Bamboo Room Replacing Vintages Wine Bar

[theotherchad]

I was just wondering if anyone know which ships have replaced the Vintages wine bar with the Bamboo Room and if there are more ships with this change on the way? 

 

Personally, I think that change is a great idea, although my wife is a wine drinker and she has always enjoyed going there on occasion. It just seemed to me that the place was never really busy. I never saw more than a half dozen people in there at a time. I think the Tiki Bar concept is more appealing to a larger slice of people, and you can always get a nice wine at the R Bar or the Champagne Bar, whichever is on the ship you're on. 

[bouhunter]

We've rarely seen anyone at Vintages on any ship.  Any change would seem to make sense

[theotherchad]

8 minutes ago, bouhunter said:

We've rarely seen anyone at Vintages on any ship.  Any change would seem to make sense

That would be a big thumbs up from me!

[mtu_huskies]

We like vintages for wine and because it's quiet.  But I have to agree, our general takeaway has been that it's too quiet and Royal may try to repurpose it. Didn't realize it's been changing on some ships already.

[cot427]

So far, only Mariner and Navigator. The Bamboo Room concept is part of the Royal Amplification the ships are getting. I can see it being added to the remaining 3 Voyager class ships. Independence in the Freedom class was amplified but did not receive it, but perhaps Freedom and Liberty will if it's going over well on the current ships. It's important to note that just because they do it to one or two, they may not do it to the rest. It seems like for the most part, they are taking a look at what works and what doesn't and making necessary adjustments, for this Royal Amp process.

[taglovestocruise]

Rip out the waste of space known as the Bionic Bar and replace it with the bamboo Room, or put the Champagne Bar back..

[ssb]

Was Vintages an operation of Royal Caribbean or a contractor of space selling wines?  

[theotherchad]

34 minutes ago, ssb said:

Was Vintages an operation of Royal Caribbean or a contractor of space selling wines?  

 I've never heard anything about it being a contractor operated thing. As far as I know, the only contractor operated things onboard are the shops, the spa services and the Park Row art gallery and auction operation. 

[leisuretraveler223]

Vintages had about a two year window of great promise.  When they installed the nitrogen machines, thereby allowing super premium wines to be dispensed by the ounce, it was great fun.  We would go in there and have a field day.  I don't generally order $400 bottles, but on vacation, I was happy to spend $15-$25 to try something extraordinary. 

 

Sadly, that window pretty much closed with the beverage packages.  If I have all the drinks I want included, I'm suddenly not motivated to spend more money to drink something else...

[Clarea]

3 hours ago, theotherchad said:

 ...  and if there are more ships with this change on the way? 

 ...

 

The cruise line has not piblicly released that level of detail about ship changes.

[vacationlover_mn]

What is the bamboo room like?  We always mean to hang out at vintages, since we love wine, but we have only done it once 😞. Just too much to do and see, and we forget about it 🙂

[ownedbypets]

We went to Vintages on Oasis and the Tapas they serve is amazing!  Wish we would have discovered it earlier so we could have eaten there more than once.

[skydryvr]

Agree with ownedbypets, loved Vintages on the Oasis. Next cruise was on the Harmony and no Tapas menu, disappointing.

 

I have no idea what a "Bamboo Room" is but I'll go ahead and vote thumbs down.

 

I also agree with the earlier comment to rip out the waste of space that robot bar is!

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, skydryvr said:

Agree with ownedbypets, loved Vintages on the Oasis. Next cruise was on the Harmony and no Tapas menu, disappointing.

 

I have no idea what a "Bamboo Room" is but I'll go ahead and vote thumbs down.

 

I also agree with the earlier comment to rip out the waste of space that robot bar is!

 

[LBumb]

Looks cool

[PelicanBill]

I'm with the group suggesting replacing the Bionic Bar. It's a novelty with a very limited selection.

One issue with many ships is too limited a wine list, or too limited a beer list.  I am on Anthem for my next cruise after 4 cruises on NCL partly because there is a good wine list on Anthem! 

 

I was last on NCL Breakaway. As a white wine drinker, there were only 4 run of the mill choices of reasonable price.  Only a slightly better beer list. That ship, and many of the NCL ships, have no specialty beer or wine bar.

[SUSIEK]

18 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Rip out the waste of space known as the Bionic Bar and replace it with the bamboo Room, or put the Champagne Bar back..

 

Agree 100%.   Not impressed with that on Anthem.  Love, Love the Champagne Bar.

[er345]

I would be sad to see Vintages go away. It was one of my favorite spots on Symphony.  The bartenders were great about finding wines to meet our tastes that fit in the beverage package.  However after trying a $16 a glass wine that I loved, I didn’t mind spending the extra $3.54 per glass.

 

The tapas they serve are from Jamie’s restaurant.  It’s a great way to try some fantastic apps at a reasonable $4 each.  Twice we made a dinner out of a nice mix of these. Still less $ than reservations at Jamie’s.

 

Also since the bar service in the MDR is slow, we always stopped by Vintages on our way to dinner to bring our wine.  Better selection at Vintages.

[Sitzmark]

7 minutes ago, SUSIEK said:

 

Agree 100%.   Not impressed with that on Anthem.  Love, Love the Champagne Bar.

On our Oasis cruise, the Champagne bar was almost always empty.  Maybe it was just a fluke, we only have the one RCI cruise to go by.

[Big_G]

11 minutes ago, Sitzmark said:

On our Oasis cruise, the Champagne bar was almost always empty.  Maybe it was just a fluke, we only have the one RCI cruise to go by.

 

On the Oasis and Allure, it was busier later in the evening probably. I never paid much attention on other ships.

[theotherchad]

3 hours ago, er345 said:

I would be sad to see Vintages go away. It was one of my favorite spots on Symphony. 

 

 

 

I don't mean to bash on Vintages. Like I said, my wife has gotten a glass of wine there at least four or five times per seven day cruise on ships that have that venue. But she also likes the Champagne Bar or the R Bar. As long as she can find a wine by the glass that she likes, she's happy. Also, although it doesn't come from Jamie's, on the Voyager and Freedom class, they serve complimentary nibbles that are a cut above the standard RCCL Hors'doeuvres (I probably spelled that wrong. My French = bad Spanish, at best). 

 

We like the venue, but, like I said, it has always been empty. I am hoping that the Bamboo Room concept is applied to other ships, since the whole Tiki Bar thing is right up my alley. 

[leisuretraveler223]

18 hours ago, skydryvr said:

I have no idea what a "Bamboo Room" is but I'll go ahead and vote thumbs down.

 

That's just classic.  "I have no idea what it is, but I'm AGAINST IT!"

 

[leisuretraveler223]

22 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Rip out the waste of space known as the Bionic Bar.

 

I pretty much agree. The robots are a gimmick.  But absurdly limited selection (it looks like a ton of bottles, until you get close and realize everything is up there three or four times), and lousy paper cups don't cut it for me.

 

I always thought it could be viable (assuming they fix the two issues I just mentioned) as part of something else.  But the whole venue itself is kind of lame.  You sit at uncomfortable little tables and stare at a machine against a wall.   Perhaps if it was part of another bar and not a dedicated venue itself it would have more appeal.

[Sitzmark]

10 minutes ago, theotherchad said:

We like the venue, but, like I said, it has always been empty. I am hoping that the Bamboo Room concept is applied to other ships, since the whole Tiki Bar thing is right up my alley. 

 

I wonder if they do this, will these Venues be open air?  

[theotherchad]

21 hours ago, Sitzmark said:

 

I wonder if they do this, will these Venues be open air?  

 

That would be my hope. I love the idea of a tiki bar, but in reality, there are two kinds of tiki bars. There are beach bars with thatched roofs and bamboo stools, etc that people often refer to as Tiki Bars. I love those places! 

 

Then, there are the classic tiki bars that started opening back in the late 40's and 50's, like Trader Vics. That type of tiki bar is a more stylized thing, with decor and drinks specifically designed to evoke the ambiance and mood of the South Sea Isles. This second kind is often dark. Part of the ambiance is exotica music lending an undertone of savage mystery and primitive danger. They want you to feel that you're deep in the jungle or lying under the stars by a dark island lagoon. Back in the days of the original tiki bars, this was a way for Ward and June Cleaver to trade suit, tie and pearls for something more flowery and comfortable, so that they could indulge in the fantasy of going someplace more primitive and mysterious than their cookie cutter suburban house, complete with white picket fence and judgey, nosy neighbors. I love this type of place too! 

 

Honestly, it looks like RCCL is kind of watering down the concept, but it does seem that they are trying to do the drinks in the more traditional tiki manner. Part of the authentic tiki bar experience was really complex mixed drinks, usually rum based. The bartender video upthread looks like that type of thing. 

 

The thing is, the whole authentic tiki bar concept is something that I love, but I know that it has limited appeal  as we approach the middle of the 21st century. Fortunately, I love the beach bar too and as long as these are ships at sea, why not make use of the sea breeze with an indoor/outdoor space. 
 

I hope RCCL is listening.