Bringing Wine Onboard

[Calebo]

Hi, We are a group of 7, and doing a 14 night b2b. We all enjoy wine with meals. None of us are big drinkers or buyers. So this may seem like a couple of silly questions.

 

1. We are planning to stop at Total Wine in Fl before boarding. I am assuming a case of wine is 12 bottles?

 

2. Can one person take the entire case onboard? Yes with luggage tag and tip planned.

 

3. When we get it to one room, can we take the whole lot to the dining room on the first day, instead of bottle by bottle?

 

I know there will be a corkage fee and that still makes it more reasonable for seven wine drinkers.

 

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[jtl513]

I believe the answer is yes to all your questions. But - you could also bring less wine on at embarkation and pick up more at ports along the way.

[Calebo]

Thank you for the response. I never thought of the ports to pick up wine. I never seem to get past the duty free purfumes :) You mean they have booze there too? lol ( jk)

[Krazy Kruizers]

I see that you will be sailing in the Caribbean -- yes there are perfume AND liquor stores in the ports.

 

I doubt seriously if the dining room staff would want to store all 12 bottles (a case) at one time for you.

[klr]

A few years ago, after reading this board, I bought a case of wine to bring on board in Tampa. However, the baggage handler refused to check it along with a case of water someone had left to be checked with their bags. The Handler sent someone into the terminal to get me to tell me I had to take it onboard myself. That meant I had to hold and carry it through all those lines. It wasn't worth it.

 

If you are going to the Caribbean, you may not be happy with the selection and prices of wine you find there.

[Calebo]

Good point about having to carry it on. ( my husband would not like to do that. hehe ) I think we will split it up and each carry a few bottles. Selection and price doesn't matter too much to me, not being much of a drinker, if it's white and doesn't taste like vinegar is good enough :)

Our last cruise we were also with a group and bought the onboard wine packages and it really added up, so I was hoping to avoid that surprise at the end of the cruise.

[maxout]

A few years ago, after reading this board, I bought a case of wine to bring on board in Tampa. However, the baggage handler refused to check it along with a case of water someone had left to be checked with their bags. The Handler sent someone into the terminal to get me to tell me I had to take it onboard myself. That meant I had to hold and carry it through all those lines. It wasn't worth it.

 

If you are going to the Caribbean, you may not be happy with the selection and prices of wine you find there.

 

That is the first time I have ever heard of this happening, perhaps the shore staff was new or unfamiliar with Hal beverage policies? Many, many people including myself have done this many times without a hitch.

[Linda&Vern]

While I think the Tampa facility and parking are great ... in my one time there I would have to say the "staff" inside and out left a lot to be desired! JMO :(

[amunhbuu]

I believe the answer is yes to all your questions. But - you could also bring less wine on at embarkation and pick up more at ports along the way.

 

I thought you could only bring wine aboard at embarkation, not at port stops. I could be wrong though.

[RuthC]

I thought you could only bring wine aboard at embarkation, not at port stops. I could be wrong though.

No, John is correct. On HAL you are free to bring wine aboard at any (and every) port. Some other lines do not allow this, but HAL does.

[canadarocks]

We've done two cruises with HAL and this has been our experience. We buy our wine right before we sail, because there's no way I'm chancing broken bottles in our luggage and I'm not paying for the excess weight!

 

In March 2009 we sailed out of Tampa with a box of wine that I had pre-ordered at Total Wine (SO easy to do BTW). My sweet husband carted that box through the whole checkin line. We "wised up" early and he waited with the heavy box at the end of each bend of the row. :rolleyes: It ended up being a lot of fun, as so many strangers commented on how they would be joining us to share our "bounty" onboard! ;) But it was awkward and heavy for him.

 

In August 2009 we did a B2B in Alaska and this time we were smarter! :cool:

We put our wine in a "carry on" style suitcase (you have to be able to life it to go through the scanner as you board). Each bottle had to be well wrapped of course, but at least hubby didn't have to carry it!

 

We're doing a 14 day Collector's Cruise next March in the Caribbean and I am trying to get up the nerve to leave our wine with the baggage handlers. :o

I'm trying.......:eek:

[klr]

The man who refused to accept the box was not a HAL employee, he was a Port employee - a Union man, who said it wasn't his job to be responsible for liquids. By then the luggage was gone so I could not just put it in the bags.

 

I wondered what happenned to that case of water he refused to touch as the owner was already gone.

[NSWP]

The wine cask or wineboxes, you know, those 2 or 3 or 4 litre jobs are best, we call them 'Chateau Cardboard.' They don't break as bottles do, great for the cabin fridge.

 

Are the wine boxes of drinkable quality available at US liquor stores ? Got to get a couple.

[Vantony]

We are sailing out of FLL in next March to take a 10 days cruise on board Noordam. Can we bring beer onboard as well?

 

Also, is there a duty free right at cruise ship terminal? Where is the best place to pick up couple bottle of wine, some beer and may be a dozen coke or soda? ( We are flying in from Vancouver Friday on a red eye, and plan to take a taxi to cruise ship terminal ).

 

Many thanks.

[catl331]

Can we bring beer onboard as well?

You are allowed to bring on any beverages except beer and hard liquor. Most people stock up on their wine at Total Wine & More, just off 17th Street. Your taxi driver will know it. Or Google it for a map.

[Texas Tillie]

The wine cask or wineboxes, you know, those 2 or 3 or 4 litre jobs are best, we call them 'Chateau Cardboard.' They don't break as bottles do, great for the cabin fridge.

 

Are the wine boxes of drinkable quality available at US liquor stores ? Got to get a couple.

 

I like Black Box (3 L) - it comes in a black box. :eek::D:p

[amunhbuu]

As the above poster mentioned, Black Box is considered acceptable for a lot of people.

 

Unfortunately, in this country boxed wine still has negative connotations with it. It is slowly changing. We have seen that change with twist tops vs. traditional corks.

[skidawg71]

The wine cask or wineboxes, you know, those 2 or 3 or 4 litre jobs are best, we call them 'Chateau Cardboard.' They don't break as bottles do, great for the cabin fridge.

 

Are the wine boxes of drinkable quality available at US liquor stores ? Got to get a couple.

 

 

Yes. There's a wine called "Black Box" that has very drinkable and decent Pinot Grigio, chardonnay, and Merlot. Also, there are some fantastic French and Italian wines now available in Boxes. It's hard to go wrong with a Montepulciano Da Bruzzo, whether it's in a bottle or a box!

[casavaha]

I am embarking on a 28 day cruise at Christmas. I will be bringing about 6, 1.5lt bottles

on board. If I still need some more, we will arrive in FLL in 14 days, so I can stop

at Total Wine. I would buy all your wine at Total as the Caribbean ports have

a poor selection of wine and at fairly high prices. The exception is the French side

of St. Martin and Martinique.

[Orlando Greybeard]

Now that we have discussed wine -How about corkscrews Ca? we depend on the cabin steward being able to supply us with one. If we have we bring our own I don't really want to bring my large one but the smaller "sommlier" type one has a little knive to cut the foil attached. Would that kind be prohibited?

[m steve]

for wine than most ports especially western Caribbean and a lot better selection. The easiest is to buy a cheap fold up luggage rack and put your case on it and roll it onboard. They might even sell that there. Bring your favorite corkscrew as the ones for the cabin are not great.

[amunhbuu]

You probably wouldn't be stopped from bringing it on the boat. But, I wouldn't try to get it in your carry on on the airline.

[bonsarsam]

What do you think about bringing 1.5L wine to MDR. What do you think the wine stewart will say. Will she/he only charge the $18 corkage fee.

[goodlife 2]

Hi there,

Last time we cruised HAL, we took our own wine onboard... approx 5 bottles I believe.. We were told we could take them to the dining room on the 1st night.

When we brought them to dinner and spoke with our waiter, he did not appear pleased. They did end up storing 2 bottles for us that night. However, my husband then had to take the other 3 back to our room. We were charged corkage fees every time they opened a new bottle.

It was not a fun experience, so since then, we have started purchasing a wine package, and a Beverage Card, and still brought a few bottles onboard just for our room.

The beverage cards are handy, since you can use them for specialty coffees, sodas, wine, beer and mixed drinks!

Hope this helps!

 

Jill

[RuthC]

What do you think about bringing 1.5L wine to MDR. What do you think the wine stewart will say. Will she/he only charge the $18 corkage fee.

Corkage is $18 per bottle. The size of the bottle does not matter.