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Bringing Wine Onboard

Calebo

By Calebo,
in Holland America Line

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canadarocks

canadarocks

Posted
Posted

I think everyone's experience with bringing their own wine to the dining room varies. Our first cruise we brought wine each night and we were never charged a corkage fee. So we were spoiled rotten from "the get go" :p.

 

Our second cruise our wine steward was a lovely young woman who explained that she HAD to charge us, which we totally understood. But she quickly taught us that if we brought two bottles to be opened, she only charged us for one of them. So we ended up paying corkage fees for half our bottles.

 

On our next cruise we are fully expecting to pay full fees on ALL our bottles, cause that's the way it's likely to work! ;)

 

The key thing I believe is to not expect any "discounts" and be pleasantly surprised if they happen! :D

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donaldsc

donaldsc

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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.

 

I sure hope that you did not tip him for his "services".

 

DON

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auldearn

auldearn

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I am taking a cab on Saturday February 5th from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to Port Everglades to join the "Eurodam"On the way I intend stopping at Total Wine to purchase some wine. Having never been to Total Wine,I only heard of it through these boards,I have a couple of questions to ask. This is a Saturday morning around 12 noon, so is it possible to pick up wine in a hurry. Will the store be so busy at this time that the cab driver will rebel at the idea. Secondly, does anyone have Total Wine's phone number that I may be able to prebook the order to speed it up. I'm from Canada, so no bottles allowed on flight. Any information is more than welcome.

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maxout

maxout

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Posted
I am taking a cab on Saturday February 5th from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to Port Everglades to join the "Eurodam"On the way I intend stopping at Total Wine to purchase some wine. Having never been to Total Wine,I only heard of it through these boards,I have a couple of questions to ask. This is a Saturday morning around 12 noon, so is it possible to pick up wine in a hurry. Will the store be so busy at this time that the cab driver will rebel at the idea. Secondly, does anyone have Total Wine's phone number that I may be able to prebook the order to speed it up. I'm from Canada, so no bottles allowed on flight. Any information is more than welcome.

 

About 2 seconds on Google produced this...

 

http://www.totalwine.com/storeList.aspx?state=FL&store=904

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canadarocks

canadarocks

Posted
Posted
I am taking a cab on Saturday February 5th from Ft. Lauderdale Airport to Port Everglades to join the "Eurodam"On the way I intend stopping at Total Wine to purchase some wine. Having never been to Total Wine,I only heard of it through these boards,I have a couple of questions to ask. This is a Saturday morning around 12 noon, so is it possible to pick up wine in a hurry. Will the store be so busy at this time that the cab driver will rebel at the idea. Secondly, does anyone have Total Wine's phone number that I may be able to prebook the order to speed it up. I'm from Canada, so no bottles allowed on flight. Any information is more than welcome.

 

Okay, now without the sarcasm...... We're from Canada too. If you Google Total Wine in Fort Lauderdale you'll find all the information you need. You can pre-order whatever you want and they will have it waiting for you (as long as it's over $100 U.S.$) :) We did this in Tampa last year and it worked great!:)

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canadarocks

canadarocks

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I don't suppose Total Wine carry soft drink/soda. Does this mean I have to do another pitt stop along the way? Or we can buy some soft drink at port?

 

Thanks

 

I asked the same question, and the nice people here at CC told me that there is a Publix grocery store in the same mall as Total Wine that sells anything else you might need! :D

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donaldsc

donaldsc

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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.

 

You are not taking nearly enough wine. If you take a case of 12 bottles, that is 0.85 bottles of wine for the entire party per day. If there are 7 people, each person will 0.12 of a bottle of wine per day. A bottle of wine is typically 750 ml. Based on my math, each person will get to drink 90 ml of wine per day.

 

Unless you really really are not big drinkers, you need at least at least 2 cases.

 

DON

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Calebo

Calebo

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You are not taking nearly enough wine. If you take a case of 12 bottles, that is 0.85 bottles of wine for the entire party per day. If there are 7 people, each person will 0.12 of a bottle of wine per day. A bottle of wine is typically 750 ml. Based on my math, each person will get to drink 90 ml of wine per day.

 

Unless you really really are not big drinkers, you need at least at least 2 cases.

 

DON

LOL, We are not big drinkers, but some do enjoy a glass with a meal. Someone can have my .12 bottle on some days, I also have a beverage card, on my last cruise, we barely got the 10 drinks used up on the 14 day cruise. Maybe the food fills us up too much !!!

We are mid 50s, just enjoy the cruise and the company. Another mythbuster, you don't have to fart dust to travel Holland America :)

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dhy4b

dhy4b

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Hi everyone,

 

About to embark on our first HAL cruise on Saturday and I was wondering if anyone's purchased wine on board during dinner? I ask because I called HAL just now and the guy told me that the corking fee is now $19 per bottle.

 

Of course bringing wine for room consumption would make sense, since there's no corkage, but I'm trying to decide if it's still worth bringing dinner wine. If HAL's sale price of wine is what I remember Celebrity's being ($48 for an $8 bottle of Blackstone Merlot), then I'll be bringing dinner wine. If it's around $30, then I'm breaking even with corking fee...

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

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jtl513

jtl513

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If HAL's sale price of wine is what I remember Celebrity's being ($48 for an $8 bottle of Blackstone Merlot), then I'll be bringing dinner wine. If it's around $30, then I'm breaking even with corking fee...
I don't see the Blackstone Merlot in HAL's choices, but for price comparison purposes the Blackstone Sauvignon Blanc is $40.25 and the Mondavi Private Selection Merlot is $44.85. Those prices include the 15% service charge.
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GeronimoAz

GeronimoAz

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Of course bringing wine for room consumption would make sense, since there's no corkage, but I'm trying to decide if it's still worth bringing dinner wine. If HAL's sale price of wine is what I remember Celebrity's being ($48 for an $8 bottle of Blackstone Merlot), then I'll be bringing dinner wine. If it's around $30, then I'm breaking even with corking fee...

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

I'm on the same cruise Saturday, and I've pretty much reached the same conclusion. From what I've been able to tell that markup is typical, and if I'm going to pay $50 for a bottle of wine, I'd much rather drink a $30 bottle than a $10 bottle. I'll be shopping at Total Wine near the port Friday night for a case to bring on board.

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reefisher

reefisher

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Here is some math. Suppose you buy 3 bottles in the HAL Admiral's Choice collection. Cost is 3 bottles for $118 plus 15% service charge = $135.7 or $45.23 per bottle.

 

Suppose you buy the same @ the local market:

Clos du Bois Chardonnay $8.99

Blackstone Merlot $7.99

Mark West Pinot Noir $12.99

Total 32.61 with tax (San Diego) Plus 54 corkage fee = $86.61 or

$28.87 per bottle.

 

So taking your own wine on board and paying saves approx. $16.36 per bottle.

 

Even better buy some decent with the difference.

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brandy3415

brandy3415

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I asked the salesman in Total Wines (locally) what is the best box wine. He knew immediately why I wanted to know. He told me he just took a box of Monthaven Chardonnay on a cruise. HE said it is better than Black Box. Monthaven comes in an octagonal box, quite unique. I have not tasted it yet--maybe I should before we take it with us!

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fourstars

fourstars

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For Holland America we've usually been told passengers can bring on 2 or 3 bottles of wine per person at embarkation. We tend to buy additional bottles at the various ports, and have no problems bringing them aboard. When embarking at FLL, we stay at a motel in Hollywood the night before. Within walking distance of the motel is a BJ's warehouse. A membership card is required, but we got a free one-day pass off the internet before leaving home. We carried the bottles in our tote bags.

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menrex

menrex

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So I can really bring as much wine as I want?

If hubby and I are on a 10 day crise and we drink about a bottle per day we can bring 10 bottles between us?

And how about if we wanted to keep it in our cabin, open it ourselves, and carry a glass to the dining room? Would that be acceptable?

Then we could spend even more on the wine!

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