2011 cruise - bringing wine onboard

[Shalie]

Hello,

 

I searched for threads regarding wine and found ones that begun between 2002 and 2007. So, I thought I would begin a current one.

 

I have a few questions.

 

1. You are no longer allowed to carry wine aboard a plane? So, what is the best way to take it with you? I believe shipping it would counter the cost savings of bringing my own wine.

 

2. Do you carry the wine with you to dinner or is having it stored in the main dining room an option?

 

3. Do the balcony staterooms have mini-fridges (ie to chill white wine)?

 

4. The wildly debated question in old threads, what are the current corkage fees?

 

Thank you,

Shalie

[Shalie]

PS. How many bottles of liquor can you bring back to the United States? We brought three or four large bottles home with us last time. That was in 2009. I believe NCL's website said it had decrease to one liter. If this is correct, what is the custom fees on more?

 

Thanks again,

Shalie

:o

[Shalie]

1. You are no longer allowed to carry wine aboard a plane? So, what is the best way to take it with you? I believe shipping it would counter the cost savings of bringing my own wine.

 

Oops! That should read "You are no longer allowed to carry liquids on a plane.", not as a question.

[garycarla]

There was a long thread yesterday about the corkage fee, but generally it is $15 per 750 ml, sometimes more for a large bottle.

 

You can take it on the plane in your checked luggage. People do it often, but we have opted to just buy it onboard.

 

You can have the wine stored, but we usually finish it at dinner.

 

Most ships have fridges. Spirit does not.

[che5904]

Hello,

 

I searched for threads regarding wine and found ones that begun between 2002 and 2007. So, I thought I would begin a current one.

 

I have a few questions.

 

1. You are no longer allowed to carry wine aboard a plane? So, what is the best way to take it with you? I believe shipping it would counter the cost savings of bringing my own wine.

 

2. Do you carry the wine with you to dinner or is having it stored in the main dining room an option?

 

3. Do the balcony staterooms have mini-fridges (ie to chill white wine)?

 

4. The wildly debated question in old threads, what are the current corkage fees?

 

Thank you,

Shalie

 

When we travel with any liquor at all, wine, spirits, bbq sauce (don't ask, I trucked 12 bottles 3000 miles for my son). I wrap the bottle in bubble wrap, place in a zip lock bag and place between clothing in my shipped baggage. Works like a charm.

 

We won a bottle of champagne from the casino, took it to Cagneys but it was warm so they took it away and brought us an already chilled one. You can do either it's totally up to you.

 

Yes they have mini fridges on the dawn in balconies but you'd be lucky to fit a wine bottle in them, they are kind of strange shaped on the inside with the shelf. But your room steward fills your ice bucket usually morning and evening so it is very easy to keep cold.

 

As garycarla stated $15 for 750ml. Sorry but the jury is still out when it comes to all sizes. The rule a few months ago was $15 for 750ml and higher corkage fee for bigger bottles. 3 days ago it was $15 for all sizes of bottles. Yesterday FAQ changed to

"

Wine & Champagne Policy

Guests are allowed to bring wine or champagne onboard.

These will be subject to the following:

$15.00 USD 750 ml bottle

$20.00 USD 1,000 ml bottle

$30.00 USD 1,500 ml magnum

Wines that are not featured on NCL's wine lists are subject to the corkage fee including wine sent directly to the ship by Travel Agents, friends, family, from another retail source, etc. The bottle will have a sticker or stamp placed on it showing that the fee was paid, and that the guest will be allowed to have the product onboard. This fee will be charged to the guest’s onboard account. Wines that come in boxes are not allowed onboard."

 

So the latest information is $15 and/or up for larger than 750ml.

[wafflesniffer]

Wines that are not featured on NCL's wine lists are subject to the corkage fee...

 

This is confusing to me. Does that mean one can bring on a bottle of wine that is listed on NCL's wine list, and not have to pay a corkage fee?

[che5904]

This is confusing to me. Does that mean one can bring on a bottle of wine that is listed on NCL's wine list, and not have to pay a corkage fee?

 

No

 

Sorry but I don't think anyone on CC has quite figured out what that sentence means. They keep rephrasing it each time they change the policy but it still makes no sense to me. I thought they might be trying to say if you purchased wine from bon voyage that you didn't pay corkage.

 

But if anyone figures it out, I'd love for them to post the meaning.

 

All wine you bring on board is subject to corkage fees.

[davesgirl51]

No, order it ahead of time - Bon Voyage Gifts, download wine list, pick your poison, call and order or fax :). Easy.

[ScubaSteve13]

No, order it ahead of time - Bon Voyage Gifts, download wine list, pick your poison, call and order or fax :). Easy.

My problems with ordering through Bon Voyage gifts were that selections were very limited for my tastes & the ones that were even of remote interest were way over priced. So I just ordered online & I'm having them sent to my hotel.

[bakerintn]

My interpretation of the "not on NCL's wine list" statement is:

 

If you bring a bottle of wine to a restaurant and it is not on their list, they will assume that you brought it on board yourself or had it delivered to the ship yourself, and therefore is subject to the corkage fee.

 

If you bring wine that is on the list and they catch it on boarding or in your luggage, it will be subject to the corkage fee, regardless.

 

Loop hole (?): If you bring an opened bottle of wine to a restaurant and it is on their list, they won't know if you bought it from NCL or not, so I guess that they won't try to charge you.

[Lkcossmfr]

That policy says say that if you brought a bottle of wine on board that was on the NCL wine list you should not be charged a fee. If you had a good attorney with you, or you were one, you could easily challenge a fee on those bottles. Very misleading

[newmexicoNita]

Hello,

 

I searched for threads regarding wine and found ones that begun between 2002 and 2007. So, I thought I would begin a current one.

 

I have a few questions.

 

1. You are no longer allowed to carry wine aboard a plane? So, what is the best way to take it with you? I believe shipping it would counter the cost savings of bringing my own wine.

 

2. Do you carry the wine with you to dinner or is having it stored in the main dining room an option?

 

3. Do the balcony staterooms have mini-fridges (ie to chill white wine)?

 

4. The wildly debated question in old threads, what are the current corkage fees?

 

Thank you,

Shalie

 

We usually spend one night at the embarkation port so we buy a few bottles then or we wrap it well and send it through with our luggage. Yes, we carry it on and pay the $15 a bottle corkage fee and yes, most of the ships do have mini refridges, but not the Spirit. You can carry it to the dining room or you can have it stored, it is up to you.

 

Nita

[Shalie]

Everyone,

 

Thank you for the information. I miss read the date people joined Cruise Critic as the post date. I felt really silly when when I realized that.

 

Regards,

Shalie

[puddles99]

The Bon Voyage List (http://www2.ncl.com/sites/default/files/NCL_WineList_2.pdf) seems pretty short - are these really all the choices available?

[davesgirl51]

My problems with ordering through Bon Voyage gifts were that selections were very limited for my tastes & the ones that were even of remote interest were way over priced. So I just ordered online & I'm having them sent to my hotel.

 

That's a good idea .. did you download their wine list ?

[rvsullivan]

The Bon Voyage List (http://www2.ncl.com/sites/default/files/NCL_WineList_2.pdf) seems pretty short - are these really all the choices available?

 

The posted list says, "Full wine list upon request".

[puddles99]

The posted list says, "Full wine list upon request".

 

I saw that - but I'm not sure how / where to request the list. Perhaps I was just missing that info?

[NMLady]

My interpretation ...

Loop hole (?): If you bring an opened bottle of wine to a restaurant and it is on their list, they won't know if you bought it from NCL or not, so I guess that they won't try to charge you.

 

When you pay the corkage fee at embarkation, a sticker is placed on the bottle to show that the corkage fee was paid. If you yourself bring an opened bottle of wine to a restaurant, even if it is on their list, if there is no sticker on it, they will charge you the 'corkage' fee even though they aren't opening it.

 

In order not to pay that corkage fee you'll have to show a shipboard account receipt to prove you bought it onboard.

 

Been there, done that.