Bringing wine to dinner?

[knceld]

I will be going on my first cruise with Royal Caribbean this summer and my other half wants to know if we can preorder alcohol and have it delivered to the room and if we preorder the wine package can we take a bottle to dinner with us? We dont smuggle but like our wine and I read that we cant bring wine onboard but can preorder it. Thoughts?

[Carolin]

When you order one of the wine packages, a bottle will be waiting for you at dinner. You can take this bottle (if there's any left *grin*) with you after you dine and keep it in your cabin. Have a great cruise. :D

[knceld]

Thanks so much Carolin! I love cruisers!

[famcruiser]

Our experience with the wine package is that you can preorder on the RCI website or order it when you get onboard. I read somewhere that you will be taxed if you order it onboard (before the ship sails). I honestly don't remember if we were taxed on the cruises where we ordered it right after boarding, though. We, also, only got our wines in the MDR or in the specialty restaurants. I've read that you can't get them sent to your room. On our last cruise, we ordered too many bottles for the week and were able to bring the 2 extra home with us. I've, also, read that you can only have 1 bottle open at a time, which isn't true in our experience. We were a group of 11 on our last cruise and we, usually, had a red and a white going every evening. I hope this helps!

[Mark_K]

Our experience with the wine package is that you can preorder on the RCI website or order it when you get onboard. I read somewhere that you will be taxed if you order it onboard (before the ship sails). I honestly don't remember if we were taxed on the cruises where we ordered it right after boarding, though. We, also, only got our wines in the MDR or in the specialty restaurants. I've read that you can't get them sent to your room. On our last cruise, we ordered too many bottles for the week and were able to bring the 2 extra home with us. I've, also, read that you can only have 1 bottle open at a time, which isn't true in our experience. We were a group of 11 on our last cruise and we, usually, had a red and a white going every evening. I hope this helps!

If you buy it on board state sales tax may be charged - or not -it depends on whether it gets entered into the computer system before or after reaching international waters. I've always ordered from the people outside the Windjammer that give you a hand written receipt and never had to pay sales tax.

 

The down side to pre-ordering is that not all wines listed are available on all sailings. So, if one or two of the wines are something you really want, it might be better to wait to see if they have them before purchasing.

[Mark_K]

I will be going on my first cruise with Royal Caribbean this summer and my other half wants to know if we can preorder alcohol and have it delivered to the room and if we preorder the wine package can we take a bottle to dinner with us? We dont smuggle but like our wine and I read that we cant bring wine onboard but can preorder it. Thoughts?

If you pre-order wine to your room and take it to dinner, they may charge you a corkage fee even though you bought it from them. Their stance seems to be that unless the waiter gets it for you, they can't be sure it wasn't smuggled on board.

 

If it were me, I would get the wine package for dinner and if a wanted a bottle in my room, I'd order it from room service or get it from one of the bars.

[got twins?]

We cruised the Mariner last summer, and are doing the same again this year.

 

I too like my wine with dinner, but it can get costly!!

 

One thing I noticed and took advantage of was that in the Windjammer they featured a small "individual" bottle of wine (Australian, I think) that was quite tasty (Cab or Chardonnay). They cost was a good chunk less than a "glass" of wine at the bar or dinner, and the bottle was bigger than the glass they pour. You can grab one (or more) of those at lunch and pour it in advance and carry it with you to dinner.

 

Frugal, but it works, and it's good!

 

Hope this helps a bit!!

 

:):)

[Tucker in Texas]

If you order the wine package, have it delivered to the dining room. Then take what is left of the bottle to your cabin. Even if you have to open a second bottle and take a sip out of it. Other way around (in cabin and take to dining room), they will charge you a corkage fee as the OP pointed out.

 

If you have wine in your cabin (not specifying how it got there), I have poured a full glass and taken it to the dining room without a problem. Two reasons: 1) wine/drink service in the dining room has been either slow (not received when ordered until well into the entree) or sometimes not been able to get someone to order it from. 2) is it is a full glass which is equal to two of their glasses which is my max with dinner.

 

Good info about the bottles in the Windjammer. I never thought of that. I'll check it out next time.

 

Tucker in Texas

[foxesden1]

When you order one of the wine packages, a bottle will be waiting for you at dinner. You can take this bottle (if there's any left *grin*) with you after you dine and keep it in your cabin. Have a great cruise. :D

 

do you pre order the wine type? how on earth would you know what type you want, with your dinner?

[Marie51]

We cruised the Mariner last summer, and are doing the same again this year.

 

I too like my wine with dinner, but it can get costly!!

 

One thing I noticed and took advantage of was that in the Windjammer they featured a small "individual" bottle of wine (Australian, I think) that was quite tasty (Cab or Chardonnay). They cost was a good chunk less than a "glass" of wine at the bar or dinner, and the bottle was bigger than the glass they pour. You can grab one (or more) of those at lunch and pour it in advance and carry it with you to dinner.

 

Frugal, but it works, and it's good!

 

Hope this helps a bit!!

 

:):)

I didn't know about this but will check it out on my next cruise. I see it as a good way to bring the small bottle of wine back to the cabin for a glass before dinner.

 

Also if you do not finish your bottle of wine at dinner, they will save it for you for the next night.

[BillB48]

do you pre order the wine type? how on earth would you know what type you want, with your dinner?

 

 

There is only one type of wine.... red!;) Ok, just kidding... if you mean when you order one of the wine packages, Gold, Silver and Platinum( I think that is the order from less expensive to expensive) you have a choice of various whites and reds in each package. There are more choices as the price of the package goes up. The smallest package is 5 bottles.

[foxesden1]

so you make your choice at dinner right? not when you order your pkg? (other then picking which pkg type you are going to order).

[margeecruiser]

Yes, that is the way it works. You order whichever package you think will work for you; that is, 5-7-9 bottles of whichever level of wine quality you like. Then at dinner, look at the menu and then decide which wine to order from your level. The wine steward will also advise which wine would work for your entree. You can order a white and a red and have one or both corked and brought out the next night, especially if there are two of you and you each want a different wine with a particular entree.

 

That's the way we do it. You can only guess as to how much you would drink on any particular cruise. We guess on the heavy side and then share at the end of the cruise if we have leftovers (this has never happened, but that is the plan).:D

[Carolin]

do you pre order the wine type? how on earth would you know what type you want, with your dinner?

 

I've only ordered the wine package on board when I can see what they offer. I tend to stick with the type of wine I like to drink (reds) rather then try to pair them with my dinner. There are some packages where you can order both red and white wines. When you see the days selection, you can order which one you prefer from your package. :D

[traveling1969]

Here are two ways to get wine in your room. Pre-order a bottle for sailaway if you want a bottle waiting for you (you may just receive a coupon and have to call room service). Puchase a wine package and when you are in the dining room enjoying your dinner, request another bottle to take to your room. They will open it or not depending on your wishes. No corkage will be charged.

Bon Voyage!

[gem0611]

I thought I read from another posting that you can also ask for one of your bottles from any bar. Is that not the case? You can only get a bottle from the dining room?

 

Thanks!