the glass. It beats paying for the whole bottle for sure.

Well, the four glasses is never a problem :)

 

 

 

How much of an upcharge?

So if you have the premium package they're basically giving you $52 ($13x4) towards a bottle.

 

That might actually be a nice alternative.

We had the same experience three times on Equinox--opening a bottle and the charging us by the glass. Had some excellent surprises this way! Not sure all sommeliers are willing to step out. But if you pressed the dining room manager, it might happen for you. We had this in the mdr and in blu.

 

 

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Oh, Mynki, and others, this does please me and gives me hope for upcoming Eclipse sailing. I'm really looking forward to 14-nights of decent [emoji485]...no problem with a small per-glass upcharge to my premium package max. Fingers crossed.

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Just out of interest, has anyone ever fed back to Celebrity that they feel the wine by the glass selections are lacking? If so how did you do it and what was the outcome?

I haven't, but I'm thinking I'll ask the sommeliers on my upcoming sailing how I might do just that. I was also thinking I'd write something up in advance (so I don't use up precious cruise time), reference this forum, and drop it at Guest Relations.

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More musings on this subject.......

 

 

 

(1) Just came back from Reflection Eastern Caribbean cruise in Sky Suite ( aft cabin - wonderful). Did not eat in MDR, only Luminae (and Qsine once). Sorry, white wine drinkers, I can only comment on reds as that's all I usually drink. The wines by the glass there off the menu were fine, not spectacular, but drinkable....as long as one gets out of the mindset of " must have Cab/Merlot/Pinot." I agree, the selection of these wines is poor and I personally did not try them ( wouldn't drink Kendall-Jackson anything, La Crema Pinot is only OK, don't prefer Merlot or Cab ). I DID have a Cotes-du Rhone that was OK, a Malbec that was weak but went with the meal OK, a Carmenere (Montgras) that was good, and a Zinfandel ( Quivera) that was fine ( I remember the Shiraz from a previous cruise and it was OK). My point....the wines I had were fine with the meals I had ( mostly had beef/pork/chicken)...they would be only OK at best if drinking them without food, but they went well ( enough) with what I had to eat and that's why I like drinking wine...to have with meals.

 

 

 

(2) Have I had better wines in the price ranges these wines retail for? Yes indeedy. Did I enjoy these wines with what I had? Yes, indeedy.

 

 

 

(3) I strongly believe my experience in Luminae would be hard to replicate in the MDR. The sommelier there ( Gabriel) was more willing to get the listed wines by the glass from wherever if they were not handy ( the Zinfandel took several minutes to procure - I guess not many people like it - I love it!). He also took more liberties with wine service to people - left the bottle of Zin on the table without charging me for the bottle ( again, it was on the wine by glass list), brought me a half bottle of Michael Chiaro Barolo to have several days in to try based on what I had previously requested...and DIDN'T charge me for it. I don't think this would occur in the MDR regardless of one's social skills or ordering habits ( well, maybe if you ordered that Screaming Eagle bottle).

 

 

 

(4) I attended only one wine tasting this cruise - a world wine tasting in Cellar Masters involving 12 wines, 7 white and 5 red, from around the world. ALL of them available at Cellar Masters, NONE off the wines by glass list. One red ( Pascual Toro Malbec) was excellent and several were good ( for the white wine folks, the Argentine Chardonnay was very good, I thought). When I told the sommelier about my experiences that night in Luminae, he brought me a bottle...free of charge to enjoy in my cabin ( I later brought it back to Luminae on the last night and told him to open it and share with other patrons). They had wine tastings in Cellar Masters EVERY NIGHT of this cruise, so if one wanted to try more wine ( yes, for $20 or so a pop), one could taste many wines and find a favorite....to not have in the MDR :(

 

 

 

I'm In a few days, when I have time, I will post a sample wine list and see what people think of it ( too long to type it all in now with my hunt and peck style)......

I must have a similar palate to yours..."wouldn't drink Kendall-Jackson anything, La Crema Pinot is only okay, don't prefer Merlot or Cab" is how I feel/taste!

Thanks for your "musings"...my upcoming Eclipse cruise expectations are now more realistic. I may go to a few wine tastings and then see if if I can cajole them into pouring me a glass of something I like, as I'm on my way to the MDR.

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The first time I visited Qsine the young Phillipine sommelier introduced herself as 'the grape advisor'. I knew immediately to make my own choices from that moment.

[emoji3]I like her honesty!

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We hear you! On the other hand, some folks figure if they are paying over $60 per person/day for "premium" beverages by the glass...they should not have to pay even more to buy a bottle....because there are few to no premium wines available by the glass. By using your logic, those that are not happy with the quality of food in the MDR...could simply pay $100 a day (per couple) to dine in Murano. And then they could pay another $100 per day...for a really good wine in Murano.

 

Hank

That is always an option one can consider, if they are not happy with the offerings.

 

bon voyage

Uh, Hlitner was being a tad sarcastic. This time your comment didn't bring the topic to a grinding halt.

BTW, Hlitner, your post was a great way to highlight the frustration that had me start the forum in the first place.

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They're not particularly well trained sommeliers. I knew more than ours but I would never embarrass him and call him on his mistakes.

I wasn't going to say this, but since you brought it up, I found the same thing on our last Solstice sailing (and it was the sweet, but uninformed, way-over-his-head, sommelier in Cellar Masters!) A "premium (red) wine tasting" $$ was offered on a sea day. The wines were okay, but the few things the young man said were read from a short script and even some of that info was incorrect.

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No perks, but I am for a bargain price vs frills. Being Elite Plus, I get more than enough as benefits.

You're right about the Elite+ bennies making up for lack of "perks".

Even though we're just sneaking up on Elite, I like your strategy. We're a few years retired from our respective professions and our continuing contract work gives us a lot of scheduling flexibility. Somehow, though, we keep finding ourselves at the Future Cruise desk on every sailing, booking years into the future. Gotta break that habit and start snapping up post-final-payment bargains like this!

Thanks for posting. Besides making me rethink how we spend our cruise dollars, I got a cheap (no pun intended) thrill from knowing you got this great deal.

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Today's special - Eclipse- April 2, sailing 14 days Caribbean

 

AQ1 - solo rate -$AquaClass

 

Occupancy: 1 Passenger

 

$2,724.00 - WOW!

If that was a bargain, what was the rate before the price drop!?

About double that! This is fantastic for a single occupancy, since the cruise lines usually charge the same for one or two people in a cabin. Our March 19th Eclipse 14-nighter Concierge was just about that amount per-person X 2. We do have all four perks, though, and I don't know if Isabella has any, but even if none, it's a great deal. I'd love to know if she's getting any perks for that price and double Captain's Club points.

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I knew this topic would eventually devolve into the usual martini/upgrade questions, even though there are dozens of threads with titles that would lead one easily to those answers.

We made it to 10 pages and almost 200 comments, though, and kathynorth was nice enough to thoroughly answer the oft-asked questions.

Not to chide the questioner, but if someone is new to the thread and has something to add to the "Wine By The Glass" discussion, don't let the last couple of comments dissuade you.

SoFloChica, have a great cruise and enjoy your beverage package!

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If you have a friendly and good sommelier, they will ask what you like--red/white, oaky or not, etc. and we've found that with the premium package they will consider opening a bottle not on the menu and sell the contents by the glass. You have to build a relationship with them and they will make suggestions and bring surprises. We've had this on our past three cruises. One even left the bottles on our table having probably charged us for six glasses. Who knows but it led to our satisfaction and a nice tip for the sommelier. No incentive to purchase the bottles outright at a mere 20% discount but this is a win win. The inventory turns over, they probably get more " credit" for glasses sold, and we are happy.

 

 

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Another post about the importance of "a friendly and good sommelier". I think you really lucked out on those last three sailings. I'm hoping to get the sommelier you mentioned who left the bottle.

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Here's one unfortunate observation on our current trip. I wanted to try the Pacific Rim riesling desert wine in Luminae. Unfortunately the sommelier was out but would get 'the bottle' the following night which she did.

 

 

 

It was quite enjoyable so tried to order a glass the following evening too. Only to be told that it had all been sold. So.... despite being advertised on the Luminae desert menu nightly, the ship set sail with one bottle. Or to be more exact, one half bottle.

 

 

 

Maggie did however produce a delightful moscatel instead though.

Another post that makes me wish/hope that Maggie-type of sommelier is around on our March Eclipse sailing.

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We are also wine collectors, sailing with wine collectors. I will discount a few remarks, especially the person who mentioned white zinfandel in the same breath as wine.

 

We always say that anyone can spend $50 retail for wine and pick out a good wine, but it's spending less than $15 for a good wine that is a skill. However, I also don't like to pay $60 a bottle for a $15 bottle of wine.

 

Can anyone give me an idea of what good red wines they may sell on board for $100? I went to the list someone posted of wines by the glass. Their 2nd most expensive white was Conundrum for $14.50. I have bought that on sale for around $18, it is a great white wine for BBQ time.

.

Loved your post, Robinsilver, especially the parts quoted above. ^

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Currently on Eclipse. Luminae sommelier Maggie is excellent. We leave the choice to her based on our premium package and what food we are choosing and her choices have been excellent.

 

Our visit to Murano was also satisfactory but in Tuscan as soon as the sommelier knew we were on a package he completely disengaged with an inferior offer and we had to plead for a refill so the individual serving makes the difference.

I hope the Select MDR sommelier is as good as Maggie --sounds like she does exactly what a good wine steward should do...know what's available, and making those excellent picks for the wine drinker.

And, thanks for the other dining venue sommelier heads up. I appreciate you taking the time while sailing to discuss.

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Adam, I just want to say once again how enjoyable your LIVE postings are (did you know you're up to 14K views?). Your commentary and photos have all been great, but one of this evening's comments/pic really got me--PIE DAY IN OCEANVIEW! Oh boy!

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Looks like Luminae will have a big changeover next month, but am I reading this correctly that Capt. Leo is "new" and therefore, will be around through our March cruise? What about the CD, HD and upper level officers who set the tone for much of passenger experience? Do you, WonderMan3, or others on your LIVE thread, have an inside track on this?

Somehow, my multi-quote didn't quite work correctly. I'm responding to several earlier comments.

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Maitre d is Laurance, but she, Victor, Maggie and the chef all go home after this current cruise, some of the others went home yesterday so Luminae will have a big change over during Feb

Next update tomorrow!

We hope you have a wonderful cruise.

We have done the Eclipse 14 night many times and just love it. Just did a b2b with the 14 in December. We will be doing it again in a few weeks, April 2. You will love the ships new captain , Captain Leo, he is both charming and very smart. Everyday he will say " Life is beautiful" when he finishes his 10 am daily update.... Again, Happy, Happy Cruise. P.S. The food and staff are wonderful in Luminae. You may find Michaels club rather boring, they need to jazz it up a bit.

Looking forward to your posts. Have a blast !!

Also from Boston

Patty N Fran

luvstosail

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Nope

 

 

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Are all airlines participating meaning Canadian Airlines as well?

Sorry to have been so abrupt...the airlines that participate are: Alaska, American, Delta, Jet Blue, United, and Southwest. The former Luggage Valet offering only had US airlines, too.

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Are all airlines participating meaning Canadian Airlines as well?

Nope

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I was on this same cruise the last three years and at least for the last two years the port map and written info was available at the front desk. I went there on day one and got all of them for both our cabins. We cruise in a Sky Suite but I didn't mention that to the front desk. These papers might have even been self serve on the shelves to the right of the front desk, as you are facing the desk. I don't remember. I have mine from last year and was going to bring them this year but I obviously don't have to do that!

 

 

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That's great to know! I'll look for them on embarkation day.

On previous cruises, it seems to me the port guides were almost all shopping or ship excursion related, so I'd usually just pull off the map part.

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Dude, are those Brussels Sprouts for breakfast?

Oh, I forgot, you're not on EST, so it must be time for lunch.

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How generous you've been with your time! Can't thank you enough...the dailies and these port guides really add to your LIVE story.

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Hello, WonderMan3,

This is another Tina, wondering if your Tina enjoyed the Salt Flats tour.

We're on the Eclipse March 19, and Bonaire is the one island we've not been. I'm a birder and a boozer, so thought we'd hike around the flats looking for flamingoes, then stop at the Cadushy Distillery.

Thanks for doing this LIVE from Eclipse. Very enjoyable. Good photos.

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