Pol Acker, what happened?

Pol Acker is terrible but I can say that I used my Diamond Cunard status to get a Black Card loyalty match on MSC and they give out free big bottles of Martini and Rossi Proseco which is quite drinkable. If MSC can give out the good stuff, why can't Cunard?

Do you mean that the Cunard loyalty programme is acknowledged by MSC?

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Do you mean that the Cunard loyalty programme is acknowledged by MSC?

 

Yes in a way, MSC was doing a loyalty status match for all cruise lines. You have to apply. We tested it out and did indeed get a bottle of proseco, a chocolate ship, a utility bag, a dinner at their pay restaurant and some other assorted swag and parties. Of course the the potential downside is you have to take a cruise on MSC to get all these goodies.:D

On our eight Cunard voyages since we first experienced the complimentary Pol Acker I have always made a negative comment about it on the end-of-voyage questionnaire. I wonder if everyone did that it might lead to an improvement. One can hope.

Surprisngly, it is not always as horrid as it is some years. There have been some voyages when we have simply discarded it after one sip. On others we could manage a glass. Once we actually drank the whole bottle - not on the same day, mind you;).

On a recent Holland America cruise we were given a bottle of French sparkling wine which was acceptable. I have forgotten the name of it or I would suggest it to Cunard the next time I fill out what is probably the useless questionnaire.

On our eight Cunard voyages since we first experienced the complimentary Pol Acker I have always made a negative comment about it on the end-of-voyage questionnaire. I wonder if everyone did that it might lead to an improvement. One can hope.

 

Surprisngly, it is not always as horrid as it is some years. There have been some voyages when we have simply discarded it after one sip. On others we could manage a glass. Once we actually drank the whole bottle - not on the same day, mind you;).

 

On a recent Holland America cruise we were given a bottle of French sparkling wine which was acceptable. I have forgotten the name of it or I would suggest it to Cunard the next time I fill out what is probably the useless questionnaire.

On our HAL cruise this winter we were given Duc de Valmer, whatever that is. Not bad. Previously, HAL had a different sparkling wine, roughly equivalent to Pol Acker.

On that recent cruise, I heard a woman in the concierge lounge loudly complaining that suite passengers used to get TWO bottles of REAL champagne. Now it was this other stuff (spoken in a disgusted tone of voice) and they only got one bottle. I wanted to ask why she was complaining about getting one bottle instead of two if she didn't like it!

...and then there was Mateus Rosé:eek:

http://blog.wblakegray.com/2014/06/mateus-rose-once-worlds-biggest-wine.html

When my husband and I were married in 1972, one of his co-workers gave us 6 wonderful bottles of French wine as a gift.

We took one bottle on our honeymoon. It was a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, the dusty, curvy bottle. We were very, very, very young. We opened said bottle and tasted it. OMG, it was so dreadful that we poured it down the sink and went to the hotel bar and ordered, you guessed it, Mateus Rose, the nectar of Gods and immature newlyweds.

Fast forward five years and we tasted Chateauneuf du pape on our anniversary. We fell in love and have never gone back. ;-)

Thinking about it though, I wish that Cunard gave out Mateus instead of Pol Acker. :)

When my husband and I were married in 1972, one of his co-workers gave us 6 wonderful bottles of French wine as a gift.

We took one bottle on our honeymoon. It was a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, the dusty, curvy bottle. We were very, very, very young. We opened said bottle and tasted it. OMG, it was so dreadful that we poured it down the sink and went to the hotel bar and ordered, you guessed it, Mateus Rose, the nectar of Gods and immature newlyweds.

Fast forward five years and we tasted Chateauneuf du pape on our anniversary. We fell in love and have never gone back. ;-)

Thinking about it though, I wish that Cunard gave out Mateus instead of Pol Acker. :)

Bananavan, you just gave me an idea for a new recipe...mix Mateus Rose with Pol Acker for an entirely new taste sensation! Of course one might not wake up for several days :eek::D <---kind of like the shot the doc gives for mal de mer only much cheaper :) Don't try that at home folks!

I'm trying to figure out what to do with our Pol Acker when we board June 21. Any suggestions? Save it in case the bathroom drain gets clogged up?

I'm trying to figure out what to do with our Pol Acker when we board June 21. Any suggestions? Save it in case the bathroom drain gets clogged up?

I always take a small plastic bottle/container with cassis in it. You will be able to make a half decent "Kir Royale" which is very preferable to Pol Acker. 😁 If you can't manage that, take a glass of orange juice from the lido to your cabin to use as a mixer for Bucks Fizz. Pluck up courage and drink it neat at your peril!

TV24, how about using it as nail varnish remover?

I bring a lever stopper that works to keep the fizz in, and for two or three mornings we order room service orange juice for breakfast and mix in the PA for some mimosas.

I always take a small plastic bottle/container with cassis in it. You will be able to make a half decent "Kir Royale" which is very preferable to Pol Acker. 😁 If you can't manage that, take a glass of orange juice from the lido to your cabin to use as a mixer for Bucks Fizz. Pluck up courage and drink it neat at your peril!

Good idea since we usually have some creme de cassis laying around. BUT...the Pol Acker would probably ruin the cassis, a tragic waste of good cassis! Maybe I'll take the suggestion of nail polish remover.

Just watching the BBC evening news, there's a segment about Donald Trump about to arrive in Scotland to open his "new" Turnberry golf course. The so-called champagne being put on ice was Trump Blanc de Blanc Monticello. They must have been really pushing the boat out because the bottles were dated all the way back to 2009.

I'd love to see the results of a blind tasting Trump versus Pol Acker. Maybe PA wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all.

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Just watching the BBC evening news, there's a segment about Donald Trump about to arrive in Scotland to open his "new" Turnberry golf course. The so-called champagne being put on ice was Trump Blanc de Blanc Monticello. They must have been really pushing the boat out because the bottles were dated all the way back to 2009.

 

I'd love to see the results of a blind tasting Trump versus Pol Acker. Maybe PA wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all.

 

 

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I don't think that I'd like the taste of Trump one bit! But, much as I hate to say it, his sparkling wine has received good reviews (not that the Donald can take any credit for this). Keep in mind that the Blanc de Blanc Monticello is made from 100% chardonnay grapes. What goes into Pol Acker, on the other hand, is as much a mystery as Trump's tax returns.

Never heard of that one, but while we're discussing gross wines, does anyone remember Boone's Farm???

Sure do. Same as Annie Green Springs.

Yes, remember Thunderbird, logo was, what's the word Thunderbird, what's the price? 30 twice! 👅👵🏻

Of course the the potential downside is you have to take a cruise on MSC to get all these goodies.:D

 

And you have to keep cruising on MSC to keep your status, otherwise you lose it.

 

Which is probably why they felt they could do the matching program.

Never heard of that one, but while we're discussing gross wines, does anyone remember Boone's Farm???

Yes, I do remember it. And the simple act of remembering it made me throw up in my mouth a little.

Bought a bottle home from the last cruise. We left it out for Santa on Xmas eve. Strangely it was still there in the morning. He ate the cookies though.