What champagne in Premium package?

[cruisingxpert]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

 

Someone suggested I try VC Grande Dame.  It's on my todo list.

I haven't tried that but I will say that I think you will find Montaudon is a decent substitute for Veuve

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said:

I haven't tried that but I will say that I think you will find Montaudon is a decent substitute for Veuve

 

I did try Montaudon in my champagne tasting.  It didn't stick out but I may try it again.  I remember buying VC for only $35 in California 10 years ago.  Prices sure have changed.

 

Thank you.

[emmas gran]

Friends in Hong Kong have recommended Ruinart,  haven’t tried it yet but never seen it on cruises.

Nicolas Feuillatte is OK better than some everyday fizz

[JL87]

Cristal has been on a tear lately with some really good Champagne. A lot of the tete de cuvees have been doing the same. Really nice but expensive wines. If you want something like that I would just pick up a couple on shore and take them on the ship with you. Last cruise we had the Montaudon BTG and it was fine. Not top tier though if that's what you want.  

[Turtles06]

17 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Someone suggested I try VC Grande Dame.  It's on my todo list.

 

That was me.  ☺️

[zitsky]

2 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

That was me.  ☺️

 

@Turtles06 And thank you for doing that!!  So when will you be sending me that bottle?  🤣

[cruisingxpert]

17 minutes ago, zitsky said:

do you mind sharing the price of Veuve at dinner (bottle).  Ordering for sail away is $140 I believe.  Yellow label is only $50 here in North Carolina. 

Try living in Canada.  Yellow Label Veuve is $74.85 a bottle.  Ruinart is $78.00 and Laurent Perrier Rose is $102.  I'll check out Ruinart

[zitsky]

12 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

Friends in Hong Kong have recommended Ruinart,  haven’t tried it yet but never seen it on cruises.

Nicolas Feuillatte is OK better than some everyday fizz

 

I have tried Ruinart!  My husband got a bottle as a gift.  We keep it in the wine refrigerator in a way that it was almost standing up.  We keep it for 3 or 4 years before drinking it.  I worried about the cork drying out but it was just fine.  It was good champagne.  I wouldn't refuse it if offered again.

[zitsky]

2 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said:

Try living in Canada.  Yellow Label Veuve is $74.85 a bottle.  Ruinart is $78.00 and Laurent Perrier Rose is $102.  I'll check out Ruinart

 

I will stop complaining about alcohol prices.  I still hate going to "the liquor store" ABC here in North Carolina to get scotch.

[zitsky]

4 minutes ago, Couple-Somerset said:

In bars aboard Apex, the premium package will get you Moet-Chandon by the glass. 

 

Actually, thats what half the bar tenders call it - but its cheap plonk called "chandon" without the Moet. 

 

Naughty or untrained? 

 

Only other is Brut Cattier on premium at $15 a glass - if they have it. 

 

I don't mind cheap champagne but I hate bad champagne.  I'll drink "champagne" from New Mexico (Gruet) because it's cheap but good.  I'll also drink Korbel from California $10.

Edited September 6, 2021 by zitsky

[cruisingxpert]

7 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

I don't mind cheap champagne but I hate bad champagne.  I'll drink "champagne" from New Mexico (Gruet) because it's cheap but good.  I'll also drink Korbel from California $10.

I hope they haven't taken away the Montaudon.  That Chandon minus the Moet is awful.

Never heard of Brut Cattier but I see it is real.  I thought it might be a joke like "Pisse du Chat"

[Turtles06]

35 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

@Turtles06 And thank you for doing that!!  So when will you be sending me that bottle?  🤣

 

I wish I had some 1996 to send you.  ☺️

[Turtles06]

32 minutes ago, Couple-Somerset said:

In bars aboard Apex, the premium package will get you Moet-Chandon by the glass. 

 

Actually, thats what half the bar tenders call it - but its cheap plonk called "chandon" without the Moet. 

 

If it's Domaine Chandon from California, it's definitely inexpensive relative to champagne, but we find it quite good, definitely for that price point.  I would not call it plonk.  But wine, like food, is subjective. ☺️

[zitsky]

4 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I wish I had some 1996 to send you.  ☺️

 

Is it normally vintage because my local store doesn't show that?

[Turtles06]

35 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

I have tried Ruinart!  My husband got a bottle as a gift.  We keep it in the wine refrigerator in a way that it was almost standing up.  We keep it for 3 or 4 years before drinking it.  I worried about the cork drying out but it was just fine.  It was good champagne.  I wouldn't refuse it if offered again.

Ruinart was one of the cellars we had the pleasure of touring when we visited Champagne.  Very upscale, very delicious. 

 

Let me add -- for champagne fans, if you have the chance to visit Reims or Epernay and tour any of the ancient chalk cellars, deep underground and now being used by the champagne houses, please do so.  It's a fantastic experience to go through the miles of aging, dusty bottles underground, learn about the process of producing champagne, and, of course, at the end, have a tasting.   Yum!

 

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

[Turtles06]

13 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Is it normally vintage because my local store doesn't show that?

 

It's a prestige cuvée, and only vintage.

[spiritkat090909]

On the Edge Aug 14 sailing in Luminae I asked for a glass of the Montaudon and was told the contract had ended and was replaced with the...

Brut Cattier.

[zitsky]

8 minutes ago, spiritkat090909 said:

On the Edge Aug 14 sailing in Luminae I asked for a glass of the Montaudon and was told the contract had ended and was replaced with the...

Brut Cattier.

 

Your avatar is making me dizzy.  Or is it the scotch I just had?

 

Cattier is $40 according to Google.  Independent house which is interesting.

[jelayne]

51 minutes ago, spiritkat090909 said:

On the Edge Aug 14 sailing in Luminae I asked for a glass of the Montaudon and was told the contract had ended and was replaced with the...

Brut Cattier.

How was the Cattier?  We liked the Montaudon  and hope tge replacement is a good or better.

[WNcruiser]

4 hours ago, Momma Rene said:

Our Celebrity Suite is losing its luster......I could kick myself for paying $2,000 more for the cruise than the Sky Suite.  Looks like all I get is a little better room.

We had a Celebrity suite once and I would never get one again (on an S class ship). The bathroom is very small, no double vanity and no separate tub and shower. The bedroom is a separate room but it’s very tight. 
 

 

[zitsky]

20 minutes ago, WNcruiser said:

We had a Celebrity suite once and I would never get one again (on an S class ship). The bathroom is very small, no double vanity and no separate tub and shower. The bedroom is a separate room but it’s very tight. 
 

 

 

Is there a suite that addresses those deficiencies? 

[cruisingxpert]

2 hours ago, spiritkat090909 said:

On the Edge Aug 14 sailing in Luminae I asked for a glass of the Montaudon and was told the contract had ended and was replaced with the...

Brut Cattier.

I'm disappointed .  Is that the only other choice?  The name conjures up some disturbing visions😨

[zitsky]

28 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said:

I'm disappointed .  Is that the only other choice?  The name conjures up some disturbing visions😨

 

Good question.  I'm still tempted to order a bottle to get what I want.

[cruisingxpert]

4 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Good question.  I'm still tempted to order a bottle to get what I want.

Get friendly with your sommelier.  I remember some people on my cruise in 2019 that said their sommelier or bartender opened a bottle and charged a small premium over their price per glass on the package.  A bit like ordering a glass of wine that's over the $15 limit- you only pay the difference.

[WNcruiser]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

 

Is there a suite that addresses those deficiencies? 

Yes, the RS and PS on S class. Sorry if my point wasn’t clear but I was trying to agree that the price difference definitely was not worth it to us. The sky suite for $2000 less has about the same size bathroom and plenty of space.