Whinenowine

Yup, that's been my experience too. I see top Champagnes on cruises at retail prices or retail +20%, while the bottles priced at $15-18/glass ($70-90/bt) are at that 200-300% mark up you mention. I won't buy a DP or Cristal in a restaurant for $400-500/bt...but for $250, why not. Then again, those are the types of bottles I'll likely bring on board, given I already own them so why pay any mark up above retail. My real issue with Celebrity is their by-the-bottle list tends towards off-vintages to keep pricing under control. Personally I'd rather have a bottle from a lesser producer in a great vintage than from a great producer in an average vintage. I'm sure others would disagree.

I'm all about quality over quantity, so generally speaking I'd be interested in a higher tier (assuming that there is a high degree of correlation between quality and pricing...which ain't always true). However given the lack of availability of many premium level wines/bourbons on our past 3 cruises, I'd be loath to fork over more money without some sort of 'guarantee' (as if!) of availability. In the absence of this, I've done the same as @NMTraveller and just paid the incremental amount. That way I only pay it IF they have it and IF I want it.

Yes this was a 2006 Henschke shiraz, which I was surprised to see was now priced in the low triple digits. I love screw tops for wines meant to be drank young...so easy. But any wine worth aging (which is 99% of my cellar) needs the porousness of cork to enable the slow oxidation required. Having said that, cork taint killed my love of white Burgundies 20 years ago, so there is a downside there. Thanks for the info above...I'm only good for 2-3 glasses of wine at a time, so I want quality over quantity. Having seen the Connoisseur list, I think I may be better off BYO'ing some '90s Bordeaux/Piedmonts.

The 12/6 Caribbean cruise on Grandeur, as it marks a milestone birthday for me. I'd prefer a longer cruise, but I feel strongly about celebrating on the actual date, so.....it is what it is Having said that, this cruise was included in the Black Friday Sale, so not only did they knock a bunch of money off my Category D cabin, I also got $1,000 of OBC (hence my questions about the connoisseur list). Having said that, other than the Champagnes, there wasn't much on that list that excited me...so I may be a couple of bottles of older Bordeaux/Barolo to enjoy.

So my Grandeur cruise next year will be my first on Regent as I branch out from the RCL lux brands. I've often brought bottles on board those lines...based on your comment, is it common for people to do the same on Regent? Specifically I'm thinking of the Prime 7 and Chartreuse meals.

😂 I hear you! But beware...I was at a wine dinner this past week where someone brought a $250 bottle that had a screw top!. Go figure. The times they are-a-changin'.

Ah, got it! Further away from the mess that is the greater NYC area. We've a Kings here which we used to frequent but their prices are absolutely insane, 20-30% higher than Whole Foods. Go figure. Love the thought behind the bring-your-own-bag idea...but hate it in practice!😇

There is a certain other website which I'm not sure we're allowed to mention by name here, but let's just say that it looks at cruise ship deck plans (you can google it). That site shows that it's a shower only, but also that it MAY connect to the deluxe veranda room next to it (642). Take it with a grain of salt, given the ship is so new.

People are willing to pay (for now), so they won't reduce the pricing.

Jim--it is well known in dietician circles that extra dishes brought to the table have zero calories or fat. Kinda of like when you crumble a cookie and eat it (mysteriously all the calories disappear).

Thanks so much, @crusin7, very informative! Looks like they upgraded the DP vintage and jacked up the price accordingly (which is just fine by me). But still mostly young, off-vintage Bordeaux.

If memory serves, on Edge/Apex 146 of 176 are SSs. On Beyond/Ascent it's 162 of 198.

Fellow Bergen County folks?

Agreed, definitely worth trying the Krug, especially if you've never had it; it is consistently excellent every release. I agree that in many vintages the Krug grand cuvee is better than the DP. On the list you posted above I'd definitely chose the Krug GC over the '10 DP (which is middling at best), even at $50/bt more. But I'd respectively disagree in excellent vintages like '02 and '08. I think there the DP will outshine the Krug every time (to my palate). Had both this past week ('02 out of mag) and they're just phenomenal. To me DP is a modern viticultural marvel....love it or hate it, the fact that they can make so much of it (annual production estimates range from 500,000 cases to 5mm+ cases) and have it be consistently excellent is mind boggling. By comparison, First Growth Bordeaux chateau make 10-25k cases and Grand Cru Burg houses only make hundreds of cases.

Oh, sorry should have specified old world--was really looking at Bordeaux and Piemont. But still, for me I can't drink a cab-based wine that is so young...just not to my liking (though I know many disagree)

Ahh...got it! Glad you were able to roll with the punches and it's worked out so far. Good servers make all the difference (as you know better than I).

Yes indeed! Made my whole family feel special each meal we ate there. We were on the Barcelona closed loop, so probably 2 cruises after you.

Jim--I'm no engineer, but...wouldn't a 360 take you right back to where you started (as opposed to a 180). Sorry I just couldn't resist! 😇 If you don't mind my asking, who's been taking care of you in Luminae? We had Dewa and William back in August and they were great.

Thx--any chance you could send the Champagne and Italian pages too? No rush and no problem if you can't...I'm just curious.

Thanks. They have a lot of good producers but mostly average of slightly above average vintages. I guess that's the keep the costs down. But I think I'd prefer a 'lesser house' from a better vintage than vice versa.

Basically the same restaurant but called different names on the Edge-class vs older ships.

First, I hope you're re-hydrating and feeling better. I grew up in the sub-tropics and it never ceases to amaze me how the body is impacted by the sudden impact of heat and humidity. As for BYO Policy--depending on which part of the X terms & conditions you believe, you're allowed to bring 2 bottles per person or 2 bottles per cabin. As long as you have a drink plan (which isn't a problem in the Retreat) you can bring it to any restaurant for zero corkage. I usually take shorter cruises so 3-4 bottles is plenty. I either drop it off at the restaurant in advance or I ask the butler to do it if they have the time. And as fair is fair (and since DW isn't a drinker), I always share the bottle with the Som/staff after dinner.

There are many on here who I think are looking at this the right way: variety is good, choices are good. And choosing a cruise line is a personal choice, subjective not objective. Period. We love(d) most of what Celebrity has to offer--all of us, including my teenage kids found lots to occupy our time. And when pricing allows, we'll continue to sail X (as we did this summer when we found phenomenal Retreat pricing on the Edge). But in general, their current pricing has 'encouraged' us to look elsewhere--which is good. No ill will towards X from me and mine.

I think there is an outdoor smoking area on Deck 11 on the newer ships--starboard side in front of the pool. But I don't smoke cigarettes, so I'm not positive. I am however looking forward to enjoying the Connoisseur Club when next on board.

Indeed. I'm Elite on Celebrity, but I got fed up with the astronomical increase in Retreat cabins over the last year and looked elsewhere a few months ago. I booked a 2024 Caribbean cruise on the RSSC Grandeur (the newest and ostensibly nicest Regent ship) in a Concierge cabin (category D). Stripping out the airfare the price was still better than the cheapest SS on ANY Edge-class ship. Then, last week Regent ran their Black Friday Sale and, unlike Celebrity, provided an additional 10% savings on the cabin...PLUS $1,000 OBC. So for comparison purposes: I'm getting a 450sqft cabin (including a 110sqft balcony), a pre-cruise night at a 5-star Miami hotel, free shore excursions at every port (no one has mentioned this yet), pre-paid gratuities, free wi-fi for FOUR devices, free specialty dining, and $1,000 OBC. All for much less than the current X SS rate (which no longer includes gratuities or OBC). Yes the ship is only 56k tons with 750 passengers and likely inferior shows and casino. It will be quieter and less exciting....but...for me it's a no brainer (even if the service, food and beverages aren't superior on Regent--which I think they are). Oh and if that wasn't enough: AMEX ran a special offering 5x AMEX points for any Regent booking by 12/8/23. So I've got that slug of points coming my way, too. As Roger Daltrey famously sang: "I'd call that a bargain, the best I ever had".