RETREAT BAR ?

[DaKahuna]

6 hours ago, Straughn said:

This is the regular KJ pinot, not the Celebrity Elegance one. The Elegance one appears on the bar/restaurant wine lists with a small upcharge - $2.00 or $3.00.

 

 That is true, Elegance is no longer covered by the drink package. 

 

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 That is true, Elegance is no longer covered by the drink package. 

 

Well the President says the wine is so much better now?

[Nado44]

Decoy is also available in the Lounge despite not being on the menu. Just need to ask for it.

[George C]

If you ask the bartender for a certain wine or scotch etc they will attempt to get it , as long as it’s not outrageous like Johnny Walker Blue 

[zitsky]

13 minutes ago, George C said:

If you ask the bartender for a certain wine or scotch etc they will attempt to get it , as long as it’s not outrageous like Johnny Walker Blue 

There really should be a proper bar in the Retreat lounge.   I just want a decent Macallan and Johnnie Walker Black.  And some decent IPA.  And wines that aren’t $10 a bottle.  On Eclipse I had better drinks at the Ensemble Lounge than I had on Beyond in the Retreat.

[DaKahuna]

14 minutes ago, zitsky said:

And some decent IPA.

 

 I am very sorry but that is an oxymoron.  Those two words do not even belong together in the same sentence.  Decent porter, decent stout, decent Belgin Ale - yes but never those two. 

 

 

p.s. I have seen Johnny Walker Black in the Retreat Lounge/Michael's Club.  I do not normally drink scotch so don't ask me which one as I cannot recall. 

 

Edited August 3 by DaKahuna

[cruisestitch]

41 minutes ago, zitsky said:

There really should be a proper bar in the Retreat lounge.   I just want a decent Macallan and Johnnie Walker Black.  And some decent IPA.  And wines that aren’t $10 a bottle.  On Eclipse I had better drinks at the Ensemble Lounge than I had on Beyond in the Retreat.

As you won’t book Retreat anymore, this will be a problem you don’t need to worry about

[George C]

42 minutes ago, zitsky said:

There really should be a proper bar in the Retreat lounge.   I just want a decent Macallan and Johnnie Walker Black.  And some decent IPA.  And wines that aren’t $10 a bottle.  On Eclipse I had better drinks at the Ensemble Lounge than I had on Beyond in the Retreat.

They always had Macallan , I have gotten Macallan as one of my free bottles for my royal suite. 

[zitsky]

31 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I am very sorry but that is an oxymoron.  Those two words do not even belong together in the same sentence.  Decent porter, decent stout, decent Belgin Ale - yes but never those two. 

 

 

p.s. I have seen Johnny Walker Black in the Retreat Lounge/Michael's Club.  I do not normally drink scotch so don't ask me which one as I cannot recall. 

 

I drank a Michelob Ultra recently.  And Dos Equis.  I also drank an Iron City about 5 years ago.  Or maybe it was Pabst Blue Ribbon.

 

Johnnie Walker Black is all I need for scotch.  JW Red tastes like turpentine.  The base Macallan travel version is not great.  I prefer the next one up.  Honestly I am not particular about scotch but none of the travel Macallans are that good.  At home I drink Macallan but I am rotating through several different brands.

 

People are funny.  I bought a bottle of travel Glen Deveron 16 scotch on board and opened it 18 months later.  It’s not bad.  But the internet reviews say it’s garbage.  I tried Toki and that was too sweet.  Good for mixing.  I have a bottle of Balblair, and Glenfiddich I’m waiting to open.

 

 

[zitsky]

6 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

As you won’t book Retreat anymore, this will be a problem you don’t need to worry about

Lots of people read these forums to make informed choices.  They should know the pluses and minuses of the Retreat.

 

 

[DaKahuna]

4 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I tried Toki and that was too sweet.  

 

I like Toki.  I am primarily a rum drinker but I do like Hibiki and Yamazaki as well as Toki. 

[Liao]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

Lots of people read these forums to make informed choices.  They should know the pluses and minuses of the Retreat.

 

 

It also helps them if the responses have a level of maturity and lack of non-stop sarcasm.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, Liao said:

It also helps them if the responses have a level of maturity and lack of non-stop sarcasm.

I’ve been reading your posts too.  You do things your way and I’ll do things my way.

[George C]

4 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

I like Toki.  I am primarily a rum drinker but I do like Hibiki and Yamazaki as well as Toki. 

I am not arum drinker normally but like a kraken pina colada in outdoor retreat with a kraken topper a couple of times on my cruise. I have always been happy with service and selection in the retreat in my 10 or so celebrity cruises in suites ( actually never sailed in a non suite on celebrity)

[DaKahuna]

25 minutes ago, George C said:

like a kraken pina colada in outdoor retreat with a kraken topper

 

 I have also been known to have a Kraker Colada with a float of Kraken topper.  Someone posted that they did not carry Kraken onboard any longer.  I do not sail until April so I am hoping that was just a temporary shortage thing.  

[chuckncole]

On 8/1/2024 at 5:39 PM, markeb said:

It will vary. The cocktail menu tends to be pretty standard drinks. No blender that I recall. If you want a G&T, rum and coke, margarita on the rocks, old fashioned, etc. you should be fine. They may make some of the specialty drinks from other bars, but there's one bartender typically doing everything. They'll typically have a subset of the premium package wines and will adapt based on requests and demand (and availability). Whisk(e)y selection used to be pretty good, but it had regressed to the mean on my last couple of cruises.

 

That's my memory, at least! 

There is a blender in the Retreat bar, they have a specialty cocktail menu for only Retreat guests.  things not offered elswhere with a higher end spirit selection. Depending on bookings they have 2-5 employees dedicated to make your stay amazing, The wine varies depending on  which ship.. the Ovation or the Encore.  We were drinking Sandhi Hill CHardonnay all day in the retreat but it was an upsell of 70$ a bottle anywhere else on the ship. (Encore feb 3-17 2024) Have a great time

[cruisestitch]

I’m confused about which ships you were on? Ovation ? encore?

[DaKahuna]

6 hours ago, chuckncole said:

There is a blender in the Retreat bar, they have a specialty cocktail menu for only Retreat guests.  things not offered elswhere with a higher end spirit selection. Depending on bookings they have 2-5 employees dedicated to make your stay amazing, The wine varies depending on  which ship.. the Ovation or the Encore. 

 

 I have no idea what you are talking about.  There are no Celebrity ships named Ovation or Encore. There is an Ovation and an Encore that is part of the Norwegian fleet, WE are talking Celebrity Cruises here. 

 As for "2 - 5 employees" There is usually one or two Retreat Concierge's and a bar tender, outside the hours when snacks are being provided then there is a server that circulates through the lounge serving snacks, drinks, and picking up plates and glasses. 

 

Edited August 13 by DaKahuna

[Naeva]

On 8/1/2024 at 8:20 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

You'll have to zoom but this should give you and idea of some of the selections.  I cannot confirm that everything you see is included but I was drinking only mixed drinks. 

 

 This was from the Miillennium in May of this year. 

 

 

Thank you for this! I'm new to celebrity, and my first cruise is on the reflection, but if this bar has Whistlepig, Bulleit, Angles Envy, Woodford and Eagle Rare? I'm going to be very happy. And is that a Diplomatico rum I see or do my eyes deceive me? Oh yes, very happy. 

Edited August 13 by Naeva

[Pennstatedj]

In the retreat lounge on the Beyond three weeks ago, the bartender served my wife MerSol, Elegance Chardonnay, LeCrema, and KJ Chardonnay. They will get you anything even if it is not on the menu with no up charge. If the regular bartender is not there sometimes you will get what is there at the bar. When he or she is there they will get it for you. 

Just ask nicely. They really try to make you happy. 

[George C]

50 minutes ago, Pennstatedj said:

In the retreat lounge on the Beyond three weeks ago, the bartender served my wife MerSol, Elegance Chardonnay, LeCrema, and KJ Chardonnay. They will get you anything even if it is not on the menu with no up charge. If the regular bartender is not there sometimes you will get what is there at the bar. When he or she is there they will get it for you. 

Just ask nicely. They really try to make you happy. 

I totally agree bartender will attempt to get you anything within reason .