Wine Lists

Were you ordering wine by the glass or buying a bottle?

We were ordering "wines by the glass" and had the premium beverage package. The "wines by the glass" lists for the classic and premium beverage packages are included in the wine list which was provided upon my specific request, not automatically when we were seated in the MDR. This is different than our prior experiences on Equinox and Reflection. That is why I bring it up.

For anyone with a beverage package, you should ask for the wine when seated so that it is handed to you along with the dinner menu. We chose the wines we wanted from those lists, not the very short wine list that is printed on the bottom of the dinner menus.

 

Not this time! Sommeliers were thin on the ground and elusive. And when you asked for a wine list , they looked personally offended. This is obviously a policy that has come down from management but why?

 

When you've paid fora Premium drinks package, it's not good enough!

Can't imagine why this should be a position taken by management. It seems that a very large number of guests have beverage packages - and they have a large inventory of wine onboard. So, why make it difficult for guests to find wines to their liking. Doesn't make sense to me.

Feeling frustrated for the first few nights of our cruise on Equinox in the spring, I was determined to take back control of my dining experience in the MDR. And did just that.

So, my advice is ask politely for the wine list when you are seated. You will have both the menu and wine list in hand when the waiter and sommelier greet you. You can choose the beverage and food you want - and you can simply enjoy your dinner.

Personally, I found the sommelier experience to be much less satisfying than on our prior Celebrity cruises but wasn't going to let that ruin my dinner. If a sommelier is offended that I asked for the wine list, that's just too bad for them. If they were doing the job I have come to expect, that wouldn't be necessary. Unfortunately, it is now a necessity for me.

On 8/1/2017 at 7:03 PM, phoenix_dream said:

I don't have a copy of the list but I can tell you this for sure - just because a wine is on a list does not mean that it will be in stock. One of my pet peeves with Celebrity - in several recent cruises in Blu we have had a choice of about 3 red wines even though we had the premium package. Time and again we were told that there was nothing else in stock. Strangely enough, when we ran into the head Wine/Beverage manager one night at the Martini Bar and talked to him about this, a nice wine (Conundrum Cabernet - around $25 in stores) showed up at our table that night. We appreciated very much that he did that for us, but thought that level of wine should be there every night with the premium package considering the bulk discount I am sure they receive. An area Celebrity can certainly improve upon IMHO!

On our Edge sailing last April there were very few premium wines available by the glass--many on the list, but few in stock.  At Fine Cut the wine list was handed to me and the first THREE selections I ordered weren't available.  Each time the Somm tried to steer me towards purchasing a full bottle. But all I wanted was a glass or two--frustrated, I ended up just getting a martini.

Outside of Fine Cut and Luminae I felt like I knew more than the Somms, which is never a good thing.  Felt like many of them were not yet fully trained up.  Our cruise was only 40% full but many of the Somms seemed stretched to their limit.  To avoid a repeat while on the Millie in August we just BYOB'd--better wines and certainty of availability. 

10 hours ago, Whinenowine said:

On our Edge sailing last April there were very few premium wines available by the glass--many on the list, but few in stock.  At Fine Cut the wine list was handed to me and the first THREE selections I ordered weren't available.  Each time the Somm tried to steer me towards purchasing a full bottle. But all I wanted was a glass or two--frustrated, I ended up just getting a martini.

 

Outside of Fine Cut and Luminae I felt like I knew more than the Somms, which is never a good thing.  Felt like many of them were not yet fully trained up.  Our cruise was only 40% full but many of the Somms seemed stretched to their limit.  To avoid a repeat while on the Millie in August we just BYOB'd--better wines and certainty of availability. 

Indeed. On our Beyond sailing last year in the Med, we couldn't get a New Zealand Sauv Blanc at all. Supply issues apparently. They should have gone to any of my local supermarkets. Fortunately, no issue re that on either of our Silhouette sailings last year.

Worth noting, however, that sometimes when they say they haven't got something it is not true. Had this in the retreat lounge on Silhouette. Hubby wanted Highland Park whisky and bartender said there was none on board. Well, we did a behind the scenes ship tour that included the provisioning areas, and there were loads of bottles of it on the shelf. We took a photo, showed the bartender and lo and behold he was able to get his preferred drink.

We will be on Apex in May, this will be our first Celebrity cruise. We have cruised many times on Azamara and Oceania, we like the smallers ships. We chose this cruise for the itinerary and are a bit apprehensive because of the negative comments on this board.

We also have a question. Are you allowed to bring your own wine, and if so, how many bottles and how much is the corkage fee?

I'm confused the thread is 5 years old and the person that restarted it OBUCKLEY hasn't made any comment!!