Wine - Corkage - Question

[troywest]

Azamara includes wine with lunch & dinner.

 

I found several references to corkage fees:

 

 

(1)

Does Azamara charge a corkage fee?

 

No beer or hard liquor may be brought onboard for consumption. Guests wishing to bring personal wine onboard with them at the beginning of the cruise may do so, limited to two (2) bottles per stateroom, but when consumed in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle shall be subject to a corkage fee of $25.00. If a guest receives a bottle of wine (in their stateroom) from a family member of friend, and that bottle(s) was purchased from our Bon Voyage Gift selection, then no corkage fee will apply if they wish to consume the bottle in the dining room or any public area. If a guest receives a bottle from an outside vendor and/or travel agent, and the bottle was not purchased through our Bon Voyage selection, then a $25.00 corkage fee per bottle will apply if they wish to consume the wine in the dining room or any other public area. The fee will be applied to the guest's onboard account. Alcoholic beverages purchased in ports of call or from onboard shops will be stored by the ship and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the sailing.....

 

(2)

Does Azamara charge a corkage fee?

 

Subject: Food and Beverage

 

Azamara Club Cruises offers a wide selection of international liquors, beer and fine wines onboard. You may bring your own favorite liquor, beer or wine for private consumption in your suite or stateroom. If you wish to consume your liquor, beer or wine in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle is subject to a corkage fee of $10.

 

If you are given a bottle of wine that was purchased from Azamara’s Bon Voyage Gift selection, then no corkage fee will apply. If you are given a bottle of wine from an outside vendor and/or travel professional, and the bottle was not purchased through Azamara’s Bon Voyage selection, then a $10 corkage fee will apply if the wine is consumed in the dining room or other public area. All corkage fees will be added to your onboard account.

 

 

 

My questions:

 

If they include wine in the cruise price, what is the rationale for charging (either $10 or $25) if I want to bring my own wine to the MDR or to one of the specialty restaurants?

 

Is a corkage fee imposed in practice?

[Cruisewoman79]

Azamara includes wine with lunch & dinner.

 

I found several references to corkage fees:

 

 

(1)

Does Azamara charge a corkage fee?

 

No beer or hard liquor may be brought onboard for consumption. Guests wishing to bring personal wine onboard with them at the beginning of the cruise may do so, limited to two (2) bottles per stateroom, but when consumed in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle shall be subject to a corkage fee of $25.00. If a guest receives a bottle of wine (in their stateroom) from a family member of friend, and that bottle(s) was purchased from our Bon Voyage Gift selection, then no corkage fee will apply if they wish to consume the bottle in the dining room or any public area. If a guest receives a bottle from an outside vendor and/or travel agent, and the bottle was not purchased through our Bon Voyage selection, then a $25.00 corkage fee per bottle will apply if they wish to consume the wine in the dining room or any other public area. The fee will be applied to the guest's onboard account. Alcoholic beverages purchased in ports of call or from onboard shops will be stored by the ship and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the sailing.....

 

(2)

Does Azamara charge a corkage fee?

 

Subject: Food and Beverage

 

Azamara Club Cruises offers a wide selection of international liquors, beer and fine wines onboard. You may bring your own favorite liquor, beer or wine for private consumption in your suite or stateroom. If you wish to consume your liquor, beer or wine in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle is subject to a corkage fee of $10.

 

If you are given a bottle of wine that was purchased from Azamara’s Bon Voyage Gift selection, then no corkage fee will apply. If you are given a bottle of wine from an outside vendor and/or travel professional, and the bottle was not purchased through Azamara’s Bon Voyage selection, then a $10 corkage fee will apply if the wine is consumed in the dining room or other public area. All corkage fees will be added to your onboard account.

 

 

 

My questions:

 

If they include wine in the cruise price, what is the rationale for charging (either $10 or $25) if I want to bring my own wine to the MDR or to one of the specialty restaurants?

 

Is a corkage fee imposed in practice?

Curious!!! The $10 fee is the one I found on their site. My husband will be bringing his own wine and when we dined in Aqualina in April in NY (part of a Travel agent tour) he asked the waiter and he said it was $10.

I have no problem with a line charging a fee to uncork and pour our wine. We'll see in less than 3 weeks!

[Phxazzcruisers]

They only offer one choice of red and one of white each day. If you do not like their free choice you can purchase another wine from the menu. They are very reasonable and actually charge 50% of the price listed for bottles of other wine. If you really want to bring your own wine, yes, they do charge a corkage of only $10.00.

Their policy is more than fair. Enjoy your cruise

[lilybob]

If OP is quoting from Azamara policy, Point 1 states that you can't bring liquor on board. Point 2 refers to you enjoying your favorite liquor in your stateroom or paying a fee to bring into a public venue. I'm confused:rolleyes: What's the experience from those that have recently sailed. thanks..

[Dr H]

You are allowed a virtually unlimited amount of alcohol to be brought onboard. You can only drink it in the privacy of your cabin - preferably shared with friends, you cannot consume it (officially) in the public areas, although I enjoyed the excitement of smuggling my glass of scotch into the library to read with. Your cabin steward will be very happy to provide you with ice bucket and appropriate glasses if asked for. They charge a minimal fee to pop your corks in the restaurants, should you wish to bring your own favorites on board. The "you are not allowed" is an ancient posting that surfaces with every new cruise; when asked specifically in Oct 2010 prior to my last cruise, I was told: unlimited. If you can carry or pack it, you can bring it on board. I brought champagne, a decent small bottle of scotch and a small decent bottle of gin for my martinis. I also smuggled my cocktail onions and olives on board, those are a tad difficult to get. It was great doing the "Some Like It Hot" parties in our room every few nights with friends.

 

That said, this wine maven was very impressed both with the house wines, as well as the price of their more premium selections. I would rate only one or two selections they served as being "strange" and well, undrinkable - weird stuff from Romania and South Africa. For the most part, the house wines were very, very pleasant, and from what I've read, you can frequently request an earlier choice, when something else is being served. Alas, they used to discount two better wines nightly for purchase, apparently that policy is now gone. Still, from what I've seen, the price of a better bottle is very reasonable, $25-50. range (please don't quote me), significantly less that what you would be paying in a restaurant here in the States. I ordered a bottle of Calera Pinot Noir (California) for our table one night when escargot were served. The half price discount put it at $18. which is the price I would have paid in a liquor store here, and it usually runs about $50+ in a restaurant. Azamara had it listed at $36, if memory servers me correctly. Today's current purchase list and prices, I have no idea, but I'm making the cosmic assumption that those prices remain reasonable. If you like champagne or sparkling wines, those are always grossly overpriced anywhere you go, so I suggest you bring your own. Certainly, flying to a European destination, duty free selections and prices for champagne are very reasonable, and less than what you would pay back home. Hope this helps you.

 

Dr H

[lilybob]

Thanks Dr H for the info.....and the tips!:D

[Phxazzcruisers]

You are allowed a virtually unlimited amount of alcohol to be brought onboard. You can only drink it in the privacy of your cabin - preferably shared with friends, you cannot consume it (officially) in the public areas, although I enjoyed the excitement of smuggling my glass of scotch into the library to read with. Your cabin steward will be very happy to provide you with ice bucket and appropriate glasses if asked for. They charge a minimal fee to pop your corks in the restaurants, should you wish to bring your own favorites on board. The "you are not allowed" is an ancient posting that surfaces with every new cruise; when asked specifically in Oct 2010 prior to my last cruise, I was told: unlimited. If you can carry or pack it, you can bring it on board. I brought champagne, a decent small bottle of scotch and a small decent bottle of gin for my martinis. I also smuggled my cocktail onions and olives on board, those are a tad difficult to get. It was great doing the "Some Like It Hot" parties in our room every few nights with friends.

 

That said, this wine maven was very impressed both with the house wines, as well as the price of their more premium selections. I would rate only one or two selections they served as being "strange" and well, undrinkable - weird stuff from Romania and South Africa. For the most part, the house wines were very, very pleasant, and from what I've read, you can frequently request an earlier choice, when something else is being served. Alas, they used to discount two better wines nightly for purchase, apparently that policy is now gone. Still, from what I've seen, the price of a better bottle is very reasonable, $25-50. range (please don't quote me), significantly less that what you would be paying in a restaurant here in the States. I ordered a bottle of Calera Pinot Noir (California) for our table one night when escargot were served. The half price discount put it at $18. which is the price I would have paid in a liquor store here, and it usually runs about $50+ in a restaurant. Azamara had it listed at $36, if memory servers me correctly. Today's current purchase list and prices, I have no idea, but I'm making the cosmic assumption that those prices remain reasonable. If you like champagne or sparkling wines, those are always grossly overpriced anywhere you go, so I suggest you bring your own. Certainly, flying to a European destination, duty free selections and prices for champagne are very reasonable, and less than what you would pay back home. Hope this helps you.

 

Dr H

 

Thanks for the recent update Dr. H. We will be back on Quest and I am sorry to hear that they no longer give the 50% discount on wine. However I am happy to hear that the bottles are reasonably priced.

Happy cruising

[cpgrneyes]

When we were on the Quest last fall, we were very disappointed that the 50% offerings were no longer available. The sommelier gave us a discounted price (I don't recall if it was 15% or 20%) when we purchased six bottles, and they were readily available to us.

[palamoh]

You are correct the 50% is no longer available. We just returned from a B/B cruise on the Journey and did opt to take a 6 bottle Wine selction for 25% discount. I do believe this pricing was Fair. We did bring about 6 btotles of French Wine selections from our visit to the Lower Normandy region of France on Board and felt the 10.00 Corkage Fee to be a Bargin, a couple of the Bottles we drank in our Room w/No Charge and our Steward (God Bless his Great service) kept them well on ice for us while we were out for the day.

 

I do believe Azamara has a Great Liquor Policy, some of the other Cruise Lines do not offer the same Policy. Not sure their Daily Liquior packages offer the same bargin, unless you use a great consumption per day.:D

[chapter IV]

very informative...thanks

[Bill Leiber]

Hello Azamara Wine Enthusiasts -

 

I've learned from our Vice President of Hotel Operations the correct information to answer the two questions that you asked earlier in June:

 

1. What is the Corkage Fee?

The correct "Corkage Fee" is $ 10.00 and it is a "firm" policy. Previously, we charged $25; however, we have not done so since April 2012.

 

It's not an unusual for restaurants and cruise lines to add a corkage fee so that a guest can open their own special wine onboard in various dining rooms or other public areas. The reason for doing so is that liquor and wine sales contribute to our profit through the modest "mark-up" added to the price offered on our wine and spirits lists. When a guest brings their personal wine selection, however, we add a "flat" $10 per bottle "Corkage Fee" a means to recover the unrealized "mark-up" revenue included on our wine list.

 

When "Dr H" pointed out on this thread, "you are allowed a virtually unlimited amount of alcohol to be brought onboard," he was referring to our flexibility since we have not set a "cap" on liquor and/or wine brought onboard. There is, however, a point of what's "reasonable," since we are not in the cargo business and we have very limited storage.

 

I was pleased to read that a few of you rated our corkage policy as more than "fair."

 

It seems that the "pasted" copy with the $25 fee was outdated. Below is the correct information that is currently on our website:

"Azamara Club Cruises offers a wide selection of international liquors, beer and fine wines onboard. You may however bring your own favorite liquor, beer or wine for private consumption in your suite or stateroom.(*) If you wish to consume your liquor, beer or wine in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle is subject to a corkage fee of $10 USD."

 

"If you are given a bottle of wine that was purchased from Azamara's Bon Voyage Gift selection, then no corkage fee will apply. If you are given a bottle of wine from an outside vendor and/or travel professional, and the bottle was not purchased through Azamara's Bon Voyage selection, then a $10 USD corkage fee will apply if the wine is consumed in the dining room or other public area. All corkage fees will be added to your onboard account."

 

"Alcoholic beverages purchased from onboard shops will be stored by the ship and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the sailing. Alcohol will not be delivered to any guest under the minimum drinking age."

 

Here is a link to "Alcohol Policy" on our website:

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/guest-conduct-policy/alcohol

 

2. Has the 50% wine discount been discontinued?

Based on the disappointing results from this program to stimulate an increase in retail wine sales, our shipboard management decided to discontinue the 50% discount wine promotion. Since the costs are reasonable on our wine lists, I'm sure that you'll continue to have the flexibility to enjoy a broader selection of wines.

 

Thank you for your patience during my information gathering and for giving me the opportunity to double-check the accuracy of the content on our website.

 

For those of you with forthcoming voyages on Azamara Club Cruises my best wishes for a vacation that will exceed your expectations.

Best regards,

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[troywest]

Thanks for your work and your response.

 

I agree that a $10.00 corkage charge is reasonable.

 

I just thought (and still think) it a bit odd that a corkage fee is imposed, when the cruise price already includes house wines.

 

The staff is already opening bottles.

[ljk76]

We're looking forward to perhaps enjoying some wine we purchase during our adventures on shore, and are very pleased with the reasonable corkage fee. So looking forward to our first Azamara cruise, their alchohol policy seems to be another example of how very civilized a cruise line they are.

[Bill Leiber]

Thanks for your work and your response.

 

I agree that a $10.00 corkage charge is reasonable.

 

I just thought (and still think) it a bit odd that a corkage fee is imposed, when the cruise price already includes house wines.

 

The staff is already opening bottles.

 

Hello Troy -

 

I understand your point of view with this corkage fee issue. Why should there be a fee for our staff to open additional bottles of wine since our "more-inclusive" tariffs already include complimentary wine with lunch and dinner? What's the big-deal or "difference" if we were to open a few more for the guests who have brought their own personal wine selections.

 

A very important component for profitability is the revenue generated to our bottom-line from "onboard" retail sales of wine and liquor; spa services; shore excursions; Internet services and gift-shop purchases. We assume that the guest who brought their own personal wine selection would have otherwise purchased wine from our onboard wine selection. Therefore, the "difference" is actually the loss of the "mark-up" revenue added to the price included on our wine and spirits list. The "flat" $10 per bottle "Corkage Fee" offers a means to recover this unrealized revenue that was built into our wine list pricing.

 

Simply, our decision is not oriented on re-covering costs for the additional work tasks of opening more bottles or the cleaning of more wine glasses and decanters, but is instead, driven by recovering the lost-revenue from selling less inventory from our wine cellars to build our profits.

 

I hope this explanation adds more dimension to our thought-process.

 

We look forward to welcoming you onboard!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[laurieb]

10.00 seems very reasonable to me. We are typically charged much more than that for corkage, cruising and at home. We are happy to purchase wine onboard when the selection is good and the prices reasonable. Any way of finding out what Journey has onboard to purchase?

[Bill Leiber]

10.00 seems very reasonable to me. We are typically charged much more than that for corkage, cruising and at home. We are happy to purchase wine onboard when the selection is good and the prices reasonable. Any way of finding out what Journey has onboard to purchase?

 

 

Hello Laurie -

 

Thank you for your combination question/suggestion to share our wine lists offered on both vessels on Cruise Critic.

 

I think after Andy has posted them on Cruise Critic you'll have an opportunity to see our broad selection of wines by the bottle and their reasonable costs, including our wine by the glass offerings.

 

Also, perhaps other readers might appreciate the ease of leaving their "favorites wines" at home and the opportunity of sampling new discoveries while at sea!

 

We look forward to welcoming you onboard the Azamara Journey this September!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[laurieb]

Hi Bill

thanks for the response!

[Emperor Norton]

Thanks for your work and your response.

 

I agree that a $10.00 corkage charge is reasonable.

 

I just thought (and still think) it a bit odd that a corkage fee is imposed, when the cruise price already includes house wines.

 

The staff is already opening bottles.

 

At least in land based restaurants corkage covers a few things:

• Lost revenue from not selling the wine to you
  
• Servers to refill your glasses
  
• Clean glasses
  
• Decanter if requested
  

 

So without corkage the restaurant is losing money from:

• lack of wine sales
  
• servers time not compensated for refills
  
• Cleaning wine glasses
  
• Cleaning the decanter
  
• Replacing a broken glass/decanter
  

 

$10 corkage at least around here is unheard of ($25+).

[groucho333]

Hello Laurie -

 

Thank you for your combination question/suggestion to share our wine lists offered on both vessels on Cruise Critic.

 

I think after Andy has posted them on Cruise Critic you'll have an opportunity to see our broad selection of wines by the bottle and their reasonable costs, including our wine by the glass offerings.

 

Also, perhaps other readers might appreciate the ease of leaving their "favorites wines" at home and the opportunity of sampling new discoveries while at sea!

 

We look forward to welcoming you onboard the Azamara Journey this September!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

 

Thanks for your very friendly and to the point Blogs. This (Sept 1 on the Journey) will be #3 on the Journey. Azamara is the best line we have been on and I have 20+ cruises, Barbara has 10+. Your wine policy is outstanding. We will bring a couple of bottles from our own cellar because they are rather special. The $10 corkage is more than fair.

 

Thanks again,

B&B :p ;)

[Bill Leiber]

Thanks for your very friendly and to the point Blogs. This (Sept 1 on the Journey) will be #3 on the Journey. Azamara is the best line we have been on and I have 20+ cruises, Barbara has 10+. Your wine policy is outstanding. We will bring a couple of bottles from our own cellar because they are rather special. The $10 corkage is more than fair.

 

Thanks again,

B&B :p ;)

 

 

Hello B&B -

 

Thanks for sharing your very positive comments about Azamara's wine policy and most importantly, your loyalty to the Azamara onboard experience.

 

We'll raise our glasses to you and Barbara when we welcome you onboard the Azamara Journey this September!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Bill Leiber]

We're looking forward to perhaps enjoying some wine we purchase during our adventures on shore, and are very pleased with the reasonable corkage fee. So looking forward to our first Azamara cruise, their alchohol policy seems to be another example of how very civilized a cruise line they are.

 

Hello Ljk76 -

 

Thank you for designating the Azamara experience as "very civilized" which we consider being honest, fair and straight-forward so that our onboard experience unfolds smoothly without unnecessary misunderstandings.

 

With that in mind and based on out-dated information that still resides on the internet about our alcoholic beverage policy, here are two important policy clarifications:

 

#1 / Alcoholic beverages purchased in ports-of-call:

Previous:

Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports of call will be stored by the ship and delivered to passengers' cabins on the last day of the sailing.

Current:

Alcoholic beverages purchased in ports are not stored by the ship. Guests may consume them in their cabin. If they decide to consume them in a public room onboard the ship, they will be charged the corkage fee.

 

#2 / Alcoholic beverages purchased on board:

Current:

Azamara Club Cruises offers a wide selection of international liquors, beer and fine wines onboard. You may however bring your own favorite liquor, beer or wine for private consumption in your suite or stateroom. If you wish to consume your liquor, beer or wine in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle is subject to a corkage fee of $10 USD.

If you are given a bottle of wine that was purchased from Azamara's Bon Voyage Gift selection, then no corkage fee will apply. If you are given a bottle of wine from an outside vendor and/or travel professional, and the bottle was not purchased through Azamara's Bon Voyage selection, then a $10 USD corkage fee will apply if the wine is consumed in the dining room or other public area. All corkage fees will be added to your onboard account.

Policy Clarification:

Please note that our onboard shops do not sell liquor.

 

I'm sorry to unload so much detail - maybe it's time for a glass of wine!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

[Phxazzcruisers]

Thanks for the info Bill. The Azamara policy is extremely fair !!

By the way, it's always time for a good glass of wine.

[laurieb]

I am thrilled that we can buy wine in ports and bring it onboard to enjoy during the cruise!

[laurieb]

Hello Laurie -

 

Thank you for your combination question/suggestion to share our wine lists offered on both vessels on Cruise Critic.

 

I think after Andy has posted them on Cruise Critic you'll have an opportunity to see our broad selection of wines by the bottle and their reasonable costs, including our wine by the glass offerings.

 

Also, perhaps other readers might appreciate the ease of leaving their "favorites wines" at home and the opportunity of sampling new discoveries while at sea!

 

We look forward to welcoming you onboard the Azamara Journey this September!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill Leiber

________________________

Chief Blogging Officer*

Azamara Club Cruises

(*CBO is an authorized and compensated representative of ACC)

 

Hi Andy

Just checking to see if you've had a chance to get a copy of the wine lists :)

[dsafety1]

A quick clarification please.

 

This was posted earlier in this thread.

 

"#1 / Alcoholic beverages purchased in ports-of-call:

Previous:

Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports of call will be stored by the ship and delivered to passengers' cabins on the last day of the sailing.

Current:

Alcoholic beverages purchased in ports are not stored by the ship. Guests may consume them in their cabin. If they decide to consume them in a public room on-board the ship, they will be charged the corkage fee."

Elsewhere, I have read that only wine may be brought on-board, (not beer or spirits). Is there a distinction currently being made between wine and other types of alcoholic beverages? If so, what category does Port or Brandy fall under?

Bob