Riedel Comparative Wine Seminars

[Karen@Steve]

DH and I love wine tasting and would be interested in attending one of these seminars. The Celebrity site allows you to book these in advance at $82/pp. I have a few questions.

 

Is there any advantage to booking before boarding other than paying up front and thereby reducing sticker shock at the end of the cruise?

 

Do they have these seminars on every single cruise (doing Reflection in Nov) or is there a chance that it will not occur and I'll be stuck trying to get a refund post cruise?

 

Do they ever sell out the seminars and there is chance that once on board it will be full?

 

Any help is appreciated. On our Summit cruise last summer I don't remember seeing this seminar in the dailies.

[texkan]

Have done the Riedel Comparative Wine Seminars on two different Celebrity ships. I booked the class after boarding ship and used OBC to pay for the class. IMO - I would book after boarding ship. Have no idea if classes Sell Out.

[shipshape sam]

Been to 2 of them and never sold out. One had 8 attending, one had 7 attending. Fun time and we liked the glasses. Once home, bought more at Macy's when on sale.

[bbappel]

I think there is an advantage to buying the seminar onboard in that your sommelier gets some sort of credit for your booking it, and then if you buy it from him/her, you get to use the good glasses for your wine. At least that was our experience. A friend and I bought the seminar tickets at a wine tasting event while our husbands did something else. After that the two of us got good wine glasses.

 

Beth

[goofysmom99]

The only crowded/full tastings I've seen were on Transatlantics. They really packed people in.

[Jane2357]

Funny this was posted yesterday as I was trying to also find out about the Riedel Seminars. I was in my reservation (Feb. Eclipse) and it is now available to book but it wasn't telling me what day or time - what if I bought it and then had a conflict - so I guess we'll wait till on board.

Also for those that have done the seminar - dh drinks mostly red and I drink white - will I also enjoy this or would it be better to just send dh? I'd love to "learn" to like red but the room temp turns me off to it. I don't like sweet wine - but dry, dry, dry. Perhaps this seminar can push me over - lol?

[Karen@Steve]

Funny this was posted yesterday as I was trying to also find out about the Riedel Seminars. I was in my reservation (Feb. Eclipse) and it is now available to book but it wasn't telling me what day or time - what if I bought it and then had a conflict - so I guess we'll wait till on board.

Also for those that have done the seminar - dh drinks mostly red and I drink white - will I also enjoy this or would it be better to just send dh? I'd love to "learn" to like red but the room temp turns me off to it. I don't like sweet wine - but dry, dry, dry. Perhaps this seminar can push me over - lol?

 

This is part of what I'm concerned about. Our cruise does have 3 sea days but I can't guarantee that the seminar won't conflict with something else we have planned. I guess I'll wait till on board. In addition, if an employee on board can benefit by me waiting and buying on board, that sells me.

[redjetz]

As others have suggested, wait til you are on board to book. Even with your white wine preference, I think you will enjoy the program.

 

A tip: get certificates to order the wine glasses when you get home rather than have to carry them back.

 

We use ours all the time.

[drarill]

As others have suggested, wait til you are on board to book. Even with your white wine preference, I think you will enjoy the program.

 

A tip: get certificates to order the wine glasses when you get home rather than have to carry them back.

 

We use ours all the time.

Thanks for the tip!!!:):)

[wendyam76]

Anybody who has done this used the certificates to order from the UK rather than carrying them home? We are sailing from Venice on the Silhouette in July.

Thanks

Wendy

[AlaskaGolden]

Funny this was posted yesterday as I was trying to also find out about the Riedel Seminars. I was in my reservation (Feb. Eclipse) and it is now available to book but it wasn't telling me what day or time - what if I bought it and then had a conflict - so I guess we'll wait till on board.

 

Also for those that have done the seminar - dh drinks mostly red and I drink white - will I also enjoy this or would it be better to just send dh? I'd love to "learn" to like red but the room temp turns me off to it. I don't like sweet wine - but dry, dry, dry. Perhaps this seminar can push me over - lol?

 

The glasses make the seminar, not really the wines! If you can see the photo I've attached, they serve two whites and two reds. If you don't like one or two, you can always share with each other. That's what we did.

 

We had 4 sets of glasses shipped home to the USA. 3 made it no problem, the 4th was smashed. It's being replaced; not really a big problem, just an additional wait.

[DrKoob]

We did this on our last cruise to Hawaii on Century after considering it for years on our 13 other X cruises. Now we can't wait to do it again on Eclipse next week. Some reasons we loved it include:

• We had the glasses shipped home. The cost was $85 for the class plus shipping. You almost can't buy the glasses for that without the class. We can't wait to have another set so we can do our own tasting. When you get the glasses, they come with the the sheet they use to do the class so you can replicate what is done in the class to amaze your friends.
  
• We were amazed at the class. I knew in advance that a glass could make a difference but not that much of a difference. Amazing.
  
• I don't like whites. I love deep, rich reds. Never even liked Pinot Noirs but once I drank both whites and light dry reds in these glasses, I love them all.
  
• If you book by asking your sommelier then not only does he get credit, but you can ask him for Reidel glasses at dinner every night and guess what? They show up at your table from that point on. That was outstanding.
  

 

Do this class. Have the glasses shipped to you (they are insured and will be replaced if broken). You won't be sorry. If you love wine, this is a great way to spend an hour on a sea day.

 

Jim

[DiamondSuiteCruiser]

As others have suggested, wait til you are on board to book. Even with your white wine preference, I think you will enjoy the program.

 

A tip: get certificates to order the wine glasses when you get home rather than have to carry them back.

 

We use ours all the time.

 

Agree we got the certificates while most wanted to take theirs right away. They shipped them ASAP and they showed up in about 4-5 business days.

 

We love our glasses, and I was very skeptical about them, but I am now

a believer in the glasses and we always use ours. I gave away my other wine glasses to my daughter in laws.

[drakes2]

I did the Reidel workshop and tasting earlier this year on the Silhouette and loved it. Since I live in Canada and it would have cost more to ship, I took the glasses home with me onboard my flight home without any breakage. I liked the fact that you got one of each style of glass as opposed to four of the same. I don't think you can purchase that in the store, at least I've never seen them sold that way.

Agree we got the certificates while most wanted to take theirs right away. They shipped them ASAP and they showed up in about 4-5 business days.

 

We love our glasses, and I was very skeptical about them, but I am now

a believer in the glasses and we always use ours. I gave away my other wine glasses to my daughter in laws.

[Karen@Steve]

We're sold on doing it. Is it the tasters set that you get? Is it the Virum collection that is included. Most of the online offers I've seen for the Virum are $100 or more for the tasters set. Seems like a really good deal and wine tasting is one of our favorite things when we sail. Last year we did an around the world wine tasting on the Summit and really enjoyed it.

[drakes2]

I did the Reidel workshop and tasting earlier this year on the Silhouette and loved it. Since I live in Canada and it would have cost more to ship, I took the glasses home with me onboard my flight home without any breakage. I liked the fact that you got one of each style of glass as opposed to four of the same. I don't think you can purchase that in the store, at least I've never seen them sold that way.

Agree we got the certificates while most wanted to take theirs right away. They shipped them ASAP and they showed up in about 4-5 business days.

 

We love our glasses, and I was very skeptical about them, but I am now

a believer in the glasses and we always use ours. I gave away my other wine glasses to my daughter in laws.

[rkacruiser]

We're sold on doing it. Is it the tasters set that you get? Is it the Virum collection that is included. Most of the online offers I've seen for the Virum are $100 or more for the tasters set. Seems like a really good deal and wine tasting is one of our favorite things when we sail. Last year we did an around the world wine tasting on the Summit and really enjoyed it.

 

It is the Vinum collection that one receives.

 

I was very sketical about the idea that a wine glass could make much of a difference. But, being a wine lover, I booked the workshop and it made me a believer!

 

I, too, would recommend that one wait to book the workshop until you are on-board. Let your wine steward know the first night that you are interested in their wine tastings/workshops and he/she will provide you with a list of what and when these will take place.

 

One of the things that I think Celebrity does really well is the wine tastings/workshops. Far superior than any that I have attended on other cruise lines.

 

Never thought to ask my wine steward for Riedel glasses in the dining room, but, the workshop was held close to the end of the cruise, so I didn't loose too many opportunities.

 

I hope you will enjoy your experience as much as I did mine!

[Jane2357]

We live in FL so will be driving - so I think that I'll just take the glasses with us but I'll wait till onboard to book. Thanks for all the tips!!!

[DrKoob]

Never thought to ask my wine steward for Riedel glasses in the dining room, but, the workshop was held close to the end of the cruise, so I didn't loose too many opportunities.

 

The Cellar Master on Century who did the class told us that we could ask for the Reidel glasses in the MDR. So we did that night and they showed up at every dinner after that. I have to say that it really did make the wine we were ordering taste better. We even went back and reordered a red we had tried earlier in the cruise and thought it was "pretty good." In the Reidels it was excellent.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for sharing this information. We already own two Riedels for our big red wines. Now I think we will enjoy the tasting and get to add to our collection.

[worldtravellerrus]

We have done the wine tasting on Celebrity before WITHOUT buy the glasses(they weren't offered on cruise).Loved it and like people have said, was blown away by the different tastes in the different glasses with the same wine. We are taking a Back2Back next year on the Silhouette and want to do the wine tasting on both to get the glasses.

Have a few questions to ask if someone would be kind enough to reply. It would be much appreciated.

 

1. What glasses were in the Vinum Tasting Set? On their Canadian website they show 2 different sets?

 

2. Have any Canadians got the certificates from the tasting and got them delivered to them from the Canadian branch? If not, what was the cost to ship them home?

 

3. Incidentally, the price for the Tasting set on the Canadian website is $149.99 Canadian, so $85 U.S. for the Tasting and the glasses is a bargain.

 

Thanks for your help

[Bluebury]

Could be interested in doing this after reading this thread.

 

UK people, has anyone got the voucher and if so how did you then swap for the actual glasses? Aware that UK and USA method probably different.

 

Thanks

[Ginnyfyr]

We were on the Century a few weeks ago and my DH signed up for the wine tasting but was able to get it at a reduced price (I think $30) since he already has a set of the Riedel glasses from a previous X cruise. He ended up being the only person who signed up for it! I was surprised that they wouldn't cancel the tasting with only one person signed up, but they went ahead with it anyway. DH came back to our cabin just shy of tipsy, lol, but said he'd learned a lot from the sommelier and enjoyed having a one-on-one tasting, so who knows - you could end up with a jam packed room or get the one-on-one experience like DH did!

[Ron_L]

I keep flip-flopping on this. We only have one sea day on our cruise so I'm assuming that it will be held then.

 

When I look online I see a Vinum tasting set (between $90 and $100) and a Vinum XL tasting set ($110 - $120). Does anyone know the difference? Can anyone who has done this recently confirm which is included in the class?

 

Also, my wife picked up 4 DiVino by Rosenthal white wine glasses at Goodwill for $.99 each. I see these online for around $60 for a set of 6. Is anyone familiar with these and how they compare to the Reidel glasses?

[rkacruiser]

The vinum tasting set consists of one glass for each of the following types of wine:

 

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.