Surprised to hear Princess has done away with their wine sommeliers

[Ginnyfyr]

Hubby and I just got off the Royal yesterday and were shocked to learn that "wine sommelier" is no longer a job title offered by Princess. I'm surprised they would do away with this position as the sommeliers we have encountered on all of our Princess cruises have always been very knowledgeable and have introduced us to some new wines, both pricey and affordable, that we otherwise might not have considered. I think this is a really bad move on their part as they've thrown a valuable asset out the window who might get some passengers to buy more wines than they would without some guidance/education. This explains why the wines at one wine tasting were sampled based on price, not flavour/boldness (I didn't attend but the husband tells me many people at his table were put off of one of the selections because it was offered after a particularly bold wine, which negatively affected the taste of the 2nd sampling). I believe it was a waiter in the Crown Grill who told us they no longer have an official wine sommelier on board, and other waiters in the dining room and at Vines also confirmed that it's basically up to the waiters to sell the wines now, based on what they're told to push vs what might be a better wine pairing for a particular meal (one guy we talked to who had been encouraging us to try a certain wine all week actually admitted that he can't stand wine but was just trying to sell what he'd been told to sell). Anyway, I hadn't seen anything about this here on CC - or perhaps I just missed it - but thought I would share this info for others who enjoy wine or were hoping to have some interaction with a pro on their cruise. Cheers!

[Colo Cruiser]

Hubby and I just got off the Royal yesterday and were shocked to learn that "wine sommelier" is no longer a job title offered by Princess. I'm surprised they would do away with this position as the sommeliers we have encountered on all of our Princess cruises have always been very knowledgeable and have introduced us to some new wines, both pricey and affordable, that we otherwise might not have considered. I think this is a really bad move on their part as they've thrown a valuable asset out the window who might get some passengers to buy more wines than they would without some guidance/education. This explains why the wines at one wine tasting were sampled based on price, not flavour/boldness (I didn't attend but the husband tells me many people at his table were put off of one of the selections because it was offered after a particularly bold wine, which negatively affected the taste of the 2nd sampling). I believe it was a waiter in the Crown Grill who told us they no longer have an official wine sommelier on board, and other waiters in the dining room and at Vines also confirmed that it's basically up to the waiters to sell the wines now, based on what they're told to push vs what might be a better wine pairing for a particular meal (one guy we talked to who had been encouraging us to try a certain wine all week actually admitted that he can't stand wine but was just trying to sell what he'd been told to sell). Anyway, I hadn't seen anything about this here on CC - or perhaps I just missed it - but thought I would share this info for others who enjoy wine or were hoping to have some interaction with a pro on their cruise. Cheers!

 

They have been gone for awhile. :(

[Pam in CA]

They have been gone for awhile. :(

I've seen them on a Princess cruise within the last year or so. Can't remember which cruise. I think they may be on only longer cruises.

[Ginnyfyr]

They have been gone for awhile. :(

 

Our last Princess cruise was on the Crown, I think in April 2012, and they were still on board then. We have also sailed with Celebrity and I always thought it was odd that they had so many sommeliers on board while Princess only had one per ship. It's a loss for anyone with a bit of an interest in wine who was hoping to learn a little more and/or try something new on their vacation.

[kingofnull]

I'm not terribly upset by this news. I'm familiar enough with Princess's wine list at this point and I frequent Vines and the wine tastings, so the Sommelier is less of a boon to me.

 

Another reasin I don't much care; annecdotally - when I was on the Crown a few years back the MDR Sommelier was a bit of a snob. After pooh-poohing my wine pairing choice (I'm no expert myself, but I have been a profession restaurant chef for over 10 years. I like to think I have some idea what I'm doing), he poured my wine then waited until mains were served to bring my bill. By the time he left the meal was half chilled. Imagine my surprise when he pulled the same schtick the next night. When I kindly explained to him why I didn't think this was acceptable service, he had the gall to tell me -I- was rude!

[Ginnyfyr]

I've seen them on a Princess cruise within the last year or so. Can't remember which cruise. I think they may be on only longer cruises.

 

That's good to hear! I do hope they're not gone for good! Maybe Princess decided they weren't selling enough wine on Caribbean cruises to justify having one on board full time.

[JimmyVWine]

They have done away with the position. (Not that unusual as the same is happening on land). A pure cost cutting measure. On our most recent cruise, the Head Waiter in Sabbatini's assumed the role of "Most knowledgeable person on the ship when it came to wine." But he was far from a Sommelier. Given the rather pedestrian wine list on Princess ships, it shouldn't be too hard to educate the staff, (or at least the most senior members of each dining room) about the choices on the list sufficient to allow them to make recommendations and answer questions. Whether they do that or not is another matter entirely. What really displeases me is that Princess caters to a largely American audience and the U.S. is widely represented on its lists. But the staff (even the Somms when they had them) were woefully ignorant about U.S. wine. The last Sommelier we shared a bottle with was from Hungary, had a good knowledge of Italian wine, a working knowledge of French wine, and could not engage in any conversation when it came to wines from the U.S., Chile, Argentina or South Africa. No true Sommelier certification program that I am aware of would pass you with that level of knowledge. So maybe we aren't missing much.

[JimmyVWine]

I've seen them on a Princess cruise within the last year or so. Can't remember which cruise. I think they may be on only longer cruises.

It's possible. But what I think you might be seeing is the person who the ship deems to be "in charge of wine", which is better than nothing, but it does not indicate that they have any formal training or are a certified Sommelier. I didn't see a single person with a tastevin on our last cruise, and while the device is antiquated, on prior cruises, you could always find a Sommelier wearing one.

[Ginnyfyr]

I'm not terribly upset by this news. I'm familiar enough with Princess's wine list at this point and I frequent Vines and the wine tastings, so the Sommelier is less of a boon to me.

 

Another reasin I don't much care; annecdotally - when I was on the Crown a few years back the MDR Sommelier was a bit of a snob. After pooh-poohing my wine pairing choice (I'm no expert myself, but I have been a profession restaurant chef for over 10 years. I like to think I have some idea what I'm doing), he poured my wine then waited until mains were served to bring my bill. By the time he left the meal was half chilled. Imagine my surprise when he pulled the same schtick the next night. When I kindly explained to him why I didn't think this was acceptable service, he had the gall to tell me -I- was rude!

 

Well, that is just p!ss poor service and completely unprofessional! My husband is quite knowledgeable about wines and has always enjoyed some good conversations with the sommeliers we've encountered on board and has even stayed in touch with one of them thru Facebook. I did feel badly for the people who paid to attend the first wine tasting on our sailing who were put off by the order of the wines that were served. I feel like a proper sommelier would've known not to serve a strong Amarone before something milder. They lost out on a chance to sell more wine by not presenting them properly, and those people didn't get to experience a yummy wine the way they should've (damned if I can remember what it was now, of course!)

[Pam in CA]

It's possible. But what I think you might be seeing is the person who the ship deems to be "in charge of wine", which is better than nothing, but it does not indicate that they have any formal training or are a certified Sommelier. I didn't see a single person with a tastevin on our last cruise, and while the device is antiquated, on prior cruises, you could always find a Sommelier wearing one.

Nope. He was a sommelier with a burgundy uniform and thing around his neck going from table-to-table. No mistaking or confusion with general waitstaff with wine training. I'm not a wine drinker but the friends I was traveling with are. :) I remember being surprised since I'd thought that Princess no longer had them. Edited January 13, 2014 by Pam in CA

[Ginnyfyr]

They have done away with the position. (Not that unusual as the same is happening on land). A pure cost cutting measure. On our most recent cruise, the Head Waiter in Sabbatini's assumed the role of "Most knowledgeable person on the ship when it came to wine." But he was far from a Sommelier. Given the rather pedestrian wine list on Princess ships, it shouldn't be too hard to educate the staff, (or at least the most senior members of each dining room) about the choices on the list sufficient to allow them to make recommendations and answer questions. Whether they do that or not is another matter entirely. What really displeases me is that Princess caters to a largely American audience and the U.S. is widely represented on its lists. But the staff (even the Somms when they had them) were woefully ignorant about U.S. wine. The last Sommelier we shared a bottle with was from Hungary, had a good knowledge of Italian wine, a working knowledge of French wine, and could not engage in any conversation when it came to wines from the U.S., Chile, Argentina or South Africa. No true Sommelier certification program that I am aware of would pass you with that level of knowledge. So maybe we aren't missing much.

 

We must've lucked out with the sommelier we met on our 2nd Caribbean Princess sailing. Dave really knew his stuff on all the regions and had just completed some kind of training/certification in Napa valley.

 

One of our waiters told us the most knowledgeable wine guy on the ship was currently working at the purser's desk and had been a sommelier on another Princess ship - talk about a waste of an asset! (<-- well, assuming he was good at what he did when he was the sommelier!)

Edited January 13, 2014 by Ginnyfyr

[JimmyVWine]

Nope. He was a sommelier with a burgundy uniform and thing around his neck going from table-to-table. No mistaking or confusion with general waitstaff with wine training. I'm not a wine drinker but the friends I was traveling with are. :) I remember being surprised since I'd thought that Princess no longer had them.

Good to hear! It would make sense on longer cruises, as passengers with limited wine knowledge could drink their way through what is familiar to them in about a week. If you are going to be on board a ship for 3+ days and don't want to get bored, it would be nice to have someone there to educate you and help make suggestions. On a 7 day cruise, this is less important. Plus, people on a 7 day cruise are more likely to supply their own wine than people on a 40 day cruise. That would be a lot of luggage to take with you!

Edited January 13, 2014 by JimmyVWine

[JimmyVWine]

One of our waiters told us the most knowledgeable wine guy on the ship was currently working at the purser's desk and had been a sommelier on another Princess ship - talk about a waste of an asset! (<-- well, assuming he was good at what he did when he was the sommelier!)

Well, it's nice to know that they found a position for him instead of laying him off entirely.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

They still had Sommeliers on the Grand in December 2012 but by the Royal TA they were gone.

They do have a tea sommelier on Royal:confused::rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

I've seen them on a Princess cruise within the last year or so. Can't remember which cruise. I think they may be on only longer cruises.

 

 

All I remember is Generoso told me that the one on our Emerald cruise in March 13 was on his last cruise and that he was done after that.

 

Thats quite awhile for me!! Almost a year. :p

[Yuk0n Jack]

They had one on the March 16, 2012 Crown Princess Western Caribbean cruise that I went - my wife and I went to two wine tasting events and had a good time.

[JimmyVWine]

They had one on the March 16, 2012 Crown Princess Western Caribbean cruise that I went - my wife and I went to two wine tasting events and had a good time.

We did that exact same itinerary on the Crown in April of 2012, and indeed, there was a Somm on board. He worked very hard.

[capriccio]

I've seen them on a Princess cruise within the last year or so. Can't remember which cruise. I think they may be on only longer cruises.

 

12 day BI cruise on the Caribbean Princess this summer had one.

[slc22]

Hubby and I just got off the Royal yesterday ... Cheers!

 

Hi, Did you enjoy the Royal? I had a great cruise in December. Hope yours was all you expected, and more.

[IECalCruiser]

On 15 cruises with Princess we have only interacted with a Sommelier twice. One was on a Coastal on the Sapphire in 2011 when he sampled some of a favorite Zin from a magnum we had brought onboard. He gave it his seal of approval :) The second was at the Sommelier's Wine Tasting on the Island in January of 2013. Not an expert, but I can navigate the Princess wine list reasonably well.

[caribill]

When we first started cruising, Princess had sommeliers, but after a few years the position was eliminated.

 

Then in 2011 they were back on again only to disappear sometime last year.

 

I suspect the amount of additional wine sales they created did not equal the cost of their being on board.

[cubfan63]

In March 2013, there was a sommelier on the Caribbean Princess. She and I became acquainted on an earlier cruise as she had been a bar supervisor.

 

I asked in November 2013 and I was told that they had eliminated the sommelier position and the lady I knew, had left for vacation, and would apparently be moving into another area when she returned.

[Ginnyfyr]

Hi, Did you enjoy the Royal? I had a great cruise in December. Hope yours was all you expected, and more.

 

Yes, thank you, we did enjoy our cruise! I was worried about what I'd read about the lack of a central staircase, but we were just forward enough that we were near a staircase so it wasn't an issue. We enjoyed fantastic weather and great food for the week - we had a lovely time!

[Astro Flyer]

When we first started cruising, Princess had sommeliers, but after a few years the position was eliminated.

 

Then in 2011 they were back on again only to disappear sometime last year.

That was my recollection also & thanks for confirming that my memory was accurate.