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New Wine List Coming?

Cruise Junky

By Cruise Junky,
in Holland America Line

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rkacruiser

rkacruiser

Posted
Posted

I read the article the OP posted.  I have no problem with having a variety of wines to try.  If I choose to do so.  I know what I like and prefer.  I am more likely to purchase more of that which I like and prefer than spend money on "experimenting" with wines unknown to me.

 

There was a new wine list on Nieuw Statendam in January.  I wonder if this "new wine list" will be the same one as that.

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sfocruiser

sfocruiser

Posted
Posted

This is from the Article

 

"Designed to help a wine novice make a selection that pleases their palate, the list presents wine aficionados with a range of cellar-worthy gems. All of the "JS 90+" wines by the glass and all of the bottle options were hand-selected by Suckling and consistently received a rating of at least a 90, which is "outstanding" on his 100-point rating scale. The list also features wines by the glass that are Holland America Line favorites and some of the most popular wines at sea." 

 

If they are just referencing the JS90 wines they were already rolled out on the NS in December (attached).   The wine packages were unchanged.

 

 

IMG_1508.JPG

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cruzin4us "Live from...." Rare

cruzin4us

Posted
Posted

I love an article that says "Holland America Line Debuts 'James Suckling's Guide to Great Wines' List with an Intricate Collection of Top Rated Wines" but fails to give the list....lol

 

All I can say, is it's a long time coming!!

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rkacruiser

rkacruiser

Posted
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2 minutes ago, sfocruiser said:

This is from the Article

 

"Designed to help a wine novice make a selection that pleases their palate, the list presents wine aficionados with a range of cellar-worthy gems. All of the "JS 90+" wines by the glass and all of the bottle options were hand-selected by Suckling and consistently received a rating of at least a 90, which is "outstanding" on his 100-point rating scale. The list also features wines by the glass that are Holland America Line favorites and some of the most popular wines at sea." 

 

If they are just referencing the JS90 wines they were already rolled out on the NS in December (attached).   The wine packages were unchanged.

 

 

IMG_1508.JPG

IMG_1509.JPG

 

I hoped this was not the situation.  The "new wine list" is designed to raise more revenue.    Just one example:  in the above wine by the glass list, Cloudy Bay for a 9 oz pour is $25.  Before the change, Maria Villa could be purchased for $41/bottle!  If I recall correctly, Cloudy Bay's price/bottle was $70+.  (Villa Maria was not available on Nieuw Statendam.)

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sfocruiser

sfocruiser

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Posted
1 minute ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I hoped this was not the situation.  The "new wine list" is designed to raise more revenue.    Just one example:  in the above wine by the glass list, Cloudy Bay for a 9 oz pour is $25.  Before the change, Maria Villa could be purchased for $41/bottle!  If I recall correctly, Cloudy Bay's price/bottle was $70+.  (Villa Maria was not available on Nieuw Statendam.)

 

Yea I agree about being disappointed with the JS90+ list, seems to be a large (larger than usual) markup.

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walnut99

walnut99

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, sfocruiser said:

This is from the Article

 

"Designed to help a wine novice make a selection that pleases their palate, the list presents wine aficionados with a range of cellar-worthy gems. All of the "JS 90+" wines by the glass and all of the bottle options were hand-selected by Suckling and consistently received a rating of at least a 90, which is "outstanding" on his 100-point rating scale. The list also features wines by the glass that are Holland America Line favorites and some of the most popular wines at sea." 

 

If they are just referencing the JS90 wines they were already rolled out on the NS in December (attached).   The wine packages were unchanged.

 

 

IMG_1508.JPG

IMG_1509.JPG

 

Edited by walnut99
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walnut99

walnut99

Posted
Posted

Sfocruiser, 

 

I assume they still had wines that were under $9.00 per glass and between $9.00 and $15.00,  If not, there would be no reason to consider purchasing or upgrading to the Elite drink package.

 

John   

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sfocruiser

sfocruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, walnut99 said:

Sfocruiser, 

 

I assume they still had wines that were under $9.00 per glass and between $9.00 and $15.00,  If not, there would be no reason to consider purchasing or upgrading to the Elite drink package.

 

John   

 

yes!  this was an addition.  We were back on the NS in Feb and upgraded to the EBP because of the wine selection.   the package probably covered about 80% of the normal wines by the glass (not JS90+)

Edited by sfocruiser
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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

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Posted

I'm optimistic.   Our last few cruises, we carried four to six bottles aboard for a seven day cruise because we found the ship's wines to be less than drinkable.  (Actually, we developed our own rating system for the ship's wines.  We categorized each wine by how many martini's were necessary for it to taste good, one martini, two martini, etc.)  We've looked at the wines in the Signature and Elite packages and weren't impressed by either.  We would be willing to pay these prices for 94+ rated wines.  Not happy, but willing.

 

We were thinking of upgrading the signature package we have as a part of a promo on our next cruise.   Looking forward to feedback on these wines.  We might cancel the signature package instead.

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Fouremco

Fouremco

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I hoped this was not the situation.  The "new wine list" is designed to raise more revenue.    Just one example:  in the above wine by the glass list, Cloudy Bay for a 9 oz pour is $25.  Before the change, Maria Villa could be purchased for $41/bottle!  If I recall correctly, Cloudy Bay's price/bottle was $70+.  (Villa Maria was not available on Nieuw Statendam.)

I agree. HAL is certainly gouging here, when a 5 oz pour costs more than a full bottle. Unless there is an increase in the SBP ceiling for wines, there are going to be a lot of unhappy passengers.

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

See what you can learn about the James's Rock Star Wines.

I will indeed.

 

I'll also check to see if the wine packages hae changed.

 

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gknep

gknep

Posted
Posted

I'm a member of the Sokol Blosser wine club and the Evolution Pinot Noir while being a perfectly drinkable wine is their least expensive and meant to be fun and approachable. It is certainly not worth $16 for a 5oz. pour.  Looks like I'll be brining my own wine and paying corkage. 

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terrydtx Great Review Rare

terrydtx

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Fouremco said:

I agree. HAL is certainly gouging here, when a 5 oz pour costs more than a full bottle. Unless there is an increase in the SBP ceiling for wines, there are going to be a lot of unhappy passengers.

I agree, the least expensive 5 oz glasses are a dollar or two higher than the $15 Elite BP limit.

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