Better wines by the bottle if you ask?

[goldfish65]

First world problem here, I never set out to be a wine snob, but through my work I get to drink some great wines, and RC lists I've seen don't have much to get excited about. We'll bring our allotment of two bottles, but it's a 14 day cruise (Rhapsody.) Do they have some better wines besides what's on the list, if you ask? i.e. French, Italian, older vintages, etc?

[Clarea]

To what list are you referring?  Royal has different wine lists for each restaurant.

[dodgestang]

Yes RS has a decent enough wine cellar on board ships.  $30-$300+ per bottle

But if you have a hankering for a 1992 Borolo....well....you aint gonna find it. 

 

With that said...Caymus, Stag's Leap, many reserves, many grape variants and plenty of blends...I've been able to find many bottles I enjoy while on board.

Edited June 21, 2019 by dodgestang

[goldfish65]

20 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

To what list are you referring?  Royal has different wine lists for each restaurant.

 

I did an internet search and saw a bunch of lists, to see what was out there, Chops and Giovanni's and what the RC website shows, not many restaurants on Rhapsody.

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

 

I did an internet search and saw a bunch of lists, to see what was out there, Chops and Giovanni's and what the RC website shows, not many restaurants on Rhapsody.

 

I don't think they have any "secret" wines that are not on any of the lists.  If Rhapsody has a Vintages, then I'd check there for the better wines.

[goldfish65]

21 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

Yes RS has a decent enough wine cellar on board ships.  $30-$300+ per bottle

But if you have a hankering for a 1992 Borolo....well....you aint gonna find it. 

 

With that said...Caymus, Stag's Leap, many reserves, many grape variants and plenty of blends...I've been able to find many bottles I enjoy while on board.

Good to hear, thank you. Sounds like we'll be happy if we ask and no we won't expect to find anything life-changing lol.

[dodgestang]

6 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

Good to hear, thank you. Sounds like we'll be happy if we ask and no we won't expect to find anything life-changing lol.

 

The sommelier in the MDR will be happy to get you a wine list different from the 'standard' dining room if you express an interest or even general knowledge (it might have been the Chops list).  For example second night on Grandeur I simple said to the waiter as he handed me the list..."Do you have any Malbecs?" and the sommelier magically materialized in front of me with a smile and was happy to help me.  🙂

Edited June 21, 2019 by dodgestang

[goldfish65]

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I don't think they have any "secret" wines that are not on any of the lists.  If Rhapsody has a Vintages, then I'd check there for the better wines.

 

No vintages, I looked. We will adapt just fine, just wondering what wines we might find on our cruise.

[goldfish65]

1 minute ago, dodgestang said:

 

The sommelier in the MDR will be happy to get you a wine list different from the 'standard' dining room if you express an interest or even general knowledge (it might have been the Chops list).  For example second night on Grandeur I simple said to the waiter as he handed me the list..."Do you have any Malbecs?" and the sommelier magically materialized in front of me with a smile and was happy to help me.  🙂

Ah great. It will be my 60th birthday so naturally I want to celebrate it a little more than usual.

[John&LaLa]

2 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

 

The sommelier in the MDR will be happy to get you a wine list different from the 'standard' dining room if you express an interest or even general knowledge (it might have been the Chops list).  For example second night on Grandeur I simple said to the waiter as he handed me the list..."Do you have any Malbecs?" and the sommelier magically materialized in front of me with a smile and was happy to help me.  🙂

 

Of course he smiled. Most likely a bigger gratuity. 😉

[dodgestang]

They do have Opus 1....some people have good, some people have bad opinions of that blend through the years.

[grapau27]

50 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

First world problem here, I never set out to be a wine snob, but through my work I get to drink some great wines, and RC lists I've seen don't have much to get excited about. We'll bring our allotment of two bottles, but it's a 14 day cruise (Rhapsody.) Do they have some better wines besides what's on the list, if you ask? i.e. French, Italian, older vintages, etc?

In the champagne lounge on Independence I got a lovely 

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

The DL Pinot Grigio was poor.

[travelplus]

46 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

First world problem here, I never set out to be a wine snob, but through my work I get to drink some great wines, and RC lists I've seen don't have much to get excited about. We'll bring our allotment of two bottles, but it's a 14 day cruise (Rhapsody.) Do they have some better wines besides what's on the list, if you ask? i.e. French, Italian, older vintages, etc?

I also love wine myself. Living here near the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA we get some phenomenal wines like Burell School, Ridge Vineyards, Savanna Chanel,  Mountain Winery, Munns and many others. What I like to do in Europe is splurge on good bottles of wine with my meal. I prefer to use the money I would onboard Royal Caribbean and use it for when I am in port.

 

I  love GSM blends, Petit Verdot and other blends that I have not found on Royal Caribbean. To me I am willing to spend more $$$ on land and it would still cost less than purchasing it on the ship and I am getting local wines. I love having picnics in Europe and will always buy a good bottle of wine.

Here in the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA I have picked up $50 bottles of fine wine!   We have wine walks where we get to sample the various vineyards and then we purchase boxes of wine! 

 

I do enjoy  Chateau Lafite Rothschild.  

 

Like you through my work I get to enjoy fine wine! To me its not a meal without a good bottle of wine or beer(I especially like the Monks Beer)!

 

 

[travelplus]

42 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

Yes RS has a decent enough wine cellar on board ships.  $30-$300+ per bottle

But if you have a hankering for a 1992 Borolo....well....you aint gonna find it. 

 

With that said...Caymus, Stag's Leap, many reserves, many grape variants and plenty of blends...I've been able to find many bottles I enjoy while on board.

Yes Camus and Stag's Leap are very good wines. Also Chateau St.Michelle, La Crema and others. 

[goldfish65]

7 minutes ago, travelplus said:

I also love wine myself. Living here near the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA we get some phenomenal wines like Burell School, Ridge Vineyards, Savanna Chanel,  Mountain Winery, Munns and many others. What I like to do in Europe is splurge on good bottles of wine with my meal. I prefer to use the money I would onboard Royal Caribbean and use it for when I am in port.

 

I  love GSM blends, Petit Verdot and other blends that I have not found on Royal Caribbean. To me I am willing to spend more $$$ on land and it would still cost less than purchasing it on the ship and I am getting local wines. I love having picnics in Europe and will always buy a good bottle of wine.

Here in the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA I have picked up $50 bottles of fine wine!   We have wine walks where we get to sample the various vineyards and then we purchase boxes of wine! 

 

I do enjoy  Chateau Lafite Rothschild.  

 

Like you through my work I get to enjoy fine wine! To me its not a meal without a good bottle of wine or beer(I especially like the Monks Beer)!

 

 

You might enjoy this list. Way beyond my pocketbook but over the years they've let us taste some great wines and as you can attest, it does spoil you.

https://kiawahresort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ocean-Room-Wine-List-May-2019.pdf

[travelplus]

2 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

You might enjoy this list. Way beyond my pocketbook but over the years they've let us taste some great wines and as you can attest, it does spoil you.

https://kiawahresort.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ocean-Room-Wine-List-May-2019.pdf

Thanks I will check it out!  I am adventurous !

[goldfish65]

3 minutes ago, travelplus said:

Thanks I will check it out!  I am adventurous !

And thank for pointing out we can enjoy wine while at port, the stops are brief and depart before dinner so we'll have a few happy lunches.

[Queen of Oakville]

52 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

 

The sommelier in the MDR will be happy to get you a wine list different from the 'standard' dining room if you express an interest or even general knowledge (it might have been the Chops list).  For example second night on Grandeur I simple said to the waiter as he handed me the list..."Do you have any Malbecs?" and the sommelier magically materialized in front of me with a smile and was happy to help me.  🙂

 

 

my experience was on Grandeur as well - though this was years ago - we were speaking to the sommelier and expressed disappointment that they didn't have "X" bottle (can't recall what it was) - and he magically appeared with what we were asking about.  At least years ago, they carried wines on board that were not listed on the wine list.  Now, we are lightweights and the 4 bottles we bring on board with us will last the whole 7 nights.

[er345]

I know you said there was no Vintages on your ship, but I believe they have wines not on the menu.  The wonderful bartender there on Symphony offered to let me try a couple to find something that really suited my taste. I don’t think these were hidden away, just off the menu items. 

[depplep]

You can get Opus One and Caymus in Chops on Rhapsody and we just had both on Mariner. I haven't seen anything of that quality by the glass in the Schooner or Viking Crown for instance. As Bob said, Vintages would be the place, but Rhapsody does not have one and as it looks now, most ships are losing them.

[John&LaLa]

8 hours ago, Queen of Oakville said:

 

 

my experience was on Grandeur as well - though this was years ago - we were speaking to the sommelier and expressed disappointment that they didn't have "X" bottle (can't recall what it was) - and he magically appeared with what we were asking about.  At least years ago, they carried wines on board that were not listed on the wine list.  Now, we are lightweights and the 4 bottles we bring on board with us will last the whole 7 nights.

 

How do you manage to bring 4 bottles?

[Queen of Oakville]

13 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

How do you manage to bring 4 bottles?

 

2 cabins 🙂 -  so we can each bring 2 bottles