Seabourn's "house wines"

I've read some less than favorable reviews on the current wine available. We are travelling on the Legend on 9/2 with friends who like us, appreciate good wine. It doesn't always have to be great, but it has to be decent. We talked them into joining us and I'm hoping not to have to make any apologies. I looked at the gold and silver packages, but was wondering if during dinner, can a better bottle be bought "a la carte" off a wine list. I am not sure we need the gold/silver upgrade, but would like to know what my options are.

Thank you.

I've read some less than favorable reviews on the current wine available. We are travelling on the Legend on 9/2 with friends who like us, appreciate good wine. It doesn't always have to be great, but it has to be decent. We talked them into joining us and I'm hoping not to have to make any apologies. I looked at the gold and silver packages, but was wondering if during dinner, can a better bottle be bought "a la carte" off a wine list. I am not sure we need the gold/silver upgrade, but would like to know what my options are.

 

Thank you.

Yes, you may order better wines by the bottle, if you wish. Each evening the chef will recommend a certain wine that will compliment the chefs offerings.

Host Dan

Thank you Dan.

I've read some less than favorable reviews on the current wine available. We are travelling on the Legend on 9/2 with friends who like us, appreciate good wine. It doesn't always have to be great, but it has to be decent. We talked them into joining us and I'm hoping not to have to make any apologies. I looked at the gold and silver packages, but was wondering if during dinner, can a better bottle be bought "a la carte" off a wine list. I am not sure we need the gold/silver upgrade, but would like to know what my options are.

 

Thank you.

I recommend that once on board you seek out the Sommelier and ask politely for a copy of the " included wine" list. He may resist initially; but if you persist ( in a nice way of course) he should share it with you. Although the list may not be fully up to date, I am sure your friends will find it interesting and with luck will be able to identify one or two " gems". In any event, if you like wine a good relationship with the Sommelier is worth the effort. If all else fails you can always buy single bottles off the" a la carte" list and the Sommeliers advice should be helpful to inform your decision.

We have just sailed on Seabourn Quest and I must say that the wines that were offered at dinner were not good on many occasions.

We were offered one red and one white and when asked if there were others we were told on some evenings "NO"!!

We were most surprised that they seemed to have changed their policy since we sailed on Seabourn Sojourn in April.

I felt that they have started to cut back.

Yes wines were available, Chefs surgestions etc, but most were priced at around 80 dollars a bottle.

Isn't this the perfect thread for a new "sticky"? Along with the dress code this seems to be the one most people want to know about.

It would be the right place to post wine lists, special packages, etc. And, as a sticky, it might catch the attention of the powers-that-be at the head office.

BTW - someone recently (less than a month) posted the "house wine" list from their cruise, I think the Pride, but I couldn't find it using the search function. I meant to cut and paste it here, but the function is only giving me a couple of weeks of posts. And I searched for "wine" all posts and threads for six months.

I recommend that once on board you seek out the Sommelier and ask politely for a copy of the " included wine" list. He may resist initially; but if you persist ( in a nice way of course) he should share it with you. Although the list may not be fully up to date, I am sure your friends will find it interesting and with luck will be able to identify one or two " gems". In any event, if you like wine a good relationship with the Sommelier is worth the effort. If all else fails you can always buy single bottles off the" a la carte" list and the Sommeliers advice should be helpful to inform your decision.

This is sound advice and, please, report back to us on your opinions of the wine offered to you.

If you are on the Legend and Madjik (sp?) is the sommelier you are in for a treat. He is helpful, and full of knowledge and fun. You may also want to consider bringing a few special wines on board. He will serve them with respect (especially if you urge him to taste each wine). He is a gem.

When we didn't like it, we have always refused the "chosen" bottle for the evening until we found one we liked. That bottle was offered to us for the rest of the voyage. We have never paid extra for wine on Seabourn. This has never been a problem.

Leesre - I have never heard before of no alternative wine being available at dinner!! Hope this is (maybe) down to one particular person in the wine department who I have heard is unhelpful? Could this be the case?

We will be on Quest in the not too distant, and certainly will not be pleased if this is generally the case.

Leesre - I have never heard before of no alternative wine being available at dinner!! Hope this is (maybe) down to one particular person in the wine department who I have heard is unhelpful? Could this be the case?

 

We will be on Quest in the not too distant, and certainly will not be pleased if this is generally the case.

Just back from a wonderful two weeks on Pride cruising the Norwegian fjords and North Cape (with magnificent weather - 72 degrees F north of the Arctic Circle!). Sommelier Lena was excellent - always on hand to offer advice and certainly came up with a variety of choices of included wines if we did not like the particular recommendations for that day's lunch/dinner menu.

On a couple of occasions we chose to use on board credits to buy something a little bit special and this was by the bottle from the printed wine list that Lena offered. Prices ranged from around $50 to over $200.

Lincslady - hope you two have a great trip on Quest. Let's get together to swop notes in October!

There is I think no denying that the quality of the free wines on Seabourn has slipped. On the Sojourn's World Cruise out of Sydney there was but one reasonable red wine the whites were better but you had to be selective.

You had to ask for the wine list it was not available to brouse in any public room that I saw and when one night I asked for a wine on the list it had run out and after two bottles of our second choice that had run out so either the stocking levels are at fault or there is no depth to the selection on the list. However my main complaints are first the standard of "Fine wines" has slipped and second there is all but nothing on the wine list below $50+. I hope that the lessening of quality is not a way of increasing expensively priced wines on what should be an all inclusive price for at least reasonable wines. In the past the view seemed to be that wines served on board had a retail value of around $15 at which many drinkable wines can be purchased - I doubt they do now.

If someone simply said "NO" to me if when asking for a different wine I would just read his name off his tag to him and tell him, thank you, I'll discuss your inability to satisfy me with the hotel manager. I bet it wouldn't be long before you had a selection from which to choose.

I just wanted to confirm (with the experts) :) - that if we purchase wine while on land (we will be in the Med) can we bring it on board? (or is that against policy like most mainstream lines) and if so, is there any corkage fee in the dining room?

I'm hoping they will have access to all those lovely Italian and French wines but if they don't have them on board they should be easy to acquire by myself while on land.

Thank you in advance for your information.

I just wanted to confirm (with the experts) :) - that if we purchase wine while on land (we will be in the Med) can we bring it on board? (or is that against policy like most mainstream lines) and if so, is there any corkage fee in the dining room?

 

I'm hoping they will have access to all those lovely Italian and French wines but if they don't have them on board they should be easy to acquire by myself while on land.

 

Thank you in advance for your information.

Yes, you may bring as much wine onboard as you wish. I have never seen a corkage fee charged.

Host Dan

Yes, by all means in the Med it is fun and easy to buy wine on shore to drink. We have done this and ditto what others have stated -- no corkage fee. In some places (like our recent Norwegian fjords trip) this was not a feasible option. I also agree with other posters that there is a discreet way to bring your own wine into the Restaurant( such as at the beginning of dinner service). And if you order off the wine list while some wines are a good value such the Antinori Tignanello we ordered on our recent trip was marked up less than 100%.Keep in mind that if you are ordering a good bottle of wine off the list you may want to order it the night before, as we did with the Tig, so they can open it earlier and let it breathe for an hour or two.This wine issue is something to keep an eye on.I also feel that the for purchase wine list is pretty limited through I can understand they have storage issues and must buy wine produced in enough quanities that it is available for all six ships for a certain period of time.

Very interesting topic, I am not a wine snob and I am open to drinking many different wines. We did a trip on the legend in October in the Med last year and had an amazing service from the Sommeliers. They could not do enough to please us and were looking for wines that we liked. Just back from the Odyssey and this was a very different story and what I find interesting, Seabourn still advertise fine wines included.... sweet wines, very green sauvignon blanc and very poor service from the Sommelier and assistant sommelier pushing for Premium fine wines to purchase... 5 star all over the ship with a cheap all inclusive feel to the wines served and wine service.

I hope this was an isolated incident and not a new trend with Seabourn as otherwise, I will have to look for an alternative 5 star all over cruise line...

Absolutely agree, there is clearly lot's of people requiring advice in relation to the inclusive 'Fine Wines' which sadly appear to be deteriorating rapidly.

Host Dan - we could use this thread as a "sticky!!!"

Here is a list posted previously by another member (johnnycruise) and reposted by FlamingJune. It was from this summer 2011 at the Legend. It is virtually identical to what they served on the Soujourn earlier this summer.

The original post is:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1448140

Here is the included wine list from 7/29/2011 (Monte Carlo - Civitavecchia), compliments of sommelier Gergely Novak. He was most helpful and knowledgeable.

White

Pinot Grigio Santa Margherita (Italy)

Gavi La Scolca White Label Piedmont (Italy)

Chardonnay Louis Latour Grand Ardeche (France)

Chardonnay Robert Mondavi California (USA)

Chardonnay Unwooded De Meye (South Africa)

Chardonnay Milton Park (South Australia)

Sauvignon Blanc Wingspan Nelson (New Zealand)

Sauvignon Blanc Santa Alicia Maipo Valley (Chile)

Sauvignon Blanc Michel Lynch Bordeaux Blanc (France)

Red

Pinot Noir Brassfield Round Mountain High Valley (USA)

Cotes de Rhone Grenache Syrah (France)

Merlot Anakena Rapel Valley (Chile)

Merlot Arrowood Napa Valley California (USA)

Merlot/Cabernet Sirius Bordeaux Rouge (France)

Chianti Classico Riserva Placido (Italy)

Rosso di Toscana Serego Alighieri Tuscany (Italy)

Carmenere Petit Verdot Shiraz Santa Alicia B2 Blend (Chile)

Malbec Corvina Passo Doble Tupungato Valley (Argentina)

Malbec Los Toneles Mendoza (Argentina)

Zinfandel Quivira Dry Creek Valley California (USA)

Aromo Cabernet Sauvignon Maule Valley (Chile)

Milton Park Shiraz (South Australia)

Rose

JP Chenet Grenache Cinsault Rose (France)

Modello Rosato Masi (Italy)

Rose de Meye Stellenbosch (South Africa)

Beringer White Zinfandel California (USA)

Dessert Wine

Chateau Saint Amand, Sauternes (France)

Sparkling

Nicholas Feuillatte Brut Champagne (France)

Prosecco Raso Corona Prosecco IGT (Italy)

At Livorno, bar manager Victor Kirkbride, purchased a Tuscan white and a Tuscan red which paired perfectly with the cuisine offered on the deck barbeque. Victor did a superb job and handled several special requests.

Only once did we receive prosecco when champagne was requested ... two glasses with a room service breakfast. That delivery also had the prosecco in two different-sized flutes, so I consider that service an anomaly. At all bars and events we attended, the champagne was poured. The Sky Bar had a bottle of prosecco on hand for a guest who preferred prosecco over champagne for her bellinis and rossinis.

__________________

OMG! Chenet Rose! The name jumped off the page at me!

2 euros 39 cents a bottle in my local supermarket, which is not the cheapest supermarket in town either.

The big selling point for the Chenet blended wines is the kink in the neck of the bottle.

They are the cheap of the cheap end of blended nondescript wines from the European Wine Lake, much of which is distilled into industrial alcohol these days.

I am so pleased to have read everything about this cruise line on CC, I always aspired to try it after Cunard, believing it to be a truly wonderful experience.

Now I have been made aware of the reality.

And the Beringer White Zinfandel is swill selling at my local supermarket for $4.99. Yuk!

Of the rose offerings the Stellenboch was the best.

Chardonnay Robert Mondavi California (USA)

For sale retail at Safeway Supermarkets $4.29 per bottle..buy six, get another 10% off.

We have just sailed on Seabourn Quest and I must say that the wines that were offered at dinner were not good on many occasions.

We were offered one red and one white and when asked if there were others we were told on some evenings "NO"!!

We were most surprised that they seemed to have changed their policy since we sailed on Seabourn Sojourn in April.

I felt that they have started to cut back.

Yes wines were available, Chefs surgestions etc, but most were priced at around 80 dollars a bottle.

I think this is the same cruise we are taking on September 19th, as I was looking to see if you've written a review, Leesre! Disappointed to hear that the wine is not as good as previous information would have us believe. We like good wine, but are happy with good quality basic wine, but some of the listed wines are definitely at the 'find them at the local cornershop' end of the wine list, rather than a decent supermarket, certainly not near a wine merchant's offerings! Still, I doubt we'll be poisoned, and as someone else suggested there is always the Champagne! Although I have seen some suggestions (and refutations) that sometimes the champagne magically turns into Prosecco.

But, you know what? I'm going to love this cruise anyway! :)

Chardonnay Robert Mondavi California (USA)

 

For sale retail at Safeway Supermarkets $4.29 per bottle..buy six, get another 10% off.

I tasted the Robert Mondavi chardonnay today.... and I still liked it! It's the special reserve they serve on Seabourn... I doubt that you can buy it for that price!

Marja

Crafty EC - do not worry too much - unless things have changed dramatically in the past few months you will find decent supermarket wines on offer. But you may wish to ask specifically for a grape variety and area of the world if you don't like the sound of the offered wines of the day. e.g. ask for a NZ Sauv Blanc, or an Oz. Chardonnay, or whatever you think may be the pleasantest drink to go with your meal.

Up to now we have found that this works, although one or two postings suggest that it could be more difficult now. If you have problems persuading your wine waiter or sommelier, see or write a note to the Hotel Manager, to say that up to now there has always been the possibility of choosing something different from the one on offer. We personally hate Pinto Grigio, and have so far always managed to get something else we prefer.