Best way to bring wine onboard

[2pbears]

We are just off the Grand and our experience with the Princess wine policy was that it is consistently inconsistent.

 

We carried a case of wine on board in a wheeled wine carrier. Because our daughter and son-in-law were joining us for the BVE we embarked early (11:30). We stopped at the table that was designated as the "Alcohol Inspection Table" and prepared to pay our corkage but there was no one at the table. We stood there for a couple of minutes when a port authority employee told us that they had not arrived yet and to go on in. So we did.

 

Corkage for the bottles we carried to the dining room was hit and miss. I think we ended up paying corkage for two bottles of wine. And each Princess employee that we talked with in the dining room on the subject of corkage gave us a different answer. Our take on the subject is that there are no real consistent rules enforced when it comes to corkage.

[mmckm]

I have never been charged a corkage fee in the dinning room or any specialty restaurants. We try and have the same waiter for anytime, and tip him the first night and every other night. With the booze package now we don't bring wine on board for the dinning room any more just 2 bottles for the room. No Recent

experiences

[suzyed]

We are just off the Grand and our experience with the Princess wine policy was that it is consistently inconsistent.

 

We carried a case of wine on board in a wheeled wine carrier. Because our daughter and son-in-law were joining us for the BVE we embarked early (11:30). We stopped at the table that was designated as the "Alcohol Inspection Table" and prepared to pay our corkage but there was no one at the table. We stood there for a couple of minutes when a port authority employee told us that they had not arrived yet and to go on in. So we did.

 

Corkage for the bottles we carried to the dining room was hit and miss. I think we ended up paying corkage for two bottles of wine. And each Princess employee that we talked with in the dining room on the subject of corkage gave us a different answer. Our take on the subject is that there are no real consistent rules enforced when it comes to corkage.

 

We too, brought a case of wine on to the Grand. Granted, it was in 2012, before the "new" policy statement. We packed the wine in a box from total wine, taped it up good and put a luggage tag on it and checked it in with our other bags.

 

It arrived in good condition to our cabin. We brought a bottle to the MDR almost every night and paid the corkage fee each time. We were always charged for it...which was fine, as that is what we expected.

 

We have never tried to sneak anything, or get away without paying the corkage, but when you are carrying on a case, it's just easier to do it by checking it in.

[suzyed]

I would like to agree with you on that, but I must disagree in part, the term "alcohol" is all inclusive when they use it ("alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption, except one bottle of wine or champagne") with that statement they did not exclude wine or champagne as an alcohol but designated those two as exceptions. So when they say our "alcohol policy" they mean wine, champagne everything else including beer, spirits plus anything with a nip to it, I guess.

 

In the context of the cruise lines jargon, they like to say "wine or champagne" while all the rest being "liquor", I know, I know, so they include beer and spirits as "liquor" so please define "spirits" for me, okay, so I digress; if I were king-for-a-day of the cruise industry I would get that all straightened out in short order, among other things. LOL.

 

Anyway, you indicate "Therefore, I'm thinking it would be acceptable to pack it in your luggage. I think in that case the corkage fee would be most likely only applied if the bottle is brought to the dining room." I say you are wrong with this part of your assessment "I think in that case the corkage fee would be most likely only applied if the bottle is brought to the dining room."

 

Nope, rather, forget the dining room part for corkage fee in this context. Here is what I believe you should be saying: "Therefore, I'm thinking it would be acceptable to pack it in your luggage. I think in that case the corkage fee would be most likely only applied if the bottle is brought onto the ship for consumption".

 

I can't tell if you are agreeing with me or not! LOL! You seem to be saying the same thing but don't like how I worded it?

 

If I carried on or checked a case and they assessed a corkage fee on 10 of the 12 bottles (since we are allowed two as a couple), that would be what I would expect them to do. I'm not trying to get out of paying a corkage fee, I just want enough of the wine I like for a 2-4 week cruise. If they just added it to my onboard account, that would be fine too. But I think short of them doing that, the only time it would be charged is when we took it to dinner.

 

Anyway, we did that before only because we were in a hotel pre-cruise that was right near a total wine store and it was convenient to do so. Subsequent cruises, we just brought the two bottles allowed and bought one of the wine packages on board, in addition to a few bottles on the Princess website, before leaving home.

[suzyed]

I have never been charged a corkage fee in the dinning room or any specialty restaurants. We try and have the same waiter for anytime, and tip him the first night and every other night. With the booze package now we don't bring wine on board for the dinning room any more just 2 bottles for the room. No Recent

experiences

 

We have been charged every single time on Princess, when bringing wine to the dining room. With the same waiter every night in the MDR, on one cruise, we saved a glass from each bottle for him. Once we were not fond of the wine we had brought, so we just gave him the whole bottle. The next day, we asked him what he thought of it and he said, "You're too picky" LOL!! :D

[kennicott]

I can't tell if you are agreeing with me or not! LOL! You seem to be saying the same thing but don't like how I worded it?

 

If I carried on or checked a case and they assessed a corkage fee on 10 of the 12 bottles (since we are allowed two as a couple), that would be what I would expect them to do. I'm not trying to get out of paying a corkage fee, I just want enough of the wine I like for a 2-4 week cruise. If they just added it to my onboard account, that would be fine too. But I think short of them doing that, the only time it would be charged is when we took it to dinner.

 

Anyway, we did that before only because we were in a hotel pre-cruise that was right near a total wine store and it was convenient to do so. Subsequent cruises, we just brought the two bottles allowed and bought one of the wine packages on board, in addition to a few bottles on the Princess website, before leaving home.

 

Haw, maybe that's because when I wrote it I had consumed a little too much vino.

 

I guess I was attempting to make two points. One is that its my belief that Princess uses the term "Alcohol" as an all inclusive for alcoholic beverages, but separates "wine and champagne" from the rest of the alcohol, which they label as "liquor".

 

More importantly, I was confused when you said "I think in that case the corkage fee would be most likely only applied if the bottle is brought to the dining room." I assume you mean that you can bring as much wine as you want on board but will be only charged the $15.00 corkage for every bottle over one, if and when you take it to the dining rooms.

 

I suggest that this language they use is pretty explicit: "Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed." Meaning, that if we bring a case on board (two of us) (makes no difference if in hand carry luggage or checked luggage) then we must pay Princess $15.00 each for 10 bottles, no matter where it is consumed.

 

I know that it is awkward if checked luggage is involved, as they must discover the bottles of wine, count them, and let you know how much you owe. Either that, or one should tell them right off that they brought so many bottles on board and owe so much. That is probably the reason Princess is playing around with language stipulating no booze what so ever in checked luggage upon embarkation. Disembarkation okay.

[suzyed]

Haw, maybe that's because when I wrote it I had consumed a little too much vino.

 

I guess I was attempting to make two points. One is that its my belief that Princess uses the term "Alcohol" as an all inclusive for alcoholic beverages, but separates "wine and champagne" from the rest of the alcohol, which they label as "liquor".

 

More importantly, I was confused when you said "I think in that case the corkage fee would be most likely only applied if the bottle is brought to the dining room." I assume you mean that you can bring as much wine as you want on board but will be only charged the $15.00 corkage for every bottle over one, if and when you take it to the dining rooms.

 

I suggest that this language they use is pretty explicit: "Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed." Meaning, that if we bring a case on board (two of us) (makes no difference if in hand carry luggage or checked luggage) then we must pay Princess $15.00 each for 10 bottles, no matter where it is consumed.

 

I know that it is awkward if checked luggage is involved, as they must discover the bottles of wine, count them, and let you know how much you owe. Either that, or one should tell them right off that they brought so many bottles on board and owe so much. That is probably the reason Princess is playing around with language stipulating no booze what so ever in checked luggage upon embarkation. Disembarkation okay.

 

Ah! So we agree....at least I think we do! LOL! I think we are saying the same thing, just in a different way. I agree about the term "liquor" being used in way that it can be interepted in a couple different ways.

Anyway...as far as going to them and telling them we have 10 bottle to pay for...I probably wouldn't do. We set them out in our cabin and whatever happens happens. We usually do take them to dinner and we always pay the corkage.

Edited November 19, 2015 by suzyed

[kennicott]

Ah!

Anyway...as far as going to them and telling them we have 10 bottle to pay for...I probably wouldn't do.

 

Hey, agreed, it all boils down to this: "Anyway...as far as going to them and telling them we have 10 bottle to pay for...I probably wouldn't do." Us too! Burden is on them to develop an understandable common sense charge procedure for what they deem alcohol. Since they want to play the nickel and dime game, who am I to help them figure out their administrative quagmire? Nuff said.

[westwind6371]

I am not the brightest guy in the world, but I think I understand the Princess wine policy.

Simply stated, I can bring on as much wine and champagne as I like in my carry-on luggage. I will pay a $15 corkage fee on all 750 ml bottles over the two free ones for my wife and I, for cabin consumption. ALL OTHER ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE NOT ALLOWED.

 

The Princess policy is one of the most liberal in the cruise industry, and I would hate to see them change it! As a stockholder and a former business owner, If a customer friendly policy becomes too difficult to manage, I WILL SIMPLY CANCEL IT AND PROHIBIT ALL ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES.

 

You can look for all the loopholes and try to play "Sea Lawyer" all you want, but if you continue to look for ways to "beat the system" and make the program difficult to enforce, IT WILL BE CANCELLED! It is not what I consider "Nickel and Diming", it is just good business.

 

fair winds

Dave

[kennicott]

I am not the brightest guy in the world, but I think I understand the Princess wine policy.

Simply stated, I can bring on as much wine and champagne as I like in my carry-on luggage. I will pay a $15 corkage fee on all 750 ml bottles over the two free ones for my wife and I, for cabin consumption. ALL OTHER ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE NOT ALLOWED.

 

The Princess policy is one of the most liberal in the cruise industry, and I would hate to see them change it! As a stockholder and a former business owner, If a customer friendly policy becomes too difficult to manage, I WILL SIMPLY CANCEL IT AND PROHIBIT ALL ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES.

 

You can look for all the loopholes and try to play "Sea Lawyer" all you want, but if you continue to look for ways to "beat the system" and make the program difficult to enforce, IT WILL BE CANCELLED! It is not what I consider "Nickel and Diming", it is just good business.

 

fair winds

Dave

 

So you believe we are looking for loopholes do you? It is my opinion, for the most part, that folk are just simply trying to figure out exactly what the Princess policy is since it is contradictory and confusing in some respects. Making assumptions and accusing others of being cheats and "playing sea lawyers" doesn't advance civil discourse.

 

As far as throwing a management temper tantrum and "simply canceling" a policy or procedure because the line is exasperated with execution one could argue that potential for many aspects of cruising and cruise line policy.

 

Regarding the disputable remark: "The Princess policy is one of the most liberal in the cruise industry." Even though we like Princess and have been with them since 1990, with 223 sailing days, we do use other lines as well. If they want to get nasty, (your opinion not mine---as I don't think they will), we can simply continue booking Regent. That line could care less how or how much booze you bring on board, they give it to you free anyway.

 

Therefore, if the conversation here gives you heartburn my recommendation is that you quit reading these posts wherein you imagine others are only trying "to beat the system"; take your paranoia elsewhere.

[suzyed]

So you believe we are looking for loopholes do you? It is my opinion, for the most part, that folk are just simply trying to figure out exactly what the Princess policy is since it is contradictory and confusing in some respects. Making assumptions and accusing others of being cheats and "playing sea lawyers" doesn't advance civil discourse.

 

As far as throwing a management temper tantrum and "simply canceling" a policy or procedure because the line is exasperated with execution one could argue that potential for many aspects of cruising and cruise line policy.

 

Regarding the disputable remark: "The Princess policy is one of the most liberal in the cruise industry." Even though we like Princess and have been with them since 1990, with 223 sailing days, we do use other lines as well. If they want to get nasty, (your opinion not mine---as I don't think they will), we can simply continue booking Regent. That line could care less how or how much booze you bring on board, they give it to you free anyway.

 

Therefore, if the conversation here gives you heartburn my recommendation is that you quit reading these posts wherein you imagine others are only trying "to beat the system"; take your paranoia elsewhere.

 

Thank you...I agree 100% Beat the system? Who is trying to beat the system? Sheesh....as you said, we are just trying to figure out how best to bring our wine onboard.

[suzyed]

I am not the brightest guy in the world, but I think I understand the Princess wine policy.

Simply stated, I can bring on as much wine and champagne as I like in my carry-on luggage. I will pay a $15 corkage fee on all 750 ml bottles over the two free ones for my wife and I, for cabin consumption. ALL OTHER ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE NOT ALLOWED.

 

The Princess policy is one of the most liberal in the cruise industry, and I would hate to see them change it! As a stockholder and a former business owner, If a customer friendly policy becomes too difficult to manage, I WILL SIMPLY CANCEL IT AND PROHIBIT ALL ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES.

 

You can look for all the loopholes and try to play "Sea Lawyer" all you want, but if you continue to look for ways to "beat the system" and make the program difficult to enforce, IT WILL BE CANCELLED! It is not what I consider "Nickel and Diming", it is just good business.

 

fair winds

Dave

 

Sea Lawyer? Loopholes? Beat the system? Who's posts are you reading? I'm also not seeing where the program has the potential of being "difficult to enforce".

I think most of us are just trying to follow the policy in the most convenient way...carry on vs. pack it.

 

FYI, Cunard has a very liberal policy on alcohol...you can bring what ever you want in reasonable quantities...and that includes wine, champagne and spirits.

Edited November 19, 2015 by suzyed

[iceleven]

I am not the brightest guy in the world, but I think I understand the Princess wine policy.

Simply stated, I can bring on as much wine and champagne as I like in my carry-on luggage. I will pay a $15 corkage fee on all 750 ml bottles over the two free ones for my wife and I, for cabin consumption. ALL OTHER ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE NOT ALLOWED.

 

The Princess policy is one of the most liberal in the cruise industry, and I would hate to see them change it! As a stockholder and a former business owner, If a customer friendly policy becomes too difficult to manage, I WILL SIMPLY CANCEL IT AND PROHIBIT ALL ALCHOLIC BEVERAGES.

 

You can look for all the loopholes and try to play "Sea Lawyer" all you want, but if you continue to look for ways to "beat the system" and make the program difficult to enforce, IT WILL BE CANCELLED! It is not what I consider "Nickel and Diming", it is just good business.

 

fair winds

Dave

 

This is exactly how I have always regarded the policy.

 

I recall a time, not that long ago, when people would come to CC and brag about bringing cases of wine on board and never having to pay corkage. Some here thought that this was pushing Princess' generous policy. Sure enough Princess stopped this excessive abuse and began to charge corkage for ALL wine/champagne in excess of the one free per person. Those people who intentionally attempted to beat the system did, in fact, force Princess to change their policy.

 

I agree with your point.

[TracieABD]

I think the policy is very simple to understand:

 

One "free" bottle of wine or Champs per person.

All additional bottles acquire the $15 corkage fee.

 

Smuggling is a no-no.

[XBGuy]

As a prodigious wine drinker and as a Princess cruiser this topic is of interest to me. I think the Princess policy is reasonable. However, as many have posted above, Princess' enforcement of the policy is inconsistent. In the above conversation I have read that:

 

• Passengers have packed wine in their checked baggage, and it was delivered to their cabin with no other action.
  
• Passengers have packed wine in their checked baggage. Princess discovered it and discarded it.
  
• Passengers have packed wine in their checked baggage. Princess discovered it and charged the passenger the corkage fee.
  
• Passengers have carried on wine and have been directed to a table for Princess to inspect and charge appropriate corkage.
  
• Passengers have carried on wine and not been directed to a table for Princess to inspect and charge appropriate corkage.
  
• Passengers have carried on wine and just ignored the table where Princess inspects and charges corkage.
  
• Passengers have taken their wine into dining rooms and never been charged corkage.
  
• Passengers have taken their wine into dining rooms and always have been charged corkage.
  

 

Interesting. It seems that Princess has a very well defined policy, but it has not trained its employees (or agents in the case of port personnel) to consistently follow that policy.

 

My guess is that the variation in the "checked baggage" policy is dependent on the port.

 

• Wine found in checked baggage at Port A is siezed and disposed.
  
• Wine foind in checked baggage at Port B is charged corkage according to the Princess policy.
  
• Wine in checked baggage at Port C is, apparently, never scanned (or if it is, the scanning personnel just assume that that liquid is probably not explosive, and, so, they just let it go) and is delivered to the Passenger's cabin.
  

 

So, for passengers who regularly embark from Port C, you might just want to keep quiet. It sounds like you have a pretty good thing going, and there is no reason to broadcast to Princess that their policy is being ignored.

 

I do have one experience to report regarding the packing of wine in checked baggage. On my return from a business trip I walked off the aircraft to the baggage claim area. On the floor next to the carrousel it is not unusual to see rows of suitcases and garment bags that arrived on previous flights that had not, yet, been claimed. This particular time there was one bag sittling by itself in a puddle of red wine that was leaking from it. Somebody thought that wrapping his bottles of wine in his BVDs would protect them sufficiently. He was wrong.

 

I plan to carry my wine onto future Princess cruises, find the table and sign the chit for the corkage. I know there is no problem with that procedure. It has worked for me every time.

 

While I don't think it is particularly difficult to bungee cord a case of wine onto a set of wheels and drag it through the check-in and boarding process, I do agree that it would be nice to leave wine with the porters as checked in baggage and claim it in a room where Princess could inspect it and have me sign the chit. So, maybe Princess should consider something like that.

 

Oh, and my wife the former food and beverage professional taught me these definitions:

 

• Beers are fermented grains.
  
• Wines are fermented grapes.
  
• Spirits are fermented plant material that are then distilled.
  

 

Two questions generally come up when I give those definitions:

 

1. What about Plum Wine or Strawberry Wine? They are classed as "Fruit Wines."
   
2. What about Sake? Sake is Rice Wine. No, Sake is a beer.
   

 

:D

[suzyed]

I think the policy is very simple to understand:

 

One "free" bottle of wine or Champs per person.

All additional bottles acquire the $15 corkage fee.

 

Smuggling is a no-no.

 

Agree.

 

But I think some people interpret putting wine in your checked bag as smuggling? I think it's mostly done for convenience sake...at least in our case. Then we take it the dining room and pay the corkage.

[suzyed]

As a prodigious wine drinker and as a Princess cruiser this topic is of interest to me. I think the Princess policy is reasonable. However, as many have posted above, Princess' enforcement of the policy is inconsistent. In the above conversation I have read that:

 

• Passengers have packed wine in their checked baggage, and it was delivered to their cabin with no other action.
  
• Passengers have packed wine in their checked baggage. Princess discovered it and discarded it.
  
• Passengers have packed wine in their checked baggage. Princess discovered it and charged the passenger the corkage fee.
  
• Passengers have carried on wine and have been directed to a table for Princess to inspect and charge appropriate corkage.
  
• Passengers have carried on wine and not been directed to a table for Princess to inspect and charge appropriate corkage.
  
• Passengers have carried on wine and just ignored the table where Princess inspects and charges corkage.
  
• Passengers have taken their wine into dining rooms and never been charged corkage.
  
• Passengers have taken their wine into dining rooms and always have been charged corkage.
  

 

Interesting. It seems that Princess has a very well defined policy, but it has not trained its employees (or agents in the case of port personnel) to consistently follow that policy.

 

My guess is that the variation in the "checked baggage" policy is dependent on the port.

 

• Wine found in checked baggage at Port A is siezed and disposed.
  
• Wine foind in checked baggage at Port B is charged corkage according to the Princess policy.
  
• Wine in checked baggage at Port C is, apparently, never scanned (or if it is, the scanning personnel just assume that that liquid is probably not explosive, and, so, they just let it go) and is delivered to the Passenger's cabin.
  

 

So, for passengers who regularly embark from Port C, you might just want to keep quiet. It sounds like you have a pretty good thing going, and there is no reason to broadcast to Princess that their policy is being ignored.

 

I do have one experience to report regarding the packing of wine in checked baggage. On my return from a business trip I walked off the aircraft to the baggage claim area. On the floor next to the carrousel it is not unusual to see rows of suitcases and garment bags that arrived on previous flights that had not, yet, been claimed. This particular time there was one bag sittling by itself in a puddle of red wine that was leaking from it. Somebody thought that wrapping his bottles of wine in his BVDs would protect them sufficiently. He was wrong.

 

I plan to carry my wine onto future Princess cruises, find the table and sign the chit for the corkage. I know there is no problem with that procedure. It has worked for me every time.

 

While I don't think it is particularly difficult to bungee cord a case of wine onto a set of wheels and drag it through the check-in and boarding process, I do agree that it would be nice to leave wine with the porters as checked in baggage and claim it in a room where Princess could inspect it and have me sign the chit. So, maybe Princess should consider something like that.

 

Oh, and my wife the former food and beverage professional taught me these definitions:

 

• Beers are fermented grains.
  
• Wines are fermented grapes.
  
• Spirits are fermented plant material that are then distilled.
  

 

Two questions generally come up when I give those definitions:

 

1. What about Plum Wine or Strawberry Wine? They are classed as "Fruit Wines."
   
2. What about Sake? Sake is Rice Wine. No, Sake is a beer.
   

 

:D

 

Yup! Agree.

 

Maybe it all boils down to convenience? On a 2-4 week cruise you may want more than 1 bottle/person and it would be hard to carry on multiple bottles of wine, so they put it in the luggage. And, of course, if you are coming from the airport directly to port, you would have been required to pack it rather than carry on.

[suzyed]

This is exactly how I have always regarded the policy.

 

I recall a time, not that long ago, when people would come to CC and brag about bringing cases of wine on board and never having to pay corkage. Some here thought that this was pushing Princess' generous policy. Sure enough Princess stopped this excessive abuse and began to charge corkage for ALL wine/champagne in excess of the one free per person. Those people who intentionally attempted to beat the system did, in fact, force Princess to change their policy.

 

I agree with your point.

 

And then there are those who "brag" about bringing on a case of wine and paying the corkage on every single one of them.

[kennicott]

While we've actually seen little evidence that guests brought on board cases and cases of wine before the collective liquor policies of the industry began to change we don't frequent the "booze cruises". Out of almost 600 days sailing the only time I recall seeing somebody bringing on board two cases of wine at once was on HAL in 2008 at the beginning of a three month voyage, where we wouldn't be around retail liquor stores for months.

 

We have heard and read about excessive drinking and drunkenness on some the those spring break type voyages which may well have helped precipitate stricter liquor control procedures on some lines.

 

Having been both in the hotel, airline and liquor retail/wholesale business I'm witness that there is a lot of profit in selling booze. There is no doubt in my mind that the common denominator behind the restrictive passenger-carry wine policy and related per bottle surcharge is the profit motive; from the standpoint of both revenue from the surcharges as well as enhanced liquor sales on board due reduced competition. These new liquor control policies came about at the same time the mass market cruise industry's nickel and dime game gathered steam, not because some dude bragged about all the wine he brought on board a ship one time. Oh how the land based resorts and hotels would love to come up with a scheme to emulate this cash cow of the cruise industry.

 

Personally, I could care less whether they compel me to hand carry my wine or leave it in checked luggage. I usually just bring our two free bottles anyway but have no problem with the 15 bucks surcharge if I decide to bring more (Princess and NCL do have the lowest surcharges, HAL wants $18.00, some lines don't allow any liquor to be brought on board, we don't cruise on them either, and some allow you two free bottles each but then no more, thus no surcharge; with the all-inclusives, which we use, there is no problem at all since they provide you liquor for free. Watch out for the sticker shock though.)

 

I often check the ship's wine listings, on line, to see what they offer on board from room service, if I find only expensive swill, then I bring more and pay the surcharge. I don't take a bottle into the dining room, I always buy one from them and then take it with me after dinner to our cabin. We used to leave it with them but they have such a problem finding everybody's bottles that they encourage you to take it with you instead, at least on Princess. If you do that make sure they leave the cork behind which they normally do, if the waiter takes it ask for it back. If we get hung up in a long MDR wait I'll usually order a glass of wine or a cocktail from a nearby lounge and carry it in when we get paged.

 

As far as placing wine in checked luggage, the cruise lines fall all over themselves to encourage me to do so at disembarkation. Why? They want to sell me their real good stuff from their duty free shops---$$$. Which I take advantage of on occasion. Additionally, we always purchase the lines shore excursion packages, many of which have wine tasting and buying included, since we usually prefer the longer voyages we find ourselves with multiple bottles to bring home to share with family and friends. As previously mentioned, they make excellent water tight bubble-rap type packages just for this purpose. We usually take a half dozen or so whether we use them or not.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=355

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=31

Edited November 20, 2015 by kennicott

[Agua-azul]

Bringing on a case of wine for a long cruise makes financial sense to me. A bottle I can buy on shore (and be very happy with) for $8.00 ends up costing $23.00 after corkage fee. Having seen the markups on wine bought from princess, I'm coming out way ahead. Furthermore there is no additional gratuity added.

[suzyed]

While we've actually seen little evidence that guests brought on board cases and cases of wine before the collective liquor policies of the industry began to change we don't frequent the "booze cruises". Out of almost 600 days sailing the only time I recall seeing somebody bringing on board two cases of wine at once was on HAL in 2008 at the beginning of a three month voyage, where we wouldn't be around retail liquor stores for months.

 

We have heard and read about excessive drinking and drunkenness on some the those spring break type voyages which may well have helped precipitate stricter liquor control procedures on some lines.

 

Having been both in the hotel, airline and liquor retail/wholesale business I'm witness that there is a lot of profit in selling booze. There is no doubt in my mind that the common denominator behind the restrictive passenger-carry wine policy and related per bottle surcharge is the profit motive; from the standpoint of both revenue from the surcharges as well as enhanced liquor sales on board due reduced competition. These new liquor control policies came about at the same time the mass market cruise industry's nickel and dime game gathered steam, not because some dude bragged about all the wine he brought on board a ship one time. Oh how the land based resorts and hotels would love to come up with a scheme to emulate this cash cow of the cruise industry.

 

Personally, I could care less whether they compel me to hand carry my wine or leave it in checked luggage. I usually just bring our two free bottles anyway but have no problem with the 15 bucks surcharge if I decide to bring more (Princess and NCL do have the lowest surcharges, HAL wants $18.00, some lines don't allow any liquor to be brought on board, we don't cruise on them either, and some allow you two free bottles each but then no more, thus no surcharge; with the all-inclusives, which we use, there is no problem at all since they provide you liquor for free. Watch out for the sticker shock though.)

 

I often check the ship's wine listings, on line, to see what they offer on board from room service, if I find only expensive swill, then I bring more and pay the surcharge. I don't take a bottle into the dining room, I always buy one from them and then take it with me after dinner to our cabin. We used to leave it with them but they have such a problem finding everybody's bottles that they encourage you to take it with you instead, at least on Princess. If you do that make sure they leave the cork behind which they normally do, if the waiter takes it ask for it back. If we get hung up in a long MDR wait I'll usually order a glass of wine or a cocktail from a nearby lounge and carry it in when we get paged.

 

As far as placing wine in checked luggage, the cruise lines fall all over themselves to encourage me to do so at disembarkation. Why? They want to sell me their real good stuff from their duty free shops---$$$. Which I take advantage of on occasion. Additionally, we always purchase the lines shore excursion packages, many of which have wine tasting and buying included, since we usually prefer the longer voyages we find ourselves with multiple bottles to bring home to share with family and friends. As previously mentioned, they make excellent water tight bubble-rap type packages just for this purpose. We usually take a half dozen or so whether we use them or not.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=355

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=31

 

We take "wine diapers"...guaranteed to hold the contents of a bottle of wine should it get broken. We don't always use them either, but bring them along just in case.

[floridalover5623]

No matter what the policy is there will always be those that continue to smuggle things aboard.....extra wine, alcohol, irons, coffee pots, etc.

It's a never ending game.

[TracieABD]

No matter what the policy is there will always be those that continue to smuggle things aboard.....extra wine, alcohol, irons, coffee pots, etc.

It's a never ending game.

 

Yep. And if they get caught...

 

It is too bad that there are those few who feel that they deserve an exception to the rules.

[kennicott]

No matter what the policy is there will always be those that continue to smuggle things aboard.....extra wine, alcohol, irons, coffee pots, etc.

It's a never ending game.

 

I couldn't agree more. But in order to keep on enjoying a cruise one should discipline him or herself to ignore this type behavior. Smuggling stuff is probably the least of a cruise line's problems in this regard. For instance, just on our last two or three cruises we witnessed this:

 

---Princess was serving very fresh paopu at breakfast in the buffet. Some people would ridiculously stack loads of just paopu on their plates. My wife really likes paopu but found out that you had to get there early to beat the gluttons. They finally started hiding it and serving it only after you asked for it, in moderate amounts.

 

----Princess had oysters on the half shell, they were shucking them right there at the buffet line. Yummy. The first few days some were heaping their plates to overflow, loading up so much on just the oysters that the shuckers slowed down in order to force the hogs to limit their take.

 

----We are elites, as a consequence get free laundry. Found out some elites, traveling with small groups, would submit their non-elite traveling companion's laundry too, forcing an overload on the system, so we all got rationed.

 

----It is not just some on the majors that are greedy either. On the luxury line Regent, where alcohol is included, an officer told me that they discovered some guests were loading their disembarkation luggage with expensive wines and liquors. This got so bad guests now have to either get bottles for cabin consumption from their butlers or call room service, both keep an accounting of any excess.

 

Instead of letting this activity get under our skin we chose to focus on the humor of it all. Hopefully it involves only a small minority of the cruising faithful.

[suzyed]

Actually this thread was to get informed about the proper way to bring wine on board. It was not started to find out how to smuggle anything on.

I guess some people's definition of what is proper and what it means to smuggle differs from others.

I'm not sure I saw one single post on how to smuggle, yet some people assumed because someone put bottles in their checked luggage, they were trying to smuggle rather than maybe they did it for convenience sake or because they thought that is what they were supposed to do.

I have never smuggled and I will not in the future and honestly I kind of resent people interpreting the actions of others as smuggling....

 

 

The intention I believe was to inform...not to point fingers?