Michael's Summit - Beer Question

[wendycook22]

Question to my fellow cruisers....

 

We sailed on the Summit December 2013. My husband enjoyed trying the various selection of beer offered at Micheals. I have since read on another thread, that this bar has been turned into a suites only area. Do any other bars on the ship offer an extensive beer selection, or has another bar picked up this trait of carrying an extensive beer selection?

 

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to cruising again November 21st 2015!!

[sm3388]

I second this question!!

[Viva_la_Vida]

Just off the Summit on June 8th and from what we experienced, the only place where any kind of specialty beer appeared on the menu was at Cellar Masters. Maybe some at Revelations as well, but nothing like the menu used to be. Also, the bartender at Cellar Masters seemed very resentful of beer questions or discussing anything about what used to be on the Michael's menu. He would reply "this is a wine bar". :( I mean, duh, I know it's a wine bar, but it's not my fault that I like beer and X put the left overs from Michales in your bar! P.S. we walked by Michael's Club several times per day and I never saw a single person inside it aside from a staff member once. My husband said the same when he would walk by.

[Wine-O]

You can forget about getting any specialty beers on Summit. I just got off the 1 June cruise and looked for it at every bar. They discontinued the beer thingy as it just didn't work out for them.

 

Other than the basic American beers, you can get Becks, Stella, Heineken, Amstel Light, Boddingtons, Guinness cans, and maybe a Carlsberg if you ask them to look really hard in the back room. :rolleyes:

Edited June 12, 2014 by Wine-O

[Xfedcruiser]

We cruised the Summit in May. As a lover of IPA's, I was happy to see Dogfish Head 90 available in several places - the grill by the pool, in the buffet area where they serve the fresh squeezed OJ in the morning and beer and wine later in the day, and probably other places. Granted, they don't offer everything they did before, but I didn't need everything. I was happy for the Dogfish Head 90.

[Wine-O]

We cruised the Summit in May. As a lover of IPA's, I was happy to see Dogfish Head 90 available in several places - the grill by the pool, in the buffet area where they serve the fresh squeezed OJ in the morning and beer and wine later in the day, and probably other places. Granted, they don't offer everything they did before, but I didn't need everything. I was happy for the Dogfish Head 90.

 

They're all gone. I think I had the last one in the Rendezvous Lounge. :) There was another one on their table menu that they have run out of also, and they don't plan to replenish.

[Iamcruzin]

Just off the Summit on June 8th and from what we experienced, the only place where any kind of specialty beer appeared on the menu was at Cellar Masters. Maybe some at Revelations as well, but nothing like the menu used to be. Also, the bartender at Cellar Masters seemed very resentful of beer questions or discussing anything about what used to be on the Michael's menu. He would reply "this is a wine bar". :( I mean, duh, I know it's a wine bar, but it's not my fault that I like beer and X put the left overs from Michales in your bar! P.S. we walked by Michael's Club several times per day and I never saw a single person inside it aside from a staff member once. My husband said the same when he would walk by.

There was never anyone in Michael's when I sailed on the Summit last year when it was available to every one on board. I can't imagine that the bar would be hopping now that only a select few have access to it. No matter how you cut it, it's just a waste of space. Come to think of it many times we were the only ones in Cellar Masters and we only went there because the Martini bar was always packed.

[RJM1017]

Count me in the disappointed camp. I was looking forward to Michaels, but understand CC feels they need to continue evolving. That said, it isn't hard to stock a couple of nicer beers in a couple of bars to take care of their craft beer drinking passengers. If Heineken is going to be the best they have, I'll be using my premium drink plan to drink single malts, which cost more than a craft beer, but will be covered.

 

And it sounds like someone needs to have a little chat with the Cellar Masters bartender. A bad attitude makes for a bad customer experience, which I'm sure that CC wants to avoid.

 

Speaking of Cellarmasters, I read somewhere it was being phased out or at least overhauled. Does anyone have a timeline for this? If CM is being replaced, with what?

 

Thx.

[cruisestitch]

Do a search of this board for "gastropub" and you'll see menus and photos

[Wine-O]

 

Speaking of Cellarmasters, I read somewhere it was being phased out or at least overhauled. Does anyone have a timeline for this? If CM is being replaced, with what?

 

Thx.

 

I read somewhere that they were phasing out the wine dispensing machines. I know they still had them on Constellation and Summit very recently.

[WestLakeGirl]

Yes the contract for the enomatic machines wasn't renewed and they are on their way out

[Iamcruzin]

Delete

Edited June 13, 2014 by Iamcruzin

[Iamcruzin]

If Heineken is going to be the best they have, I'll be using my premium drink plan to drink single malts, which cost more than a craft beer, but will be covered.

 

 

Beer is my go to beverage on a cruise when I'm on a budget. If I have the premium package beer never passes my lips. I will only drink the premium brands of liquor and perhaps others feel the same way which would explain why Michaels failed.

 

 

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[pichjoe]

Just off on June 8th, they also had specialty beers available at night in the Oceanview Cafe where they served the fresh OJIBWA in the morning. They had about 8 different international beers, the bar server said they were seeing which ones would more to decide the ones they would continue.

 

 

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[junetraveler2014]

There was never anyone in Michael's when I sailed on the Summit last year when it was available to every one on board. I can't imagine that the bar would be hopping now that only a select few have access to it. No matter how you cut it, it's just a waste of space. Come to think of it many times we were the only ones in Cellar Masters and we only went there because the Martini bar was always packed.

 

Not to get off the op's original question (Which Wine-o has answered correctly) I spent every day in Michael's, wonderful place to read, play card games, bridge, canaster and watch sports. We also played marjon (can not remember spelling). The attendants always put a bowl of munchies out and were never intrusive. Ceasar the concierge, was absolutely wonderful with making arrangements to our liking and the bartenders would go out of their way to get us specialty drinks without us waiting at the specialty bars. Beer was disappointing as my husband also liked the many choices before. But unless you have experienced the club, IMHO you should not bash it! We were there and considered it a wonderful perk for suites!:rolleyes:

[cle-guy]

Just off the Summit on June 8th and from what we experienced, the only place where any kind of specialty beer appeared on the menu was at Cellar Masters. Maybe some at Revelations as well, but nothing like the menu used to be. Also, the bartender at Cellar Masters seemed very resentful of beer questions or discussing anything about what used to be on the Michael's menu. He would reply "this is a wine bar". :( I mean, duh, I know it's a wine bar, but it's not my fault that I like beer and X put the left overs from Michales in your bar! P.S. we walked by Michael's Club several times per day and I never saw a single person inside it aside from a staff member once. My husband said the same when he would walk by.

 

Same to me on my May 25th cruise. Cellar was dead always, and I wanted a decent beer, Dmitry was his name.....I asked for beer menu, he sniffed and said "we serve wine here, not beer" so I just got a wine. He did give me the menu though, and I was fine with wine, he convinced me to try the Normandie Connoseur wine pairing diner, which I,m glad I did, it was a lot of fun, food average, guests great, and wines fantastic.

 

I do appreciate he's a formal sommelier and that serving beer is a punch in the face, as I have a friend who studied for years to get her certification, me and Dmitry discussed the training and process, he is very proud of his knowledge with wines, so I didn't hold it against him so much as feel sorry for him and the new path his job is taking.

[Wine-O]

Not to get off the op's original question (Which Wine-o has answered correctly) I spent every day in Michael's, wonderful place to read, play card games, bridge, canaster and watch sports. We also played marjon (can not remember spelling). The attendants always put a bowl of munchies out and were never intrusive. Ceasar the concierge, was absolutely wonderful with making arrangements to our liking and the bartenders would go out of their way to get us specialty drinks without us waiting at the specialty bars. Beer was disappointing as my husband also liked the many choices before. But unless you have experienced the club, IMHO you should not bash it! We were there and considered it a wonderful perk for suites!:rolleyes:

 

I don't think anyone has any intention of bashing the perk. You paid for it, and you deserve it. Some folks were just disappointed they took away the beer pub, and I sure liked it as a lounge/piano bar for after dinner.

[Iamcruzin]

Not to get off the op's original question (Which Wine-o has answered correctly) I spent every day in Michael's, wonderful place to read, play card games, bridge, canaster and watch sports. We also played marjon (can not remember spelling). The attendants always put a bowl of munchies out and were never intrusive. Ceasar the concierge, was absolutely wonderful with making arrangements to our liking and the bartenders would go out of their way to get us specialty drinks without us waiting at the specialty bars. Beer was disappointing as my husband also liked the many choices before. But unless you have experienced the club, IMHO you should not bash it! We were there and considered it a wonderful perk for suites!:rolleyes:

 

 

Not bashing it as a perk for suites. Just commenting that it was under utilized when offered to the general public. I'm glad you made good use of it and enjoyed your time. Did you find that the other suite guest used the venue. Last year my wife and I along with another couple stopped in after a show for a drink. Since my name is Michael and my friend who we were traveling with was also Michael we kind of felt obligated to have a drink there. We were the only two couples there. The A Capella group sang while we were there so we kind of had a private show for the four of us. We never went back after that.

 

 

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[monicajay]

Not to get off the op's original question (Which Wine-o has answered correctly) I spent every day in Michael's, wonderful place to read, play card games, bridge, canaster and watch sports. We also played marjon (can not remember spelling). The attendants always put a bowl of munchies out and were never intrusive. Ceasar the concierge, was absolutely wonderful with making arrangements to our liking and the bartenders would go out of their way to get us specialty drinks without us waiting at the specialty bars. Beer was disappointing as my husband also liked the many choices before. But unless you have experienced the club, IMHO you should not bash it! We were there and considered it a wonderful perk for suites!:rolleyes:

 

Enjoy your suite perks. I just would like to have a good choice of beers.

 

I have read on other posts that since Michael's became the suite lounge it is even quieter than before. Maybe they could have found another location for you.

[WestLakeGirl]

Many wish that a different location could have been found but there just aren't that many options on a ship. It's hard to imagine where else they could have put it

[WALKER1313]

not withstanding the beverage packages, I would never go on a cruise to drink quality beers or wines. The varying temperatures of the traveling ship, even under some temperature control, don't seem congruent with preserving wine or beer.

 

Michael's club was once a cigar lounge, now it's a Suite and Zenith Lounge, in 10 years it will be a video game lounge. Things will change with the demographics.

 

This only "relates" to the OP's questions. Sorry.

[surus]

Cellar Masters was our favorite bar on our June Summit cruise. We enjoyed Dimitri and his stories about his grandmother. There were a few times when every bar stool was occupied plus a few of the comfortable chairs and couches. Other times it was just us and one or two others. A few people asked about beer and Dimitri would hand them the menu. We didn't look at the beer menu as we prefer wine. I am sorry to hear Cellar Masters is being fazed out in favor of a gastropub. We don't book suites so can't us Michael's Club. Where to go to have a nice glass of wine or single malt in an upscale atmosphere? We are on Silhouette in September.

[wendycook22]

Thanks everyone for the response. My husband can't really drink liquor (usually results in headaches), and therefore drinks beer for the most part. He likes to have options, and enjoyed the idea of Micheals, he will just have to enjoy what is available at the bars. I am sure he will make out just fine.

 

Thanks everyone!

[cle-guy]

Cellar Masters was our favorite bar on our June Summit cruise. We enjoyed Dimitri and his stories about his grandmother. There were a few times when every bar stool was occupied plus a few of the comfortable chairs and couches. Other times it was just us and one or two others. A few people asked about beer and Dimitri would hand them the menu. We didn't look at the beer menu as we prefer wine. I am sorry to hear Cellar Masters is being fazed out in favor of a gastropub. We don't book suites so can't us Michael's Club. Where to go to have a nice glass of wine or single malt in an upscale atmosphere? We are on Silhouette in September.

 

Ensemble Lounge would probably work - I call it the "Specialty Dining": waiting room ;-)