Wine Selections

[Stumblefoot]

3 hours ago, brooklynboy1956 said:

Or does one let the butler know once we are in the cabin?

Yes, that is what one does.

 

4 hours ago, brooklynboy1956 said:

Might we request the Pommery?  

Absolutely!

[brooklynboy1956]

One thanks you for this information.

[canderson]

1 hour ago, Strumdatjag said:

You don’t understand my question.   Yes, it’s great if everyone WANTS to reciprocate.   But if I drink a glass of somebody else’s “great” wine, I’m going to feel obligated to buy one myself to reciprocate. 

Simple.  Politely decline the offer if you hope to avoid the back and forth.

[drron29]

There is no pressure from the staff for this to happen so it is entirely up to you. Don’t accept the offer of a glass of a wine from the connoisseur list. Not hard to do. An easy excuse is that it is not the wine type that I enjoy.

[Strumdatjag]

5 hours ago, drron29 said:

There is no pressure from the staff for this to happen so it is entirely up to you. Don’t accept the offer of a glass of a wine from the connoisseur list. Not hard to do. An easy excuse is that it is not the wine type that I enjoy.

With my luck, I’ll probably be sipping my rotgut Cabernet as the Con List Bordeaux is offered.  Yes, I know that the Bordeauxs are more often blended and some are even primarily Merlot.   But the person offering will probably be unaware of that distinction, and your suggested statement wooukd then not be understood.   So, maybe I’ll bring my own MD 20-20 or Thunderbird onboard to avails the problem entirely.  

[Strumdatjag]

1 hour ago, Strumdatjag said:

With my luck, I’ll probably be sipping my rotgut Cabernet as the Con List Bordeaux is offered.  Yes, I know that the Bordeauxs are more often blended and some are even primarily Merlot.   But the person offering will probably be unaware of that distinction, and your suggested statement wooukd then not be understood.   So, maybe I’ll bring my own MD 20-20 or Thunderbird onboard to avails the problem entirely.  

I meant (despite the spellchecking typos)  - that WOULD SOLVE the problem.  Actually, I do plan to decline the offer, explaining that I’d rather be blissfully ignorant of any possible deficiencies in the complimentary wine selection.  
Although the staff may not pressure sales from the Con List, certainly RCL profits to some extent off of the peer pressure and stocks the more expensive wine accordingly.  

[Rothko1]

11 hours ago, canderson said:

Simple.  Politely decline the offer if you hope to avoid the back and forth.

 

Yeah, that's the solution.  A simple "No thank you, they have a nice _______  that I like" is fine.  No one is going to criticize you for that.

[Dolcevita Diva]

15 hours ago, brooklynboy1956 said:

New to Silversea here.  At what point does one provide one's preferences for the in-suite refrigerator? We would like to have ours stocked by the time we board.  Or does one let the butler know once we are in the cabin?  Might we request the Pommery?  

 

Recommend that you provide your requests for the in-suite refrigerator in advance (through your TA). Although many recommend that you wait until onboard, since suites now become available at the same time on embarkation day, it will take less time and be much easier for your butler to stock the in-suire beverages while the corridors are empty.   And it's a lovely touch to arrive in your suite to find it already stocked to your preference. 

[Dolcevita Diva]

16 hours ago, brooklynboy1956 said:

New to Silversea here.  At what point does one provide one's preferences for the in-suite refrigerator? We would like to have ours stocked by the time we board.  Or does one let the butler know once we are in the cabin?  Might we request the Pommery?  

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Dolcevita Diva
Duplicate

[Dolcevita Diva]

16 hours ago, brooklynboy1956 said:

New to Silversea here.  At what point does one provide one's preferences for the in-suite refrigerator? We would like to have ours stocked by the time we board.  Or does one let the butler know once we are in the cabin?  Might we request the Pommery?  

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Dolcevita Diva
Duplicate

[canderson]

30 minutes ago, Strumdatjag said:

Although the staff may not pressure sales from the Con List, certainly RCL profits to some extent off of the peer pressure and stocks the more expensive wine accordingly.  

While all of the lines may benefit from the practice you describe, I really don't think that's SS's prime motivation for stocking some higher end wines.  Rather, I'm sure they stock them simply because some prefer them and will buy them.  Even when the two of us are dining alone, I'd still prefer a really nice pinot with my duck + berry sauce rather than a mediocre one. 

 

Based upon the list I've seen here, SS certainly charges less for their wines than their sister lines where you can expect 2.5X retail prices, so if you're correct that SS is trying to leverage some kind of "We buy, you buy" dynamic, they're certainly leaving a lot of $ on the table.

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by canderson
typoz

[Strumdatjag]

6 minutes ago, canderson said:

While all of the lines may benefit from the practice you describe, I really don't think that's SS's prime motivation for stocking some higher end wines.  Rather, I'm sure they stock them simply because some prefer them and will buy them.  Even when the two of us are dining alone, I'd still prefer a really nice pinot with my duck + berry sauce rather than a mediocre one. 

 

Based upon the list I've seen here, SS certainly charges less for their wines than their sister lines where you can expect 2.5X retail prices, so if you're correct that SS is trying to leverage some kind of "We buy, you buy" dynamic, they're certainly leaving a lot of $ on the table.

 

 

So, if profit is not the objective of the cruise line - Should I short the common stock in RCL (up over 25% this year)?  

Edited April 16, 2023 by Strumdatjag

[Dolcevita Diva]

2 hours ago, Strumdatjag said:

With my luck, I’ll probably be sipping my rotgut Cabernet as the Con List Bordeaux is offered.  Yes, I know that the Bordeauxs are more often blended and some are even primarily Merlot.   But the person offering will probably be unaware of that distinction, and your suggested statement wooukd then not be understood.   So, maybe I’ll bring my own MD 20-20 or Thunderbird onboard to avails the problem entirely.  

You mentioned that you haven't yet sailed with Silversea.  I truly don't think you need to worry at all about these awkward situations you are fretting about. 

I remember one voyage when about 12 of us who had met onboard and enjoyed each other's company dined together. One passenger had ordered a bottle of Opus One and simply told the sommelier that it was for himself and his wife. Nobody felt slighted for not being offered to share and certainly the rest of us didn't feel like we were drinking rotgut nor felt the need to one-up each other ordering from the Connoisseur's list. 

 

Absolutely some passengers are drawn to the Connoisseur's list because there are wines or vintages that are difficult to source and the pricing is close to the retail price (if you can find that wine), but Silversea is absolutely not making huge margins on the wines on that list nor pushing the list to enhance profits. 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Dolcevita Diva

[chaunceyb]

We were on the small Silver Explorer this past March. Like most cruise lines that include wines, the included selection on the Explorer were of "grocery store" wines that retail in the $10-$15 range, many of which were Australian and South African wines that I had never heard of. You will NOT find a nice Napa Cab or Oregon Pinot Noir on the included list but will find them to purchase at restaurant pricing. I must say that the wine steward was very accomodating in finding the included wines that we liked! Had a decent included California chardonnay.

[scseas]

36 minutes ago, chaunceyb said:

We were on the small Silver Explorer this past March. Like most cruise lines that include wines, the included selection on the Explorer were of "grocery store" wines that retail in the $10-$15 range, many of which were Australian and South African wines that I had never heard of. You will NOT find a nice Napa Cab or Oregon Pinot Noir on the included list but will find them to purchase at restaurant pricing. I must say that the wine steward was very accomodating in finding the included wines that we liked! Had a decent included California chardonnay.

I apologize if this is slightly off-topic, but how come these lines carry premium spirits but entry point wines? Is it because the typical consumer knows the spirit brands, but cannot tell the difference between a $10 and $40 bottle of wine? The one exception is champagne, which tends to retail in the $30-$40 range. I guess the thought is that consumers recognize a champagne brand, but not a Napa cab or an Oregon Pinot or a French Sancerre. I just find it ironic that I can get a glass of a $60 single malt scotch at the bar included  but need to settle for a very inexpensive glass of wine unless I pay more. 

[Daveywavey70]

23 minutes ago, scseas said:

I apologize if this is slightly off-topic, but how come these lines carry premium spirits but entry point wines? Is it because the typical consumer knows the spirit brands, but cannot tell the difference between a $10 and $40 bottle of wine? The one exception is champagne, which tends to retail in the $30-$40 range. I guess the thought is that consumers recognize a champagne brand, but not a Napa cab or an Oregon Pinot or a French Sancerre. I just find it ironic that I can get a glass of a $60 single malt scotch at the bar included  but need to settle for a very inexpensive glass of wine unless I pay more. 

The included Sancerre is extremely good.

[scseas]

6 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

The included Sancerre is extremely good.

And then it’s not in the 10-15 range. You cannot find this type of wine  for that price. Do you have the brand? Is it served in all of the restaurants.

[Strumdatjag]

By the way, you can’t really call Opus One and Joseph Phelps Insignia the type of wines which are only known to the highly informed oenophile.  Pretty standard fare for the high end wine drinker.   Maybe a bit of snob appeal - sorry to say.  

[Strumdatjag]

Then again, it’s not necessarily a sign of a worldly Oenophile to order Opus One or Joseph Phelps Insignia.  It’s arguably more adventurous to try the South African wine one has never heard about.  A few weeks ago, at an Uzbeki Restaurant, my family members and I tried the Uzbeki wine.  The red was good and the white was not so good, but we left that restaurant having had an Uzbeki wine - a new experience.   It sounds like the complimentary wines are fine and the champagne is excellent.   

[Strumdatjag]

41 minutes ago, Strumdatjag said:

Then again, it’s not necessarily a sign of a worldly Oenophile to order Opus One or Joseph Phelps Insignia.  It’s arguably more adventurous to try the South African wine one has never heard about.  A few weeks ago, at an Uzbeki Restaurant, my family members and I tried the Uzbeki wine.  The red was good and the white was not so good, but we left that restaurant having had an Uzbeki wine - a new experience.   It sounds like the complimentary wines are fine and the champagne is excellent.   

Sorry.  I thought the previous email had not been posted.   

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, scseas said:

I just find it ironic that I can get a glass of a $60 single malt scotch at the bar included but need to settle for a very inexpensive glass of wine unless I pay more. 

I’m not following your logic.  On a per equivalent drink basis, your “included” $60 Scotch is comparable to a $17.65 bottle of wine which seems to be in the range of many included wines on Silversea.

[drron29]

And as an Australian wine drinker I have heard of all the Australian and NZ wines on board and many of the South African and Chilean wines as well but hardly any of the Northern Hemisphere brands. And our wines under $20 US can be great value. Nine Aussie wines under $US 20 won awards at a recent European awards show - Mundus Vini. Maybe you should just try a few.

Quite frankly I prefer Aussie wines to US wines even though my godson won US awards for his reds made in Sonoma. He is now setting up his own label on the East Coast.

[Rothko1]

41 minutes ago, drron29 said:

And as an Australian wine drinker I have heard of all the Australian and NZ wines on board and many of the South African and Chilean wines as well but hardly any of the Northern Hemisphere brands. And our wines under $20 US can be great value. Nine Aussie wines under $US 20 won awards at a recent European awards show - Mundus Vini. Maybe you should just try a few.

Quite frankly I prefer Aussie wines to US wines even though my godson won US awards for his reds made in Sonoma. He is now setting up his own label on the East Coast.

 

To each their own.  Australia has some amazing wines (Grange!).  So does the US, of course.

[Strumdatjag]

Good for SS.  The Kiwi Sauvignon Blanca are among the best in the world.  The wine snobs will only reach for a Cloudy Bay if at all.  Their Pinot Noir is also very good and at a much more reasonable price than an Oregon Pinot Noir like Domaine Serene.  The reds from Australia are impressive, though there seems to be less hype for them in the wine press these days.   That more than quality is keeping the prices lower. 

[canderson]

48 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

 

To each their own.  Australia has some amazing wines (Grange!).  So does the US, of course.

Aargh.  Indeed it is great stuff, but I remember when Bin 95 was affordable!