Sommelier or waiter for Beverage Package MDR wine service?

[lopat08865]

Am hoping to take advantage of Premium Beverage Package to match wines with courses during MDR [we're Select but might consider switch to Traditional; not sure if that makes a difference].

 

Never having cruised X, I'm not really sure how likely such a plan would play out. Do we ask for the sommelier and inform him/her of our wishes, or help in recommendations? If so, when?

 

Will the sommelier actually serve us, or will he merely instruct our waiter of his/her selections, and then the waiter takes it from there? Also, how have you found the wine service timing to the actual courses? I'm thinking we'd want 3 or 4 different wines during the course of the meal [appetizer, soup/salad, entrée, dessert, maybe also an after dinner cordial -- though that last we may enjoy somewhere else].

 

Is this going to be a stress-free request they'll handle flawlessly, or will we find we'll have to keep them on their toes?

 

Lastly, what would you expect an appropriate extra gratuity per night to be for such a request, and would it vary depending on whether it was the sommelier or the waiter executing the request?

 

Thanks!

[gwilli]

Last year on the Constellation, the sommelier served us wine in the MDR. We didn't choose our wines, and he did a fine job. Sometime he would bring a wine that was more than our package and didn't charge extra. Other couples at our table had the classic package, and they did get different wine. The other couple weren't on a package and waited forever to get a beer.

Cheers!

[tteettimes]

Daffodil is/was the best..."same drink at our table every night and second one right on time.....on the "s" ships.....anyone else meet this beautiful girl ???...she's really special....wish her the best :)

[Christine Frances]

We had the Classic pkg on the Eclipse and although the options for pairing weren't as expansive as the Premium pkg, our sommelier was incredible, our wine glasses never less than a third full. She was already at our table while we were looking a the menu. We were all happy with the selections we had with the Classic but as we have the pkg again in Asia, we will be upgrading because I would like to expand on the wine choices. We were Traditional dining and we tipped here the last night of the cruise along with our waiter and ass't waiter.

[CleoChase]

The sommelier served our wine. We did wine flights during several meals. We asked him if he would pick wines within the premium plan to compliment our choices. He was incredible and we are planning on doing this again on the next cruise. He even took us for a tour of the wine tower one night after I asked him a couple question about it.

 

They also did flights for us at the Tuscan Grill and Murano. My DH actually paid extra form some of the wines at Murano and they were worth it!

 

Everyone seem to love sharing their wine knowledge with us on that cruise. We had an awesome time, tried some things we normally would not have tried and were not concerned if we did not drink the whole glass.

 

We came home with some new favorites.

[petersonwith3]

Thanks for all the responses, makes me so excited for our package in March!

[cmalagngl]

Thanks for the information. My wife and I have the 123GO and upgraded to premium drinks package just for the wine at dinner. I am looking forward to one conversation day one and having our wines picked out for us the remainder of the cruise. Sounds like that is exactly what I can do. I'm sure we will experience some new wine adventures.

[CaroleSS]

We had the premium package on the Reflection last year and our sommelier was AWFUL! We had asked for wine pairings and she said "ok", then proceeded to ask us what wines we wanted for dinner. We got no 'topping off', no suggestions, nada. We are hoping that she was just new and with the Reflection just having been launched everything hadn't 'gelled' yet.

 

We are sailing on the Connie in March and hoping for a better experience!

[steandho]

We were on the Equinox last October had the premium beverage package dining in Blu.

Our first sommelier was also AWFUL. I excitedly asked about the wine pairings and things went sideways from there. Guests at the tables next to us asked why she was being so rude to me on following evenings. We went to the Maitre d' and asked to be moved to another section with another sommelier on the third night. The change was remarkable. We had the most incredible wines and they paired perfectly with our food.

This same sommelier was on the Century when I cruised to Alaska in May. He wasn't in our section in the MDR. He came every night to say Hi and make sure our table was

enjoying their dinner.

[koolforkatz]

Our sommelier, Katrina, on the Eclipse in April was A for awesome. She was very knowledgeable and always had great suggestions and would bring wine from the specialty restaurants too if we asked. Despite how busy she was with other tables our glasses were never empty. She was amazing; we tipped her well.

[We're The Groupnors]

I had a great experience with Ilknur on Eclipse. I would tell her my dinner selection, and she would choose a wine and keep me well topped up throughout dinner. Often it was a wine that was not a choice from the "by the glass" menu. I was concerned that she would get in trouble for that, but she assured me she would not. Needless to say she was tipped well at the end of two weeks.

[lopat08865]

Seems like the overall experience has been more than satisfactory. Really looking forward to following the sommelier's lead in making our selections!

 

Still was hoping to get some specifics about what an appropriate gratuity would be. I realize this varies, but I just want to be in the goldilocks zone -- not too little and not too much, but just right:).

 

Would $5 a night be appropriate? Or would $10 [or more:eek:] be more in line with what they receive for their expertise?

[bikn4fn]

Great info. We've always gone with the wine package on RCI. It's good to know what options are available for Celebrity. Based on the responses, we might go with the Premium package.

[Vineyardfan]

Seems like the overall experience has been more than satisfactory. Really looking forward to following the sommelier's lead in making our selections!

 

Still was hoping to get some specifics about what an appropriate gratuity would be. I realize this varies, but I just want to be in the goldilocks zone -- not too little and not too much, but just right:).

 

Would $5 a night be appropriate? Or would $10 [or more:eek:] be more in line with what they receive for their expertise?

 

As far as I understand the sommeliers earn the usual 15% automatic gratuity/service charge on all wines they sell, even when you are on a package and do not actually pay by the glass.

 

Leaving a tip as well is of course always appreciated, but whether or not this is done is highly individual, so you'll probably find that there are as many opinions on what is appropriate as there are cruisers...

 

On a practical note though, leaving a tip is slightly more complicated when you are on a drink package, because you will normally never get a slip to sign (as you would when the drinks are actually charged) unless you specifically ask for one.

[Lovemychoos]

We had the same sommelier this May as we had last October on Equinox, and he was absolutely amazing. Not only did he remember us, but he remembered what we liked to drink and even pointed out to us where we had been sitting last time at the other end of the dining room :eek:

 

His name is Murat, and not only was he happy to 'pair' our wine, we never had an empty glass no matter how busy he was, and he made our meals very special. He also stopped by to chat with us at the end of dinner, and was a really interesting guy. We gave him a tip at the end of the cruise, even though we had such a job to find him on the last night! (which only goes to show he wasn't expecting anything) when we thanked him for looking after us so well, he was quite surprised when we wanted to give him something extra, and was very pleased to be appreciated.

 

Lovely, lovely man, and if you are ever lucky enough to come across him, you are in for a real treat.

 

Lou

[lopat08865]

As far as I understand the sommeliers earn the usual 15% automatic gratuity/service charge on all wines they sell, even when you are on a package and do not actually pay by the glass.

 

Leaving a tip as well is of course always appreciated, but whether or not this is done is highly individual, so you'll probably find that there are as many opinions on what is appropriate as there are cruisers...

 

On a practical note though, leaving a tip is slightly more complicated when you are on a drink package, because you will normally never get a slip to sign (as you would when the drinks are actually charged) unless you specifically ask for one.

 

Thanks. As long as the sommelier is already getting his/her 15%, we'll add additional gratuity the same as our waitstaff. We can handle it the same way, with a thank you note and cash in an envelope on the final night.

[Starlight cruiser]

Hi

 

We had the premium package a couple of years ago on the Solstice and the first two nights the sommelier was invisible and had no knowledge at all. We then spoke with our Maître d' and the Head Sommelier appeared to smooth things out and we had some great wines after that.

 

My partners is a Wine specialist in the UK so we asked to have a different wine with each course and waited to see what was recommended. Most were good and only really fell short on the dessert wines. So would suggest asking to try the Sauternes with your dessert and cheese.

 

Top tip though a tad pricey is the Riedel glasses experience. We didn't take it until the latter end of the cruise so would recommend you take it at the start as you are then given these glasses to drink out of at dinner. They DO make a difference. Won't spoil the experience if you haven't heard of it but do look it up on the Celebrity website.

 

Also if you dine in the Murano the maître d's in there are usual top notch.

 

Have fun.