New Luggage Tag Wording re: Wine

[sminfiddle]

This bit about alcohol was not on the luggage tag a few weeks ago.

• One 750 ml bottle of wine or Champagne per adult.
  
• Additional wine & Champagne bottles are welcome for a $15 corkage fee each, per voyage.
  

[PunkiC]

They had best be very careful about changing their policies. I know many, many people who cruise Princess specifically because they can bring wine on board. Removing that privilege may well drive them to HAL or Cunard.

 

It would sure make me think very seriously about continuing to sail on Princess if they started treating me like a high school kid and checking me for wine, and I am a fanatically loyal Princess fan.

[Pam in CA]

The way I read it is not a change. If you bring a bottle of wine to a dining room or restaurant, you'll be charged a corkage fee. That's been the case for a while but enforcement was spotty. I know on our Island cruise last September/October, it was enforced no matter where we were. If you bring wine to drink in your cabin, I don't think they will charge you a corkage fee.

[highheel girl]

Ha thats funny! :eek:

 

You know sooner or later it may come to a screeching halt as much as its flaunted. :cool:

[sandbug2]

Here Is what it says--not funny....

Bringing Alcohol

Onboard?

Please remember our

carry-on alcohol policy:

• One 750 ml bottle of wine or

Champagne per adult.

• Additional wine & Champagne

bottles are welcome for a $15

corkage fee each, per voyage.

• Other liquors, spirits or beers

are prohibited. Luggage is

subject to search

[sandbug2]

Glad I printed my luggage tags a while ago!!!

[davaller]

I have just printed our tags for our cruise on the Star 26th March and nothing about wine ect on them

 

Davaller :D :D :D

[Happy ks]

They must have just changed it, I printed luggage tags out when we were at 74 days out. Now we're only down to 68 days, 19 hours.

 

It won't bother us a bit, we take several bottles on each cruise, take them to the dining room and gladly pay the $15 corkage fee. We still come out ahead of the game ($ wise) and get to take some great wines along.

[Amuse Bouche]

Here Is what it says--not funny....

Bringing Alcohol

Onboard?

Please remember our

carry-on alcohol policy:

• One 750 ml bottle of wine or

Champagne per adult.

• Additional wine & Champagne

bottles are welcome for a $15

corkage fee each, per voyage.

• Other liquors, spirits or beers

are prohibited. Luggage is

subject to search

 

Hmm, the way this reads to me is, you can bring one per adult, and if you want to bring more than that, they will charge you $15 per bottle for the ADDITIONAL bottle. Makes sense to me, as they already know more is going onboard in suitcases, and most people aren't doing it to scam, they just want more wine...and they are appealing to our honesty to make up the lost revenue from people not buying their additional bottles on board.

 

So basically, tell them and pay, or if they find it, they will charge the $15.

 

Thanks for the post Sandbug, I'm not quoting to speak to you directly, just using your quote.

[LynnMW3]

I just printed our luggage tags yesterday for our April 6 Emerald cruise, and there's nothing on there about wine at all!

 

We're planning to take a few bottles on board with us, for consumption in our stateroom...I'm not anticipating any issues...

[dobiemom]

This bit about alcohol was not on the luggage tag a few weeks ago.

• One 750 ml bottle of wine or Champagne per adult.
  
• Additional wine & Champagne bottles are welcome for a $15 corkage fee each, per voyage.
  

I've only sailed Princess once and I didn't bring wine on then. Does this mean, for the first bottle of wine there is no corkage fee?

[Amuse Bouche]

I printed our luggage tags the other day. I just signed back on to my personalizer and looked at the tag now...the wine disclaimer is now on it.

[ToplessPony]

Is beer new to the prohibited list? I seem to remember it being allowed in the past.

[LynnMW3]

I printed our luggage tags the other day. I just signed back on to my personalizer and looked at the tag now...the wine disclaimer is now on it.

 

I just checked ours again, and now it's not only on the luggage tags, but also on our boarding passes...glad I printed them out yesterday! ;)

[cruising kirby]

Wow! Would appreciate comments from anyone who has these new luggage tags and has recently boarded a Princess ship, taking on a number of bottles of wine. I hope Pam is right and there is no change to current policy. One of the reasons I love Princess is that they allow us to take on bottles of wine for consumption in our cabins.

[IECalCruiser]

Here Is what it says--not funny....

Bringing Alcohol

Onboard?

Please remember our

carry-on alcohol policy:

• One 750 ml bottle of wine or

Champagne per adult.

• Additional wine & Champagne

bottles are welcome for a $15

corkage fee each, per voyage.

• Other liquors, spirits or beers

are prohibited. Luggage is

subject to search

This is a very disappointing change if enforced. There are many loyal Princess cruisers that cruise Princess because of their former wine policy. We brought the equivalent of 8 bottles of wine on our recent 14 day Panama Canal cruise but also bought a 10 bottle Silver wine package for wine at dinner.

[GHDPeter]

I think this has been the "official" policy for quite a while, I think that outside the Australian market it was never enforced.

 

However the option to pay $15 per additional bottle seems to be new, there was previously a corkage fee, but this wording seems to be saying that you can bring additional bottles for $15.

 

Perhaps this a result of excessive abuse of the previous rules?

[Starlaker]

I

 

Perhaps this a result of excessive abuse of the previous rules?

 

I think that you are probably right. It sounds to me like they are excluding bringing a bottle back on board after stops if you brought one on at the beginning of the cruise. The wording says "passengers are permitted to bring one 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne onboard PER VOYAGE (my caps), which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom."

[Astro Flyer]

I've only sailed Princess once and I didn't bring wine on then. Does this mean, for the first bottle of wine there is no corkage fee?

Every bottle consumed anywhere other than in your cabin is subject to a corkage fee. And if the statement on the luggage tag is enforced then anything more than 1 bottle per person will have a corkage fee whether enjoyed in our cabin or in the MDR. :(

 

I wish that Princess would manage their wine program better & I'm waiting to hear from Customer Service why there are so many problems. We planned to use it in the MDR on our recent 12 & 20 day cruises after someone on CC was told it would be available onboard the Crown. We were told "no" & they said the wine package was only on 7 day Caribbean & Alaska cruises which is just the opposite of what Princess HQ said about it being available on 10+ day cruises. As a passenger I want to use their wine package in the MDR...as a shareholder why is Princess mismanaging this so badly & losing so much income. :mad:

[Renmar]

How would they know if I brought 1 bottle on the first day and then bring one back on board in every port. Will they mark that somehow on my cruisecard?

 

Theo

[IECalCruiser]

How would they know if I brought 1 bottle on the first day and then bring one back on board in every port. Will they mark that somehow on my cruisecard?

 

Theo

They could just stop you from bringing wine on board at any port other than embarkation.

[Cruise Junky]

Disappointing if they follow through with this. Doesn't NCL do this? Never would have put them in the same category as Princess.

[IECalCruiser]

Every bottle consumed anywhere other than in your cabin is subject to a corkage fee. And if the statement on the luggage tag is enforced then anything more than 1 bottle per person will have a corkage fee whether enjoyed in our cabin or in the MDR. :(

 

I wish that Princess would manage their wine program better & I'm waiting to hear from Customer Service why there are so many problems. We planned to use it in the MDR on our recent 12 & 20 day cruises after someone on CC was told it would be available onboard the Crown. We were told "no" & they said the wine package was only on 7 day Caribbean & Alaska cruises which is just the opposite of what Princess HQ said about it being available on 10+ day cruises. As a passenger I want to use their wine package in the MDR...as a shareholder why is Princess mismanaging this so badly & losing so much income. :mad:

Below is the Princess response to my following question on Facebook.

My question:

"Princess has been offering a Wine Bottle Package on at least some ships for most of this year but the implementation of the Package appears to be inconsistent. It has been stated that the Package is only offered on cruises longer than ten days, but some posters on CC have stated that on some ships it was offered on seven day sailings. In addition, some posters on CC have stated that on longer cruises the Package was not offered because there was no Sommelier on board or that the Sommelier consider the wine selection on board too small. Initially there were Silver and Gold packages of 5/7/10/12 bottles but some have stated only 7/10/12 bottle packages were offered. Also, it appears that bottles in the package can only be obtained in the dining rooms and not at bars or Vines. Can someone at Princess please provide the accurate details of the Princess Wine Package?"

Princess answer:

"I am so sorry I am just now getting back to you! The Wine Bottle program can be purchased onboard at the beverage tables set up on embarkation day where they're selling all the packages (Ultimate Soda Packages, Coffee Cards, etc) or from any waiter in the main dining rooms, Horizon Court, alternative restaurants and during events such as the Pub Lunch.(The bar staff is unable to sell this program)

The program is offered on voyages that are 10 days or longer (with the exception of our ships based in Australia), however during our initial trial period we tried this concept on all itineraries and not just voyages 10 days or longer. There are odd occasions when the package has not been offered, such as when there is a logistical challenge and a beverage container is not delivered on time in a port.

Currently there are two different packages. (Prices are subject to change)

1.) Silver Tier (any bottle of wine up to and including $29 in retail value)

2.) Gold Tier (any bottle of wine up to and including $45 in retail value)

Silver Tier:

7 Pack - $161

10 Pack - $210

12 Pack - $240

Gold Tier:

7 Pack - $217

10 Pack - $290

12 Pack - $336"

Packages were not available on our 7 day Alaskan cruises in September but the Maitre d' said that they would be on the 14 day Hawaii cruises. They were available on the 14 day Panama Canal cruise this month. One feature is that you get more expensive bottles by just paying the difference.

[dobiemom]

Every bottle consumed anywhere other than in your cabin is subject to a corkage fee. And if the statement on the luggage tag is enforced then anything more than 1 bottle per person will have a corkage fee whether enjoyed in our cabin or in the MDR. :(

Thank you for the clarification. NCL also charges a corkage fee for every bottle, not matter where it is consumed. :mad: :(

[Astro Flyer]

They could just stop you from bringing wine on board at any port other than embarkation.

That's the policy on our upcoming RCI cruise & that's an improvement because previously no wine was allowed & even now if consumed in the MDR there's a $25 corkage fee instead of $15 like on Princess.

Below is the Princess response to my following question on Facebook.

My question:

"Princess has been offering a Wine Bottle Package on at least some ships for most of this year but the implementation of the Package appears to be inconsistent. It has been stated that the Package is only offered on cruises longer than ten days, but some posters on CC have stated that on some ships it was offered on seven day sailings. In addition, some posters on CC have stated that on longer cruises the Package was not offered because there was no Sommelier on board or that the Sommelier consider the wine selection on board too small. Initially there were Silver and Gold packages of 5/7/10/12 bottles but some have stated only 7/10/12 bottle packages were offered. Also, it appears that bottles in the package can only be obtained in the dining rooms and not at bars or Vines. Can someone at Princess please provide the accurate details of the Princess Wine Package?"

Princess answer:

"I am so sorry I am just now getting back to you! The Wine Bottle program can be purchased onboard at the beverage tables set up on embarkation day where they're selling all the packages (Ultimate Soda Packages, Coffee Cards, etc) or from any waiter in the main dining rooms, Horizon Court, alternative restaurants and during events such as the Pub Lunch.(The bar staff is unable to sell this program)

The program is offered on voyages that are 10 days or longer (with the exception of our ships based in Australia), however during our initial trial period we tried this concept on all itineraries and not just voyages 10 days or longer. There are odd occasions when the package has not been offered, such as when there is a logistical challenge and a beverage container is not delivered on time in a port.

Currently there are two different packages. (Prices are subject to change)

1.) Silver Tier (any bottle of wine up to and including $29 in retail value)

2.) Gold Tier (any bottle of wine up to and including $45 in retail value)

Silver Tier:

7 Pack - $161

10 Pack - $210

12 Pack - $240

Gold Tier:

7 Pack - $217

10 Pack - $290

12 Pack - $336"

Packages were not available on our 7 day Alaskan cruises in September but the Maitre d' said that they would be on the 14 day Hawaii cruises. They were available on the 14 day Panama Canal cruise this month. One feature is that you get more expensive bottles by just paying the difference.

Thanks Brian but my experience with the policy given by HQ is that it isn't followed onboard which is very frustrating. When I asked the sommelier on our 12 & 20 day b2b cruise he was very sympathetic about it not being offered & said it's a common complaint that he gets however it's not his decision to not offer it.

 

Maybe if Princess hears from enough of us about this poorly managed program which is a win-win situation for both passengers & Princess they'll learn to manage it properly and to make the ships follow their company policy. It's very frustrating to be planning on purchasing the wine package only to be told "no" which was their response on our 7, 14, 12 & 20 day cruises in 2012. :eek: