What's the point of Vintages. It's empty 99% of the time

[martini_guy]

I write this as I sit from central park balcony cabin overlooking Vintages. The only people that I have seen all week there sitting are people bringing their own food/drinks from elsewhere to sit, or the bored waitresses at night sitting outside. Just seems pointless to have all this useless space.

[ultimatecruisemaster]

Accurate for the Independence recently, too. Walked by often and never noticed a crowd in there...

[BillOh]

I write this as I sit from central park balcony cabin overlooking Vintages. The only people that I have seen all week there sitting are people bringing their own food/drinks from elsewhere to sit, or the bored waitresses at night sitting outside. Just seems pointless to have all this useless space.

 

That would be my observation much of the time do, but I do know its a popular place to kill time before or after dinner on formal night. It varies a little by the demographics of the cruise each week, on some occasions I see it busy.

[GrayMaineCruiser]

I noticed that too on my recent cruise on Indy. Hardly ever saw anyone in there when we walked by.

 

 

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[KiwiGal117]

You're not wrong. We were on Harmony in the Med in the summer, and spent LOTS of time in Vintages. But it was pretty quiet! Even the staff, who had come from other ships with Vintages, commented how quiet it was. We wondered if it was the port intensive Mediterranean schedule, but obviously it's happening on this side of the Atlantic as well. I can only surmise that the continually rising drink prices are turning people off from going in - regardless of whether or not they have a drinks package.

[RCCL Fan]

Surprised.

 

When we did Allure we were there nightly pre-dinner and went for the wine tastings during the day and we were never in there alone.

 

Never "crowds" but I kinda like it that way.

 

Nice conversation with a few couples/groups enjoying wine

[theotherchad]

I've never noticed it being really crowded before either, but it's one of my wife's favorite places on the cruise. Besides the fact that they have a better selection of wines by the glass than any other venue, the canape/hordeuvres they serve are a step above the other venues as well. Also, it is, as mentioned, a great place people watch from.

 

BTW, my observations are based on the Voyager class. All the additional venues on the Oasis class ships might cut down on its popularity.

[jonj]

My husband would spend a lot of time in there if the prices for the wines weren't more than other places on the ship, even for the same wine.

[Merly]

Agreed, never see anyone there, and I've never spent time there.

[TubbyMrT]

Like so menu venues, they are underutilized 90% of the time. They should be hosting events continuously.

 

In contrast, there are events that are on occasion, filled to over capacity. In such a case, they should have the ability to instantly add an additional hour or schedule more of those events later in the week once they learn that the customers on this cruise enjoy that type of event.

 

A popular example is Karaoke in On Air. I cruise quite often on Oasis. The On Air club is either empty or packed full during the Karaoke event. It is unpredictable. It all depends on the passenger mix.

 

When filled to capacity and everyone is having a blast, it is a shame that it must come to an end. The customers are being entertained, why pull the plug? Give the customers what they want! When the venue is empty, it seems like such a waste. Fill it up and sell some liquor! Duh! Its not rocket science. The cruise director staff is definitely understaffed though.

 

Vintages could attract customers if they marketed better. They should have frequent events all having to do with wine. Education, tasting, trivia, guess the vintage, etc. Get people in there so they buy some wine! (And maybe have some fun!!!)

[rbschultz]

This space is definitely wasted imo. I was just on Harmony as well and every time I passed Vintages it was empty. There are so many great places on the ship to get varied drinks that there really is no place for a wine bar (especially in a secluded area like Central Park). The Trellis bar, on the other hand, was always packed with people.

[jamesboat]

That was my biggest takeaway from Anthem.

 

Maybe 3 people in there at any given time.

[vacationlover_mn]

I keep forgetting that Vintages is even there! We've never gone in.... however, we love wine, so I want to try to remember it on HOS :)

 

 

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[Don Pedro]

I write this as I sit from central park balcony cabin overlooking Vintages. The only people that I have seen all week there sitting are people bringing their own food/drinks from elsewhere to sit, or the bored waitresses at night sitting outside. Just seems pointless to have all this useless space.

 

True and since Royal Caribbean decided to do away with the pub entertainment that is also wasted space. At least at one time the pubs were packed which is more than you can say for Vintages.

[famof4togo]

I hope this isn't the case on the Freedom next month...I was really looking forward to Vintages....we live in wine country and I generally love a good wine bar....

[KiwiGal117]

I hope this isn't the case on the Freedom next month...I was really looking forward to Vintages....we live in wine country and I generally love a good wine bar....

 

Well, it is good, just doesn't have lots of people in it! The staff are knowledgeable and because they aren't that busy, they are happy to chat and discuss wine.

 

I hope you enjoy it though. We loved it on Harmony.

[nets33]

DH and I loved Vintages on both Oasis and Navigator!

 

It wasn't terribly busy but there was always people coming in and getting a glass of wine. Some stayed, others didn't. I would hate to see Vintages go. I can't stand overly busy bars or lounges. I thought it was much busier than some other bars we wandered into. Probably depends on the time of day and who is on the cruise.

[matj2000]

Most drinkers have the drink package.

 

Vintages sells mostly wine.

 

Probably 97% of the wine is not included in the drink package parameters.

 

Nobody goes from what I have seen on my last 2 trips...

[grouchomarx]

We noticed on Anthem it was always dead. We only went there once on a 12-day cruise. I think the other bars were more inviting, better atmosphere, live music, etc. Also on Anthem it kind of feels like it's in a hallway, like in a space that's between one destination and another rather than being it's own destination. Does that make sense? Also we are more cocktail than wine people.

[Jerseygirl1416]

My husband and I loved Vintages on Oasis. Went every night for pre-dinner drinks and we loved all the tapas dishes we tried there as well. We were never alone in there but it was never obnoxiously crowded.

 

These boards amaze me. People are always complaining about standing in line at a bar, having very few drink servers, waiting for drinks....then they're going to complain that there's a bar that isn't crowded and you don't have to wait for a drink and the ambience is too laid back they should close it down. Jeez

[margeecruiser]

My group of friends loves Vintages!!! We are mostly wine enthusiasts, but if anyone wants a beer, the waitstaff will go to another bar and get it. We always go there as soon as we board and order several bottles for the entire cruise. We have gotten a good discount especially since we drink really top wines. It's part of our cruise experience. Some cruises it can be empty at first, but can fill up later in the cruise.

 

On Liberty they had wine pairing dinners in Vintages. They served the regular dining room menu paired with fantastic wines.

 

We have a great time in there and it seems if a few people are obviously having a blast, more people come in too. Maybe they should pay me to go have so much fun[emoji3].

 

Margee

 

 

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[jamesboat]

I also noticed on Anthem that Izumi was usually empty.

 

Perhaps RCL can take a page out of the Princess book and combine the wine bar with the sushi bar.

 

That would open up space for a new concept location, or an expansion of an existing popular location.

[troykahack]

Vintages seems to be the go to place for some groups, typically around 5-7. Group meetings are often posted outside guest services. One is more likely to have FOX added than remove Vintages.

[waldorf]

Vintages has never been as popular as the Champagne Bar, never known why they changed a winning formula. I'm talking about my experience on the Radiance class ships. I'd love them to bring back the Champagne Bar, it was always full and fun.

[Kdiamond55]

I love that place. I know people drink wine, so I can't figure out why nobody is ever in there, but I don't mind, its a good place to go before dinner that I know won't have a hundred kids crawling around. (I have kids, but I send them away from the bars LOL)