Rare DaKahuna Posted July 26 #1 Share Posted July 26 (edited) I found this to be a bit interesting. They only mention the restaurant names but not the wines. Since our next cruise is on Solstice, I looked at the wine offerings for the Grand Epernay, one of the two MDR's, and it was a very nice list. Of course nothing impressive until you got to the by the bottle offerings and there were some excellent seletions but at some very high price points. Now if they would only improve the quality of the offerings for the by the glass Classic and Premium beverage package. <quote> The premium cruise line boasts the most awarded wine collection at sea, receiving more than 136 awards over 12 consecutive years MIAMI (June 28, 2024) – When it comes to wine programs at sea, there is no match to the outstanding offering from Celebrity Cruises®. The premium vacation brand set a record this week after being honored 18 times at the 2024 Wine Spectator Awards, with the cruise line now boasting 136 awards received over the last 12 years. Awards included five coveted “Best Of” Awards of Excellence for Celebrity Cruises Edge® Series, including recognition for Le Voyage, global culinary ambassador Daniel Boulud’s only restaurant at sea. “We are continually innovating and expanding our beverage offerings to remain at the forefront of trends and meet the preferences of Celebrity guests,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises. “We are honored to receive continued recognition for our elevated wine program from the experts at Wine Spectator.” Celebrity Cruises received the following 2024 Awards of Excellence for the 12th consecutive year: • 2024 Award of Excellence - Opus on Celebrity Reflection® • 2024 Award of Excellence - Grand Cuvée on Celebrity Silhouette® • 2024 Award of Excellence - Grand Epernay on Celebrity Solstice® • 2024 Award of Excellence - Moonlight Sonata on Celebrity EclipseSM • 2024 Award of Excellence - Silhouette on Celebrity EquinoxSM • 2024 Award of Excellence - Cosmopolitan on Celebrity Summit® • 2024 Award of Excellence - Metropolitan on Celebrity Millennium® • 2024 Award of Excellence - San Marco on Celebrity Constellation® • 2024 Award of Excellence - Trellis on Celebrity Infinity® Celebrity Cruises’ 2024 Wine Spectator Awards honors also include: • 2024 Best of Award of Excellence – Le Voyage, Celebrity Ascent SM • 2024 Best of Award of Excellence – Le Voyage, Celebrity BeyondSM • 2024 Best of Award of Excellence – Tuscan, Celebrity Ascent • 2024 Best of Award of Excellence – Tuscan, Celebrity Beyond • 2024 Best of Award of Excellence – Cyprus, Celebrity Apex® • 2024 Award of Excellence – Normandie, Celebrity Edge® • 2024 Award of Excellence – Fine Cut, Celebrity Ascent • 2024 Award of Excellence – Fine Cut, Celebrity Beyond • 2024 Award of Excellence – Fine Cut, Celebrity Apex When sailing with Celebrity Cruises, discerning wine connoisseurs and novices alike can delight in more than 500 wine selections representing the world’s most sought-after regions and most acclaimed labels. Celebrity sails with a trained sommelier in every restaurant, eager to help guide guests through the extensive choices from around the world, including a wide selection from Celebrity’s own private labels. </quote> Here is a link to the full press release. https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/PR/Cheers-Celebrity-Cruises-Earns-18-Wine-Spectator-Awards.PDF Edited July 26 by DaKahuna 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare markeb Posted July 26 #2 Share Posted July 26 (edited) And before everyone jumps in to complain about the by the glass offerings... From Wine Spectator: "Wine Spectator's Restaurant Awards recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers. To qualify for an award, a wine list must present complete, accurate information, including vintages and appellations for all selections. Complete producer names and correct spellings are mandatory, and the overall presentation of the list is also considered. Lists that meet these requirements are judged for one of our three awards." They're an award based on the wine list, which is going to be the bottle selections. Which are honestly pretty impressive. When you get into the quality of wines that would win these awards, the prices are high, but not out of line with a high end land-based restaurant. By the glass doesn't impact the award. In all honesty the only restaurant I've been in with a great by-the-glass selection was a Michelin 3-star with tasting menus. I'm pretty sure I've been offered pairings from the tasting menu in some cases. I don't look at the list there. I've got a CMS Advanced Sommelier making recommendations from a list curated by a CMS Master Sommelier. I'm not even trying... https://www.winespectator.com/articles/about-the-awards Edited July 26 by markeb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stem to Stern Posted July 26 #3 Share Posted July 26 (edited) I am pretty sure the restaurants that receive these awards make the submissions themselves. Our local newspaper recently disclosed this fact in an article they did featuring the local restaurants “awarded” by Wine Spectator. I wonder who at Celebrity is responsible for making their submissions. Edited July 26 by Stem to Stern 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare markeb Posted July 26 #4 Share Posted July 26 5 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said: I am pretty sure the restaurants that receive these awards make the submissions themselves. Our local newspaper recently disclosed this fact in an article they did featuring the local restaurants “awarded” by Wine Spectator. I wonder who at Celebrity is responsible for making their submissions. The basics are in the Wine Spectator link. The individual restaurant's wine director/sommelier is responsible for the submission. I don't know if they handle that in Miami, but the award is at the restaurant (venue) level, not the fleet or ship. It should be a submission from each venue. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Stem to Stern Posted July 26 #5 Share Posted July 26 https://www.winespectator.com/articles/rest-awards-entry-guidelines Thanks Mark. Providing link to application process just for reference. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap_D Posted July 26 #6 Share Posted July 26 I highly doubt anyone on a specific ship submits the info to the magazine. They also don't have access to the advertising budget for the publisher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NMTraveller Posted July 27 #7 Share Posted July 27 (edited) On 7/25/2024 at 6:00 PM, markeb said: They're an award based on the wine list, which is going to be the bottle selections. Which are honestly pretty impressive. When you get into the quality of wines that would win these awards, the prices are high, but not out of line with a high end land-based restaurant. Yet Celebrity dining is not comparable to a high end land-based restaurant... Not a fair comparison IMHO. Edited July 27 by NMTraveller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NutsAboutGolf Posted July 27 #8 Share Posted July 27 On 7/25/2024 at 6:00 PM, markeb said: And before everyone jumps in to complain about the by the glass offerings... From Wine Spectator: "Wine Spectator's Restaurant Awards recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers. To qualify for an award, a wine list must present complete, accurate information, including vintages and appellations for all selections. Complete producer names and correct spellings are mandatory, and the overall presentation of the list is also considered. Lists that meet these requirements are judged for one of our three awards." They're an award based on the wine list, which is going to be the bottle selections. Which are honestly pretty impressive. When you get into the quality of wines that would win these awards, the prices are high, but not out of line with a high end land-based restaurant. By the glass doesn't impact the award. In all honesty the only restaurant I've been in with a great by-the-glass selection was a Michelin 3-star with tasting menus. I'm pretty sure I've been offered pairings from the tasting menu in some cases. I don't look at the list there. I've got a CMS Advanced Sommelier making recommendations from a list curated by a CMS Master Sommelier. I'm not even trying... https://www.winespectator.com/articles/about-the-awards X not having any typos is far more impressive than actually winning the wine award 🙃 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted July 27 #9 Share Posted July 27 What I find interesting/annoying/amusing is that "To qualify for an award, a wine list must present complete, accurate information, including vintages and appellations for all selections. Complete producer names and correct spellings are mandatory, and the overall presentation of the list is also considered. Lists that meet these requirements are judged for one of our three awards." but even digital lists that don't have to be 'reprinted' that are made available to the passengers don't show proper vintages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_coach Posted July 27 #10 Share Posted July 27 Awards for a wine cellar on a boat? Can I get an award? I got half a dozen real good wines on my wine rack. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted July 27 #11 Share Posted July 27 24 minutes ago, pete_coach said: Awards for a wine cellar on a boat? Can I get an award? I got half a dozen real good wines on my wine rack. LOL A typical Celebrity ship has more depth and breadth in their available wines than the vast majority of restaurants. So why the surprise? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NMTraveller Posted July 27 #12 Share Posted July 27 18 minutes ago, canderson said: A typical Celebrity ship has more depth and breadth in their available wines than the vast majority of restaurants. So why the surprise? For by the bottle yes. For by the glass they are below average ... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted July 27 #13 Share Posted July 27 42 minutes ago, NMTraveller said: For by the bottle yes. For by the glass they are below average ... But that's not what the award was about. By the glass ... yeah ... meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare markeb Posted July 27 #14 Share Posted July 27 20 minutes ago, NMTraveller said: For by the bottle yes. Which is what counts for the award. Curious what you're considering average. The by the glass choices are nowhere near what they once were but I'd say they've dropped back to average, not below. Yes, some dedicated steakhouses, for instance, will have a couple of decent selections of cabernet sauvignon by the glass (priced appropriately) which Celebrity has pretty much dropped, but I'd put those offerings in the above average category. You can find wine lists for Ruth's Chris online, for instance. They vary by location and I'd definitely consider them above average (and above any by the glass offering on a cruise ship). The chain places that used to show up around here as comparisons to the MDR generally don't publish wine lists online and I haven't been in an Outback or Red Lobster (for instance) in years. I always considered them below average. Which is probably being excessively philosophical and not knowing what I'd call average. Regardless, the award is for the strength of their list, which is heavily, almost exclusively, their bottle offerings. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NMTraveller Posted July 27 #15 Share Posted July 27 (edited) 1 hour ago, markeb said: Which is what counts for the award. Curious what you're considering average. The by the glass choices are nowhere near what they once were but I'd say they've dropped back to average, not below. Yes, some dedicated steakhouses, for instance, will have a couple of decent selections of cabernet sauvignon by the glass (priced appropriately) which Celebrity has pretty much dropped, but I'd put those offerings in the above average category. You can find wine lists for Ruth's Chris online, for instance. They vary by location and I'd definitely consider them above average (and above any by the glass offering on a cruise ship). The chain places that used to show up around here as comparisons to the MDR generally don't publish wine lists online and I haven't been in an Outback or Red Lobster (for instance) in years. I always considered them below average. Which is probably being excessively philosophical and not knowing what I'd call average. Regardless, the award is for the strength of their list, which is heavily, almost exclusively, their bottle offerings. I think when you consider Cabs are most popular and take a look at Cabs at land based restaurants (by the glass) you will agree that land based restaurants have a better selection. My comparisons are to local places that I have dined and we probably do have above average dining. It has been a while since I have dined at a chain. What I consider average is probably different than others, but Celebrity seems to have holes in their Cab choices by the glass. And then they may or may not have it when you order... Edited July 27 by NMTraveller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare markeb Posted July 27 #16 Share Posted July 27 4 hours ago, NMTraveller said: I think when you consider Cabs are most popular and take a look at Cabs at land based restaurants (by the glass) you will agree that land based restaurants have a better selection. My comparisons are to local places that I have dined and we probably do have above average dining. It has been a while since I have dined at a chain. What I consider average is probably different than others, but Celebrity seems to have holes in their Cab choices by the glass. And then they may or may not have it when you order... Cabernet sauvignon is probably the most popular. It's not something I've tended to drink by the glass as the selections have never been great. And they're not great now. I was looking at Ascent and there are, believe it or not, 26 wines by the glass in the premium package in Normandie (didn't look at all the venues). Three are cab sauv and one is a left bank Bordeaux (listed as a cab blend because, I don't know). Caymus, and their two co-brands (Opulence and Elegance) as "elevated". For the price, considering the package as a sunk cost, I'd buy the Grgich Hills Opulence co-brand. Never have been a big Caymus fan, although the Special Selection is a totally different animal. If you're paying cash without a package they're all pretty much at Ruth's Chris prices for lesser quality wines (actually they're priced higher than one Manhattan wine bar that I really like, and still not as good of wines). I'm honestly not too bothered by the lack of good Cab Sauv by the glass, but I really don't eat a lot of red meat (ordinarily) when cruising. And the ones onboard by the bottle are all such babies that they can be brutal. What I did notice on our last two cruises (Equinox and Summit) was the interesting other reds were few and far between. Like a Tempranillo or a Super Tuscan or a Barolo. Honestly I think the drink package screws up the higher end by the glass wines. They're going out of their way to get high volume $15-16/bottle cabs to sell in the Premium Package and those just aren't great wines. Maybe some from Chile or Argentina or possibly South Africa, but too many people would scream those aren't "premium", like anything in the Premium Package actually is. On European sailings they should be able to get some very nice Bordeaux "table wines" (quality, drinkable now wines), but they don't seem to alter the wine list much if at all with cruise origin. And there are still some Washington cabs that are very good and better priced than California, but the good ones are going to be over what seems to be their by-the-glass limit. Since my wine budget is not in fact unlimited, I've decided to just live with OK at best wine most of the time and buy a decent but not great (i.e., badly overpriced) bottle when I want something better. Pull something great out of the basement at home. And eat fish and chicken and have an OK white wine with dinner onboard. It's supposed to be a vacation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted July 28 #17 Share Posted July 28 @markeb Here's a tidbit you'll appreciate. On Silversea, you'll find their prices marked up a TON less than on Celebrity. As I've noted before, some wines are at or slightly below shoreside retail. If you order a 'top end' bottle, and let them know that you don't plan to finish it in one setting, they'll apply a Coravin Timeless to the bottle for you to serve on a different night. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NutsAboutGolf Posted July 28 #18 Share Posted July 28 Here are more data points. X has won this award for years along with other cruise lines. For 2024, W.S. awarded X, VV, and NCL. I just googled Wine Speculator Princess and they won 18 in 2023 but it doesn't appear Princess won any for 2024 despite W.S. naming the other cruise lines that did win This award may be meaningless so it made me wonder how many awards, some will surely be meaningless, both X and Princess have. Neither cruise line lists 2024 awards yet, the best guess as to why is because the year isn't over; so I did this for 2023: Princess: 56 awards X: 41 Awards I had to add the 14+11+16 below as when you click on the "view all 2023 awards" button (I highlighted it in yellow), you get the "bad request" dead page. If X sees this post, I'd imagine they'd fix it quickly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_coach Posted July 28 #19 Share Posted July 28 19 hours ago, canderson said: A typical Celebrity ship has more depth and breadth in their available wines than the vast majority of restaurants. So why the surprise? Because the turnaround of those wines is probable quite small so they can sit there form year to year. The vast majority of restaurants would not keep them in their cellar, Too costly and they would keep or stock wines that sell as then need to make money on them. So the surprise is getting an award for stagnate bottles in a rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted July 28 #20 Share Posted July 28 @pete_coach Then again, some of us are just spoiled. https://www.greenbriarinn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/WineListJune2024.pdf Some of those wines probably haven't moved in years, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahasamatman Posted July 28 #21 Share Posted July 28 When I saw the subject line, I was sure someone came up with a website to parody Wine Spectator. That actually would have made a lot of sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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