Wines Around the World Tasting?

[The Traveling Man]

Just got on board the Prima and went straight to the Cruise Next desk.  They signed us up for the Wines Around the World, the Latitudes party, and the spirits tasting.  We were disappointed that there would not be a Behind the Scenes tour and no dinner with the officers.  We enjoyed dinner with two officers on the Getaway this past May, but it won’t be happening on this cruise.

[romalley99]

I was disappointed with this Latitudes Perk last week on Getaway. Wines Around the World is super underwhelming (sorry for those who haven't done it yet)! 

[YVRteacher]

Underwhelming is the perfect word.

[The Traveling Man]

On 9/15/2022 at 12:44 AM, romalley99 said:

I was disappointed with this Latitudes Perk last week on Getaway. Wines Around the World is super underwhelming (sorry for those who haven't done it yet)! 

We’re scheduled to do this on the Prima in a couple of days.  Will let you know how that works out.  About a dozen of us Diamond or Ambassador Latitudes members did the mixology spirits tasting a couple of days ago.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and learn a lot about the specialty drinks available on board.  Not sure that I would pay for it, but was fun as a Latitudes perk.

[ColdCruise]

On 9/4/2022 at 4:07 PM, BirdTravels said:

On the Breakaway two weeks ago, we had 5 stations. The wine stewards at each station presented the wines. We had a nice chat with the ship's sommelier who told us that supply chain issues have had an impact on his stock. We told him that we were on the Encore in June and one night, we were ordering a bottle of wine for dinner and were down to our 3rd or 4th choice because nothing was in stock. 

 

 

Thanks for posting those photos @BirdTravels

 

Not an impressive line up … 

Bought that same P Grigio for under $10, chilled, at a random liquor store en route to a BYOB crab feast last summer

The Chateau St Michelle is also around $10 at any liquor store, frequently on sale for less (personally not a fan of the label)

 

i feel slightly  better not getting on the list for this tasting on board Prima’s 1st revenue sailing (aka not the inaugural). It was capped at 100 and I was told by staff it was filled before we even boarded  (were “only” Platinum’)

Edited September 18, 2022 by ColdCruise

[BirdTravels]

On 9/14/2022 at 6:44 PM, romalley99 said:

I was disappointed with this Latitudes Perk last week on Getaway. Wines Around the World is super underwhelming (sorry for those who haven't done it yet)! 

It's a free wine tasting (versus paying for a wine tasting). Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy themselves. We just drank wine. There were those who were busily taking copious notes.

[ColdCruise]

On 9/13/2022 at 9:00 AM, The Traveling Man said:

Just got on board the Prima and went straight to the Cruise Next desk.  They signed us up for the Wines Around the World, the Latitudes party, and the spirits tasting.  We were disappointed that there would not be a Behind the Scenes tour and no dinner with the officers.  We enjoyed dinner with two officers on the Getaway this past May, but it won’t be happening on this cruise.

I think you were lucky in your timing @The Traveling Man  When we got to the Prima Latitudes desk, the wine tasting was full, they said most if the names came from “shoreside”, and there was no behind the scenes.  The reception was nice - the Captain was humorous in his remarks.

[ColdCruise]

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

It's a free wine tasting (versus paying for a wine tasting). Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy themselves. We just drank wine. There were those who were busily taking copious notes.

I agree @BirdTravels  - a free wine tasting is better than a paid one 🥂🥂 We did a couple paid tastings in Palomar (about 22-28pp before latitudes discount),  which were good.

Edited September 18, 2022 by ColdCruise

[HuliHuli]

On 7/25/2022 at 5:45 AM, Viajera7 said:

So NCL reinstated it this month. I was on the Dawn last month and received a $50 OBC because it was not offered, there wasn’t a ship tour and no dinner with officers as Sapphire. Same thing on the Breakaway in February. My next NCL cruise is the Jade next month. Let’s see what happens there.

We were on the Jade at the end of July and they held this tasting.  We did not need to sign up; it was a small event with only about a dozen attending.  The Cruise Next staff were there to push their product and they collected our names/cabin information so they could target us twice a day for the balance of the cruise.  Most of the wines were unimpressive as others have said,but still it was nice to wet our whistle shortly after boarding.

[BigRedFan]

6 minutes ago, HuliHuli said:

We were on the Jade at the end of July and they held this tasting.  We did not need to sign up; it was a small event with only about a dozen attending.  The Cruise Next staff were there to push their product and they collected our names/cabin information so they could target us twice a day for the balance of the cruise.  Most of the wines were unimpressive as others have said,but still it was nice to wet our whistle shortly after boarding.

We just returned from a sailing on the Sky and they did offer the wine tasting.  They had the Latitudes party but no dinner with the officers.  They also did not provide OBC.

 

[romalley99]

6 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

We’re scheduled to do this on the Prima in a couple of days.  Will let you know how that works out.  About a dozen of us Diamond or Ambassador Latitudes members did the mixology spirits tasting a couple of days ago.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and learn a lot about the specialty drinks available on board.  Not sure that I would pay for it, but was fun as a Latitudes perk.

I’m getting on Prima on Friday, so I’m curious to your thoughts on this perk! 

[romalley99]

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

It's a free wine tasting (versus paying for a wine tasting). Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy themselves. We just drank wine. There were those who were busily taking copious notes.

 

5 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

I agree @BirdTravels  - a free wine tasting is better than a paid one 🥂🥂 We did a couple paid tastings in Palomar (about 22-28pp before latitudes discount),  which were good.

glad you both enjoyed ☺️ I don’t drink red wine, but when asking for a second “sip” of white, I was educated I had “already been to this station”. Just weird to me. I don’t cruise for the perks, but just my observation. 👍🏼

[ColdCruise]

2 hours ago, romalley99 said:

 

glad you both enjoyed ☺️ I don’t drink red wine, but when asking for a second “sip” of white, I was educated I had “already been to this station”. Just weird to me. I don’t cruise for the perks, but just my observation. 👍🏼

I haven’t been able to use the perk yet @romalley99 - Prima was the 1st opportunity since the shutdown and it was full by the time I was able to talk to the Latitude onboard service desk.

 

IMO not much of a perk if access is so limited & you can only get signed up by “shoreside”, if you’re already onboard from prior cruise, or board really early (we boarded 11-1130).

 

however the “already been” comment you received vs someone else’s observation people were able to get refills on their sips sounds like either they need servers with better manners or an across the fleet policy. My my,i nconsistency … who’d a thunk?

[Viajera7]

9 hours ago, HuliHuli said:

We were on the Jade at the end of July and they held this tasting.  We did not need to sign up; it was a small event with only about a dozen attending.  The Cruise Next staff were there to push their product and they collected our names/cabin information so they could target us twice a day for the balance of the cruise.  Most of the wines were unimpressive as others have said,but still it was nice to wet our whistle shortly after boarding.

Update. I posted this on another thread about my Jade experience on my August 28-Sept. 4 cruise.

 

No $50 credit for the 2 activities not offered : tour of ship and dinner with officers. Wines of the World was offered but the Cruise Next person gave me the wrong date and I missed it. Instead of having a sign with the date like the latitude party. He told me to write it down on a paper. I asked him to confirm that I had written the correct date and he confirmed but it was the following day and he could have said tomorrow. No admission of a mistake and no compensation. I am not impressed in general with the Jade. 

After my experience with the man from Cruise Next, it doesn’t surprise me reading about your experience.

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, HuliHuli said:

The Cruise Next staff were there to push their product and they collected our names/cabin information so they could target us twice a day for the balance of the cruise. 

So,,,, you know that they don't need to "collect names/cabin information". If you are a platinum or above, you are on a printed list by name and cabin at the Cruise Next desk (that's how they check your eligibility for various activities). 

[The Traveling Man]

Just got back to our stateroom after the wine tasting.  It definitely was not what I expected.  On previous cruises we have paid for wine tastings.  There were five or six wine glasses waiting for us, each with a different wine.  The sommelier told us about the characteristics of each and suggested food pairings.  At the event we just attended, we were handed a glass as we entered and told that we could visit the several stations set up around the room for a taste of the various wines they offered.  A couple of the stations were not manned, so we poured our own.  At one of the manned stations they poured just a sip, so we just stood there until they poured more.  The wines were nothing outstanding, just the same ones we have been seeing in the restaurants and bars all week.  The one upside of the event was the opportunity to sit and talk with some friends we have sailed with before but haven’t seen in a while.  Other than that, the wine tasting event is no great loss if you miss out.

[romalley99]

1 hour ago, The Traveling Man said:

Just got back to our stateroom after the wine tasting.  It definitely was not what I expected.  On previous cruises we have paid for wine tastings.  There were five or six wine glasses waiting for us, each with a different wine.  The sommelier told us about the characteristics of each and suggested food pairings.  At the event we just attended, we were handed a glass as we entered and told that we could visit the several stations set up around the room for a taste of the various wines they offered.  A couple of the stations were not manned, so we poured our own.  At one of the manned stations they poured just a sip, so we just stood there until they poured more.  The wines were nothing outstanding, just the same ones we have been seeing in the restaurants and bars all week.  The one upside of the event was the opportunity to sit and talk with some friends we have sailed with before but haven’t seen in a while.  Other than that, the wine tasting event is no great loss if you miss out.

 

Agree!!! 

[Sherrica]

On 9/19/2022 at 5:52 AM, The Traveling Man said:

Just got back to our stateroom after the wine tasting.  It definitely was not what I expected.  On previous cruises we have paid for wine tastings.  There were five or six wine glasses waiting for us, each with a different wine.  The sommelier told us about the characteristics of each and suggested food pairings.  At the event we just attended, we were handed a glass as we entered and told that we could visit the several stations set up around the room for a taste of the various wines they offered.  A couple of the stations were not manned, so we poured our own.  At one of the manned stations they poured just a sip, so we just stood there until they poured more.  The wines were nothing outstanding, just the same ones we have been seeing in the restaurants and bars all week.  The one upside of the event was the opportunity to sit and talk with some friends we have sailed with before but haven’t seen in a while.  Other than that, the wine tasting event is no great loss if you miss out.

Thank you for sharing your experience.  I'm sad that it wasn't as good as expected.  I'll try to sign up for it on the Encore in January.  I'm hoping that they will also resume the dinner with the officers by then as we just reached Sapphire level.  I have no idea when to expect that it might be held... I'll be watching for reports in the coming months!  Fingers crossed!

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Sherrica said:

Thank you for sharing your experience.  I'm sad that it wasn't as good as expected.  I'll try to sign up for it on the Encore in January.  I'm hoping that they will also resume the dinner with the officers by then as we just reached Sapphire level.  I have no idea when to expect that it might be held... I'll be watching for reports in the coming months!  Fingers crossed!

We were on the Encore in April and they had dinner with the officers for Sapphire and above. They did not have it on the Breakaway in June. 

[HuliHuli]

On 9/18/2022 at 7:43 PM, BirdTravels said:

So,,,, you know that they don't need to "collect names/cabin information". If you are a platinum or above, you are on a printed list by name and cabin at the Cruise Next desk (that's how they check your eligibility for various activities). 

So,,,, I know that I have NEVER received TWICE DAILY calls from the Cruise Next desk UNTIL I attended this event and SPOKE DIRECTLY with the CN staff who WROTE my name down.  Make whatever ASS-U-Me-putions you like - these are the facts!

[snorklinbarb]

10 hours ago, Sherrica said:

Thank you for sharing your experience.  I'm sad that it wasn't as good as expected.  I'll try to sign up for it on the Encore in January.  I'm hoping that they will also resume the dinner with the officers by then as we just reached Sapphire level.  I have no idea when to expect that it might be held... I'll be watching for reports in the coming months!  Fingers crossed!

According to the new Latitudes changes (expanding dining options), it's stated that both Dining w/the Officers as well as Behind the Scenes are suspended.  They may have put "for now" but it doesn't sound like they are coming back.

 

Just off Joy.  Wines of the World did have stations set up but also roaming sommeliers serving right at tables.  Like another poster, I don't drink red wine and had no problem getting more of the white (and 6Semmes Rose).  Shared a table w/a couple who belong to a wine club back home and they were busy taking notes!

 

Explanation given for each wine but the Cellar Bar was crowded with many standing so it was hard to catch everything.

 

As for the Sail & Sustain, there were only 2 of us who attended.  Interesting array of drinks and good explanations.  A couple of refreshing ones and a couple that made our lips pucker!  

 

Going on Prima soon so will have another chance to enjoy.  

Latitudes Party in Joy Observation lounge was way too crowded, loud and rather frantic.  Regional Fleet VP was there.  Immediately decided to make 2 parties and that was implemented on the current sailing.  Much better than having all Silver and above at 1 party.

[seemoreroyals]

We were on the Bliss Nov 13-20th.  Our Wines around the World was at 3pm on a Thursday.  Was expecting it on a sea day but instead it was after leaving Mazatlan on day 5.  It was okay.  Could have been much better.  There were probably 30-40 people attending.  There were 5 stations featuring a red and a white wine from each station. 

 

It felt rushed.  They herded us at the Cellars Wine Bar on deck 8.  Then we were marched across to where the event was staged in the Cavern Club.  Not much was mentioned in regards to any of the wines.  The whole thing took about 30 minutes.  In reading posts by others it appears they do the exact same thing on each ship.  Sorry to say I agree with others that the whole thing was underwhelming.