Wine Package on Holland America

[santellavision]

1st time cruising. We purchased the 6 bottle Sommelier Wine package on our Holland America cruise. They offer two options for delivery of the wine. 1) Deliver to Room or 2) Deliver to Dining Room. 

My question is this. It does not say if there is any Additional Corkage fees. So, do they charge an additional fee for EITHER the bottles delivered to room that you bring to dinner Or, the bottles that were delivered to the dining room and held for you for dinner? I've read about some stickers that are put on bottles for "Corkage Fee paid", is that what they do so you don't have to pay additional if you have them deliver to your room?

Thanks in advance 

Edited August 11, 2019 by santellavision

[LHT28]

you could ask on the HAL forum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/103-holland-america-line/

 

Usually if you buy from the cruise line there is no corkage fee

The fee is for wine you carry on yourself

[santellavision]

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

you could ask on the HAL forum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/103-holland-america-line/

 

Usually if you buy from the cruise line there is no corkage fee

The fee is for wine you carry on yourself

So, you think there is no fee for the wine purchased through Holland and delivered to your room and brought to the dining room? How do they know you purchased it from them and not part of the 1-bottle PP allowance you can bring on board?

[LHT28]

3 minutes ago, santellavision said:

So, you think there is no fee for the wine purchased through Holland and delivered to your room and brought to the dining room? How do they know you purchased it from them and not part of the 1-bottle PP allowance you can bring on board?

They have their ways 😁

[santellavision]

Thanks for the 😁, I needed the laugh as this whole cruise thing and all the packages, excursions is overwhelming!!!

But I kinda' need to know what the deal is. I don't want to order this wine package and then have to pay $18+ a bottle additional for a corkage fee. 

 

Anybody else have experience with this?

 

[LHT28]

ask on the HAL forum as I suggested

People there may have experience with their packages

[ducklite]

You'd get better responses if you ask this on the Holland America forum rather than a forum for general cruise topics not relating to a specific line.

[rostbp]

On 8/11/2019 at 12:24 PM, santellavision said:

1st time cruising. We purchased the 6 bottle Sommelier Wine package on our Holland America cruise. They offer two options for delivery of the wine. 1) Deliver to Room or 2) Deliver to Dining Room. 

My question is this. It does not say if there is any Additional Corkage fees. So, do they charge an additional fee for EITHER the bottles delivered to room that you bring to dinner Or, the bottles that were delivered to the dining room and held for you for dinner? I've read about some stickers that are put on bottles for "Corkage Fee paid", is that what they do so you don't have to pay additional if you have them deliver to your room?

Thanks in advance 

on other cruise lines you chose the bottle choice at dinner in dining room.  You took the bottle with you.  I wish they’d deliver them all to the room.  You might be able to go to a bar and get one of your bottles?

[ArtsyCraftsy]

I’ve purchased wine packages on all 3 of my HAL cruises, each on a different ship and it worked the same way all three times.  I always ask to have it delivered to the room, but that doesn’t seem to play any role in how or where you select your individual bottles.

 

When you board, there should be a card in your cabin verifying that you have the 6-bottle package at whatever cellar level you chose when you ordered it (Cellar 1, 2, or 3).  I usually select Cellar 3 as it gives me the greatest flexibility of choice.

 

At some point, you’ll select your first bottle.  You can do this in the dining room on the first night and they’ll bring it right to your table.  That’s what I usually do.  I believe you may also request it at one if the bars (I’ve never done it that way) and I *think* they can deliver it to your cabin.  If there’s wine leftover after dinner, you can ask that they store it for you (it will be marked with your cabin #), or you can have it delivered to your cabin.  Another way to request a bottle for your cabin is via your concierge or butler if you’re in a Neptune or Pinnacle Suite.

 

If you start by having the bottle delivered to your cabin and then take it to the dining room, there shouldn’t be an issue with paying a corkage fee.  Whenever you ask for a bottle as part of your prepaid package, they record it, so they have a record of which bottles and how many you’ve requested/obtained so far.  If you show at the dining room with an unopened bottle, they’ll check to see if it’s one that you requested/obtained earlier.

 

I usually request a red for my cabin on the first day and replenish as needed.  I also request bottles in the dining venues that I have stored from day to day.  Also, if you get a bottle in the Main Dining Room and have it stored for later, you can then request it in any other dining venue Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto, etc), and they’ll retrieve it for you.

 

If you’re so inclined, I highly recommend attending the wine tastings.  It’s a great way to sample a range of available wines and also to get acquainted with your sommeliers.

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

[ksmaxey]

There is never a corkage fee for wine bought from HAL.  That said if you can buy wine and carry it on, it is often cheaper to pay the corkage that the inflated prices though the packages do help with that.

 

You can also have both a red and a white open and enjoy different wines with different courses and both will be corked and stored for the next night.

[kazu]

Never a corkage fee on HAL wine.  

 

Corkage fee only applies to wines that you bring on the ship in excess of the one free bottle permitted at embarkation or any wine you bring on at any of the ports.  It’s those bottles that receive stickers for identification.

 

There is no need for them for the wine purchased from HAL.  

 

 

[JimnKaren]

The only way I know to beat the system is to purchase wine ashore that is sold on the ship. If they see an unusual label, they know it is not one of theirs and they charge the corkage fee. If it is a familiar label, their assumption is that it was wine delivered to your cabin and no corkage.

When you bring wine on the ship (in excess of your allotment), you can pay the corkage fee on the pier and a blue (if I remember correctly) sticker is affixed to the bottle to let the wine folks on the ship know that you paid the corkage on the pier.

 

Jim

[*Miss G*]

5 minutes ago, JimnKaren said:

The only way I know to beat the system

 

Seriously?  For $18?