New Princess Wine Policy

[mr green]

Could you name some Canadian wines to try?

 

 

 

I really had to resist putting an "eh?" at the end of that sentence!

 

Red wine does not agree with me, so I only enjoy whites. I have no idea which wines you might get, as most of our wineries are small. First make sure that the letters 'QVA' are on the seal, a so called quality contol. Wineries that I would recommend are many, Gray Monk, and Cedar Creek [winery of the year a year or so ago], are my favourites. For sparkling wines Summerhill Pyramid is by far the best. Many peope like Burrowing Owl. Any Gewurztaminer is good, if your like desert wines look for any 'Late Harvest' notation under the wine's name, and of course Ice Wine is the best [in my opinion]. Remember, one in ten bottles may have faulty corks, another reason for 'Twist Tops', even the French are starting to use them. Now these are all wines from the west. Cheers john

[C 2 C]

I just received a weird error warning on my computer.

 

I switched from the Celebrity board to the Princess board and tried to load the :

New Princess Wine Policy thread.

 

Up pops a warning that http://WWW.Carnival.com was trying to establish a connection with my computer. I tried the same thread with a second computer and the same happens. It does not occur when I tried to load in a different thread...

 

Does this mean Big Brother is watching?????

 

How do you do a Prnt Scrn dump to capture this event to post the onscreen warning??:eek:

 

This occured only when I opened the thread, not when I went to this last page!

[KennyC]

Does this mean Big Brother is watching?

I could go into a huge explanation as to why not, but just be satisfied with "no".

 

(If "Big Brother" ... sigh ... wanted to be "watching", they'd just have someone subscribe to Cruise Critic. You probably just got a pop-up warning when one of the site's interstitial ads tried to load.)

[seamama1]

Big brother always watches these boards. If you owned a cruiseline, wouldn't you? Here is your target market, thousands of them, all chatting freely about the good, the bad and the ugle....and it doesn't cost you a dime for all this information.

 

Believe it!:eek:

[KennyC]

They'd have no need to do anything surrepetitious to anyone's computer, though- it's not like this stuff is hidden away.

[dforeigner]

I just received a weird error warning on my computer.

 

I switched from the Celebrity board to the Princess board and tried to load the :

New Princess Wine Policy thread.

 

Up pops a warning that WWW.Carnival.com was trying to establish a connection with my computer. I tried the same thread with a second computer and the same happens. It does not occur when I tried to load in a different thread...

 

Does this mean Big Brother is watching?????

 

How do you do a Prnt Scrn dump to capture this event to post the onscreen warning??:eek:

 

This occured only when I opened the thread, not when I went to this last page!

 

After you press the print screen button, you can either open MS Word and hit the past button or try opening a new post and do the same thing. I am not sure wheter or not this site will allow you to paste anything bigger than the set size limit.

[memoak]

The issue for many Alaskan cruisers is not getting the wine on the ship but the wine into Canada. If you are sailing from Vancouver and coming from the US you are only allowed 2 bottles (3/4 litre) per person into the country free of charge. Any bottles after that have, and here I quote the Canadian consolute in San Francisco, " a very high duty charge".

 

So my 12 bottles just changed to 8. The word now is "sail with friends".

 

I would try to sneak in some extra but I would hate to have bottles I have been storing for 3 - 4 years confiscated.

 

Anyone have any experience in this ?

[West Coast]

memoak...

Try stopping at a liquor store in Vancouver on your way to the ship. There are a couple right en route from the airport that have a great selection. Our BC wines are very good - look for the VQA (Vinters Quality Assurance) label.

 

Put your wine in a box (get it from the liquor store with the regular dividers) and put a luggage tag on it. In Vancouver, at Canada place, you check your bags with porters, then go thru security, then thru US customs (yes - US customs in Vancouver before you get on the ship!) and then onwards to Princess check-in. It's quite a smooth process and you'll have no problems. We've sailed many times from Canada Place (7 minutes from our home) and as recent as May this year.

[memoak]

Yes but I am training up from Seattle on the day I sail. How do I get past Canadian customs with my US/European wines ?

 

I cellar them so I can have them at dinner on fun cruises.

[OuiOnboard]

Yes but I am training up from Seattle on the day I sail. How do I get past Canadian customs with my US/European wines ?

 

I cellar them so I can have them at dinner on fun cruises.

You take them on cruises that don't originate in Canada....or pay the duty. Maybe cruise from Seattle.

[beachnative]

We just went through customs at the Vancouver airport...it was a breeze. We didn't pick up our suitcases until after we had cleared...we could have had two cases in our suitcase instead of clothes and I don't think it would have mattered. They just glance at what you write down on the (very simple) form. When it gets down to it, why would they be concerned if you have two or three liters of rum instead of one...you're going to consume it (well, that's stretching it) and not sell it.

 

Aside from that...the people at the Vancouver airport are delightful...none of the grumpy, stern, bossy with growls and snarls looks we get when we go through customs in some of our U.S. airports (Dulles comes to mind!). Many of us could learn some good lessons and people skills from those who work in Vancouver...we were VERY impressed with the people in the service industry throughout that beautiful city.

[MisterC]

Just a reminder: The wine list posted above are those that can be pre-ordered. The dining room list is a lot more extensive with MANY other high-end wines. For example, J-wine Pinot Noir was a good deal. And the Opus and high-end Mondavi (over $80 land retail) are not on the list. The complete wine list has over 200 wines and is comparable to a medium priced continental restaurant list. There is a list posted somewhere -- maybe one of the posters can remember/Sultan

 

 

Does anyone have a copy of the complete wine list or a link to one? Sure would be nice to see what else they offer. I am not too excited about the pre order list they offer.

[sultan_sfo]

These are not current. The prices have increased and there have been changes.

 

http://cruiseclues.com/starprincess/winelist.htm

 

http://www.smoothseas.com/DiamondPrincessWineList.pdf

 

/Sultan

[MisterC]

Sultan, Thanks, this gives me a little more hope that I will be able to enjoy a few bottles of decent wine.:cool:

MisterC

[cherrypop]

I live in Vancouver and wouldnt advise anyone smuggling liquor or anything in the country. Sure you collect your baggage after you go through customs but up until the time you leave the area (after getting your luggage) they will randomly pick people out of line to search their bags. The duty isnt that much so why take the chance, cause they can and will make your experience if you smuggle anything a living h*ll. A couple of dollars on each bottle isnt a big deal.

[spocruiser]

memoak...

Try stopping at a liquor store in Vancouver on your way to the ship. There are a couple right en route from the airport that have a great selection. Our BC wines are very good - look for the VQA (Vinters Quality Assurance) label.

 

I would very much agree. Having visited Napa last year and the Okanogan wine country a month ago, we found plenty we liked in both locations.

 

I would also note that although the duty for taking wine into Canada apparently is high (per a prior poster - I have no experience with this), the duty for bringing wine from Canada into the US is very, very low. So if you are crusing out of Vancouver, but flying in and out of Seattle, you might want to pick up more of that great BC wine you discovered on your cruise.

[Cruise Junky]

This is a really rough estimate of duty...it has usually worked out that you convert the bottle's worth to Canadian and that's what you'll pay in duty....so... a $20 us bottle of wine converts to around $23 Cdn. The Duty will be around $23. It is so not worth getting caught... bring your limit and buy the rest in Canada.

[West Coast]

Yes but I am training up from Seattle on the day I sail. How do I get past Canadian customs with my US/European wines ?

 

Are you flying, driving, or training?

 

I can't morally advise you to smuggle your wine in but I can tell you each person is allowed to bring in 1.5 L (litres) which generally = 2 bottles of wine (most wine bottles are 750ml).

 

Others have commented on the fly-in process.

 

If you drive up, at the border crossing, you will give the customs officer a 'verbal' declaration. Depending on how you respond, your car and contents may be subject to inspection.

 

If you train up, you do not go through customs at the border. The train comes all the way into Vancouver and you will 'walk' through a booth and give a verbal declaration and hand in a form.

 

If you're worried about being caught then the easiest solution is to leave your cellared wines at home (except for the 2 bottles per person).

 

Good luck, what ever you decide to do :)