Chlling white wine brought onboard

[Tokyo Carolyn]

I know this might seem like a silly question, but if we bring white wine onboard, how can we chill it? We want to drink it with dinner in the main dining room. I seem to remember that the refrigerator in the room was too small to hold a regular size wine or champagne bottle. Any tips?

[English_in_Spain]

Ask your room steward for an ice bucket (if there is not one there) and chill the wine in the ice.

[camp637]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Carolyn

I know this might seem like a silly question, but if we bring white wine onboard, how can we chill it? We want to drink it with dinner in the main dining room. I seem to remember that the refrigerator in the room was too small to hold a regular size wine or champagne bottle. Any tips?

If you are planning to drink the wine with your dinner in the MDR, you can arrange for that wine to be kept chilled for you ... can't recall if we gave ours to dining staff early in the day or how we handled it, sorry. MDR staff will mark the bottle with your table and/or cabin number and, if you don't drink it all with one meal, they'll store it for you for future.

There is an $18 corkage fee/bottle for wines brought or delivered to the dining room by passengers.

[jtl513]

A bottle won't stand straight up, but we've put a bottle in a refrigerator tipped at an angle. However, we have switched to bringing boxed wined rather than bottled. More wine in less space!

[iancal]

We chill it in an ice bucket...and always ask for glasses for the room. I cannot wait until feb....on the balcony, cool glass of white, and a good book.

[m steve]

is to take it to dining room and give to Maitre D' w/ tabe number and it will be chilled by thetime you get to dinner and you don't have to carry a dripping bottle with you at dinner time.

[sail7seas]

I agree. Bring it to the dining room. Have your cabin number, name and table number labeled on the bottle. The wine steward for your section will chill it and bring to your table. He'll pour for you and charge the appropriate corkage fee.

If you do not finish it, he will cork it and hold it for you for the next night. There would be no additional fee.

Even if you chose to bring the 'dripping bottle' into the dining room yourself at dinner, you would still be charged the corkage fee so no reason to carry a bottle around with you before dinner or go to any bother trying to get it chilled.

[garydm]

An uncorked bottle will stand upright in the fridge door but once you have a cork sticking out you must angle it in the unit. At least that was our experience on Oosterdam.

I support the idea of bringing it to the dining room and letting them do the chilling!

Gary

[Boytjie]

Originally Posted by garydm

An uncorked bottle will stand upright in the fridge door but once you have a cork sticking out you must angle it in the unit. At least that was our experience on Oosterdam.

If I remember correctly wine and champagne bottles fit upright in the fridge on the Eurodam. But to get white wine nice and chilled a bucket of ice will work better.

[CanCruzer]

Does anyone know if the Statendam verandah cabins have similarly small fridges? Specifically will a bottle of wine stand upright in it and is there any height room to spare for one of the gadgets that inserts into the bottle and is used to suck the air out of the bottle?

[sail7seas]

The mini bar/frig on Statendam is the same size as those discussed above.
I don't think a bottle with your 'air suck' thingee will fit upright.

[emckeeve]

When chilling in an ice bucket - always add water. It chills faster.

[Tokyo Carolyn]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. The only follow-up question I have is since we will be on the AYWD plan, will they still be able to track us down with our bottle of wine when we show up for dinner?

[fann1sh]

Short answer - yes, the bottle will find you, even if you're on "open" seating dining.

[rotaryscotty]

And of course someone always comes up with a foolish response.

I'm up to the task.

Here is my solution, but don't tell anyone: It's......RED WINE

(Carnival Elation on 11/16)
(HAL Oosterdam on 11/21)

[CanCruzer]

Originally Posted by rotaryscotty

Here is my solution, but don't tell anyone: It's......RED WINE

For this very reason, I'm typically more apt to drink red wine, although in the warmth I prefer a nice cool white or rosé.

Back to the fridge size, I'm having a hard time picturing a fridge so small that you can't stand a wine bottle up in it. On past non-HAL cruises, I'll admit that I have to take shelves out to make the bottles fit. Is that a possibility with the HAL fridges, or are they really that short (or possibly with non-removable shelves)?

[Tokyo Carolyn]

Absolutely - Red wine was our solution on the last HAL cruise!

[fann1sh]

CanCruzer, since you're on Statendam, may I ask if you're in a balcony (or above) cabin? Inside and outside cabins don't have fridges on the "S" class ships.

[CanCruzer]

Originally Posted by fann1sh

CanCruzer, since you're on Statendam, may I ask if you're in a balcony (or above) cabin? Inside and outside cabins don't have fridges on the "S" class ships.

Yes, we are in a balcony cabin on the verandah deck.