Wine list

[tuckerboxbill]

3 hours ago, Colorado Coasty said:

Currently on Crown Princess, selection has been very limited. Silverado cab was our go to last week, this week there is no more on board.

Vines on Crown is a joke. If you can get a seat (all taken by non-wine drinkers) there is nothing special and service is terrible.

The martinis have been great.😋

Yeah, totally agree, just got off the Ruby and Vines is terrible now. On several occasions, 90% of seats were taken by Piazza overflow and I had to order wines and stand the whole time. The Captain walked past and I told him what I thought 🙂  I would also add that the wine selection is really reduced. I find it ridiculous that THE WINE BAR on the ship has less options than the dining rooms.  We had to go to the bar in the Crown Grill to get our favorite wine (Cloudy Bay SB) and take it back to Vines. They used to have it in Vines but no more. They are definitely playing games with prices and the packages, we tried the Premier Package and half the wines in that price limit were out of stock on Day 1 of the cruise.

Edited May 8, 2023 by tuckerboxbill

[JerseyShore]

So I am assuming Rombauer chard is no longer available at Vines?

[tuckerboxbill]

13 minutes ago, JerseyShore said:

So I am assuming Rombauer chard is no longer available at Vines?

It was not on the wine list at Vines on the Ruby, no.  They had the Penfolds Bin 311 for 18, Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch for 20 and Stags Leap 'Hands of Time" for 18, so NO Chardonnay available in Vines on the Plus package limit.  The only whites under the Plus limit were Crios Torrontes for 11 and Chareau Ste Michele Eroica Riesling for 13. A joke.

Edited May 8, 2023 by tuckerboxbill

[DeeTO]

1 hour ago, tuckerboxbill said:

It was not on the wine list at Vines on the Ruby, no.  They had the Penfolds Bin 311 for 18, Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch for 20 and Stags Leap 'Hands of Time" for 18, so NO Chardonnay available in Vines on the Plus package limit.  The only whites under the Plus limit were Crios Torrontes for 11 and Chareau Ste Michele Eroica Riesling for 13. A joke.

Starting to think, having no drinks package and bringing your own favourite wines and paying $20 corkage makes sense. At least you are assured of availability and taste.

[CruisinChris]

Same situation with wine (particularly white) on Sky in Feb and Discovery last week out of LA.  Many out of stocks, nothing drinkable on Plus (Canyon Road, or unknown).  On both trips trying to get a hold of a bottle of Whispering Angel (or even a glass) was next to impossible.  And the bubbly selection is awful to boot.  Going Premier in August.  Hoping the "supply chain" problems are fixed (i don't think that's the issue).  Also really want the generic list for Plus to go away.  It's ridiculous and insulting to wine drinkers to assume that we don't care about the specifics of what we're drinking.

[RedIguana]

7 hours ago, Colorado Coasty said:

Currently on Crown Princess, selection has been very limited. Silverado cab was our go to last week, this week there is no more on board.

Vines on Crown is a joke. If you can get a seat (all taken by non-wine drinkers) there is nothing special and service is terrible.

I hope they somehow remember to restock. Will be on Crown on the May 23rd sailing.

[nini]

I had so very much hoped that this "supply chain issue" would pass; blaming it on covid and all. However, it now appears to be a "cash chain issue" on the part of Princess.

We had the shortages on two cruises last year and were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Now, not so much.

Does anyone know if other cruise passengers are also having the same experiences?

[c-boy]

9 minutes ago, nini said:

I had so very much hoped that this "supply chain issue" would pass; blaming it on covid and all. However, it now appears to be a "cash chain issue" on the part of Princess.

We had the shortages on two cruises last year and were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Now, not so much.

Does anyone know if other cruise passengers are also having the same experiences?

not only cruise lines but, the hotel and restaurant industry.

[nini]

4 minutes ago, c-boy said:

not only cruise lines but, the hotel and restaurant industry.

So far, we have been fine in WA State and Oregon in reference to wines.

[texmanufan]

9 hours ago, JerseyShore said:

So I am assuming Rombauer chard is no longer available at Vines?

Thanks for starting this thread as I have an upcoming Princess cruise and wanted to see the wines on offer. Btw, Rombauer chard is called “cougar juice” by many in the industry. It is a party pleaser though usually when it is opened.

 

I don’t believe there are any supply chain issues on the wine end. Many wineries had to adapt to alternative sales channels during Covid. Less restaurants, cruise lines, etc and more direct sales or wine stores. Maybe logistics or cash flow for cruise lines starting back up has caused some issues.

[nini]

2 hours ago, texmanufan said:

Thanks for starting this thread as I have an upcoming Princess cruise and wanted to see the wines on offer. Btw, Rombauer chard is called “cougar juice” by many in the industry. It is a party pleaser though usually when it is opened.

 

I don’t believe there are any supply chain issues on the wine end. Many wineries had to adapt to alternative sales channels during Covid. Less restaurants, cruise lines, etc and more direct sales or wine stores. Maybe logistics or cash flow for cruise lines starting back up has caused some issues.

That is what I just said..... Cruise lines habe cash flow issues.

[remydiva]

On 5/3/2023 at 8:26 PM, DallasGuy75219 said:

Ughhhh.... They're back to listing Plus wines by just varietal and not vineyard.

Yes but I asked for vineyard name from somellier and got it.  

[remydiva]

On 5/8/2023 at 3:00 PM, RedIguana said:

I hope they somehow remember to restock. Will be on Crown on the May 23rd sailing.

Vines no longer offer flights and tapas now from 6-8 pm.

Agree that most seats taken up by people playing cards or on their phones or listening to music in piazza. 

[kiwimum]

On 5/8/2023 at 5:35 PM, nini said:

So far, we have been fine in WA State and Oregon in reference to wines.

Our local grocery store in San Diego is having supply issues.   White wine selection is 75% of late last year.  Even Costco has less available.

 

Sapphire Princess over the holidays had a major supply issue.   Extremely limited white wine, no limes, majority of gins not available.  Fortunately we bought limes onboard with us in LA and they lasted to almost BA.

[Steelers36]

On 5/3/2023 at 1:53 AM, Teechur said:

If I buy wine at various ports, can I pay the corkage fee with On Board Credit?

It's the only way it is paid (if charged).  Otherwise, I would add that wine you bring on at check-in is also charged to on-board account if in excess of the free bottle per person.  So, any and all corkage fees you may be charged, including in the DR by your waiter, all go to the on-board account.  

[Steelers36]

On 5/6/2023 at 12:11 PM, RedIguana said:

Silverado cab here in the US is about $50 retail, so about 40 GBP (no pound sterling symbol on our keyboards either, guess I should learn the ascii code), so well less than 100% markup. Typical restaurant mark-ups here are 3-4X for the cheaper stuff, 2-3X for mid-price and above. Silverado pretty reasonably priced on Princess compared to retail. Celebrity with Decoy at roughly $15 a glass and Royal with Oberon at the same aren't bad either. 

 

On 5/6/2023 at 12:14 PM, wowzz said:

Thanks for that.  I must admit, I didn't think Silverado was that special,  and certainly not worth that much.  

Perfectly palatable,  but nothing else.  

 

A closer look at the Silverado.  It is $81/btl on Princess.  But the true cost is $95.58 after the 18% bar gratuity.  Recent pricing at Total Wine is $49, so $52.43 with tax in Fort Lauderdale.  A $42/$43 markup, so not quite double per the above. 

 

Even if corkage is applied, the guest saves $23 by BYOW.

 

Also, the pours per bottle should be 5, so $90 + 18% versus $81 + 18%.

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

On 5/6/2023 at 6:28 PM, wowzz said:

I have to say, that when we have been "snow birding" in Florida we have never seen the same range in a store such as Publix.

Most grocers are just selling plonk and up a level or so.  Same old labels, etc.  Have you visited a Total Wines store - not sure if one would be near where you stay in FL.  There is one very close to Port Everglades as one example, but they are all over.  Wide range of choice there (of course US is prominent and never anything from Canada).  I usually BYOW on board and select from a variety of locales, but I generally avoid ordering US wines from a menu since they are often the most over-priced due to being the popular choice.  Adventure and value are what I tend to look for.

 

[Steelers36]

On 5/8/2023 at 8:35 PM, nini said:

So far, we have been fine in WA State and Oregon in reference to wines.

I should think so.  😉