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taking wine to dinner


Crazy-B

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I am planning on taking a special wine to dinner one night on our anniversary. Do I have to notify anyone in advance, or just bring it to the table with me. What is considered the proper etiquette? I don't mind paying a corkage fee, but who takes care of this?

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You may get various answers to this question. However, I sailed in October and a couple brought wine to dinner one night. When they arrive, they handed it to our server and told him when they wanted it served. He took care of it. I never saw him bring a charge slip for them to sign for corkage fee so I don't think he charged them.

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However, I sailed in October and a couple brought wine to dinner one night. When they arrive, they handed it to our server and told him when they wanted it served. He took care of it. I never saw him bring a charge slip for them to sign for corkage fee so I don't think he charged them.

 

I had a similar experience on the Triumph about 4 weeks ago. No problems and no charges!

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Last year on the Glory we took a bottle almost every night (6 of the 7). Our waiter served it and never once charged us, of course we gave him something a bit extra at the end, but he didn't know that during the week! :)

 

Hoping I can get that sort of service on the Legend! I think I'll slip him something ahead of time this time though! :)

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Hmmmmm, I must not have done something right. On the Holiday I took a bottle of wine to dinner and the waiter was very quick to have me sign the slip for the $10 corkage fee. :(

 

Even with a $10 corkage it's worth it to drink a special wine on a special night

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You need a special occasion to drink wine? I guess the other poster is not a fortunate1. We have never been charged. If you buy a bottle in the dining room and do not finish it, they cork it and bring it back the next night.

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They they don't always let you off of the corkage fee. On the Glory, we made the mistake of buying a bottle of wine at dinner on the first night and bringing our own the next few nights. I think the waiter had dollar signs in her eyes. When I showed up the next night with my own bottle, she looked like she was about to start crying. Gave me dirty looks and everything. They must get a commission/tips on the wine sales. Needless to say, I got charged the $10

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You need a special occasion to drink wine? I guess the other poster is not a fortunate1. We have never been charged. If you buy a bottle in the dining room and do not finish it, they cork it and bring it back the next night.

 

Don't need a special occasion at all, but a "special" occasion warrants a "special wine" that Carnival doe's not stock.

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They they don't always let you off of the corkage fee. On the Glory, we made the mistake of buying a bottle of wine at dinner on the first night and bringing our own the next few nights. I think the waiter had dollar signs in her eyes. When I showed up the next night with my own bottle, she looked like she was about to start crying. Gave me dirty looks and everything. They must get a commission/tips on the wine sales. Needless to say, I got charged the $10

 

Wow, kujobie, sounds like your waiter was being very unprofessional. I understand that they want any commissions they can get, etc... but stooping to giving guests dirty looks? That's too far and also very immature. A waiter/server or any other staff can feel however they want about what a guest is doing, but as long as that guest isn't violating any "rules" they should really keep their feelings/opinions to themselves. I think that goes for anyone who deals with clients/customers.

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I've taken wine to dinner on the Holiday on two different cruises - no corkage fee. However, I usually just buy a bottle or two in the dining room.

 

On the Sensation cruise, a bottle of wine was in my cabin when I arrived - from my PVP - and I took it to the dining room the first night. No corkage fee, and yes, they have the remainder ready for you the next night.

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We were on the Destiny in October and no one at our table was charged a corkage fee. We brought wine/champagne with us on all nights. We expected the charge, but were pleasantly surprised that it never arrived. It's obviously a discretionary charge and we tipped all parties well at the end of the cruise in addition to our prepaid tips. They took care of us very well this week!

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We've bought wines and brought our own. We were always charged the corkage fee except on our last Celebrity cruise (where it was supposed to be $20!/bottle). We were charged corkage fees on Victory and Jubilee. I think it really depends on your waiter.

 

Just a little cost comparison:

$6-$8 bottle of Riesling costs $25 (with tip) on the ship

$10-$12 bottle of Merlot costs about $30 on the ship

The more expensive the wine, the bigger the difference in cost it seems. However, who wants to carry 7-8 HEAVY bottles of wine in your luggage? We typically bring 3-4 of our own bottles and buy the cheaper whites on board. Since we usually travel with groups of up to 11, we can go through 1-2 bottles/night, so bringing some of our own can really save money.

 

Here's a real ripoff - I won a bottle of champagne at the art auction and took it to dinner that night - they charged me $10 corkage fee for it - GEEZ! This was on a RCL cruise, I think.

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I have taken wine with us on five cruises (all Carnival) and have never been

charged a fee. One time the waiter asked me, "you did not buy this here, did

you?". I just replied no, I brought it with me. He put it in an ice bucket, opened it, and served it and nothing else was said. Cheers!

 

Elation 99, 01

Jubilee 00

Legend 02

Spirit 03

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We had a white wine that needed to be chilled on a past cruise, so we simply took it to the dining room during our lunch and asked our waiter to chill it for our dinner. We've brought wine aboard several times, but never been charged a corkage fee, but we were prepared to pay if we were charged.

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We generlly bring several bottles of vintage red wine on board with us...probably worth $80-$100 or more per bottle. Since this is a special ocasion for us we bring what we like and if they charge a cortage fee so be it! Some times they do and some times they don't!:D

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They they don't always let you off of the corkage fee. On the Glory, we made the mistake of buying a bottle of wine at dinner on the first night and bringing our own the next few nights. I think the waiter had dollar signs in her eyes. When I showed up the next night with my own bottle, she looked like she was about to start crying. Gave me dirty looks and everything. They must get a commission/tips on the wine sales. Needless to say, I got charged the $10

Our last server told us they get their "promotions" and stuff based on the amount of wine they sell. Those that sell more get better tables or whatver it is that they compete for. If they don't sell enough, they can be demoted or moved to the 'assistant' server position, or whatever you call it. So that is why they are always pushing wine, unless she was pulling my leg. :)

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