Message from RCCL on bringing Wine and using MiniFridge

[SuzieQ123]

I always buy wine in St Maarten, most of the time i get right thru and up to my cabin with it, if its 1 or 2 bottles and they are in your tote bag they don;t take it, I did however buy 4 bottles of my favorite wine on my last Adventure of the Seas Cruise and since it was boxed and obvious all they did was hold it, asked for our table number in the dining room and each night there was a bottle there waiting for us.

 

Sometimes depending on your waiter, you might not even get charged the corkage fee, when I was on the Explorer our waiter did not charge us, he was smart, I added that extra money to his tip!

[bcs819]

I brush my teeth and rinse with Pepsi....

[Twibes]

Myself and g/f as well purchased two bottles of wine in St. Thomas, put it in her bag.. went through the detector boarding the ship and had no issue. Voila, we had two bottles of wine that one was also placed into the refrigator. Our attendant also put one on ice for us, no issue at all.

 

I wouldn't worry about this issue whatsoever.

[Celebrity Bride]

I am bringing my 11 month daughter on Radiance of the Seas in May and had to pre-declare all food realted items that I am bringing onboard. They didn't have a problem with the powdered formula, jars of baby food or bottles of juice, but they say that I am not allowed to bring bottled water onboard because it is available for purchase. I've always taken bottled water and some pop onboard in my carry-on and have never been questioned. Hopefully they will not crack down on bottled water 'smugglers' this time :)

 

 

Jenn

[Submariner]

How about trying to get the (shudder) boxed version of wine aboard.. maybe that wont attract the scanners attention too much

[dc-snoopy]

In my limited experience, I've found that the rules are there to give them leeway should someone try to really abuse the issue and bring say a case or two of wine on-board (especially say someone planning on holding a party). In reality, as long as you only have a few bottles in you luggage, the staff on board do not care what the official policy is. Occasionally they'll stop someone, but most of the time they won't. The best trick to avoid being blatant is to wrap bottles so they don't clink. The only time I ever saw someone's alcohol actually confiscated (coming in from port) was when the bottles clinked when being put on the conveyor for the X-Ray. If you bring one of the hand-towels from the ship in your shoulder bag, then wrap the bottles so they don't clink. You probably won't have a problem.

[marylandmarie]

I have called RC regarding corkage fees and have gotten vague answers. I actually said to the RC person "if you don't allow passengers to bring their own wine then what would the waiter be uncorking? Surely there is not a corkage fee for the bottle purchased at dinner from the wine steward." She couldn't answer me. She just said there is a $12.00 corkage fee. In my opinion the bottom line is do what you wish but be discrete and don't abuse it. And don't sweat it, you're on vacation. They also told me our cabin has a refrigerator which is separate from the mini-bar.

[grantweb]

Thanks for this post Irovnan! I have been searching endlessly for a response to that very question.

G

[ernie16]

My stupid question is, how do you get the wine open without paying the corkage fee?? Since a corkscrew is considered a weapon you cannot bring em onboard airliners anymore. I had one taken away from me that i forgot was even in my briefcase. Kinda embarrssing.:o

[Pootersmom]

We were told in two separate emails that RCL WILL NOT allow a gay mixer

 

 

 

It only stands to reason that if they aren't going to let you bring the hard liquor on board, that they won't allow you to bring mixers of any kind, be they gay mixers or pina colada mixers...................geeesh

[Schplinky]

My stupid question is, how do you get the wine open without paying the corkage fee?? Since a corkscrew is considered a weapon you cannot bring em onboard airliners anymore. I had one taken away from me that i forgot was even in my briefcase. Kinda embarrssing.:o

 

you could pack your corkscrew in your checked luggage or ask the room attendant for one.

[Schplinky]

It only stands to reason that if they aren't going to let you bring the hard liquor on board, that they won't allow you to bring mixers of any kind, be they gay mixers or pina colada mixers...................geeesh

 

cute!

[marcyjane]

I have a question other than carrying wine aboard. I'm like everyone else reading "NO" beverage.

 

I know that a lot of you will think I crazy, but I love to have my "diet" Mountain Dew at least once a day.

 

We are new to RCI and have cruised several times on Carnival, which has Coke products, the last two cruises we drove to the port on one cruise and took a couple six packs on in a small cooler. Our last cruise we flew to New York a day before and meant to stop at a small grocery before boarding and forgot to in all the excitment of getting to the pier.

 

Our first stop was the next day in Boston and we had a private tour and the drive was nice enough to stop at a market before taking us back to the ship and we purchased a couple of six packs to take back on board. They weren't even in a sack or cooler I carried on and one of the other people in our group carried the other one.

 

No problem.

 

Sorry, to make a short question long, has any one tried carrying soda on board? I have one of those coolers that folds flat, but opens up to carry 2 to 3 six packs of beer or soda.

 

Just wondering

 

Thanks,

Marcy

[dc-snoopy]

Sorry, to make a short question long, has any one tried carrying soda on board? I have one of those coolers that folds flat, but opens up to carry 2 to 3 six packs of beer or soda.

 

We were on the Jewel in February. Due to the medications that DW has to take (she is a transplant patient on immuno-suppression) she cannot have caffeine or sugar, so she needs to have a caffeine-free, diet soda or water. Now, normally she drinks water, but she does like an alternative every now and then. So, when we flew into FLL a day early, I walked to the Eckerd drug store down the block from the pier and our hotel (Holiday Inn Express Convention Center, 3 blocks from Port Everglades entrance) and purchased some soda. I purchased her 3 bottles of diet CF Coke and three bottles of Sprite Zero. I also got a six pack of water in sport bottles so that we could take water that I could trust to drink on shore excursions. I took our carry-on bag and moved some stuff into our suitcases, then I put the sodas in our carry-ons. The carry-ons went through the x-ray machine and they didn't say or do anything. Then we checked the carry-ons around the corner from the gangway when we boarded and they took them to our rooms. No problems and no one said anything.

 

Also, as for food and drink, we saw a younger couple (20 somethings) in Cozumel go and buy 2 shopping bags of junk food (why buy food when you're on a cruise?) and 2 large (they didn't quite look like 2-liter bottles, but I'm not sure) bottles of soda and take it back on. It was clearly visible and the crew didn't bat an eye as it went through the xray machine.

[dd&tom]

think "check-thru"

bubble wrap and pareos are equally effective insulation ;)

[lovetocruiserccl]

Two words. Boxed wine.

[lrovnan]

Two words. Boxed wine.

 

It works for me

[heathernijoli]

I have done this on three cruises with NO worries or problems:

 

Packed a bottle in my carry on for sail-off drinks and then bubble wrapped some bottles in my cehcked luggage. No problems. No questions. Just do it.

[spdfrk]

Just returned from the Jewel, 6-night Western Caribbean. We took two bottles of wine aboard in our checked luggage. Bubble wrapped both and put them in the bags after they were retrieved from the airlines. Carried it in a carry on for the flight. No problem with it getting on board safely. State room attendant brought red wine glasses, no questions asked. Ended up that we took a bottle to dinner on two different nights. No corkage charge, probably depends on your waiter. At the time we thought we were paying the $12 fee but didn't care, they were nice bottles of wine that we enjoyed. $12 is still a lot less than the extra mark up they put on their wine selections, especially if it's anything good.

[dd&tom]

Just got back from Splendour Trans-Atlantic. Lots of folks bringing wine, beer and pop on board, first in Tampa and then at each port of call (of course we had to stock up pretty well in Key West :D)

We had no problems - used the bubble wrap system and added the boxed wine strategy, as mentioned by someone on this thread. We received our special-request fridge on day 1 and our room steward regularly brought wine glasses. The only little problem we ever had was when the room stewards asked us to stay out of the room with the ice machine one day - we needed ice to cool the beer in the folding ice chest we also brought aboard. After a couple of days they gave up!!

Maybe it was because they didn't want a bunch of gripy drunks on the high seas for 7 days marooned from a Wal Mart booze supply. Or maybe they just didn't care. We didn't cart stuff around - and we really didn't bring much - more a variety than a quantity.

We talked with many passangers and no one had any trouble this trip.

- dd

[worldsbestcandles]

dd&Tom,

 

How many bottles of wine would say people brought for acruise of that length? I am going on a 10 Day cruise and someone had said we could bring a case of wine with us.... If we have 2 glasses at dinner each night that would be 9 bottles right there... would this be considered excessive to bring on? We are fully willing to pay the corkage fee (if charged ;) ), but we wouldn't want to have them taken out of our luggage. It was recommended that we put a whole case in our carryon roller bag... anyone tried this?

Thanks!

[Pog]

DON'T ask! Do what you want and don't ask!!!!!!

[dd&tom]

Hi, worldsbest -

I'm with Pog on this one - DEFINITELY DO NOT ask RC about this unless you plan to bring your wine into the dining room.

 

Other dinner time options: Get a glass in your room and just truck on up to the Windjammer with a full glass in hand - the wait staff WILL NOT confiscate and dump your wine!! :p Your kindly room steward will provide you with appropriate wine glasses.

 

I seriously doubt if anyone is going to take anything out of your check-through luggage. I did, however, go on a 7-day RC cruise where they were checking carry-ons at the embarkation X-Ray machine and confiscating wine - that was where my brother-in-law had to tell them he wanted to keep his special vintage of wine and have it for his anniversary - they kept it for him and served it one night at dinner and charged him the corkage fee - that's what that is all about!! On that same cruise my hubby and I put a 12-pack of beer, two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka in our check-through bags wrapped well in bubble wrap and placed in plastic bag against any accidental breakage. No problemo!! ;)

 

On the cruise on the Splendour - 14 days - LOTS of folks were carrying stuff on in check-throughs and carry ons - NOTHING was said and nothing was confiscated. Don't draw attention - just be private about what should be a personal matter. Bringing a case of wine onto a cruise ship is a bad idea!! You look like you're starting up your own business on the side!! Just decide how much wine you really need to bring on board and wrap individual bottles and distribute them between your luggage. We brought boxed wine this time - easier to carry, break proof, easier to store in the stateroom fridge - which you may, incidentally, have to request in advance -- and lighter to carry. We also brought a bottle of champagne and some beer. We carried on a 12 pack of beer on board in a grocery sack in Key West and a six pack of bottles in The Azores - no problem. I think that for a longer cruise they may be a lot more permissive, knowing that there will be those folks who will not enjoy their cruise without some drink and that to charge that fee for a bottle of wine every day would be inhumane!!

 

We purchased some drinks on board - draft beer was a not-bad price and I enjoyed the daily special mixed drink two or three times. I don't think you're going to have a problem having a good supply with what you can bring in your bags and an occasional purchase. - dd :)

[island lady]

I am carrying my pre-chilled champagne for sailaway onto the ship. The rest of the wine I am bringing on for "corkage charging time" at dinner, is all red. No need for a fridge! :D

 

Cheers!

[dhcoaster]

On our 2003 ROS Cruise there were 16 of us and we took cases of beer, wine, boos, soda, etc and no one said a word.