Review of AmaWaterways Bordeaux Wine Cruise

[2012_Alaska_bound]

Just back from the fabulous Ama Bordeaux wine cruise, including both pre and post land tours. Since there is so much info, I will divide into 3 posts: pre-cruise, cruise, post-cruise.

 

Pre-cruise in Spain's Basque region (Bilbao, San Sebastian)

 

Transfer: Ama rep was at Bilbao airport right outside the luggage pick up. Introduced us to our driver, and off we went in a very nice van with another couple that became cruise-long friends. Only question we had here was whether we were supposed to tip the driver. We did, other couple didn't.

 

Hotel: Ama is now using the Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao for the 2 night portion of the pre-cruise in Bilao. They decided to start staying at this hotel because it has a restaurant, which is appreciated by jet-lagged passengers on that first night! All of our group that I talked to loved the hotel; lovely staff, lovely rooms, wonderful breakfast buffet, well located with plenty of restaurants close by. Many took advantage of the lovely rooftop terrace for dinner the first night. Concierge kindly made reservations for several of us at a restaurant a couple blocks away for the second night, which was recommended by hotel staff and guides. Dinner and lunch reservations seem to be the norm for the places we went. Restaurants are often tiny, and can't handle a large crowd. 

 

Tour Group organization: One thing I liked about Ama (vs. Scenic) was that the Cruise Manager was with our group from pre cruise through post cruise. Can't praise Marianna (our Cruise Manager) enough for her organization and friendliness. Our pre cruise group was 55 people, which was half of the total number for the cruise. We had two buses for us, with local guides accompanying both buses along with Marianna. All tours included a "Gentle Walker" group that was a bit slower and tried to avoid stairs. I took advantage of this option the entire trip. Usually 5-8 people in this group, and we agreed we always had the BEST guides everywhere we went! Some guides stayed with us for multiple days. Don't forget to tip your local guides! 3-4 euro was about right at this time, though I tended to tip more since "Gentle Walkers" was such a small group each day. Also tip the bus driver a couple euro each day.

 

Tours: GUERNICA EXCURSION AND BILBAO "A CITY OF CONTRASTS" TOUR took us by bus up to Guernica where we toured a market and visited the highlights of the town, including a mural of the "Guernica" painting by Picasso.  Then headed back to Bilbao for pintxos (pronounced "pinch-os") and a tour of the old town. Very nice and interesting tour. Dinner was on our own that night.
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM VISIT AND TRANSFER TO SAN SEBASTIAN was the tour for the second day. Also included a visit to the Hanging Bridge. Museum guide led tour at the Guggenheim, lunch on our own, then headed off to San Sebastian. Lunch at the museum cafe was delicious and reasonably priced. About 1.5 hour ride to San Sebastian.

 

Part II San Sebastian:

Hotel: Hotel NH Collection San Sebastián Aránzazu is an NH chain hotel, similar to a Hilton. It is a 20 minute drive to the Old Town of San Sebastian, which is where all the action takes place on this part of the tour. The breakfast buffet was fine, but certainly not as nice as the one we had in Bilbao.

 

Tours: EVENING WALK OF OLD TOWN SAN SEBASTIÁN takes you on a tour the first night of Old Town then dinner on your own with either a bus or taxi ride back to to hotel after you are done with dinner. Warning: eating at pintxos bars means you choose your pintxos at a counter then stand up at a table to eat. We chose to have a sit down dinner at one of the restaurants, and would recommend making a reservation. Guides and Cruise Manager can make a recommendation. "CITY BY THE BAY OF BISCAY" TOUR was the morning tour on the second day. Beautiful views mostly. The afternoon is on your own, so we took this opportunity to eat lunch at a restaurant recommended by a friend. We did make reservations, but they wouldn't have been necessary. We went to Bodegon Alejandro in Old Town ( http://www.bodegonalejandro.com/en/menu/menu/#bodegónalejandro). They have a great tasting menu of traditional Basque dishes with or without wine pairings. Rest of the day was on our own. We were so full from lunch we didn't need dinner!

 

Transfer to Bordeaux: Finally the next morning we were off to Bordeaux to board Almadolce for the river cruise portion.  On the way we were scheduled to visit Bayone, but at the last minute we went to Bairritz instead due to protests in Bayonne over the change in pensions in France. From a passenger point of view, this change was seamless, but we supposed the Cruise Manager and Guides were stressed by it for a bit. Our guides from San Sebastian stayed with us for the transfer, which was a great idea. In Bairritz we had a tour of the town (ritzy seaside resort) ending with a tour of the market with delicious tastings. All long bus rides include a "comfort stop" at a nice truck stop.

 

To be continued....

 

 

 

[Coral]

10 hours ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

Just back from the fabulous Ama Bordeaux wine cruise, including both pre and post land tours. Since there is so much info, I will divide into 3 posts: pre-cruise, cruise, post-cruise.

 

Pre-cruise in Spain's Basque region (Bilbao, San Sebastian)

 

Transfer: Ama rep was at Bilbao airport right outside the luggage pick up. Introduced us to our driver, and off we went in a very nice van with another couple that became cruise-long friends. Only question we had here was whether we were supposed to tip the driver. We did, other couple didn't.

 

Hotel: Ama is now using the Hotel Ercilla de Bilbao for the 2 night portion of the pre-cruise in Bilao. They decided to start staying at this hotel because it has a restaurant, which is appreciated by jet-lagged passengers on that first night! All of our group that I talked to loved the hotel; lovely staff, lovely rooms, wonderful breakfast buffet, well located with plenty of restaurants close by. Many took advantage of the lovely rooftop terrace for dinner the first night. Concierge kindly made reservations for several of us at a restaurant a couple blocks away for the second night, which was recommended by hotel staff and guides. Dinner and lunch reservations seem to be the norm for the places we went. Restaurants are often tiny, and can't handle a large crowd. 

 

Tour Group organization: One thing I liked about Ama (vs. Scenic) was that the Cruise Manager was with our group from pre cruise through post cruise. Can't praise Marianna (our Cruise Manager) enough for her organization and friendliness. Our pre cruise group was 55 people, which was half of the total number for the cruise. We had two buses for us, with local guides accompanying both buses along with Marianna. All tours included a "Gentle Walker" group that was a bit slower and tried to avoid stairs. I took advantage of this option the entire trip. Usually 5-8 people in this group, and we agreed we always had the BEST guides everywhere we went! Some guides stayed with us for multiple days. Don't forget to tip your local guides! 3-4 euro was about right at this time, though I tended to tip more since "Gentle Walkers" was such a small group each day. Also tip the bus driver a couple euro each day.

 

Tours: GUERNICA EXCURSION AND BILBAO "A CITY OF CONTRASTS" TOUR took us by bus up to Guernica where we toured a market and visited the highlights of the town, including a mural of the "Guernica" painting by Picasso.  Then headed back to Bilbao for pintxos (pronounced "pinch-os") and a tour of the old town. Very nice and interesting tour. Dinner was on our own that night.
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM VISIT AND TRANSFER TO SAN SEBASTIAN was the tour for the second day. Also included a visit to the Hanging Bridge. Museum guide led tour at the Guggenheim, lunch on our own, then headed off to San Sebastian. Lunch at the museum cafe was delicious and reasonably priced. About 1.5 hour ride to San Sebastian.

 

 

 

Enjoying your review. I was in Bilbao in November and really liked the Guggenheim - I was glad I had a guide or else I would have missed/not understood half of the art. 

 

The Vizcaya bridge was also pretty cool. Never seen anything like it before!

Edited April 6, 2023 by Coral

[2012_Alaska_bound]

Here comes Part II of my review: the Cruise

 

Taste of Bordeaux Wine Cruise AmaWaterways

7 days

Amadolce

 

Ship: Amadolce, max passengers 140, actual passengers on our cruise 110. Beautiful ship.

Cabin: 302, Category A+. We chose this cabin because the pictures online showed a larger bathroom arrangement than the rest of the categories. When we cruise on Scenic last year in their lowest level cabin, we had to open the bathroom door to turn around, so bathroom size is now a priority. Unfortunately, the layout was not as shown on the deck plan, but was the same as all other cabins. Wouldn’t have paid the extra for this suite if we had known that! Good news was that the actual layout was manageable for us. Negatives about the cabin were lack of counter space as well as no drawer space.  Found a pull out bin under one of the twin beds, which unfortunately was unusable in the twin bed configuration (provided feedback on cruise survey at end, since it would have been usable if placed under the other bed). Plenty of hangers though! No difference between a suite and A+ other than Suite has a bathtub. As typical in Europe, the beds have a duvet instead of a top sheet and blanket.  Easily changed if you let reception know.

Staff: Never met our room hostess, but our room was made up twice a day as expected, so think she did a great job. Only saw her picture on the t.v. As previous mentioned, our Cruise Manager Marianna was excellent. Everything well organized. Presentations each night about upcoming day during Sip and Sail hour. Captain and ship crew were visible everywhere, doing everything when they weren’t “driving” the boat. Bar staff were great. There were 3 people in the lounge serving drinks and food in the lounge and they were very responsive to any requests or questions. Reception staff was knowledgeable and helpful. Most crew seemed to be from Serbia and Romania, and this was the first cruise of the season, so some were brand new. Training was obviously going on, but pretty much transparent to passengers.

 

Dining: Three meals served in the dining room each day in the dining room, as well as light lunch and dinner options in the lounge and one night per passenger at the chef’s table at the back of the ship. Breakfast had a small buffet option (bacon/sausage, eggs, bread, pastries, yogurt, granola), a cook to order omelet option, and a breakfast menu with a daily special. Hours are announced on the cruise schedule daily, depending on the sailing/touring schedule. Wine and sodas are free at lunch, and during Sip and Sail hour, and at dinner. Otherwise they can be charged to your account. They were fine if we brought our own wine anytime (after all, it was a wine cruise!). All the food was very good. There is always a Chef’s Suggested menu, as well as two or three other options for each course. Menus reflected the area we were sailing in. Wines offered were mostly (appropriately) Bordeaux regional wines, both red, white, and pink, as well as champagne, and the quality was good. You could ask for a different wine than what was offered both in the dining room and in the lounge. Ice cream is made onboard, so try it!

 

Tours: I found all the tours to be very good. As mentioned in a previous post, “Gentle Walker” option was offered for everything with their own guide. There is lots of bus time when visiting vineyards and other sites outside the actual town. Buses were never full. There was also a bike option led by the fitness director for many tours, which my fellow passengers really enjoyed. Tour descriptions were accurate.  The Cruise Manager Marianna went on the tours, rotating between the groups. Quiet Vox was used on the tours and provided for each passenger, with each group using a different channel. This is something I’ve experienced on all river cruises, and just wish ocean cruises would follow suit! Feel free to ask about any specific tours.

Wine Theme: This was billed as a wine cruise, so many (but not all) activities had a wine component to them. We had Mike and Melissa, the owners of Crystal Basin Winery in California were the wine hosts for the cruise. This cruise had originally been scheduled for the Rhone river in 2020, so Mike had shipped their wines pre-Covid with the Rhone in mind. Here we are 3 years later in Bordeaux! We tasted the wines and enjoyed them, and learned about Bordeaux, Provence, and the Sierra Foothills in California. Mike was a great and humorous presenter. Never pushed their wines, as I have read in other reviews of wine cruises with hosts. It was a delight to have Mike and Melissa as fellow passengers.

Passengers: Due to the nature of the cruise, most passengers were fellow wine drinkers. A large group from the Crystal Basin wine club, and another fairly big group from Toronto. The rest of us were a mix from all over the world (Canada, U.S., Panama, Brazil, Sweden, Scotland, etc.) Everyone was well traveled and enjoyed discussing a variety of things. Even though some groups were onboard, everyone blended beautifully. Great mixing of passengers in the dining room, since no assigned tables.

Miscellaneous: AmaWaterways App was great! It had the daily schedule, all tours, access to your Guest Booklet which had your personal schedule which for us included pre-cruise, cruise, and post-cruise. You could see at any given time where on the river you were sailing. Never had a problem with the app.  Internet is included, and very reliable. Never had a problem with it.  Fitness classes are offered several times each day, stretch, pilates, yoga are some that I saw. Bikes are available to ride in each port. Free time was plentiful in each port, and you could always opt to do your own thing rather than take a tour. Weather this time of year (late March) was cool to cold, with rain on a few days. Just one day (in Blaye) was blustery enough to keep many people onboard. River currents can be strong.

 

Conclusion: Would I recommend this cruise line and itinerary? YES! I had heard that these rivers aren’t as beautiful as the Rhine for instance, so was thinking I would be underwhelmed by the scenery. To my surprise I was not! Most of what you see is the French countryside with houses and buildings that looked as charming as I always imagined France would be. (Pre and post cruise tours are described in other posts in this thread.) Also a great evening cruise on the last night in Bordeaux.

[SCHappilyRetired]

26 minutes ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

Here comes Part II of my review: the Cruise

 

Taste of Bordeaux Wine Cruise AmaWaterways

7 days

Amadolce

 

Ship: Amadolce, max passengers 140, actual passengers on our cruise 110. Beautiful ship.

Cabin: 302, Category A+. We chose this cabin because the pictures online showed a larger bathroom arrangement than the rest of the categories. When we cruise on Scenic last year in their lowest level cabin, we had to open the bathroom door to turn around, so bathroom size is now a priority. Unfortunately, the layout was not as shown on the deck plan, but was the same as all other cabins. Wouldn’t have paid the extra for this suite if we had known that! Good news was that the actual layout was manageable for us. Negatives about the cabin were lack of counter space as well as no drawer space.  Found a pull out bin under one of the twin beds, which unfortunately was unusable in the twin bed configuration (provided feedback on cruise survey at end, since it would have been usable if placed under the other bed). Plenty of hangers though! No difference between a suite and A+ other than Suite has a bathtub. As typical in Europe, the beds have a duvet instead of a top sheet and blanket.  Easily changed if you let reception know.

Staff: Never met our room hostess, but our room was made up twice a day as expected, so think she did a great job. Only saw her picture on the t.v. As previous mentioned, our Cruise Manager Marianna was excellent. Everything well organized. Presentations each night about upcoming day during Sip and Sail hour. Captain and ship crew were visible everywhere, doing everything when they weren’t “driving” the boat. Bar staff were great. There were 3 people in the lounge serving drinks and food in the lounge and they were very responsive to any requests or questions. Reception staff was knowledgeable and helpful. Most crew seemed to be from Serbia and Romania, and this was the first cruise of the season, so some were brand new. Training was obviously going on, but pretty much transparent to passengers.

 

Dining: Three meals served in the dining room each day in the dining room, as well as light lunch and dinner options in the lounge and one night per passenger at the chef’s table at the back of the ship. Breakfast had a small buffet option (bacon/sausage, eggs, bread, pastries, yogurt, granola), a cook to order omelet option, and a breakfast menu with a daily special. Hours are announced on the cruise schedule daily, depending on the sailing/touring schedule. Wine and sodas are free at lunch, and during Sip and Sail hour, and at dinner. Otherwise they can be charged to your account. They were fine if we brought our own wine anytime (after all, it was a wine cruise!). All the food was very good. There is always a Chef’s Suggested menu, as well as two or three other options for each course. Menus reflected the area we were sailing in. Wines offered were mostly (appropriately) Bordeaux regional wines, both red, white, and pink, as well as champagne, and the quality was good. You could ask for a different wine than what was offered both in the dining room and in the lounge. Ice cream is made onboard, so try it!

 

Tours: I found all the tours to be very good. As mentioned in a previous post, “Gentle Walker” option was offered for everything with their own guide. There is lots of bus time when visiting vineyards and other sites outside the actual town. Buses were never full. There was also a bike option led by the fitness director for many tours, which my fellow passengers really enjoyed. Tour descriptions were accurate.  The Cruise Manager Marianna went on the tours, rotating between the groups. Quiet Vox was used on the tours and provided for each passenger, with each group using a different channel. This is something I’ve experienced on all river cruises, and just wish ocean cruises would follow suit! Feel free to ask about any specific tours.

Wine Theme: This was billed as a wine cruise, so many (but not all) activities had a wine component to them. We had Mike and Melissa, the owners of Crystal Basin Winery in California were the wine hosts for the cruise. This cruise had originally been scheduled for the Rhone river in 2020, so Mike had shipped their wines pre-Covid with the Rhone in mind. Here we are 3 years later in Bordeaux! We tasted the wines and enjoyed them, and learned about Bordeaux, Provence, and the Sierra Foothills in California. Mike was a great and humorous presenter. Never pushed their wines, as I have read in other reviews of wine cruises with hosts. It was a delight to have Mike and Melissa as fellow passengers.

Passengers: Due to the nature of the cruise, most passengers were fellow wine drinkers. A large group from the Crystal Basin wine club, and another fairly big group from Toronto. The rest of us were a mix from all over the world (Canada, U.S., Panama, Brazil, Sweden, Scotland, etc.) Everyone was well traveled and enjoyed discussing a variety of things. Even though some groups were onboard, everyone blended beautifully. Great mixing of passengers in the dining room, since no assigned tables.

Miscellaneous: AmaWaterways App was great! It had the daily schedule, all tours, access to your Guest Booklet which had your personal schedule which for us included pre-cruise, cruise, and post-cruise. You could see at any given time where on the river you were sailing. Never had a problem with the app.  Internet is included, and very reliable. Never had a problem with it.  Fitness classes are offered several times each day, stretch, pilates, yoga are some that I saw. Bikes are available to ride in each port. Free time was plentiful in each port, and you could always opt to do your own thing rather than take a tour. Weather this time of year (late March) was cool to cold, with rain on a few days. Just one day (in Blaye) was blustery enough to keep many people onboard. River currents can be strong.

 

Conclusion: Would I recommend this cruise line and itinerary? YES! I had heard that these rivers aren’t as beautiful as the Rhine for instance, so was thinking I would be underwhelmed by the scenery. To my surprise I was not! Most of what you see is the French countryside with houses and buildings that looked as charming as I always imagined France would be. (Pre and post cruise tours are described in other posts in this thread.) Also a great evening cruise on the last night in Bordeaux.

Thank you for your review!  We are so looking forward to this pre/post and cruise come August.

[Coral]

I am enjoying your review.

 

I saw a river boat near the Market and the Wine Museum when I was in Bordeaux. I now wish I had paid attention to the bridge.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

Post 3 discussing post-cruise Ama tour of Loire Valley

 

3 Nights Loire Valley/Paris CDG package (Post-Cruise)

Group: As mentioned before, our Cruise Manager Marianna accompanied us for this portion of our trip too. Our post-cruise group was 37 people. By this time we were getting to know everyone pretty well. Some were on post-cruise that were not on the pre-cruise, but we all seemed to know each other from our time on the ship. This meant we only required one bus, and could all stay together.

Hotels:

Chateaux de Pray, Amboise, France: Wow! What a fun place to spend our two nights in the Loire Valley on the post-cruise tour. It is an actual chateaux that is used as a hotel now. Just beautiful, inside, and out. Our room happened to be in the former tack room by the stables and actually would have slept 4 with a loft bedroom above the main bedroom. Everything was very comfortable, and the staff was great! Unfortunately, it could only handle 32 guests, so the remaining 5 stayed in hotel actually in the town of Amboise. Breakfast buffet (small but good) was in the Chateaux sitting room with a beautiful view of the gardens. Only negative was only one server each day to take care of all our beverages.

Hotel Pullman Paris Roissy CDG Airport: wonderful hotel right at the airport in Paris just across the street from the tram to the terminals. Just one night here in preparation to fly home the next day. Hotel had a very nice restaurant, which we chose for dinner. Breakfast buffet was served in the restaurant and was very, very good. Display of flights right in the lobby. Only downside was layout of the room, with a separate toilet room right as you enter, but with the bath/shower/sink room around the corner. This meant walking all the way around to wash hands after using the toilet. Room was very nice and comfortable, though.

 

Tours:

Tours, France: On the way from the ship to the Loire Valley, we made a stop for a tour of Tours. Tours is a very interesting town with buildings from Medieval times to present. Tours has a large university, so the town has a lively vib. We were dropped in the old town portion and given time for lunch on our own. We found a small restaurant off the main square and enjoyed French Onion soup and wine before going back for our walking tour. Our guides were local to Tours, and were able to show us what the town was all about in Medieval times.

Amboise, France: Two guides joined us today and remained with us until we left for Paris. This is the first day of touring castles in the lovely Loire valley. First up was CHÂTEAU DE CHENONCEAU (This truly spectacular château and former watermill that spans the Cher River was turned into a palace by the French King Francis I for his Mistress Diane de Poitier.). We had a bit of rain that morning, but not enough to interrupt anything, just a little bad for outdoor photos. Our Gentle Walkers guide, Simon, was used to doing bike tours, so our slower pace was a bit of a challenge for him. On the other hand, he was a great encouragement when we got tired! Even in dreary weather it was great to have time to walk in the gardens. For lunch we drove into the town of Amboise, and our guides and Cruise Manager gave us some great suggestions for lunch. We chose a boulangerie highly recommended by Simon, and had quiche, wine, and delicious desserts. Then on to our meeting place to tour CHÂTEAU D'AMBOISE located right in town. This former medieval castle was remodeled in the Renaissance to a royal residence. The Gothic chapel contains the final resting place of Leonardo da Vinci. Then on to the final chateaux of the day, CHÂTEAU CLOS DU LUCE (Leonardo da Vinci’s last home. Here, during the final years of his life, he completed some of his most treasured works, The Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, and the Saint John the Baptist.). This one was especially fascinating because on the bottom floor they have a museum of da Vinci’s drawings of his inventions with replicas of them produced with original materials by IBM. After touring 3 chateaux I was exhausted, but Cruise Manager Marianna held out a “carrot” to get us to the finish line, a wine tasting in Amboise!

Amboise, France: Second day of touring castles before we depart to Paris. A joy to have our same guides again today. First up CHÂTEAU DE CHAMBORD (Located at the heart of Europe’s largest enclosed wooded park, its 156-yard façade, 426 rooms, 77 staircases and 282 fireplaces make this the largest castle in Loire Valley.) Also described as “astoundingly massive, it was the high point of all the chateaux visits for me, but oh my, lots of stairs! After the tour, we were off to Blois, France for lunch on our own and a tour of CHÂTEAU DU BLOIS (residence of seven kings and ten queens of France). By the time we were done, I had my fill of chateaux, but even though I was tired, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss any of them. Now for the 3 hour drive to Paris, with a rest stop along the way.

Dining: All breakfasts were included on the post-cruise tour. Lunch was on our own, with suggestions of good restaurants wherever we were. Dinner the first night was at the Chateaux de Pray in their Michelin star restaurant L’Orangerie. We had a fixed menu, since our group took up the whole restaurant. Dinner was included, but drinks were on our own and could be charged to our rooms. We chose local wines, of course. It was such a lovely experience. The second night we were on our own, again with many recommendations on restaurants in Amboise or you could choose to eat at L’Orangerie again with their regular menu. Reservations are recommended to all. We ate at La Reserve in Amboise, and I would highly recommend it. A shuttle is provided into Amboise that evening, but you are responsible for getting a taxi back to the hotel.  Final night in Paris is on your own, but only real option was the hotel restaurant. Luckily it was delicious. At first, I was bothered by not having lunches and dinners included, but came to actually appreciate the chance to try small local restaurants.

 

Transportation: As mentioned above, there was one bus for the post-cruise group and our driver was with us from the ship to drop off in Paris. He was an excellent driver through small country roads and Paris traffic. (Don’t forget to tip the driver and guides! Cruise Manager tip can be charged to your shipboard account before the end of the cruise.) There was always bottled water available and replacement batteries for the Quiet Vox. Since we were only 37 on bus built for 60, we could spread out comfortably. Guides spent time pointing things out for us along the way using the bus microphone and it worked flawlessly the whole trip.

 

Conclusion: Other than being really tiring with two full days of tours, the post-cruise was as excellent as the rest of our Ama experience. Well organized, interesting, and fun. Everything like hotels, meals, guides, was top notch.

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by 2012_Alaska_bound
updated info

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 minutes ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

Only downside was layout of the room, with a separate toilet room right as you enter, but with the bath/shower/sink room around the corner.

This is a French thing.  Ponant ships are designed like this too.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

6 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This is a French thing.  Ponant ships are designed like this too.

 

Just to be clear, this was only at the Pulman Hotel, not on the ship, although our friends had a similar set up in their Chateaux room.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks for this great review!  I have split it off into a separate thread to help people find it in the future.

[pontac]

@2012_Alaska_bound - First I'd like to thank you for your report. I know how much effort is needed to produce one. But a report on  a wine cruise without mention by names of the wines offered or wineries visited?

 

I've now taken two Bordeaux cruises on two different lines - I  chose a different company for the second not because I was unhappy with the first, far from it. I just thought the second company would go different wineries.

 

My first wine love is Bordeaux and I'd go there on another cruise, but I'd like to know which wineries I would visit, and ditto on the wines poured on board.

 

I'd be grateful if you would say which wineries you visited and name some of the wines served on board

Edited April 9, 2023 by pontac

[gingerspike]

On 4/9/2023 at 11:11 AM, pontac said:

@2012_Alaska_bound - First I'd like to thank you for your report. I know how much effort is needed to produce one. But a report on  a wine cruise without mention by names of the wines offered or wineries visited?

 

I've now taken two Bordeaux cruises on two different lines - I  chose a different company for the second not because I was unhappy with the first, far from it. I just thought the second company would go different wineries.

 

My first wine love is Bordeaux and I'd go there on another cruise, but I'd like to know which wineries I would visit, and ditto on the wines poured on board.

 

I'd be grateful if you would say which wineries you visited and name some of the wines served on board

 

@pontac We just returned from the Taste of Bordeaux and enjoyed most of the wines and tours we were on. Usually we were split into groups and would go to different vineyards. If I know or can find  the second vineyard, I will include it here.

 

For excursions, we chose the wine tasting ones as opposed to the bike rides, etc. The guides were all excellent. We toured St. Emilion cellars and monolithic church, the citadel at Blaye, Roquetaillade Castle. We enjoyed all the tours - the castle was the most surprising visit. It doesn't look like much from the outside.

 

Our vineyard visits included:

St. Emilion - Château de Ferrand. I believe the other group went to Château de Pressac

Fronsac - Château de la Riviere. Others listed in our cruise docs were Château Gaby or Château de la Dauphine

Bourg - "Fête du Vin" with tastings from local producers and entertainment

Medoc - Château Leoville Poyferre. The other may have been Château Gruaud Larose

Cadillac - Sauternes - Château de Rayne-Vigneau. I believe the other group went to Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey.

 

As to wines poured on board, I didn't make notes about the dinner wines but all were from Bordeaux regions. The bar wines were the regular offerings, not regional.

Our wine host was Mark Newman,CEO of Accolade Brands Inc. & SteakHouse Vineyards in Santa Lucia Highlands, CA. He provided two talks and tastings of right and left bank wines.

 

If I can read the labels from my photos, at the right bank seminar we tasted:

2020 Château Joanin Bécot,

2020 Château Eglise d'Armens St. Emilion Grand Cru,

2018 Pomerol by Clinet and

2019 Château Fombrauge St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe.

 

The left bank included:

2020 LaCoste Borie Pauillac,

2020 Château Ormes de Pez Saint-Estèphe,

2020 Château Cantemerle Haut-Medoc, and

2020 Château Bouscaut Grand Cru Classe de Graves Pessac-Leognan Semillion-Savignon Blanc blend.

 

I hope this helps. This was our first visit to Bordeaux and we thoroughly enjoyed it even with all the rain.

 

 

[pontac]

Thankyou @gingerspike

 

Some nice wines there; was it a special cruise? I can't see  a mention of a wine host for this cruise on the Amawaterways website, and it seems  unusual to have a US host.

 

Some of wineries visited were also on the Scenic or Viking Bordeaux cruises I have been on,

[gingerspike]

@pontac The wines were quite good. We did not know much about Bordeaux before this, so it was quite an education. We are definitely converts. I think we would DIY with a local guide next time, especially if the other river cruise companies visit the same vineyards. Although we really like the unpack once travel that cruising offers.

 

It was a wine cruise and the last Bordeaux cruise of the 2023 season. This was our first river and Ama cruise, so can't speak to the US host question. It was not a special charter or anything like that. However, we are signed up for a 2024 Rhine Castles and Swiss Alps cruise next November that also includes US hosts (David Lauer & Krista Lauer of Bryn Mawr Vineyards, Salem OR).

 

The host, Mark, was quite knowledgeable and always available to chat. This was his 80th trip to Bordeaux and 100th trip to France, so he knew the area quite well. This it the info provided by Ama in our docs:

"This cruise will be hosted by Mark A. Newman, CEO of Accolade Brands Inc. & SteakHouse Vineyards in Santa Lucia Highlands, CA. In addition to producing wine in California, Mark also has produced wine in the Loire Valley in France called Perle de Mer Muscadet. Additionally, Mark has recently judged with Gambero Rosso for the prestigious Tre Bicchieri awards in Rome, Italy.
In his over 40 years in the wine industry, he has owned the largest wine & spirits retail chain in Arizona, held key California winery positions as well as senior level executive positions in the wine distributing business. He received his education at the University of Southern California and is a member of several wine industry trade groups. Mark was inducted into the prestigious Commanderie de Bontemps du Medoc et Graves recognizing his years of dedication to the Bordeaux wine industry, and is Maitre-Conseil of Gastronomy, an honor bestowed by the French Minister of Agriculture, a member of the Society of Wine Educators. Mark has judged the Los Angeles International Wine Competition for 26 consecutive years, and he also judges the California State Fair, the San Diego International Wine Competition, and the San Diego Toast of the Coast Competition."

 

I forgot to mention that, although the bar by the glass offerings were the regular ones, you could purchase the Bordeaux wines by the bottle.

[pontac]

Thanks again @gingerspike

 

I'm aware that the American Wine Society advertise a cruise annually which is hosted by a US expert.

 

Looking at the Amawaterway's site for the 2024 Rhine Castles and Swiss Alps cruise I see that there is one designated as a wine cruise, which   departs 11 November.

 

Thanks for the info - I didn't know they had dedicated wine cruises. As a wine buff (aka avid drinker) I'll explore further.

 

Re: cruise companies visiting the same wineries, Europe is different from the USA and many European wineries are not set up to take visitors en masse, that's especially true in Bordeaux and most of the top wineries don't even have any wines to sell as they operate an ancient system where a middleman has a contract to buy the entire output and they sell on to importers and merchants.

 

Another factor is that places visited can change; for instance when I went to Bordeaux on a Viking cruise we had a tremendous visit to Château Siaurac, but from 2024 this Ch is now on Scenic's itinerary, it wasn't when we cruised Bordeaux with Scenic this year.

Edited November 27, 2023 by pontac

[texasstar]

Thank you so much for your excellent review.  This cruise has been on my radar, and has moved up a notch because of your review.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

On 11/27/2023 at 9:27 AM, pontac said:

I didn't know they had dedicated wine cruises.

 

Our cruise in March was also a designated wine cruise with an American wine maker. I think they offer one in Spring and one in Fall.

Our wineries seemed to be similar to the ones mentioned by @gingerspike. If you want me to look up the specifics, please let me know. I had done very little Bordeaux tasting before, so all wines were new to me.

 

Looking into the Provence Fall itinerary for 2025.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 11/27/2023 at 11:27 AM, pontac said:

Thanks for the info - I didn't know they had dedicated wine cruises. As a wine buff (aka avid drinker) I'll explore further.

AMA does wine-themed cruises on a regular basis on many of their itineraries.  There's a separate section of the website:

https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/wine-cruises/2024

[pontac]

2 hours ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

Our wineries seemed to be similar to the ones mentioned by @gingerspike. If you want me to look up the specifics, please let me know.

 

Thanks for the offer, but not necessary now, thanks to @gingerspike.

 

 I have already looked at the Amawaterways site, and indeed looked at the page @Host Jazzbeau gives the link to. (BTW, thanks, @Host Jazzbeau)