Bring Wine on Board - NCL Official Word?

I see alot of discussoin here on what you are, or are not, allowed to bring on board for consumption with regard to wine but I can't seem to find anything on the NCL website. Can anyone direct me to where NCL identifies what the officiial rule is for this?

Thanks all.

Under FAQs: What can't I bring on board?:

"Passenger is not allowed to bring on board the vessel any intoxicating liquors, or beverages, firearms, weapons of any kind, ammunition, explosive substances or any goods of a dangerous nature, nor animals of any kind, except service or guide animals, provided the passenger notifies Carrier prior to the cruise of his intention to bring such animal and agrees to take sole responsibility for any expense, damage, injuries or losses associated with or caused by such animal."

They draw the line at liquors and beer, but allow wine with a corkage fee of $15/bottle.

I had read that which is what has me confused. I don't understand how wine is not an intoxicating liquor? It seems you have to read into what they are saying.

Policy is only for alcohol like beer, vodka, whiskey etc. not wine. You can bring cases of wine on for a $15 per bottle corkage fee.

trust us, you can bring wine at $15 per 750ml.

Really.

You will have to work very hard to find somebody here that disagrees with that.

I had read that which is what has me confused. I don't understand how wine is not an intoxicating liquor? It seems you have to read into what they are saying.

It can be confusing since NCL doesn't define their terms. Trust us when we tell you that "intoxicating liquors" is defined as hard liquor and beer. Wine is excluded and can be brought aboard for a corkage fee ($15 per bottle).

Can you bring your own bottle to the restaurants? (assuming you have paid the corkage fee):rolleyes:

Can you bring your own bottle to the restaurants? (assuming you have paid the corkage fee):rolleyes:

Once you've paid the fee they place a sticker on the bottle and yes you can take it to the restaurant. They will even keep it for you and bring it out at any restaurant you want at a later time.....so you don't have to carry it around (unless you want to).

Can you bring your own bottle to the restaurants? (assuming you have paid the corkage fee):rolleyes:

Yes, indeed. And if you haven't finished the bottle in the restaurant, you can leave it there with your waiter. They will store it for you and retrieve it when you want it, even if you're dining in a different restaurant.

Do you have to pay the corkage fee only if you drink the wine in the dining room? What about if you drink it in your room? When is the corkage fee charged?

Thanks for helping.

Wendy

I too was confused about the wine issue. Last May we cruised Alaska on the Pearl. We called our PCC and asked what NCL policy is in regards to bringing wine onboard.

NCL policy is you can bring wine on board, but you have to pay a $15 per bottle corkage fee upon boarding the ship. After paying the fee, they put a label on it and they will store it for you or you can take it to your cabin.

Here was our experience when we took wine onboard. We brought 8 bottles of wine (7 - 750 and 1 - 1.5).

We went through security with the wine in a carrier in plain site with the necks of the bottle showing. Security said nothing and we proceeded to check in and boarded the ship. When boarding the ship no one said anything about the wine, and no one asked us to pay a corkage fee.

We took the wine to our cabin. Our party took the 1.5 litter bottle to Cagneys the first night. Gave it to our server and was charged a $15 corkage fee.

The rest of our trip we opened the wine in our cabin and then took it to dinner and poured our own wine. We were not charged a corkage fee...

Bottom line is bring your wine onboard in plain site. You may get lucky like us or the worst you pay a $15 corkage fee per bottle....

The $15 per bottle fee is intended for 750 ml bottles; 1.5 liter bottles (magnums) are *supposed* to incur fees of $30 each... but frequently, only $15 is charged. The fee, which strangely appeared on our onboard bill as a restaurant charge, is charged right outside of where your carry-ons are x-rayed. In our case (Jewel--NY) there was a small table set up right nearby. The person staffing the table told us, rather conspiratorily, that although he's supposed to charge us $30 for each of our magnum bottles, he would only charge us $15 each. I think maybe he wanted a tip, but what he got was our thanks. :)

And we learned something interesting from a dining room waiter: each time a waiter gets to remove the sticker from a bottle (and does the uncorking, basically), he/she earns $5!

On the NCL website in the "Ask & Answer" section, if you search for "corkage fee" you will find responses labeled "NCL Staff Answer" that support what is being said about wine being allowed. I, too, was not fully comfortable about bringing wine until I saw these. Like many others have said, we did this on our last cruise without any problem (brought bottles on board without question and paid corkage fee in restaurant).

It can be confusing since NCL doesn't define their terms. Trust us when we tell you that "intoxicating liquors" is defined as hard liquor and beer. Wine is excluded and can be brought aboard for a corkage fee ($15 per bottle).

...that's only served you at dinner.....you can't take it with ya.

I had read that which is what has me confused. I don't understand how wine is not an intoxicating liquor? It seems you have to read into what they are saying.

I don't believe that you have to read into what they are saying at all. It helps to have an understanding of what exactly a liquor is...

Here the definition from Wikipedia:

A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is a drinkable liquid containing ethanol that is produced by distilling, i.e. concentrating by distillation, the alcohol and other compounds produced by fermented grain, fruit, or vegetables. This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer, wine, and hard cider.

Once you've seen the term defined, it really seems quite simple.

...that's only served you at dinner.....you can't take it with ya.

Once you've paid the corkage fee, you're free to drink that wine wherever you wish (although I wouldn't walk the decks with the bottle-- just a glass).

Excellent info.Thank you!

I am happy to hear about this policy. I like to have a glass of wine. I will be bringing a bottle or two of fine California wine and my opener.

We did this on our last cruise with another cruise line. We simply asked our room steward to bring us some glasses. He was adequately rewarded :p We would pour ourself a glass prior to dinner dinner or walking the deck. Who is to know where you got that glass of wine.

I don't believe that you have to read into what they are saying at all. It helps to have an understanding of what exactly a liquor is...

 

 

Here the definition from Wikipedia:

 

A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is a drinkable liquid containing ethanol that is produced by distilling, i.e. concentrating by distillation, the alcohol and other compounds produced by fermented grain, fruit, or vegetables. This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer, wine, and hard cider.

 

 

Once you've seen the term defined, it really seems quite simple.

My ignorance but I don't know about it being "quite simple". Perhaps NCL could have been this explicit too since they mention beer explicitely why not include a clear reference to wine. Why leave us to assume wine is allowed but make sure we know beer is not if it's that simple. Seems they have the information on this scattered in different places and they leave you to piece it together. And I did not view the "Ask & Answer" as policy, more experiences and given policy changes happen all the time I don't like to rely on that 100%.

Thanks all, I got my answer.

I had read that which is what has me confused. I don't understand how wine is not an intoxicating liquor? It seems you have to read into what they are saying.

This has been discussed for years, no one knows, but yes, you can bring on all the wine you want and yes, there is a $15 corkage fee per bottle, it is collected when your carry on goes through X ray. End of story!!!

Nita

Can you bring your own bottle to the restaurants? (assuming you have paid the corkage fee):rolleyes:

You sure can, and if you do not drink it all they will keep it for you until the next time you want it or you can take it back to your cabin. Now, with us, if it is a 750 liter you can be assured there in never any left.

Nita

trust us, you can bring wine at $15 per 750ml.

 

Really.

 

You will have to work very hard to find somebody here that disagrees with that.

What about Champagne ? Is that allowed on board, and is it one bottle per passenger ? Thanks.

I had read that which is what has me confused. I don't understand how wine is not an intoxicating liquor? It seems you have to read into what they are saying.

The term "Liquor" does not include wine, so it is thereby excluded. However, the posted FAQ is confusing.....you can't bring a "weapon" on board? That would exclude my pens and pencils, carry-on bag, shoes and a lot more! Sorry, one of my pet peeves is idiotic statements like that!:rolleyes:

For those who would like to bring a bottle or two of wine, just carry it with you or put in your carry-on bag. There will be an NCL agent just past the typical "boarding x-ray station" who will add $15 per bottle to your shipboard account. Not a problem, no embarrassment trying to smuggle wine on board, etc.:D

Under FAQs: What can't I bring on board?:

 

"Passenger is not allowed to bring on board the vessel any intoxicating liquors, or beverages, firearms, weapons of any kind, ammunition, explosive substances or any goods of a dangerous nature, nor animals of any kind, except service or guide animals, provided the passenger notifies Carrier prior to the cruise of his intention to bring such animal and agrees to take sole responsibility for any expense, damage, injuries or losses associated with or caused by such animal."

 

They draw the line at liquors and beer, but allow wine with a corkage fee of $15/bottle.

Actually, beer is not excluded in that statement above either. However, I do not know of anyone who has successfully argued that point upon boarding. :rolleyes:

Also, I suppose the only way one legally can take one's spouse and children aboard is to arrange it prior and then call them "service or guide animals". I am not a lawyer, but so many of these official statements of policy are written without any regards to logic!:eek: All of us reading this forum are animals you know.....some of us really prove that when we go cruising.....................:D

trust us, you can bring wine at $15 per 750ml.

 

Really.

 

You will have to work very hard to find somebody here that disagrees with that.

In my limited experience, that $15 fee per is not limited to only the "small" 750ml size bottles.