Corkage fee ?

[Celestial Traveler]

On Holland America, they don't charge you a fee if you bring a bottle of wine that they have on their wine list. Does anyone know if they do that on Princess?

[chrysalis]

no corkage if the wine is on their list...$15 if it is not (sometimes the waiter does not charge it)

[Celestial Traveler]

WOW Crysalis! That was fast!

 

Thanks so much!

[SNMK]

Let me make sure I understand . . . if I bring a bottle of wine on the ship and this type of wine is on the ship's wine list, then I can avoid the corkage fee?

 

Where can I find Princess' wine list?

[Ken1359]

I've read in various threads that the corkage fee is sometimes waived. Does anyone have first hand experience about how this happens? Was there a little early tipping involved, or do you think it was just a nice waiter?

 

I'm about to leave on a 15 day cruise and am taking a few bottles along for the first time. Any experiences or advice would be helpful.

 

Also, do you just take the bottle with you to dinner, or should it be checked with the maitre d' in advance?

[chrysalis]

Let me make sure I understand . . . if I bring a bottle of wine on the ship and this type of wine is on the ship's wine list, then I can avoid the corkage fee?

 

Where can I find Princess' wine list?

 

the wine list has been reproduced here a few times recently...I suggest that you do a search to see if you can pull it up.

[chrysalis]

I've read in various threads that the corkage fee is sometimes waived. Does anyone have first hand experience about how this happens? Was there a little early tipping involved, or do you think it was just a nice waiter?

 

I'm about to leave on a 15 day cruise and am taking a few bottles along for the first time. Any experiences or advice would be helpful.

 

Also, do you just take the bottle with you to dinner, or should it be checked with the maitre d' in advance?

 

We were on the Sun a few weeks ago for 20 days, and took about 10 bottles of wine with us......and we were in Anytime Dining, so did not have a regular table or waitstaff. Sometimes we got charged and sometimes not.....there is no pattern to it, and that has been our experience on other sailings with Princess.

 

On occassion, if the waiter seems to be interested in the wine (never having seen it before), I have offered them a taste (that has, on occassion, negated the corkage:) ).

 

Just carry the wine with you to the table...your waiter will have a bucket to chill it, if you have a white.

[sharpie13]

I've read in various threads that the corkage fee is sometimes waived. Does anyone have first hand experience about how this happens? Was there a little early tipping involved, or do you think it was just a nice waiter?

 

I'm about to leave on a 15 day cruise and am taking a few bottles along for the first time. Any experiences or advice would be helpful.

 

Also, do you just take the bottle with you to dinner, or should it be checked with the maitre d' in advance?

 

Ken,

The only time I had the corkage fee waived, I think it was just a nice waiter...or one to busy to bother with the paperwork.

 

Last week...maybe two weeks now when I boarded the Dawn we carried on 7 bottles of wine in a duffle bag--no questions asked. Princess' guideline is one bottle of wine or champagne per person, but its only a guideline, not a rule.

 

When providing your own bottle of wine for dinner you can have it delivered to the dining room prior to the meal. Its best to list your cabin number, name and table number when doing this. It also allows the dining room staff to have the wine chilled before dinner, if required. Often I just carry a bottle to the table with me.

 

Last note, if your open the wine in your room and share hor dourves, they will say nothing if you carry a full glass of wine into the dining room! Room Service will gladly deliver a reasonable number of wine glasses or champagne flutes and ice to your room without a fee or question.

 

Hope that helps. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Reed

[westwind6371]

My experience has been that you have just as good a chance of being charged a corkage fee if the wine was on the Princess wine list as if it were not. The waiters can tell if the wine was brought onboard or purchased at another bar onboard. With the $15 corkage fee being charged for wine on the wine list, it is not worth the bother to tote it. Princess is very reasonable on their mark up on wine compared to other cruise lines and upscale dining establishments.

 

I seldom am charged corkage for "upscale" wines not on their list, especially if I have purchased a few bottles from them before hand. Never hurts to offer a taste of a nice wine to your server.

 

fair winds

Dave

[geoherb]

Our waiter on the Sun Princess charged us the corkage fee a couple of times early on during our cruise but did not the rest of the time. I think he realized his tip would be better at the end if he did not charge it.

 

The idea behind not charging a corkage fee for wines the cruise line carries is that you could receive a bottle as a gift in your cabin. The Princess website as a few listed that people can send you here.

 

Overall, though, I think there are problems with trying to get away with not paying the corkage fee by bringing on a wine the cruise ship usually carries. First, the cruise ship have run out of that particular wine a few cruises ago. Or it could have the same wine but a different label for some reason. I looked at one wine list posted here before our last cruise and picked out several on it that were not unreasonably priced--actually less than it would cost us to buy the bottle and pay the corkage fee. A few were priced even less than what our local wine shops carry them for.

 

When we've brought along wines, we have tried to bring special ones--ones that we've been saving for a special occasion or ones our local wine shop has recommended--not Mondavi Pinot Noir. For instance, we like to bring at least one bottle of wine from our home state (N.C.) to share with our tablemates.

[westwind6371]

Geoherb is right on target in his observations. The last time someone sent us wine off the "gift list" it was in the form of a card in our cabin that we could present to the waitstaff to order in the dining room or at a bar. When you pruchase wine at another bar and take it to the dining room, it is "prepared" for you so the waiters can tell it was purchase and no additional fees are charged.

 

Fair winds

Dave