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Has anyone had wine "collected" before boarding


GramiJ

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We have cruised with RCCL 5 times, and always brought our own wine. Now it looks like we are no longer allowed to do this. My question is, has any one actually had wine confiscated and given back the last night? I know there must be some folks that have an answer. We leave on April 8 for 10 days to Panama on the Brilliance, and I sure would like to have my own wines!

Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated!

Grami J

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Check out our long thread and poll on this subject. Hopefully RCI execs will see if and decide against taking away the ability to bring wine onboard. According to one poster who contacted RCI they told him it was still OK to bring aboard wines that they don't carry which actually leaves many many wines to bring on. But he didn't get it in writing.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=142655

 

Visit the link and please vote in the poll.

 

Have a great next cruise.

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Hope this is true as we found the wine list a bit limited last cruise (Jan. on Mariner) and would be happy to pay corkage fee. We still come out ahead.

 

Hi SherriZ!! :D

 

I am also not impressed by the wine list, and agree that I would happily pay corkage.

 

I am taking wine in my carry on, including a bottle of champagne for sail away! I usually just pack a bottle or two in bubble wrap in my luggage, along with a small plastic flask of gin for "balcony time", but will only do the gin in the checked bags this time. I am always anxious about the wine in the suitcase.

 

When we boarded the short trip from here on the Fantasy a couple of years ago, we carried 3 bottles for the group of us right in our carry on, no problems.

 

I will let you know at our meet and mingle if I made it on board with the wine!

 

Cheers!

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Someone else had a brilliant idea of putting boxed wine in the checked luggage (no breakage). I would normally never drink wine from a box...but this is different. I wouldn't want a bottle of wine broken and all over my clothes. My local total wine and beverage has a couple of boxed austrailian wines that are decent. There are more options these days than the stuff you used to able to get in a box (which I would not give to my worst enemy).

 

I'm also going to bring one bottle in my carry on of a wine I know they don't carry, and pay the corkage fee in the dining room.

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Someone else had a brilliant idea of putting boxed wine in the checked luggage (no breakage). I would normally never drink wine from a box...but this is different. I wouldn't want a bottle of wine broken and all over my clothes. My local total wine and beverage has a couple of boxed austrailian wines that are decent. There are more options these days than the stuff you used to able to get in a box (which I would not give to my worst enemy).

 

I'm also going to bring one bottle in my carry on of a wine I know they don't carry, and pay the corkage fee in the dining room.

 

sigh...I just can't seem to fit those box wines in my wine cabinet. Something about putting a square peg in a round hole I guess. ;)

 

Cheers!

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Pack (in bubble wrap) a bottle or two (or box) in each checked bag and don't worry about it. RCL doesn't want to waste the man power to go thru bags looking for a bottle of wine. Pack 6 bottles in a bag, they'll grab you. Be cool, enjoy your cruise!

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P.S.

We had a liter of Absolute vodka collected in St. Martin on the Brilliance. We bought a liter of Absolute for $5.95(US$) in St. Martin (that's the place to shop). When we reboarded in St. Martin the bottle "clanked" as it went thru the x-ray machine and tipped off the attendant. They confiscated it and gave us a receipt. On the last day, a day at sea, our cabin steward knocked on our door just after lunch and returned the bottle. Very cool.

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I read on the cruise tips board the great idea of putting your wine bottle in a garbage bag inside another garbage bage. That way, if it breaks, it is very unlikely the wine would work itself all the way out to soil your clothing.

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Schplinky, the double garbage bag won't help you against leaks. Buy the 2 gallon ziplox at Walmart and use them to double bag your wine. Put them in a suitcase with "expendable" stuff (not your formal wear!) just in case.

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As a wine smuggling expert,;) :D I must for the 1000th time suggest:D :eek: . Waterproof floatbag. Holds the wine inside in case of disaster. However when properly wrapped in bubble wrap and placed inside a suitcase with beach items or scuba items. I have never had a single bottle broken either by the cruiseline or the airline. I have never had a bottle held using this method either. I have always taken wine on every cruise I have taken.

 

 

jc

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After reading some good reviews, I tried 'Black Box' recently. I'm not normally a box wine drinker, but Black Box is 3L rather then the normal 5L, so you get less, but it is MUCH higher quallity when compared to other boxed wines I have tried.

 

Its not great, but I would say it is good enough. Next cruise I plan to bring a box for normal balcony drinking, and a bottle or two of more 'special' wine. I like the idea of it because it saves the weight of the glass and of course is safter from breakage (although we generally bring several bottles and have never had a break).

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Box wine would not show in an ex-ray machine...I know people that carry the beer with plastic screw caps for this reason.

 

Do you think they would charge a "corking fee" for a box? (I am really not asking for an answer on this one...)

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Box wine would not show in an ex-ray machine...I know people that carry the beer with plastic screw caps for this reason.

 

Do you think they would charge a "corking fee" for a box? (I am really not asking for an answer on this one...)

 

Do they x-ray the checked luggage or just the carry-on? With 10,000 pieces of luggage or so for Navigator, this seems almost impossible?

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Ten years ago, Carnival confiscated my bottle of wine in the terminal prior to boarding, and it wasn't returned until I was back in the terminal after debarkation.

 

Needless to say, I also have become a very good smuggler since then. :D

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I still do not see any real risk of them pulling your checked bags for suspesion of booze.

 

Last cruise (January) we were at the departure port several days early just to spend some time in the area. This chance to do some booze shopping caused us to bring even more then usual. My fiancee and I had 2-1L bottles of Margarita mix, 2-1L bottles of pina-coloda mix, A BLENDER (found it at wal-mart in Cocoa Beach for like $5), 1-750ml Knob Creek, 6-750ml bottles of wine, 1L rum, 1L tequila. My parents were doing back to back cruises on the ship (staying 1 week after we left) and brought 6-750ml bottles of wine, 1pint of rum, 1L-Segrams 7 Crown.

 

Admittedly, this was way more booze then we had any real use for, we had an open bar before/after dinner our rooms every night for our group of 8 and ended up still leaving a LOT with my parents when we left the ship after 7 days (they tell me that pretty much all of that was left for the cabin steward when they left a week later).

 

The only real concern we had was that our suitcase was HEAVY!!! THe porter at the pier was a huge guy, I'd day 350lbs+. He grabbed my bag, moved it about two inches, then had to re-grip it and try it again.

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The only real concern we had was that our suitcase was HEAVY!!! THe porter at the pier was a huge guy, I'd day 350lbs+. He grabbed my bag, moved it about two inches, then had to re-grip it and try it again.

 

 

LOL! I would have blamed it on the shoes, never have enough, then tipped the man well :)

 

Bobbie

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On our last cruise, we brought a bottle of champagne to drink on our balcony at sail away, in a little portable cooler. When we went through x-ray, the security person asked if it was wine.

 

We told her what it was, and she pointed at a table behind her saying that we'd have to drop it off there. We headed off dutifully in that direction, then made a soft right to the check in line. Never did drop off our bottle, and no one else said anything about it. :D

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I am 100% confused here.. Is it:

 

No wine anymore unless you buy it on board

 

OR

 

No wine that they sell on board but you are allowed two bottles, if you pay the corkage fee, per person?

 

I need a definative answer since I have a wonderful coupon for a local wine shop that runs out this week and I want to hoard two bottles of the stuff I want prior to sailing.

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