Sommeliers?

[lisiamc]

Hi,

 

Am I correct in thinking that there are no longer sommeliers on Royal Caribbean ships? We're cruising on Splendour in the Mediterranean next month, if that makes any difference. (This is our first time with RCCL, and we're looking forward to it!:) )

 

We're always trying to learn more about choosing wines, and have had really good suggestions from sommeliers in the past. Are we on our own now? And if there are no sommeliers, who brings the wine these days?

 

TIA

 

Lisa

[kernow]

Lisa, yes you are correct there are no sommeliers on RCCL ships. The wine is handled by your assistant waiter. We order a bottle of wine every night at dinner and have never had any problems although we don't tend to ask their advice as we know the sort of thing we like. Not sure how much they actually know if you want advice.

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time on Splendour, we sailed on her in the Med last October and loved it.

 

Julie

[truffles2]

Most all cruises have a wine tasting sometime during the cruise and you might be interested in going to that.

[okbowler]

This seems to be spreading, as Princess has also gone to asst. waiters to serve wine. Bill

[dutchess43]

You are correct, if you can try the wine tasting. I find that the majority of watiters unfortunately do not know a lot about the wine they are pouring. It seems they go according to what a number of passengers order or push higher price wine for their 15% tip. If you are unsure ask your waiter to have your head waiter come to your table he has a much better knowledge on the wine selections. Just about every night on our last cruise not only was the head waiter over to our table but he actually opened & poured the wine as well we order a bottle every night. Speaking about the waiters pouring the wine I have to remind them constantly that the glass should only be filled 1/3 that is the proper amount. They have a tendency to try & fill the glass close to the brim so they think that you will buy another bottle. They still have sommeliers on Celebrity. I miss them on RCI.

[BobBeaSea]

Sommeliers? Long gone. The assistant waiter most likely fills the glass not to sell you another bottle, more likely to reduce the number of times to return to the table just to pour wine. Personally, I prefer to pour my own. :)

[lisiamc]

Thanks for the information and ideas, everyone. We do often go the wine tastings. Some have been more informative than others, but all have been fun! Our previous cruises have mostly been on Celebrity - is the RCCL wine list pretty comparable to Celebrity?

 

Lisa