Included wines on Pursuit ?

[federalexpress]

15 minutes ago, ExArkie said:

Agreed. Ste Michelle also has partnerships with other wineries in France, Germany and Italy. (Maybe more…I haven’t paid close attention) Leveraging the brand wouldn’t necessarily limit one to American wines only. 

The big one was with Antinori in Italy which opens up a wide variety of brands at differing price points. However that is strictly a partnership, albeit borne out of long relationships between the families and companies. The biggest co-operation was actually Stag's Leap itself which was minority owned by Antinori but, having googled it, it appears they ended up buying out SME's majority stake a year or two ago. I gather they always had their eyes on acquiring it.

 

But presumably there remains some dialogue even as that co-operation closes and it is possible that the Hawks Crest wines were the result of a deal on remaining inventory when Antinori bought out SME's stake in Stag's Leap. Either way, it would be a pleasant surprise to find these available on the included wines.

[little britain]

On 6/18/2024 at 9:44 PM, Bobreg said:

Hi. Was able to take picture of the sparkling wine. There is also a Pino Grigio that has an identical label as the Sauvignon Blanc (Tino) so make sure they serve you the right one.

That’s the undrinkable stuff they give away on Royal Caribbean 🙄 - I’m surprised !!  - is there a Prosecco or a Cava 🍾 in any of the packages please?

 

Also the rosé looks very pink which usually implies flavourful/strong! How does it taste ? Thanks 

[roxette]

The Ultimate package has a Champagne and a prosecco.

[uktog]

The very pink rose is milder than it look implies

 

From all the new CEO said, they are looking closely at the wine offerings and I would bet the family nest egg that it’s on the new Head of Hotel Operations to do list.  So what we are seeing as the offerings today may not be what is onboard down the line. I wouldn’t be surprised if they test out some wine options in the coming months so if you like or don’t like something say so (and not just to the server, use the more documented feedback routes eg the onboard forms). 

Edited Sunday at 11:01 AM by uktog

[Bobreg]

8 hours ago, uktog said:

The very pink rose is milder than it look implies

 

From all the new CEO said, they are looking closely at the wine offerings and I would bet the family nest egg that it’s on the new Head of Hotel Operations to do list.  So what we are seeing as the offerings today may not be what is onboard down the line. I wouldn’t be surprised if they test out some wine options in the coming months so if you like or don’t like something say so (and not just to the server, use the more documented feedback routes eg the onboard forms). 

Let me say that I have not the same opinion as yours. There are two ways to see it.

We are just off the Quest and mid cruise, we spoke with a server in the windows cafe about if a good reference help with promotion. He told us that it is still helping but that selling wine is more important now. We experienced it on the last dinner night when after 45 minutes we had finished our complementary glass and when the server finally brought our entree, we asked for some more wine. He replied that his assistant would come. His assistant was busy with a neighbouring table that was ordering wine like they had OBC to spare and never came to our table. We waited 10 minutes and left the dining room.  Sure the restaurant manager chased after us to apologize.

The point is that if selling wine in the venues is important for the company, they will just find the balance between drinkable wine that will not bring too much complaints and of enough low quality to encourage some to spend money on a better wine.  Let's hope I'm wrong and that they listen to their customers.

[Grandma Cruising]

I’m amazed at your experience. Our experience is generally that they come to fill up your glass as soon as you are two thirds of the way down your glass.

[uktog]

23 minutes ago, Bobreg said:

Let me say that I have not the same opinion as yours. There are two ways to see it.

We are just off the Quest and mid cruise, we spoke with a server in the windows cafe about if a good reference help with promotion. He told us that it is still helping but that selling wine is more important now. We experienced it on the last dinner night when after 45 minutes we had finished our complementary glass and when the server finally brought our entree, we asked for some more wine. He replied that his assistant would come. His assistant was busy with a neighbouring table that was ordering wine like they had OBC to spare and never came to our table. We waited 10 minutes and left the dining room.  Sure the restaurant manager chased after us to apologize.

The point is that if selling wine in the venues is important for the company, they will just find the balance between drinkable wine that will not bring too much complaints and of enough low quality to encourage some to spend money on a better wine.  Let's hope I'm wrong and that they listen to their customers.

My comments were not about new focus on selling wines, the focus was on getting the right included wines. 

[Bobreg]

10 minutes ago, uktog said:

My comments were not about new focus on selling wines, the focus was on getting the right included wines. 

I understood your comment, but mine was that they won't focus much on the included wines if their goal is to sell more expensive wines that benefit the crew who push for better job and pay.  What is the best for the company and the shareholders is more money in revenue.

[uktog]

10 minutes ago, Bobreg said:

I understood your comment, but mine was that they won't focus much on the included wines if their goal is to sell more expensive wines that benefit the crew who push for better job and pay.  What is the best for the company and the shareholders is more money in revenue.

I agree however there has been quite a bit of evidence of people not rebooking because the quality of included wines had dropped. There’s been a lot of negative feedback in the last year. Secondly they will look at the ultimate package wines as they can retain current upgrades and encourage others. So I think the upselling of bottles will be a lower priority 

[Mackdogmolly]

16 hours ago, uktog said:

agree however there has been quite a bit of evidence of people not rebooking because the quality of included wines had dropped

Is this true? That is the last reason why I would choose not to rebook!

[uktog]

34 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Is this true? That is the last reason why I would choose not to rebook!

I am aware of several instances particularly from people who were first timers. For others it was one thing that combined with a couple of other minor issues. It’s not a reason for us but it can matter a lot for others 

Edited Monday at 01:51 PM by uktog

[Catchum]

1 hour ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Is this true? That is the last reason why I would choose not to rebook!

It would be for us. We are not fussy eaters or drinkers, happy to pay up for an occasional expresso martini, but if I have paid for included wine I expect to get passable included wine. Just as I would not expect to have to pay extra to get passable food. 

[Mackdogmolly]

35 minutes ago, Catchum said:

It would be for us. We are not fussy eaters or drinkers, happy to pay up for an occasional expresso martini, but if I have paid for included wine I expect to get passable included wine. Just as I would not expect to have to pay extra to get passable food. 

Well, as we all know, tastes are subjective, but I have always found the included wines to be at least “passable” and the food considerably more than that.

[Whitby100]

20 hours ago, uktog said:

I agree however there has been quite a bit of evidence of people not rebooking because the quality of included wines had dropped. There’s been a lot of negative feedback in the last year. Secondly they will look at the ultimate package wines as they can retain current upgrades and encourage others. So I think the upselling of bottles will be a lower priority 

I think we have to be careful about using anecdotal chatter as evidence.  The included wines concept seems to continually under review - local wines, rotating wines, AZ labelled wines, etc.  It seems the new leadership is aware of negative feedback re wines.  

[81Zoomie]

4 hours ago, Whitby100 said:

I think we have to be careful about using anecdotal chatter as evidence.  The included wines concept seems to continually under review - local wines, rotating wines, AZ labelled wines, etc.  It seems the new leadership is aware of negative feedback re wines.  

I hope the wines are under review.  I agree with @Mackdogmolly that the included wines should be passable. On our last cruise the included wines were not drinkable.  The wines in the Ultimate pkg were not much better.  I prefer not to have to pay extra when we are already paying for included adult beverages.  DH finally gave up and only drank mixed drinks.  We were quite disappointed because this was billed as a “wine” cruise and we overnighted in Bordeaux and visited Porto as well.  Not one special local wine or event on the entire sailing.  We drank great wine ashore and avoided the marginal stuff on the ship.  There are many nicely rated wines available worldwide under $20/bottle.  Hopefully Azamara can find some 🍷🛳️🥂.

[curmudgeon98]

6 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Well, as we all know, tastes are subjective, but I have always found the included wines to be at least “passable” and the food considerably more than that.

I'm not very picky about wines, and will often be happy with a carafe of house wine in a small French or Italian restaurant, but two years ago on Onward they were serving some wines that seemed pretty poor to me.  I think they were from Croatia or nearby region.  We found something tolerable, but mostly just shifted away from drinking much wine at dinner on that cruise.  Not a deal-breaker for us, and I think they've moved on from that batch of wine in any case. 

[Mackdogmolly]

10 minutes ago, 81Zoomie said:

I hope the wines are under review.  I agree with @Mackdogmolly that the included wines should be passable

That’s not quite what I said. I said that I thought that they WERE passable 

[81Zoomie]

4 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

That’s not quite what I said. I said that I thought that they WERE passable 

Sorry I misread your intent.  As with everything else, wine preferences are subjective!

[ExArkie]

14 hours ago, curmudgeon98 said:

I'm not very picky about wines, and will often be happy with a carafe of house wine in a small French or Italian restaurant, but two years ago on Onward they were serving some wines that seemed pretty poor to me.  I think they were from Croatia or nearby region.  We found something tolerable, but mostly just shifted away from drinking much wine at dinner on that cruise.  Not a deal-breaker for us, and I think they've moved on from that batch of wine in any case. 

House wines in France and Italy are usually quite acceptable to very good. House wines in the US are usually drain cleaner. 

[G2G]

On 6/24/2024 at 2:50 PM, uktog said:

I am aware of several instances particularly from people who were first timers. For others it was one thing that combined with a couple of other minor issues. It’s not a reason for us but it can matter a lot for others 

I agree, I appreciate that I can purchase wines off the ship and pay corkage, but this is not always feasible or a priority in a port where the emphasis is on experiencing the place you are visiting. This, along with other issues has for me it has led me to go with other lines,   

[hamrag]

On 6/23/2024 at 9:28 PM, uktog said:

....there has been quite a bit of evidence of people not rebooking because the quality of included wines had dropped. There’s been a lot of negative feedback in the last year.... 

Drinks would never cause me not to rebook, if they did it would be their insistence on royal club tonic water that would do it for me! 😂 

[luv2travel90266]

Use google maps and pull up the area around the ports you will stop at. Put in "wine" and wine stores will pop up. The attachment is an example in Barcelona. I do this prior to the trip as you are likely to find shops steps from the harbor. The benefit is you will be drinking wines to both your budget and palate and likely taste wines you have never experienced. There has always been someone who spoke my language better that I speak theirs helping me with the choices. For me it isn't worth paying to upgrade to the premium package for the quality of  wines served and Azamara frankly would lose money serving the wines I would prefer to drink.