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We’ve read that some cruise lines offer a wine package for $270 dollars for 10 bottles of wine. Pretty steep price per bottle. Has anyone brought their own with them? |
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We just got back from our cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines. I wouldn’t recommend bringing any booze on in your carry on as they put it through x-ray machines, and chances are that they will hold it until the cruise ends. If it is in your checked baggage, no problem, but just don’t go overboard….no pun intended! We talked to one couple who brought a bottle of wine in their checked baggage. When you visit the ports of call, again they check your carry-on baggage, and anything you have bought while on shore, is kept until the end of your cruise, and delivered the night before you disembark. You see, they want you to drink their booze, not yours or they don’t make money off of you. Also pack a cork~screw, or they will charge you to open that bottle for you. Any other questions let me know and I will try to help you out. |
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| Hi,I think most of the cruise lines don’t mind if you bring a few wine bottles on board whit you, but if you want to drink them in any of the bars/restaurants on the ship they will charge you between 10-15$ to open your own bottle. I didn’t have any problems bringing some booze with me in my checked baggage. Also, I bought a six pack of beer in St.Thomas and one in St. Martens and didn’t have any problem bringing them on board and into my room(I was on a Princess ship). Of course, if they see you coming in with a 24 pack, it might be a different story. | |
Our last cruise got off to a bad start over this very subject. We were part of a large family group on one of the "millenium" cruises…you know the "where were you when the clock ticked over and, whew, the world did not come to an end ;)" I had a nice bottle of wine to give as a gift and my husband had a good bottle of single malt. We like to enjoy a drink, in our cabin, at the end of the day while we get ready for dinner. This was not to be as the bottles were confiscated as we boarded. We were outraged at the policy and the fact that $150.00 worth of good booze just went into lockup ![]("http://images.proboards.com/v5/smiley/angry.png") When you take land holidays there is no control over what you do (within reason) in your hotel room. Why should it be any different in a ship cabin? We had, prior to this trip, taken other cruises and loved the experience. If, and it’s a big if, we ever take another, the booze will be in our checked bags Save yourself any aggravation and put the bottles in your checked bags.
Prior to this policy, on previous cruises we would bring our own bottles of wine but they charged us a "corkage" fee. I do not recall being allowed to open the bottles ourselves to save the charge or we would have done just that. The only reason we brought our own wine was to be able to enjoy a good bottle of wine without paying the exhorbitant markup It would be a good idea to contact the cruise line, or your TA and find out a)if they permit you to bring your own wine to the table and b) if they do, what is the corkage charge (it can be quite high to deter people). |
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From another Ottawan, here’s the scoop on bringing booze on-board. We were told by the clerk in the shop on-board a Carnival cruise that the party line is that the reason for the policy is for your safety (drunkenness during an emergency). We know it is strictly for sales. He told us they cannot check bags for alcohol if not permitted by the owner. This was tested first when we brought vanilla on-board in a box with a rum logo on it. Next, we bought a bottle of Grand Marnier, which has a distinctive shape. On seeing this in the X ray screen we were asked it we had any alcohol – I responded "No." and was asked again. I responded the same. The bag was not opened. Also in other ports (on other cruises) they did allow small amounts on. |
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| Hi, We too like to have a drink while getting ready for the evening. I for one will be sure to bring along a corkscrew, although that probably won’t help us at the table! I’ve gotten some good ideas from www.cruisecritic.com site as well. Since we will be first time cruisers, we want all the info up front.Thanks everyone for all your responses.
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You are allowed to bring wine on Carnival–they will not confisicate it. You may or may not be charged a corkage fee. We borrowed a cork screw from our room stewart for one bottle of wine. We also brought a box of wine. If you want a glass at dinner jsut bring a glass of wine with you–you can get a glass from the bartender–fill it in your room. This is completly within the ‘rules’ at Carnival. If however, you bring booze in your carry-on (i.e not wine) it can be taken and I have heard stories of it being taken and dumped (aka not returned to you at the end of the cruise or ever). We brought a bottle of rye in our suitcase without problem—but to be sure we brought semi cheap stuff in case it was taken. |
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Its a $$ grab from the start. We have cruised about a dozen times on various cruise lines over the past 10+ years encountering various degrees of "security" checks. We just returned from an NCL cruise in Hawaii. Regarding the booze – all beer and spirits were confiscated until the end of the cruise. Wine however was allowed onboard if you paid the $15 corkage fee. How’s that for security? Its all about the buck – nothing more. Here’s a hint (but don’t tell anyone) since wine is very expensive on ship, we went to the local grocery store where we bought very good Australian wines and decanted it into ginger ale or grape soda bottles (white or red respectively) to be brought on board. Apparently they did not consider how devious us winos can be. It was allowed on without any problem or questions. If you are tired of the constant gouging, you may too resort to this. As for us, we are probably done with cruising for a while, at least. |
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We’ll be on the Celebrity Equinox with at least 130 other Ottawa guests this winter for a 10 day cruise and we plan on bringing 1 bottle of wine in each check in baggage. It’s nice to have a glass of wine before or a port after getting back to the room after dinner. The luggage will be sealed with tie clips. Anyone see a problem with that? |
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