Coral onboard options to get bottle of wine for your room???

We will be on the Coral in September and would like to have some wine in our cabin. The room service menu is severely limited. The pre-order list in the Personalizer is also quite limited. The Coral has no Vines (my usual option for getting wine).

Our cruise originates in Vancouver and Canada only allows you to bring in 2 bottles duty free. Shopping in Canada may not be a better option than the ship as Canada (I have been told) has high alcohol taxes.

Can you go to any bar on the ship and order a bottle from the MDR list??

I know I can order multiple bottles at the MDR and take them to the room.

Any other options?

Consider bringing more than two bottles with you at embarkation. They will be subject to a $15 corkage fee each which combined with each bottle's cost may still be less expensive than purchasing onboard. You'll then have wine you know you like at a fairly reasonable total cost.

When we have a wine card, we'll sometimes order an extra bottle in the MDR to bring back to our cabin. Order at the same time you place your wine order for dinner...it's quite convenient.

Yes, it would be very nice to bring extra bottles. As a US citizen departing from a Canadian port, I am limited by my ability to bring more than 2 bottles to Canada without Customs penalties. Wine in Vancouver runs 2-3 times the price of the same wine in the US. Add corkage to that price and it does not seem like the best option.

So, what I need to balance is Canadian prices versus ship prices AND the ability to buy an 'extra' bottle in the MDR or the ability to obtain a bottle onboard from a bar (with access to the full wine list) since the room service menu is so limited. Hence, my original question about my options for buying wine on the ship.

From Vancouver in September am I correct in assuming that you are taking an Alaska Cruise?

I am guessing this is not policy, but in three AK port stops (2 X Juneau and 1 X Skagway) on two Princess cruises in the last year we have bought bottles of wine on shore, carried them back to the ship and enjoyed them in our cabin. Now, obviously, these are not high end wines, but they are respectable--e;g., Sonoma Cutrer.

We were disappointed to find that several of the bars on the Coral do not have wine by the bottle. As I recall, I finally did find that you could get it in the Horizon Court area where there is a bar inside the dining area. Hopefully, someone can confirm that....

:confused:

The selection of wines by the bottle in Horizon Court is pretty limited in our experience. The best option if you are going to procure a bottle or two on board is the dining room at lunch and/or dinner. And, I do agree, your options are limited in terms of bringing wine into Canada to bring on board the ship, and also the cost of buying some while in Canada. Princess seems to be at 150% to 200% mark up on bottles right now, based on prices we see at Total Wine in the US. We are spoiled.

Order in the DR, have a glass and then carry the remainder back to your cabin.

We surely are spoiled by places like Total Wine, Costco, and Wegmans.

Not heading to Alaska but doing a coastal to LA. Our first US port is Astoria and it is difficult to tell what kind of wines the local stores have as they have no websites. Possibly, I will get a taxi and go to Costco but it is 11 miles from the dock.

May stick with my 2 bottles and just buy on the ship. Marked up a wine list from 2017 with bottles that interested me. Perhaps, I should go get my favorite high end wines to take to the ship from home.

I had not considered going in at lunch time to pick up a bottle (although only have 2 sea days) so I am glad some one mentioned that.

From Vancouver in September am I correct in assuming that you are taking an Alaska Cruise?

 

I am guessing this is not policy, but in three AK port stops (2 X Juneau and 1 X Skagway) on two Princess cruises in the last year we have bought bottles of wine on shore, carried them back to the ship and enjoyed them in our cabin. Now, obviously, these are not high end wines, but they are respectable--e;g., Sonoma Cutrer.

That is exactly what I was about to suggest. You can buy wine in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. A little internet research should reveal what shops are available and what they carry so that you can determine if this is worth the effort.

Not trying to hijack this thread, but this is interesting.

Are you able to bring on wine from ports other than embarkation?

I have a future cruise that I would like to be able to do that on (New Zealand), but wasn't aware that was 'legal'?

;p

Not trying to hijack this thread, but this is interesting.

Are you able to bring on wine from ports other than embarkation?

I have a future cruise that I would like to be able to do that on (New Zealand), but wasn't aware that was 'legal'?

;p

The way I read the Princess policy, it sure seems like you cannot carry on wine at a port stop. However, enforcement seems to be inconsistent. I have read here on Cruise Critic reports where bottles of wine purchased at ports were taken from passengers when they reboarded and held for them until the end of the cruise.

However, as I stated, above, I have brought on wine purchased in Alaska ports. I've also done it in California port stops.

Who knows what the policy is in New Zealand? By the way I read the policy, if you try it there, the worst thing that can happen is they take it from you, hold it and return it to you the night before disembarkation.

I've only seen one case in many cruises where the people running the scanner in the ship at ports in Alaska has told the wine table about it. Mostly that table is almost invisible or it isn't manned at all. We didn't particularly find wine that expensive in Vancouver (compared to the ship). More than US, but for lower-end wines not bad.