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RCI not allowing passengers to bring wine onboard?


wwinfl91

Do you think RCI should allow passengers to bring their own wine with them?  

847 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you think RCI should allow passengers to bring their own wine with them?

    • Yes Passengers should be allowed to bring their own wine with them
      686
    • NO RCI not allow passengers to bring wine onboard.90
      34
    • To tell the truth I don't really care.
      127


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Just to add to the list in historic downtown Cocoa Village:

Black Tulip (excellant)

and Cafe Margaux (very elegant)

Both are open for lunch and dinner.

If you would love a really nice "bed and breakfast type" atmosphere:

The Haven tea room just down the street and across from Murdocks, has a wonderful lunch with very fresh, well thought out light fare. Very British, very good.

For all of you staying at the Radisson: My favorite sushi haunt:

Thai Thai lll across the street. Tiny little restaurant, but best sushi I have ever had, and is the one place I go every week. Danny and Jose' the sushi chefs are wonderful, very good food, and very inexpensive. Three rolls are enough to stuff two people! Go early enough and get a seat at the sushi bar. They open at 4 pm.

 

Cheers!

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I went on a friend's 40th birthday (1999) cruise w/ a few nurses. We wanted "Kalik", a Bahamian beer. We carried a case to the pier at Gr. Bahamas. The crew after watching us struggle w/ the heavy case informed us we couldn't board w/ the alcohol. We replied "No problem" and acted like we were just going to drink it right there, asking them how much time it was and how fast we needed to drink it. The crew laughed that we "took it so well" and let us board w/ it. Our room steward even showed us how to open it on the bedframe,since the tops weren't twist off. I would never try this again, but I do still like Kalik. That was my only experience. We never dreamed we couldn't take the beer onboard, now we know!

Karen

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I'm also glad to hear that since I will be boarding a ship this coming sunday with a variety of wine in my carry-on's. I started this thread to see what the responses would be and it has remained on the first few pages of one of the most active boards on Cruise Critic since February. Obviously a lot of people want to be able to bring their own wine onboard. Keep it up and vote for freedom to bring wine on with you.

 

Have a great next cruise.

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I agree! I voted AS SOON as I saw the poll :) !

 

I'm also glad to hear that since I will be boarding a ship this coming sunday with a variety of wine in my carry-on's. I started this thread to see what the responses would be and it has remained on the first few pages of one of the most active boards on Cruise Critic since February. Obviously a lot of people want to be able to bring their own wine onboard. Keep it up and vote for freedom to bring wine on with you.

 

Hi winfl91 -

I posted to your thread in late March and JUST got back from my 4/9 cruise on the Navigator. [very extended post-cruise]

 

Brought a big box of wine:

Which I set up in a noticeable and honorable place in my cabin: immediately inside the bathroom on the service shelf under the counter (just in case of spills).

 

-- No problem. Other than for cleaning, the box was not disturbed for the duration of the cruise (until the wine was all gone, that is).

 

Brought a couple of bottles of Pacific Echo (Anderson Valley) champagne:

Celebratory bottles and favorite [next to Roederer] and "rare" (in that it is very hard to get now in this label, because it is being produced as Scharffenberger Cellars again). Shared both with the entire table for my buddy's birthday. (Didn't know the 8 others before we became tablemates).

 

-- No problem, and no corkage charged. Our waiter knew about the champagne beforehand and asked for it earlier that day so that he could store and present it properly at dinner.

 

Glad to see you've had such a good and positive response.

 

And have a fantastic cruise!

 

-RSS-

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Was curious, and didn't want to read all 15 pages here ;o)

 

Is it better to bring wine (2 bottles) on a carry-on or in the checked luggage? Or does it matter? No airplane here.

 

Thanks.

Chet

 

PS. What if they tell me it's not allowed? What's my best argument? "You let others do it!" ?

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I would suggest keeping it in your carry-on. From what I am seeing as long as you don't make a big deal of having it they will probably just ignore it and you will be able to carry the two bottles aboard.

 

Thanks to RSS fro SF for your good wishes on our upcoming (very soon) cruise.

 

Hope everyone has enjoyed this poll ans the postings. I suspect it will drop down in the board while we are on the cruise but I will port when we get back with our experiences with bringing wine onboard.

 

Have a great next cruise.

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So many posts here, this may have been mentioned. Trader Joes is a grocery chain that is in 9 states. They have many fine tasting wines from the Calif. wine country. Here in the two Santa Rosa stores at a cost of $6-10 for the popular reds and whites that most people will find enjoyable. There is a store not far from the cruise ship pier 35 at Mason and Bay in S.F near Fisherman's Wharf-Pier 39 area. . I have been happy to pay corkage with these wines that we have carried aboard. I also carry a large pocket flask of good bourbon to have with ice and water prior to dinner in our cabin. Use to buy great wines by the case for less then $100 with our local discounts from the 300 wineries around here, but T.J's is as good and easier for us now.

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Please try not to talk too much about these things on public sites or else they will stop letting us bring wine on board, just like they did to us on NCL. We found out that they were reading our posts's & how they will not let you carry it on without a fee. Please don't write back with anything negitive, we went though all of that last year.

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We cruised the Navigator in March...carried on 4 bottles of wine in a shopping bag along with our carry-on luggage. Ran it right through the scanner along with everything else in plain sight...nothing was said. I wasn't willing to risk it breaking in our checked in luggage. I just figured I'd play dumb if caught...you get it back at the end of the trip.

 

I think maybe they just try to discourage the practice, especially for the people who carry on like a case at a time. I have seen people carry on massive amounts of wine and pop etc.

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I am happy to see most are in favor of carry on wines. I have been too uneasy in the past about packing the few bottles I take on board, (bubble wrap and plastic bags used) in our luggage. I will now carry them on board, but will still do the plastic flask of Gin in the luggage.

 

Of course I am happy to pay corkage in the dining room for my special nights with my special wine I carry on (much better quality than anything offered on the ship wine list).

 

Since my next cruise is only 5 miles from my house, my champagne I am carrying on for sailaway in our cabin will still be chilled, fresh out of my fridge that morning! :)

 

Cheers!

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Well we are leaving on a cruise tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how far down on the board this thread will drop while I am gone.

 

We almost have reached thr 80% against RCI's policy of not allowing any wine to be brought onboard (79.89%). Almost 800 people have voted in the poll with only 28 or 4% voting in favor of RCI's policy. The number that surprised me the most is the high percentage who don't care which is 16% of the people voting. I guess apathy is everywhere.

 

Have a great next cruise.

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Dear RCCL.

Please have a 'secondary' wine list with a 1.5 times retail markup. Personally I do not like shlepping wine on the plane. But I don't want to pay 3.5 times retail for mediocre wines. If you could provide $25 retail @ $35-40 on the ship that would be what I am paying when I pay retail + corkage. You might even have a preorder list that is bought and paid for and reserved for the client at boarding. Even if you do this only at popular ports we WINOS would be happy campers. Or maybe this is a good strategy for Celebrity....

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I am personally guessing that RCCL hopes that most people are clueless about wine, and thus the lackluster wine list marked up 4 times. Since I am in the business, and the most that my "land based" restaurants upcharge for wine I sell them is 2.5 to 3.5, I would say their ships are hoping to cash in on the un-informed.

Pretty sad, since they get very cut rate wholesale "by the pallet" prices for their wine. For shame!!!....... :(

 

So unless they have enough people that "get wise" to their folly....I will continue to bring my own superior wines aboard, and happily pay corkage..as they request. (Though how can that be since "NO alcohol is allowed to be brought on board under any circumstances"), so I am assuming I vinted my own in my cabin??!! :rolleyes: ;)

 

Cheers!

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Hope I dont shock any of ya'll..but I've been on 9 cruises an have taken all my alcohol an wine an even cokes onboard with me..even packed a foldable ice chest ( Academy 12 bucks ) an paid the cabin steward 10 bucks to keep my ice fresh...secret ??? Ok, here it is.....Dont tell them, pack it well, I put beer in each of my socks an the whole 12 pack of cokes in my duffel bag..The dogs are sniffing for drugs, not drinks..Good luck !!

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We are planning on trying to bring two bottles from my husband's wine collection onto the ship this upcoming Saturday. I'll be happy to check in after and let you all know how it works out. We figure the worst that'll happen -- it'll be confescated. But I'm all for the "don't ask don't tell" policy. ;)

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What a surprise that 80% of respondents think RCI should allow people to bring on their own wine!

 

Count me along with the crowd who couldn't care less, but I sure do enjoy reading some of the justifications people have for violating company rules.

I wonder how many of the folks who say, "They don't serve the wine that we prefer, so we bring our own.", would suddenly aquire new tastes if RCL decided, on a lark, to give away wine? :D

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