Wine Lunch

[flossie009]

Today’s Spanish wine lunch on Voyager was excellent. Delicious food paired with a variety of wines from Spain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Sorry, no picture of the dessert; similar to a crème brûlée)

[snorklelover]

A few questions about the Wine Lunch. Is there one on every cruise and if so how can find out the information ( date and time) prior to sailing ? What do they usually run and can you use shipboard credits to pay for them?

[Kane]

When you board the ship, you are normally sent to La Veranda for lunch.  The bar crew offers specials at this time.  They usually have 3 offers:

 

• The wine lunch which is excellent, normally about $160 on a sea day
• A Champaign lunch, normally over $200
• Sometimes a Cognac tasting ~ $90

 

The best value is the wine lunch.  These items do occasionally sell-out.

 

Edit: yes, you can use shipboard credits to pay

Edited July 31 by Kane

[Hambagahle]

Just as well you can use your shipboad credits to pay.  That is a LOT of money for a "Wine pairing lunch"...

[DeepFreeze63]

No, not every cruise - "on select voyages" per the "Luxury Goes Cruising" blog on the Regent website. Have only seen it on sea days. Cost quoted (today on Regent website) at $169 p.p. Yes can use SBC. Very worthwhile! Tell Maitre de at any ship restaurant of your interest and someone will contact you. Of course, it'll be announced in an early issue of Passages.

Be forewarned, this event will be cancelled if not enough interest.

[flossie009]

Today’s lunch in Chartreuse was offered as part of the “Spotlight on Wine” programme on this cruise.

It was priced at $80pp; shipboard credit could be used.

 

There is an “Exclusive Wine Dinner” in a couple of days priced at $450pp 😮
 

 

[irishwitchy]

33 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Today’s lunch in Chartreuse was offered as part of the “Spotlight on Wine” programme on this cruise.

It was priced at $80pp; shipboard credit could be used.

 

There is an “Exclusive Wine Dinner” in a couple of days priced at $450pp 😮
 

 

Thank you for the pricing details,  it didn’t look quite up to par with my previously wine luncheon expectations.   I would love to see the details of the exclusive wine dinner!  

[flossie009]

13 hours ago, irishwitchy said:

I would love to see the details of the exclusive wine dinner!  

 

Still spaces available, if you can arrange to join the ship in Spain by tomorrow evening  😉
 

[mj_holiday]

We did the cognac tasting on our last cruise.  It was on a lark, but was very nice.  We learned alot and were treated to some nice Hennessy cognac.

[GMIAC]

We did the wine lunch on Grandeur in April. We weren't impressed with the food, as it all seemed to be re-heated stuff from the previous wine lunch. Very disappointing. The wines were good, but nothing special. We came away from it disappointed that we ate up two hours of a beloved sea day doing this.

 

If you're interested in one of these, ask a Sommelier early on in the sailing, in any restaurant, and they'll sign you up. Onboard credits can be used for this.

[toseaornottosea]

$450 per person sounds like a bargain...NOT.  Ridiculous pricing.

[cAPS lOCK oN]

1 hour ago, toseaornottosea said:

$450 per person sounds like a bargain...NOT.  Ridiculous pricing.

It's not a price I would pay but Napa Valley Reserve wines are about the most exclusive wines produced in the US. They are almost impossible to get your hands on.

[Whinenowine]

8 hours ago, cAPS lOCK oN said:

It's not a price I would pay but Napa Valley Reserve wines are about the most exclusive wines produced in the US. They are almost impossible to get your hands on.

No doubt....now if Bill Harlan were there and the Harlan Estate cabs were being poured, I'd be more likely to drop $900 on a lunch (snob that I am). 😉

 

[flossie009]

Is the wine that good to warrant $450 for 5 glasses of wine ? ………….. or is it a case of “emperor’s new clothes” ?

 

We will not be investing $900 tonight to find out, but might take a sneak peak into Chartreuse to see how many do 😉

[GOARMY]

Have done two Wine Lunches and one Wine Dinner.  Had a surfeit of OBCs to use up. 

 

Been there; done that; got the menus.

 

Regent does not seem to have an issue booking these up to capacity.  Constant reminders in "Passages" does the job.    

 

No sour grapes [sorry!] as to wine selections.  Attentive service and explanation(s) as to what wine--or champaign--was being paired with a particular course. Not high on our repeat list--at this point.

 

GOARMY!

 

.  

[HappyTvlr]

18 hours ago, GOARMY said:

Have done two Wine Lunches and one Wine Dinner.  Had a surfeit of OBCs to use up. 

 

Been there; done that; got the menus.

 

Regent does not seem to have an issue booking these up to capacity.  Constant reminders in "Passages" does the job.    

 

No sour grapes [sorry!] as to wine selections.  Attentive service and explanation(s) as to what wine--or champaign--was being paired with a particular course. Not high on our repeat list--at this point.

 

GOARMY!

 

.  

How were the pours at the dinner, and were they willing to top up?

[GOARMY]

Happy:

 

Yes. 

 

Everyone was "happy" during that dinner; and at those lunches. 

 

GOARMY!

  

Edited August 3 by GOARMY
Edit.

[HappyTvlr]

1 hour ago, GOARMY said:

Happy:

 

Yes. 

 

Everyone was "happy" during that dinner; and at those lunches. 

 

GOARMY!

  

Thanks! Same was true at the lunch I attended on my first cruise on Grandeur.  I'll keep an eye out for the dinner on future cruises.  Unlikely I'll see it on my upcoming holiday cruise on Navigator, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[GOARMY]

Happy:  

 

Actually--our Wine Dinner event was on Navigator. June, 2023.  

 

Montreal to NYC. Second leg of a B/t/B. Our seating was in the Card Room with 10-12 others.   "Oversubscribed", so they set up another location "next door" for about the same number of guests.  

 

Received good reviews.  

 

This was fairly new for Regent, at that time.  Believe second occasion for a special Wine Dinner on any Regent ship, and a first for Navigator.  

 

Have not been back on Navigator since.  

 

Suggest you inquire through your TA--or directly w/Regent as to possibility of this being offered on your segment.  If no definitive answer (and, I would not expect one before you board), ask the Sommelier or Matre'd. during your first day aboard, as suggested above.

 

My-oh-my.  Has the price escalated!  Or, as the old SNL "Weekend Update" Commentators opined--"Really!  Really?.  Total for the two of us was around $425.00. 

 

Supply and demand, again.  If Regent can fill the space, it will charge the freight.     

 

GOARMY!

 

 

[katykrol]

This is related to the wine lunch comments. In December 2022 we were on the splendor and they had a complimentary wine tasting of some of the included wines. We did not participate because it was at 10:00 in the am. I had seen this event mentioned a couple of times in CC. Fast forward to march 2024. We were on the grandeur and when I inquired about it, none of the staff seemed to know what’s was talking about and I didn’t see it advertised. 
 

was I just imagining this event or did Regent stop offering ? Thanks for any replies 

 

 

 

 

 

[loriva]

31 minutes ago, katykrol said:

This is related to the wine lunch comments. In December 2022 we were on the splendor and they had a complimentary wine tasting of some of the included wines. We did not participate because it was at 10:00 in the am. I had seen this event mentioned a couple of times in CC. Fast forward to march 2024. We were on the grandeur and when I inquired about it, none of the staff seemed to know what’s was talking about and I didn’t see it advertised. 
 

was I just imagining this event or did Regent stop offering ? Thanks for any replies 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was one on Explorer in January of this year.  Held in the atrium on the same level as the MDR.

[pingpong1]

43 minutes ago, katykrol said:

This is related to the wine lunch comments. In December 2022 we were on the splendor and they had a complimentary wine tasting of some of the included wines. We did not participate because it was at 10:00 in the am. I had seen this event mentioned a couple of times in CC. Fast forward to march 2024. We were on the grandeur and when I inquired about it, none of the staff seemed to know what’s was talking about and I didn’t see it advertised. 
 

was I just imagining this event or did Regent stop offering ? Thanks for any replies 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps another example of subtle/under-the-radar "corporate cost cutting"?  The sum of many small and little-noticed saving can probably add up to rather large savings fleet-wide over time. 

[mj_holiday]

We were on Explorer April 2024, there was a wine tasting in the Atrium one morning of included wines.  It was like the first sea day.

[minotaur]

1 hour ago, mj_holiday said:

We were on Explorer April 2024, there was a wine tasting in the Atrium one morning of included wines.  It was like the first sea day.

Same on Voyager March 2024. No charge.

[HappyTvlr]

4 hours ago, katykrol said:

This is related to the wine lunch comments. In December 2022 we were on the splendor and they had a complimentary wine tasting of some of the included wines. We did not participate because it was at 10:00 in the am. I had seen this event mentioned a couple of times in CC. Fast forward to march 2024. We were on the grandeur and when I inquired about it, none of the staff seemed to know what’s was talking about and I didn’t see it advertised. 
 

was I just imagining this event or did Regent stop offering ? Thanks for any replies 

 

 

 

 

 

It was on the first sea day on Grandeur in March 2024.