Wine Tastings

[keokukjoe]

Is the cost for the wine tastings mentioned in the 'Viking Daily" included if you purchase the Silver Spirits package? Thanks.

[JM0115]

42 minutes ago, keokukjoe said:

Is the cost for the wine tastings mentioned in the 'Viking Daily" included if you purchase the Silver Spirits package? Thanks.

Typically no. Small charge for wine tastings.

[molymoo]

10 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

Typically no. Small charge for wine tastings.

That used to be the case but on our last two cruises we were not charged for wine, gin, or single malt whiskey tastings.  Even when they did charge (pre-COVID) it was at a reduced rate for those with the beverage package.

[TayanaLorna]

On our last cruise, there was a charge for the "premium" French wine tasting but not for the one we did which was excellent.  The free for SSP holders fills up fast.

[Kamfish642]

We are on December 6 trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise on the Neptune.  What can we expect for wine tasting offerings during the 6 sea days between Madeira and St. Martin?

[Heidi13]

7 minutes ago, Kamfish642 said:

We are on December 6 trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise on the Neptune.  What can we expect for wine tasting offerings during the 6 sea days between Madeira and St. Martin?

 

Almost impossible to predict, as the daily schedule is at the discretion of the Cruise Director and I'm not aware that information has been released. Once the ship sails from Istanbul, we should have an idea who the Senior Staff and officers will be.

[CCWineLover]

4 hours ago, JM0115 said:

Typically no. Small charge for wine tastings.

Seemed to me the small charge was $30 w/o SSP for the regular tastings.  For premium tastings (like our Ol World Wines and some Spirits) was $30 for SSP and $50 or 60 without.

[Twitchly]

6 hours ago, keokukjoe said:

Is the cost for the wine tastings mentioned in the 'Viking Daily" included if you purchase the Silver Spirits package? Thanks.

The single-malt scotch tasting we recently enjoyed was included in the package. Alas, no wine tastings on our cruise.

[dburns1231]

No. There is a discount however. We went to one on a recent Alaskan cruise with Viking. We had the silver spirits package. There was a charge but silver spirits package cruisers got a discount. I think it was in the neighborhood of $30 each. The bourbon and martini tastings were free. They just fill up fast and you need to book as soon as you get on the ship. 

[CDNPolar]

On one past cruise we got to know the Explorer Lounge bartender very well being there every night, and we had a few "private" tastings... we did a gin tasting, and a brandy/cognac tasting that were just small samples of brands included in the SSP.  I don't think that they would have done the same for the wine as all the wines may not have been open at the bar, but for spirits, you can curate your own tasting.  Essentially, if the bottle is open and you want a sample taste against one or two others, why would they not do this for you?

[UWDawg]

11 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

On one past cruise we got to know the Explorer Lounge bartender very well being there every night, and we had a few "private" tastings... we did a gin tasting, and a brandy/cognac tasting that were just small samples of brands included in the SSP.  I don't think that they would have done the same for the wine as all the wines may not have been open at the bar, but for spirits, you can curate your own tasting.  Essentially, if the bottle is open and you want a sample taste against one or two others, why would they not do this for you?

Replicating a portion of a previous post (#5194) related to liquor tastings and mixology classes during the 2021/22 Viking World Cruise:

 

One of the advantages of the Viking World Cruise is the included Silver Spirits Package.  My wife and I aren’t big drinkers, so the SSP didn’t factor much into our selection of Viking for our round-the-world cruise to celebrate my retirement.  Our selection of Viking was primarily due to how much we enjoyed a Viking River Cruise on the Danube a few years earlier, plus the rave reviews I read about prior Viking World Cruises… Especially how well they looked after the passengers on the Covid-shortened 2019/20 World Cruise.  [Kudos to the AndyAndJudi.com travel blog.]  The included SSP relieved anxiety as to how much drinks might cost during meals or the nightly entertainment shows or at other times throughout the day.  The included SSP allowed us to select the premium wine pairing when we ate at the Chef’s Table restaurant.  It wasn’t too many days after we boarded in LA that the wait staff stopped asking whether we would prefer the premium wine pairing and just made that the default; after all, everyone aboard was on the World Cruise and had the included SSP.  It’s probably related to the demographic as to who takes a world cruise, but I don’t recall a single instance of seeing anyone aboard who I thought might have over-imbibed, despite all the passengers having an open bar available to them throughout the cruise.  But the intention of this writing isn’t intended to be about the SSP, but rather about a couple of the intangible benefits associated with being on a Viking World Cruise, which I didn’t find in the published literature: wine and liquor tastings.

… beyond the SSP, a couple of the perks of a Viking World Cruise are the numerous wine and liquor tastings that take place during sea days.  During a world cruise there are plenty of sea days.  I found that in addition to their standard stocking, Viking tries to include regional selections from the area in which we are sailing, particularly with regard to wines.  They also add variety, so it doesn’t become overly repetitive over a 138 day world cruise.

Given the number of sea days on a round-the-world cruise, I thought I might resort to drinking to pass the time, after all, with the included SSP, I’ll essentially have availability to an open bar, so I can drink most anything I want, whenever I want and not have to worry about the cost, other than the fact that most of the time when I drink I get a splitting headache, and aboard a rocking ship I might be more inclined to sea sickness if I drink.  However, throwing caution to the wind, I started off on a path of exploration (or perhaps self-destruction) and came up with the strategic plan of having a different drink every night… just one drink… so that by the end of the cruise I wouldn’t be such a naïve drinker, and would learn what types of alcohol I preferred.  

I abandoned that strategy after a few days aboard because in part I lacked both the discipline and creativity to track a nightly new drink selection, but also, I found through the Viking Daily that there might be other like-minded people because Viking was offering both wine and liquor tastings.  So instead, I shifted my approach to participate in the offered alcohol tastings to accomplish my objective of being a more informed drinker.

 

Below is a list of most of the various ... liquor tastings offered during the 2021/22 Viking World Cruise along with a collage of the photos I took to help track the liquors and mixed drinks I tried during those tastings and mixology classes.

 

Viking WORLD CRUISE 2021/2022
Liquor Tasting & Mixology Classes
1/15/22 – Gin Tasting
1/17/22 – Port Tasting
1/17/22 – Single Malt Tasting
1/18/22 – Tequila Tasting [Excursion]
1/19/22 – Martini Tasting
1/20/22 – Armagnac Tasting
1/24/22 – Tequila Tasting
1/25/22 – Martini Tasting
1/26/22 – Rum Tasting
1/27/22 – Vodka Tasting
1/28/22 – Aquavit – Crossing the Equator Celebration
1/28/22 – Digestif Tasting
1/29/22 - Grappa Tasting
1/31/22 – Martini Tasting
2/5/22 – Mixology Class: Vodka Drinks
2/6/22 – Mixology Class: Digestif Drinks
2/11/22 – Premium Scotch Whiskey Tasting
2/17/22 – Grappas, Limoncellos & Liquors
2/20/22 – Mixology Class: Shaking & Stirring
2/22/22 – Mixology Class: Layered Drinks
2/26/22 – Mixology Class: Using Juices
3/1/22 – Mixology Class: Brandy Cocktails
3/5/22 – Mixology Class: Winter Hot Cocktails
3/7/22 – Italian Liquor tasting: Aperitives & Digestives
3/13/22 – Mixology Class: Creamy Drinks
3/21/22 – Mixology Class: Twists on Basic Recipes
3/27/22 – Mixology Class: Martinis
3/28/22 – Mixology Class: Party Cocktails
4/14/22 – Old Fashion Liquor Tasting
4/20/22 – Cocktail Tasting
4/28/22 – Northern Italian Grappa Tasting
5/2/22 – Aperitive Drinks
5/4/22 – Tiki Cocktails

 

Edited November 9, 2022 by UWDawg

[millybess]

EXCELLENT list!  It makes me want to take a World Cruise 😊

BTW, we need your help over “there” ——>