Wine sommelier questions.

[lasekeye]

We just booked a cruise with the 4perks promotion that includes a Premium Beverage pkg, our first time with a drink pkg.  Usually we stick to the “free beverage” offerings on a cruise.

We haven’t found any wines we really like (while at home or vacations), so therefore we don’t bother with wine, but we would like to take advantage of our Beverage pkg and find a wine or 2 that we enjoy and can reorder for cruising and at home.

Will a Sommelier on the Constellation help us with this search?  How does this work, does this person work only in the Dining Rooms or other areas of the ship too?

Can wine in the MDR be purchased by the glass (so that we can try a few diff ones) or only by the bottle bottle?  Is there a fee for this service?...or just a generous tip?

Please help us in our search to become white wine drinkers.

[Northern Aurora]

There are a number of sommeliers on the ship, and more than one will be working in the MDR.  Let them know that you have the premium beverage package (they generally ask if you have a package and if so which one), tell them what you  plan to order for the meal and ask them to pair wine to food.  The package covers wines by the glass.  Tipping is a personal preference, but we generally tip the sommelier at the end of the cruise.

 

If you are interested in trying other wines also stop by CellarMasters.  Some of the more interesting wines are available there, and again, your beverage package covers wines by the glass.

[Bo1953]

5 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

There are a number of sommeliers on the ship, and more than one will be working in the MDR.  Let them know that you have the premium beverage package (they generally ask if you have a package and if so which one), tell them what you  plan to order for the meal and ask them to pair wine to food.  The package covers wines by the glass.  Tipping is a personal preference, but we generally tip the sommelier at the end of the cruise.

 

If you are interested in trying other wines also stop by CellarMasters.  Some of the more interesting wines are available there, and again, your beverage package covers wines by the glass.

Just to be clearer, not all wines offered in CM are covered, in fact if the dispensers are still around, one must purchase a card to enjoy those offerings.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[George C]

No problem getting wine by the glass anyplace, great thing about drink package is try anything if you do not like it order something else . We normally order Decoy which is a decent wine. 

[Northern Aurora]

2 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Just to be clearer, not all wines offered in CM are covered, in fact if the dispensers are still around, one must purchase a card to enjoy those offerings.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

 

The OP mentioned that they will be on the Constellation.  I left the Constellation on October 30 following B2B2B.  The old dispenser system has been removed from the Constellation.  And if the price of the glass of wine is higher than the package price point we found the staff very good about asking permission to pass the price point and point out that you would pay the price difference.

[George C]

Remember if price is above the limit you just pay the difference 

[mnocket]

If you've never found any wines that you like, it may be that you just don't like wine.  There are a lot of people who don't like wine. Nothing wrong with that.  Try some if you want, but I sure hope you don't feel any social pressure to drink wine. 

[Aqua water]

I don't usually drink wine with my meal but asked the sommelier to select the wine each night.  I told her what I was eating for my main course.  The wine always complimented my food. It was fun and I learned that I do like wine if it compliments what I am eating.

Enjoy- 

[dkjretired]

42 minutes ago, George C said:

No problem getting wine by the glass anyplace, great thing about drink package is try anything if you do not like it order something else . We normally order Decoy which is a decent wine. 

One minor correction, drink package does apply to room service or the cooler in the room.

[dutchclogs]

17 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

One minor correction, drink package does apply to room service or the cooler in the room.

 

Do you mean does not  apply to room service or the drinks in the mini bar in the cabin?

[wpgcycler]

8 minutes ago, dutchclogs said:

 

Do you mean does not  apply to room service or the drinks in the mini bar in the cabin?

That is correct. I believe there is a new Premium Plus (Drinks and More?) package which does cover a scaled down version of the mini-bar as well as couple of other goodies. Several recent threads about it.

[dkjretired]

26 minutes ago, dutchclogs said:

 

Do you mean does not  apply to room service or the drinks in the mini bar in the cabin?

Yes, my mistake it does not apply. Thank you

[Straughn]

Avid wine drinker here and have, therefore, spent a lot of time drinking wine on Celebrity. I have had outstanding sommeliers in Luminae and Blu. (No knowledge of the sommeliers in the MDR.)  I have also had one or two who didn’t have a clue.
 

I think you need to be prepared to answer a couple of questions, in addition to telling him/her that you are a novice wine drinker who wants to learn. Don’t be afraid to do that. Nothing makes a good  sommelier happier than a inexperienced wine drinker who wants to learn. Obviously, they will ask what your entree is. That is good to know, but ordering a wine for your entree to drink with your starter may discourage your liking wine. Be prepared to tell the sommelier all your meal selections (not dessert- dessert wines are a whole separate category.). That will help them guide you in the right direction. A knowledgeable sommelier will also ask a few questions about your previous wine experiences. Don’t hesitate to tell them what you liked or didn’t like. 
 

Since you have the beverage package, if you get a wine you just don’t like, call the sommelier over and ask for something different. Also, as someone else mentioned earlier, the bartenders in Cellermasters are very good. They will give you a small taste of a wine before you order a glass. 
 

If I could give you one piece of advice when it comes to wine, if you get a sommelier who doesn’t listen to you and ask questions, he/she isn’t very good. The more questions the better when it comes to learning about wines

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by Straughn
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[chemmo]

Before the premium drinks package came along we tended to buy a ‘safe’ bottle of wine...one we knew would go with most things and that we knew we both generally liked.

 

Now we just put ourselves in the hands of the sommeliers! We simply tell them what we are eating and leave them to make suggestions. We mainly dine in the speciality restaurants and the sommeliers there generally are experienced and do have the time to discuss options with you. We always taste before having our glass filled, rarely have we not enjoyed their recommendations...

 

As Straughn says, you can have less good sommeliers, we had one in Luminae a couple of cruises ago. He seemed to simply traverse the room with one red and one white wine for those with drink packages...On our third visit when he came over with Decoy in hand recommending it for the third time before we had even told him what we were eating we asked for the wine list and made it politely clear we expected his service to include more that filling up our glasses...I would add that in many cruises this has been our only really inadequate  sommelier experience. 

 

Our drinks package really adds to our cruise pleasure, I hope you enjoy yours!  In addition to enjoying the wine remember  to enjoy trying new cocktails before dinner, wonderful coffees and liqueurs after and don’t forget to enjoy a port with your cheese....

[The Mommy]

We have always found the sommeliers to be most helpful and after a couple of days they get to know the wines we like and offer good suggestions. 

Most of your worries and concerns have probably been answered by the responses above so I will say don't be afraid to try a few different wines - rose may also be an option for you - we only drink red (except when I hit the champagne!)🤩

Hope you enjoy your wine journey 🍾

[George C]

I am not normally impressed with celebrity sommeliers, we normally bring on a couple of nice bottles, sommelier on summit saw bottle and asked if he could try some, good thing was he then did not charge us the 25 dollar corkage fee. 

[cb at sea]

I'm not a huge wine fan,either...most are too "dry" (makes my mouth pucker) or too "sweet"....don't force yourself.  If you have a drink package, wine by the glass (many brands) are included, so each of you order something different...try it, and if you don't enjoy it, get a cocktail!

[wpgcycler]

23 minutes ago, George C said:

I am not normally impressed with celebrity sommeliers, we normally bring on a couple of nice bottles, sommelier on summit saw bottle and asked if he could try some, good thing was he then did not charge us the 25 dollar corkage fee. 

Although I agree it may be a bit presumptuous for the somm to outright ask for a taste, it's pretty common to offer the somm a taste of something they find interesting. Spreading wine knowledge and enjoyment ultimately benefits all who love wine.