markeb

I want to be, but that’s the trend. Go to an MLB or NBA game. Same and maybe worse. They did have Dogfish 90 in the premium package on Equinox. If they start moving that into surcharge territory…

Decoy is one of Duckhorns introductory level wines. They’ve always been acceptable, but never great. That largely translates to their Pinot Noir. They make a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir that I remember being pretty good, but their base white label is just listed as California and is pretty forgettable. Duckhorn’s (parent company) Pinot Noir label is Goldeneye (named for the duck, not the James Bond movie or Ian Fleming’s estate). Goldeneye is made with Anderson Valley fruit and is generally excellent. Not a huge Reddit fan, but I’d agree here…

You must. Most of your $10 a glass wines retail for $10 a bottle. Not usually true for higher priced wines $100/bottle will probably be $30-35 a glass.

It’s still $14 in the app (Equinox current sailing) and not listed in the paper menus posted in this thread.

Are you following the used Rolex market? Not sure about that today unless you’re buying new at or (laughing maniacally) below retail. The crazy stupid days of the last 2-3 years are cooling.

That was my quick read as well. And new wines in the elevated group not previously available by the glass. The Grgich chard is the only wine I see that moved up. It will be interesting to see if they add an Elevated package. Not sure it makes sense for either the buyer or seller…

Someone help me here. And I’m reading this on my iPhone. I see several wines on the “Elevated” list that were only available by the bottle 2 weeks ago on Equinox. For instance the Penner-Ash Pinot Noir. Which ones were in the premium package before and aren’t now? The Oppulence Chardonnay? For the reds I’m seeing new offerings at a higher price point, not increases in previously offered wines by the glass. But that’s a quick glance and I may be missing some.

If it’s become the accepted norm, is it even rude anymore? (Flippantly rhetorical.) I’d probably just load Killing in the Name Of (Google the lyrics if you don’t know them (NSFW…) on repeat. As loud as possible.

You’ll end up with a nice piece. The whole system is designed for safety and to ensure you make something you want. You get to do a lot, but staff is involved at every step. A lot of the safety activities are so subtle you don’t even realize that’s what the are…

We loved visiting Sattui when we lived in the Central Valley 20 years ago. Nostalgia trip… (And you kind of have to work to make bad wine in St Helena!)

Looking forward to it. Donny is meeting us there to taste Trespass as well. That’s going to be a nice day. Uber all the way 😀.

It’s not. I bottle only if available as I recall.

Yeah. Know a few folks in the business and you can’t mark up the higher end wines by 200-300%. Lower priced retail wines are generally a worse deal, on the ship or on land.

Interestingly, once you get over a certain threshold, probably $75 and definitely $100 a bottle, it's really not silly money. I did a few lookups on bottles they were selling onboard Equinox, and a couple of them were very near retail, and none were in the 2-3X retail that's normal in the US. And if you have the premium package, you get I believe a 20% bottle discount, so for some wines you could be at or below US retail. A couple of sommeliers stated with the the duty free nature of the ship they didn't need to do those markups, although it's surprising in some ways they don't. I did notice on Equinox that almost all of the wines by the glass in the premium package were in the same flavor profile. High alcohol/high fruit/high oak Cabernet sauvignon, butter and oak Chardonnay, and grapefruit Sauvignon blanc. When we cruised about 16 months or so ago, there was a better selection of "other reds and whites" that were very good. And the sommeliers seemed to know those other wines better then. Or I'm getting old and remembering good old days that really weren't...

You don't want to see my Cellar Tracker... 😱

Sure. These were all insider suggestions but none of these are insider tastings; they're all available to the public. None are free... Porter Crawford Paloma Vineyards (they're on Spring Mountain and apparently a beautiful location; I'll find out Wednesday!) Venge/Trespass (Trespass tastes at Venge) V. Sattui (Was always a fun winery to visit when we lived in the are. They only do direct sales and some restaurants so you have to buy at the winery or order from the winery.) Hendry Venge (pronounced Ven gay) is the furthest from Napa in Calistoga. Porter and Crawford are right outside Napa. You'll generally need to book ahead of time, and they all have limits on numbers for standard tastings. Most will do a group, but I suspect you're seriously paying for that privilege. If the thread's still up when I get back and Anne humors us, I'll update how they were. It's a stretch on "cruise related"!

I've had Opolo. If memory serves we had someone from the winery here for a tasting event a few years ago. Very nice wines.

DW has done this on each of our three Equinox cruises. She loved it! Purchase it online for the precruise discount and schedule more or less as soon as you can onboard. Unless you're driving home, seriously recommend looking at the "solid glass" options: paperweights, starfish, jelly fish, etc. Much less likely to break on the trip home!

Their "big boy" wine is Isosceles. It's a three grape (Cab Sav, Cab Franc, Merlot) blend. The ones I've had were very good. Paso Robles has been emerging as a premier destination for California Wines. We've never been, but it's apparently an amazing place to visit. Like I said, Paso can be pretty high ABV and pretty fruity. If you're into more of a French style, they may not appeal. But they are a great alternative to Napa in particular. I tend to find Sonoma a little more subtle (and you'll find some great Pinot Noir in Sonoma County, and Russian River in particular...). And, in lieu of a cruise, we fly to SFO tomorrow and have 8 wineries scheduled in Napa from Tuesday to Friday. Who needs crappy wine on a cruise ship...

That's not one I've used, so that sounds better. I've only used the Elite bag service which is a free, wash and fold service. If they press and return on a hanger, that could be a good deal.

Terminal 18 for sure. And it works just fine!

I suspect you’ll be very disappointed if you try the wash and fold service for those items. You’d almost certainly want to do laundry and press but that’s a piece rate. I don’t know how much confidence I’d have in chinos or jeans. When I was doing a lot of business travel even for business casual I’d do tropical wool trousers. More confidence in dry cleaning when traveling. The bag rate is great for underwear and socks and OK for polos. At least that’s my experience. YMMV.

Curious to hear your experience. We're going to explore other cruise options after our next (final booked so far) Celebrity cruise (SS southbound from Alaska). But we're also looking at other vacation options that don't involve cruising. We'll see.

Thanks. Not to hijack a Celebrity thread, but this is an issue with marketing across cruise lines. Regent does an amazing job of promoting itself as pompous and boring! From what you’re describing they should at least also promote the affluent adult space! Unfortunately the fares I’m seeing are beyond my comfort zone. But we’ll keep them in mind.

Thanks. That is NOT what I get from their web page. We may explore them. But I would like my rock…🤘