Wine at dinner. Is it rude to bring your own?

I have a question regarding wine in the dining room.

 

Is it considered rude to bring a bottle to dinner and not offer a glass to our tablemates?

 

We have PC dining. We have a favorite wine that I really miss while cruising. We have not brought our own wine to dinner on previous cruises because I would feel awkward not offering our tablemates some. But at the same time if they don't drink, for whatever reason, I would feel awkward just offering it.

 

Should we just bring it along and do a table for two one night? Also how would you go about doing this on Princess? If we have PC dining, what dining room do we bring it to? Does it matter?

 

Thanks!

Bobbie

Hi Bobbie;

If you have a favorite, by all means bring it. You are under no obligation to offer any to your tablemates, unless YOU want to. We usually do traditional and have brought wine many times that was not available on the ship. Some times we offer, sometimes we don't, it depends on the group we are with. It is not rude to order wine at the table and drink it yourself, so you are not being discourtous to do the same with wine you bring. Princess charges a corkage fee of $10, but I have seldom been charged. Be sure to add something for your waiter if you are not charged, they are doing you a favor by not charging.

 

fair winds

Dave

By all means bring your wine to dinner. You do not need to feel like you have to share as stated above. If it is a label the ship carries there is no fee. If you bring on your own and it is not carried for sale on the ship they now charge the $10.00 corkage fee without excpetion.

 

Enjoy!!

I don't think there's any obligation to share, especially doing Anytime dining unless you've requested to be with the same group every night, in which case they'll have the opportunity to reciprocate.

 

We always do traditional dining, and there are always other wine drinkers in the group. We've always had such a great group for dinner that sharing in the wine selection around the table has come about rather naturally.

 

Alas, one more wonderful experience you *might* miss out on by doing Anytime rather than traditional... :(

Bobbie, no obligation to share!!! Have a great cruise!!! :D

In nearly 50 cruises, most people have provided or ordered their own wine. Sharing with the table has been rarely done except on occassion. If you are lucky and get a table with wine enthusiasts then sharing can be a delight and a point of conversation.

 

John

No, there are no problems at all. As to sharing, that's kind of a judgment call. Wine lovers seem to be able to sniff each other out.

We've brought wine on all our Princess cruises. It's ranged from a couple of bottles up to six. We like to have a glass of wine on the balcony before dinner. On our last cruise (Grand in December), our assistant waiter charged us the corkage for four out of five bottles. Since we were at a table for eight, we did not offer to share. When we've been at tables with just another couple, we have shared and been reciprocated.

Didn't your Mother ever tell you it's not polite to eat in front of others who are not eating?

 

It does not just pertain to eating,..... It's a Lifes Lesson.

called .......... Share and Share alike.

 

Can't Imagine not offering to share, what's the worst that could happen,....

Less wine for you and the Mrs.

 

If you feel that stingy about your "favorite" wine, drink it in your cabin before you go to dinner.

 

I personally would probably politely decline but would have appreciated the offer. If there were no offer, I would have thought that your "Table Mates"

are not worthy.

Have actually managed to get Trad dining for my next cruise and will offer to buy a bottle of wine for my table..........then from the start will know if the persons at my table like wine with their dinner.

I am not much of a drinker....but don't mind buying a bottle of wine and sharing it with my tablemates....hope one bottle goes around a table of 8 for one glass each. Then if everyone shares each nite in buying will ditto when my turn comes around again.Then again if I am at a table with non wine drinkers thats also fine with me.

We often have wine with dinner, and have yet to share with our tablemates. We have seldom been seated with other wine drinkers, which we learn on the first night. Other wine drinkers have just ordered their own. We've usually been on shorter cruises where we don't get to know our tablemates very well, and I kind of regard that type of sharing as an "among friends" thing, not "whoever happens to be sitting next to you." Maybe on a longer cruise, we'd be swapping bottles by the end of it, but it just hasn't happened.

The last time we had traditional, we bought a bottle of a dessert cordial and shared it with our tablemates the last formal night of the cruise. Other than that we have bought wine on the ship and never shared with tablemates nor have we ever been offered a drink by tablemates. Kaaaaaboom acts like you invited him for dinner and then drank all the booze yourself. The few people who feel that way probably want to drink your stuff and then not show up the last night when it's their turn to buy. As you can see by the responses, many cruisers buy their own and don't expect to be treated to wine by strangers. It's not the same as inviting guests to your home. If you do want to have a table for two, just call the dining room and make a reservation (there will be a card near the phone in your room with important numbers on it). Cheers!

P.S. I was raised by a pack of wolves.:D

It's almost more awkward to share than not. Then if others accept your offer they will feel an obligation to buy a bottle to share as well. Nothing wrong in everyone sharing, as long as everyone really wants to. Also, if they don't accept your offer, they may feel they are being rude. Another idea is just to carry a glass of your own wine to the table. No obligation or corkage fee.

Sorry -- I view this as gauche. However, to each his/her own.

We are regular wine drinkers. /Sultan

Partial Quote

Another idea is just to carry a glass of your own wine to the table. No obligation or corkage fee.

I've always been told that a bottle of wine isn't as good the second day, so if this is true -- I am not a wine connisseur (sp?) but I do try to never have any wine left over -- wouldn't it be better to share the bottle with the table than recork it? Unless the 2 of you are planning on drinking the whole bottle yourselves.

 

It is unclear to me what is gauche to you, Sultan, not sharing or bringing a glass to the table. But I think bringing a glass of wine to the table would be perfectly OK. You could have just ordered it from a bar, for that matter. Not offering to share a full bottle would be rude IMHO.

Unless you are drinking a venerable, old wine, it will still be drinkable the next day, with little change in the taste. I agree with the majority of posters - it is fine to NOT share if that is what you prefer. I wouldn't expect a sip of your mixed drink, why would I expect a glass of your wine?

The part that said "no corkage". Even if the waiter does not know, the individual does know. One may do whatever one may like to do but I feel uncomfortable that it is given as an advice to others! But let us not turn this into another of those long debates on etiquette./Sultan

 

It is unclear to me what is gauche to you, Sultan, not sharing or bringing a glass to the table. But I think bringing a glass of wine to the table would be perfectly OK. IMHO.

Share and share alike may work for some, but if I share my Pinot Grigio (white wine) with others at my table, and they all reciprocate with red wine, then I get none because I don't drink red wine. I don't offer the food from my plate, I don't offer sips from my cocktail, and I don't offer glasses from my bottle of wine. The wine is part of my dinner. I am not offended if someone at my table keeps their wine to themselves either. If I am with just one or two other people, and I know that their taste is similar to mine, then I will share.

I also believe you are under no obligation to share your wine with your tablemates and I have found it can be challenging if someone does offer to share, as you must worry about returning the favor. Beverages are an individual choice and if someone orders a beer for themselves, I wouldn't expect them to order and pay for one for me. That being said, we have offered to share a bottle when we felt like it and we have never been offended when someone didn't offer to share (as we don't expect them to do that anyway). If you want to share great, but you are under no obligation to do so. Enjoy your vino and your cruise!

Look at it this way. If you offer to share, there should be no expectation of reciprocation. If you receive an offer, you are under no obligation to reciprocate. Simply refuse politely, or take just enough for a taste.

A 750ml bottle of wine give you 5 glasses of 5 oz. or 6 glasses of 4 oz. Not really enough to go around for a table of 8. I don't think anyone should be obligated to feel like they have to share. One bottle between 2 people with a 2 hour dinner almost just makes it.

We are wine drinkers, and bring our own on board, and pay the corkage. We bring our own wine because we are selective as to what we want to drink and have not been happy with the wines offered on board most of the ships. We do not offer to share with the table. As stated above, a bottle serves 5 glasses, so how would you share with a table of 6 or 8? We have been at large tables, and perhaps been asked a question about the bottle of wine we brought, and then we would extend an offer of a glass to the person asking, but in no way do I feel that is rude or bad table manners not to offer the bottle to the table. We typically will nearly finish a bottle with a long dinner, if not they hold it for you for the next night, and the wine has always been perfectly fine the next day.

It's almost more awkward to share than not. Then if others accept your offer they will feel an obligation to buy a bottle to share as well. Nothing wrong in everyone sharing, as long as everyone really wants to. Also, if they don't accept your offer, they may feel they are being rude. Another idea is just to carry a glass of your own wine to the table. No obligation or corkage fee.

Take a glass to the table and avoid corkage . Now THAT'S a HOT TIP . I can't beleive the detail of some of the posts here . I always bring bottlles onboard .I live in the Sonoma valley and for a seven day cruise I can purchase enough decent bottles for the all the dinners for l under a hundred dollars .I ussually find at least one better bottle on sale for $18.00 or so ,if you could find that bottle on the list it would be over $50.00 . Corkage sometimes does get ovelooked and it is nice to leave your waiter at least a good part of that . If you find a waiter early on that you like you can ussually " persuade " him the first couple of nights and end up saving some money overall . Some nights though with PC you won't get the waiter you want . And yes the sharing thing does come up . People usually decline my offer . I always go P C on Princess . I did take a Celebrity last year and had great people at my table . Most didn't drink much . On the last night I had about three bottles left so I brought it and just let them all try some . The waiters were so good at deviding it all around the table I hardly had to say a word . If it was something my wife really liked I could easily steer more wine in her direction . Some waiters on Princess were apoligetic about the corkage fee . I always try to tell them that $10.00 is certainly reasonable and is often charged when I bring it with me at our local establishments . I have never had the wait staff bat an eye at the practice .I think they have seen it all before .The wine steward on Celebrity told me to just bring everything I had and he would store it and bring whatever I wanted that night . And you can always order a little more off the list if you get the notion . So , I think we just about covered this issue . B Y O B

I would like to say thank you to all who responded to my question.

 

I really appreciate the time it takes to offer advice to a first time Princess cruiser. (We are RCCL cruisers, ready for a change)

 

The wine I really enjoy and can't buy onboard is not an expensive wine, but it is my favorite. It's a New York wine (Anthony Road) but I still have yet to find anything I like better. I bought two bottles to bring to dinner.

 

 

I would much rather pay the corkage fee and have wine I enjoy than pay for a bottle of something that I really don't care for.

 

Thanks for the advice again.....

 

now if one of you would be so kind as to pack for me.....

 

Not likely huh?

 

Oh well :)

 

In less than 8 hours my vacation officially begins :)

 

Thanks again,

Bobbie