Has anyone tried the World Wine Tour? $20

[zitsky]

Obviously it's a wine tasting.  But I wonder how good it is?  How many wines do you get to taste?  Are they decent wines?  They don't tell you the day and time when you book, from what I can see.

 

Maybe I will call Celebrity and ask.

Edited November 14, 2019 by zitsky

[bluehengal]

I did it years ago on the Summit.  They had tables set up (I think there were 6 or 7) with the country's flag above the table.  They gave you a sheet of paper that told you the wines you would be tasting at each table.  There was one white and one red for each country.  It was very informal and you could drink until they ran out.  I tried all of the wines in the order they were listed and then went back to my favorites.  It was a fun experience and something to do on a sea day.

[Alushar]

I did this last year on the Millenium and as bluehengal said there were 6 stations set up I think France, Italy, Argentina, Australia, USA and Spain. Red and white not bad quality on each. Circle round with cards to mark and go back to the ones you like. Nibbles provided cheese, bread, fruit etc. Mine was about 3 in the afternoon and needed a lay down after lol

[zitsky]

When did you know the day and time of the event?  Were there refills on each of the wines?

 

Thanks.

[wendycook22]

9 minutes ago, zitsky said:

When did you know the day and time of the event?  Were there refills on each of the wines?

 

Thanks.

 

Our somolier in the dinning room infromed us when it was, we often prepurchased with the somolier.  It is often also listed in the dailies.  
We have done it twice.  Set up as indicated above, and you can go back to the ones you liked after you have tried them all.  

 

[cruise kitty]

We did it on the Reflection in May, there were 6 stations, each with several wines to choose from, Reds, Whites....  you could taste as much as you liked, little snacks of crackers, cheeses were available,  I would definitely do it again,  ended up finding a few wines that we really liked that we wouldn't have normally tried.  

 

Keep in mind that if you're on a cold weather itinerary events like this sell out fast.  Ours did :)

[Alsmez]

We did it once and were a bit disappointed. It is, as others have mentioned, extremely informal - we were hoping for more of a guided experience where we might learn something from an experience sommelier. That is definitely NOT what this is - this is simply DIY tasting and can be kind of a nightmare with people elbowing each other out of the way for wine, depending on how many attendees there are. If you have a drink package I wouldn't bother - you can just go to Cellar Masters and put together your own tasting.

[zitsky]

I decided to sign up.  Alsmez, I appreciate your feedback.  I wasn't expecting a sommelier so I am not disappointed.  I have a local wine club and their events can cost more than the price of this wine tasting.  Celebrity has lots of activities that I think are over priced.  But this price seems reasonable for what you get.

 

I just hope they do this on the first sea day so it doesn't conflict with anything else.

Edited November 14, 2019 by zitsky

[DebInAntigua]

We just came off the Silhouette and had the World Wine Tour. It was way overcrowded and we didn’t like it much at all. Most of the time the wine station attendants just asked “red or white” when you approached and there was nothing to guide the experience. No tasting cards to keep track of what you liked, no useful explanations from the staff, just wander aimlessly and try wines with no context. And did I mention it was way oversold? They ran out of the normal medallions used to indicate you were a paid attendee and just resorted to stickers. You could barely get around and while there was nice nibbles available, there were very few seats to relax and enjoy them. 
 

We wouldn’t do that one again. We learned more about wine over dinners this past week from the various sommeliers than the World Wine Tour. 

[DebInAntigua]

8 hours ago, zitsky said:

I decided to sign up.  Alsmez, I appreciate your feedback.  I wasn't expecting a sommelier so I am not disappointed.  I have a local wine club and their events can cost more than the price of this wine tasting.  Celebrity has lots of activities that I think are over priced.  But this price seems reasonable for what you get.

 

I just hope they do this on the first sea day so it doesn't conflict with anything else.

Ours was held on the last day of the cruise. Seemed an odd choice. 

[vtcruising]

9 hours ago, zitsky said:

When did you know the day and time of the event?  Were there refills on each of the wines?

 

Thanks.

We've done it about 3 times - I think it is usually on a sea day after lunch. We had the same experience described above with 12 wines from 6 different regions (1 white and 1 red each - might have one sparkling wine and one/or rosé). They did not mind at all giving another taste. We usually did all 12 and then went back to our favorites. They didn't say much about the wines unless you asked questions. We asked questions about the ones we liked and the pourers had varying expertise.

 

If you go to Cellar Masters after you board, you will likely find a table set up outside or inside with cards that list all the wine events for the cruise, with dates, times and prices. The wine stewards in the dining rooms also have these and will bring out the cards if you show an interest in wine.

Edited November 15, 2019 by vtcruising

[RealBatman]

Well... we just signed up and paid! Thanks for all the info from everyone. We are looking forward to trying this experience. (We don't sail until February). Hopefully we can attend on the first sea day.

 

 

I am wondering whether or not the wines tasted are available in Blu? Are they wines that are included or available on the Premium package? Or are they wines that you never experience again?

[SactoSteve]

We've attended several of these wine tastings.  They're alright. The last one was interesting because it had a new world vs. Old world theme.  Each station would have two wines made from the same grape varietal, maybe a merlot from France and a merlot from the U.S.  It was. Interesting to taste the differences.  Sometimes it way really different.  None of the wines were all that great but, over the years there haven't been too many stinkers, either.  Retail prices on most were probably under $15.

[SactoSteve]

6 minutes ago, RealBatman said:

Well... we just signed up and paid! Thanks for all the info from everyone. We are looking forward to trying this experience. (We don't sail until February). Hopefully we can attend on the first sea day.

 

 

I am wondering whether or not the wines tasted are available in Blu? Are they wines that are included or available on the Premium package? Or are they wines that you never experience again?

I don't recall ever seeing one on the wine list.  You'll get much better wines with the premium package.  Get to be friends with your sommelier. They'll take care of you.

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, SactoSteve said:

I don't recall ever seeing one on the wine list.  You'll get much better wines with the premium package.  Get to be friends with your sommelier. They'll take care of you.

 

I was under the impression that the premium wines were not much more expensive/better than the classic.  I guess I am wrong about that?

[jelayne]

6 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

I was under the impression that the premium wines were not much more expensive/better than the classic.  I guess I am wrong about that?

 We can purchase the wines on the Classic  package at Total Wine for $6-10 a bottle.  Premium package is in the price range of $14-19. 

[vtcruising]

3 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

I was under the impression that the premium wines were not much more expensive/better than the classic.  I guess I am wrong about that?

Although we order a few of the Classic wines (DH likes the Shiraz on the Classic list), my go-to wines are from the Premium list:

Montaudon Champagne (not sparkling wine)

Mer Soleil - not a Chard fan, but really like this wine

Decoy Cab - like this one with beef or lamb, unless I spring for the Caymus at extra cost

Villa Maria for Sauv Blanc is quite good

Cherry Tart Pinot is also quite good

Red and White Conundrum are both very good

[cruise kitty]

8 hours ago, zitsky said:

I decided to sign up.  Alsmez, I appreciate your feedback.  I wasn't expecting a sommelier so I am not disappointed.  I have a local wine club and their events can cost more than the price of this wine tasting.  Celebrity has lots of activities that I think are over priced.  But this price seems reasonable for what you get.

 

I just hope they do this on the first sea day so it doesn't conflict with anything else.

 

It's interesting, ours was oversold, & overcrowded, but we had so much fun!   A super nice couple that we hung out with a bit did it as well, so it was nice to compare  which wines we liked & why.   The people who were pouring out the wines were actually pretty knowledgeable & answered any questions we had & also recommended other wines we might like based on what we enjoyed at the tasting.  

 

Enjoy!  I'd definitely do it again :)

[vtcruising]

4 minutes ago, cruise kitty said:

 

It's interesting, ours was oversold, & overcrowded, but we had so much fun!   A super nice couple that we hung out with a bit did it as well, so it was nice to compare  which wines we liked & why.   The people who were pouring out the wines were actually pretty knowledgeable & answered any questions we had & also recommended other wines we might like based on what we enjoyed at the tasting.  

 

Enjoy!  I'd definitely do it again 🙂

We have always done it with friends and had a lot of fun. We bring our wine glass holder lanyards for us and for our friends and get many comments. What's not fun about sharing 12 wines with your friends (or if you don't go with friends, you will probably have some new ones by the end!)? 🙂

Edited November 15, 2019 by vtcruising

[cruise kitty]

20 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

We have always done it with friends and had a lot of fun. We bring our wine glass holder lanyards for us and for our friends and get many comments. What's not fun about sharing 12 wines with your friends (or if you don't go with friends, you will probably have some new ones by the end!)? 🙂

 

Exactly!  A great part of doing the on board activities is meeting people with whom you have a lot in common :)   I know a lot of people complain about paid activities, but honestly, if it was free, the whole ship would be there lol.  ;)

 

 We'd done the Riedel workshop in the past, & enjoyed it as well!   

[SactoSteve]

47 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

I was under the impression that the premium wines were not much more expensive/better than the classic.  I guess I am wrong about that?

 

You can always start with the Classic package and upgrade of you feel the need. We found a couple good options on the Classic but some others on premium, too. I don't think I had anything off the wine menu that I disliked.

[SactoSteve]

11 minutes ago, cruise kitty said:

 

 

 We'd done the Riedel workshop in the past, & enjoyed it as well!   

 

The Riedel workshop is fun.  We also did a good and wine pairing workshop that was a hoot. Some great folks at our table combined with a Som that wanted to show off a couple nice wines and... Whew.  

[Caribbean Chris]

The best one we’ve attended was on Century about six years ago on a Hawaii cruise with ten sea days. Good selection at various stations you could sample and return to, including a $100 per bottle choice that was excellent! Those days may be gone.

 

That same cruise had a very informative champagne tasting flight with four or five choices poured by waiters, again some high quality choices. The best part was when the senior sommelier demonstrated sabrage, cutting off the neck of a bottle with a saber and then pouring from it for the tasting. Very dramatic and fun. Are they still doing that?

[JerseyGirlatHeart]

13 hours ago, SactoSteve said:

 

The Riedel workshop is fun.  We also did a good and wine pairing workshop that was a hoot. Some great folks at our table combined with a Som that wanted to show off a couple nice wines and... Whew.  

 

Have done the Riedel and really enjoyed the experience.  Will likely do it again.

[zitsky]

Riedel seems pretty expensive for what you get?