Cellar Masters presentations..Worth it?

[Aldeya]

To those who bought presentations at the Cellar Masters (wine tastings, etc)...was it worth the price and time spent?

[NMTraveller]

I thought so.  We tasted some very nice wines.

[1Virgo]

we did a Reidel workshop.  what an eye opener. Right class for each wine.  Was so worth it. When we came home, I poured our son a glass of wine in a non descript wine glass.  I took him the same wine but in the proper glass. He was convinced I switched wines.     We really enjoyed that session

[markeb]

Kind of depends on your experience and tastes. They do a nice job, and the events are generally well run. If you have membership at multiple Napa/Sonoma/Columbia Valley wineries the wine tastings are going to be OK at best. But they do very well with what they have. 
 

Same for the whisky tastings. If you’re very familiar with Highland and Speyside Scotch, you can lead the tasting. But if you want a nice introduction to The Macallan, it’s a nice experience. 
 

The world wine tasting (I think that he name) was a lot of fun, and you get a chance to experience the different backgrounds and expect of the sommeliers. I’d unequivocally recommend that event. 

[irvington]

Thanks, this is helpful. I like these kind of events but it may not be as good as we get on the West Coast.

[DCPIV]

I agree with much of what the others said. 

 

We love the World Wine Tasting.  The wine itself is not necessarily something to sing songs about, but it's good, and you get to try a lot of wines at your own pace.  The conversation with the sommeliers (and other passengers) also can be excellent.  On top of all that, it's a fun atmosphere.  Unfortunately, they did not offer it on Equinox when we were on board last Fall.  We'll see if it's back when we're on Reflection next week.  It's on the cruise planner, so we have our fingers crossed!

 

The Premium Wine Tasting is expensive, but it's totally worth that price.  You get some pretty special stuff that you cannot get by the glass on board (and would have to reach much deeper into your pocket if you wanted a bottle).

 

The Riedel workshop is good if you want the glasses or the experience of trying out the glassware.  It may not be worth it if you already are familiar with Riedel (and especially if you already have Riedel glasses at home),

 

The whisk(e)y tastings are hit and miss, and I've found them mostly to miss.  It's not so much that they liquor isn't good, but I cannot make sense of paying $30-40 for 3-4 half pours unless you are talking about something really special (and this isn't that).  You can pretty much do any of these tastings on your own for little or no money (maybe while talking to a bartender) if you have a package, and then you get a full pour.  Also, a lot of them are conducted by someone who isn't much more familiar with the liquor than those who bought the tasting. They are marvelous folks, mind you, but their expertise is wine.  They typically are giving a set speech, and they've even said some things that are dead wrong (e.g., bourbon can only be made in Kentucky).  Now if you were to get someone who really knew what they were talking about, it might be worth it, but you won't know that until you're already into the tasting.

 

If you are interested in liquor tastings, check in with the liquor store on board.  They often do at least one free tasting every day, and the folks working in there typically know what they are talking about.