Bringing personal wine on board

[crispy46]

My prior experience on Crystal is that bringing personal wine on board was not a problem but wonder whether it would be the same with Regent. I never was made to feel like a snobbish cheapskate and always enjoyed the discussion of the wine with the sommeliers who I would always ask to taste and comment. To a person, the sommelier always had insights about the wine that they would happily share with me. What do well-travelled Regenters...or just first timers...think about this? Any personal experiences would be appreciated.

[Guerncruising]

I’m sure that Regent won’t mind you bringing your own wine on board, after all that means that you’re not drinking theirs!

[Eno-Bob]

We almost always bring wine on-board.  If we’re leaving from a U.S. port, we will bring some from home and we’ll often visit wine stores at ports along the way and buy a bottle or two.  There is never any problem with bringing your own bottle of wine to any of the dining rooms and, if you have suite with a butler, they can send it to the dining room and have it waiting for you.  The Soms will take good care of you and they do enjoy receiving a taste of the different wines.  No corkage fees, you are actually saving Regent money because they don’t have to provide you with their wine at dinner. 

[crispy46]

Gentlemen, Thx for your input. I was hoping that would be the case but wanted to be sure. Eno-Bob, BTW I spent my summers in Colorado Springs as a young boy when my father was teaching summer school at Colorado College. Long time connection to your great state!

[crispy46]

Apologies...I had assumed that the two of you who responded were male. Shouldn't have done that!

[Eno-Bob]

crispy46 –

 

   We also recommend the Regent Connoisseur Wine List.  They have a good selection from known wineries and the prices run close to high-end retail.  So you can enjoy the full sommelier restaurant service without the big markup. 

 

   Regent will also have at least one wine pairing luncheon with wines from the Connoisseur list on each voyage – a good way to try some of the wines on their list.

 

   If you haven’t been back to Colorado Springs for a while, you will be amazed by the growth.  The city is spreading and growing North, East, and South.  Can’t go West anymore, the mountains and national forest create a hard border.

 

   Hope to meet you for a glass of wine on-board a future cruise.  We’ve got 5 cruises booked right now – just hoping that we’ll be able to start cruising later this year…

 

Bob

[Guerncruising]

crispy46, no need to apologise your assumption was correct. We prefer not to take our own wine on board but we do look forward to tasting Regents offerings especially when they are sometimes paired with the country you are in (Europe). 

 

There is an excellent choice of wines available and you can always request what you want. I almost fancy asking Regent if they would stock some English wines, we do produce some excellent sparkling ones. Maybe for the next cruise?

[Jim B]

Bring all you want on board. Regent does not care. 

[Pcardad]

And don't feel obligated to accept what they offer at dinner...it can be something they have a lot of. Ask for whatever you want.

[crispy46]

Eno-Bob,

When we spent our summers there we lived near the Austin Bluffs and used to ride at Mark Reyner stables. I even got to ride in the Cheyenne Mt. parade.

[alidor]

 Crispy 46...where do you live in South Carolina?

[crispy46]

Kiawah Island near Charleston.

 

[Silver Sweethearts]

7 hours ago, crispy46 said:

My prior experience on Crystal is that bringing personal wine on board was not a problem but wonder whether it would be the same with Regent. I never was made to feel like a snobbish cheapskate and always enjoyed the discussion of the wine with the sommeliers who I would always ask to taste and comment. To a person, the sommelier always had insights about the wine that they would happily share with me. What do well-travelled Regenters...or just first timers...think about this? Any personal experiences would be appreciated.

 

We have a certain wine that we prefer (introduced to us years ago by Regent but not always available on board).  We simply have Regent order in a few cases of it for our own personal enjoyment and use our OBC to pay for it.  The Sommelier holds it for us and makes sure we have a bottle whenever/wherever we request it. 

[OrthoCruiser]

If a cruise were leaving out of a foreign port, say Papeete, Tahiti, would it be possible to essentially ship a case of wine to yourself in care of the cruise company at the port the ship will be leaving from and pick it up there or on the ship? We have had suitcases sent ahead but think it might be a bit more of a problem to send alcohol. Anybody with knowledge or experience with this ?

[jimdee3636]

1 hour ago, OrthoCruiser said:

If a cruise were leaving out of a foreign port, say Papeete, Tahiti, would it be possible to essentially ship a case of wine to yourself in care of the cruise company at the port the ship will be leaving from and pick it up there or on the ship? We have had suitcases sent ahead but think it might be a bit more of a problem to send alcohol. Anybody with knowledge or experience with this ?

I know nothing about the legalities of any of that, but I do know---as a southern Arizona resident and a daily wine drinker---that extended heat can ruin wine. Papeete is, needless to say, hot, and who knows how long your case of wine might be sitting on some un-air-conditioned loading dock before it goes on the ship? 

[Silver Sweethearts]

1 hour ago, jimdee3636 said:

 ...who knows how long your case of wine might be sitting on some un-air-conditioned loading dock before it goes on the ship? 

You could say the same about anything going to the ship.  Let's just say we have had success with having Regent take care of the wine order on all of our cruises and they have never disappointed us.

[JMARINER]

3 hours ago, OrthoCruiser said:

If a cruise were leaving out of a foreign port, say Papeete, Tahiti, would it be possible to essentially ship a case of wine to yourself in care of the cruise company at the port the ship will be leaving from and pick it up there or on the ship? We have had suitcases sent ahead but think it might be a bit more of a problem to send alcohol. Anybody with knowledge or experience with this ?

You probably could. I am sure you could ask the luggage shipping companies about the ins and outs.

 

But why? With what it would cost to ship it to Tahiti (or any other port) you could more that buy something excellent off the reserve list. I would guess that express shipping  case of wine would cost $400-$600.  And you you really want to ship good wine in in a non climate controlled environment and have it setting in some hot airport warehouse for days.

 

J

[JMARINER]

Regent not only doesn't care if you bring your own wine, they will store it for you in their cellars at the correct temps and serve it to you at your table or bring it to your room.

 

J