Corkage Fees -- A New Twist (Or should I say A New Screw!)

[Cruzin Terri]

Hi to all.

Reporting from the Zuiderdam. We boarded yesterday in Civitavecchia where I could have brought a case of wine on board and no one would have noticed. However, today in Messina the Wine Patrol was out in full force.

 

However, heres the story. We bought a bottle of wine in Taormina to enjoy with dinner on our verandah tonight. We returned too late from our tour to have dinner in the MDR.

When we went through security we were sent to the table to pay the corkage fee, but first the wine steward checked to see if we were on a HAL tour. If we were, there was no corkage fee charged. Since we were on a private tour we had to pay. So now we have a class system for the corkage fee as well. Another way that HAL will force (or should I say encourage) you to take their tours.

 

I was really taken aback at this.

 

Has anyone else had this experience? I will write more as we go along, but that was the shocker for today.

 

I will have more to say about the Zuiderdam as we continue our cruise. So far I am not totally impressed.

 

Terri

Edited July 12, 2015 by Cruzin Terri

[mame42]

When I was on the Maasdam October through December, one supposedly did not pay corkage if one was on a HAL WINE TOUR. However, it was hit or miss. Sometimes one had to prove which tour one was on, other times no one asked. Once I had to stand my ground and argue with the wine patrol about whether I should pay corkage, when my box clearly named the winery we had visited on a HAL excursion.

[sppunk]

If the tour was promoted as one where you could ring wine without the fee, which I bet it was, I see no issues.

[serendipity1499]

Hi to all.

Reporting from the Zuiderdam. We boarded yesterday in Civitavecchia where I could have brought a case of wine on board and no one would have noticed. However, today in Messina the Wine Patrol was out in full force.

 

However, heres the story. We bought a bottle of wine in Taormina to enjoy with dinner on our verandah tonight. We returned too late from our tour to have dinner in the MDR.

When we went through security we were sent to the table to pay the corkage fee, but first the wine steward checked to see if we were on a HAL tour. If we were, there was no corkage fee charged. Since we were on a private tour we had to pay. So now we have a class system for the corkage fee as well. Another way that HAL will force (or should I say encourage) you to take their tours.

 

I was really taken aback at this.

 

Has anyone else had this experience? I will write more as we go along, but that was the shocker for today.

 

I will have more to say about the Zuiderdam as we continue our cruise. So far I am not totally impressed.

 

Terri

 

When I was on the Maasdam October through December, one supposedly did not pay corkage if one was on a HAL WINE TOUR. However, it was hit or miss. Sometimes one had to prove which tour one was on, other times no one asked. Once I had to stand my ground and argue with the wine patrol about whether I should pay corkage, when my box clearly named the winery we had visited on a HAL excursion.

 

WOW...This is something new..However HAL probably has a contract with the Wineries on the wine tour to permit those Psgrs on their wine tours to purchase wine from those wineries, be able to drink it on board & not pay a fee..

 

However I think that stinks!!! IMO if one group is permitted to purchase wine without a corkage fee then all Psgrs on that cruise should be able to do it..

 

I would make a complaint in writing to the Office of the President upon your return, as IMO it is def. showing a class system..

[kazu]

There are wine tours in this port Terri, so I would hope that those on a tour could at least bring one bottle on board per person (and that is all they are permitted without corkage)

 

I don't see an issue with this. What I do see is a huge issue with HAL winery tours if you are only permitted to bring one bottle without a charge. That certainly wouldn't convince me to do a HAL tour. I can arrange a trip much cheaper and with much more flexibility. The corkage fee is no issue with us :)

[Cruzin Terri]

There are wine tours in this port Terri, so I would hope that those on a tour could at least bring one bottle on board per person (and that is all they are permitted without corkage)

 

I don't see an issue with this. What I do see is a huge issue with HAL winery tours if you are only permitted to bring one bottle without a charge. That certainly wouldn't convince me to do a HAL tour. I can arrange a trip much cheaper and with much more flexibility. The corkage fee is no issue with us :)

 

I just reread the ShoreEx brochure and NOWHERE in it for the day in Messina, or any other port for that matter, does it say for the tours that include a winery that one would be permitted to bring wine back on board that would not be subject to the corkage fee.

If they are going to do this, they should be upfront about it.

And yes, I will write a letter when I get home.

Terri

Edited July 12, 2015 by Cruzin Terri

[kazu]

I just reread the ShoreEx brochure and NOWHERE in it for the day in Taormina does it say for the two tours that include a winery that one would be permitted to bring wine back on board that would not be subject to the corkage fee.

If they are going to do this, they should be upfront about it.

And yes, I will write a letter when I get home.

Terri

 

ahh thanks :) there was a winery tour when we were there so I assumed that was the case. (you know what happens when you assume don't you ;) )

 

hmm, that's horse of a different colour, isn't it? But in many cases I would still opt NOT to do a HAL tour for the sake of $18

 

Just the same it seems unfair. and it should be disclosed so that people can make an educated decision. This is a new turn of events so wondering if this is fleet wide or the ship?

 

On the bright side, you escaped the wine police at embarkation - we have never been so lucky ;)

 

Let us know what the reply is please when you write.

 

Thanks :)

[cruz chic]

There was a thread a few weeks back when a poster mentioned this about Hal wine tours and not paying corkage. It was a post within a thread not one specifically about that. It sounded odd to me.

Edited July 12, 2015 by cruz chic

[Cruzin Terri]

ahh thanks :) there was a winery tour when we were there so I assumed that was the case. (you know what happens when you assume don't you ;) )

 

hmm, that's horse of a different colour, isn't it? But in many cases I would still opt NOT to do a HAL tour for the sake of $18

 

Just the same it seems unfair. and it should be disclosed so that people can make an educated decision. This is a new turn of events so wondering if this is fleet wide or the ship?

 

On the bright side, you escaped the wine police at embarkation - we have never been so lucky ;)

 

Let us know what the reply is please when you write.

 

Thanks :)

 

I did not escape the wine police at embarkation because I had no time to buy wine in Civitavecchia. Only had the two bottles I packed in my luggage. If I had known, tired as I was, I would have made an effort to go to the market and buy a few bottles. So we weren't lucky at all.

If they are going to do this, there should be some consistency. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. And don't surprise people.

Terri

[kazu]

I did not escape the wine police at embarkation because I had no time to buy wine in Civitavecchia. Only had the two bottles I packed in my luggage. If I had known, tired as I was, I would have made an effort to go to the market and buy a few bottles. So we weren't lucky at all.

If they are going to do this, there should be some consistency. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. And don't surprise people.

Terri

 

apologize Terri. I saw the non wine police and misunderstood.

 

I totally get the corkage fee being waived if you are on a HAL wine tour and in fact, it should be.

 

But for all tours? That makes no sense at all.

 

I totally agree with you - what is good for the goose should be good for the gander. The sad thing is that I don't think HAL has this figured out yet :eek:

 

And the message isn't always clear. I have seen lots of bottles left by people, not because they wouldn't pay the corkage but because the greeting we got was - "you have wine? you'll have to leave it" and my reply was "we don't mind to pay the corkage" and we did an moved on.

 

Ever since they implemented the wine policy, things have been very poorly communicated IMO.

 

And THANK YOU for taking the time to share your experience with us. Have fun on your cruise :)

Edited July 12, 2015 by kazu

[GregnChris]

We were on the Zuiderdam in May/June. The excursions crew was telling folks that if your HAL tour mentioned wine, you would be allowed to bring back one bottle of wine per person with no corkage fee. We used this benefit several times. Lisa, the Beverage Manager, said this was a new HAL policy and it should be system wide.

 

What we observed was that in some ports the x-ray machines in the on-shore facilities were used, not the ones on the ship. In that case, HAL was not being very vigilant about wine. In ports where they used the x-ray on the ship, HAL did enforce the wine policy.

 

In the ports where they checked, we went to the wine desk just past security and said we were on a HAL wine tour. They had a list of the wine excursions with the cabin number and names of excursion participants. They checked off our name and gave us a wine sticker, just as if we had paid the corkage.

 

There was some confusion about if the wine could be served in the MDR. Apparently HAL changed this policy just before our cruise. The excursion videos running on channel 26 said the wine could be brought on-board, but only be drunk in your room. But Lisa, the Beverage Manager, said that had recently changed, system wide, and the wine could now be taken to the MDR for no fee.

 

I guess you can look at is as another inducement to book a HAL tour. I choose to look at it as HAL realizing they had already gotten their cut when we booked the tour.

 

Greg

[cruz chic]

I did not escape the wine police at embarkation because I had no time to buy wine in Civitavecchia. Only had the two bottles I packed in my luggage. If I had known, tired as I was, I would have made an effort to go to the market and buy a few bottles. So we weren't lucky at all.

If they are going to do this, there should be some consistency. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. And don't surprise people.

Terri

 

Consistency from Hal? Does that ever happen:D? Truth be told when I did a Panama Canal cruise in April 2014 there was no wine police in Fort Lauderdale. I never bring more than one so it didn't matter. I took a cruise in November and March and they were there. Sometimes it just the luck of the draw. The next cruise on the Zuiderdam coukd very well have wine police.

[Krazy Kruizers]

As usual -- different rules.

No consistency with HAL.

[sammiedawg]

Terri, I'm very glad to hear you are safely on board.

 

I guess fear and intimidation did not sell enough shore excursions. Plan B is corkage fee waiver.

[TiogaCruiser]

Teri-

 

Glad to see you actually got to take a cruise after the complications with your last 2. I hope you really enjoy your time. :)

 

 

This was one of the issues that had been wondered about about 2 years ago when HAL released the "original" wine policy ( that allowed no wine to board at ports). I really don't have any issue with those who take the HAL tour to a winery being able to bring aboard ( without corkage fees) those bottles they purchase at those wineries (as part of the HAL shorex.).

[KirkNC]

Teri-

 

Glad to see you actually got to take a cruise after the complications with your last 2. I hope you really enjoy your time. :)

 

 

This was one of the issues that had been wondered about about 2 years ago when HAL released the "original" wine policy ( that allowed no wine to board at ports). I really don't have any issue with those who take the HAL tour to a winery being able to bring aboard ( without corkage fees) those bottles they purchase at those wineries (as part of the HAL shorex.).

 

I agree, that does not bother me either. It also would not influence me to take a particular tour.

[navybankerteacher]

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. And don't surprise people.

Terri

 

Why should HAL treat the gander the same way they treat the goose? They are different, after all.

[hawkeye3d]

Here's what I experienced and posted in May. HAL was all over the place, enforcing, not enforcing, not understanding their own policy.

 

On the MS Rotterdam recently we found varying degrees of enforcement and confusion on the crew's part.

 

Bottle #1 at the first port we let them confiscate to be returned the last night of the cruise. This corkage wise was a free bottle consumed the final night

#2 paid the corkage and brought to our cabin.

#3 the “wine police” wanted to confiscate my 2 bottles, I refused, told them to call their supervisor as no amount of explaining would convince them of HAL’s policy. Supervisor came and allowed us to proceed with our wine. Met him later in the Lido bar and he apologized and charged me for only 1 bottle.

#4 not asked to stop at the “wine police”.

#5 and #6 x-ray on the pier took wine to cabin. In 2 of 3 occasions pier x-rays were not repeated when boarding.

#7 same as #3 met same supervisor and paid my corkage.

People on ship wine tours were allowed to bring wine aboard and they do check cabin numbers.

[Fouremco]

While policy should be clear and consistent, I've no issue at all with HAL allowing those taking its wine tours to bring back wine and not pay corkage. Like being first to take a tender ashore or the ship waiting if a tour bus is late returning, taking HAL excursions has its perks. Besides, you could probably take an identical private tour, pay your corkage fee and still be ahead financially!

[catl331]

If you had purchased wine at a local shop instead of at a winery you would have expected to pay the corkage wouldn't you? I see no difference.

 

To be consistent, HAL should allow those on any HAL excursion to bring back wine without corkage, not just those going to wineries. Or maybe they do?

Edited July 13, 2015 by catl331

[Tampa Girl]

Why should HAL treat the gander the same way they treat the goose? They are different, after all.

 

Agree.

[GregnChris]

The policy stated to us was, "If the tour mentions wine, you can bring back a bottle, no corkage." This implies that tours that didn't include wine in some fashion would need to pay the corkage. When we brought back wine, they had a list of the excursions that included wine, and the room numbers and names of the participants. Our cabin/names were checked against the list and a sticker issued. Excursions that didn't do wine did not appear on the list, so they had to pay corkage.

 

While we used to bring on many bottles of wine under the old policy, HAL usually got their corkage fee because we took them to the MDR. This isn't different from what I would pay to bring my own wine to a restaurant.

 

I don't have a problem with the new policy. I think about it this way. I get to purchase wines that I know and like at the store price. Even with the HAL $18 corkage fee, they are still better bottles of wine, and cheaper, than if I purchased them directly from HAL. So I still "win".

 

I agree that HAL excursions are pricey. But they have to make money somewhere. If they don't make it on excursions, they may have to raise the base cruise fare.

 

So to all the folks that refuse to take HAL excursions, Be Happy! :) Your cruise fare is being subsidized by the folks that do take them. :eek: Say thank you.

 

 

Greg

 

If you had purchased wine at a local shop instead of at a winery you would have expected to pay the corkage wouldn't you? I see no difference.

 

To be consistent, HAL should allow those on any HAL excursion to bring back wine without corkage, not just those going to wineries. Or maybe they do?

[Fouremco]

Thank you! :)

[Cruising-along]

I remember when the wine policy changed, many of us said we hoped they would at least allow those on HAL winery tours to bring back a bottle with no corkage. Sounds like they're doing what we wanted.

[POA1]

The policy stated to us was, "If the tour mentions wine, you can bring back a bottle, no corkage." This implies that tours that didn't include wine in some fashion would need to pay the corkage. When we brought back wine, they had a list of the excursions that included wine, and the room numbers and names of the participants. Our cabin/names were checked against the list and a sticker issued. Excursions that didn't do wine did not appear on the list, so they had to pay corkage.

 

While we used to bring on many bottles of wine under the old policy, HAL usually got their corkage fee because we took them to the MDR. This isn't different from what I would pay to bring my own wine to a restaurant.

 

I don't have a problem with the new policy. I think about it this way. I get to purchase wines that I know and like at the store price. Even with the HAL $18 corkage fee, they are still better bottles of wine, and cheaper, than if I purchased them directly from HAL. So I still "win".

 

I agree that HAL excursions are pricey. But they have to make money somewhere. If they don't make it on excursions, they may have to raise the base cruise fare.

 

So to all the folks that refuse to take HAL excursions, Be Happy! :) Your cruise fare is being subsidized by the folks that do take them. :eek: Say thank you.

 

 

Greg

Thanks. That's probably the most cogent explanation of the wine excursion policy. Prepare for slings and arrows. :) (Smiley face. Yep. That's right. Smiley F. Face)