Question about Corkage Fees, just to be clear.

[crazyboys]

The only cruise I have been on was a Carnival cruise and I was with a group. Everyone was asked to bring on board their allotted bottle of wine so that we could bring a bottle or two of wine for every night at dinner. I was told that if we opened the wine in the room and brought it to dinner there would be no corkage fee; we did and there was no fee. We are going to be on HAL Oosterdam in September (Alaska). Is this the way HAL handles their corkage fees?

[sail7seas]

If you bring your own wine to the dining room on HAL ships, open or unopened you should be charged the corkage fee and almost always will be. I am sure there is a person or two who will report here they were not charged but do not count on that being you.

 

If you do not finish your wine one night at dinner, the steward will cork and hold it for you and bring it to your table the next night. There would be no additional charge to do that.

 

 

If you drink your wine in your cabin, there is no cork fee.

[crazyboys]

Thanks for the clarification.

[Mary Ellen]

Another point - unlike Carnival, HAL doesn't have limits on the amount of wine one can bring onboard. You are free to bring as much as you need.

[RetiredMustang]

Sail, anyone else who may know,

 

It occurred to me when reading another thread a few days ago to wonder whether the "corkage fee in the dining room" for your own wine also applied to the Pinnacle, Canaletto, or Lido. Has anyone experienced this?

 

Dave

[Limeygirl]

Are there corkscrews in all staterooms, or should I pack one?

[Boytjie]

Sail, anyone else who may know,

 

It occurred to me when reading another thread a few days ago to wonder whether the "corkage fee in the dining room" for your own wine also applied to the Pinnacle, Canaletto, or Lido. Has anyone experienced this?

 

Dave

 

From the HAL website:

A corkage fee of US$18.00 applies to wine and champagne brought to the restaurants or bars for consumption.

 

We took wine into the MDR, Tamarind and Pinancle and was charged the corkage fee for every bottle.

 

 

Are there corkscrews in all staterooms, or should I pack one?

 

There should be, if not just ask your cabin steward for one.

[peaches from georgia]

Sail, anyone else who may know,

 

It occurred to me when reading another thread a few days ago to wonder whether the "corkage fee in the dining room" for your own wine also applied to the Pinnacle, Canaletto, or Lido. Has anyone experienced this?

 

Dave

It may not always be charged as it sometimes isn't in the MDR. But the principle is the same no matter what dining room you are in and drinking your own wine. You are not buying HAL's wine, hence the corkage fee.

[RetiredMustang]

From the HAl website:

A corkage fee of US$18.00 applies to wine and champagne brought to the restaurants or bars for consumption.

 

Thanks, I suspected that was the case. I probably should have thought of looking at the web site ... but it's so much easier to ask on CC!

 

Dave

 

(p.s., a funny visual that just struck me -- what do they do with a four-liter jug of Carlo Rossi or Gallo? Rescrew the cap and keep it for you?)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Are there corkscrews in all staterooms, or should I pack one?

 

Not always. You can always ask your room steward for one.

We have been in SA cabins -- sometimes there was one -- sometimes there wasn't.

[Limeygirl]

(p.s., a funny visual that just struck me -- what do they do with a four-liter jug of Carlo Rossi or Gallo? Rescrew the cap and keep it for you?)

:D For some reason, Sangria and tropical locales go hand in hand for me, and my favorite comes in a screw top jug. I plan on just enjoying it in the cabin, but I can just imagine the looks I'd get if I brought it to the MDR.

 

Thank you all for your help with the corkscrew question.

[sue1898]

I once took a 1.5 liter bottle of my favorite Merlot on a cruise and the $18 charge applies regardless of how big the bottle.

Re the screw caps, my friend an I went to Alaska last summer on the Zaandam and while in Seattle, I purchased several bottles of Pacific coastal wines to take on board and had the consierge send them to the MDR when we boarded. Later in the week the night prior to our dinner in the Pinnacle, I asked our wine steward if I was correct that the Flying Fish Merlot (named for the fish in the market) was still being stored. He said it was and I asked that it be sent to the Pinnacle. The next night once we were seated the wine steward brought it over and with great ceremony unscrewed the cap and poured it for us. Murphy's Law...it was the only bottle I had purchased without a cork!

[cruz chic]

Not always. You can always ask your room steward for one.

 

We have been in SA cabins -- sometimes there was one -- sometimes there wasn't.

I've never had a corkscrew in my room. Maybe they don't have them in the cheap seats:D.

[kelleherdl]

Just wondering about the response to a box of wine :D. Went through that phase many years ago.

 

We have the 10-day out of Rome in late April. I am still trying to decide about having the cab stop along the way from the hotel to port to get a case or just sample a couple of bottles at each port around the Med. My wife is partial to Pinot Grigio so that might seal the deal.

 

Dennis

[RetiredMustang]

Just wondering about the response to a box of wine :D. Went through that phase many years ago.

 

We have the 10-day out of Rome in late April. I am still trying to decide about having the cab stop along the way from the hotel to port to get a case or just sample a couple of bottles at each port around the Med. My wife is partial to Pinot Grigio so that might seal the deal.

 

Dennis

 

Dennis,

 

If you like pinot grigio, you may want to try some other light, dry Italian whites. There may be an enoteca (wine store) near your hotel that likely will have some decent prices. You might try a frascati or a castelli romani, both from the region around Rome, or a falanghina from around Benevento. There is also verdicchio and Orvieto. Last time I was in Rome (2008), there was an enoteca across from the Visconti Palace (the hotel HAL used), where I was able to buy a bottle of falanghina for about 3 or 4 Euros. A decent Chianti was about 5 or 6, if I remember right.

 

Dave

[sail7seas]

Screw top bottles are being used on more and more wines and some of them are in the very decent category.

 

Whether screw or cork, the corkage fee is the same and steward will certainly close up your remaining wine and bring it back to you the next night.

 

I agree with those who say corkage rules/fees are the same for every dining venue on HAL ships. If you wish to have the wine with your meal anywhere but in your cabin, they will (are supposed to) charge the fee.

 

[onthegogirl]

"A corkage fee of US$18.00 applies to wine and champagne brought to the restaurants or bars for consumption."

 

That's more than I pay for most of my wines!:D

[garydm]

Corkscrews no more. We did not bring one on our Fall cruise on Oosterdam and there was none in the cabin so we requested one. We were told by the room service supervisor that they no longer make them available as they were losing about 700 of them a week. You had to call room service and someone would come to your cabin to open the wine. This was quite a surprise as there had always been one in our cabin on previous HAL cruises.

 

Gary

[English_in_Spain]

Although it is called 'corkage' fee you are being charged for drinking the wine in the MDR not for the waiter opening the bottle.

[hensghan]

I may be responding to this question as a minority of one but it has been my personal experience that, if all you have your wine steward do is open and serve your wine, you will virtually always be charged a corkage fee. If, on the other hand, you also purchase other things through him -- i.e., before dinner cocktail, after dinner liqueur, etc. -- you are very often not charged a corkage fee. By purchasing other products you permit your steward to still visibly present you with a charge slip, but he also then has the opportunity to inform you that you were not charged a corkage fee, thereby creating an opportunity for you to tip extra. I believe a great many wine stewards would rather receive a $10 additonal personal gratutity than charge $18 that goes pretty much totally to the cruise line. Human nature is human nature. This may not be totally acceptable behavior as far as the cruise line itself goes but it is really no different than the bartender in your favorite lounge making your drinks stronger than normal because you have established a tipping relationship. I know 15% drink gratuities are already included in every purchase but a little extra usually always goes a long way!

[kelleherdl]

Dennis,

 

If you like pinot grigio, you may want to try some other light, dry Italian whites. There may be an enoteca (wine store) near your hotel that likely will have some decent prices. You might try a frascati or a castelli romani, both from the region around Rome, or a falanghina from around Benevento. There is also verdicchio and Orvieto. Last time I was in Rome (2008), there was an enoteca across from the Visconti Palace (the hotel HAL used), where I was able to buy a bottle of falanghina for about 3 or 4 Euros. A decent Chianti was about 5 or 6, if I remember right.

 

Dave

 

 

Dave,

 

Much appreciated. We are taking Rome Cabs from our hotel to the port, so I will email Stefano and let him know we want to make a short stop to alert his driver. I will pass along your recommendations.

 

Thanks

Dennis

[mszula]

Along with our wine we gave our wine steward a really good tip the first night and he took care of us. He offered us free corkage if we signed up for the wine tasting and then also offered us a deal for signing up for the special wine/meal in the Pinnacle. He was amazing and so were the events.

[m steve]

for your wine but the ship will mark up the bottle about 4X or charge around $7-8 for a mediocre wine by the glass. If you bring a $12 bottle and add the corkage it's still less than the wine list. I saw Villa Maria Sauvignon blanc on the list at $40+ and I pay about $11 locally and it's a terrific wine from NZ and has a screw top.

I am happy to pay the corkage and be able to drink a reasonable wine at a reasonable cost.

[bluewave]

After looking at the wine list - that seemed especially true for the champagnes! They were really marked up! We are going to bring a few - and you don't need a corkscrew!

Are there wine glasses in the cabins? Can you request champagne glasses?

[parrotfeathers]

I think I am in the minority, but I really like a nice glass of champagne. If I drank over 2 glasses a night I wouldn't even remember being on a ship. One of my questions closer to my cruise will be the brands of good champagnes available at a somewhat reasonable price.