Concierge Class sparkling wine

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I’m sure it’s a cheaper bottle, but what is it?  Is it any good?  If I want to exchange it for a bottle of wine, how do I go about it?  We are dry red wine drinkers, but if it’s any good I suppose we could drink it on our Anniversary. We have a drink package, is it any better than what we could get by the glass in our package?  If it makes any difference, we will be on the Summit to Bermuda. 

[cruisestitch]

It isn't very good.  Some people mix it with orange juice for morning mimosas, which might be a very nice way to start your anniversary. 

 

You can try to exchange it for something you would like more -- ask the sommelier at dinner. Sometimes they do a one-for-one exchange, sometimes they give you a credit toward something better.

[keesar]

1 minute ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I’m sure it’s a cheaper bottle, but what is it?  Is it any good?  If I want to exchange it for a bottle of wine, how do I go about it?  We are dry red wine drinkers, but if it’s any good I suppose we could drink it on our Anniversary. We have a drink package, is it any better than what we could get by the glass in our package?  If it makes any difference, we will be on the Summit to Bermuda. 

 

It is a sparkling white wine.  Very similar to what you get if you were on the Classic Beverage Package.  I find it just fine to drink.

 

If you want to exchange it, we have asked our cabin attendant for a bottle of white or red as a substitute.  It has never been a problem for us when we did so.  We sometimes take the bottle of sparkling white home as a remembrance of our cruise and open it up on Thanksgiving or Christmas.  

[m8zenblue]

Same here, it's not very good if you enjoy sparkling wine, you can get a very nice Prosseco from the Classic Beverage package by the glass, or you can bring a bottle on board with you.

[WatchHill]

On our recent Summit cruise to Bermuda, we got a bottle of the sparkling wine delivered to our cabin. I asked our steward to exchange it for a light white wine - a few hours later there was a bottle of pinot grigio on the counter. 

 

Darcy

[Blazerboy]

Opinions vary about the quality.  I hate it, but have dear friends who love it.  Blech.😐🍾🥂

 

We have successfully traded it for a so-so bottle of white, but with the drinks package, we don't even feel the need to do that.  Ask your room steward.  I think a bottle of red would also be possible.

 

We donate ours back.  My one fear, having seen bottles with crooked labels, is that the room staff take bottles that have been chilled, and take them back into inventory, where they warm up, to be chilled again for the next customer.  Not ideal, even for a so-so wine.

 

With the drinks package, we always spend the $12. to upgrade to premium if we don't already have it. 

 

With Premium, we usually get glasses of Chandon from Napa, which is drinkable.  You can also get "better" sparkling wines by the glass for a small upcharge ( Veuve Cliquot is $3.00 plus tip for example).

 

Hope that helps.

 

Andrew

[hcat]

Really only good for mimosas as someone  already mentioned.

A nice gesture by X but not worth much more than that!

[BigAl94]

Pure rubbish - avoid!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I guess I should have mentioned we have the premium package. 

[hcat]

So it seems this is pretty much a non issue..

You can turn it in for an exchange  for your cabin , and enjoy whatever else comes with your package!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

So it seems this is pretty much a non issue..

You can turn it in for an exchange  for your cabin , and enjoy whatever else comes with your package!

 

So we could exchange it for a bottle of any wine that comes by the glass in our package?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

6 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

It isn't very good.  Some people mix it with orange juice for morning mimosas, which might be a very nice way to start your anniversary. 

 

You can try to exchange it for something you would like more -- ask the sommelier at dinner. Sometimes they do a one-for-one exchange, sometimes they give you a credit toward something better.

 

Yes, mimosas might be nice on our balcony for breakfast on our Anniversary, or a credit for something better would be lovely for our Anniversary dinner. Would we still get a 20% discount on the difference?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

6 hours ago, Blazerboy said:

 

With the drinks package, we always spend the $12. to upgrade to premium if we don't already have it. 

 

With Premium, we usually get glasses of Chandon from Napa, which is drinkable.  You can also get "better" sparkling wines by the glass for a small upcharge ( Veuve Cliquot is $3.00 plus tip for example).

 

Hope that helps.

 

Andrew

 We got all the perks, so we have the premium package. Does that mean they will give us a better bottle to begin with or does everyone in CC get the same bottle regardless of beverage packages?

[keesar]

11 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 We got all the perks, so we have the premium package. Does that mean they will give us a better bottle to begin with or does everyone in CC get the same bottle regardless of beverage packages?

 

Everyone gets the same bottle.  If you want to get a credit towards another bottle, bring it to your dining room the first night.  If you exchange it with your room attendant, you will get a bottle of red or white.  I priced the bottle of white and it retailed for about $20 here in the USA.  

 

Tastes are very subjective.  Some feel the burgers in the Mast Grill are gourmet.  Others won't eat them.  You get the point.

[hcat]

34 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

So we could exchange it for a bottle of any wine that comes by the glass in our package?

 

 

No,  as explained above.....

You can exchange  it for  a diff bottle of whatever  other  limited choices  they offer as  Concierge Welcome Aboard.....White, red, non alcoholic.

 

Your  alc package is a sep issue from the Welcome Aboard  sparking wine..but you might be able to get a credit..

Edited July 23, 2019 by hcat

[NCteacherlovescruising]

20 minutes ago, hcat said:

 

 

No,  as explained above.....

You can exchange  it for  a diff bottle of whatever  other  limited choices  they offer as  Concierge Welcome Aboard.....White, red, non alcoholic.

 

Your  alc package is a sep issue from the Welcome Aboard  sparking wine..but you might be able to get a credit..

 

I’d prefer a credit, or using it for mimosas, to a bottle of wine we didn’t like. 

[Blazerboy]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 We got all the perks, so we have the premium package. Does that mean they will give us a better bottle to begin with or does everyone in CC get the same bottle regardless of beverage packages?

Same bottle.  Sorry.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, Blazerboy said:

Same bottle.  Sorry.

 

It’s all good, just curious. 

[Langley Cruisers]

We thought it was just fine, thank you. 😊 Shared it with my sister and her husband, enjoyed toasting and making memories.

[begagirl]

We just ask our cabin steward to change it for a bottle or red or white.  No problem and quite drinkable.

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Can anyone tell me what red wine they give you in place of this?  

[scubamommy!]

You can always ask your room attendant to exchange it for a bottle of red or white, they usually do with no problem. Another idea is to bring it to the beach with you on Island day. My husband went to the ice machine and filled a baggie of ice, wrapped it in a towel and put it in his backpack. We enjoyed some cold champagne on the sunny beach in Greece last time. Just don't forget to bring some cups with you. Enjoy. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

42 minutes ago, scubamommy! said:

You can always ask your room attendant to exchange it for a bottle of red or white, they usually do with no problem. Another idea is to bring it to the beach with you on Island day. My husband went to the ice machine and filled a baggie of ice, wrapped it in a towel and put it in his backpack. We enjoyed some cold champagne on the sunny beach in Greece last time. Just don't forget to bring some cups with you. Enjoy. 

 

I didn’t know you were allowed to bring alcohol off the ship. 

[cruisestitch]

"Can anyone tell me what red wine they give you in place of this?"

 

Wine supplies vary by ship and itinerary -- I don't think you can predict what you will get

 

"I didn’t know you were allowed to bring alcohol off the ship. "

 

That depends on the laws of the country you visit.  It isn't up to the ship, but since they don't scan you as you leave the ship, there probably would be no problem taking a bottle to the beach.

 

As you re-enter the US you have a certain allowance you can bring according to the Customs and Immigration guidelines.  Again, since they don't scan you, it is up to you to declare what you have with you.

Edited July 23, 2019 by cruisestitch

[scubamommy!]

I'm not sure if you are "allowed" to or not.  We have now done this 3 times at different ports, with the bottle in a backpack on ice and have had no problems.