Wine Question

[wave2me]

We are new to cruising with Princess and have a question about wine.....

 

We know that we may bring two 'regular sized' bottles of wine/champagne on board with us on Embarkation day and that this wine is for consumption in our cabin.  Additional bottles may be brought on board if we pay the $ 15 corkage fee.  From Princess website: " As provided in the Passage Contract, guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption, except one bottle of wine or champagne per adult of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed." ( https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp )

 

Our question is:

 

If we pay the $ 15 corkage fee for the additional bottles of wine, may they be brought to the dining room/specialty restaurant without an additional charge beyond the $ 15?  To us, the statement above is unclear so we thought we would ask Princess 'regulars'.

 

Thank you in advance for responses!

[Omega1]

That is correct. Once you have paid the corkage you can take the bottle to the dining room for consumption. 

[Colo Cruiser]

17 minutes ago, wave2me said:

We are new to cruising with Princess and have a question about wine.....

 

We know that we may bring two 'regular sized' bottles of wine/champagne on board with us on Embarkation day and that this wine is for consumption in our cabin.  Additional bottles may be brought on board if we pay the $ 15 corkage fee.  From Princess website: " As provided in the Passage Contract, guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption, except one bottle of wine or champagne per adult of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed." ( https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp )

 

Our question is:

 

If we pay the $ 15 corkage fee for the additional bottles of wine, may they be brought to the dining room/specialty restaurant without an additional charge beyond the $ 15?  To us, the statement above is unclear so we thought we would ask Princess 'regulars'.

 

Thank you in advance for responses!

Yes.

[memoak]

Yes you are only charge "corkage" once - however if you bring one of the "free" bottles to the dining room you will be charged the $15.  Years ago waiters would look the other way but I don't think that is happening much anymore.  Since the advent of the alcohol packages we just order wine under the plan 

[Astro Flyer]

You can enjoy the wine that’s been charged the $15 fee anywhere on the ship including dining rooms.

 

If not emptying the bottle in a dining room they will store it for another time.

[CineGraphic]

Sometimes they’ll put a sticker on your paid bottles and other times they’ll forget, so just tell your waiter that you already paid corkage.

[Omega1]

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

Years ago waiters would look the other way but I don't think that is happening much anymore.  

It does still happen occasionally - we got lucky a few times on our last cruise.

Edited October 24, 2018 by Omega1

[wave2me]

Thank you everyone for the responses!

[satxdiver]

Added to what has already been said, you can take your two you did not pay the corking fees to the MDR but will have to pay the $15/bottle fee.  You don't have to drink the bottle in the cabin but will have to pay the $15 fee.  

[Thrak]

Be aware that Port or other fortified wines are not allowed to be brought on board. It's not something that affects most folks but it does come up once in a while and the people are surprised and upset to find their wine confiscated.

[Heyref]

What would stop me from taking 2 bottles on board, and having my wife check in 10 min later, and her taking 2 bottles.  Do you think we would each be charged $15 for the extra bottle??

[paul929207]

I believe you will each be allowed one bottle without corkage.

[tvlgoddess]

What is the wine “etiquette” in bringing the wine that you have already paid corkage fee to the MDR, specialty restaurant or even to any bars?   Do you just carry the bottle from place to place or do you put it in a wine carrier?

[jennybenny]

48 minutes ago, Heyref said:

What would stop me from taking 2 bottles on board, and having my wife check in 10 min later, and her taking 2 bottles.  Do you think we would each be charged $15 for the extra bottle??

Integrity? Even if you check in together there is nothing to stop just one of you from claiming your bottles at the table. You both can stop and only claim 2 total.  

 

It’s one free per person, if they realize you have wine they direct you to the wine table, and write you name and cabin in a book. Even if all you have is your “free” bottle. 

 

Please just pay your corkage. If people start trying to sneak bottles in it will just make things more expensive in the long run. I don’t want to start paying $30 each for corkage. 

[skynight]

2 hours ago, Heyref said:

What would stop me from taking 2 bottles on board, and having my wife check in 10 min later, and her taking 2 bottles.  Do you think we would each be charged $15 for the extra bottle??

The rule is frequently misstated as two bottles since most people board as couples. The real rule is 1 x 750ml bottle per passenger 21 and over. If you are boarding separately then by the rule each would get one free bottle and one corkage paid bottle. Also, if a cabin has 3 or 4 adults then you could wind up with up to 4 free bottles in the cabin. 

[XBGuy]

2 hours ago, tvlgoddess said:

What is the wine “etiquette” in bringing the wine that you have already paid corkage fee to the MDR, specialty restaurant or even to any bars?   Do you just carry the bottle from place to place or do you put it in a wine carrier?

 

I just carry the bottle.  I often see others doing the same.

 

If you ride an elevator to the dining venue, I can, pretty much, guarantee that other elevator riders will start inviting themselves to your table.

 

[paul929207]

On our last cruise, we had the wine package. As we came towards the end I could see we would have a bottle or so left over. I got the bottle and took it to the Elite/Suite/Platinum lounge the next night. No problem.

[wave2me]

On 10/25/2018 at 2:55 AM, Thrak said:

Be aware that Port or other fortified wines are not allowed to be brought on board. It's not something that affects most folks but it does come up once in a while and the people are surprised and upset to find their wine confiscated.

 

 

Good to know because we do love port and would not have thought of that!  Thank you!

[wave2me]

What is the wine package?  Another cruise line (that will not be named) used to offer a package that for a set price they gave you a wine list and you were able to select either 5, 7 or 9 bottles of wine (price dependent).  Does Princess do something similar?  If so, does anyone know approximate cost and quality of wine (meaning would we be paying $ 20 for a $ 8 bottle of wine)?

 

Once again, thank you for the information.

[paul929207]

Princess offers a wine package on cruises of 10 or more days. There are two packages. Here are the specifics for the Silver package. You can get 7, 10 or 12 bottles. Price is $24, 22 and 20 respectively. You can select bottles that are priced at $31 or lower. If you buy a higher priced bottle, you pay the difference.

 

The second package is the gold package. Prices are about $10 higher and you get bottles up to $45.

 

We like the silver, it has worked well for us.

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, wave2me said:

What is the wine package?  Another cruise line (that will not be named) used to offer a package that for a set price they gave you a wine list and you were able to select either 5, 7 or 9 bottles of wine (price dependent).  Does Princess do something similar?  If so, does anyone know approximate cost and quality of wine (meaning would we be paying $ 20 for a $ 8 bottle of wine)?

 

Once again, thank you for the information.

 

On 12/22/2016 at 9:37 AM, Astro Flyer said:

The details on the wine packages are:

 

Note: A 15% gratuity is added to all package prices (like any other bar purchase).

 

Silver Package (wines up to $29 per bottle list price)

7 bottles -- $161 (average of $23 per bottle)

10 bottles -- $210 (average of $21 per bottle)

12 bottles -- $240 (average of $20 per bottle)

 

Gold Package (wines up to $45 per bottle list price)

7 bottles -- $217 (average of $31 per bottle)

10 bottles -- $290 (average of $29 per bottle)

12 bottles -- $336 (average of $28 per bottle)

 

You get a punch card which can be used at any of the dining locations.

 

You may choose any wine on on the regular wine menu. If you want to buy a wine that costs more than what the package covers, you just pay the difference. For example, if you have a Gold package and buy a wine that costs $46, the charge for $46 will appear on your stateroom account, followed by a $45 credit.

 

When available, I've seen it sold just outside of the buffet area at the aft elevators. I've also been told it was not offered but instead could purchase the expensive & not cost effective for me AIBP package. Since my dining room staff will be serving my wine, I purchase it from them because they get some benefit from selling it such as time off in port.

 

Some additional details about the wine packages.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Astro Flyer

[cruiser113]

can  the  wine  package  only  be  used  in  MDR?  what  about  Vines?

[Shaver John]

The only problem with the  wine package is that you can only use it when the dining room is open as the wine comes out of the dining room bar. If you want to have some wine in the morning at 11 you can not get a bottle. We tried this at Alfredos and even with wine on the table we could not have the wine, unless we purchased it for full price. I think the wine card is a great idea, but was very surprised that we could not use it before the dining room opened up.

[Shaver John]

I do have a question though. We will be getting a bottle of wine on our trip in a couple of weeks in exchange for our setup-yes the elite set up. Can we take this bottle to the dining room without paying corkage on it? Since it is Princess wine it seems like we should be able to, but not too sure. Thanks in advance.

[paul929207]

Yes, you can take the bottle from the minibar exchange to a restaurant with no corkage.