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First time on Viking Drinks question


Racdan
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Good hearing from you Deec! The martini tasting was really fun. He made them with adds that we never would have thought of - such as muddled rosemary or ginger, and several others - ending in a chocolate martini. We would never have gone if not for SSP. 

 

I may reach out to you separately about Frances Finest. We have looked at that itinerary multiple times. 

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SS vs a la carte makes no sense for me, but on Viking Ocean if you like the Chef's Table, the wine pairings cost $25 per person.  Go just twice and that's $100 towards your SS package.  I'd like the special wine pairings but my Northern Great Britain ancestry makes me too thrifty to spend $100 when the included wine is right there.  Tempted, but no.

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We almost always pay as we go (had the package included once on NCL).  Since this is a special splurge for our silver anniversary and we want to experiment some with drinks, the package seems like a reasonable deal for us this time.  I can definitely relate to being thrifty too 😉 

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37 minutes ago, Not a Georgia Peach said:

The tastings are not always included in the SS package.

 

Correct. There was one not included - that was for a French wines tasting. The rest, at least on our itinerary, were. 

At $20/pp/day it was worth it for us. Each couple will have different measurements when making the decision. We really enjoyed it. 

We enjoy nice wines. The expanded offerings (which were all on the Chefs Table premium offering) were available to us for 14 nights. 

Edited by Vineyard View
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On 11/6/2019 at 6:07 PM, Vineyard View said:

Correct. There was one not included - that was for a French wines tasting. The rest, at least on our itinerary, were. 

At $20/pp/day it was worth it for us. Each couple will have different measurements when making the decision. We really enjoyed it. 

We enjoy nice wines. The expanded offerings (which were all on the Chefs Table premium offering) were available to us for 14 nights. 

Great to hear!   Hoping this is available on our upcoming South America Cruise!

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38 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Great to hear!   Hoping this is available on our upcoming South America Cruise!

Look forward to your SA review. We are looking at that itinerary - along with a couple others 😊 

I have to believe that our offerings were unique, but I do not know for certain. 

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On 11/6/2019 at 9:01 AM, Peregrina651 said:

 

It is talking to you! Book it!

Lots of chat about it in River Cruising.

Peregrina, if there weren’t so many talking to me it would be easy!  

Or I need to start playing the Lotto! 😂😂

Bit yes, it is one of them ‘talking’   

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There were several tastings of wine as well as spirits classes that were included.

 

So a wine tasting session was included in the Silver drinks package? If so then that would be an incentive for us. On our Viking cruise we paid extra for a winetasting one afternoon and an Armagnac tasting. I think the winetasting was about $25. Can't remember what we paid for the other tasting.

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There were several different tastings - wine and liquor - that were included. If I remember correctly they were only on sea days. If they were on port days I did not see them. They were posted in the Viking Daily. The wine tastings were wines from the SSP, then there were bourbon, martini, and a couple others that you could attend.  They were $30/pp without SSP.  There was the one French Wines that were not part of the tastings. 

 

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We have done both with and without. I am not sure how much itinerary impacts the included wines but I have to think that it very well could? I think sea days will also impact the thought process. I am not sure what will determine our choice on our next adventure, but it sure was enjoyable having it. 😁

Edited by Vineyard View
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Here is the response from Viking about tastings / mixology classes and the Silver Spirits Beverage Package

 

“While most specialty tastings and classes are not covered by the purchase of the Silver Spirits Beverage Package (SSBP), on occasion, the ship staff may arrange such events for the benefit of our SSBP guests. Details about these happenings will be available on board; we encourage you to inquire at the Explorers’ Desk upon embarkation.”

 

Cheers!

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14 hours ago, AuntieWerewolf10 said:

Here is the response from Viking about tastings / mixology classes and the Silver Spirits Beverage Package

 

“While most specialty tastings and classes are not covered by the purchase of the Silver Spirits Beverage Package (SSBP), on occasion, the ship staff may arrange such events for the benefit of our SSBP guests. Details about these happenings will be available on board; we encourage you to inquire at the Explorers’ Desk upon embarkation.”

 

Cheers!

Interesting. I might not sign up prior to your cruise if you are on the fence and this is an important part of the decision. Ask when you board if they will be included. We did not sign up until the first day on board, and were told at that time that the tastings (except the one) would be part of the SSBP. We didn’t even think to ask, it was just shared in the explanation of the benefits of the package. 

That said, as I mentioned, other than the French tasting the wine tastings were of wines on the package, so why wouldn’t they be included?  That only makes sense to me. The non-wine tastings may be the subject to the decision of ship staff piece mentioned above?  It’s not really clear from this response. 

Thank you for asking and posting. 

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This is an interesting discussion about the SSBP and tastings.  We purchased the package in advance of our cruise and none of the tastings, wine or otherwise, were included.  No matter where we drank (a restaurant, bar or room service) the only wines that we could get were the ones listed by the glass.  Anyone can order these wines and pay per glass and there was a decent selection.  However the most high end wines were only by the bottle and had to be purchased whether or not you had the package.  Occasionally a by-the-bottle only wine was served at the Chefs Table with the Premium package (included with SSBP or $25 w/o package).  If we liked a wine served there, we would look for it on the bar or other restaurant wine menu.  Sometimes it was available by the glass other times it was not.  SO if someone likes higher end wines, they might be served in the special wine tastings.  If someone likes single malt scotch or Armanac, then the good scotch and all the Armanacs are only available in Torshavn and are way above the $15 per drink limit of the SSBP.   If these tastings are included in the SSBP, ooo la la.

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The special wine tastings that were charging $30/pp we were told were wines from the SSBP. I do not believe they poured anything by the bottle only,  but we did not participate in wine tastings because as Deec points out they were already included. 

None of these classes were advertised as included with SSBP on Viking Daily. We only knew because we were informed when we signed up. We called guest services to make sure before booking. 

The Martini tasting was fun! It was held in Torshavn during the afternoon. It did not include top shelf gin or vodka - we decided to check it out as something different to do. We tasted some fun martinis that were not common, and some not offered on the ship at the bars - more of a ‘experiment when you get home’ idea, so I wrote notes in my phone! 😂

We noticed  there were a couple other spirits tastings. Not sure based on the Martini experience if these would be top shelf. 

We only noticed the classes on Sea Days  (which we had four), but I am not certain of that. 

Yes, we also tasted at least one nice wine in Chefs Table that wasn’t on the by the glass list. We were able to procure at another venue a couple times when we asked. That was really nice. 

In any case, it is worth asking one of the head wine stewards when you get on board. Keep us posted how this rolls out on other itineraries! 

Edited by Vineyard View
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/6/2019 at 11:13 AM, deec said:

Glad to hear some of the tastings were included in the SS package.  We rarely go to those since we always  figure we have already paid for the liquors.  I really enjoy tasting some cocktails that are new to me.  the costs of the drinks are reasonable per menu costs but if you are drinking something straight or on the rocks. a double is usually what you need ...

 

VV glad to see you are "cruising" again.  Just returned from France's Finest and had a great time!!!  The SS package just for the upgraded wine choices was worth it!!!! 

 

On 11/5/2019 at 8:18 PM, Vineyard View said:

We totally enjoyed the SSP on our just completed trip!  Did we drink more than we would have? Absolutely!  But it was delightful to enjoy a Grey Goose martini in the explorers lounge before dinner, then enjoy a selection of wines from various parts of our world, and then occasional port or after dinner drink. 

We also enjoyed a martini mixing class that was included with the package and at a cost to those that did not have it. There were several tastings of wine as well as spirits classes that were included.

it was fun to try different things, and often the servers in the restaurants came up with ideas to try that we would not have otherwise.  

Do people with the SS package use a card for their drinks?

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