Autumnal Glories Sept 22, 2021

[RetroRod]

We are booked on this cruise and was recently notified by our TA that excursions can be booked in a few weeks. Of all the excursions available I'm curious about two in Bordeaux. Regent is offering an evening dinner/tour of Chateau Kirwan or Chateau Du Tertre. Has anyone been on these excursions? Did you have a good experience and was it worth the cost?  I've looked in Ports of Call and didn't find anything.   

[BBfromCA]

VJMAZZ, We did a lunch tour of Chateau Du Tertre in 2016. The grounds were very nice. We did not think the meal was UNESCO quality (as advertised), but the wines were excellent. I am posting here a photo of our menu, our table for lunch and the pool area of the Chateau.

[JMARINER]

Hi BillB. Long time. no posts. Glad to see you back. (No fires, I hope.)

J

[RetroRod]

21 hours ago, BBfromCA said:

VJMAZZ, We did a lunch tour of Chateau Du Tertre in 2016. The grounds were very nice. We did not think the meal was UNESCO quality (as advertised), but the wines were excellent. I am posting here a photo of our menu, our table for lunch and the pool area of the Chateau.

BBfromCA

Thanks for your response. It kind of confirms what I read on TripAdvisor about Château Du Tertre. Two people posted on TA that the meal was less than impressive but the wines were great. The Chateau management response was the meal was selected by the cruise ship to better fit American tastes. I would guess it had more to do with price point. No mention of which cruise ship company on TA. There were also two good reviews on Château Kirwan dinners. However, those excursions were offered by Viking River and staffed by Viking. We have a few weeks to decide what to select, if   at all. 
 

[crusin7]

We did this dinner in 2011. It was a 4 1/2 hour excursion. Drive to Medic Region(45minutes) arrive at Château Kirwan and visit wine cellars. (45 minutes) wine aperitif (15 minutes). Dinner at the reception room of the Château approximately two hours. Return to ship 45 minutes.  $259 per person
We were on a segment of the world cruise and I believe 3/4 of the ship went on this excursion. During the demonstration in the Wine cellar  you could not see over the crowds of people. Dinner was average. I’ve had better on the ship. 

 

 

 

These pictures are in my scrapbook so please  excuse the glare.  If the excursion is the same I would pass. 

[txladycruiser]

1 hour ago, crusin7 said:

We did this dinner in 2011. It was a 4 1/2 hour excursion. Drive to Medic Region(45minutes) arrive at Château Kirwan and visit wine cellars. (45 minutes) wine aperitif (15 minutes). Dinner at the reception room of the Château approximately two hours. Return to ship 45 minutes.  $259 per person
We were on a segment of the world cruise and I believe 3/4 of the ship went on this excursion. During the demonstration in the Wine cellar  you could not see over the crowds of people. Dinner was average. I’ve had better on the ship. 

 

 

 

These pictures are in my scrapbook so please  excuse the glare.  If the excursion is the same I would pass. 

I believe we were on this same excursion.  I know as soon as we returned to the ship, many guests went immediately to Destination Services and asked for a refund!  Since this was 9 years ago, perhaps it's changed for the better.  But I would beware!!

[crusin7]

We stupidly did not complain.  I know that everyone at our table was disappointed.  They were all full world cruisers.

[mrlevin]

Thanks to VJMAZZ for starting this thread and all of you that responded; you have just saved me $500.

 

Many thanks,

 

Marc

[toseaornottosea]

We were on essentially this cruise in 2016 on Voyager but in the opposite direction - Barcelona - Southampton.  Had essentially a day and a half in Bordeaux.  It was a great cruise.  Not sure how things will work nowadays due to Covid 19 but we had a private guide for a full day who took us to the Medoc region in a very comfortable van visiting chateaux, tasting wine and lunch.  Cost back then for the 2 of us was 480 Euros  (would have been 530 Euros if we were 4) and worth every Euro.  The 2nd day we booked Regent's morning 4 1/4 hour Saint Emilion Exploration excursion but went off on our own as we used the tour as transportation only.  Our guide from the day before called a great wine shop for us and we had the best wine tasting of the trip at no cost, although we did end up buying some wine.  Doubt you can go off on your own now due to Covid restrictions likely to be in place on ship tours.  If we were to do it again I think as far as for Bordeaux I'd opt for a private guide.

[snorkle lover]

Absolutely agree with Marc since we were also thinking about reserving one of these excursions ( evening dinner/tour of a Chateau). Thank you VJMAZZ. The excitement is starting to build since we are able to reserve our excursions next month.The itinerary looks wonderful and the weather should be good. We are hoping against hope that this cruise will go since we had two canceled this year. 

[alainciao]

Also glad this thread was started.  We are (still) looking at one of these dinners..I suppose the alternative (with $560 to work with) is to book a highly rated restaurant in Bordeaux.  Not Michelin as I haven't seen the value there but I'm no food expert.  It bothered me when I looked at the du Tertre menu and saw their reference to the 1855 classification.  The way they wrote the menu it seemed to imply they were the 1st growth which was Chateau Margaux. (and 3 others).  I'm also no wine expert but I have too much time on my hands nowadays and I looked up the 1855 classification.  du Tertre was in the 5th growth category.  39 Chateaux were rated ahead in 1-4.  Kirwan was a 3rd growth behind 15 chateaux.  Of course, the best info is from BillB who said the wines were excellent.  Searching the web both wineries 2009 red bordeaux go for anywhere between $45 and $100, rated in the low to mid 90's.  I'm going to book one and then ask on board about the details of the evening.  If it's a large group, no go.  It better not be chicken!  I just had another thought.  Why not stay onboard, book Chartreuse or Prime 7 and spend $560 on wine!

[RetroRod]

A lot of good ideas/alternatives have been surfaced on this thread re: Château dinners. I like the idea of going on our own or private guide for wine tasting, buying a good bottle or two and have dinner on the ship. We were on large group RCL excursion that included lunch in London. Very rushed with not enough time to enjoy the meal. We try to avoid this type of excursion.