Bringing your own wine on board emerald Princess

[2new2cruzin]

I have heard mixed information on this subject. Does anyone have any first hand experience with bringing wine on board in excess of one bottle per person? Were you successful or unsuccessful? :confused:

[Mary in Maine]

I carried on 2 bottles of wine with no problem.

[oskidunker]

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[donaldsc]

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Until someone gets it right. Or bothers to read their Princess Contract.

 

DON

[TracieABD]

Welcome to the CC Boards.

Bear in mind the Princess website says 2 bottle per person, but I have watched people bring on entire cases of wine and soda on board and leave them with the porters. Just make sure that you clearly lable it. Or you can pack the bottles in your suitcase and leave them with the porters.:)

Good luck and happy sails to you!:)

[donaldsc]

Welcome to the CC Boards.

Bear in mind the Princess website says 2 bottle per person, but I have watched people bring on entire cases of wine and soda on board and leave them with the porters. Just make sure that you clearly lable it. Or you can pack the bottles in your suitcase and leave them with the porters.:)

Good luck and happy sails to you!:)

 

This is what the cruise contract says regarding wine

 

"No alcohol may be purchased or consumed by any Passengers under the age of 21. No Passenger under the age of 21 shall be permitted to engage in any gaming activities on board the ship. No Passenger under the age of 18 shall be permitted to purchase cigarettes or tobacco products. Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind (except wine and champagne) on board for consumption. You must surrender alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty free from the ship’s gift shop, or at ports of call, to Carrier, which will be delivered to Your stateroom on the last day of the voyage. A corkage fee of $15.00 U.S.D. per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine and champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship’s restaurants."

 

It does not specify any limit to the amount of wine you can bring on board. The last time we cruised Princess, someone down the hall from us brought 2 cases (24 bottles) of wine. We brought 8 bottles on board.

 

DON

[TracieABD]

"We kindly request that you do not bring alcoholic beverages (other than wine and/or champagne) onboard for consumption.

Alcoholic beverages sourced from shore-side and brought onboard, no matter where sourced, will be collected at the gangway for safekeeping and will be delivered to the passenger's stateroom on the last day of the cruise.

A member of the ship's security staff will be at the gangway to assist passengers with the storage of their alcoholic beverage purchases. The only exception to the above rule, is that passengers are permitted to bring one bottle of wine and/or champagne per person purchased in a shoreside location onboard. If the wine and/or champagne is brought to the dining room for consumption, a $15.00 per bottle corkage fee will be applied to the passenger's shipboard account. We prefer that passengers bring wine/champagne no larger than 750ml, however, magnums are acceptable. Wine in a box is not encouraged.

Passengers are also permitted to consume the wine and/or champagne in the privacy of their stateroom only, but it may not be brought into any public lounge for consumption.

Please note that any wines and champagnes supplied from the ship's stock to passengers would not be subject to a corkage fee.(http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp)"

 

You are right, I was wrong. On the Princess website it is stated as 1 bottle of wine per person....:)

[Pia1913]

Maybe I can stop this now. I boarded the Emerald on Sunday, June 6th with only two bottles. However, the person who checked in next to me was boarding with 2 boxes of wine (each equivalent to 3 bottles) and his wife had the same thing.

[Wileyd577]

Just stop it now. The Q & A says 1 bottle per person. The contract says wine without limits noted. I have personally brought on 5 bottles of wine and a bottle of Single Barrel Jack every cruise. Packed in a carryon. Scanned and moved on down the line. For you flammers I have bought Opus One and a healthy bar tab with each cruise. Its all good. Princess is very "kind" on this regard and is rewarded with loyalty and plenty of purchases on board. Everybody wins until the lawyers and judges show up. Period.

[Richie2pies]

I bring a "few" bottles on every cruise. Princess is a line that treats you like an adult. My bar bill is just as high as anyone elses. It's just nice to enjoy a libation on your balcony before some serious drinking. You're on vacation, right?

[caribill]

This is what the cruise contract says regarding wine

 

"No alcohol may be purchased or consumed by any Passengers under the age of 21. No Passenger under the age of 21 shall be permitted to engage in any gaming activities on board the ship. No Passenger under the age of 18 shall be permitted to purchase cigarettes or tobacco products. Passengers agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind (except wine and champagne) on board for consumption. You must surrender alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty free from the ship’s gift shop, or at ports of call, to Carrier, which will be delivered to Your stateroom on the last day of the voyage. A corkage fee of $15.00 U.S.D. per bottle (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to wine and champagne brought aboard by You and consumed in the ship’s restaurants."

 

It does not specify any limit to the amount of wine you can bring on board. The last time we cruised Princess, someone down the hall from us brought 2 cases (24 bottles) of wine. We brought 8 bottles on board.

 

DON

 

"We kindly request that you do not bring alcoholic beverages (other than wine and/or champagne) onboard for consumption.

Alcoholic beverages sourced from shore-side and brought onboard, no matter where sourced, will be collected at the gangway for safekeeping and will be delivered to the passenger's stateroom on the last day of the cruise.

A member of the ship's security staff will be at the gangway to assist passengers with the storage of their alcoholic beverage purchases. The only exception to the above rule, is that passengers are permitted to bring one bottle of wine and/or champagne per person purchased in a shoreside location onboard. If the wine and/or champagne is brought to the dining room for consumption, a $15.00 per bottle corkage fee will be applied to the passenger's shipboard account. We prefer that passengers bring wine/champagne no larger than 750ml, however, magnums are acceptable. Wine in a box is not encouraged.

Passengers are also permitted to consume the wine and/or champagne in the privacy of their stateroom only, but it may not be brought into any public lounge for consumption.

Please note that any wines and champagnes supplied from the ship's stock to passengers would not be subject to a corkage fee.(http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp)"

 

You are right, I was wrong. On the Princess website it is stated as 1 bottle of wine per person....:)

 

 

One of these is the legal cruise contract. The other is FAQ. The legal contract should be the prevailing document.

[Wanderlust408]

Without getting into any interpretation of cruise contract vs website info, here are my experiences and opinion:

 

Experience

 

I have both carried on and checked multiple bottles of wine.

 

When I did a “Round the Horn” cruise on Princess, I purchased ½ case of wine in a Buenos Aires wine shop and carried it on. It was packaged in one of those airline carryon boxes (totally worthless in US, but still good elsewhere in the world) inside a sack with the wine store’s name, etc. Put it on the belt for the X-Ray machine and then carried it to stateroom with my other carryon. Not so much as a glance from the boarding personnel. I also purchased bottles of wine in a couple of Chilean ports and carried them aboard in plastic bags. (Opinion – Hey, if I’m in South America, I want to experience the wines of SAJ!)

 

In Seattle, San Pedro, and Ft Lauderdale, I have checked a case of wine with porters. Slapped a luggage tag on the box. It was delivered to my stateroom, intact.

 

In Ft. Lauderdale, I have brought 5-6 bottles of wine aboard as carryon.

 

I drink wine on my balcony, and take wine to dining room where I pay my $15 corkage when requested.

 

In my experience, I pay less corkage with Traditional Dining, than with Anytime Dining.

 

Opinion

 

I feel $15 corkage is very fair. Most nice restaurants charge $15-30 corkage. I don’t have a problem with restaurants making a little on my bringing a bottle, as it means they aren’t going to sell a bottle. They open it, serve it, provide glasses, and provide the same experience for corkage fee, as I would receive if I purchased a bottle from the restaurant. They also have to store a lot of wine in anticipation of what customers will buy. So, I am okay with Princess doing the same and, I feel, at the lower end of the price scale.

 

Princess wine menu prices, IMO, are reasonable. It appears to me they markup the wines at a set amount vs. a % amount. Therefore, the less expensive wines have more of a “premium” on them than more expensive selections. I have found some of Princess’ higher end wines to be very reasonable – better than I could do at a stateside restaurant. I like to bring my own for balcony consumption and for dining room (wines not available on board).

 

I believe the reason I pay less corkage with Traditional than Anytime Dining, is I know my waiter and they are more willing to “forget” to charge the corkage. Of course, when this happens, a cash tip (in addition to auto-tip) is presented to waiter at cruise end. I suspect this is probably also true when a regular reservation at same table with same dining staff happens in Anytime, but I don’t know this from personal experience. My experience with Anytime dining, was truly random. We showed up at various times, in different venues, with different servers.

 

Hopefully, Princess understands and is okay with this practice. I’d like to believe the main reason for a corkage fee (both in restaurants on onboard ship) is to insure the wait staff is compensated for their service since most people tip on total bill and to add a little profit for wine not purchased. So, if wait staff in anticipation of a higher tip forgoes corkage fee, everyone is cool. If they have cheapskates for customers, they are screwed; if they have appreciative customers – they are rewarded. Risk/reward.

 

Also, opinion: I think Princess doesn’t care how much wine is boarded, as long as it isn’t abused. They are giving aficionados an opportunity to enjoy either way. The caveat here is abuse. They are in the cruise business to make money – duh. If they believe they are losing money with current policy, they’ll change it.

 

Please differentiate my opinion from my experience when you chastise me.:)

(Unrelated to this particular thread, but important in overall context: I buy wine, martinis, and other adult beverages in the onboard bars, as well as the wine I bring myself. Hey – I’m on vacation!!):D

(Also, related to this thread, but only for perspective, I am from Bay Area, California. I am a wine junkie!!!):rolleyes:

[sherman931]

I always bring wine. I have both carried it on and checked it with my baggage. Last two cruises I left a box with 5 bottles with the dock stewards and it always arrived safely in my cabin with my other luggage. I have also packed four bottles in my roll aboard and breezed thru security without so much as a second glance.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree there is no issue with bringing on wine or champagne when boarding.

[Cruise Raider]

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Why do you read these posts if you don't like them?? Just pass over them if they bother you so much?? I think the OP asked a legitimate question and you answer with such comtempt???

[2new2cruzin]

Thanks everybody for your thoughtful responses. We feel safe to bring a little extra wine with us. :D Are there wine packages with dinners and do you think it's worth it?