Liquor included?

[californiacruiseluvrs]

<P>I am cruising on my first Regent cruise on July 15.  I am wondering what the line means by "all aloholic beverages are included".  Does this mean the bars are "open bars"?  If so, is premium liquor (i.e. Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire etc.) included?</P>

<P> </P>

<P>Thanks in advance for your replies.</P>

[Travelcat2]

Yes, Regent has alcoholic cocktails available in the lounges, restaurants and room service. Grey Goose and Bombay Sapphire are included in their selection. There are a few very top shelf brands that are an additional cost.

[DaveFr]

<P>I am cruising on my first Regent cruise on July 15.  I am wondering what the line means by "all aloholic beverages are included".  Does this mean the bars are "open bars"?  If so, is premium liquor (i.e. Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire etc.) included?</P>

<P> </P>

<P>Thanks in advance for your replies.</P>

Take a look at: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2666046940101716102idRIEB?vhost=good-times. This is the Complimentary Bar List from my Mariner cruise last November. You'll be able to see what's included at no extra charge at the bars.

 

Dave

[b1brownfamily]

Thanks for the link--very helpful for all of us newbies to Regent! Can I assume the list is the same for the PG?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

It probably won't be identical, but very similar. Wines will vary.

[lkakers]

Yes, Wendy -- thanks for that link. Very helpful!

[Rally]

<P>I am cruising on my first Regent cruise on July 15.  I am wondering what the line means by "all aloholic beverages are included".  Does this mean the bars are "open bars"?  If so, is premium liquor (i.e. Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire etc.) included?</P>

<P> </P>

<P>Thanks in advance for your replies.</P>

 

Just as an aside. . . we were on the PG crossing from Brisbane to Papeete last month (embarked Feb 5) I had asked for Pinch (aka Dimple) scotch in our stateroom, but the steward said it would be an extra $50 so I "settled" for a litre of Chevas. A couple of days later my wife mentioned, on the in-cruise comment card, that I was disappointed to miss out on Pinch (I didn't know she had made this comment but she is always looking out for me =) Well, the next day, a litre bottle of Pinch was sitting in the stateroom. Nice touch.

[Lsb58]

Thank You DaveFr! What a great menu posting. I was curious what the quality of Regents "included" liquor would be. Hopefully it won't be different on the Alaska Cruise. I was very pleased to see most of the brands I stock at home. I have a real preference for Hangar One Mandarin Blossom vodka, but I'm pretty sure I can make do with Absolute :p

[BILLP1]

You can always request from customer service a brand that you prefer that is not on the list to be placed in your suite. If it is not a high end whiskey you probably would not be charged extra. You have nothing to lose.

[Bearnaise]

While I understand I can request just about anything for the in-suite, assuming I want to pay, there's no substitute for a professionally mixed martini using a hint of vermouth, cocktail shaker, martini glass, etc. Unfortunately Tanqueray #10, my gin preference of late, is not on the bar list.

 

Assuming I can find a bottle of it in the duty-free leaving LAX to Papeete, or any other nice bottle for that matter, is there any reason they wouldn't let me bring it aboard, and if not, would it be too odd to occasionally bring my bottle with me to the bar to have the bartender mix me up a perfect (in my mind) martini? At $30 or so for the bottle, good for 12 drinks (one a day on the 11-night cruise), the slight extra cost for my personal booze preference is a bargain. I just want free bartending services :o

 

For that matter, what is the general BYO policy on Regent ships? Obviously bringing one's own higher-end wine would cut into their higher-end wine sales just like in any restaurant so I could see them charging at least a corkage fee, yet since they'd otherwise be giving cheaper wine away for free, I can't see them justifying a fee for providing a couple glasses and an opener since they're saving on pouring the free plonk. If I wanted to get a nice bottle of wine at a shop in one of the ports (maybe not on the PG, but certainly on a Med cruise sometime), can you have it served to you at dinner?

[DaveFr]

Bearnaise,

 

There is no problem bringing reasonable amounts of liquor or wine on board. On our cruise in November, we brought five or six bottles of Australian and New Zealand wine on board. There was no corkage charge when we took a bottle of wine to one of the restaurants.

 

As for bringing your bottle of gin with you to a bar, I'd personally feel a little funny doing that. I would talk to the bartender at my favorite bar and ask him if he would keep the bottle of gin at the bar for me and make martinis with it upon request.

 

Dave

[raiderette]

DaveFR,

 

This is a side note but what room were you in on the Mariner. We have not been on this ship but we have been on her sister ship the Voyager. We have had a room with a butler in the past but opted not to this go around as the butler did virtually nothing. So my question is in the non butler suites will they bring you liquor as well. In the butler suites he kept red wine there that my husband poured for us. I think my husband also had some kind of scotch. Did you have a favorite bar or bartender. I like margaritas and the pool bartender made the best on the ship. Where was your favorite bar for nightime entertainment. Thanks for any info.

[Kagehitokiri]

Take a look at: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2666046940101716102idRIEB?vhost=good-times. This is the Complimentary Bar List from my Mariner cruise last November. You'll be able to see what's included at no extra charge at the bars.

 

Dave

 

thanks for the post! some ridiculously bad values.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

DaveFR,

 

... We have had a room with a butler in the past but opted not to this go around as the butler did virtually nothing. So my question is in the non butler suites will they bring you liquor as well. In the butler suites he kept red wine there that my husband poured for us. ....

 

Yes, they will bring you liquor in a normal, non-butler suite. But you may have to ask for it. Since so many pax are now out in the lounges in the evenings, the in-house set-up is somewhat deprecated, but available on request. We hardly touched ours last trip.

[DebbieH103]

They will bring 2 bottles to the room of "regular brands" like Absolut, Meyer's Rum, etc., but for Grey Goose, etc. that they consider "premium", they will only bring one complimentary. You can call room service every day (and night) for wine.

[DaveFr]

DaveFR,

 

This is a side note but what room were you in on the Mariner. We have not been on this ship but we have been on her sister ship the Voyager. We have had a room with a butler in the past but opted not to this go around as the butler did virtually nothing. So my question is in the non butler suites will they bring you liquor as well. In the butler suites he kept red wine there that my husband poured for us. I think my husband also had some kind of scotch. Did you have a favorite bar or bartender. I like margaritas and the pool bartender made the best on the ship. Where was your favorite bar for nightime entertainment. Thanks for any info.

Cheryl,

 

We were in a Horizon Suite as a paid upgrade from a Cat H. The upgrade cost about 25% of the normal price difference between the two suites. I thought the upgrade was well worth what we paid.

 

As others have posted, you can get liquor and/or wine in non-butler suites.

 

Our favorite bar was probably the Mariner Lounge before dinner. They made good drinks and the very talented trio on the ship played there nightly.

 

Dave

[Bearnaise]

As for bringing your bottle of gin with you to a bar, I'd personally feel a little funny doing that. I would talk to the bartender at my favorite bar and ask him if he would keep the bottle of gin at the bar for me and make martinis with it upon request.

Hey, I was gonna bring it to the bar in a discrete brown paper bag :D

 

Of course keeping it at the bar and sharing it with the bartender might be a good way to convince him to make me some blue cheese stuffed olives.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll be happy to drink whatever wines they pour on the PG since I don't want to drown out food that is reportedly "better than mass-market" but "not 5 star", but maybe I'll be just a bit happier if I can score a good deal in the duty free on a nice bottle or two, perhaps some premium bubbly to enjoy with shrimp cocktails on the balcony. More so, I'd love the option to bring aboard and drink local wine on a future cruise to a more wine-friendly locale.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Funny, slightly related. My husband David likes a martini sometimes, but he doesn't like olives. Of course a martini with an onion is called a gibson, but he usually just asks for a martini with an onion instead of an olive.

 

Well...the first night he asked for this, the waiter said, "well sir, that's a gibson, not a martini". So David said, "bring me one". And they brought it on ice, instead of straight up. Sigh. It took him about 3 tries before he could get that particular bar to get him a gibson, straight up. They were all very nice about it, just a little inept I guess.

[Rally]

Hey, I was gonna bring it to the bar in a discrete brown paper bag :D

 

Of course keeping it at the bar and sharing it with the bartender might be a good way to convince him to make me some blue cheese stuffed olives.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll be happy to drink whatever wines they pour on the PG since I don't want to drown out food that is reportedly "better than mass-market" but "not 5 star", but maybe I'll be just a bit happier if I can score a good deal in the duty free on a nice bottle or two, perhaps some premium bubbly to enjoy with shrimp cocktails on the balcony. More so, I'd love the option to bring aboard and drink local wine on a future cruise to a more wine-friendly locale.

 

This thread is so funny =) I love it! So, here is our recent experience (PG Brisbane to Papeete, Feb. 5, 2009) As mentioned above my wife managed to procure a bottle of Pinch (called Dimple everywhere in the world except the U.S., go figure!) and she had a bottle of Belvedere vodka. As we neared the end of the cruise with both bottles near full, I took them to the pool bar and asked Elian to fix our drinks from them. I also asked him to offer them to anyone who wanted them, but he told me he could not do that for safety reasons. (The world we live in, but I guess he had a point.) Anyway, for the rest of the voyage whenever I asked for a scotch he brought my Pinch out, poured it, and replaced it in the back; whenever my wife asked for a screwdriver or Chi Chi (or whatever =) he brought her Belvedere out, made the drink, and replaced the bottle in the back. I noticed he had our names on each bottle. (By the way. . . Belvedere vodka was available on the ship complementary, but the bottle is tall --- as is Grey Goose --- and doesn't fit on the pool bar rack; they had it in the back but you had to know to ask for it, then they were more than happy to get it; same thing with McCallan scotch. The lesson is. . .if you don't see it, ask; all of these brands and more were on display in the inside bars.)

 

As an aside. . . .one day, while waiting my turn at the pool bar, I looked at the bar list and noticed some complementary liquors that were not on display and asked the bartender about that. A gentleman behind the bar overheard me and introduced himself as the chief wine steward and we had a conversation. He told me to never settle for what was first offered at dinner unless I liked it (but advised I try it before deciding =) He told me that they would serve anything they had on board if I requested it (not from the reserve list without payment, of course, but there is a great variety of fine wine available onboard that is complementary.) Well, I tried that in L'Etoile that evening and, yes, they were happy to bring me Puille Fuisse. Nice service, you just have to ask and say please =)

[dhream]

Take a look at: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2666046940101716102idRIEB?vhost=good-times. This is the Complimentary Bar List from my Mariner cruise last November. You'll be able to see what's included at no extra charge at the bars.

 

Dave

 

Thanks Dave!

I read every page.

I'm sure I'll be making a dent in the 'reserve' stocks come November, what the hell -the cruise fare is a steal! ;)

 

Another idea is to persuade fellow diners to agree on a nice bottle, and everyone puts in a few bucks to the person picking up the tab, what a convivial way to enjoy classics by the glass for a fraction of the price.:p

[dhream]

Rally,

That anecdote was packed with great advice too!

I owe you a drink. :D

Will.