Corkage fee

[cruisue]

Does Princess really charge a corkage free when you bring your own bottle of wine into the dining room? Can you just carry in your glass of wine that you have poured in your room from your bottle? We've brought bottles into the dining room on Holland and not been charged!

[floridalover5623]

We never pay corkage charges. Just ask your steward for a couple of wine glasses each day & carry a large glassful to the DR each night.

[fishywood]

Currently the Princess and HAL wine policies for bottles brought on board on embarkation day are identical:

 

• One 750-ml bottle per adult passenger may be carried on with no charge;
  
• Additional bottles are subject to corkage fee paid at the time of boarding
  

Obviously if there is a bottle which you have been charged corkage on up front, that is the one you would bring to the dining room. The conundrum is, what if you only bring a single fee-free bottle on board but wish to carry it into the dining room? Princess policy vaguely states (emphasis mine):

 

As provided in the Passage Contract, guests agree not to bring alcoholic beverages of any kind onboard for consumption, except 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.

 

(...which, BTW, is also the exact language in HAL's policy)

 

Yet no where does it state directly what exactly will happen if you bring your bottle to the dining room that does not have the sticker showing corkage paid upon boarding. You have already concluded your question with the best advice: just carry a glass of wine from your cabin.

Edited January 11, 2016 by fishywood

[moki'smommy]

The written policy is that wine brought on board is for consumption in your cabin. That said, I've never seen anyone challenged for carrying a glass anywhere. How do they know that you didn't get it at the bar down the hall?

 

Yes, if you bring your own bottle into the dining room, you are supposed to be charged.

[paul929207]

I you bring a bottle to the MDR which was not purchased on board and for which corkage has not been paid, you are charged the corkage in the MDR. Normally, this would apply to the bottle each person can carryon without charge.

[Colo Cruiser]

Does Princess really charge a corkage free when you bring your own bottle of wine into the dining room? Can you just carry in your glass of wine that you have poured in your room from your bottle? We've brought bottles into the dining room on Holland and not been charged!

 

 

Yes you can bring glasses in the DR with no fee.

[cruzsnooze]

I paid the $15 corkage fee which was still less then buying an identical bottle from Princess in the MDR.

[Steelers36]

So , if the corkage fee beaters pre-pour a glass in the room and carry it to the DR (I'd be worried about being bumped and spilling and splashing), then the bottle has been opened. So, why not just bring the rest of the bottle next night? It's now open and corkage fee is applied when a new bottle needs to be opened.

 

If you are an AT diner, may not even see same table/waiter and they won't know the difference.

 

And what if you want some more wine? Run back to cabin, re-fill and return?

 

Look I get it that there is not a charge for carrying any sort of drink into dinner.

 

But if I have brought on my own wine on board for dinners, I am bringing on better value wine and saving money with the corkage factored in - and it's a pretty reasonable fee. Wouldn't want to lose the privilege.

 

But I can see where it's nice to be able to save something if have multiple bottles. Why not pay something (I'd be happier to pay it if the fee was going into the tip pool)? Extra bottles are going to be assessed at boarding anyway. Bring those to the DR for free and open the free bottles for sipping in the room.

 

I'm not dumb and I can see how to save some corkage fee. But don't come on here and brag about beating the system on Princess. It never turns out well in the long run.

[satxdiver]

So , if the corkage fee beaters pre-pour a glass in the room and carry it to the DR (I'd be worried about being bumped and spilling and splashing), then the bottle has been opened. So, why not just bring the rest of the bottle next night? It's now open and corkage fee is applied when a new bottle needs to be opened.

...

And what if you want some more wine? Run back to cabin, re-fill and return?

...

 

When you pay the corking fee for extra bottles you are bringing on board at embarkation, they mark the bottles. Lately they have been using a sticker to signify the corking fee was paid.

 

Nice, wine runners to the cabin and back!

 

Although they are getting better at collecting the corking fee on embarkation, it is still a hit or miss situation at least in our experience. Our last cruise this past October, they were not collecting the fee when we boarded.

[floridalover5623]

We average about 5 full glasses of wine per bottle. With 2 free bottles per cruise during embarkation that's sufficient for most trips for us especially when we can restock our supply various times during the cruise.

[dr__dawggy]

We average about 5 full glasses of wine per bottle. With 2 free bottles per cruise during embarkation that's sufficient for most trips for us especially when we can restock our supply various times during the cruise.

 

How do you restock supply during the cruise? Doesn't screening at most ports charge the corkage fee when you come back on board with a bottle purchased in port?

[floridalover5623]

How do you restock supply during the cruise? Doesn't screening at most ports charge the corkage fee when you come back on board with a bottle purchased in port?

 

We just get on board with our bottles & never had a problem. They're more concerned about liquor & even then people just walk by the collection table.

I can't recall one time in all the years where we've checked our liquor with them for storage.

[Micahs Grandad]

So , if the corkage fee beaters pre-pour a glass in the room and carry it to the DR (I'd be worried about being bumped and spilling and splashing), then the bottle has been opened. So, why not just bring the rest of the bottle next night? It's now open and corkage fee is applied when a new bottle needs to be opened.

 

If you are an AT diner, may not even see same table/waiter and they won't know the difference.

 

And what if you want some more wine? Run back to cabin, re-fill and return?

 

Look I get it that there is not a charge for carrying any sort of drink into dinner.

 

But if I have brought on my own wine on board for dinners, I am bringing on better value wine and saving money with the corkage factored in - and it's a pretty reasonable fee. Wouldn't want to lose the privilege.

 

But I can see where it's nice to be able to save something if have multiple bottles. Why not pay something (I'd be happier to pay it if the fee was going into the tip pool)? Extra bottles are going to be assessed at boarding anyway. Bring those to the DR for free and open the free bottles for sipping in the room.

 

I'm not dumb and I can see how to save some corkage fee. But don't come on here and brag about beating the system on Princess. It never turns out well in the long run.

 

Not trying to beat a system but dont really want to pay more for corkage than the original cost of the wine.

 

No big deal to open the bottle in our cabin and bring two glasses. That way we can easily control how many days we will get our of our two bottles.

[Micahs Grandad]

Three weeks ago on Ruby somehow broke our corkscrew opening a bottle of wine in our cabin. A new one but it must have had a crack in the steel. Only the second time we had used it.

 

Room steward was not around so put it in paperbag and brought it to DR. Asst waiter happy to open it but said if we kept the bottle in the DR he would have to charge us corkage.

 

He opened it and while waiting for rest of our tablemates to arrive brought it back to the cabin and poured two glasses for dinner.

[baronessk]

Two years ago I DID pay the appropriate corkage fee, but they failed to put the little stickers on the bottles at the table when they charged my account. THAT was a mess trying to get THAT sorted out in the AT/DR. This year, between my friend (in another cabin) and myself, we brought 15 bottles of wine on board (for 5 adults) and had to pay corkage fees on 11. I noticed by the end of the cruise that the waiters were peeling our stickers OFF the bottles as we drank the wine at dinner. Maybe they thought we were peeling them off and re-using them??? Who knows. My point is, that 99% of the time when I have brought MY wine into the DR, they check and charge if applicable. I have also bought wine on board, but didn't like the selections this year and for $15 appreciated drinking the wine I LIKE.

[Justprettynpink]

On the Emerald last month, they stamped my wine (no stickers).