Current Lists of Wine on Board (2022/23)

[Travelingwithstyle]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Azamara is not all-inclusive and not a luxury cruise line (assuming that's what you meant by high-end).  It is a Premium line, and provides high-end value in some areas but can't do so in all without charging luxury all-inclusive prices.  If included wine is a must-have for you (a completely rational view), you will likely be more satisfied on other lines; IMHO Azamara isn't likely to fix this to your satisfaction.

Thank you for your HO.  You are 100% correct.  As you are, we are seasoned travelers but in our 50s.  We have been very loyal to Azamara and are very familiar with their operations and the majority of their officers. Once we have completed the Azamara cruises we have booked with FCCs, we will be moving on to other cruise lines for many reasons....not just the wine. 

[Hi-ho-silver]

On 2/2/2024 at 9:00 AM, Moby Jones said:

I agree. I usually take a couple of bottles of good wine onboard. When compared to the mark ups seen on cruise ships the $15 pales into insignificance. 

How is the corkage fee assessed?  Do you declare the wine when you board and have the $15/bottle charged to your account or when (if) you bring the bottle to the dining room?

[corinna121]

13 minutes ago, Hi-ho-silver said:

How is the corkage fee assessed?  Do you declare the wine when you board and have the $15/bottle charged to your account or when (if) you bring the bottle to the dining room?

The corkage fee is not charged when you bring the wine onboard. The $15 corkage fee is charged when waitstaff opens your wine for you. If you want to drink your wine on your balcony for example there will be no corkage fee. There will only be a corkage fee on wines you choose to drink in a public area onboard the ship.

[luv2travel90266]

As my spouse doesn't drink I typically take 2 evenings to finish a bottle. I am only charged once the corkage fee and tell the waiter the bottle is from the night before. They have never challenged me and I would never cheat them. I typically have taken the bottle back to my room but they will hold it for you if you prefer. I save them the task of hunting for the bottle. 

 

I have been typically been drinking locally  found  wines in the $35-$60 range brought on board from my shore visits. For Azamara to offer those as a package and allow for a profit along with,  before and after dinner drinks as well as at other meals Azamara would lose unless the premium package price were not significantly increased. I am very happy to pay a reasonable corkage fee. 

[desertgrl74]

I agree; plus it is so interesting (and often delicious) to sample local wines which the ship cannot really offer

 

[Atllindo]

On 1/17/2024 at 3:58 PM, 59impala said:

Hi, newbie here.

We are looking at an Azamara cruise next May and have a Premium Beverage package.

Does this package include upgraded wines? I can't find the answer to this after my searches. 
Thanks for the input.

Only upgraded beers and liquors for the Premium package.  Need ultimate package for upgraded wines.  sorry.

[Allwashedup]

It would be nice if regular wines onboard reflected where you are in the world.
 

When we were last onboard, serving Italian wine everyday when sailing around New Zealand did not seem right somehow. 

[ExArkie]

18 hours ago, Allwashedup said:

It would be nice if regular wines onboard reflected where you are in the world.
 

When we were last onboard, serving Italian wine everyday when sailing around New Zealand did not seem right somehow. 

Within limits...I've had a few wines in Mexico and China (land-base trips, not cruises) that I am still trying to forget. Of course, that also applies to a few US wines, too.

[Atllindo]

3 hours ago, ExArkie said:

Within limits...I've had a few wines in Mexico and China (land-base trips, not cruises) that I am still trying to forget. Of course, that also applies to a few US wines, too.

I had a wine from Armenia, that i bought at a gas station late night, that will forever go down as the worst wine  that has ever slipped past these lips.

[lisiamc]

4 minutes ago, Atllindo said:

I had a wine from Armenia, that i bought at a gas station late night, that will forever go down as the worst wine  that has ever slipped past these lips.

I might be able to supply a new candidate for that title. Have you ever tried Egyptian white wine? Some of the reds we had were actually pretty drinkable, but we had two whites last year that stand out in my memory for all the wrong reasons! 

[luv2travel90266]

On 5/24/2024 at 7:23 AM, ExArkie said:

Within limits...I've had a few wines in Mexico and China (land-base trips, not cruises) that I am still trying to forget. Of course, that also applies to a few US wines, too.

You must have missed then the pineapple wine in Hawaii. A reason to go dry. 

 

[ExArkie]

1 hour ago, luv2travel90266 said:

You must have missed then the pineapple wine in Hawaii. A reason to go dry. 

 

Actually, I did try it. Definitely a large improvement over that merlot from Mexico. 

[ExArkie]

11 minutes ago, ExArkie said:

Actually, I did try it. Definitely a large improvement over that merlot from Mexico. 

I thought about what I said and realized it could be taken personally by some people. While I attempt to be humorous, if there are fans of Mexican wine on this board, I do not mean to disparage all Mexican wines. Some from the northern Baja region, for example, are quite good and compare favorably to many Southern California wines. The one served to me by a business associate in Mexico City was not in that category.

[luv2travel90266]

Life is too short to drink bad wine.

Author unknown 

[Whitby100]

In Prime C on our last cruise last Autumn, we were chatting with our waiter about the wine selection for the house wines.  It was a Spain intensive cruise so we were asking if Spanish wines would be available.  He reported that since Sycamore took over they were sourcing their wines from a specific winery which labelled them for AZ.  He had been with AZ a while and noted this shift ‘with the new owners’. Somewhere we picked up the belief that Sycamore has an interest in a winery and this is where they get the wines.  While we have had better wines, we certainly found them agreeable.  

[desertgrl74]

I have also been told that the interest on the part of the AZ staff who select and purchase alcohol leans most strongly toward spirits, not wine.   I don't appreciate being captive of one winery.  I do understand that these are precarious financial times, so maybe this is necessary.  For me, all the more reason to provide my own wines.  (and on my last 2 cruises, I was hardly able to spend my OBC so was happy to use them for both corkage and occasionally for the rather overpriced "fine wines" available).

[takemewithyou]

3 hours ago, desertgrl74 said:

I have also been told that the interest on the part of the AZ staff who select and purchase alcohol leans most strongly toward spirits, not wine.   I don't appreciate being captive of one winery.  I do understand that these are precarious financial times, so maybe this is necessary.  For me, all the more reason to provide my own wines.  (and on my last 2 cruises, I was hardly able to spend my OBC so was happy to use them for both corkage and occasionally for the rather overpriced "fine wines" available).

I am with you on all this.

Did you happen to see the webinar with the new CEO?

She is interested in wine herself and has recently been onboard some of the ships in the last week, so I would expect she has been looking at what’s being offered onboard.  She said she has had a lot of feedback from guests about needing better wine, so fingers crossed she can make some improvements. 

[ExArkie]

13 hours ago, Whitby100 said:

In Prime C on our last cruise last Autumn, we were chatting with our waiter about the wine selection for the house wines.  It was a Spain intensive cruise so we were asking if Spanish wines would be available.  He reported that since Sycamore took over they were sourcing their wines from a specific winery which labelled them for AZ.  He had been with AZ a while and noted this shift ‘with the new owners’. Somewhere we picked up the belief that Sycamore has an interest in a winery and this is where they get the wines.  While we have had better wines, we certainly found them agreeable.  

As I recall, a couple of years ago Sycamore Partners acquired Ste. Michelle winery in Washington state. Ste. Michelle in turn owns a couple of others, including Erath and A to Z in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. All of which make decent quality wines, a few truly outstanding ones (that also sell for outstanding prices!), and some in partnership with some European winemakers.
 

I have completely lost track of which companies own which wineries these days, so there are possibly more involved than this group.

[Whitby100]

17 minutes ago, ExArkie said:

As I recall, a couple of years ago Sycamore Partners acquired Ste. Michelle winery in Washington state. Ste. Michelle in turn owns a couple of others, including Erath and A to Z in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. All of which make decent quality wines, a few truly outstanding ones (that also sell for outstanding prices!), and some in partnership with some European winemakers.
 

I have completely lost track of which companies own which wineries these days, so there are possibly more involved than this group.

The wines we were served were French with an AZ custom label.  I wonder if this is what is being served now?

[travelwide]

Can someone post the current list of wines by the glass under the complimentary package?TYIA

[luv2travel90266]

An issue has been the wines advertised were not best by made available and the selection substitutions were poor quality. They have avoided providing a list of the current available wines. Perhaps that has changed as my experience is from 2022 and 2023. 

[DS]

Azamara's catch phrase is "destination immersion."   So, ignoring Mexican, Egyptian, Indian, Greenland, whatever, wines, one would think that cruises to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, France, Italy, etc. could focus on those wines.

     We have been on multiple cruises over the past two years,   Before that, they had the "two reds, two whites" plan, with wines from all over.   Then they move to the Azamara label wines from a no-name bottler in France ( for the most part)... some of which were ok, some of which were... "nearly undrinkable."   Then they moved to a French "bottled for Azamara" brand -- Chateau Beauvotte -- which was marginally better.... but googling the brand only showed the Azamara wines, nothing else...

     I think they should have destination specific wines... and indeed would gladly buy a destination specific package if it had quality wines-- especially since the existing packages provide virtually nothing for the wine drinkers...

[Allwashedup]

I must admit I carefully choose my wines and 9/10 times it works for me.
This method is, choose the Country, choose the alcoholic content, do I like the label and the the name of the wine.😀

 

On a more serious note, any of you wine buffs travelling to the UK could try the English wines (especially those produced on the south coast of England) that are being produced.

Most very noteworthy, although quite expensive. They are also giving much larger wine producers a run for their money.

[Grandma Cruising]

13 hours ago, travelwide said:

Can someone post the current list of wines by the glass under the complimentary package?TYIA

Never seen it written down and it seems to change regularly

[oddjob16]

On 5/27/2024 at 7:31 PM, travelwide said:

Can someone post the current list of wines by the glass under the complimentary package?TYIA

 

Edited Thursday at 09:29 PM by oddjob16