Ritz Cruise Shore Excursion to Mount Gay-December 2023
Let's just say the Ritz Cruise line shore excursions are still being refined.
Like the Ritz cabin and shower on the cruise, the bus we boarded to go to the Mount Gay rum tour was small. It sat 16 passengers with four of us wedged into the back bench. While I like meeting my fellow tour mates even this was a little tight for my comfort. Others were seated either in a two seat or one seat across the isle configuration. Hello cruise mates- away we go! The ride itself seemed a little long at 45 minutes to get to the Mount Gay rum distillery and from the outside it looked a little bit spare. There were only one story, gray buildings with no windows. The surrounding countryside showed no signs of sugar cane fields either. The bus finally stops at a Guest House and we are met by our tour guide outside.
"Welcome!" the rum sommelier greats us.
"Thanks," we respond.
We take a hard hat tour of a one story building nearby the guest house and learn how the rum is made. G and I are rocking the pink hard hats with hair nets underneath and I can't resist and take a picture of him in the ridiculous thing. The tour itself is interesting with our tour guide walks us through the entire rum making process.
When finished, we go back to the lovely stone and wood guest house and enter a delightful tasting room with a large, square table set with 16 place settings of glass for the rum tasting. Our group size is 16. There is a bar in the corner of the room with no stools, but with shelves of rum displayed behind it. Presumably that's what we'll be tasting at the lovely set table. I notice there is also a lovely sitting room area off to the side with leather couches and chairs perhaps for a more intimate rum tasting.
Seems I am wrong. The sommelier gestures to the table and tells us, "You have booked the level Three Rum Tour- the table is for level One Rum Tour." He says this just in time as several members of our group were pulling back a chair to sit.
"The living area is for level Two Rum Tour."
I'm thinking unless you've got levels one and two booked while we're here, that would be okay. If neither is booked, it's silly for us not to be able to use these areas for a more comfortable tasting experience.
"Your tour, level three is over here," he where he gestures us to follow him to the bar. G and I are making eyes at each other as for the price we paid,. that table seating, where he gestures us to follow him to the bar. G and I are making eyes at each other as for the price we paid,. that table seating is what we thought the Ritz would have booked.
Our host begins to explain the different rums pulling out bottles from the shelf behind him and showing us the labels. He puts the bottles back on the shelf after each introduction.
G and I are now beginning to look at one another thinking, "Okay, so we get those rums to taste, right?"
Our host finally sets out glass ware for tasting the rum and clarifies, "You sit at the table for level one tasting. Here you taste rum at level three at the bar."
I give my husband a big eye roll, knowing we paid a lot of money for this rum tour which could easily have bought us both a bottle of the top shelf rum each. As there's no Ritz Cruise shore excursion escort, I can only wonder did they even try the Barbie size mini-van bus and take this level three tour? Probably not, I guess as this can't possibly meet any standard the Ritz tries to portray with it's brand.
Other members of the group grumble a little but we go with it, first trying a bottom shelf rum all the way up to the top shelf rum. All the while we are standing crowded at the bar.
Our sommelier asks if we have a favorite we'd like to savor in the living room area and everyone says "Yes," in unison.
Drinks poured we wander of to the living room and settle in for a last bit of rum.
There's small talk amongst the small group, comparing notes like where are you from, what else are you booked to do, etc.
When our sommelier comes back someone asks if they can purchase some rum here on the tour.
Surprise! You can't. You can purchase it back at the port where the ship is docked.
Okie dokie, then. Back to the mini-bus van and crammed back in we head back but not before the driver detours to some out of the way trinket/craft market where he tries to make us get off the hot bus. To a person we revolt- after all this is a three level rum tasting tour, not a one level and on we go.
When G and I get back to the ship we carefully note our comments on the comment card for the tour.
As a wine lover, I give it two wine glasses.
I would have preferred just buying the rum in the market next to the ship and reading about it's history in some kind of cruise literature magazine.
