Am I understanding the Wine Policy correctly?

[canadarocks]

We are allowed one 750ml bottle of wine or champagne per person on initial boarding. Additional bottles of the same size are allowed at a charge of $15 per bottle, without a limit of how many.

 

No wine purchased after that initial boarding is permitted, so that no wine may be brought onboard at any of the boards of call.

 

Those on a B2B can bring one more bottle per person onboard only at the start of the second leg.

 

Is that the official policy?

[JimmyVWine]

We are allowed one 750ml bottle of wine or champagne per person on initial boarding at no charge, unless consumed in a public area, in which case the once free bottle would then be assessed a $15 corkage fee. Additional bottles of the same size are allowed at a charge of $15 per bottle, without a limit of how many with said fee assessed upon boarding and no additional cost added irrespective of where the wine is consumed.

 

No wine purchased after that initial boarding is permitted, so that no wine may be brought onboard at any of the boards of call.

 

Those on a B2B can bring one more free bottle per person onboard only at the start of the second leg but can again, bring additional bottles that will be subject to the $15 per bottle charge.

 

Is that the official policy?

 

With a couple of clarifying comments, yes, that is the official policy.

 

And assessment of the corkage fee upon emarkation has been extremely sporadic, and enforcement of the "no bottles brought on at ports" has been all but non-existent. In Vancouver in August, there was no one checking for wine coming on board, but all bottles were assessed the corkage fee when brought to the dining room. I thought about telling our server one night that "I paid for the bottle upon boarding, just like it says on the luggage tag" just to see what the reaction would be (and not to try to skirt the fee). Would he say: "That is impossible, as we don't charge for wine upon boarding"? Or would he say: "Oh. OK. Well then, I guess there is no charge." But I didn't. I remain curious as to the communication and consistency between the security staff at the boarding area and the servers in the dining rooms.

[shepp]

Also, from most all reports, your wine allowance should be brought onboard in your carryon, not checked luggage...because Princess will assume you're trying smuggle and destroy whatever's in checked luggage.

[Astro Flyer]

You can bring wine in from ports of call and either pay the $15/750ml bottle after the free bottle or Princess has said they'll hold it without a fee if you want to take it home.

 

As said, enforcement has varied & in Vancouver 1 of our checked bags went to the 'naughty room'. Both bags had a bottle of wine that we intended to put in our carryon bags upon arrival at YVR. However with our Princess tags on our airline checked bags they went directly to the ship.

 

We brought on a couple of additional bottles in Ketchikan which security commented on & just winked. ;)

[CK57]

We embarked in Venice Aug 22nd. Brought 18 bottles of wine and not one question asked. No corkage charged. I was prepared but it didn't happen. We took down to diner or had in room and never a question or charge. Good luck

[davekathy]

On our March/April 2013 Caribbean Cruise on the Emerald Princess we brought on two 750ml bottles at embarkation and bought more wine (each time two 750 ml bottles) at some of the other ports of call and didn’t have any issues brining the wine aboard.

[Seafoam Green]

In January, we boarded the Pacific Princess with 2 bottles of wine in our carry-on bag. No problem.

 

We also brought 1 or 2 bottles of wine back to the ship in each of the ports we visited in the Caribbean. Again, no problem.

 

All of the wine was consumed in our cabin, and I was able to get wine glasses from the dining room bartender. Our steward was not inclined to be helpful in this regard.

[argenta01]

In January, we boarded the Pacific Princess with 2 bottles of wine in our carry-on bag. No problem.

 

We also brought 1 or 2 bottles of wine back to the ship in each of the ports we visited in the Caribbean. Again, no problem.

 

All of the wine was consumed in our cabin, and I was able to get wine glasses from the dining room bartender. Our steward was not inclined to be helpful in this regard.

 

It's not the stewards job to get wine glasses. That falls under room service. You can stop at any bar and ask for wine glasses.

[Seafoam Green]

It's not the stewards job to get wine glasses. That falls under room service. You can stop at any bar and ask for wine glasses.

 

Thanks for that tidbit of info - I had never heard that before. As mentioned, I did get wineglasses from a bar without any problem.

 

The steward on our last cruise was the worst one we have ever encountered. He was unfriendly, slow to take care of routine tasks, and seemed annoyed whenever we politely requested anything. I have never had problems in the past requesting wineglasses from a room steward. In fact, there was another steward working in the area on that cruise who was always greeting us and engaging us in conversation. I think he would have brought us wineglasses if we had asked!

 

:D

[Tall Stacks]

So does anyone know how they handle the single size servings of wine? I like to bring 8 - 10 of the small bottles to keep in the fridge as they are plastic and don't weigh as much and are basically unbreakable. I usually just pack them in our checked in luggage since they can't be in carryon luggage on the planes. They have twist off tops and don't require a corkscrew.

[JimmyVWine]

So does anyone know how they handle the single size servings of wine? I like to bring 8 - 10 of the small bottles to keep in the fridge as they are plastic and don't weigh as much and are basically unbreakable. I usually just pack them in our checked in luggage since they can't be in carryon luggage on the planes. They have twist off tops and don't require a corkscrew.

 

I don't think that they have really thought this through, though there have been some posts about Princess pro rating the volume of boxes of wine and charging $15 for every 750ml brought on board (beyond the first 750ml). So I suppose they could do the same thing here. Your first 750ml would be free. But I'd hate to be the one to try to explain that to the security person.

 

I think that Princess is expecting that people who favor the wines that come in boxes and pouches will find ample selection on board to match that quality and won't mind buying that wine on board as the cost will be relatively low. Assuming that you brought on board 10 small single-serving plastic bottles of wine, that would be the equivalent of around 2 bottles of what would be the low end wine on Princess' wine list. There really isn't much to be gained by packing the 10 small plastic bottles instead of buying one or two bottles from the lower end of the wine list.

[esmo]

Is there somewhere on the Princess site I can find the current wine list for the Sapphire? Before I decide if I want to hassle with trying to get to a store in LA before we sail, or risk packing some wine from home, I'd like to know what is available on the ship. We may then just bring on a bottle or two from each port.

 

Thanks

[Astro Flyer]

Is there somewhere on the Princess site I can find the current wine list for the Sapphire? Before I decide if I want to hassle with trying to get to a store in LA before we sail, or risk packing some wine from home, I'd like to know what is available on the ship. We may then just bring on a bottle or two from each port.

 

Thanks

The Princess website only lists a couple of bottles to pre-order however CC members have posted info on the list & the wine packages.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1814677&highlight=2013+wine+list

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=38600281&postcount=105

[esmo]

The Princess website only lists a couple of bottles to pre-order however CC members have posted info on the list & the wine packages.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1814677&highlight=2013+wine+list

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=38600281&postcount=105

 

Thanks. I don't think we'll bother with bringing wine from home. By the time I add the corkage to what we already paid, the price is better on Princess for what we would drink. I'll see what I find and how we feel in port...Since we are primarily white wine drinkers, not too impressed with the selection, but I guess I can make do:D

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks. I don't think we'll bother with bringing wine from home. By the time I add the corkage to what we already paid, the price is better on Princess for what we would drink. I'll see what I find and how we feel in port...Since we are primarily white wine drinkers, not too impressed with the selection, but I guess I can make do:D

Prego...it's good that we have some options so each of us can decide what works best. With airline luggage limitations if we bring a couple of bottles of wine it's more expensive special ones that we enjoy & it's cost effective to pay the corkage fee or to enjoy in our cabin without it.

 

It's extra weight in our checked bags however after it's removed that allows us some extra weight for items we've purchased during our cruise...including some wine not available at home. :D

[Julia’s Journey’s]

We embarked in Venice Aug 22nd. Brought 18 bottles of wine and not one question asked. No corkage charged. I was prepared but it didn't happen. We took down to diner or had in room and never a question or charge. Good luck

 

What wine did you buy in Venice and where, we will be boarding there and was planning to swing by the Coop for a bottle, we are not really wine drinkers so a bottle each for the TA will probably suffice:D

[sminfiddle]

Those on a B2B can bring one more bottle per person onboard only at the start of the second leg.

Short of renting a locker at the terminal, I am wondering how this is supposed to work...

 

 

 

Sent using Tapatalk 2 'cause it works on iOS 7 :D

[JimmyVWine]

Short of renting a locker at the terminal, I am wondering how this is supposed to work...

 

At most ports, hopping in a taxi will get you to a decent wine shop in little time at all. Wouldn't count on it in Whittier. But in SF, San Pedro or FLL, it is easy to restock and be back on the ship in no time flat. (Don't know about Houston or Brooklyn, but I am guessing that finding wine in those places is easy.) Of course, if you are bringing wines that you have pulled from your own cellar, it is better to just bring them on board all at once during the first leg of the journey. You lose the ability to start the meter running again and getting one additional free bottle per person. But in the end, that is a whopping $30 upcharge to drink wine that you already own.

[sminfiddle]

(Don't know about Houston or Brooklyn, but I am guessing that finding wine in those places is easy.) Of course, if you are bringing wines that you have pulled from your own cellar, it is better to just bring them on board all at once during the first leg of the journey. You lose the ability to start the meter running again and getting one additional free bottle per person. But in the end, that is a whopping $30 upcharge to drink wine that you already own.

 

I do board in Houston but the terminal is relatively far from Spec's or Costco...

 

We are talking about a BVE with our kids on turnaround day though, if that happens then they can bring us the supply for the second leg (free + any corkaged).

 

I'll present two bottles for Leg 1, and two more (with their own boarding passes as proof :D) for Leg 2, and see what they say. They are welcome to hold them and as you say, a worst-case $30 is easy enough to swallow...

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

[vent1020]

Also, from most all reports, your wine allowance should be brought onboard in your carryon, not checked luggage...because Princess will assume you're trying smuggle and destroy whatever's in checked luggage.

 

Can anyone confirm this? Obviously, we will be packing the wine in our luggage for air travel. Do we have to remove it from the luggage once we get to the terminal before boarding the ship? What if we don't have any carryon luggage? Also, if we just bring one piece of luggage between the wife and I, are they going to question two bottles in the luggage, since we EACH can bring one?

 

Any clarification on bringing wine from home would be great.

[Astro Flyer]

Can anyone confirm this? Obviously, we will be packing the wine in our luggage for air travel. Do we have to remove it from the luggage once we get to the terminal before boarding the ship? What if we don't have any carryon luggage? Also, if we just bring one piece of luggage between the wife and I, are they going to question two bottles in the luggage, since we EACH can bring one?

 

Any clarification on bringing wine from home would be great.

Our bags containing a bottle of wine each which went directly to the ship & we were unable to carry them on. One bag went to the 'naughty room' & had to show them it wasn't booze...the other bag went to our cabin.

 

The only constant thing is that like many other policies they're inconsistently enforced & your experience may vary. ;)

[JimmyVWine]

The only constant thing is that like many other policies they're inconsistently enforced & your experience may vary. ;)

 

Yep. But from a practical standpoint (having nothing whatsoever to do with the "rules"), if you leave your wine in your checked bags instead of removing it and carrying it on, you will have to get called down to a security room (commonly referred to a the "naughty room", but in this instance, you won't have done anything "naughty") to establish that what you are bringing on board is wine, and to pay for it if it exceeds the one bottle per person free allowance. All of which is inconvenient and takes time. If you carry on your wine, then you will do all of this during the boarding process quick as a bunny. We all have better things to do with our first few hours on board than to go to a security room for questioning. Right? So from a purely practical standpoint, carry your wine on for a fast and easy start to your cruise.

[Astro Flyer]

Yep. But from a practical standpoint (having nothing whatsoever to do with the "rules"), if you leave your wine in your checked bags instead of removing it and carrying it on, you will have to get called down to a security room (commonly referred to a the "naughty room", but in this instance, you won't have done anything "naughty") to establish that what you are bringing on board is wine, and to pay for it if it exceeds the one bottle per person free allowance. All of which is inconvenient and takes time. If you carry on your wine, then you will do all of this during the boarding process quick as a bunny. We all have better things to do with our first few hours on board than to go to a security room for questioning. Right? So from a purely practical standpoint, carry your wine on for a fast and easy start to your cruise.

You're preaching to the choir! Our plan was to bring our wine in our carryon bags but Princess sent our checked bags directly from the airport to the ship.

 

We flew in the morning of sailing using Princess air but went independently to the ship. We put on our Princess tags before our flight just in case they were misdirected by the airline & to increase the odds they'd catch up with us. Thus it was impossible for us to place our wine in a carryon bag. :eek:

[JimmyVWine]

You're preaching to the choir!

 

Sorry. I wasn't directing that at you specifically, or suggesting that you screwed up! ;) It was more of an attempt to answer vent1020's question. Note to self: Always adhere luggage tags after reclaiming luggage from the airline!

[tothemall&beyond]

What wine did you buy in Venice and where, we will be boarding there and was planning to swing by the Coop for a bottle, we are not really wine drinkers so a bottle each for the TA will probably suffice:D

 

We always buy ours at the Coop. There's a very inexpensive white Veneto wine in a bottle with a green cap and gold bow that's very good. We've bought it on every trip. The boxed wines are also quite good. Really!

 

One other thought: Princess does have staff read these boards. So although they generally don't enforce the written wine policy, it's perhaps better to not share/brag about that information in such great detail (ex. "18 bottles") so as to cause them to begin strict enforcement. Discretion would better benefit all of us in the long run.