New Luggage Tag Wording re: Wine

[Happy ks]

I was thinking about this today and I've come to the conclusion that, for us, it makes absolutely no difference. We like good wines, we drink wine with all dinners. In the 4 Princess cruises we have taken so far, the majority of our wine bottles we have paid the $15 corkage fee to enjoy in the dining room with our meal.

 

That they may charge us at embarkation instead really wouldn't make any difference to us. We've enjoyed that Princess allows us to bring our own wine aboard, in the past our RCI cruises (after 2005) we'd not been able to do this. On RCI, we'd pay around $50-60 per bottle for a decent wine with dinner. So even with the corkage fee, we've enjoyed a wider variety and better bottles on Princess with our own purchase.

 

Don't ask me what wines we like, I'm like the Thomas Hayden Church character. My husband is the one who chooses the wine we take.

[bhopal21]

If you call again you will get another answer. :eek:

 

This has been the one thing that over the years Princess has been consistent about. . . . . Inconsistency.

 

You can bet your booking on it.

 

Mike;)

[Astro Flyer]

Not surprisingly, she also mentioned this is because people like to bring cases on. :-/

That's not surprising to me...those who brought on wine by the case would say it wasn't a violation...those bringing a few bottles expressed our concern that it would lead to a much more restrictive policy...and now it's the latest great perk that was abused & bragged about that may soon be just another part of Princess' cruising history. :(

[Cruise Junky]

forgive me if this has already been posted but there was some clarification on Facebook from Princess. They've also been asked how the money will be collected and how the bottles will be marked that corkage has been paid...no answer on that part yet...

 

***********

Hello everyone,

I apologize for this late update to my previous post. As some of you have mentioned, there has been a revision to our Alcohol Policy. Information on this new policy has been added to boarding passes, and luggage tags and our website has now been updated.

 

The policy states that passengers are able to bring one bottle of wine or champagne per adult of drinking age (no larger than 750 ml) per voyage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. However, additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome, but will incur a $15 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed.

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/experience.jsp

[sminfiddle]

A case of wine is gonna make a pretty heavy carry-on.

[Amuse Bouche]

A case of wine is gonna make a pretty heavy carry-on.

 

Yeah. Seriously! I'm only bringing six, and leaving from homeport. Of course, if I were flying in, I'd stop at Bev-Mo and pray they had a nickel sale going!

 

DH is used to, and doesn't mind, lugging the small flexible cooler that is the perfect size for 6 bottles.

[IECalCruiser]

Princess listened to loyal customers and added beef medallions back to the "always available" options on the Dining Room menu. Please let's flood them with e-mails to www.customerrelations@princess.com to express our displeasure. Princess offers Wine Country coastal cruises from LA to Vancouver and trips to wineries in various ports. It is not unreasonable to expect that people might buy some wine on those tours. I believe that the tour to the winery in Ensenada includes at least one free bottle of wine. We bought several bottles of wine from a winery on a Princess tour from Montevideo and enjoyed sharing them with friends on their balcony later in the cruise. We have brought wine on board and paid "corkage" for five bottles we brought to the DR on our 14 day cruise to Hawaii and a couple of bottles for most seven day cruises. In addition we have bought additional wine in the dining rooms. This is a major change from their previous actual practice, one that has been appreciated by loyal Princess passengers such as us. We usual consume about 2-3 bottles in our cabin per week and while one bottle per person might be acceptable for a 7 day cruise, it is not adequate for the longer cruises that many loyal Princess passengers take. This year we will be on 11, 12, 14 and 18 day cruises. Princess is penalizing passengers who take longer cruises. I will agree that the new wine packages are a good deal for longer cruises. The Silver package with $20 or $21 per bottle for wines up to $29 is a good deal but there have been posts about inconsistent availability on cruises of 10 days or more. Sorry for my rambling, but I am frustrated with this change. Princess is taking something that set them apart and created loyal cruisers and is destroying that. Poor move Princess :mad::mad:

 

As far as marking bottles that have a prepaid corkage fee, we traded our 8 mini bottles for a bottle of wine on a recent cruise and there was a Princess sea witch sticker on the bottle to let wait staff know not to charge a corkage fee in the DR.

[Steelers36]

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.

 

Pam, I wish I could cruise with the waiters we had on Ruby a couple of years back. He did not charge me the corkage on three bottles I brought in over the week. I got lucky but so did he - I made sure he got $10 cash each time!!!

 

Folks, don't ask or expect this. It's not policy and don't get a good waiter in trouble. But sometimes serendipity strikes.

[Steelers36]

Maybe they will !! If Princess follows other line's practices... they will mark any bottles that you had to pay the corkage fee upon boarding. The 2 'free' bottles are for your use in the cabin - if you take them to the DR, and they are not 'marked' as fees paid... you will, most likely have to pay the corkage fee. Just my guess though.

 

I wonder if the stickers come off and transfer easily to the "free" bottle(s)? Once a bottle is open and partly consumed, the presumption is the fee was collected upon initial opening.

 

Or start a bottle in the cabin and then bring it to dinner. There are probably still some ways around this.

 

We don't bring and consume a lot of wine in a week, but the folks who bring a lot on for cabin consumption and or entertainment are going to be up in arms I imagine. There's no service for the $15 - it's just a fee for the right I guess.

[Debe7ing]

Don't go rabid on my folks, but maybe, just MAYBE a good idea would be to have you be able to bring MORE wine onboard with you depending on your "status" with the lines.

 

I would certainly think that, if as an incentive to stay loyal, you could add this as a "perk" vs a preceived "loss of options".

 

Maybe 1 bottle per first cruise with Princess, gold members get 2-3 each, Platnium higher and Elite higher.

 

Just sayin, it COULD be used as a "perk" type of incentive....could kinda take the "sting" out of the negativity this new policy seems to be drawing.

[4cats4me]

I am bringing 8 bottles of wine on our upcoming cruise and do not care if they send me to the naughty room and charge me $15 per bottle. The wine I am bringing is from our local winery and is on the Princess wine list. Princess charges $49 plus 15% gratuity or $56.35 per bottle.. I paid $20 per bottle at winery so with the $15 per bottle charge that is $35 per bottle.. Wine if bought on ship.. $450.80. My cost bringing bottles on board.. $280 or a savings of $170.80.. :):D

 

You mean no two-buck Chuck?:eek::D

Whose wine do you recommend? We like some of the Lodi wines. Went from being non- wine drinkers to joining a wine club after claiming to not like the stuff (for years!). We like red Zins, old vine wines and Nebbiolos. We are trying to embrace our Italian and French heritage -- uh, yeah.... That's it.:D

[LARGIN]

You mean no two-buck Chuck?:eek::D

Whose wine do you recommend? We like some of the Lodi wines. Went from being non- wine drinkers to joining a wine club after claiming to not like the stuff (for years!). We like red Zins, old vine wines and Nebbiolos. We are trying to embrace our Italian and French heritage -- uh, yeah.... That's it.:D

 

If I remember correctly, you live close to the Livermore Valley.. You should wander over as lots of wineries there. One of our Favorites is Murrieta's Well..

[Steelers36]

After reading all this I checked our Cruise Personalizer and pretended I was going to reprint BP and LT. When the images came up to print, the new wording is there.

 

Needless to say, I will stick with our original BPs and see if that helps. But at the end of the day, if I decide to make a purchase at Total Wine on Saturday for our Sunday departure on RUBY, I will be doing it with full expectation of incurring $15 corkage fee on board (we don't drink much in the room).

 

The only issue I see with whacking us at the check-in and security zone is it is going to slow up the boarding and back up the lines.

 

We shall see.

[4cats4me]

If I remember correctly, you live close to the Livermore Valley.. You should wander over as lots of wineries there. One of our Favorites is Murrieta's Well..

 

Thanks, Largin. We are in Mtz/P Hill area. We hate Napa area. Too crowded and touristy and they charge for wine tasting and won't rebate it back to you even if u buy the wine:eek: so Thats , why we enjoy Lodi area. DH and I will have to go to Livermore this summer

[Amuse Bouche]

If I remember correctly, you live close to the Livermore Valley.. You should wander over as lots of wineries there. One of our Favorites is Murrieta's Well..

 

:-) I live in the Livermore area. Oddly, we fell in love with St. Supery in the Napa Valley. I think it's psychological Hahahaha! Must take effort to get, or it's not great.

We have enjoyed Wente a few times, but it's become "trendy". Another psychological trap.

[critterchick]

I wonder if the stickers come off and transfer easily to the "free" bottle(s)? Once a bottle is open and partly consumed, the presumption is the fee was collected upon initial opening.

 

Or start a bottle in the cabin and then bring it to dinner. There are probably still some ways around this.

 

We don't bring and consume a lot of wine in a week, but the folks who bring a lot on for cabin consumption and or entertainment are going to be up in arms I imagine. There's no service for the $15 - it's just a fee for the right I guess.

 

I imagine that those who carry on their wine will pay the corkage before they board, while those who check it will pay once it's caught by the scanners and held until they come to collect it. So each bottle would have the sticker, or you would have a receipt, or however they're going to do it.

 

And I don't have an issue with paying the corkage - I can get some excellent wines for $10-20, and even adding $15 makes them a relative bargain compared to what Princess charges.

 

I just hope that they will allow people to bring wine on from ports of call, especially on itineraries like the wine cruises. They can charge the corkage as people re-board. It would likely take less time than tagging, storing and delivering...

[Steelers36]

After reading all this I checked our Cruise Personalizer and pretended I was going to reprint BP and LT. When the images came up to print, the new wording is there.

 

I'm thinking like a couple of other posters. It looks like we who are sailing this weekend are the guinea pigs for the new policy.

 

Due to lateness of the change, it would not surprise me if Princess phased this in over the next little while because we all booked and paid firm quite a while back before the policy changed.

 

OTOH if we are tapped for the fee, I won't be a loud complainer thanks to the most up-to-date and all-seeing posters on this board who never miss a beat. My usage of CC ramps way up as a cruise trip approaches and then wanes a little time after we're back home. (If I spent this much time on CC, I'd be pining for a new cruise trip every month!! LOL)

 

I guess I better buy something a Total Saturday night just so I can see what does happen. I'll make myself an experiment.

 

 

PS - I just thought of a joke now. I am imagining the Princess rep assessing corkage fees this weekend and telling people if they read CC Princess Forum they'd know all about the change!!!

[Steelers36]

I just hope that they will allow people to bring wine on from ports of call, especially on itineraries like the wine cruises. They can charge the corkage as people re-board. It would likely take less time than tagging, storing and delivering...

 

This has been said with respect to the old policy. If a passenger brings a bottle of wine on from a port of call, ship's personnel at the ramp aren't going to know if you already used your freebee at original embarkation.

 

(Unless they upgrade computer system with new info).

[caribill]

I talked to Princess this morning and, after much checking on this "new policy", the agent came back with the information printed on the boarding pass, plus the additional information that Princess would no longer allow passengers to bring wine on board at ports of call.

 

I also had a conversation with Princess today to try to clarify the availability of the wine packages on their sailings.

 

It is rare that the agent who answers a call to Princess will know what the actual practice is in the real world.

 

Unless you can speak with an appropriate member of management, you cannot hope to get a proper answer.

[Astro Flyer]

As far as marking bottles that have a prepaid corkage fee, we traded our 8 mini bottles for a bottle of wine on a recent cruise and there was a Princess sea witch sticker on the bottle to let wait staff know not to charge a corkage fee in the DR.

For our recent UBD they allowed us to exchange the half bottle of champagne for a full bottle of Kendall-Jackson Cabernet Sauvignon because both were valued at $32. The bottle had a Princess Seawitch logo stamped on the label which I figured was to differentiate it from one brought onboard when we took it to the MDR the next evening to finish it without a corkage fee.

[cee cee1]

This has been said with respect to the old policy. If a passenger brings a bottle of wine on from a port of call, ship's personnel at the ramp aren't going to know if you already used your freebee at original embarkation.

 

(Unless they upgrade computer system with new info).

 

Welcome to our world! Aussies have been subjected to this practice on Dawn Princess for months (I have also seen it happen on Sun Princess). They keep a list at the gangway and after they scan you and your bags they look at "the list" it tells them how much you've already brought aboard and keep it accordingly.

[pablo222]

That's kind of a flimsy reason to 'jump ship'!

 

I guess they will join the people who pronounced that they will

no longer sail princess because there is no longer free unlimited

internet available in suites.

 

(Not) Suprisingly the bottom hasn't fallen out of suite prices due

to their exit.

[PunkiC]

And I don't have an issue with paying the corkage - I can get some excellent wines for $10-20, and even adding $15 makes them a relative bargain compared to what Princess charges.

 

I just hope that they will allow people to bring wine on from ports of call, especially on itineraries like the wine cruises. They can charge the corkage as people re-board. It would likely take less time than tagging, storing and delivering...

 

I buy wine that I really like for only $3.49 per bottle and don't mind at all paying the $15.00 corkage fee, assuring that I will have a wine I like for $18.49, rather than paying $39.00 (including tip) for a bottle of Princess wine that I don't like anywhere near as well. This will save me a good deal of money. In the past, I would never have thought of bringing my own wine to dinner, but, hey, if I have already paid the corkage fee, why not?

 

The agent with whom I spoke yesterday did speak with her superiors and was informed that we WOULD NOT be allowed to bring aboard wine at ports and that really is horrible. Buying wine in ports is part of the fun of travel.

 

If this policy bothers you as much as it bothers us, please write

 

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

[Square]

Don't go rabid on my folks, but maybe, just MAYBE a good idea would be to have you be able to bring MORE wine onboard with you depending on your "status" with the lines.

 

I would certainly think that, if as an incentive to stay loyal, you could add this as a "perk" vs a preceived "loss of options".

 

Maybe 1 bottle per first cruise with Princess, gold members get 2-3 each, Platnium higher and Elite higher.

 

Just sayin, it COULD be used as a "perk" type of incentive....could kinda take the "sting" out of the negativity this new policy seems to be drawing.

This. This is a good idea.

 

Overall on the topic, I'm not overly concerned. If there is a will there is a way. I'll sneak something on for room consumption one way or another. Alcohol is part of our vacation and we enjoy some in our rooms before we go out. Princess makes plenty off of us so I'm not concerned about their bottom line. At some point if they make things more strict and raise the price too much I'll find a different type of vacation to have (they aren't just competing against other cruise lines for vacation dollars). So far my Princess cruises have gone well and we will be on the ruby in about 3 weeks so we'll see what gets reported between now and then.

 

My guess at this point is Princess is aiming to curb the people that don't know better or who just read the paperwork. That alone would add to their bottom line. If the enforcement is lax or spotty at best, the "usuals" will still enjoy themselves, the cruiseline doesn't really offend the old guard and things move forward.

 

BTW, I also don't think the "flaunting" on one small website is really the impetus for a cruise line to change. These ships leave every week with thousands of people on them. The membership here is a drop in the bucket.

[highheel girl]

BTW, I also don't think the "flaunting" on one small website is really the impetus for a cruise line to change. These ships leave every week with thousands of people on them. The membership here is a drop in the bucket.

 

But it gives Princess an idea of what is possible/real. ;)