Sharing wine with tablemates?

[thefourohfive]

Howdy again,

 

One more question...well, actually two questions:

 

1) While not a "wine snob", my wife and I do enjoy wine and have some nice bottles we're considering bring with us (stashed in luggage...and we'll pay the corkage). The question is are we expected to share this wine with our tablemates? I'm happy to share, but in all honesty it will determine which bottles I bring from our stash :p

 

2) I've read that one can get a decent bottle of wine on Celebrity in the $25-$45 range? Does anyone know if this is true (and hey! anyone know where I can find a link to a wine list?). If this price range is true, then I may reconsider bringing my own wine. Bringing my own bottles + paying the corkage is not a savings, etc etc.

 

Any advice is so greatly appreciated.

 

T-Minus 24 hours till departure! Can't wait for the first cruise!

[JimnKaren]

As to the sharing thing. A lot has to do with your fellow diners. They might not drink wine at all or they might want their own choice of wine, in which case it is nice to offer a "taste" but it is your wine, you get to drink it.

 

We sailed on Constellation and Summit in 2004 and found some "value" priced wines that had a great taste. Some were familiar names and some were not. We had a great "wine guy" who assisted superbly!

 

Jim

[Leela]

You're not expected to share. Also, if the wine steward is good and swaps out your glasses for the right kind based on the wine you are drinking, then he or she will only bring glasses for you and the person you are travelling with, not for the whole table. Unless you ask him to bring glasses for everyone, of course.

[cruiseyguy]

The tension is often palatable when someone first orders a bottle of wine at a large table, followed by sighs of relief when he/she doesn't offer to share it.

[canderson]

Howdy again,

 

One more question...well, actually two questions:

 

1) While not a "wine snob", my wife and I do enjoy wine and have some nice bottles we're considering bring with us (stashed in luggage...and we'll pay the corkage). The question is are we expected to share this wine with our tablemates? I'm happy to share, but in all honesty it will determine which bottles I bring from our stash :p

 

2) I've read that one can get a decent bottle of wine on Celebrity in the $25-$45 range? Does anyone know if this is true (and hey! anyone know where I can find a link to a wine list?). If this price range is true, then I may reconsider bringing my own wine. Bringing my own bottles + paying the corkage is not a savings, etc etc.

 

Any advice is so greatly appreciated.

 

T-Minus 24 hours till departure! Can't wait for the first cruise!

I won't have the new wine list (just changed about 2 weeks ago) scanned for a while, so can't help you there. But indeed, there are bottles in the $25~$45 range that you might want to consider. As an example, the La Crema Chardonnay goes for $34, Cakebread's Sauvignon Blanc goes for $42. The Carneros Pinot Noir is a bit higher at $57. I didn't have a chance to try the La Crema Pinot this time around, but it goes for $38.

 

If you're looking for a Cabernet, I'd go the extra and order up the Jordan. Not cheap at $91, but good.

 

On the whole, you can expect to pay around 2X of typical retail on the ship.

 

As to the sharing -- that is always interesting. We always bring wine with us, and so far, have had good results with tablemates in this regard. It's one of those areas where you really have to play it by ear. It's not likely they'll be offended if you share a bottle between the two of you, and at the same time, we've had others reciprocate with some nice selections from the ship when we've shared. There's no hard and fast rule for this, and of course, it depends a LOT on the size of the table and the preferences of your tablemates. At a table for 8, sharing a bottle isn't very practical to begin with.

[flagger]

Why would you? Do you share your tequila shots or Martinis?

[canderson]

Why would you? Do you share your tequila shots or Martinis?

Flagger -- you do have your own rather unique set of values for social interaction, don't you? Have you ever bought someone a drink?

 

I doubt they'll be sharing the same wine glass, so the analogy you provided doesn't seem entirely appropriate.

 

Suffice it to say that it isn't unusual for this sort of event to occur in normal company aboard ship, and does require a decision to be made at some point. Unless a decision is made in advance, how it's handled depends entirely upon the circumstances of the moment, and requires a bit of tact/finesse to come up with the best solution each time.

[flagger]

Flagger -- you do have your own rather unique set of values for social interaction, don't you? Have you ever bought someone a drink?

Never. It is just something I don't understand about wine and I will admit my ignorance in that area. Beer, wine, and hard liquor are all delivery fluids for alcohol. I never understood this prohibition on wine yet on beer and booze, yet the ok for wine (with a corkage fee). And yes I know quite a few who drink a sippin' whiskey. So no I cannot see any reason for sharing a bottle of wine.

 

I no longer drink, btw.

[excitedofharpenden]

Howdy again,

 

One more question...well, actually two questions:

 

1) While not a "wine snob", my wife and I do enjoy wine and have some nice bottles we're considering bring with us (stashed in luggage...and we'll pay the corkage). The question is are we expected to share this wine with our tablemates? I'm happy to share, but in all honesty it will determine which bottles I bring from our stash :p

 

2) I've read that one can get a decent bottle of wine on Celebrity in the $25-$45 range? Does anyone know if this is true (and hey! anyone know where I can find a link to a wine list?). If this price range is true, then I may reconsider bringing my own wine. Bringing my own bottles + paying the corkage is not a savings, etc etc.

 

Any advice is so greatly appreciated.

 

T-Minus 24 hours till departure! Can't wait for the first cruise!

Absolutely and entirely up to you and how you feel. I have shared wine and kept it between two of us. If you hit it off with your tablemates you may very well want to share. You may of course get people who don't drink at all. Work out how you feel when you are on the ship.

 

Have a great first cruise!:)

 

Phil

[newtocc]

I don't even share with the Wifester,

you want some wine, get your own,

this is mine, mine, mine, leave me alone!

[Danno]

Never... So no I cannot see any reason for sharing a bottle of wine.

 

 

Really...wow...I never saw that coming ;) .

[bububr]

I tend to share once I get to know and like someone.

 

But sharing beverages or not is discretionary. If a tablemate buys a bottle, I do not expect them to share, and even if they offer I tend to politely say no.

 

On the other hand, the trips I take for my Anniversary, or in the case where my partner hit the progressive jackpot (5400.00), we buy champaign and offer it to all of the tablemates as well as sharing the standard anniversary cake.

 

Some people feel uncomfortable if they are offered something by someone they just met, its most likely the feeling that they HAVE to reciprocate and may not be able to afford it.

 

Play it by ear.

 

Dave:eek:

[slotaddict]

I do not see the need to share or feel obligated to do so. As one of the other posters said the wine glasses are brought to the person who orders the wine. And in return I do not expect or feel insulted if someone else at my table has wine and does not offer to share it.

[SS Cruise Lady]

If someone sends a bottle of wine to our cabin as a "bon voyage" present and we bring it to the dining room, we always offer it to everyone at our table.

[Longboysfan]

I don't even share with the Wifester,

you want some wine, get your own,

this is mine, mine, mine, leave me alone!

 

Then it was you sitting at my table a few cruises ago.

[SS Cruise Lady]

I don't even share with the Wifester,

you want some wine, get your own,

this is mine, mine, mine, leave me alone!

 

Of course you don't because your wife is as real as the cruises you post about.

[BrooklynGirl2]

On our last cruise my dh and I brought 3 bottles of wine to drink in the dining room (paying corkage). These were older special bottles. Anyway, turns out we were seated with only one single gentlemen so we offered him some of our wine. He accepted and we found out he really enjoys wine also. It all turned out great as we all got along well and he shared our 3 bottles with us and he purchased 3 bottles for us to share with him. We even shared with our wine steward and saved some of a special bottle for our waiter to enjoy once off duty.

 

It's difficult to have hard and fast rules about this type of thing (unless you feel as strongly about NOT sharing as Flagger). I agree it's best to play it by ear after assessing your table situation. If you are at a large table it's really not practical to share. However it turns out have a wonderful cruise!:)

[usha]

Whenever we're at Newt's table, we always share our wine with Mrs. Newt. We always feel sorry for the poor thing, because, as you know, Newt keeps all his alcohol to himself.;)

[Lsimon]

With a couple exceptions we've not shared in the past. We enjoy larger tables and, as someone pointed out, a bottle of wine doesn't go very far between 6 or 8.

 

Now on our last cruise we dined with cruise friends from a prior cruise. After a short discussion we decided we'd share between the four of us, trading off. So we did share based on a mutual agreement. We did not extend this to other table mates. Also, on one earlier cruise we brought along a "large" bottle of wine which we shared with our table mates the last night.

 

When you order wine your wine steward will typically ask how many glasses. You shouldn't feel bad just saying two, as I think sharing with strangers gets overly complicated. By the end of the cruise you might consider your table mates freinds rather than strangers and change diretion on this - but no need to rush it.

[thefourohfive]

Cheers to all of you for the candid and helpful responses! What a good bunch of folks this community is!

[Bruin Steve]

I never expect anyone to "share"...

But...When I've made it a point that we're celebrating some event, like my wife's birthday, I have ordered champagne for the whole table...

 

And, once, when we were at a table where everyone was a wine drinker and we all hit it off fairly well, we got into the habit of sharing...

But, there are some awkward aspects...one of your table mates may individually burn through a bottle and a half while you nurse that one glass...

 

Best thing, aside from special occasions, is for each to get their own...

...and I think most cruisers understand this...

[newtocc]

OK, no one read this except 'SS Cruise Lady', promise now, your on your honor to skip over this post!

Look Lady, I joke around a lot, I have a reputation to uphold, I have a fear of water, I have a huge wife, I have more kids than you can count and I smuggle them onboard ship in my luggage, along with the keg I pay a tappage fee for, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! But (can you start a sentence with but?) just between you and me, now don’t tell anyone, k? I am a real person, I would venture to say I’ve sailed more than you, I’ve met many people from this board and sailed with quite a few, but they keep my secret, why, because I know where they live!

Everyone can read again!

I like the Celebrity house wines if someone else is buying!

[emptynest1]

I would always share with Newt's wife. She is such a lovely lady and I really can't imagine why she puts up with Newt.

 

We have ordered wine for the table before for special occasions, and on a cruise several years ago our table mates ordered Dom on the last night for our table. What a special feeling that was.

 

SS Cruise Lady, Newt is real and I would venture to say he has cruised more than you have ever dreamed of. Oh gosh, I hope he doesn't read this, he knows where I live.:eek:

[wvufan]

I second those who suggested that sharing is certainly not expected or obligatory, but occasionally it fits the company and the occasion.

 

One caveat-please do not ever "insist" that someone try a wine if they appear to be reluctant to do so. Some folks do not or cannot drink for a number of reasons, but may do so at risk to themselves to avoid being perceived as rude or unappreciative.

 

Cute story-we were at an officer's table one night, and, as expected, a whole bunch of wine was supplied. Well, I don't drink, so I kept giving my glass away. Of course, no sooner did I do so that another suddenly appeared-I can imagine the fear the servers had that the officer would discover a guest with an empty glass. It got to be so danged funny that I pictured the Lucy sketch where she was working the candy belt and kept stuffing it in her blouse, etc. to try to keep up LOL

 

Having said all that, the most important rule is keep any "WHINE" to yourself:D

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[SheilaNC]

While we don't usually share unless we've become particularly friendly with folks at our table, we did purchase wine at a lovely winery outside of Florence, on our Med. cruise, to bring to dinner for the table to celebrate my birthday. It was lovely having my husband toast my special day and having everyone join in. On that same night, a very nice lady who was sailing alone had bought champagne for the table (not knowing about our wine). Needless to say, we had a very lively and funfilled dinner.