Bringing Port wines on board...is it permitted?

[juksing]

I know that you are allowed to BYOW on board with a corkage fee and have brought many nice bottles of reds on board on past cruises but does anyone have any experience with bringing fortified or port wine on board?

 

I prefer the cheaper ruby red ports but also have some fancy vintage ports, both of which I would like to bring on board on my next cruise but have had conflicting answers from NCL. Some folks have said since vintage port wine has a higher alcohol content than still wines and the ruby ports come in a "funny" shaped bottles as well as the higher alcohol content both would be considered liqueur but not wine so not allowed. Any thoughts?

[LMaxwell]

If the bottle says it is wine, it is wine. Wines vary in their alcohol content so not sure why that would make a difference?

[smeyer418]

I bring port on almost every NCL cruise I go on. Its always been allowed as wine. Sometimes they charge, sometimes they don't.

[don't-use-real-name]

If it grows on a vine - that is fine - it is wine !

I don't know of any whiskey; rum; scotch; vodka etc. that uses a cork and if it

did that would be wonderful - smuggling high test under the guise of wine !

 

Only the size of the bottle would be the corkage fee factor =

 

750 ml (fifth) $15

1 liter (quart) $20

Larger (magnum) $30

 

Bring a 55 gallon barrel and by Odin you will be causing Bank Draft with the

Central European Monetary Fund ! LOL !

[sdmike]

you guys missed an opportunity to make a port/starboard joke :)

[Squidward Q Tentacles]

Two cruises ago I broght a bottle of port right onboard with no problems.

[martincath]

Alcohol content is pretty much irrelevant in categorizing booze these days when you can buy beer that's stronger than liquor. Unless and until cruise lines start specifying 'Fortified Wines' as a category, Port (& Sherry) remain wines.

 

We always cruise with one bottle of good Tawny and a nice PX Sherry as both are ludicrously hard to find on mainstream lines. Always declared openly when boarding; always free on Princess (1 bottle of wine per person); we will declare again on NCL and expect to pay $15 per bottle and be pleasantly surprised if the fee is waived.

[Va. Plumber]

Silly me, I thought he was talking about wine purchased on a shore excursion.

[B6ConMe]

If it grows on a vine - that is fine - it is wine !!

 

What!!!???? You grow your wine on a vine.......I want some of that vine grown wine. Send me some cuttings please.......... :p:p

[don't-use-real-name]

What!!!???? You grow your wine on a vine.......I want some of that vine grown wine. Send me some cuttings please.......... :p:p

 

Humor falls flat on 'Sparkling folks like you' ! LOL !

I guess I was having a bad night at the Improv - flat outstanding !

[B6ConMe]

Humor falls flat on 'Sparkling folks like you' ! LOL !

I guess I was having a bad night at the Improv - flat outstanding !

 

Sorry, feel better soon!! :p When I start sparkling I'll be on my way "to the moon Alice"... :eek:

[martincath]

Just following-up now I remembered, as my boarding experience in Vancouver was a little odd - while the chap running the 'pay your corkage' desk did allow my Port to be brought on he did not seem to have much of a clue about alcoholic beverages in general.

 

He spent almost a minute carefully reading every word on my bottle, looking for a hint as to its contents. Since the particular product I had (a Taylor Fladgate Tawny) did not actually use the word 'wine' anywhere on the label, and comes in a black bottle, he seemed very flummoxed then asked me a string of increasingly-odd questions:

 

Is this wine sir? Yes - it's a Tawny Port Wine.

 

Is it liquor sir? No - it's Port. That's a kind of wine.

 

Is it whiskey sir? No - still Port. You sell some on board from Sandeman's, but I prefer this one.

 

Sauvignon Blanc? Nooooo - that's a different kind of wine.

 

Are you sure it's not whiskey - it says here it was aged ten years? Nope, definitely port. That gets aged too.

 

Where is it from? Portugal - it's their most famous kind of wine.

 

Oh. Have they been making it long? Almost 400 years...

 

Silence. Stares at bottle again. Um - can we pay the corkage then and take it on board?

Oh - yes, of course sir, sign here and I'll put this sticker on.

 

I wish I'd thought to point him to the seal which was stamped with 'Vinho do Porto' - he might have believed vinho=wine! - but I was a tad flummoxed myself during the process...

 

So for the OP I would suggest taking a port that actually specifies the word Wine somewhere on the label, and ideally is in a vaguely wine-shaped bottle.

[MeHeartCruising]

This was 3 or 4 years ago on the Epic... I had a bottle of Dutch wine in an oddly shaped bottle. It also had a high alcohol content (I cannot recall the number). The lady at the corkage table was intrigued by it and chose to inspect it closely. She noted the high alcohol content and said "I'm not supposed to let anything higher than xx% go thru. But since it says "wine" (I think it was actually "wijn"), I'm going to let it go thru. Have a great cruise." I realize this doesn't really help anyone now, but thought I'd toss it out there.

[JasonV1]

You can buy caps on Amazon to reseal wine bottles that you've "refilled". Never done it myself (being serious here), but some on the board have.

[juksing]

Just following-up now I remembered, as my boarding experience in Vancouver was a little odd - while the chap running the 'pay your corkage' desk did allow my Port to be brought on he did not seem to have much of a clue about alcoholic beverages in general.

 

He spent almost a minute carefully reading every word on my bottle, looking for a hint as to its contents. Since the particular product I had (a Taylor Fladgate Tawny) did not actually use the word 'wine' anywhere on the label, and comes in a black bottle, he seemed very flummoxed then asked me a string of increasingly-odd questions:

 

Is this wine sir? Yes - it's a Tawny Port Wine.

 

Is it liquor sir? No - it's Port. That's a kind of wine.

 

Is it whiskey sir? No - still Port. You sell some on board from Sandeman's, but I prefer this one.

 

Sauvignon Blanc? Nooooo - that's a different kind of wine.

 

Are you sure it's not whiskey - it says here it was aged ten years? Nope, definitely port. That gets aged too.

 

Where is it from? Portugal - it's their most famous kind of wine.

 

Oh. Have they been making it long? Almost 400 years...

 

Silence. Stares at bottle again. Um - can we pay the corkage then and take it on board?

Oh - yes, of course sir, sign here and I'll put this sticker on.

 

I wish I'd thought to point him to the seal which was stamped with 'Vinho do Porto' - he might have believed vinho=wine! - but I was a tad flummoxed myself during the process...

 

So for the OP I would suggest taking a port that actually specifies the word Wine somewhere on the label, and ideally is in a vaguely wine-shaped bottle.

Funny

 

That is exactly why I posted the question as I can see if I bring a bottle of vintage port or a tawny I can certainly envision a conversation with the boarding police that will follow your experience. Good pointer about getting a bottle with the word "wine" on it and I won't even attempt to bring anything like a Sanndleman or Warre Tawny as these have weird shaped bottles. Thanks.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Since you're going on a cruise, forget the "por and get a bottle of "starboard". I'm not kidding. One of the best ports you'll ever taste is Quady's Starborad, made right here in California.

 

 

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