Veuve Clicquot dinner?

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, goofysmom99 said:

I'll write more when I get home but two of the silliest mistakes were offering me bread after I specifically told them I was GF, but then not providing the usual GF bread option.  Next, omitting the caviar from my sea bass crudo, evidently thinking it is shellfish.  That one made me LOL and I corrected them so then the chef came out and carefully added it to my dish there at the table while the others waited. Remember, there were only 4 of us and it's a $235 meal.  Those might be first night MDR mistakes but really amateurish mid-cruise at the priciest meal on the ship.  (And there were several others.)

What were your meals like at other venues / restaurants?

[Whinenowine]

On 10/15/2022 at 11:03 PM, Fly and Sail said:

 

$250 is fair if they do Grande Dame but not for the common shelf stuff. Any limitation on how much you can order?

That's what I said on an earlier chain.  I like VC as much as the next guy, but this is a lot of money for 'good not great' champagne...with some dinner thrown in.   😉

 

[zitsky]

7 minutes ago, Whinenowine said:

That's what I said on an earlier chain.  I like VC as much as the next guy, but this is a lot of money for 'good not great' champagne...with some dinner thrown in.   😉

 

What do you define as “great” champagne?  I’ve tried different price points including Dom but I’m happy with Yellow Label.  And I’m not talking about a glass or two.  I guess I’m just not sophisticated.

[visagrunt]

While I like champagne as much as the next guy (and I'd never turn my nose up at Yellow Label™) I'm not sure that these menus and pairings add up to a good value proposition--especially where the price point has gone.

The substitution of still wines for the seafood and meat courses seems to me unnecessary and the omission of EBEO, vintage and La Grande Dame from the lineup suggests that this is not about showing off the versatility of the Clicquot lineup, but rather a branding and marketing opportunity.

And don't get me started on "Rich."  When you design a champagne for cocktails, it sounds to me like you're saying, "please numb this wine out of all recognition and then dilute it with something; anything!"  Monty Python said it best:  "this is not a wine for drinking; this is a wine for laying down and avoiding."

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by visagrunt

[zitsky]

It's hard to compare, but Celebrity does a Macallan tasting (advertising) that is $30-$40 bucks.  I think it's worth trying.  With all the supply problems Celebrity has with the wine, I'd be surprised to see La Grande Dame onboard.  You can't even get Premium wines in the restaurants right now.

[Whinenowine]

On 10/30/2022 at 10:14 PM, zitsky said:

What do you define as “great” champagne?  I’ve tried different price points including Dom but I’m happy with Yellow Label.  And I’m not talking about a glass or two.  I guess I’m just not sophisticated.

 

Subjective, of course.  'Great' champagne is defined by the palate of the drinker.  But VC yellow label is a entry-level champagne--nothing wrong with it, I've drank cases of it in my life--but nothing particularly special about it either. And it's priced accordingly.  So I think $250 is a helluva lot of surcharge for what amounts to a nice dinner and $40 of wine at retail.  To each their own.

 

[zitsky]

18 minutes ago, Whinenowine said:

 

Subjective, of course.  'Great' champagne is defined by the palate of the drinker.  But VC yellow label is a entry-level champagne--nothing wrong with it, I've drank cases of it in my life--but nothing particularly special about it either. And it's priced accordingly.  So I think $250 is a helluva lot of surcharge for what amounts to a nice dinner and $40 of wine at retail.  To each their own.

 

Would I like it to be La Grande Dame?  Absolutely!  But I’ll do it anyway.  It could be a fun night.  I’d like to try LGD but it’s been out of stock at my local Total Wine store.  Price is not an issue so tell me what I should be drinking.

[dustball2]

On 10/14/2022 at 3:51 PM, pcrum said:

We are on the Summit on Dec. 27, 2022 and are hoping this dinner is offered!

We are on this cruise and also hoping to do it!  I am bringing my sis and we are celebrating!!!!

[20165]

Was trying to follow along with this thread, but not sure i quite understand if this works the same as it did on our NCL cruise last year.  We have the premium drink package on NCL and we could order VC by the glass at dinner and it was covered under our drink package.  If we ordered a bottle, it was not other than a discount, i think 20%.  If that how it works on celebrity?

[SusieAV8R]

9 hours ago, dustball2 said:

We are on this cruise and also hoping to do it!  I am bringing my sis and we are celebrating!!!!

 

9 hours ago, dustball2 said:

We are on this cruise and also hoping to do it!  I am bringing my sis and we are celebrating!!!!

We are on that cruise also and also hope that dinner is offered 🙂

9 hours ago, dustball2 said:

We are on this cruise and also hoping to do it!  I am bringing my sis and we are celebrating!!!!

 

[njguy_south]

Just for informational purposes: I am sailing the Edge over the holidays, and they are offering pre-cruise purchase of Veuve Clicquot for $130 per bottle (before any Captain's Club discounts). They have really overpriced their stock, as I can purchase V.C. for $59 per bottle (not on sale) at my local shop. I realize that cruise ships are overpriced in their wine prices, but more than double is ridiculous.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, njguy_south said:

Just for informational purposes: I am sailing the Edge over the holidays, and they are offering pre-cruise purchase of Veuve Clicquot for $130 per bottle (before any Captain's Club discounts). They have really overpriced their stock, as I can purchase V.C. for $59 per bottle (not on sale) at my local shop. I realize that cruise ships are overpriced in their wine prices, but more than double is ridiculous.

That is nothing new.  In my experience, this is true for any bottle of wine at almost any restaurant anywhere.

Edited November 18, 2022 by zitsky

[markeb]

1 hour ago, njguy_south said:

Just for informational purposes: I am sailing the Edge over the holidays, and they are offering pre-cruise purchase of Veuve Clicquot for $130 per bottle (before any Captain's Club discounts). They have really overpriced their stock, as I can purchase V.C. for $59 per bottle (not on sale) at my local shop. I realize that cruise ships are overpriced in their wine prices, but more than double is ridiculous.

 

Typical restaurant  mark up is 2.5-3X retail. Usually more like 3X. You'll usually see readily available, inexpensive to mid-priced wines ($59 is right in that range) at around 3X retail. There's a point for "expensive" but not necessarily horribly rare wines to dip to 2X retail (especially if it's a slightly older vintage and retail already has appreciated; it's hard to sell a $250 retail wine for $750), and then for places with an extensive cellar/library list, the sky can be the limit on markup.

 

2X retail is not ridiculous. 

[njguy_south]

Interestingly, on Cunard recently, I was only paying $90 for VC. Goes to show Celebrity markup

[zitsky]

23 minutes ago, njguy_south said:

Interestingly, on Cunard recently, I was only paying $90 for VC. Goes to show Celebrity markup

Well uh you see uh Celebrity is a high class outfit and things uh are more expensive???

 

Would you believe that?  I have a bridge to sell you.

[Guppy99]

On 11/17/2022 at 1:36 PM, 20165 said:

Was trying to follow along with this thread, but not sure i quite understand if this works the same as it did on our NCL cruise last year.  We have the premium drink package on NCL and we could order VC by the glass at dinner and it was covered under our drink package.  If we ordered a bottle, it was not other than a discount, i think 20%.  If that how it works on celebrity?

The discussion is about a special dinner offered once a cruise. It is a special menu (posted above) and VC champagne pairings.  It's very expensive and priced per person. What drink package you have is irrelevant. Ordering outside of the dinner works just like any other wine.

[SusieAV8R]

1 hour ago, Guppy99 said:

The discussion is about a special dinner offered once a cruise. It is a special menu (posted above) and VC champagne pairings.  It's very expensive and priced per person. What drink package you have is irrelevant. Ordering outside of the dinner works just like any other wine.

 

1 hour ago, Guppy99 said:

The discussion is about a special dinner offered once a cruise. It is a special menu (posted above) and VC champagne pairings.  It's very expensive and priced per person. What drink package you have is irrelevant. Ordering outside of the dinner works just like any other wine.

Thanks for bringing this thread back to its purpose:  to respond to questions about the VC champagne dinner pairings.  🙂

[zitsky]

Rhetorical question but I wonder why can’t X put this dinner in the planner like everything else?  Why must it be booked on board?

[SusieAV8R]

7 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Rhetorical question but I wonder why can’t X put this dinner in the planner like everything else?  Why must it be booked on board?

Excellent question!!!

 

7 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Rhetorical question but I wonder why can’t X put this dinner in the planner like everything else?  Why must it be booked on board?

 

7 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Rhetorical question but I wonder why can’t X put this dinner in the planner like everything else?  Why must it be booked on board?

Excellent

[zitsky]

10 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

Excellent question!!!

 

 

Excellent

I think there is an employee whose only job is to add dinners to the planner but they forgot their password or something.  I’m sure they’ll figure it out soon!  🥸

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 hours ago, zitsky said:

Rhetorical question but I wonder why can’t X put this dinner in the planner like everything else?  Why must it be booked on board?

I actually asked this question when we did the experience.  I was told that sometimes they don't offer the experience if there isn't enough interest.  I pointed out that there may be more interest if it was advertised in the cruise planner.  It quickly devolved into a chicken/egg and which came first conversation.

[zitsky]

29 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I actually asked this question when we did the experience.  I was told that sometimes they don't offer the experience if there isn't enough interest.  I pointed out that there may be more interest if it was advertised in the cruise planner.  It quickly devolved into a chicken/egg and which came first conversation.

I’ve searched the forum a bit.  It seems that most people enjoy it.  I hope they do it on the Beyond.

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

5 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’ve searched the forum a bit.  It seems that most people enjoy it.  I hope they do it on the Beyond.

If they do, I'm bringing my Bud light. I have to watch my calories.

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’ve searched the forum a bit.  It seems that most people enjoy it.  I hope they do it on the Beyond.

We very much enjoyed it!  I have since tried to replicate some of the drinks they made with the VC brand but haven't been very successful.  For example, the first course was paired with a champagne on ice which they infused with cucumber.  I didn't know champagne on ice was a thing until that experience.  It was delicious!

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

If they do, I'm bringing my Bud light. I have to watch my calories.

You’re on a fancy cruise ship.  Drink Michelob Ultra like the rest of us.  🙂