Bringing Wine On Board

[mermaidofmanhattan]

One of the people in our group on our Eclipse cruise purchased a bottle of wine ashore at one of the ports. When she came back aboard, she was sent to the naughty table. They guy said, "Only one bottle? Enjoy!" And sent her on her way to her cabin with her bottle.

So these sacred rules some of you get so excited about are not really rules but are obviously subject to interpretation.

 

Happy Cruiser, I love that! Great story!

[bar_20]

I think I have found a solution to your problem. Forget trying to get several bottles of wine on the ship. Just bring this to your table and make it right there! Who's to know!:D

 

http://wiresmash.com/amazing/the-powder-wine/

[Verycatchy7939]

wine..... mmmmm i think if you get away with it good on ya.However i rather drink beer , in fact beer rocks...... anyone tell me what beer they have on board... Oh us brits dont cound bud as beer it tasteless crap.

[islandgirlejfan]

While we respect and will abide by the two bottle rule, I know exactly where the author of this thread is coming from. We collect wines ourselves and have quite the stash in our cellar. We usually pick them up in our travels, our very latest bottles coming from some wineries in North & South Carolina. Hubby and I were very strong advocates for a wine shipping bill that will be signed into law on July 1st in our state of Maryland which will allow us to have sent to our doorstep wines that we want, not what someone else *decides* should be on our shelves. When we were in Napa recently, we were just amazed at the selections that we have no access to, at least until now. :) The ship is not going to have the bottles we have and I'm just not going to risk bringing them, mostly because the majority of our collection required long plane trips back with the baggage gorillas at both ends of the journey and I don't want them to go through that again!:eek:

 

wine..... mmmmm i think if you get away with it good on ya.However i rather drink beer , in fact beer rocks...... anyone tell me what beer they have on board... Oh us brits dont cound bud as beer it tasteless crap.

 

Many of us Americans don't consider Budweiser beer either.....I don't even use that stuff as marinade or in my beer bread. Give me a nice microbrew anyday!:D

[derf5585]

While we respect and will abide by the two bottle rule,

 

So I can bring boxed wine instead of bottles.

If I bring boxed wine do I still have to pay a corkage fee?

I drink soda at meals, does Celebrity have a pull tab fee?

[islandgirlejfan]

So I can bring boxed wine instead of bottles.

If I bring boxed wine do I still have to pay a corkage fee?

 

If you enjoy that swill, be my guest!:p

[A1A]

wine..... mmmmm i think if you get away with it good on ya.However i rather drink beer , in fact beer rocks...... anyone tell me what beer they have on board... Oh us brits dont cound bud as beer it tasteless crap.

 

Many Americans enjoy budweiser and do not count it a tasteless crap, as a matter of fact it accounts for 48.4% of all beer sold in the United States. So what was your point in adding that little zing about tasteless crap? I am sure that there is pleanty of British Beer that I wouldn't drink however I would not come on the boards and call your National British Beer tasteless crap.

 

Ken

[FiggyWig]

Many Americans enjoy budweiser and do not count it a tasteless crap, as a matter of fact it accounts for 48.4% of all beer sold in the United States. So what was your point in adding that little zing about tasteless crap? I am sure that there is pleanty of British Beer that I wouldn't drink however I would not come on the boards and call your National British Beer tasteless crap.

 

Ken

 

I'm in the UK and am with you on this - there are beers and beers - nothing wrong with Bud, or Coors or anything else in this light beer field. Verychatchy7939 is wrong to generalise about UK drinkers... there are many of us who enjoy a Bud.... some on the other hand prefer their beer to consist of a two inch head of froth at the top of the glass... which to me is a waste of valuable glass space that can be better used filled with the liquid !:D

[Travalerie]

So I can bring boxed wine instead of bottles.

If I bring boxed wine do I still have to pay a corkage fee?

I drink soda at meals, does Celebrity have a pull tab fee?

 

Celebrity newbie here. I can see the wit in your response, so help me understand the issue with boxed wine. I thought about it because I heard that some of it can actually be good and that it is not as likely to break in the luggage. I am not nearly as experienced with wine as the OP and other posters so I am sure some of you are gagging a bit right now. So I have never bought it, but wouldn't one box equal 2 bottles? I am one of those self righteous people with odorless bowel movements that likes to follow the rules. I will bring my two if we decide to bring any at all, just want to get the deal with boxed wine.

[cruisestitch]

Hello, so far Celebrity has not specified the size of the "bottle" and some have brought very large bottles on board, others have brought boxed wines with no problem. Before you cruise, taste some boxed wines. If you find one you like to drink, bring it. If you consume it in your stateroom, there is no corkage. Since you say that you aren't very experienced with wine, perhaps the main dining room is a good place to learn about some new wines -- with advice from your wine steward. Go to some of the wine tastings on board, as well. Very enjoyable and you will learn a lot. Enjoy!

[Travalerie]

Hello, so far Celebrity has not specified the size of the "bottle" and some have brought very large bottles on board, others have brought boxed wines with no problem. Before you cruise, taste some boxed wines. If you find one you like to drink, bring it. If you consume it in your stateroom, there is no corkage. Since you say that you aren't very experienced with wine, perhaps the main dining room is a good place to learn about some new wines -- with advice from your wine steward. Go to some of the wine tastings on board, as well. Very enjoyable and you will learn a lot. Enjoy!

 

Yes, good idea! I would love to learn more. On our Disney cruise in January they had a little tasting at the end of the two cooking demos I attended. I will definitely try to attend one on board this fall. What is the average price for a tasting?

[derf5585]

Hello, so far Celebrity has not specified the size of the "bottle" and some have brought very large bottles on board,

 

Like his

 

Click on thumbnail

[Lsimon]

Celebrity newbie here. I can see the wit in your response, so help me understand the issue with boxed wine. I thought about it because I heard that some of it can actually be good and that it is not as likely to break in the luggage. I am not nearly as experienced with wine as the OP and other posters so I am sure some of you are gagging a bit right now. So I have never bought it, but wouldn't one box equal 2 bottles? I am one of those self righteous people with odorless bowel movements that likes to follow the rules. I will bring my two if we decide to bring any at all, just want to get the deal with boxed wine.

 

There have been a lot of discussions about boxed wines on these boards centering around the fact that most boxed wines contain more wine than two standard bottle (750ML) of wine to begin with.

 

I've never brought boxed wine on board but I have read a lot of postings about the subject. The fact is that the Celebrity rules and policies do not address bottle size nor the subject of boxed vs. bottled wine. Because there is not formal policy you'll be subject to the rule itnerpretation by the security personal on your ship.

 

The majority of reports I've read seem to indicate that those bringing boxed wine on board had no issues. Occasionally, I'll see a comment from someone who had their boxed wine confiscated on the grounds that the size exceeded the two bottle limit.

 

The bottom line is that, unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer to this. If you bring one or two boxes of wine on board the chances are that you won't have any issues but there is a chance that your wine will be confiscated from you and you should be prepared for the risk of that happening. If you want to be absolutely sure that your wine will be allowed I'd suggest bringing on one or two standard size bottles.

[TravelerThom]

I think I have found a solution to your problem. Forget trying to get several bottles of wine on the ship. Just bring this to your table and make it right there! Who's to know!:D

 

http://wiresmash.com/amazing/the-powder-wine/

Interesting - it's been a looong time since Chemistry class, but I thought that if you dehydrate alcohol you are still left with pure liquid alcohol. So how do they get 8.2% alcohol in a powder? [Assuming this is an actual product, and not a joke.] Any chemists out there?

 

Thom

[horsesandcruises]

I have never met "bellybutton", but one that i can attest to is that she is booked in the number "1" suite on an upcoming cruise and if she can afford that, then she might actually know a good bottle of champagne is she saw one. Celebrity does not sell the wine that we enjoy and i quess that improvisation works well for others too......just my 2 cents worth.

[derf5585]

[quote name='TravelerThom']So how do they get 8.2% alcohol in a powder? [Assuming this is an actual product, and not a joke.] Any chemists out there?
Thom[/QUOTE]

According to food chemist Udo Pollmer of the European Institute of Food and Nutrition Sciences in Munich, alcohol can be absorbed in cyclodextrines, a sugar derivate. In this way, encapsuled in small capsules, the fluid can be handled as a powder. The cyclodextrines can absorb an estimated 60 percent of their own weight in alcohol.[1] A US food patent has been registered for the process as early as 1974.
from
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_powder[/url]

[djmutters]

After a few conversations on cruise critic it's clear that "bellybutton"knows her wine and has fab tastes and is looking forward to sharing a bottle or in bellybutton case a case or two with us if we ever get the chance to bump into her on a cruise :) PMSL

Joking aside she knows her wine but is not a wine snob :)

Nigel & Rob x

[DC2OC]

[quote name='FiggyWig'] some on the other hand prefer their beer to consist of a two inch head of froth at the top of the glass... which to me is a waste of valuable glass space that can be better used filled with the liquid !:D[/quote]
Agree!:D

[Dr. Pam]

Bellybutton also knows her way around the butlers...she has given me some great advice!
I hope to meet up with her some day!

[TravelerThom]

[quote name='derf5585']According to food chemist Udo Pollmer of the European Institute of Food and Nutrition Sciences in Munich, alcohol can be absorbed in cyclodextrines, a sugar derivate. In this way, encapsuled in small capsules, the fluid can be handled as a powder. The cyclodextrines can absorb an estimated 60 percent of their own weight in alcohol.[1] A US food patent has been registered for the process as early as 1974.
from
[URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_powder[/URL][/quote]THANKS to derf5585 for the info and link. Sounds like this IS a real product.

Thom

[bar_20]

So you're allowed two bottles of wine to bring on the ship, if you drink it in your room there is no corkage fee, if you bring it to the dining room there is. However if you don't finish the bottle your wine stewart will keep the wine for you and bring it out the next day. Assuming you know anything about wine you are paying $60.00 and up for a good bottle of Cab. that you purchased at your local bottle shop or direct from the vintner You can spend that much or less for a decent bottle from the ships cellers, and it will probably be something you never tasted before. I love it when people spend thousands on the cruise and the flights to get you to the ship terminal and back but complain about spending $100-150 for two or three bottles of wine that they purchase on the ship. It's their ship, their rules, you know them when you book yet you are upset because the rules shouldn't apply to you? :confused:

[bellybutton530]

[quote name='rwr235']I am curious...were you honest on the evaluation form about your reasons for the Concierge getting a low score? "[B][I]Dear Celebrity, I am giving Concierge XYZ a low performance score, because he/she declined to assist me in the perpetration of a fraud against the Cruise Line. He/she would not help me violate a condition of the cruise contract...conditions that I agreed to abide by when I purchased cruise passage on your ships. Shame on Concierge XYZ for such a display of workplace integrity" .[/I][/B][/quote]

Perhaps; but you will never know unless you ask the concierge.

[SusieV]

[quote name='bar_20']So you're allowed two bottles of wine to bring on the ship, if you drink it in your room there is no corkage fee, if you bring it to the dining room there is. However if you don't finish the bottle your wine stewart will keep the wine for you and bring it out the next day. Assuming you know anything about wine you are paying $60.00 and up for a good bottle of Cab. that you purchased at your local bottle shop or direct from the vintner You can spend that much or less for a decent bottle from the ships cellers, and it will probably be something you never tasted before. I love it when people spend thousands on the cruise and the flights to get you to the ship terminal and back but complain about spending $100-150 for two or three bottles of wine that they purchase on the ship. It's their ship, their rules, you know them when you book yet you are upset because the rules shouldn't apply to you? :confused:[/quote]

I agree with your point about the rules, but not that $60 in a wineshop will get you an equally good bottle onboard! The markup is quite high on low to medium end wines. You can save quite a bit of money even with the corkage fee plus bring aboard vintages you know you enjoy by bringing wine onboard. The wine list onboard can be quite limiting.

[bellybutton530]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Those who want to, will.

Those who don't want to, won't.

It wasn't a problem for the Hotel Manager and the Restaurant Manager. They were both informed, and were invited to stop by for a taste of some of my rarer vintages. As information, both did just that.

Every bottle was a champagne NOT on the Celebrity wine list, not that it makes any difference.

Celebrity was not denied my usual spending habits. I spent well beyond that. Not that that makes any difference either.

Will there be a repeat performance? Who knows? Stay tuned.

Thanks to all of the nice folks who came to my defense. I haven't met any of you, but I sure do hope we cross paths. You are the reason I cruise.

I am certainly enjoying the comments on this thread. Whenever my ears start burning, I know precisely where to look....:eek:


[/FONT]

[Denny01]

I Just love the discussions on bringing more than 2 bottles on board. I gave a cheap-shot comment earlier, but the posts about it varying a good deal is true. We don't bring on more than 2 because we usually don't consume that much in our SRs - enjoy a glass or so, but enjoy socializing around the ship more.

On our Euro cruise and our S American cruise, the ship was quite lenient and we brought a few bottles from various ports. Loved trying the local Malbecs in Argentina, and even the Santorini wines....would never find those in a standard wine shop. So I do wish they'd allow a bottle per port or so just so we could expand our palates with some local wines.

Sometimes they'd take our wine (always had it out or in a bag and ready to turn over as needed), and they'd let our friends go through with theirs. Then on a B2B, they'd bring our bottles to us, the ones we turned over on the 1st leg and we had them for the 2nd cruise. Neat. I guess if I don't actually try to smuggle the stuff, I don't feel 'guilty' (what is that concept??) about what they allow me to bring on.

So I guess I'm one of those guys who won't actively smuggle but won't insist they take my bottle...and I'll be quite frank, if the OP or 'bellybutton530' want to invite us over for a glass of their ill-gotten smuggled wine, I'd jump at it. So much for my high morals.

Den