XBGuy

I am not familiar with the title "Reserve Manager?" Is he the manager of the Reserve Collection Dining Room or is he something else?

One of the Alaska cruise highlights for the XBGuys has become fish tacos at Deckhand Dave's in Juneau. Neither of us normally eat lunch. So, when we stop in Juneau we always have a light dinner. The French Fries are darned good, too. Fish Tacos and French Fries. Would that be fusion cuisine?

Thank you for posting the menu and the pictures. I very much look forward to visiting this venue some day.

I am a card carrying wine snob. The Princess policy for carrying on your own wine is excellent. A poster here on Cruise Critic once reported that he brought three cases on board. I don't know if that is any kind of record, but it is the most I have ever heard about. People have different reasons for bringing their own wine. All are good reasons. I agree that the wines currently offered on Princess are uninspired. There are a couple that I am happy to order, but bringing your own wine is a great way to supplement the Princess list. I agree with the above reports that a standard pour for a glass of wine is five ounces--five glasses per bottle. I am very surprised to read a report that Princess is stretching six glasses from a bottle. I understand why Princess is reluctant to let people walk off with the stems from Vines. I'm not sure that I understand why people might steal them. Wouldn't that be a pain to pack? However, I do understand that they might be concerned about breakage--they are fairly delicate. I can see a glass being knocked over by somebody having an animated conversation. OK, I can see this because I have done it. 😮

In 2018 the the first port stop on the roundtrip Los Angeles-Alaska cruise was Vancouver, BC. Since the next port (Ketchikan?) was in the U.S. we went through U.S. immigration prior to reboarding the ship in Vancouver. A few days later we were in Skagway, and during breakfast I met a lady who had what might be considered a sad but educational story. At the immigration check in Vancouver, her passport was confiscated. It seems that sometime prior to the cruise she had lost her passport. She, of course, reported that it was lost, but, then, she found it. Well, she thought her problem was solved. Wrong. Of course, her passport was flagged, and, when she tried to re-enter the U.S., the CBP officer had no option. He confiscated it, but he made copy that she could use on our return to Los Angeles. Yes, we did get checked again in Los Angeles even though we had not visited any other foreign ports after Vancouver. Here is the sad part. Since she no longer had a passport, she could not accompany her friends on the Skagway train trip.

The official policy really specifies only the embarkation port. However, there have been numerous reports here on Cruise Critic that there has been no problem a person to bring on a single bottle of wine when returning to the ship after a port stop. I, personally, have done so after stops in Alaska, California and Hawaii. (Tip: Be very careful of Decoy Merlot being sold in an ABC Store in Honolulu. I won't make that mistake again.) I have read numerous reports of people doing so in Europe. That being said, since the official Princess policy specifies only the embarkation port, it might very well be that ship's policy or the port's policy may not allow it. I would advise that you go ahead and purchase your wine. The worst thing that could happen is that it would be confiscated at the security station, but it would be returned to you at the end of the cruise.

Your strategy is perfectly understandable. I assume that as @suzyed reported you place an online order with Total Wine and arrange to pick it up at the Fort. I have a similar strategy when I restock Mrs. XBGuy's stash of Chardonnay. I will place an online order, then. when I meet my brother for our once-a-month breakfast down in his neighborhood, I drop by the Total Wine store in Brea and pick it up. You are quite correct. The makers that I cited are low-volume producers and are not widely distributed. Many of the wines that I buy are Direct to Consumer (DTC). I am on about 30 mailing lists. I regularly buy from about a dozen of them, I occasionally buy from some of them, and I have never bought from a handful of them. I have seen some of these labels in wine stores (including Total Wine), but that is highly unusual. California has the most lenient laws regarding wine sales and wine shipment. I am very aware of the advantage that I have. I'm inclined to agree. Happily, BYOB is usually an option. However, the corkage fee at most restaurants in my area is not nearly as reasonable as Princess' $20. That sounds interesting. There is a very active poster on a wine-oriented board in which I regularly participate who lives in Victoria, BC. He has made us aware of the Canadian regulations that prevent him from enjoying many of the wines that we discuss, On the other hand, we enjoy his reports on BC wines to which we have no access. I trust his palate, and, when he reports that an Okanagan Valley Syrah is excellent, I am a bit disappointed that I will probably never taste it. I have enjoyed our conversation very much, @Steelers36. I hope the moderators do not consider my epistles to be "thread hijacking." Maybe someday we will meet on a Princess ship. I will be happy to share, say, a Carlisle Zinfandel with you, and I look forward to trying a Niagara Icewine.

Thank you. I have read about wine skins, here on Cruise Critic. I have another carrier that works fine for one or two bottles when packed in a suitcase with my clothing. When going on a cruise, I am usually taking at least seven, or so, bottles. So, I have a separate tote that works quite well. I think the Princess wine policy is terrific and the corkage fee is quite reasonable. Like you would not even consider trying to circumvent the fee. When I put my wine tote through the security scanner, an agent usually intercepts it and opens it up to verify that it is wine. He/she then usually directs me to the "wine table" where I sign the chit for the corkage charge. I have never had a case where the wine table was unattended, like some others have reported. If that does happen, I will be happy to pay the corkage fee at the restaurant. We do not "walk off" when disembarking. We pack our bags and leave them outside our cabin door the last evening of the cruise. Since we have consumed all our wine, the tote is used for packing the few items--toiletries, some clothes--that we wanted to use after our luggage was picked up. It works well. So, I guess, I use it in a fashion similar to your 22" Rollaboard.

@Steelers36, I have heard the rationale that Princess shipboard meals do not merit pairing with what might be high quality wine from my collection. Let me explain why I will continue to bring my own wine. We drink wine, every night. At home a few days ago we had leftover turkey sandwiches. I opened a bottle of Quivet Cellars Syrah and Mrs. XBGuy opened a bottle of Rivers-Marie Chardonnay. (Mrs. XBGuy is an "All Chardonnay, All the Time" person.) We both enjoyed our wines and felt that we had a terrific dinner. We don't eat sandwiches every night. In fact the leftover turkey was from a breast we grilled in the back yard a few days earlier--very tasty, but, certainly nothing extravagant. I had a Clarice Pinot Noir with that. If my Princess meal is not particularly distinctive, then there is a good chance that a bottle of Mending Wall Cabernet Sauvignon can improve my appreciation. (Yes, I know that I am in a California wine rut. It's my rut, and I like it.} The present Princess wine list is quite uninspiring. It would not take very long to go through the handful of wines that I would like to try. So, that seems to be another reason to bring my own. I just celebrated my 76th birthday. and I have a pretty big inventory of wine. The goal is to not leave wine for estate disposition. I can't be taking off a week or two in which I am not reducing my inventory. 😂 On thing that I should add is that I live within easy driving distance of the port. It is very easy to toss my wine tote into the car, drive to the port and drag it onto the ship. I agree that transporting wine on a commercial airline is a royal pain. So, I can certainly understand why having to fly to the port would discourage people from bringing their own wine.

I shake my head every time I see the question "Is <fill in the blank> worth it?" The short answer is always, "Yes." You will be able to experience something new. That will benefit you. One of the commonly stated benefits of travel is to learn from new experiences. To those who have offered that the whale watching excursion they took was not worth it because all they saw was whales swimming and blowing, but they did not see any whales breaching, I, again, shake my head. By happy circumstance we humans do consider many natural habits of wildlife to be entertaining. I will grant you that viewing a breaching whale is exciting. However, keep in mind that whales breech when they want to. They are not looking for a cue from the Acme Whale Watching boat that indicates that all the paying passengers have their cameras ready, and, so, now is the time. In nature, the wildlife are doing their best to survive, not put on a show for tourists. To those who are looking for a show, I would suggest that they visit Sea World. You can see performing wildlife there. Also, as @mcrcruiser has indicated there are limits as to how close whale watching boats are not allowed to steer up to a whale. If a whale surfaces next to a boat, that is fine. It is also a fortunate happenstance. You may make the argument that it is more likely that a whale will surface close to a small boat than a large boat. That may or may not be valid. However, my wife and I have see whales popping up right outside our cruise ship (a pretty big boat) balcony in Hawaii (a mother and a calf), Alaska and, most surprisingly, the Los Angeles Harbor. Again, all fortunate incidents.

OK, after yesterday's Sauvignon Blanc epistle, here is another one inspired by today's New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Wine of the Day. There used to be a neat restaurant on 6th Street in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) called Pacific Dining Car. I would guess from the interior design and the menu, it was established in the 1950s. In the 1980s when my office was located in the area Pacific Dining Car was known as the Power Breakfast restaurant. Being just a worker bee, I never attended a Power Breakfast, but that was their reputation. The neat thing about Pacific Dining Car was that it open 24 hours per day. They had a pretty comprehensive menu, and you could order anything at any time. Mrs. XBGuy and I had regular tickets for the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the time and would like to dine after attending a Saturday evening concert. There is not a lot of nightlife in DTLA, So, leaving the concert at about 10:00 pm, there are few restaurant choices. Yes, Tommy's over on Rampart is also open 24 hours per day, but after listening to Radu Lupu perform a Brahms concerto, we want something a bit more sophisticated sitting in our car eating a very sloppy double chiliburger. Pacific Dining car was a good choice. One evening in the early 2000s after we settled into our table at Pacific Dining Car, I reviewed the wine list and ordered a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The young waiter scurried off, and, soon enough, returned with the wine in hand. He allowed me to check the label, and I OKed it. Then, he surprised the heck out of me. He pulled out his waiter's corkscrew, opened up the blade, and started sawing the metal closure. My eyes widened, and, I have to admit, a smirk appeared on my face. He tried multiple times, but his blade would not cut through the metal. I tried to help him out, "I think that is a screwcap." He would not be denied. He tried again, of course, to no avail. After a few minutes, a much more experienced waiter, the kind you would expect in a 50 year-old restaurant, walked over, took the bottle, gave it a twist, handed the now opened bottle to our waiter, and walked away. The rest of the meal was not as memorable, but I'm sure that it was quite good. Australia and New Zealand have led the wine world in the use of screwcap closures. California winemakers seem to only grudgingly use them It is a bit of a shame. They are really easy go remove. Sadly, Pacific Dining Car did not survive COVID.

I would like to take a moment (or multiple moments) to pontificate about Sauvignon Blanc (SB) @grapau27 has already posted that SB is planted in the Bordeaux region of France. The dessert wines of Barsac and Sauternes are of world class quality and are treasured by wine afficionados. I will add that dry wines of the Entre-Deux-Mers region are also very good and easy to enjoy. By that I mean they are easy to drink, and, at least for the ones that make it to the U.S., are easy on the wallet. The other thing I might add is that for most of these Bordeaux wines Sauvignon Blanc is blended with Semillon--another grape variety that does not get the respect that it deserves. Loire Valley is the other French region that produces highly regarded Sauvignon Blanc wines, particularly, from two regions that are across the Loire River from each other--Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. Both regions produce wines made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Sancerre wines are fuller, and have more citrus flavors. Pouilly-Fumes tend to have more stone fruit flavors and are often described as flinty or smoky. Robert Mondavi coined the term "Fume Blanc" for a California Sauvignon Blanc wine that emulates the Pouilly-Fume style. In the 1990s and early 2000s New Zealand emerged as a major producer of SB wines. I drank a lot of it--mostly, because. not only did I like it, it was very affordable. Over the years, it seemed to me that NZ SBs seemed to have more and more grapefruit flavors. (Other tasters called out a much less pleasant sounding descriptor that I won't mention, here. Once I heard it, though, I saw their point.) California winemakers--often not very imaginative--noting the success of the the NZ example started making SBs that seemed to have more and more grapefruit. I have not had any NZ SBs in many years. Can anybody tell me if they still have serious grapefruit flavors. Happily, California SB makers have moved away from heavy grapefruit influence. It is produced by many makers and is widely distributed. Mondavi continues to offer Fume Blanc (along with a "Sauvignon Blanc" bottling) as do some other makers (Dry Creek Valley winery comes to mind). One of my favorite California winemakers is Bedrock Wine Co. Bedrock is highly regarded for it's red wines--in particular, Zinfandel--but I think their white wines are also outstanding.

What causes water to taste "funny?" My understanding is that pure water is odorless and tasteless. My further understanding is that what we detect as the taste of water are "impurities." Impurities would include minerals that are dissolved in the water from wherever it is sourced or chemicals such as chorine or fluorides that are added by public water providers. My best guess is that "funny" tasting water is water that tastes different from what I am accustomed. The reason that it tastes different is that it has different impurity content. Personally, I regularly drink ship's water. Yes, it tastes different from the water that comes out of the taps at home. Being over a certain age, I take daily prescription meds with a glass of water from the basin in our cabin. In the restaurants and dining rooms, we always ask for flat water.

Also, I might mention that the Chef's Table cannot be booked, at all, prior to boarding. Once on board you can request a Chef's Table invitation by calling the DINE line. If you are in a full suite, the Suite Concierge can help you. My understanding is that the older (e.g., Grand Class) ships now have a designated Suite Concierge even though they do not have a Suite Concierge Lounge. Others here on Cruise Critic have reported that they have engaged the assistance of the headwaiter in various dining venues to make a request for a Chef's Table invitation.

One thing that might be added to the "Pro" side is that some travel agents will monitor pricing on their clients' cruises. If there is a fare reduction prior to final payment, they will go ahead and refare their client automatically. Then, they will advise the client that they have just saved them $X. (My coffee shop buddy's travel agent regularly does this for him.) While some may be uncomfortable with a third party independently taking this action, a variation would be if the travel agent just advised a client of a drop in fare and asked if the client wanted to refare. On the "Con" side I would insert this. Using a travel agent adds another moving part to the mechanism. This can add to failures where the travel agent misunderstands the client, or the travel agent misunderstands something about the terms of the cruise pricing. There is also always the possibility that a travel agent can miss a message (voice mail or email) from a client. Travel agents are entitled to take vacations, too, and it is entirely possible that the backup coverage arrangement can fail. Similarly, the travel agent can agree to verbal instructions from the client, and fail to follow through. Many of these problems are not time critical, and the cruiser can follow-up if he/she does not see action on his/her request. However, one of the reasons to engage a travel agent is to not have to worry about the details. Also, I have read one report here on Cruise Critic where a travel agent failed to make a final payment in time even though the poster had paid the travel agent. Yes, the poster's cruise was cancelled.