Reidel Wine Workshop

[pal4404]

Looking for information from anyone who has participated in this event. We will be on the Eclipse Christmas week and are considering registering. However it is unclear as it says $15.00 and up but to register is only the $15.00 plus tax and grats. Is there an additional charge once you meet with the sommelier

[Gonzo70]

Generally with wine tastings 15% is added to the fee (for gratuity) but there is no tax or additional fee other than what is listed. Of course if you opt to purchase the Riedel glasses that would be additional.

[kennelgang]

Looking for information from anyone who has participated in this event. We will be on the Eclipse Christmas week and are considering registering. However it is unclear as it says $15.00 and up but to register is only the $15.00 plus tax and grats. Is there an additional charge once you meet with the sommelier

 

We were on the Century last month and we had pre-registered and paid for the Riedel workshop. While on-board, and much to our disappointment, Celebrity informed us that they no longer provide a discount coupon for purchasing a set of Reider glasses, which to us was the whole point of the seminar. Consequently, we and many others on board cancel the seminar and got our money back as on board credit. I learned later that the Riedel factory was having problems producing the glasses.

 

The $15 charge is just for tasting. When you register on-line for the seminar the cost ends up being $17.24 (includes tax and gratuity). This cost is probably reasonable for just tasting, but when the seminar was being conducted on the Century I glance into the room there was only 2 couples tasting!! My guess is the lack of participation was caused by the "no coupon" issue.

 

When we returned home I purchased a set of Riedel glasses at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Unfortunately, paid retail. However, much to my amazement the glasses do enhance the wine!!!

[Blanco-Grande]

I purchased several sets when I was on Century, due to poor packaging by the company, several came broken, 3 years and I am still waiting for replacements, apparently the rep in US is a guy working out of the trunk of his car..I hope they read this...rip off

[pal4404]

Thanks for the input. Think I would rather spend $15.00 on a glass of wine. Been to many wine tastings and I would call them smells.

[cruise kitty]

Hi,

 

We did this a couple of weeks ago on the Equinox, found it entertaining & interesting. Lasted about 45 minutes, they would refill your glasses pretty much as much as you wished, & so many folks attended they had to hold it in the MDR, I'd say there were approx. 40 to 50 people. No free glasses, no coupons, still enjoyable.:)

[Sloop-JohnB]

Hi Pal4404,

 

Mr Sloop and I are HUGE Wine Lovers... and ever since signing up for our cruise back in June, we've been excited to try out this Riedel Wine Tasting.

 

And we for one are actually glad now that they are offering the whole thing at a much lower cost (think it used to be aprox $ 75 US per person)... and originally you got the glasses to go (not so practical for those of us who have to fly internationally home from a cruise)

 

The current pricing of $ 15 for this SPECIALTY SESSION with a Sommelier and I assume 4 Decent Wines is not really expensive at all.

 

I was on MY CELEBRITY yesterday and checking into what things we might pre-pay for (Specialty Dining - Excursions etc) and I checked out the Riedel Wine Tasting... in the "fine print" it now states that the Session costs $ 15 PLUS a Service / Cover Charge of an additional $ 5 (no mention of 15% Tip)... I am assuming that there is no tip, because this is an educational session... (and not a service directly... so no tip pool to deal with). I also assumed that the $ 5 was in lieu of said Tip.

 

Even at $ 20... In my opinion (one truly tinted by much wine education sessions over the years) this is a BARGAIN !! I have paid a lot more for a lot less all in the pursuit of wine knowledge (and some tasty grapes)

 

Hope this is helpful,

 

Cheers!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We did this on the Century a few years back - bought the glasses, and like them (got a good deal then).

 

I will say though that I have YET to attend a wine tasting onboard where they have given us any wines that I really enjoyed. A couple of recent ones left me thinking that they are really trying to get rid of wine they can't sell. They were THAT bad.

 

No more for us! ;)

 

Tom

[jgnova]

We did this on the Mercury in December 09. At that time it was about $80 per person. This got us about an hour in the MDR with a full tasting session. They set up 4 different glasses (click here for the set description) plus a regular (cheap) glass. We got to taste several types of wines in the appropriate Riedel glass, one or more of the "wrong" glasses, and the cheap glass. And yes, there was a difference. They gave you the choice to take with or gave a coupon to be redeemed on line for a set to be shipped at $15/set ($30 to Canada). They came very well packed. I've since bought other glasses in the series and they do make a difference. The Riedel packaging is excellent - I just had a box of two glasses delivered from Amazon and my wife said she could here the box land on the concrete from inside - but the glasses were fine.

 

I'm kind of surprised they dropped this event- although it does seem that Riedel must be having problems as several styles are shown as out of stock on their site.

 

Not sure what =X= is still doing, but we also did 3 other wine tasting events:

 

1. a session where they paired different wines with foods to see how they complemented (or didn't) each other

 

2. A session with the same wines from different countries

 

3. An out-of-this-world dinner (about $100/person) with special foods and a very nice wine paired with each course.

 

jg

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

... We got to taste several types of wines in the appropriate Riedel glass, one or more of the "wrong" glasses, and the cheap glass. And yes, there was a difference.

...

 

 

I was skeptical of that claim as well - but left that tasting "a believer"!!

 

 

...

3. An out-of-this-world dinner (about $100/person) with special foods and a very nice wine paired with each course.

 

jg

 

We enjoyed the following meal on the Constellation (Thanksgiving 2008). It was about $125 --- and probably the best meal we have had on Celebrity!

 

 

 

 

Tom

[jgnova]

Guess I should have provided more info. Sorry. See the link for the review in our sig for more detailed descriptions of the activities. And then click on the links below for:

 

Pix of the food and tastings

Wine dinner menu

 

jg

[HappyTvlr]

I paid $87 per person for this on an upcoming cruise so I want to give a big thank you for the information. I visited the website and see that it is now $15. I was able to cancel and get a full refund. I'm not happy that we were not notified of the change, and I just wonder what a nightmare it would have been to get a refund later. I will, however, consider paying the $15 because I have participated in a similar workshop and it is shocking what a difference a glass makes. My husband and I even recreated the experience with friends because you really have to experience it to believe it. So if you are a wine drinker, consider the $15 worth it to experience the difference.

[mpbmark]

On my upcoming cruise in May, if I try to book, I get charged $87 per person. Not seeing anything about $15. :( There was a long thread several months ago about how the price was being reduced due to the shortage of glasses. My price never changed.

 

I suppose it is possible X thinks Reidel will have its act together by next year and the program will be as it was several years ago. Hope so, as I'm looking forward to the tasting and the glasses. ;)

[jgnova]

On the 2009 cruise, we were told that if you bought it from your MDR sommelier, all wine for the cruise would be served in Riedel glasses.

[mpbmark]

On the 2009 cruise, we were told that if you bought it from your MDR sommelier, all wine for the cruise would be served in Riedel glasses.

 

Did that happen???

[jgnova]

Did that happen???

 

Nope - but we signed up for the tasting thing before the cruise so our sommelier didn't get the percentage. I think it did happen for others. Probably would have spoiled us and I would have ordered the Port and Syrah/Shiraz/Malbec glasses sooner. :) But I was able to develop a good relationship with the sommelier, cellar master (mistress?), and maître d' - which got us to the otherwise unannounced wine dinner and Steak Diane for dinner another night.

 

jg

[Fcosti]

We paid 85$ for this workshop for our upcoming cruise. Shall we rebook at 15$ as it is obvious we won't get the glasses.

[mpbmark]

Nope - but we signed up for the tasting thing before the cruise so our sommelier didn't get the percentage. I think it did happen for others. Probably would have spoiled us and I would have ordered the Port and Syrah/Shiraz/Malbec glasses sooner. :) But I was able to develop a good relationship with the sommelier, cellar master (mistress?), and maître d' - which got us to the otherwise unannounced wine dinner and Steak Diane for dinner another night.

 

jg

 

That's really cool :cool: So it sounds like the best thing is to wait until we are on board and then book thru the sommelier. That's doable. Thanks.:)

[coldweathergirl]

We're sailing in January and from reading all these posts I thought this might be a great thing to participate in. When I went online to book it, the price comes up to over $90.00 CAD pp and it doesn't say anything about getting to keep the glasses. I think I'll wait until I'm on board to see about this because if it is that price just to sample some wine and not get the glasses I think I'll opt out. :(

[FrankinPA]

We're sailing in January and from reading all these posts I thought this might be a great thing to participate in. When I went online to book it, the price comes up to over $90.00 CAD pp and it doesn't say anything about getting to keep the glasses. I think I'll wait until I'm on board to see about this because if it is that price just to sample some wine and not get the glasses I think I'll opt out. :(

 

I would suggest that you call Celebrity customer service and ask about this event and the pricing. It could be that by January, the glasses will become available and your price would include them. But for the last few months, the price was dropped to $15 plus tip for the tasting only - no glasses. For a long time, Celebrity had a very misleading web statement which said the price was $15 plus tip and that included the glasses. They corrected that eventually and have not been including the glasses. But they may be returning to that prior practice and only CS would know. The web site is worthless, IMO.

[USVI-4-me]

I purchased several sets when I was on Century, due to poor packaging by the company, several came broken, 3 years and I am still waiting for replacements, apparently the rep in US is a guy working out of the trunk of his car..I hope they read this...rip off

 

 

I'm sorry to read several arrived broken.

 

Perhaps you will buy replacements at Target or SteinMart.

 

They have a nice selection or Reidel.

 

I put mine in the dishwasher. No problem.

 

Maris

[Jade13]

We were on the Century last month

The $15 charge is just for tasting. When you register on-line for the seminar the cost ends up being $17.24 (includes tax and gratuity). This cost is probably reasonable for just tasting, but when the seminar was being conducted on the Century I glance into the room there was only 2 couples tasting!! My guess is the lack of participation was caused by the "no coupon" issue.

 

quote]

 

 

I don't think so. I did the class last year on Century and it included the glasses. Still, there were only 2 or 3 couples registered. To me the benefit was being able to have my wine in Reidel glases each night since I had taken the class. It does not sound like that is offered any longer.

[cruisecatmama]

Guess I should have provided more info. Sorry. See the link for the review in our sig for more detailed descriptions of the activities. And then click on the links below for:

 

Pix of the food and tastings

Wine dinner menu

 

jg

 

That is the exact same menu/wine pairing dinner we had on our Mercury May 2010 cruise! We had a different chef, cellar master and restaurant manager than yours... Excellent meal, especially the ceviche, mushroom soup and the steak... :D

 

I preordered the Riedel workshop, the cellar master and I struck up a friendship on a previous cruise so we had the Riedels every night, even if only ordering wine by the glass... We use the Riedel glasses every night, makes a less expensive wine taste better! ;)

[Christine Frances]

I spoke with Captain's Club and they verified that there was a problem with the supply of the glasses. They assured me that the full workshop (including the glasses) would be available on our upcoming Infinity cruise. Apparently going forward from Dec everything is back to normal.:D

[elena7seas]

We were on the Century last month

The $15 charge is just for tasting. When you register on-line for the seminar the cost ends up being $17.24 (includes tax and gratuity). This cost is probably reasonable for just tasting, but when the seminar was being conducted on the Century I glance into the room there was only 2 couples tasting!! My guess is the lack of participation was caused by the "no coupon" issue.

 

quote]

 

 

I don't think so. I did the class last year on Century and it included the glasses. Still, there were only 2 or 3 couples registered. To me the benefit was being able to have my wine in Reidel glases each night since I had taken the class. It does not sound like that is offered any longer.

 

It is a shame if having the Reidel glasses at dinner is no longer offered when you take the class. It was something we really enjoyed. On our last cruise in Aquaclass, we asked for and received Reidel glasses with our dinners in Blu. (We were also enjoying some very nice wines on that particular trip.) These are the kinds of details that make me LOVE Celebrity.

 

We took the Reidel wine-tasting class in November 2009 and thoroughly enjoyed it. It DOES make a difference to the taste of the wine depending on the design and composition of the glass. There were about 45 people at the tasting, and virtually everyone agreed that the glasses made a difference.

 

At that time the cost of the class was $87 and included 4 varietal Vinum series (crystal) wine glasses. We are from Canada and chose to avoid the $30 shipping charge and carried the wine glasses onboard the airplanes with us. No problem as the glasses are excellently packed. They are suspended in a cardboard "sling", within two separate cardboard boxes.

 

People should note that the Reidel glasses you get in Target, Walmart, Costco etc. are rarely the Vinum or better series (crystal) that we received on the ship. For my "bulk" wineglasses for parties, etc. I use Nachtmann or Speigelau (divisions of Reidel) or the "competitive" brands of Reidel (non-crystal) that are available at the discount stores. Here in Vancouver I get them at Homesense at very competitive prices. We always lose a few glasses at every party :p.

 

For anyone who prepays for the class at $87....I wouldn't worry....if Reidel is unable to provide the glasses, there will be no problem in having the money credited back to you, either to your credit card account, or as OBC, whichever you prefer. I have never had any problems with refunds, through Guest Relations, on any Celebrity cruise.