Current Lists of Wine on Board (2022/23)

[takemewithyou]

1 hour ago, federalexpress said:

Further to my last post above. this is what exceeds moving the goalposts. When I booked, corkage was $10 not $25. I saw no mention of confiscating wines bought in port. What use are they to me at the end of the cruise? At a minimum, I had assume they could be consumed in your room, free of charge and without interference. Now I also see they app ear to have markedly reduce quality of the package I had assumed I would buy. I'm sure I'll still find pleasure in my forthcoming cruise but I'm now beginning to feel nickel and dimed and I booked Azamara to avoid that.

Long time Azamara cruiser here….since 2009

IN days long ago, the complimentary wines were very good.

Wines were available from your destination you were cruising.

Then the Ultimate Package was introduced and complimentary liquors were reduced.

Post Covid, we cruised 12/21.  Supply chain issues were supposedly the reason for wine quality reduction.  Upgraded to Ultimate package i12/21.  Wines available were not impressive.  Same excuse now…..supply chain.

Next cruise, I will probably purchase a wine or two ashore and pay corkage or use a wine package after evaluating what is currently being served onboard.

 

 

 

[luv2travel90266]

23 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

So are the Wine packages given a discount for Loyalty, as the Premium and Ultimate Drink Package Upgrades are?  

I wish I didn't say this but the wines are being misrepresented. I couldn't do that in my business and that should be corrected as it excuse the pun, does leave a bad taste in one's mouth! This is the current program and discounts

Edited October 14, 2022 by luv2travel90266
spell corrections

[takemewithyou]

20 minutes ago, luv2travel90266 said:

I wish I didn't say this but the wines are being misrepresented. I couldn't do that in my business and that should be corrected as it excuse the pun, does leave a bad taste in one's mouth! This is the current program and discounts

They were like that 12/21.  Totally misrepresented on the wines.  
we had no Kendall Jackson of any variety.  We did have whispering Angel, but now that is hit or miss.  
But I am asking if there is a loyalty discount for the two 5 bottle wine packages.

[Grandma Cruising]

7 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

The corkage was a very reasonable $10 previously. Have heard that changed and just found this online showing now $25. Logo appears to be an old logo. 

http://media.azamaracruises.com/azamara/content/pdf/faq/Azamara_Guest_Alcohol_Policy.pdf

 

 

I think this is an extremely old document, looking at the logo on it. It’s not even the old logo, it’s the one before that I think. I think this should be disregarded.

[Grandma Cruising]

5 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

They were like that 12/21.  Totally misrepresented on the wines.  
we had no Kendall Jackson of any variety.  We did have whispering Angel, but now that is hit or miss.  
But I am asking if there is a loyalty discount for the two 5 bottle wine packages.

I think not, there’s nothing mentioned on the Azamara Circle pages, only the discount for the Ultimate Package.

[Belfastman]

9 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

I wish I didn't say this but the wines are being misrepresented. I couldn't do that in my business and that should be corrected as it excuse the pun, does leave a bad taste in one's mouth! This is the current program and discounts

We have been told on board now that this list is out of date but they haven't got the new one available yet. The ultimate package wines are printed in the front of the restaurant wine menu.

[GUSGB]

These are the current offerings on Onward. The best of the included whites. Just had a glass of the Bayten South African SB, chalk and cheese!! Much better. More reports to follow.

[federalexpress]

23 hours ago, GUSGB said:

These are the current offerings on Onward. The best of the included whites. Just had a glass of the Bayten South African SB, chalk and cheese!! Much better. More reports to follow.

 

Thanks for this be interested in any other updates on current wines available, especially for the Ultimate package.

[Riocca]

This is the latest wine list for the Ultimate Package onboard Azamara Onward.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

34 minutes ago, Riocca said:

This is the latest wine list for the Ultimate Package onboard Azamara Onward.

Boy I'm glad I didn't pay the big bucks for those wines!  The Connoisseur package served me well.

[Ithikan]

28 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Boy I'm glad I didn't pay the big bucks for those wines!  The Connoisseur package served me well.

Walmart has the Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir for $8.98/bottle.  Possibly not Azamara's best advert for purchasing the Ultimate Beverage Pkg. ; )

[tango9]

Thank you, Riocca! The list is so different from when I was on Quest earlier this year

[uktog]

A much shorter list than on Journey and Quest 

[Grandma Cruising]

The list on the Quest still says Nicolas Feuillette, but they Don’t have it and are serving Montaudon instead.

[uktog]

10 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

The list on the Quest still says Nicolas Feuillette, but they Don’t have it and are serving Montaudon instead.

Yuk

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Yuk

It’s not too bad, just very bland.

[Mackdogmolly]

5 hours ago, uktog said:

A much shorter list than on Journey and Quest 

At least they still have Whispering Angel! 😋

[federalexpress]

On 10/31/2022 at 8:48 PM, Riocca said:

This is the latest wine list for the Ultimate Package onboard Azamara Onward.

 

 

Helpful, thank you.Although it makes for somewhat deflating reading. A decent Merlot like Matanzas Creek changed for what is basically a bucket Italian Merlot at about a third the cost? Mondavi's budget entry line v Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir? I guess we have to suck it up but maybe make sure onboard to the staff that some of us at least are noticing this, and hope that gets fed back...

 

[kool kruiser]

Whilst agreeing with these comments, can't complain about the Moet champers, which was also available on our recent cruise. 

[JYDCruise]

On 10/31/2022 at 1:48 PM, Riocca said:

This is the latest wine list for the Ultimate Package onboard Azamara Onward.

 

I'm not expecting Krug or Petrus, but that should really be the list of complementary wines in the basic/included package, with the possible exception of the Moet and the Domaine Chandon.

 

That list might make the accountants happy, but if I was Azamara's F&B manager/head sommelier, I'd be pretty embarrassed.

Edited November 2, 2022 by JYDCruise

[Lazy Sailor]

Whispering Angel is probably the best value there - latest price I checked in UK is £20 ($22.50) a bottle.

If they run out my wife will NOT be pleased.

[Grandma Cruising]

Here’s the Ultimate Beverage list for the Quest now 

[uktog]

40 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Here’s the Ultimate Beverage list for the Quest now 

Thanks, do they actually have all these wines onboard.  That looks like the list they circulated in July but then did not actually have some of the wines onboard.  It looks a much more extensive list than Onward

[federalexpress]

With thanks to Grandma Cruising for the latest list from a different ship. A lot of similarities but also a couple of differences, especially on the reds. I see a halfway OK satellite St Emilion, the Dame de Bouard, but also a bargain basement CS/Merlot that appears to come from the Cote de Gascogne of all places. Also a not bad Jurancon dessert wine, the Domaine Lasserre.

 

At this point it opens up the issue of what Azamara appear to be doing with wine versus our expectations as customers and whether they match up. My expectation is based on the fact that wine, albeit fairly basic, is already included, and that this needs an extra £20 per day spend (as a Brit, I'll deal in sterling). My expectation derived from the above is that I would expect to see wines retailing around £15 on the Ultimate list. Few people drink more than a bottle a day and that still more than covers their cost. Another way of putting it would be to apply a 250% mark up on the per bottle difference between the included and ultimate wines. You get to much the same figure.

 

For £15, a little above or below, I have bought in the UK (so including our high taxes), a decent Pomerol or a top Cru Bourgeois Medoc, a good grower Chablis, a Rioja reserva from a top producer. A Sancerre would be borderline but a decent Pouilly Fume fits in. Burgundy is pretty much off limits at this price but you could get a top cru single vineyard Beaujolais or a reasonable quality Pinot Noir from Oregon or S America or for that matter, a much better one than Matua from New Zealand. Beyond the best known names, £15 would also buy you some very decent quality wine from top producers from S Africa, Portugal etc.

 

What perplexes me even more is that some of the drinks on the list are definitely premium. The Champagne and Chandon would be way above that but look at those whiskies. The Balvenie and Macallan bottles are not all that far away from £100 a bottle. Granted you drink less whisky than you would wine, but even so, that also supports £15 a bottle. My conclusion is that AZ simply don't care much about wine and/or have zero expertise on the subject and so choose to make their savings there. I grant you most passengers are not wine nuts like me, but surely they are more interested than average, especially if buying the package? Seems to me, the package works pretty well if you drink whisky and champagne, a lot less so if you prefer wine. I write this hoping AZ may read this forum and do something about it.

[Riocca]

My take on this for what it’s worth is that the Ultimate Package is more about spirits than wine. Especially with the Atlas cocktails at $17.95 and specialty cocktails at $14.95 the $23.95, discounted substantially with loyalty, looks extremely reasonable. The wines by the glass and beer selection are really just an addition, if wine is your thing then the wine packages probably provide better value. 
We upgrade because of our spirits preferences and take the wine by the glass as a bonus.