Is there complimentary champagne on Azamara?

[joeinsb]

In all of the discussions about which wines and spirits are now complimentary on Azamara, I have seen no mention of champagne or other sparkling wines. Are glasses of champagne available at no charge under the new all-inclusive policy?

 

Also, with the complimentary red and white wines, is there just one choice of each available every day. In other words, if the white wine du jour is a chardonnay, and you are a firm believe in the ABCs of wine ("anything but chardonnay''), are you out of luck for that day?

[tgg]

In all of the discussions about which wines and spirits are now complimentary on Azamara, I have seen no mention of champagne or other sparkling wines. Are glasses of champagne available at no charge under the new all-inclusive policy?

 

Also, with the complimentary red and white wines, is there just one choice of each available every day. In other words, if the white wine du jour is a chardonnay, and you are a firm believe in the ABCs of wine ("anything but chardonnay''), are you out of luck for that day?

 

I'm not a champagne drinker so I can't answer the first part of your question. I've found that wines offered on previous days are available if you ask. My husband found one wine that he really liked and had it virtually every evening.

[marinaro44]

In all of the discussions about which wines and spirits are now complimentary on Azamara, I have seen no mention of champagne or other sparkling wines. Are glasses of champagne available at no charge under the new all-inclusive policy?

No sparkling wines are included, a very disappointing development. Also, no ports or sherries are included, and the only thing that can be considered an aperitif that's included is vermouth. This is a far cry from what is included on upmarket, luxury cruise lines.

[CintiPam]

We were given a lovely glass of champagne immediately upon embarkation in Barcelona last October.

 

One night the provided house wine was the worst wine I ever had tasted, from somewhere in South America, and they replaced it with a wine we had enjoyed earlier on the cruise, which they always maintain in stock.

[cruisinsince75]

Just got off of the Quest on Sunday. No champagne or sparkling wines are included. Received a bottle of Bouvet Sparkling Wine at embarkation as a gift from the Hotel Director. Suites got a bottle of Perrier Jouet.

 

The boutique wine selections I found to be quite good except for the Portuguese Red they served. I asked for the Chianti Classico Reserva and they were happy to switch it for me.

[tango9]

Thus far, they have not offered champagne for a choice at dinner or lunch, BUT I found that I was offered free champagne every day for some reason or other. If you are with the Captain's Club , you should have a bottle in your cabin when you arrive. I bring a stopper with me to keep it fresh. There seem to be multiple get togethers of many sorts, where champagne is offered free, along with other drinks. Go to the Future Cruise talk, the Captain's Party, etc. and you will be offered champagne:)

[Dr H]

As everyone has posted, no sparkling wines or Champagnes offered, no sherries or ports. IMHO this hardly distracts this line from being considered "a far cry from an upmarket, luxury cruise line."

 

This humble Azamara cheerleader, and champagne lover, suggests that if you really want your champagne, as I do, bring your own on board. You will have no restrictions. You will be paying much, much less in your local wine shop than you will on board (AZ does have a GREAT selection of champagnes for purchase, but they are very pricey), and you can decide what you want. Invest in a champagne stopper. Glasses, ice buckets are provided on demand. For the record, I traveled with 3 bottles from the US to Singapore in January, for our Indonesian adventure, but alas, the wines on board were so good, I never got the chance to open a single one. Same advice goes for the sherry and/or ports. I'm fussy about my martinis, especially about the vermouth. I bring my own - Noilly Pratt/French. Only Italian on board, which I personally don't care for.

 

The house wines: With few exceptions, they are excellent. A dud does come along now and then, as does something stellar. If there is a bottle of yesterday's cab, they will find it for you. Same with the Roses, you have to ask, but they are there, and they are lovely. I am not an "ABC" man when it comes to my whites. Harvey Steinman of WineSpectator may cringe (I doubt it), but personally, I love thick, over oaked, viscous, fruit bomb California chardonnays. If I want delicacy, there is always pinot grigio. My only complaint about the ship's chardonnays is that they seem to be mostly for the "ABC" crowd. Calera is/was available by the glass, are several others, if you so choose.

 

Enjoy yourselves. You need to worry about which champagnes to buy before hand, and how to stuff them into your luggage.

[joeinsb]

Thanks so much for all the useful answers to my questions about champagne and the complimentary wines.

 

I'm glad to know that wines can be substituted for what they are serving that day. Part of our objection to the heavy-oaked California chardonnays (we like the French ones and the California ones done in the French style) is that like the red wines from our state, many of them are way too high in alcohol for us. We feel the super high-alcohol wines overwhelm most dishes, so we try to limit our wines to no more than 13.5 percent alcohol. We feel they go much better with the foods we like, and they're certainly kinder to our livers.

 

I know people will say if a wine is higher in alcohol simply drink less of it, but we are used to having a certain amount of wine to last through the wonderful meals we have on Azamara.

 

Unfortunately many of the California wines are way over 14 percent and some are creeping up close to 16 percent. When you start checking the alcohol content on the labels, you'll be surprised at the range of percentages.

 

A California celler master we met on a cruise told us that the higher alcohol wines are designed to attract a younger crowd that's used to wines that pop. "We call it the Red Bull effect,'' he said. He added that boomers like us (I'm actually a tad older than the boomer generation, but my wife is in the first wave of that group) aren't going to drink any more than we already do, so the vintners feel they must change the style of their wines to the high-powered variety to attract younger customers. It's a trend we don't particularly like.

[marinaro44]

As everyone has posted, no sparkling wines or Champagnes offered, no sherries or ports. IMHO this hardly distracts this line from being considered "a far cry from an upmarket, luxury cruise line."

 

You need to read more carefully, Doc. I wrote that the spirit package on Azamara (no sparkling wines, no ports or sherries, no premium spirits, no real aperitifs) is "a far cry from an upmarket, luxury cruise line." And that's the truth, despite all the November hype from Azamara that tried to liken their spirit offering to "upmarket, luxury" cruise lines.

[Dr H]

Marinaro, no offense intended! One of the joys of internet blogging is being easily misinterpreted. Cheers.

 

David

[mauicruiser]

If the drinks package isn't upscale enough for you, why are you considering Azamara?

As multi cruisers on Azamara, we find the drink package fair and flexible. Plenty of occasions where champagne is passed I.e. Captain's welcome and farewell parties.