A Modest Proposal: Eliminate the Wine Stewards

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Some wine stewards have already been eliminated as the dining stewards now do the single glass wine and the alcoholic beverages. It might be a matter of those that are left not being happy. On the other hand we are not shy in flagging them down and pouring our own after the first glass.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

I've been lucky to have great wine stewards who were very (but not overly) attentive and very personable. It would be a shame to lose their services IMO.

[GmaPajama]

Perhaps I'm just lucky, but I've never found wine service to be lacking on HAL. I rarely drink - maybe one glass of wine on an occasional formal night - yet the wine stewards have always checked with us every single evening. Even on those cruises where I never have that one glass, the wine steward usually gets an extra tip from us. For taking the time to stop by and extending the same pleasantries as to those who really know, and spend on, their wines.

 

Like I said, perhaps I'm just lucky.

[whogo]

I was ignored by the wine steward for 10 days this year. I expect nothing more in February....

Another problem solved.

 

I thought this thread was in jest.

 

But if it's not, I have to say I agree with S7S, sapper1 and ger77 to name a few:D

It started out that way, but now...

[Willem Ruys]

We enjoy having wine steward take care of us. We prefer having service while on vacation than self-serve. To date, we've been fortunate to have had good wine stewards who provide the service we seek. I understand not everyone has been so 'fortunate'.

 

But no...... I don't want to take a bottle from a 'cooler' when we enter the MDR. I want a wine list, proper glasses placed on the table and the wine steward pouring.

 

But no one needs to agree with me. :o

 

AND I happen to have an uncanny knack for choosing the right wine with dinner...uncanny because I don't drink wine but my very own one does.

[sun~]

We are wine drinkers. Boarding on wine snobs. We bring very good bottles of wine on board, often in the $40 to $60 a bottle range (usually from total wine), we choose carefully.

 

I believe the "wine stewards" are actually called "wine attendants" on HAL. They have pretty much zero training and know squat about wine. Not one knew the difference between a two buck chuck and a grand cru. Not only do they have almost no knowledge of wine, we have found the service pretty dismal. More often than not our wine glasses never get refilled.

 

Do away with them to save money? Yep. Might as well just leave it to us, and give us a corkscrew!

Edited December 8, 2013 by sun~

[Thebes]

It's formerly called the Automat

 

Yes...great idea for those who haven't the strength to dress for the dining room

 

Just show up in crocs and sweatpants,Reach in, grab a ham and cheese on rye,and a bottle of two buck chuck and you're good to go. No wine stewards or waiters and no worries of tipping extra

 

 

I'm sure there are some that are salivating for this.

 

This is hilarious!!!. I hope the OP and wakeatrol are truly joking :)

[Lady Chew]

We've had good & bad ... but prefer to have a wine "attendant" than not ...

One night we were waiting for the "attendant" to come back and refill my glass, and Mr Chew took matters into his own hands and poured it himself (he doesn't drink wine himself so it was kind of funny, but you had to be there to get the joke) ... a few minutes later the "attendant" came by and scolded Mr Chew about it and said that only the "attendants" were allowed to pour ... needless to say, that didn't go over very well, and didn't stop any of us from pouring our own wine after that.

[solocanadian]

We saw one wine waiter on our last cruise just empty the wine buckets onto the floor. She was too lazy to empty the contents into a container to pour down the sink. Not very hygienic at all!

 

 

Where and what floor?:confused:

[bshow]

We had excellent service from our wine steward on Eurodam last week. I appreciate this service.

[cruz chic]

We've had good & bad ... but prefer to have a wine "attendant" than not ...

One night we were waiting for the "attendant" to come back and refill my glass, and Mr Chew took matters into his own hands and poured it himself (he doesn't drink wine himself so it was kind of funny, but you had to be there to get the joke) ... a few minutes later the "attendant" came by and scolded Mr Chew about it and said that only the "attendants" were allowed to pour ... needless to say, that didn't go over very well, and didn't stop any of us from pouring our own wine after that.

 

Oh please! They should get their butt over there then. I always explain to the wine steward that I don't want to see the bottom of my glass. Some understand that, others don't. On one cruise the wine steward was standing around making origami animals and taking pics for people while my glass was empty. When I buy a 5 or 7 bottle wine package I'd like to drink it. Maybe the service is intensionally bad so they get to keep the extra wine.

[VioletHorse]

About those wine dispensers - Celebrity already offers the by-the-glass option. With a swipe of your room card you can chose one of the offerings in the Enomatic dispenser and carry it anywhere on the ship.

 

They also have Cellar Masters, a wine bar.

 

Both are adjacent to the MDR.

 

We've dined in both the MDR and Blu, and have found the wine stewards to be exceptionally prompt, knowledgeable, and attentive. They never left us with empty glasses.

 

That said, Celebrity has a large wine list, and they staff appropriately in order to support it.

 

Our upcoming cruise is on HAL next spring, and the new wine policy and lack of timely wine service may make for less than a stellar experience, but my expectations have been adjusted.

[cruz chic]

Interesting comment about celebrity. I brought a bottle on and paid the $25 corkage fee. I couldn't get them to serve it. When I had it the second night they brought it out and literally slammed it on the table with no ice bucket. It was a white wine so it needed to be chilled. The me, that is unexceptable.

[George C]

We had a excellent wine steward on Maasdam in April, but we also had great wine service from the waiters on Princess, would not trust any of them to recommend a wine.

[nana51]

I don't drink wine, but agree since they don't have a great selection (so I've been told) how difficult would it be to have the table stewards serve it. Maybe with the cost savings of wine stewards we could hire more table assistants. I would love that!

[nana51]

We are wine drinkers. Boarding on wine snobs. We bring very good bottles of wine on board, often in the $40 to $60 a bottle range (usually from total wine), we choose carefully.

 

I believe the "wine stewards" are actually called "wine attendants" on HAL. They have pretty much zero training and know squat about wine. Not one knew the difference between a two buck chuck and a grand cru. Not only do they have almost no knowledge of wine, we have found the service pretty dismal. More often than not our wine glasses never get refilled.

 

Do away with them to save money? Yep. Might as well just leave it to us, and give us a corkscrew!

 

So so so agree. There is an option between a wine steward and a cooler at the entrance.

[Karennella]

No, just have only Aussie wine with screwcap lids and you won't even need the corkscrew :) But seriously, if we go out at home and only drink half a bottle, we simply close it and take it home in the carrier bag we brought it in. We pour the wine ourselves but everywhere will provide ice-buckets and wine glasses.

We are happy to have the more formal service that a cruise can provide, however it is very frustrating when the service is very slack.

[VioletHorse]

Interesting comment about celebrity. I brought a bottle on and paid the $25 corkage fee. I couldn't get them to serve it. When I had it the second night they brought it out and literally slammed it on the table with no ice bucket. It was a white wine so it needed to be chilled. The me, that is unexceptable.

 

Wow - I would have spoken to the maitre d' - that is totally unacceptable. We only brought 2 bottles of wine aboard, and those were reserved for our in room use. I knew that Celebrity had a good wine list so we purchased our dinner wine in the dining room.

 

Unfortunately it only takes one or two sub-par employees to spoil your cruise experience.

[sppunk]

Our last two cruises, the wine steward walked passed every night and never stoped. We never had a menu either.

 

The lady on the Eurodam was downright surly to a table two over from us, glad she ignored us actually.

[alwaysfrantic]

The ignoring continued with a leftover bottle that was supposed to follow us from the Pinacle. We mentioned. We asked. We said we really wanted that bottle. If I remember correctly it was actually the waiter that eventually got it back for us. Lesson learner....just drink the whole thing in the Pinacle. The wine service is really good in there.

[OlsSalt]

We have always had very friendly and attentive services from the wine stewards on all our HAL ships; really outstanding on the Rotterdam last year - hat tip to Lucy. Is this prohibition about pouring your own wine a HAL policy, an federal ABC restriction, or just a dining tradition? I did not know you were prevented from pouring your own wine yourself.

[cruz chic]

Wow - I would have spoken to the maitre d' - that is totally unacceptable. We only brought 2 bottles of wine aboard, and those were reserved for our in room use. I knew that Celebrity had a good wine list so we purchased our dinner wine in the dining room.

 

Unfortunately it only takes one or two sub-par employees to spoil your cruise experience.

 

I didn't think of speaking with the maître d' although I should have. This was kinda the way the entire cruise went and why I'm not too excited about sailing with celebrity again.

[Toad]

Give me a full time YUM YUM man and ditch the wine stewards

[Typhoon1]

We have always had nothing but outstanding service from the wine stewards.

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

On my last three cruises I have been given outstanding service by wine stewards. when my glass was almost empty he was always there to fill it. Sorry I the the waiters have enough to do. I vote to keep and will be very disappoint if this is taken away. Whats next no servers you serve yourself. Thats what the lido is for.

 

mary