Vines glasses

[Torfamm]

On 4/13/2023 at 7:51 PM, arizonaperson said:

 I say just ask them at Vines, problem solved. But with that in mind ,I order a glass of wine/cocktail,etc. all over the ship and I take the glass with me and I always set it down at a bar when I’m finished .I don’t leave it by the trashcan or in a hallway etc. 

 I think you’ll have as many answers as you will opinions. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer on this . I don’t think any bar on the ship expects you to drink it right there and return the glass to them . Perhaps the only place would be around the pool, probably they want plastic .

Vines generally serves in Reidel glasses and they don’t like to have them taken. They are very happy to pour in the glasses used at the other bars if asked.
 

I have seen them use standard glasses with the Plus package wines as a default on the Caribbean Princess this week though. 

[Torfamm]

22 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

I know this all has historically been true in Vines.

However, the Vines experience has been so downgraded on my last 2 cruises, I wonder if they even have the 'special' wine glasses any more? On our last cruise (August), no one ever mentioned us not taking the glasses to the dining room and the servers were the same servers as at the International Cafe, so not even sure they were serving wine in the special glasses? I wasn't thinking about the glasses at the time, so didn't take note. I was more concerned about the lack of white wine choices.....

Anyone have really recent experience that can confirm these glasses are still special?

They had the Reidel glasses on the Caribbean Princess this week. I noticed that they served one wine I ordered in a regular glass though. It was a French Sauvignon Blanc included in the Plus package. Probably wouldn’t have been much improved by a better glass 😉

[beach bunnie]

7 hours ago, nini said:

Do you realize what a fortune that Princess could make by selling Princess logo Reidel wine glasses on board??????? Truly, this is a no brainer.

We did a Riedel glass wine tasting on Celebrity a while ago.  You got a certificate for 4 glasses to be mailed to your home after the cruise.

[Steelers36]

8 hours ago, nini said:

Do you realize what a fortune that Princess could make by selling Princess logo Riedel wine glasses on board??????? Truly, this is a no brainer.

Beg to differ.  Why would someone buy glass(es) when they are available by request?  Any they would be bulky to pack and get home safely.  Easier to simply purchase at home in person or online.

 

[nini]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Beg to differ.  Why would someone buy glass(es) when they are available by request?  Any they would be bulky to pack and get home safely.  Easier to simply purchase at home in person or online.

 

I understand your points. I liken a Princess logo Reidel glass to a logo coffee mug which people seem to enjoy purchasing. 

And yes, absolutely a bit of a challenge to get home.

Edited April 15, 2023 by nini
Spelling

[ldubs]

I had no idea that wine glasses, and apparently expensive ones, had that much influence on how the wine tastes.  Learned something new.   And,  I now know to call them "stems" as opposed to tankards.  😀

[voljeep]

15 minutes ago, ldubs said:

I had no idea that wine glasses, and apparently expensive ones, had that much influence on how the wine tastes.  Learned something new.   And,  I now know to call them "stems" as opposed to tankards.  😀

Screw top Cabernet out of a Princess / Coca Cola tumbler - sailing is so refreshing ... day drinkin'

That's how I roll 😎

[gah_cruise]

On 4/14/2023 at 3:41 AM, trbarton said:

The wine glasses in Vines are very expensive special Riedel wine glasses of which I have some. That’s why you can’t take them with you. They are the rolls-Royce of wine glasses. Just make sure that you don’t accidentally drop one. 
 

Look at this link…https://www.wineenthusiast.com/glassware/wine-glasses#filter:custitem_brand:Riedel…& you’ll see what I mean. 
 

Tom😀

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/riedel/_/a33-1?text=riedel&r-type=m

not that  "expensive"....

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by gah_cruise

[triple7tahoe]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Beg to differ.  Why would someone buy glass(es) when they are available by request?  Any they would be bulky to pack and get home safely.  Easier to simply purchase at home in person or online.

 

I agree about the packing problems but...One never knows what some folks take home. On a recent cruise our of San Pedro, I saw a woman who had 4 rolls of ships toilet paper in her luggage 🙂

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, nini said:

And yes, absolutely a bit of a challenge to get home.

It's really not that difficult to wrap a couple of wine glasses in a small towel or sweatshirt and place them in a shoulder bag that you walk off the ship with.  We have glasses that have logged tens of thousands of miles on various vacations and we haven't broken a single one.  

[Torfamm]

42 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

It's really not that difficult to wrap a couple of wine glasses in a small towel or sweatshirt and place them in a shoulder bag that you walk off the ship with.  We have glasses that have logged tens of thousands of miles on various vacations and we haven't broken a single one.  

While I prefer stems, I have a rigid cardboard carrier meant for a single bottle that is perfect for two stemless glasses. It’s gone on many outings off tripds

[Steelers36]

48 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

While I prefer stems, I have a rigid cardboard carrier meant for a single bottle that is perfect for two stemless glasses. It’s gone on many outings off trips

Agree.  If I was going to take a couple, I'd go with the stemless ones and sacrifice having the precise one for each varietal.  Confession: I use those a lot for everyday use at home too.  But I do prefer stems.

[nini]

3 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

It's really not that difficult to wrap a couple of wine glasses in a small towel or sweatshirt and place them in a shoulder bag that you walk off the ship with.  We have glasses that have logged tens of thousands of miles on various vacations and we haven't broken a single one.  

Good to know! Thanks

[wowzz]

The point still remains - if there is no seating available in Vines, and you order a drink, which is 

poured into a Riedel glass, can they reall stop you taking it into the adjoining Gelato bar to sit and drink it ?

They certainly weren't stopping anyone over the last couple of weeks on Sky.

Given the small size of Vines (150 seats? ) it is unrealistic for Princess to try and enforce a glass policy in the venue. The bar was rammed solid every night from 18:30 to 20:00 on our cruise.

[MissP22]

20 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Vines generally serves in Reidel glasses and they don’t like to have them taken. They are very happy to pour in the glasses used at the other bars if asked.

In Feb we used to stop by the Salty Dog for 2 glasses of wine each night to carry to dinner & I believe they were those Reidel glasses they used. We didn't even stay to drink any and not a word was said when we left.

We neve returned any to the bar. 

[nini]

21 hours ago, wowzz said:

The point still remains - if there is no seating available in Vines, and you order a drink, which is 

poured into a Riedel glass, can they reall stop you taking it into the adjoining Gelato bar to sit and drink it ?

They certainly weren't stopping anyone over the last couple of weeks on Sky.

Given the small size of Vines (150 seats? ) it is unrealistic for Princess to try and enforce a glass policy in the venue. The bar was rammed solid every night from 18:30 to 20:00 on our cruise.

 

Yes they can and they did!!! It was a bit embarrassing! Maybe the Sky is more forgiving.

Personally, if they asked for "deposits" on this glassware, that would be fine with me.

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, nini said:

 

Yes they can and they did!!! It was a bit embarrassing! Maybe the Sky is more forgiving.

Personally, if they asked for "deposits" on this glassware, that would be fine with me.

On Sky, certainly on our recent cruise, there were just not enough bar staff to enforce any restriction. Three bar tenders working flat out, and two waiters. At 19:30 the bar was so full there was not a seat to be had. 

[nini]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

On Sky, certainly on our recent cruise, there were just not enough bar staff to enforce any restriction. Three bar tenders working flat out, and two waiters. At 19:30 the bar was so full there was not a seat to be had. 

Well, there was only none server and one bartender on the Grand last September in Vines. And I was his mission to seek and destroy.

[Thrak]

Up until our last cruise (Ruby Princess in December 2022) we were never allowed to remove the glasses from the venue. The most we had been able to "stretch" the rule was to sit at a table in the Piazza that was still within view of the wine steward. On our last cruise we spent time talking with the wine steward and he kind of got to know us a bit. We had talked about the wine tasting quite a bit better from the proper glassware than it did in the "to go" wine glasses. At the end of the cruise he actually allowed us to take our pours in the good glassware to dinner with us. We were in the aft dining room so it wasn't even close to Vines. Of course we had to promise to return the glasses to him and to be alert for the dining room staff trying to "clear the glasses" from the table. He was right in that they definitely did try to snag our glasses but we didn't let them go and, we did return them to the wine steward directly after dinner. The glassware definitely does make a difference. Drinking wine in good glassware at Vines and then taking the same wine to dinner in a "to go" glass the wine definitely isn't as good in the generic glasses.

 

I wouldn't count on being allowed to take the good glasses with us to dinner again but it was nice while it lasted. The head waiter at the dining room was really surprised when we showed up with the Riedel glasses.

[Mary Ann 2]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

On our last cruise we spent time talking with the wine steward and he kind of got to know us a bit. We had talked about the wine tasting quite a bit better from the proper glassware than it did in the "to go" wine glasses. At the end of the cruise he actually allowed us to take our pours in the good glassware to dinner with us.

Was that Ariel on the Ruby in Vines? We were so surprised to see him in Feb. and he was equally as surprised to see us and even remembered our names! We had gotten to know him quite well on an 18 day cruise in 2022. He also allowed us to take the good glassware into the dining room. We didn't have as many sea days in Feb. as on last year's cruise, so we were disappointed not to get to see him as much, but were glad he was there for the days we were. So fun to meet up with Princess staff from previous cruises!

Edited April 17, 2023 by Mary Ann 2

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Mary Ann 2 said:

Was that Ariel on the Ruby in Vines?

 

Nope. Benjamin. We actually had 2 Benjamins - our room steward and the wine steward in Vines were both named Benjamin.

[nini]

4 hours ago, Thrak said:

Up until our last cruise (Ruby Princess in December 2022) we were never allowed to remove the glasses from the venue. The most we had been able to "stretch" the rule was to sit at a table in the Piazza that was still within view of the wine steward. On our last cruise we spent time talking with the wine steward and he kind of got to know us a bit. We had talked about the wine tasting quite a bit better from the proper glassware than it did in the "to go" wine glasses. At the end of the cruise he actually allowed us to take our pours in the good glassware to dinner with us. We were in the aft dining room so it wasn't even close to Vines. Of course we had to promise to return the glasses to him and to be alert for the dining room staff trying to "clear the glasses" from the table. He was right in that they definitely did try to snag our glasses but we didn't let them go and, we did return them to the wine steward directly after dinner. The glassware definitely does make a difference. Drinking wine in good glassware at Vines and then taking the same wine to dinner in a "to go" glass the wine definitely isn't as good in the generic glasses.

 

I wouldn't count on being allowed to take the good glasses with us to dinner again but it was nice while it lasted. The head waiter at the dining room was really surprised when we showed up with the Riedel glasses.

 

I have written about my experience working as a server in an Italian restaurant. The owner arranged for us to be "schooled" in wine tasting with "regular Libby type wine glasses" versus drinking wine from a Reidel or Spiegelau wine glass. These do not have a "lip" on them like most wine glasses and the difference is quite astounding!

 

That is why people prefer these. As I have suggested, we are willing to pay a deposit on these with our shipboard account just to really enjoy the wine.