Confused New Bee - Wine bringing on board

[Astro Flyer]

Keith,

 

Ciao for now!!!

 

I've been meaning to ask you everytime I see your "Ciao for Now" signature...did you get that from a Costa cruise?

[bmdlover]

We have taken four cruises our of Fr Lauderdale, and each time stopped at Total Wine. We have never been disappointed. We had some amazing pinot noirs from a tasting there. Never had a bottle that was corked or off. Sorry about bad experiences.

[suzyed]

In talking to my Princess Rep, only 1 bottle per person is allowed....we have always taken cases of wine, as we are a wine society in California, and have never had a problem.....up to 20+ cases ....and checked through with porters. Now they are scanning everything and will confiscate and return at the end of the cruise.....mostly because of breakage and leaking on other peoples luggage. go ahead and do what you want knowing that it may be taken away.....very sad for the 20 of us that are doing a 14 day Hawaii cruise in February.

Wine is not going to be taken away.

[captainron]

I've been meaning to ask you everytime I see your "Ciao for Now" signature...did you get that from a Costa cruise?

 

Nope. Can honestly say have never cruzed with Costa. I lived in Europe (Germany) for a few years and think I may have picked it up on a trip to Venezia (Venice) from a tour guide. Goes way back to 1990.

 

...and so wioth that in mind,

 

Ciao for now!!!

[Layla]

I bought a small wheeled folding cart (holds 80#) from Magellan's. The wheels are 2" and the cart weighs 2# and fits in my suitcase. We go to the wine store, buy one to two cases and DH wheels it right onboard along with his carryon.

 

Not trying to judge anyone here, and it's wonderful we can bring on board whatever folks want it seems. But I just have to ask. If I take your average 1-2 cases as 1.5, that is 18 bottles. Is that for a one week cruise? Because that is over one full bottle per day per person.

 

You must really like wine - even for breakfast? Not judging - just having a little fun and not sure I have met anyone that is as big a fan.

 

We bring one to two cases depending on the length of cruise. We take 10+day cruises, so if we're on a 10-day, we'll bring one case. If were on a 14-20 day, we'll take 1-1/2 to 2 cases. You're right! We really enjoy wine!:)

[Toddy709]

Not trying to judge anyone here, and it's wonderful we can bring on board whatever folks want it seems. But I just have to ask. If I take your average 1-2 cases as 1.5, that is 18 bottles. Is that for a one week cruise? Because that is over one full bottle per day per person.

 

You must really like wine - even for breakfast? Not judging - just having a little fun and not sure I have met anyone that is as big a fan.

 

One bottle only contains approximately four glasses of wine. When I'm on vacation I might have my first glass as early as, say, 1:00 p.m. Four glasses over the course of an afternoon/evening is really not much.

 

And yes, I do really like my wine! Judge or not, it doesn't matter to me!;);)

[mr green]

I took six bottles, on my last B2B. My carry on was searched, but the only thing that interested the officials was a fancy leather case with metal sides, holding two decks of playing cards.:)

 

john

[PatriciaF]

We stopped at Total Wine and bought two bottles of champagne and one bottle of Chardonnay before our cruise. Had it in a tote bag--no questions asked.

 

Total Wine is opening more stores in So Cal. It is very similar to BevMo.

 

Don't abuse the privlege so we can all bring a few bottles on board.

[IECalCruiser]

I have carried on as many as five bottles of wine in a laptop computer case. The padding for computer safety does very well at protecting wine bottles. On that cruise I also had two boxes of wine in a carry on bag. Also have used one of those wine carrier bags sold at BevMo and Trader Joe's. Was briefly questioned in Buenos Aires this Spring but were still able to bring on 4 bottles in a BevMo bag. Princess also has a good number of fairly priced wines on their wine list.

[lillypad83]

Try Black Box wine! It was recommended to me by a friend who owns a wine store. He said it's his store's best kept secret b/c it's better than a lot of the mid priced wines and it's equal to 4 bottles. I brought it on Coral for an Alaskan cruise, no problems. I personally like the Chardonnay, but others have said the reds are good too. The Pinot Grigio is also pretty good. At least give it a try. Don't substitute a different brand, most of the other box wines are dreadful! You can find it at the grocery store, but I've also seen it at Walmart for about $21. If you don't like dispensing from the box, fill a carafe to bring to your guests.;)

 

I was so excited about the Black Box wine when I read about it. I really enjoy a good Riesling, so we bought a box. Perhaps the other varieties are better, but the Riesling was kind of... well, skunky. But I found that after three glasses of the good stuff, it was palatable. :)

 

@ Toddy709: I like to believe when I go on vacation, the food groups like to travel , too. For instance, ice cream migrates from the dessert menu to the breakfast menu. The same goes for wine. It's made from grapes, right?

 

Also, be sure to get in the day before your cruise to stop by Total Wine. The last time we flew out the day of embarkation, we only had time to stop on the way. The cab driver took us to some sketchy liquor store/check cashing place. Since I knew the selection would be, well... limited, I told DH to run in and grab a bottle of Beringer White Zin and a bottle of the Chateau St. Michelle riesling, since I don't drink liquor at all, and you can find those everywhere. Two days later, sitting on the balcony,we opened the riesling, and it was terrible... I did a spit take. When we checked the bottle, it turned out the bottle and label were identical to the St. Michelle, but the brand name was Saint Chappelle. DH then told me he thought it was odd that it only cost $6, but thought it was on sale. We still joke about the terrible Chappelle's Show wine.

[Astro Flyer]

Each of us have developed our own particular taste for what type of wines we enjoy...what may be good for one, may not be good for others.

 

I searched online for a couple of reputable wine sites & in general for boxed wine the "experts" rated Black Box & Target's Cube consistently at the top for boxed wines. Although even some "experts" can rate wines like Charles Shaw ($2 Buck Chuck) ahead of much more expensive types of wine...another example that it's not always price that determines what we enjoy.

 

I tried a Black Box Merlot & a Cube Pinot Noir at home and liked the Pinot better than the Merlot. That's just the taste I've acquired & in general I prefer Pinot over Merlot. I thought the Pinot Noir was as good as wine I've paid much more for in the past. Again, just my taste from years of enjoying a glass of wine including those served in both types of onboard wine tasting including the $169 bottle of Mondavi-Rothschild's Opus I. So I have learned to appreciate good wine & enjoy a wide variety of red & white vino. I hate to be so redundant but want to avoid any attacks on my opinions...it's just my taste.

 

I read "The House of Mondavi" book which had some interesting insights into the Mondavi family & the wine industry in the 20th century...some surprising things on wine production.

 

I'm bringing a Cube of Pinot Noir to enjoy in our cabin & not as many bottles of wine on our upcoming cruise. For my taste level, it is just as good as the other more expensive Pinot Noir's onboard & doesn't deteriorate as much as an open bottle of wine. It's not the fact that its $17 for the equivalent of four 750ml bottles but that it's good for me & its much more traveler friendly. I'll still bring some more expensive wine that I enjoy & to pay the corkage fee to enjoy it with dinner but for me the boxed wine is hard to beat for in our cabin. :)

 

I gave boxed wine a try at home & found that I enjoy it very much for our daily "house" wine...the "research" at home was a real "sacrifice" for me to do! :rolleyes:

[5326jan]

You are so right about the personal taste when it comes to wine. My niece works for a vineyard in Napa that specializes in red. It's a "boutique" vineyard. Anyway, she brought some when she came home last time and to me, it was awful. I thought it tasted like dirt, she explained that it was the "tanin". I think that's why I don't like red wine. A Magnum bottle of her wine sold for $600. at an auction. :eek:

[Astro Flyer]

You are so right about the personal taste when it comes to wine. My niece works for a vineyard in Napa that specializes in red. It's a "boutique" vineyard. Anyway, she brought some when she came home last time and to me, it was awful. I thought it tasted like dirt, she explained that it was the "tanin". I think that's why I don't like red wine. A Magnum bottle of her wine sold for $600. at an auction. :eek:

Nowadays even the sommelier says that the old guidelines for when to drink red vs. white wine is now “whatever you prefer”.

 

And my doctor says that particularly red wine is heart healthly...tastes good & in moderation is good for your health. It's one of the reasons so many Italians live a long, happy life! :D