Oh no....it's that wine poicy again!

[Alaska Lily]

Some recent promotions featured free fare for a 3rd or 4th passenger in the same stateroom. Check the cruise line website or ask your travel agent. If you are eligible for the free 3rd passenger, add one to your booking.

 

• Buy a dozen boxes of your favorite bulk, vacation-quality, bag-in-box wine.
  
• Using duct tape or heavy duty packing tape, fasten the 12 cartons of vacation vino into a 4x3 cube.
  
• Buy (or steal - I'm not sure if it's "only thievery" when it's "only wine" in your particular moral code) a large trench coat, a mannequin head, a gray short-haired wig, and a fedora.
  
• Rent a wheelchair.
  
• Wrap the coat around your boxed wine cube.
  
• Place the coat-wrapped wine cube on the wheelchair's seat.
  
• Fasten the mannequin head to the top of the wine cube, taking care to secure the coat collar around the mannequin head's neck.
  
• Place the short-haired gray wig on the head.
  
• Place the fedora over the wig. Tilt the hat forward. (This is important! You're going for a "sleeping grandpa" look.)
  
• Practice. Practice. Practice wheeling "Grandpa Vinny" around so that you look completely realistic and above suspicion.
  

Notes:

 

1. "Grandpa Vinny" has no legs at this point. You can either add a pair of pants stuffed with newspaper to your project. Or, if you are a total genius, try stuffing the pants legs with liquor bottles.
   
2. This design calls for 3 liter wine boxes. If you're taste runs toward the 5 liter boxes, modify your plans because "Grandpa Vinny" will need a big & tall coat.
   

 

We just returned from Alaska - Oosterdam 6/29- 7/6 and I have been totally depressed until I just read this from our favorite poster (and fellow Oenophile!) Thanks for the cheer up!

 

I have information to post about bringing wine onboard but I really have to compose myself first and pour a glass before I can comment. Thank you PAO1!!

[POA1]

We just returned from Alaska - Oosterdam 6/29- 7/6 and I have been totally depressed until I just read this from our favorite poster (and fellow Oenophile!) Thanks for the cheer up!

 

I have information to post about bringing wine onboard but I really have to compose myself first and pour a glass before I can comment. Thank you POA1!!

 

Looking forward to it!

[Alaska Lily]

We received the SBP as part of the Explore 4 promotion. DH is a bourbon drinker and while the drink of choice (Makers Mark) was not included, he was comfotable with the other offerings. On the other hand, while I do enjoy a Dewar's, I'm primarily a wine gal....and I was not sure I'd be happy with the wine offerings. I packed some nice wine selections in Wine Skins (highly recommended) and trotted them from Ft. Lauderdale to Anchorage. I also visited the Brown Jug in Downtown Anchorage and picked up some very tasty chardonnay, sav blanc and cab for really reasonable prices.

 

I decided to take my chances and not "unpack" my wine selections brought from home...they were packed so nicely ;)

 

We were allowed two bottles for "bon voyage" and paid corkage on 4 bottles. One more "slipped through"...I actually forgot it was in DH backpack..REALLY..he's not into contraband.

 

Then...we received our luggage..late after 8:30pm with the "love note" that my wine was in what I have come to know (from this site) as the "naughty room". I believe it had lots of company as I heard people at the front desk making a case to get theirs back.

 

I was sufficiently embrassed/defeated and didn't worry too much about it. Stag's Leap Chardonnay at $39 is the best wine value on the ship. Sister purchased 7 bottle Admiral's pkg and we trudged through...with some Alaskan Amber Ale and a few Santa Carolina (not too great) to supplement. She too had a few "confiscated" bottles that showed up in our rooms the afternoon of our last day. Needless to say, Happy Hour in our rooms was a party and we continued on in Vancouver. I did come home with two bottles that I brought! POA1 FYI...Spring Mountain Elivette and my beloved ZD Chardonnay.

 

Moral of my story... pack a few, buy a few, loose a few, but it all gets consumed in the end!

[POA1]

Lily - Were you given the opportunity to liberate your wine by paying corkage?

 

Hope you enjoyed the SBP. Like your DH, I had to find a Maker's Mark workaround. I found that if I had a Wild Turkey (101 proof), then a Jim Beam or Jack Daniels (80 proof) - then jumped up and down several times, I wound up at the correct, Maker's Mark proof (90.)

[soccerpapi]

Full Moon Tonight

 

[ATTACH]319037[/ATTACH]

 

Are you apologizing for your tone with this comment?

[Surreyman]

The lengths people will go to to smuggle stuff on blows my mind. I wish I had that much free time.

 

It's not that time consuming, You buy a bottle of wine and you put it in your hand luggage.

 

You must be very busy if you can't spare the time to do that.

[cruz chic]

It's not that time consuming, You buy a bottle of wine and you put it in your hand luggage.

 

You must be very busy if you can't spare the time to do that.

 

I'm talking about sneaking liquor in your bra.

[Surreyman]

I'm talking about sneaking liquor in your bra.

 

Given you didn't quote anyone in your post, how was anyone expected to know that?

[carolcp]

We were just on a Baltic cruise. A stop in Tallin and I bought the CHOCOLATE bottles filled with liquor. I thought that they would be about 1-2 inches tall. Put it through the scanner and security asked about the liquor bottles I was bringing on board. I told him it was candy which was true. Got to the room and the next day opened the box. There were 4 chocolate bottles holding about a tablespoon of liquor each:eek:.

 

So security "caught" me but let it slide. I didn't know they were that big honest.

[Island Lovers]

Back on topic - I apologize if this has come up before, but I'm wondering about the policy on longer cruises, say for example 30 days. If each passenger is permitted to bring on one bottle of wine, that seems fair for a 4 to 7 day cruise. However, on long cruises or world cruises, perhaps HAL would consider one bottle of wine per person per week. Does that seem fair? I question whether a 4 day coastal cruise should be treated the same as a 30 or 50 day cruise. I'll put this out there for your kind comments. It is "food for thought".

[POA1]

Back on topic - I apologize if this has come up before, but I'm wondering about the policy on longer cruises, say for example 30 days. If each passenger is permitted to bring on one bottle of wine, that seems fair for a 4 to 7 day cruise. However, on long cruises or world cruises, perhaps HAL would consider one bottle of wine per person per week. Does that seem fair? I question whether a 4 day coastal cruise should be treated the same as a 30 or 50 day cruise. I'll put this out there for your kind comments. It is "food for thought".

I agree with you, but sadly it's one bottle per person, per cruise.

[RuthC]

I question whether a 4 day coastal cruise should be treated the same as a 30 or 50 day cruise. I'll put this out there for your kind comments. It is "food for thought".

Absolutely "food for thought". I completely agree with you that a 3 or 4 day cruise should not be treated the same as a 68-day cruise on this. The one bottle per person per week is fair.

 

But discussing it here isn't likely to get you anywhere. You need to get HAL Seattle thinking about it. How to go about doing that is the real question.

[Surreyman]

I have no responsibility to explain anything to you. The question for me is why you feel the need to question every single thing I post. I find it very creepy.

 

I find it creepy that you post so much but a lot of your posts seem half baked and you don't explain yourself so I guess we are even:D

Edited July 12, 2014 by Surreyman

[kazu]

Back on topic - I apologize if this has come up before, but I'm wondering about the policy on longer cruises, say for example 30 days. If each passenger is permitted to bring on one bottle of wine, that seems fair for a 4 to 7 day cruise. However, on long cruises or world cruises, perhaps HAL would consider one bottle of wine per person per week. Does that seem fair? I question whether a 4 day coastal cruise should be treated the same as a 30 or 50 day cruise. I'll put this out there for your kind comments. It is "food for thought".

 

This was a concern a number of people had when the new policy was implemented.

 

While I agree with your suggestion, HAL chose not to.

[Cruzin Terri]

Back on topic - I apologize if this has come up before, but I'm wondering about the policy on longer cruises, say for example 30 days. If each passenger is permitted to bring on one bottle of wine, that seems fair for a 4 to 7 day cruise. However, on long cruises or world cruises, perhaps HAL would consider one bottle of wine per person per week. Does that seem fair? I question whether a 4 day coastal cruise should be treated the same as a 30 or 50 day cruise. I'll put this out there for your kind comments. It is "food for thought".

 

I brought that up earlier on this thread ( see post #55), however no one picked up on it.

I totally agree with you. I have written to HAL about it and received an answer that that nothing to do with the concern.

Terri

[Cruzin Terri]

I wouldn't worry about it. Soccerpapi has been following me around telling me I'm rude ever since I had the audacity to point out that Disney does indeed have a carry on alcohol limit. I even posted a link (gasp!) to the policy on the DCL site. I've also been called mean-spirited and told that I should be ashamed.

 

Luckily, I deployed the Nag Shield to protect me. It's air-conditioned and has a fully stocked bar with an ice-maker. Also a decent selection of salty snacks.

 

I am far from worried about what he thinks of me.

Terri

[Surreyman]

I brought that up earlier on this thread ( see post #55), however no one picked up on it.

I totally agree with you. I have written to HAL about it and received an answer that that nothing to do with the concern.

Terri

 

HAL decide their policy and as someone else said higher up, the cost of a few overpriced drinks is insignificant compared to the thousands the holiday costs.

 

I guess it's easier for them to tell their staff one bottle per person per cruise than have a whole set of different rules per cruise.

[POA1]

HAL decide their policy and as someone else said higher up, the cost of a few overpriced drinks is insignificant compared to the thousands the holiday costs.

 

I guess it's easier for them to tell their staff one bottle per person per cruise than have a whole set of different rules per cruise.

They could just include a PDF voucher for a certain amount of corkage on longer voyages. Of course then you would have non-wine drinkers upset about losing out on the benefit...

[DaveOKC]

HAL decide their policy and as someone else said higher up, the cost of a few overpriced drinks is insignificant compared to the thousands the holiday costs.

 

I guess it's easier for them to tell their staff one bottle per person per cruise than have a whole set of different rules per cruise.

 

You make a good point here. As a former supermarket operator, I can attest to the problem of having too complex rules for the front line people to follow. Clear and simple is the order of the day. It ends up making everyone's job easier.

 

DaveOKC

Edited July 12, 2014 by DaveOKC

[dateacher]

Is there any place to find the wine list for the MDR? If not, does anyone know about the quality of the wine by the glass?

[POA1]

Is there any place to find the wine list for the MDR? If not, does anyone know about the quality of the wine by the glass?

Here's a list from March.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/276a0e4d-85a4-4377-920f-0fdfee4ce340/a2fc7280af1ffb03ee078a1d59c63558

[TiogaCruiser]

This was a concern a number of people had when the new policy was implemented.

 

While I agree with your suggestion, HAL chose not to.

 

Agree here too, but that wasn't their decision. And adding a little history for those who likely were not around the HAL board toward the end of July last year (and for months after) when HAL implemented Wine Policy update 1.0 ( as several on this thread have recent first post dates):

 

HAL posted and implemented a policy that prohibited taking on wine in any ports. They didn't even allow for a corkage fee. The policy was dated 7-18-14 and appeared in the KBYG several days later and enforcement was started not long after. They soon backed off that and announced Wine Policy update 2.0 would go into effect with voyages beginning the end of January. It allowed the one bottle per person at embarkation (without corkage) and any others (including ports) allowed with corkage (or no corkage if the they store it)

Edited July 13, 2014 by TiogaCruiser

[DaveOKC]

Is there any place to find the wine list for the MDR? If not, does anyone know about the quality of the wine by the glass?

 

I am not much of a wine expert, but I find the house wine (Santa Carolina) to be decent, especially the whites. Just my opinion of course.

 

DaveOKC

[CGYCruisingFamily]

I have a couple of quick questions. First we are not big wine drinkers and likely won't exceed our amount when first boarding. I am a little unclear still on things. 1) if we buy wine in a port and bring it back on board we pay the corkage when we board? What if we never get around to consuming that wine, do we get the corkage back?

 

And second, does anyone know if Sangria is considered wine and can be brought on board or is it one that will be taken away and returned at the end of the cruise?

 

Thanks

[Lizzie68]

I am not much of a wine expert, but I find the house wine (Santa Carolina) to be decent, especially the whites. Just my opinion of course.

 

DaveOKC

 

 

I think I must be a wine heathen, because I quite enjoy the white Santa Carolina.:D