RCL Wine and Liquor Policies and Prices (Merged)

[Jennycruise]

I have heard that it's possible to "smuggle" beer and wine on board. Has anyone successfully done this? How?

[Tra4]

We bring a couple of bottles of wine to have in our cabin and maybe a special bottle to take to the dining room for dinner. We always put it in our checked luggage. There have always been wine glasses in our stateroom (GS) and if not, our cabin steward provides them.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI JENNY...if I were you...I would look up some of the past threads on this subject...just to let you know what you are in for...LOL.

[rvrgirl]

Just put it in your checked luggage. If it's bottles, wrap in bubble wrap and put in zip lock bags. (just in case they break)

If you are bringing beer, bring along a collapsable ice chest. When you get it in your room, tip the steward extra and he/she will keep it full of ice all week:)

Happy sailing!

[happy cruzer]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this info.

 

I think I may mix carryon and checked. Glad to know your carryon made it. I'll mix only to be sure some makes it on board.

 

How was the food? Did you have some wine/food pairing your really enjoyed? How did the wine list and wine package look?

Other than late charging you one corkage fee, where they gracious with the corkage fee?

 

If you don't have time to respond, you've already made my day. Thanks!

 

Is SK around?? Sk's and another thread got merged with the wine policies one. So I'll ask again any more info.

 

Anyone else back in the last few weeks that brought wine onboard and want to share the details?

 

Thanks!

[skandls]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this info.

 

I think I may mix carryon and checked. Glad to know your carryon made it. I'll mix only to be sure some makes it on board.

 

How was the food? Did you have some wine/food pairing your really enjoyed? How did the wine list and wine package look?

Other than late charging you one corkage fee, where they gracious with the corkage fee?

 

If you don't have time to respond, you've already made my day. Thanks!

 

The food was ok - not special except in Portofinos and Chops. They are worth the $20 each. We were charged corkage for all our bottles. The waiter seemed very insistant that the corkage be paid. I have never been on another cruise where I was charged corkage for every bottle we brought on the ship.

 

We also bought a $43 white Conundrum for lobster night. The Navigator had a wine bar where you could taste a lot of the wines available on the ship. The Wine Bar also had some tastings (extra charge) that were quite good. It was nice to get a good glass of white to take to dinner to go with the appetizers and salads, while we saved the red for entree and our normal dessert of cheese and crackers.

 

The wine packages were still very over priced with limited selections. They still do not list vintages so you may have to ask about what year you are getting with your package.

 

I do think that with the cost of cruising on RCCL being quite reasonable (especially if you take advantage of the bargain fares) the food and prices of all the extras are not quite what they were 20 years ago. Cruising today can be a great way to vacation - but unless you go to a luxury line realize the normal food will be hotel banquet style and quality.

 

Have a great time - just look at all you are getting for what you are paying.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks, SK This information will help me get my expectations set properly.

 

All additional info welcome.

[jphc318]

Just curious and i may have missed it on the other threads but i was wondering that if you choose to have the bottles delivered to your cabin are they charging a corkage fee?My uncle was goingf on Sovereign in 2 weeks and its his first cruise and he asked me and i wasnt sure i have never orderd the wine package.Thank you for any help you can give me.

[happy cruzer]

For details on the wine policies:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=330826

 

There should be no corkage fee on any wine purchased from the cruiseline. The wine ordered from the cruiseline will have 15% added to cover tip and service.

 

If your question is about the wine package, he will have a little trouble getting the wine to his room most people order that package to be used in the dining room where they can select a wine each night with the wine steward. I'm not sure the room steward or room service can get a record of the package; but I'm sure that he can ask the room steward or dining room captain and they can help him figure out how to get the wine to his room.

 

I would say the easiest way to have wine in his room is to just order the wine from room service. He could also preorder from the gift list and either the wine or a coupon for the wine will be waiting in his room.

[Treven]

Or simply pack your bottle(s) of wine in your carry-on luggage.

[MGoBlue2]

For details on the wine policies:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=330826

 

There should be no corkage fee on any wine purchased from the cruiseline. The wine ordered from the cruiseline will have 15% added to cover tip and service.

 

If your question is about the wine package, he will have a little trouble getting the wine to his room most people order that package to be used in the dining room where they can select a wine each night with the wine steward. I'm not sure the room steward or room service can get a record of the package; but I'm sure that he can ask the room steward or dining room captain and they can help him figure out how to get the wine to his room.

 

I would say the easiest way to have wine in his room is to just order the wine from room service. He could also preorder from the gift list and either the wine or a coupon for the wine will be waiting in his room.

FYI - RCI hasn't had wine stewards for quite some time.

[happy cruzer]

Hummm.... I do remember that the assistant waiter did take our wine orders which was a mess. We always had to hurry our order and the others at the table not getting wine seemed put out because this did delay the entire dinner service. I had assumed that somewhere in the background there was at least one wine steward.

 

This is probably another example of how RCI varies from the wine friendly cruiselines. I think it will help me to remember that there is no one whose job is "wine" on RCI so it will be more important to be prepared before boarding by being educated about their wine policies, packages, and wine lists. Last night I bought the Danzante Pinot Grigio (one fair value on in the wine package, only 3x!!) at Kroger, will taste it later.

 

Thanks for the info! Any more anyone??

[caviargal]

What RCI has now is a "Cellarmaster" who works in the cellar itself and distibutes the wine, manages inventory. Their waiters and assistant waiters are - in general - woefully unable to make recommendations or even to serve wine properly. I miss having a knowledgable sommelier personally.

[happy cruzer]

I found the following update from Brillance. Looks like no new limited wine policy for Brillance. Any more current info?

 

Name of Ship and Date Sailed

Did you bring wine on board? In checked or carry on baggage?

Was there a corkage fee? Did it include the tip?

Was there a wine package offered? Quality of wines and pricing? When and where was it available for purchase and use.

Was there a wine you really enjoyed on the ship? Was there a wine/food pairing you really enjoyed?

General Comments.

 

I cut the update from KathiB and I apologize if she is offended but I noticed lots of comments about wine this am. Thank you, KathiB

 

 

OK, here's the deal. We just got home from the Brilliance 12 day Med. cruise. We are wine lovers from the Napa Valley in Ca. We bought wine in every port to drink with dinner on the ship. The ship's prices are high but more importantly we enjoyed going into wine shops and even supermarkets to pick out local wines. The sales people were always helpful.

 

In Barcelona we bought 2 bottles at Cortes Ingles (SP?) dept store. We just put it in our carry on. No problem. We also had wine in our checked bag which was a gift for our privte guide in Villefranche(we had promised him a bottle of Ca. wine).

 

Bringing our local wine onto the ship at the end of the day was a non-issue. We just walked on with our purchases in bags or in a small backpack. Corkage in the RCI dining room was $12 which they did charge us every night. Our waiter appreciated our desire to try local wine and had no problem with this. We did save money too. The wine we bought was 6-15 euros a bottle...even adding the corkage it was less expensive then what they charged for a bottle of decent wine on the ship.

 

Have a great trip and cheers!

 

KathiB

[Bellfree Bat]

I ended up paying $45 for a bottle of Erath Pinot Noir that would normally only cost $9.50 on land. It's the last time I'll purchase a bottle of wine from RCI. Either I'll bring my own or do without. They are WAY to expensive for what you get.

 

Do you ever pay restaurant "mark-ups" on land? Why should RCI be any different?:confused:

[happy cruzer]

Hey, BB welcome to the discussion.

 

To answer your two questions (based on the concensus of this thread)

 

1) Restaurant markups vary. Where I chose to dine the markup is 2 to 3 X, not 5X. And RCI varies their markup from 2x to 8x. Also most restaurants are providing a better selection of wines. And they have usually trained their staff to be wine knowledgeable. More selection and better service for a smaller markup??? hmmmmm...

 

2) What should RCI do? Follow the traditions set for wine service on a cruise. Provide an even greater discount than a land based restaurant because they have you every night of your cruise and it is considered part of the traditional fine dining experience on a cruiseline. RCI's wine policies, wine service, and wine lists both by the bottle and package do not compare to other lines.

 

This wine changes are what the discussion is about - including the no beverage to be brought on board policy; thankfully with spotty enforcement.

 

More info anyone?

 

Happy Cruzin!

[caviargal]

Hey, BB welcome to the discussion.

 

To answer your two questions (based on the concensus of this thread)

 

1) Restaurant markups vary. Where I chose to dine the markup is 2 to 3 X, not 5X. And RCI varies their markup from 2x to 8x. Also most restaurants are providing a better selection of wines. And they have usually trained their staff to be wine knowledgeable. More selection and better service for a smaller markup??? hmmmmm...

 

2) What should RCI do? Follow the traditions set for wine service on a cruise. Provide an even greater discount than a land based restaurant because they have you every night of your cruise and it is considered part of the traditional fine dining experience on a cruiseline. RCI's wine policies, wine service, and wine lists both by the bottle and package do not compare to other lines.

 

This wine changes are what the discussion is about - including the no beverage to be brought on board policy; thankfully with spotty enforcement.

 

More info anyone?

 

Happy Cruzin!

 

This is exactly correct; we are paying more and getting less.:(

 

RCI used to offer great pricing and Sommeliers. Now, we have only a mundane wine list with excessive markups and waiters and assistants trying to hold their own in an area where they are not adequately trained, nor do they have the time to properly serve wine. And the glasses they use even for a good wine are unacceptable.

 

The "recommendations" made by our waiter last cruise were really poor and obviously in keeping with the wines being promoted. I do not, however, expect them to be knowledgeable.

 

I bring my own and pay the corkage.

[happy cruzer]

Hey anyone come off the ships in the last month or so with current info on how they are handling the bring beverages (esp. wine) on board issue?

 

We'll all still wondering about the current enforcement!

 

Here's the wine questions, but any info on any of the beverages is welcome too!

 

Name of Ship and Date Sailed

Did you bring wine on board? In checked or carry on baggage?

Was there a corkage fee? Did it include the tip?

Was there a wine package offered? Quality of wines and pricing? When and where was it available for purchase and use.

Was there a wine you really enjoyed on the ship? Was there a wine/food pairing you really enjoyed?

General Comments.

[saygrace]

Keep seeing info that states only wine can be brought aboard for passengers are gifts delivered to the ship from authorized vendors. Does that mean a friend can send you a gift of several bottles of wine by having it delievered to the ship? If so, who are the authorized vendors? How do you find them?:confused:

[happy cruzer]

Most people purchase gifts of wine through the cruiseline. I believe it is on the RCI website under Gifts and Gear. You can see gift baskets and individual wines to purchase. Items to note :

if you buy your wine through the ship there will be no corkage fee to take it to the dining rooms, the price paid will already include tax and tips.

also the ship will let you substitute wines for the wine purchased. This will let you get the kind of wine you prefer.

 

I searched for about 20 m and could not find the detailed information on 2nd party gift basket providers. I have seen it before and went to many of the indepedent gift basket web sites earlier to research this. What I found was that as far as wine goes their idea usually is - its the thought that counts. For example, most let you pick a red wine or a white wine to be delivered. They don't have a wine list to chose from; i.e you can not pick a specifid wine to be delivered. The prices seem to be about the same as on RCI, IMHO not good.

 

So if I were doing a wine gift for someone, I think I would do it through the ship.

[JaneStarr]

Hey anyone come off the ships in the last month or so with current info on how they are handling the bring beverages (esp. wine) on board issue?

 

We'll all still wondering about the current enforcement!

 

Here's the wine questions, but any info on any of the beverages is welcome too!

 

Name of Ship and Date Sailed:

Jewel OTS 7/1/06 out of Harwich

 

Did you bring wine on board? In checked or carry on baggage?

We brought 2 bottles given to us by CEO of City Inn Westminster in our Checked luggage. No corkage fee since we used it for a party in our stateroom (aft 1600), but room service did offer to uncork for us. They brought us corkscrews and wine buckets.

 

Friends had 2 bottles of wine confiscated from their carry-on. Bought in Italy & France by their son during a pre-cruise backpacking trip. Mom asked twice for assurance that they would have the correct bottles returned to them at the end of the cruise (since their son chose them specially). Told that they do this all the time and that there would not be a problem. Incredibly, they lost one of the two bottles and took a while to track down the other! After some negotiation with the wine guy at final night's supper, son chose another bottle of Italian white from RCI wine list.

 

Was there a corkage fee? Did it include the tip? N/A

Was there a wine package offered? Quality of wines and pricing? When and where was it available for purchase and use.

DH bought Diamond wine package of 12 bottles. It was about $329 (??) plus 15%. They had everything DH wanted each evening except for the "higher value" champagne on the last night. The wine was fine -- not exceptional, but we were happy not to have to deal with the price lists each night.

We just c0nsidered it part of the price of cruising for 12 nights. We shared with our traveling group and had 2 of the bottles delivered to our suite for the party without any problem.

[happy cruzer]

Thank you for the update on Jewel out of Harwich. I'm sure your friends were disappointed that their wine was confiscated and then disappeared.

 

Many of the people on this thread including myself have called to confirm that we can bring "special" wines onboard and pay a corkage fee. I wonder if your friends had told them this if it would have made a difference, could they have gotten their wine back in the dining room to enjoy on the cruise with paying the corkage fee. I know RCI covers themselves with their vague policy disclaimers so that they basically can have any policy at any time. Checked luggae seems to be the best bet!

 

I am so glad you enjoyed the wine package and only had one availability problem. It is easier but I think they charge for that. But bottom line it worked for you guys!!!

 

You are great to provide this current info!:)

[Disneycrazymom]

I ordered a gift basket for our cruise from Shirley Brown at the Perfect Gift. She can deliver to the Mariner at Port Canaveral and is including both a bottle of wine, some VO and some caffen free soda. It was about $45 and there is a delivery fee but worth it I think! Phone 1 -800 - 950 -4559.:)

[ncamy]

Sailed Alaska inside passage July 2 out of Vancouver on the Serenade. Three adults and one child had 10 pieces of checked luggage. Wrapped in bubble wrap in the checked luggage we had 8 bottles of wine, one bottle of champagne, and two bottles of gin. All delivered straight to our room. Our Grand Suite was set up nicely with many different bar and wine glasses and a corkscrew. We drank the champagne on our balcony at sailaway, the gin throughout the week also on our balcony, and one bottle of wine per night in the dining room. We drank two bottles the night we went to Chops. We were never charged a corkage fee. Our wine was graciously opened every night by either the assistant waiter or head waiter, not the main waiter, but the head waiter...the guy you are supposed to tip .75 per day per person! We went on the cruise fully expecting to pay a corkage fee so we took the expected ($12 X 7 days) $84 and split it between our favorite employees, with a hefty chunk going to the waiters. By the way we bought most of our wine in Vancouver because of the Canadian border limits. We only took 4 bottles bought in the US plus the gin. The rest we bought in Canada. I know we came out ahead money wise, plus we were happier cruisers to have wines to our liking.

[happy cruzer]

Thank you all, the gift basket sounded like a pretty good deal.

And Amy got treated right our of Vancouver. I noted that she did checked baggage for her bottles. I'm still bothered by Janet's friends experience. yuk.

 

Keep those current experiences coming!