Wine on the beverage plans

Hi all,

I am no wine snob, but I do enjoy a nice full bodied red. I

Has anyone got any opinions on the wine quality in these price points (<8$ and <12$)? (pref red)

Thanks

Wine is excellent quality. Here's a link to a thread showing what wine they have onboard:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=32406318

One of my favorites is La Crema Pinot Noir and they carry that one among many others. I always get the premium package so I can have anything up to $12. With the premium package you can also get drinks over the $12 limit and just pay the difference, i.e. $15 glass of wine and pay $3.

To be honest, if you drink mostly wine, like my husband and myself, I would definitely book the Premium Package. We found a limited choice of wines on the Classic package. Also, if you fancy the odd really expensive glass, you can just pay the difference over 12 dollars with the Premium. We have booked this package twice now and find it super.

Go for the Premium Package. Any wine up to $12 a glass and as many as you wish. Extremely good wines available by the glass at that price;)

To be honest, if you drink mostly wine, like my husband and myself, I would definitely book the Premium Package. We found a limited choice of wines on the Classic package. Also, if you fancy the odd really expensive glass, you can just pay the difference over 12 dollars with the Premium. We have booked this package twice now and find it super.

I agree, I think the Premium is well worth the money.

Go for the Premium Package. Any wine up to $12 a glass and as many as you wish. Extremely good wines available by the glass at that price;)

Sounds good i was leaning more towards the Premium package but maybe if the cheaper package had some tasty reds in it i would have gone for that.....

Any recommendations of reds which are fullbodied that people have tried around the 12$ glass mark

we just returned from the summit, and had the premium package for the first time. We also are not wine snobs but enjoy good reds. We told the sommolier on the first night that we wanted to try various wines during our dinners. He made suggestions, each night, based on our dinner choices. Although we are not white drinkers, we tried a few with our apps, and enjoyed them. We would then have our reds with entree. We thoroughly loved the package, especially for being able to do the wine pairings. Our glasses were never empty! It was also nice to have an after dinner drink with our cappacino and dessert.

 

One of my favorites is La Crema Pinot Noir and they carry that one among many others. I always get the premium package so I can have anything up to $12. With the premium package you can also get drinks over the $12 limit and just pay the difference, i.e. $15 glass of wine and pay $3.

I just checked that wine list and the La Crema Pinot Noir doesnt seem available by glass - just the bottle?

One we really like is the Super Tuscan...! That is also available on Premium Package! We went to Cellars Masters and went through their wines, and when we found one we liked, the bartender gave us the name and number for our waiter. Our waiter then went to Cellar Masters and got the bottle that we wanted and kept our glasses full!

Love the Premium Drink Package...!

I'll add a different perspective.

We've generally found the wines by the glass list somewhat small and limited in comparison to the wines by the bottle list, even when considering the premium package and irrespective of the price of the wines offered by the glass.

For example there are 2 or 3 varieties of Savignon Blanc on the by the glass menu vs. 14 available by the bottle plus another handful of similar varieties. Likewise there are 2 pinot noir wines available by the glass vs 16 available by the bottle.

Unless you are convinced that you'll be fine with the wine by the glass selection, or have other strong leaning toward the unlimited alcoholic beverage packages for other reasons, I'd take a pass on the packages if wine is one of your preferred drinks. For those who really enjoy wine I'd at least recommend waiting until you're on the ship and have a chance to check out the selection available on your cruise before committing to the package.

I realize that we all have different preferences and for some the selection of wines by the glass is great. But we enjoy a bit more variety over the length of a cruise and like to try different wines among our preferred varieties on different nights.

The Lights Out Shiraz from Ross Estates in the Barossa Valley Australia is a very bold wine . Its covered under the classic alcohol package for 8 $

Big Fruit and has that aussie feeling about it

One we really like is the Super Tuscan...! That is also available on Premium Package! We went to Cellars Masters and went through their wines, and when we found one we liked, the bartender gave us the name and number for our waiter. Our waiter then went to Cellar Masters and got the bottle that we wanted and kept our glasses full!

 

Love the Premium Drink Package...!

There are a LOT of wines that call themselves Super Tuscans, BUT the one we LOVE is Antinori Tignanello Sangiovese from Tuscany, Italy

'the' ORIGINAL Super Tuscan, Tignanello is produced exclusively from a 116-acre vineyard site at Antinori's Tignanello Estate. Tignanello is intense ruby red in color with primary aromas of concentrated, ripe fruit and spice, which give way to milder notes of vanilla and toast. Generous, richly textured and intense on the palate, this wine possesses a complex structure and long persistent flavors with hints of chocolate, huckleberries and black plums on the finish. The well-managed tannin blends perfectly with the oak, for a complex and elegant wine

Blend: 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc."

This wine sells for about $90-$120/bottle. I doubt that it falls in the $12/glass category. BUT if it does, I hope they have a lot on the Eclipse, because that is all I will be drinking on our 2 week cruise.

Anyone know if the wine menus have been updated this year? I was hoping to get a peek at the specialty dining wine by the glass lists. I remember on our Silhouette cruise in January, the maitre d' of Lawn Club told us there would be changes coming up soon.