Brought wine onboard Star

[JimmyVWine]

Ruby Princess and we just got home May 25. It was a 26 day TA cruise. They never looked at what we had in our carry on. We each had a 1.5 bottle of wine in our carry ons. He also bought a bottle in almost every port stop and took it through the scanner and up to the cabin I believe those were smaller bottles but it was almost every port stop.

 

So this was not a cruise in which the new rules were being applied, so it remains unclear what will happen to magnums on a "stamp and pay" cruise.

[JimmyVWine]

Correction. The official X policy is: "If you wish to bring personal wine onboard with you on the day you board your cruise, you may do so, limited to two (2) 750ml bottles per stateroom. When enjoyed in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle shall be subject to a corkage fee of $25."

Compare to Princess which allows the same free 2 bottles per stateroom with $15 corkage per bottle. And if you want to bring more wine on board? Princess yes. X no.

[PunkiC]

Can someone answer this, please????

 

Any wine that is purchased from the ship either for oneself or as a gift for someone else, already has the corkage fee applied.

[eandj]

Any wine that is purchased from the ship either for oneself or as a gift for someone else, already has the corkage fee applied.

 

 

Thanks, that's what I wanted answered. I know we can carry a glass to dinner. My concern was having to pay corkage on a bottle bought from Princess as a gift for us. I had hoped I wouldn't have to open it myself and play some game to drink it at the dinner table.

[Ontario Cruiser]

We always carry an corkscrew and open it in the cabin. He then takes a glass to the MDR with him and drinks it. No one has ever said anything. Lots of times if we go through a travel agent she will give us a bottle of wine and again, no one has ever charged us. I think the key is opening it in your cabin and taking one glass to dinner. How do they know you weren't at a ship's bar before you came to dinner.

I think that suggesting that people taking wine from their cabin to drink in the dining room is one of the reason's that Princess is charging when boarding the ship. If people keep doing this then the cruise lines will just raise their prices and everybody will suffer. I don't think you should be boasting about it. Ontario Cruiser.

[pris993]

But what is the official policy of X? You have to compare apples to apples. On Princess, there is a policy that absolutely allows unlimited wine and spotty enforcement of the collection of fees. On X, there is a prohibition against bringing any wine with spotty enforcement of the prohibition. How is the latter better? If the former elects to enforce its rules, all it costs you is cash. If the latter elects to enforce its rules, it costs you your wine plus the expense of buying replacements on board. Simple logic is in play here. If both lines ignore their rules, you get all your wine on for free. That is a constant and they cancel each other out. But if both lines enforce their rules, you are better off on Princess. But relying on the notion that X will continue to ignore its rules is dubious.

 

We are elite on both Princess and Celebrity... the big difference between Princess and Celebrity is the corking fee... Celebrity charges $25 per bottle to cork in the diningroom.

[PunkiC]

I think that suggesting that people taking wine from their cabin to drink in the dining room is one of the reason's that Princess is charging when boarding the ship. If people keep doing this then the cruise lines will just raise their prices and everybody will suffer. I don't think you should be boasting about it. Ontario Cruiser.

 

Well now that the corkage fee is paid at the time of boarding, people will be able to take their wine to the dining room without any issue whatsoever.

 

We are loving the opportunity to bring as much of our own wine on board as we want and being able to drink it anywhere on the ship that our hearts desire without reprisals.

[DebInTN]

Well now that the corkage fee is paid at the time of boarding, people will be able to take their wine to the dining room without any issue whatsoever.

 

I agree. I had a bag with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses almost everywhere we ventured in the later afternoon, evening. It simplified it for us. The good ol' days of slipping it onboard are evidently gone, but financially, we came out ahead. The only thing I missed was trying out new wines at Vines - but, I can try new wines at home, so no biggie.

[PunkiC]

Well now that the corkage fee is paid at the time of boarding, people will be able to take their wine to the dining room without any issue whatsoever.

 

I agree. I had a bag with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses almost everywhere we ventured in the later afternoon, evening. It simplified it for us. The good ol' days of slipping it onboard are evidently gone, but financially, we came out ahead. The only thing I missed was trying out new wines at Vines - but, I can try new wines at home, so no biggie.

 

We will also come out ahead of the game financially. I am sure that Princess must think they will make money on this new scheme, but it won't be from me. :) We far prefer Viñas Chilenas Reserva Merlot, which we can buy for $3.49 per bottle, to any of the wine that we have bought on board at up to $36.00-$40.00 per bottle, including the 15% tip, so we will be saving about $18.00-$20.00 per bottle and getting wine that we know we like.

 

We may buy a couple of beers on board to go with Mexican food or Pizza. While we get a few beers in our Elite mini-bar set-up, but it is just easier to order one from the waiter than to go back to the cabin and get one.

 

I suppose everybody has different drinking habits, but the money they make off the corkage fees we will be paying won't offset the loss of the wine we otherwise would have purchased on board.

[geoherb]

On our last Celebrity cruise, we had our allowed two bottles seized by security from our carry-on luggage with the promise that it would be returned after they checked to make sure we hadn't hidden any in our checked luggage. We did not get it back until the second night of our cruise.

 

On our cruise last month on a Holland America ship, we brought a couple of 1 liter bottles of wine. We ended up taking only one of them to the dining room and paying the $18 corkage. We drank the other in our cabin. The other bottles we brought were regular size ones (750 ml).

 

We haven't sailed on Princess since they started charging the corkage fee upfront. We'll be prepared to pay it and make sure not to mix up the stamped bottles with the unstamped ones.

[pioneer girl]

Hello

I've read all of the posts on this thread and have a couple of questions regarding the corkage "stamps."

 

I see that corkage stamps are now required, paid for, and issued at check-in.

 

1) How are the corkage stamps issued? Do I take the corkage stamps that I purchase and apply them to the bottles? (so I can decide during the trip which what be consumed in the dining room vs. en suite?).

 

2) At check-in, will I have to unpack the securely packaged and taped shipper that I will be carrying on?

 

Thank you === the replies may influence how I pack !

 

Thank you

[Pia1913]

;)!ti tuoba yrrow t'noD

 

I won't worry about it either. ;) Now then, I am anxiously awaiting what will be done on the Royal.

[aaerobear]

The answer is...YES. There is a table set up just after security where your wine will be inspected. Any liquor will be taken and tagged and returned to you after the cruise. The wine will have a sticker applied and you will fill out a sales slip for the corkage. One bottle per passenger will be unstickered.

[Holomoku]

;)!ti tuoba yrrow t'noD

 

That wasn't easy to type or was it?;)

[Pia1913]

The answer is...YES. There is a table set up just after security where your wine will be inspected. Any liquor will be taken and tagged and returned to you after the cruise. The wine will have a sticker applied and you will fill out a sales slip for the corkage. One bottle per passenger will be unstickered.

 

What happens if I know you personally? :D:D:D

[aaerobear]

LOL, I check you in with a smile and hold my breath. We chat a bit and then try to work something out LOL

[Pia1913]

LOL, I check you in with a smile and hold my breath. We chat a bit and then try to work something out LOL

 

Then it's too bad my next port of embarkation is Barcelona and not San Francisco. Oh well.............. the next time. :p

[mrsihopes]

I just got off of the Grand Princess out of SF. I had a box of wine in carry on. They had me pay for 2 bottles corkage fee of $30. Would have charged for 4 but deducted the 2 allowed for husband and I.

[BarbaraP]

I just got off of the Grand Princess out of SF. I had a box of wine in carry on. They had me pay for 2 bottles corkage fee of $30. Would have charged for 4 but deducted the 2 allowed for husband and I.

 

Wow, that's great if they let you bring on a larger bottle or box and just charge the difference. Hope that's going to be fleet wide!!!

[kdkmilwaukee]

As time goes on and this new policy becomes more widespread (Port Everglades), if anyone has insight on how beer is treated at embarkation, that would be great! My husband usually likes to bring on a 6-pack or two because he doesn't care for the selection offered on the ship. We still give the bars on the ship plenty of business...trust me...but he enjoys having some of his favorite beer on the balcony. Also, we usually hit up a liquor store in St. Thomas to restock some beer and wine, but I'm wondering if this new policy will affect our ability to do so this time around. :(

[texanslovetotravel]

Right now, the policy says no beer. :(

 

 

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[antsp]

If the ship has the new policy in place and you try to take beer on in your luggage it will be destoyed, not sure if they will store it for you if you present it at check in from your carry on.

[CCFC]

We are recently off the Ruby and there was no visible alcohol policy, certainly no manned desk asking if you had bought alcohol, unlike the Grand at Xmas.

 

In fact when we embarked in Venice we went through Princess security shore side and once through there in front of us was a duty free shop which meant you could take as much on board as you could carry as there were no further checks.

[Pia1913]

We are recently off the Ruby and there was no visible alcohol policy, certainly no manned desk asking if you had bought alcohol, unlike the Grand at Xmas.

 

In fact when we embarked in Venice we went through Princess security shore side and once through there in front of us was a duty free shop which meant you could take as much on board as you could carry as there were no further checks.

 

Perhaps they are only doing it at embarkation in the U.S. (some ports only at this point). Hopefully Europe embarkation will stay the same until we get on in Barcelona at the end of September.

[shastatroy]

Thanks for the post... I sail soon on the Star.