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Wines Around the World


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We've done it several times and enjoyed it.

No impact with the DBP, unfortunately. But buying it on the cruise planner does save about 20% over onboard.

It has usually been 4 or 5 wines, plus cheese and fruit. About 2 oz pours. Every sommelier we've had has been really great! Knowledgeable and engaging. The wine varies by ship and region -- for example, on our S Pacific cruise it was all Australian and New Zealand wines.

Hope that helps!

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Did it last month on Harmony, and it was OK.  I even found one red California wine I'm still trying to track down.  The tasting actually moved along pretty quickly, and there wasn't a lot of time to chit-chat with others at the table.  We had 5 wines, fruit and cheese. The sommelier, as mentioned, was very knowledgeable, and he also put in a pitch for the $40 wine tasting at Vintages.

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We did it on the Grandeur last December, there were 5 wines, maybe 1/2 a glass.  It was okay, I didn't learn as much as I had hoped the person leading it didn't really explain what wines to have with which food.  He was kinda everyone has different tastes.  We purchased on the cruise planner and had no effect on the DBP.

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I turned up for it on Navigator when it was held at Vintages after it was advertised in the Cruise Compass. Unfortunately, we were the only ones who turned up so it didn't go ahead. However, as we had DBP (and had spent  a fair bit of time in Vintages up to that point!) the bar tender still did it for us at no charge although we weren't able to try the Barolo as it was too expensive to open without the paid -for event going on. We even got the cheeses, meats and fruits.

We pre-booked it for Independence cruise last year. It was interesting and informative but it was held in the MDR where the ambience wasn't as good and it was difficult to hear the sommelier as she didn't want to use a mic and quite a few people in the rather large group (about 40 in total I seem to recall) kept talking quite loudly whilst she was trying to explain things. 

If you like wine, it's a fun thing to do as a one-off but I wouldn't do it again. If I saw it advertised in Vintages again, I'd give it a go. 

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My notes from Anthem:

(early 2018)

Wines included:

  • Chandon, Brut "Classic", California, USA
  • Empress Sissi, Gruner Veltliner, Austria
  • Château D'Aussièrers, Chardonnay, France
  • Adega Dom Antonio, Reserva Blend, Portugal
  • Oberon, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, USA

Several types of cheese were offered. They were used to sample each wine both before cheese and with cheese to illustrate how food dramatically impacts flavors perceived.

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4 hours ago, twangster said:

Château D'Aussièrers, Chardonnay, France

Had this at my Chef's Table on Freedom. I'm not normally a fan of white wines, but Chardonnay is an exception and this was a good Chardonnay.

With it looking more and more like the DBP won't drop below 50 for my Bermuda cruise, I may buy one of the wine tasting packages for this trip.

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18 hours ago, twangster said:

My notes from Anthem:

(early 2018)

Wines included:

  • Chandon, Brut "Classic", California, USA
  • Empress Sissi, Gruner Veltliner, Austria
  • Château D'Aussièrers, Chardonnay, France
  • Adega Dom Antonio, Reserva Blend, Portugal
  • Oberon, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, USA

Several types of cheese were offered. They were used to sample each wine both before cheese and with cheese to illustrate how food dramatically impacts flavors perceived.

Oberon was my go to Cabernet at vintages on allure.  I'm definitely going to miss vintages on my next 3 cruises..... Jane

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18 hours ago, hayley_bopp said:

We had this on the Independence tasting. It was really good and I paid the difference on top of my UDP for it a couple of times in the MDR. 

Funny I didn't see your post before I commented.  I actually found it at home and bought it.  I really enjoyed it on Allure in March.  Jane

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Just now, Yo2slick said:

If you have the UDP does it cover wine at vintages?  Was looking at this but we also have the UDP package so I didnt know if we could just go try different wines on our own.

Covers up to $13 on most ships.  You just have to pay the overage plus 18% of the overage beyond that.  There are a handful of wines in each category that fit within the limit, but many of the wines are $$$.  If you can find out the wines to be sampled ahead of time it can make your decision to partake easier.

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Just now, AshleyDillo said:

Covers up to $13 on most ships.  You just have to pay the overage plus 18% of the overage beyond that.  There are a handful of wines in each category that fit within the limit, but many of the wines are $$$.  If you can find out the wines to be sampled ahead of time it can make your decision to partake easier.

I have no problem paying the overage, I just didnt know if we would have a better experience doing the group setting or just relaxing at the bar and trying some.

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2 hours ago, Yo2slick said:

I have no problem paying the overage, I just didnt know if we would have a better experience doing the group setting or just relaxing at the bar and trying some.

If you have the package, I would just suggest relaxing at the bar and trying some. You have the full menu available, and the sommeliers there can help you pick out options that you'll be most likely to enjoy.

That said, if you're looking for the social aspect as well, then the group activity may still be worth doing. At least on the two sailings I've done so far, Vintages has tended to be a very quiet location with few patrons at any time of the day or night.

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1 minute ago, JLMoran said:

If you have the package, I would just suggest relaxing at the bar and trying some. You have the full menu available, and the sommeliers there can help you pick out options that you'll be most likely to enjoy.

That said, if you're looking for the social aspect as well, then the group activity may still be worth doing. At least on the two sailings I've done so far, Vintages has tended to be a very quiet location with few patrons at any time of the day or night.

That sounds much more my speed LOL.  Thanks for the info!

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  • 4 months later...
On 6/11/2019 at 3:35 PM, twangster said:

My notes from Anthem:

(early 2018)

Wines included:

  • Chandon, Brut "Classic", California, USA
  • Empress Sissi, Gruner Veltliner, Austria
  • Château D'Aussièrers, Chardonnay, France
  • Adega Dom Antonio, Reserva Blend, Portugal
  • Oberon, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, USA

Several types of cheese were offered. They were used to sample each wine both before cheese and with cheese to illustrate how food dramatically impacts flavors perceived.

I can’t find the Adega Dom Antonio anywhere!  Has anyone else had any luck?

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On 6/11/2019 at 9:02 PM, JLMoran said:

Had this at my Chef's Table on Freedom. I'm not normally a fan of white wines, but Chardonnay is an exception and this was a good Chardonnay.

With it looking more and more like the DBP won't drop below 50 for my Bermuda cruise, I may buy one of the wine tasting packages for this trip.

I’ve been thinking about the Chef’s Table for our Harmony cruise in March. How was your experience? It will just be my husband and I, wishing they had the option of smaller seatings. 

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55 minutes ago, AmyJean said:

I’ve been thinking about the Chef’s Table for our Harmony cruise in March. How was your experience? It will just be my husband and I, wishing they had the option of smaller seatings. 

Actually, a big part of the experience is the company you have at the table, so don’t knock the seating count. My own experience was 9 people total, I don’t think they go more than 12 normally.

My own experience was fantastic. I have a review that I wrote here, I’ll paste the link when I get a chance.

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