Included Wine Quality & Selection

[jelayne]

19 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Ah, got it now.  But if Sycamore owns the US distributor, that should make their provisioning even easier.

I agree provisioning should be easier but the unknown is will it the NF that sells retail for $10 or the $105 or something on the mid-range.

[JoAnneV]

We were just on Quest in the Caribbean. I thought the included wines were better than on Journey in Greece. 
 

[bobmcm]

We were on the Quest in December and the wines for the Ultimate Package were just pitiful... no real selection. The only Chard was a basic Kendall Jackson that costs $10.99 per bottle here in FL, and they only had a couple of bottles of that on the ship !.

The sommelier apologized about it and said it was due to supplier/ shipping issues. A few times I chose the daily included wine.

Hope the selection is better now.  

 

 

[Marmaduke]

The included wines are the one area which lets Azamara down.  I have to agree with most of the comments on this thread. Having recently cruised on Journey I found most of the white wines to be undrinkable and only a few of the reds were acceptable.  I mentioned this on the comment form and received a call from the bar manager in acknowledgement . If I understood correctly they are getting some new  Amarara branded wines later this Spring.  Hopefully they will be better, (well they can't be any worse).

[Mackdogmolly]

4 hours ago, Marmaduke said:

The included wines are the one area which lets Azamara down.  I have to agree with most of the comments on this thread. Having recently cruised on Journey I found most of the white wines to be undrinkable and only a few of the reds were acceptable.  I mentioned this on the comment form and received a call from the bar manager in acknowledgement . If I understood correctly they are getting some new  Amarara branded wines later this Spring.  Hopefully they will be better, (well they can't be any worse).

Yes, I was disappointed in the included wines on Quest in December. And I’m not that fussy!

[DWAliaschief]

Can one find out what the wines are that ARE available on the ship in the ultimate package or the pay for wine packages?  I would hate to spend money on poor wine selections. 

[Scots Caz]

7 minutes ago, DWAliaschief said:

Can one find out what the wines are that ARE available on the ship in the ultimate package or the pay for wine packages?  I would hate to spend money on poor wine selections. 

there is information on the website https://www.azamara.co.uk/booked-guests/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

[Host Jazzbeau]

8 hours ago, Marmaduke said:

If I understood correctly they are getting some new  Amarara branded wines later this Spring.

Maybe these are from the wine outfit that Sycamore Partners also owns.  If I recall the earlier discussion, they are considered to be pretty good.

[Kitekat]

We had what we understood to be wines (one each of red, rosé and white and a sparkling) from vineyards where the grapes are grown especially for Azamara in Slovenia. They were marginally better than most of the everyday wines although the rosé and the sparkling were a tad sweet. 

 

Hoping that as the wines allocated from RCL get used up, some better ones are substituted. 

Watching this space for news...

[MamaFej]

Our first Azamara cruises will be back to back this coming spring. I have been learning from these boards, and I appreciate the helpful folks here.

 

Even before this thread, I've read that the included wines are less than lovely. I noticed today that the Ultimate package includes Beringer White Zinfandel. I'm having a really hard time accepting that a wine often confiscated from high school kids is considered high-end wine on Azamara. We had considered upgrading before I saw this. California has many wines to be proud of, though I wouldn't include Beringer White Zin on that list. 

 

The first 9 of our 17 days will be in Spain and Portugal, so I think we will be getting wine on land and paying the corkage fees. 

 

 

I have a beverage question, and I suspect it has been asked and answered many times. I'm going to search some more. If I don't find the answer, I may come back here, as it seems to be a very friendly thread. 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, MamaFej said:

Even before this thread, I've read that the included wines are less than lovely. I noticed today that the Ultimate package includes Beringer White Zinfandel. I'm having a really hard time accepting that a wine often confiscated from high school kids is considered high-end wine on Azamara. We had considered upgrading before I saw this. California has many wines to be proud of, though I wouldn't include Beringer White Zin on that list.

 

Well, in the category of white zins, it's probably one of the better ones.  And the white zin category is rarely drunk by those who are "into wine", IMO.

 

I bet that Azamara stocks it just so the "white zin" folks can have one to drink.

[Host Jazzbeau]

24 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Well, in the category of white zins, it's probably one of the better ones.  And the white zin category is rarely drunk by those who are "into wine", IMO.

 

I bet that Azamara stocks it just so the "white zin" folks can have one to drink.

I'm still surprised when I pour a guest a glass of nice Zin and they look confused because of the deep red color...

[takemewithyou]

3 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Our first Azamara cruises will be back to back this coming spring. I have been learning from these boards, and I appreciate the helpful folks here.

 

Even before this thread, I've read that the included wines are less than lovely. I noticed today that the Ultimate package includes Beringer White Zinfandel. I'm having a really hard time accepting that a wine often confiscated from high school kids is considered high-end wine on Azamara. We had considered upgrading before I saw this. California has many wines to be proud of, though I wouldn't include Beringer White Zin on that list. 

 

The first 9 of our 17 days will be in Spain and Portugal, so I think we will be getting wine on land and paying the corkage fees. 

 

 

I have a beverage question, and I suspect it has been asked and answered many times. I'm going to search some more. If I don't find the answer, I may come back here, as it seems to be a very friendly thread. 

 

 

I agree with you,  but  back in my high school days, it was Boone’s Farm wine that we had confiscated!  Don’t think we even had Berlinger white Zinfandel ….just sayin’ 😀🤣😳

Edited February 13, 2022 by takemewithyou

[takemewithyou]

Bottom Line:  For us, we need to see some improvement in the wines onboard Azamara, especially when purchasing the Ultimate Package! 

[takemewithyou]

On 2/9/2022 at 6:07 AM, Marmaduke said:

The included wines are the one area which lets Azamara down.  I have to agree with most of the comments on this thread. Having recently cruised on Journey I found most of the white wines to be undrinkable and only a few of the reds were acceptable.  I mentioned this on the comment form and received a call from the bar manager in acknowledgement . If I understood correctly they are getting some new  Amarara branded wines later this Spring.  Hopefully they will be better, (well they can't be any worse).

The ones on the Ultimate Package are a let down, too, after a few days.  Not much variety.  Very few to choose from!

[MamaFej]

4 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

I agree with you,  but  back in my high school days, it was Boone’s Farm wine that we had confiscated!  Don’t think we even had Berlinger white Zinfandel ….just sayin’ 😀🤣😳

Same here. Though I didn't drink back then (and not until I was 36). My friends would get their Boone's Farm and their Bartles & James confiscated. I was everybody's favorite Designated Driver in college and grad school.

 

I was a high school parent and chaperone for 11 consecutive years. The baby graduated in 2020. The kids would try to smuggle White Zin, Smirnoff Ice, Mike's Hard, and some cheap vodka I don't recall the name of at the moment. 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I'm still surprised when I pour a guest a glass of nice Zin and they look confused because of the deep red color...

 

You need to get different guests.

 

(Raising his hand to volunteer)

[takemewithyou]

3 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Our first Azamara cruises will be back to back this coming spring. I have been learning from these boards, and I appreciate the helpful folks here.

 

Even before this thread, I've read that the included wines are less than lovely. I noticed today that the Ultimate package includes Beringer White Zinfandel. I'm having a really hard time accepting that a wine often confiscated from high school kids is considered high-end wine on Azamara. We had considered upgrading before I saw this. California has many wines to be proud of, though I wouldn't include Beringer White Zin on that list. 

 

The first 9 of our 17 days will be in Spain and Portugal, so I think we will be getting wine on land and paying the corkage fees. 

 

 

I have a beverage question, and I suspect it has been asked and answered many times. I'm going to search some more. If I don't find the answer, I may come back here, as it seems to be a very friendly thread. 

 

 

@MamaFejI think we may be on the same cruise in Sept on Summit.

Feel free to ask any questions!  We will try to help 😀

[MamaFej]

Okay, I've done my due diligence, and have come up with a partial answer, so I'm going to ask here.

 

I've determined that there is no paying "the difference + service charge" for better drinks than those included. It appears that passengers pay the full listed price. What I have not seen is what sort of cost we'd be looking at for better wines by the glass, or cocktails with top shelf liquors. Are the drinks priced with regard to the fact that we've already paid for basic drinks? Or are they priced without that consideration?

 

-------

This sort of question is asked frequently on the Celebrity board, and most folks kindly explain how it works, then someone else comes along and chastizes the poster for not searching first. 

 

 

[MamaFej]

3 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

@MamaFejI think we may be on the same cruise in Sept on Summit.

Feel free to ask any questions!  We will try to help 😀

Thank you so much! I guess we were typing at the same time. 

 

I have posted my question above. My cruises are May31, Spain intensive Barcelona to Lisbon, then Lisbon to Stockholm on June 7. 

 

 

[takemewithyou]

1 minute ago, MamaFej said:

Thank you so much! I guess we were typing at the same time. 

 

I have posted my question above. My cruises are May31, Spain intensive Barcelona to Lisbon, then Lisbon to Stockholm on June 7. 

 

 

So there are better beverage packages to be purchased.  There is the premium package, which gets you better spirits, but wines are the same one always included.  The there is the Ultimate Package, which we tried for the first time in Dec.   it gets better spirits and we were both satisfied with those, but the wines were so-so and limited choices, all ordered  by the glass.

if you are not looking for wines, just spirits, the ultimate package may be satisfactory.

[takemewithyou]

Here is info on beverage packages:

https://www.azamara.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/beverage_onboard_flyer_jun2021_web.pdf

[MamaFej]

Thanks. I have perused to linked page. 

 

We are more beer and wine people. On Celebrity, we do enjoy the Martini Bar, and sometimes try suggested cocktails elsewhere. 

 

As often happens, my Dry January has leaked over into February. It went more than half-way through April last year. Alcohol isn't super important, though we both definitely drink rather liberally (for us) when we are cruising. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, takemewithyou said:

I agree with you,  but  back in my high school days, it was Boone’s Farm wine that we had confiscated!  Don’t think we even had Berlinger white Zinfandel ….just sayin’ 😀🤣😳

I remember when Consumer Reports decided to rate wine and concluded [remember: they are engineers, not wine connoisseurs] that the 'best' wine was Gallo Hearty Burgundy.  Although to be fair it was better than the wine I made in my closet following the recipe from the Whole Earth Catalog.  But hey, in those days we couldn't even consider cruising on lines as good as Azamara...

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I'm still surprised when I pour a guest a glass of nice Zin and they look confused because of the deep red color...

 

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

You need to get different guests.

(Raising his hand to volunteer)

Except that the guests in question are invariably women, and you don't qualify as 'better' under that standard! 😉

 

I, on the other hand, would love to be your guest – as your wine standards are much higher than mine so the occasion would be lovely!