Strumdatjag

Those of us who are skiers relish the opportunity to go into a pool or hot tub in frigid temps.  May temperatures in Alaska are piece of cake!!!

28 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

Total Wine's prices are usually very close to Costco prices, and they have a much greater selection.  Especially when it comes to liquor.

 

Both are about the same distance away for me.  I like Costco for everything else:  the meats, the $1.50 hotdog, etc.

Maybe we got a bit far afield from SS Talk. But my problem with Total Wine is their many wines which are bottled just for them.   There often is a rating from some heretofore unknown reviewer (Not Wine Spectator/Enthusiast/Advocate, Robert Parker etc).  I suspect it’s like the bogus “National Sleep Foundation” which used to give an endorsement to the “My Pillow”.   At Total Wine, they often have young attractive ladies pouring samples and then trying to sell them to me.  Of course, the wine tastes better (at the store) than at home.   
So, maybe the complimentary wine on SS will taste better than the Con List wine, depending on - - - No!  There’s no good way to say this. 

Good for SS.  The Kiwi Sauvignon Blanca are among the best in the world.  The wine snobs will only reach for a Cloudy Bay if at all.  Their Pinot Noir is also very good and at a much more reasonable price than an Oregon Pinot Noir like Domaine Serene.  The reds from Australia are impressive, though there seems to be less hype for them in the wine press these days.   That more than quality is keeping the prices lower. 

41 minutes ago, Strumdatjag said:

Then again, it’s not necessarily a sign of a worldly Oenophile to order Opus One or Joseph Phelps Insignia.  It’s arguably more adventurous to try the South African wine one has never heard about.  A few weeks ago, at an Uzbeki Restaurant, my family members and I tried the Uzbeki wine.  The red was good and the white was not so good, but we left that restaurant having had an Uzbeki wine - a new experience.   It sounds like the complimentary wines are fine and the champagne is excellent.   

Sorry.  I thought the previous email had not been posted.   

Then again, it’s not necessarily a sign of a worldly Oenophile to order Opus One or Joseph Phelps Insignia.  It’s arguably more adventurous to try the South African wine one has never heard about.  A few weeks ago, at an Uzbeki Restaurant, my family members and I tried the Uzbeki wine.  The red was good and the white was not so good, but we left that restaurant having had an Uzbeki wine - a new experience.   It sounds like the complimentary wines are fine and the champagne is excellent.   

By the way, you can’t really call Opus One and Joseph Phelps Insignia the type of wines which are only known to the highly informed oenophile.  Pretty standard fare for the high end wine drinker.   Maybe a bit of snob appeal - sorry to say.  

6 minutes ago, canderson said:

While all of the lines may benefit from the practice you describe, I really don't think that's SS's prime motivation for stocking some higher end wines.  Rather, I'm sure they stock them simply because some prefer them and will buy them.  Even when the two of us are dining alone, I'd still prefer a really nice pinot with my duck + berry sauce rather than a mediocre one. 

 

Based upon the list I've seen here, SS certainly charges less for their wines than their sister lines where you can expect 2.5X retail prices, so if you're correct that SS is trying to leverage some kind of "We buy, you buy" dynamic, they're certainly leaving a lot of $ on the table.

 

 

So, if profit is not the objective of the cruise line - Should I short the common stock in RCL (up over 25% this year)?  

1 hour ago, Strumdatjag said:

With my luck, I’ll probably be sipping my rotgut Cabernet as the Con List Bordeaux is offered.  Yes, I know that the Bordeauxs are more often blended and some are even primarily Merlot.   But the person offering will probably be unaware of that distinction, and your suggested statement wooukd then not be understood.   So, maybe I’ll bring my own MD 20-20 or Thunderbird onboard to avails the problem entirely.  

I meant (despite the spellchecking typos)  - that WOULD SOLVE the problem.  Actually, I do plan to decline the offer, explaining that I’d rather be blissfully ignorant of any possible deficiencies in the complimentary wine selection.  
Although the staff may not pressure sales from the Con List, certainly RCL profits to some extent off of the peer pressure and stocks the more expensive wine accordingly.  

5 hours ago, drron29 said:

There is no pressure from the staff for this to happen so it is entirely up to you. Don’t accept the offer of a glass of a wine from the connoisseur list. Not hard to do. An easy excuse is that it is not the wine type that I enjoy.

With my luck, I’ll probably be sipping my rotgut Cabernet as the Con List Bordeaux is offered.  Yes, I know that the Bordeauxs are more often blended and some are even primarily Merlot.   But the person offering will probably be unaware of that distinction, and your suggested statement wooukd then not be understood.   So, maybe I’ll bring my own MD 20-20 or Thunderbird onboard to avails the problem entirely.  

You don’t understand my question.   Yes, it’s great if everyone WANTS to reciprocate.   But if I drink a glass of somebody else’s “great” wine, I’m going to feel obligated to buy one myself to reciprocate.   I don’t WANT to but I’ll end up doing it.  I’d rather just drink the rot-gut that’s included (and drink “great” wines I found on sale when I’m back home).  I suspect we will get into a cocktail, wine with dinner and after dinner drink routine (with maybe even a beer on shore).  I find I have less appreciation for “great” wines in that type of routine compared to just drinking a “great” wine with dinner at home. 

How much of this is peer pressure?   Some one or a couple meets others on board. One of the others buys a wine from the Con List.  And then everyone else thinks they have to reciprocate.  The chain reaction continues. Everyone gets Conned. 
I’m new to SS, but not new to observing human nature.   Does that happen?   Because I’d hate to get goaded into  buying “great” wine when I can get “good” wine for free!!! 

Isn’t Champagne always available?  And I believe it’s a pretty good one. 

By the way, my wife and I are on the Whisper. 

My wife and I are first timers on SS in about a month.   Other than -“Avoid the Hamburger” and “The Champagne is Great”, I haven’t seen much guidance on where SS excels and where it doesn’t on food, wine and liquor. Any ideas?  

Why kill hours in the Anchorage Airport?   I’m excited to head into the city (after checking my baggage) and spend a few hours in Anchorage.   Maybe they serve seal meat for dinner at the local restaurants.   My flight leaves at 10:15pm. 

3 hours ago, alithecat said:

I can't comment on the day room but can on the transfer. All passengers were taken from the ship in Seward to Anchorage, airport or hotel. P2P were taken in chartered buses, D2D on a chartered train.

 

I believe the info. you are getting about the transfer is incorrect.

Did they give the passengers time in Seward or take them directly to Anchorage?

30 minutes ago, kh76sp said:

 

My husband and I are on the Silver Whisper Tokyo to Seward cruise in May 2023. We are joining my sister and his brother on the ship (yes, sisters married brothers🙂 ) after they have spent a couple of weeks cruising Japan on the Whisper. 

 

I was surprised when my TA told me that SilverSea is not offering a day room on May 18 NOR are they scheduling a transfer for us from Seward to Anchorage because the flight SILVERSEA booked for us does not leave until 5/19 - at 12:55am!!  We paid for the door to door service so I am pretty distressed at this treatment. 

 

We have to find a way from Seward to Anchorage on our own.... can anyone offer suggestions?

 

It's our first SilverSea cruise (so far we have cruised 31x on various lines) and I have not yet been favorably impressed by the 'luxurious service'... 😞 

 

Cathy (& John)

My agent at Silverseas (Lee) said my Port to Port Voyage includes transportation to Anchorage.  I canceled two seats on a bus trip to Anchorage.  My flight leaves at 10:30pm.  I’m looking forward to a day in Seward and Anchorage.