wines and more

[CKforensic]

Thanks to all for posting the various drink menus. This is very informative. We just booked a sailing on EJ for later in 2024 but we only recently learned of this line. What insights can be shared on the criteria or constraints for the bottle of wine and bottle of spirits that can be chosen at the beginning of the cruise?  Also, do they allow guests to bring their own wine onboard for drinking in our cabin or restaurants?  If so, is there a corkage fee?

[vistaman]

3 hours ago, CKforensic said:

Thanks to all for posting the various drink menus. This is very informative. We just booked a sailing on EJ for later in 2024 but we only recently learned of this line. What insights can be shared on the criteria or constraints for the bottle of wine and bottle of spirits that can be chosen at the beginning of the cruise?  Also, do they allow guests to bring their own wine onboard for drinking in our cabin or restaurants?  If so, is there a corkage fee?

bringing wine or spirits on board is not a problem 

as the wine list for special wines is far too onerous I brought some of my own bottles 

there is no corkage fee howver after the 3rd bottle I got "long faces" 

I cannot hide I disliked that Explora rather heavily , it was not what they said in the presentations 

[uktog]

3 hours ago, CKforensic said:

Thanks to all for posting the various drink menus. This is very informative. We just booked a sailing on EJ for later in 2024 but we only recently learned of this line. What insights can be shared on the criteria or constraints for the bottle of wine and bottle of spirits that can be chosen at the beginning of the cruise?  Also, do they allow guests to bring their own wine onboard for drinking in our cabin or restaurants?  If so, is there a corkage fee?

We were offered a choice of two 375cl bottles. We chose Glenmorangie and Ciroc. Our cruise was two b2b though booked as one and we were offered a further choice on the second leg. 

[CKforensic]

8 hours ago, uktog said:

We were offered a choice of two 375cl bottles. We chose Glenmorangie and Ciroc. Our cruise was two b2b though booked as one and we were offered a further choice on the second leg. 

Many thanks uktog and vistaman!  This is very helpful. Can I assume that the Glenmorangie was a 10 year or can you get something with a bit more age?

 

Also, can I assume that cocktails made with the “included” spirits (e.g. Grey Goose Dirty Martini or manhattan with Buffalo Trace bourbon and Carpano Antica vermouth) would be complimentary at all bars?

 

Cheers!

[Dr. Cocktail]

7 minutes ago, CKforensic said:

 

 

Also, can I assume that cocktails made with the “included” spirits (e.g. Grey Goose Dirty Martini or manhattan with Buffalo Trace bourbon and Carpano Antica vermouth) would be complimentary at all bars?

 

Cheers!

Absolutely!  They would actually ask your preference.

 

As for the spirits in the room, we were in a PH that "officially" includes 3 bottles but as soon as we were even vaguely close to finishing one, a replacement magically appeared.  For all intensive purposes, there was no limit.

[vistaman]

4 hours ago, CKforensic said:

Many thanks uktog and vistaman!  This is very helpful. Can I assume that the Glenmorangie was a 10 year or can you get something with a bit more age?

 

Also, can I assume that cocktails made with the “included” spirits (e.g. Grey Goose Dirty Martini or manhattan with Buffalo Trace bourbon and Carpano Antica vermouth) would be complimentary at all bars?

 

Cheers!

if ordering a cocktail and you want a "better" brand what is complimentary you must insist to use that brand otherwise the bartender will take  the basic 

i want a martini with Grey Goose or Ketel One when available , but i never will ask to use Grey Goose for a Bloody Mary  

[CKforensic]

6 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

Absolutely!  They would actually ask your preference.

 

As for the spirits in the room, we were in a PH that "officially" includes 3 bottles but as soon as we were even vaguely close to finishing one, a replacement magically appeared.  For all intents and purposes, there was no limit.

Thanks!  Great handle too, Dr. Cocktail!!!!

[CKforensic]

2 hours ago, vistaman said:

if ordering a cocktail and you want a "better" brand what is complimentary you must insist to use that brand otherwise the bartender will take  the basic 

i want a martini with Grey Goose or Ketel One when available , but i never will ask to use Grey Goose for a Bloody Mary  

Perfect, thanks!  Regent was the same way. They had some nice pours but I caught them making me a cocktail with a spirit that costs ~$9/Liter when I expected an included top shelf. I, of course, made them pour it out and start over. I’m not going to pay around $10k per person for a cruise to drink rubbish cocktails. 🤬

[PaulMCO]

We are currently on Explora I and this cruise has not gotten off to a good start.  Since this topic is wines etc.. I will discuss the Champagne.  We are in a Residence and the so called perk is Dom 2013.

Needless to say we were disappointed to see yellow label Veuve Brut ($65 retail) as a substitute.

Our butler hinted that other guests have complained.

 

The ship is near full and there are issues with lack of supply -- like pillow choices (none). 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

15 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

The ship is near full and there are issues with lack of supply -- like pillow choices (none).

How is this a "supply issue" at this point?  Do they use 'single use' pillows???

[Stickman1990]

6 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

We are in a Residence and the so called perk is Dom 2013.

Needless to say we were disappointed to see yellow label Veuve Brut ($65 retail) as a substitute

 

So no Dom onboard? I wonder his just how true that is
 

Perhaps you should ask at one of the restaurants if they have it available to buy - when they undoubtably say yes just say no thanks and tell the Food & Beverage you want a bottle on your Residence Suite as per the deal 

[vistaman]

6 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

We are currently on Explora I and this cruise has not gotten off to a good start.  Since this topic is wines etc.. I will discuss the Champagne.  We are in a Residence and the so called perk is Dom 2013.

Needless to say we were disappointed to see yellow label Veuve Brut ($65 retail) as a substitute.

Our butler hinted that other guests have complained.

 

The ship is near full and there are issues with lack of supply -- like pillow choices (none). 

 

so once again difficulties of supplies ????

I was in a premier penthouse and also did receive Veuve instead of Moet with a year said "millesimé"  and a 20 cl bottle of wodka  : reading all those items the "failure of luxury" is still going on  after 5 months in operation 

who will clean up all those   mistakes and introduce "real luxury"  ?

a " broom " with a lot of power to fire a few on the top , gen managers F&B ....required!!!

MSC owners urgently should hire a team of  3 courageous people to clean up all those failures and introduce real luxury asap 

[vistaman]

I do have the impression when some items are missing , they are not trying to buy locally and resolve the problem but simply waiting until the next container is arriving: 

like the lack of mineral water in Belgium and the Netherlands with ample choice of ship  suppliers

and the lack of cranberry juice and unsalted butter 

also a good port agent can handle problems 

a good friend of mine is the best port agent  for cruise ships and sometimes some small items are missing indeed

with his wife  I searched for a particular brand of gin on a Sunday -   we were able to find it - 

I once went to buy 12 tins of French mustard for a cruise ship ,  and finding Dom Pérignon is not a problem during the week , finding Cristal Roederer or Krug is something else , I agree on that. 

[saminina]

I'm sticking with the problems originate off the ship.  Ask to speak with GM or F&B manager.

 

Glad I brought on maple syrup, toilet paper, facial tissue and a supply of cab.

Edited January 6 by saminina

[PaulMCO]

We are letting our butler try to resolve the issue first.  He understands the issue and will address it with Housekeeping and the Stores. Then if no resolution will escalate to the GM. 
 

@Host Jazzbeau  pillows are firm, down, and memory foam. They only could find one down. 
 

Both the pillow incident and the champagne has my DW in anger mode.  Her disappointing meal in Fil Rouge did not help.  I am a fatalistic person having travelled in some of the worse hell holes in the world. It takes a lot to get me riled.  

Edited January 6 by PaulMCO

[Dr. Cocktail]

15 hours ago, CKforensic said:

Thanks!  Great handle too, Dr. Cocktail!!!!

Thanks!  If you're walking behind us on a ship and call out either of those words, both my partner and I will turn around!

[uktog]

19 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

We are letting our butler try to resolve the issue first.  He understands the issue and will address it with Housekeeping and the Stores. Then if no resolution will escalate to the GM. 
 

@Host Jazzbeau  pillows are firm, down, and memory foam. They only could find one down. 
 

Both the pillow incident and the champagne has my DW in anger mode.  Her disappointing meal in Fil Rouge did not help.  I am a fatalistic person having travelled in some of the worse hell holes in the world. It takes a lot to get me riled.  

Suggest DE speaks with the General Manager onboard to share her frustration. She is an excellent listener and fixer and genuinely wants to know where there are issues and to try and address them. She won’t brush her off with a corporate line. 

[uktog]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

Suggest DE speaks with the General Manager onboard to share her frustration. She is an excellent listener and fixer and genuinely wants to know where there are issues and to try and address them. She won’t brush her off with a corporate line. 

Oops should be DW 

[PaulMCO]

Guess what showed up today. Cheers...   🙂

Edited January 8 by PaulMCO

[vistaman]

On 1/8/2024 at 6:12 PM, PaulMCO said:

Guess what showed up today. Cheers...   🙂

 

On 1/8/2024 at 6:12 PM, PaulMCO said:

Guess what showed up today. Cheers...   🙂

cheers ! 

[maggie.1008]

Have the complimentary and pay extra wine lists been updated? 

[PutnamNY]

What about Beer? Peroni? Stella? or any lager for that matter.

[JTor]

On 1/5/2024 at 9:20 PM, PaulMCO said:

We are currently on Explora I and this cruise has not gotten off to a good start.  Since this topic is wines etc.. I will discuss the Champagne.  We are in a Residence and the so called perk is Dom 2013.

Needless to say we were disappointed to see yellow label Veuve Brut ($65 retail) as a substitute.

Our butler hinted that other guests have complained.

 

The ship is near full and there are issues with lack of supply -- like pillow choices (none). 

 

I’m puzzled as we were on the sailing beginning Jan.5 and were told the ship was only about half full.  We did not experience shortage of anything on our trip.  We were in the most basic cabin (which was wonderful) and they brought us down pillows when we asked.  

[JTor]

I had asked a few people about wine and beverage service before our sailing Jan.5 and you were all very helpful, so I will post my views here.  Overall the ship did pretty well, better than Silversea, not as good as “oldCrystal” (we have not been on “newCrystal” yet).  The Moet was available everywhere and served generously.  The list of included wines was actually adequate (moreso than I expected on first reading) as there was a very light grenache which took the place of a Beaujolais or similar.  At the same price level I do think they could have a FEW more options to cover the gamut of wine styles.  The wine selection seemed a tiny bit odd to me, with some grape types and regions being a bit unexpected, but the wines were decent.  We never felt the need to purchase an “extra” wine.  However there are some improvements we suggest: 1. offer the included wine list at every meal, don’t try to peddle “wines of the day”; 2. there really should be a proper dry rose on offer, at least for warm weather sailings (sweet sparkling pink stuff does not count); 3. The  knowledge level of the servers was quite variable and some could be better educated to suggest pairings with the food - no one should ever pour sparkling pink stuff from wherever when asked “is there a rose champagne?”.  I can’t speak to premium liquors as I don’t seek them, however I do suggest having a cocktail list (beyond 2 or 3 featured cocktails in certain bars) for those of us who rarely order cocktails but want to be inspired by something special by the pool, and/or a “cocktail of the day”, which is often fun.  I was disappointed that they did not have the frozen “umbrella drink” type cocktails which is something I like as a treat when I am on vacation. I did order a daiquiri one day and it was awful, not what I expected at all (I think it might have been a margarita). They did a very good Aperol spritz so from then on I stuck with that and was happy.

[JTor]

On 1/26/2024 at 6:02 PM, PutnamNY said:

What about Beer? Peroni? Stella? or any lager for that matter.

I’m not a beer drinker but my husband was pleased with the options both with and without alcohol