Bring your own wine onboard - really?

[Winter Blahs]

Is this true? Do you bring it from home?

[superoma]

If you are driving to the port, you could. But if you are flying, you risk the chance of a bottle breaking in your suitcase. (I know, Magellan and bubble wrap but still not something I would do). We generally buy at the port we leave from. Did that in Montreal, will do that in Seattle next summer. We always arrive at least one day ahead, so this is possible. It is a little harder if you arrive on the same day as your cruise.

[hawkeye3d]

From what I have seen you can bring as much wine as you want aboard, but you will have to pay a corkage fee if you care to have it for dinner. I actually make my own wine and use a 32oz Traveler to transport it. If available you can always buy some close to the pier in the regular glass bottles.

[arewethereyet]

On my next HAL cruise, I will be buying wine (6 or 8 bottles) in Seattle the day before and carrying it aboard. I can find a better selection of wines in Seattle than on the ship's wine list. For me, it's more about getting the wines I want than it is saving money. But, you can save quite a bit on more costly wines.

 

I will not buy wines in Seattle that I know are on HAL's wine list however.

 

YMMV

[Krazy Kruizers]

You can bring as much bottled water, soda, wine and champagne on board the ship as you want. There is no limit. Some people have brought on a couple of cases.

 

If you take any of the bottles to the dining room or a bar/lounge -- there will be an $18 per bottle corkage fee.

 

You can also buy bottles of wine and champagne in the various ports and bring them on board.

[English_in_Spain]

Last year our cruise on Noordam was 35 days. We bought wine in Ft Lauderdale before boarding.

 

We put a luggage label on the case of wine and it was delivered to our cabin together with or luggage.

[jtl513]

Instead of listing all of the beverages that you can bring on board I think it's easier to say what you can't bring: hard liquor and beer.

[dpump]

We bring our own wine all the time. We put the bottles in wine bags and havent had any break yet. We enjoy good quality reds and can't afford the inflated prices the ships charge.

Our last cruise we put our wine in a small carry on and had no issues (didn't have to pay for luggage, if we would of, would of been a different story).

[Softball20]

It's awesome on Med cruises as we typically buy some in ports to enjoy in our cabin or at dinner. I love Italian reds so it's fun to be able to get some locally at great prices.

[Ontariotrekker]

Enjoy your wine in your cabin please. I watched in horror as a very drunk lady stumbled through the hallway and onto an elevator where she spilled a whole glass of wine on another passenger... Murphy's Law - red wine, pale pink dress!

[vbmom87]

If you are going to drink your wine in your cabin, bring a corkscrew. On our first cruise our TA had a bottle of wine sent to our cabin, but we had no way of opening it. We were lucky to find a cheap corkscrew in Ketchikan so we could enjoy the wine. This time we just brought a few of the mini bottles of wine that have screw caps. :eek:

[peaches from georgia]

If you are going to drink your wine in your cabin, bring a corkscrew. On our first cruise our TA had a bottle of wine sent to our cabin, but we had no way of opening it. We were lucky to find a cheap corkscrew in Ketchikan so we could enjoy the wine. This time we just brought a few of the mini bottles of wine that have screw caps. :eek:

Did you ask your room steward for a corkscrew? Usually they can get you one right away.

[vbmom87]

Did you ask your room steward for a corkscrew? Usually they can get you one right away.

 

It was our first cruise ever and that never crossed our mind. We just didn't know and we weren't expecting to find a bottle of wine in our room.

 

I did learn from CC to ask my room steward for a vase this time, and he did find me one. :)

[Bearnaise]

I made sure to bring on our May cruise, but there was one already in our cabin when we arrived. In November, we'll make sure to pack one again just in case. Still, if they aren't normally found in the cabins (we were in an SS if that makes a difference), and if there's a limited amount available on the shop for the steward to track down, you'd think the boutique/gift shop would sell them - convenience the passenger and make a profit to boot.

[Softball20]

I keep one in my one of my travel bags so it's with me on all trips. It's come in handy many times :)

[Hlitner]

We carry a small pressurized wine vat in our luggage so that our wine can age as we travel! But seriously, we do often like to have some of our own wine on cruises and generally buy it near the port. When we cruise out of FLL we spend the night before our cruise in a motel that is near a BJs Club where we can purchase wine at a terrific price. If cruising out of Europe we have various places where we will buy some wine (such as the COOP not too far from the port in Venice). We have also been known to have packed a box of wine (Black Box) in our checked luggage if we are going to have a lot of sea days before our first port.

 

Hank

[foodgirl]

I want to bring a couple of the larger type wine bottles on my cruise in November....does anyone know if the mini fridge in the rooms can handle those type bottles? If not I may reconsider and bring something else...just a wine that is sold that way that I really love. thanks.

[catl331]

I want to bring a couple of the larger type wine bottles on my cruise in November....does anyone know if the mini fridge in the rooms can handle those type bottles?

We've had "regular" wine bottles that had to be tipped to fit in. Maybe you could bring a carafe to put in the fridge, to be refilled from the big bottle in the closet.

[RuthC]

I want to bring a couple of the larger type wine bottles on my cruise in November....does anyone know if the mini fridge in the rooms can handle those type bottles?

Would the bottle fit in a wine bucket? If so, you can ask your steward for a bucket, and he will keep it full of ice.

[foodgirl]

I believe it would fit fine in a bucket....thanks for the tip Ruth! :) I totally forgot about the stewards....

[gerryl12]

I believe it would fit fine in a bucket....thanks for the tip Ruth! :) I totally forgot about the stewards....

 

Your steward can be a great help. They usually know so much.Anything you may want just ask, ice, corkscrew, where free wifi is in port, more pilows etc.