corkage fees

[TheDentist]

If you bring a bottle of wine or champagne on board and decide to drink in your room can you avoid the corkage fees ?

Also does anyone have any idea what a corkage fee is for the above ?

Many thanks

 

Selina

[roger001]

If you bring a bottle of wine or champagne on board and decide to drink in your room can you avoid the corkage fees ?

Also does anyone have any idea what a corkage fee is for the above ?

Many thanks

 

Selina

 

$15 a bottle. And it isn't really a "corkage" fee. It is a charge per bottle to bring them on board. After you have paid the fee at check in, you can do anything you wish, any where you wish with it.

[TheDentist]

Thanks Roger,

 

I suppose enow I need to know how much a decent bottle of wine or champagne is ..

[roger001]

Thanks Roger,

 

I suppose enow I need to know how much a decent bottle of wine or champagne is ..

 

Can't help you there. I'm not a wine drinker. However, my sister loves wine and finds what she considers reasonable wine in the $12 to maybe $20 range locally, available at the big discount wine dealers. On board the ship, wine that retails locally for about $6 a bottle sells for $35...and the prices go up from there. So, if you are a wine lover, even with the $15 fee per bottle, it is still much cheaper to take your own on board. And you have a selection of wine you like best.

[ColinIllinois]

Further info on corkage fees from NCL's Frequently Asked Questions:

 

https://www.ncl.com/faq#can-i-bring-alcohol-board

[mking8288]

Toward the end of this May, bottled wine sold onboard the Breakaway (prices are fleetwide, I'm reasonably certain) are in the $35 to $40 range and up, plus 18% supplement - you do the math.

 

Same bottles of wine retail locally for $10 or less, depending on where you sourced them + tax ... so, even with the corkage fee collected, you still come out ahead - and, you get to choose your own brand & vintage, etc.

 

For example, these Meridian were $32 + 18% by the bottle in 2015 and gone up since then. If you can easily pick them up locally before embarkation - BYO is "smarter" https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/2015%20NCL%20BA/IMG20150328PLWINE.jpg

[atomax]

We bought a bottle of the Argentinian Malbec in a wine store in Miami that retailed for $8. It was $40+ on the ship. It was definitely smarter to BYOB. You can search the posts in the forum for the latest fleet wine prices and take them to a wine store for comparison. The wine steward got a kick out of our Malbeck and how little we paid for it.

 

The corkage charge will appear on your ship account from one of the MDR (Indigo, in our case, on the Pearl).

[AquaMarineFerret]

So, if we accept that the $15 corkage may well be something we can swallow, does anyone have any recommendations for sourcing wine ashore whilst cruising the Alaskan west coast from Vancouver to Seward and back please?

 

We can keep our eyes open on a couple of the excursions, but if there's somewhere conveniently close to the berthing areas I would be pleased to hear about it. Thanks.

[mtime21]

For those who have brought wine aboard for corkage, do you just bring it in your carry on and declare as you board the ship?

 

 

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[dolita22]

For those who have brought wine aboard for corkage, do you just bring it in your carry on and declare as you board the ship?

 

 

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You'll carry it on. If sailing from Miami, right after you go through security, security personnel will direct you to a table, where they'll take your name and stateroom number, then put stickers on the bottle stating that you've paid the corkage. The corkage will show up as a charge from one of the dining rooms (at least that's how it's showed for us the last few cruises).

 

Definitely carry it on vs. putting it on your luggage that goes with the porters. If it goes in luggage, you'll be called to the naughty room to retrieve it (and probably pay the corkage then or they'll hold it for the week. Not sure which).

[Demonyte]

For those who have brought wine aboard for corkage, do you just bring it in your carry on and declare as you board the ship?

 

That is the recommended way, if you pack the bottles in your checked luggage, your luggage will probably be not delivered to your cabin but you need to go retrieve it from the "naughty room".

[AquaMarineFerret]

You'll carry it on. If sailing from Miami, right after you go through security, security personnel will direct you to a table, where they'll take your name and stateroom number, then put stickers on the bottle stating that you've paid the corkage. The corkage will show up as a charge from one of the dining rooms (at least that's how it's showed for us the last few cruises).

 

Definitely carry it on vs. putting it on your luggage that goes with the porters. If it goes in luggage, you'll be called to the naughty room to retrieve it (and probably pay the corkage then or they'll hold it for the week. Not sure which).

 

This has been a useful thread and triggered a few thoughts to follow up. as we are staying in Vancouver for a couple of days prior to the cruise embarkation, I have found 2-3 likely sources for wine, including a Safeway a stone's throw from our hotel.

 

Now I need to research the Alaskan ports (no, not the fortified wine!)

 

Can someone clarify regarding the number we can carry on please? I swear I saw 2 bottles mentioned somewhere. Is that 2 per person? Thanks.

[Demonyte]

This has been a useful thread and triggered a few thoughts to follow up. as we are staying in Vancouver for a couple of days prior to the cruise embarkation, I have found 2-3 likely sources for wine, including a Safeway a stone's throw from our hotel.

 

Now I need to research the Alaskan ports (no, not the fortified wine!)

 

Can someone clarify regarding the number we can carry on please? I swear I saw 2 bottles mentioned somewhere. Is that 2 per person? Thanks.

 

There is no limit. The mention of two bottles applies to some other cruise lines and some people get confused and therefore spread misinformation here.

[AquaMarineFerret]

There is no limit. The mention of two bottles applies to some other cruise lines and some people get confused and therefore spread misinformation here.

 

What? I cannot believe that! ;)

 

Thanks for the swift clarification - it helps. Mind you, I never expected to be 'souvenir shopping' for wine in Alaska! :D

[esm54687]

Can you "replenish" your wine supply at ports along the way?

 

I thought they held bottles and then delivered to you the last day..... or is that just spirits not wine.

 

Thanks

[roger001]

Can you "replenish" your wine supply at ports along the way?

 

I thought they held bottles and then delivered to you the last day..... or is that just spirits not wine.

 

Thanks

 

Wine is ok, if you pay the fee. All other alcohol products will be held for you until the end of the cruise.

[roger001]

My sister and friend, who both love their wine, and consumed 27 bottles of it on a 7 day cruise, all bought on board at ship's prices, bought something like this for their next cruise.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Picnic-Time-Bodega-Insulated-12-Bottle/dp/B004RCE6BQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468241101&sr=8-1&keywords=roller+wine+carriers+and+totes

[AquaMarineFerret]

My sister and friend, who both love their wine, and consumed 27 bottles of it on a 7 day cruise, all bought on board at ship's prices, bought something like this for their next cruise.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Picnic-Time-Bodega-Insulated-12-Bottle/dp/B004RCE6BQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468241101&sr=8-1&keywords=roller+wine+carriers+and+totes

 

Holy...! Don't show my wife!!!! :eek:

 

Yes, right now I am considering a purchase of a few bottles in Vancouver (BC Liquor in the nearby Safeway store) and paying the $15/bottle corkage, and then re-stocking along the way. That assumes we don't get a good Viva Vino package because lugging the wine (with or without a purchase from Amazon) is inconvenient and the $15 corkage quickly raises a self-sourced bottle to NCL levels.

 

By the way, the official NCL policy from their FAQ says:

 

"Can I still bring wine on board?

 

Yes, guests may bring sealed bottles of wine on board for personal consumption. They will be checked prior to embarkation and a corkage fee applied at that time of $15.00 USD for a 750 ml Bottle or $30.00 USD for a 1,500 ml Magnum bottle. Box wines are not allowed on board. If guests do not wish to pay the corkage fee, the wine will be held onboard and returned to the guests at the end of the cruise.

 

 

Why can I bring wine but not other beverages?

 

As very few guests bring wine onboard, the team is able to easily and quickly screen these items.

 

Can I bring my own alcoholic drinks aboard?

 

Sorry, but we do not allow guests to bring their own alcohol to drink on board. If you purchase alcohol ashore to take home with you, this should be given to the ship’s crew when you get back on board and it will be returned to you at the end of the cruise."

[AquaMarineFerret]

By the way, does anyone have any up-to-date information on Viva Vino packages please?

[Lil_Em]

It is definitely cheaper to bring your own wine on board and pay the corkage fee (unless you have the UBP). We declared 4 bottles on one cruise that we carried on, but then also stuck 2 in our checked bags. We figured if we got caught, we would just pay the corkage fee on the other 2 as well. This way we had 2 bottles we could drink in the room without paying a corkage fee.

 

Also, if you end up with bottles at the end of the cruise that you did not drink, you can get the corkage fee refunded to your account on the last night of the cruise.

[AquaMarineFerret]

It is definitely cheaper to bring your own wine on board and pay the corkage fee (unless you have the UBP). We declared 4 bottles on one cruise that we carried on, but then also stuck 2 in our checked bags. We figured if we got caught, we would just pay the corkage fee on the other 2 as well. This way we had 2 bottles we could drink in the room without paying a corkage fee.

 

Also, if you end up with bottles at the end of the cruise that you did not drink, you can get the corkage fee refunded to your account on the last night of the cruise.

 

The information I have seen so far suggests that the basic Viva Vino package offers up to 8 bottles at $22 + 18% = $26 each (to the nearest $) and I suspect these will be what I call 'quaffing wines' - OK but nothing special. In our supermarkets we can get such things for around £5 a bottle compared with the £20 equivalent we're talking here! A spot check on Vancouver prices shows we could probably purchase quaffing wine at around CAN$12-15 and then get stung for US$15 per bottle and still be under the NCL cost.

 

It may be that we end up doing a combination of Viva Vino and bring your own, depending on what we find. I have no idea of what easy-drinking wines cost in Alaskan cruise ports!

 

I see there have been tiers of Viva Vino packages, with higher quality wines, but do you get a bigger bang for your buck? Does purchasing a better quality wine off-ship and paying the blanket $15 corkage fee make it better value? :confused: I wish I didn't have to make such considerations.

[esm54687]

My sister and friend, who both love their wine, and consumed 27 bottles of it on a 7 day cruise, all bought on board at ship's prices, bought something like this for their next cruise.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Picnic-Time-Bodega-Insulated-12-Bottle/dp/B004RCE6BQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468241101&sr=8-1&keywords=roller+wine+carriers+and+totes

 

forget the $405 in corkage fees..... how much did the dialysis cost!!??!!

[AquaMarineFerret]

forget the $405 in corkage fees..... how much did the dialysis cost!!??!!

 

:D Nice one!

[chisox021]

but then also stuck 2 in our checked bags. We figured if we got caught, we would just pay the corkage fee on the other 2 as well. This way we had 2 bottles we could drink in the room without paying a corkage fee. .

 

is why we can't have anything nice and NCL does what they do.. Thanks for letting us know.... :rolleyes:

[roger001]

forget the $405 in corkage fees..... how much did the dialysis cost!!??!!

 

Wasn't a corkage fee that cruise. They paid full on board price for the wine. I'm guessing about $850 or so. Didn't bring it with them. (They do now). She assures me that it being red wine, her cardiologist says it's good for her. I asked her what her liver transplant surgeon says. Actually, at only about 4 glasses of wine in a bottle, for 7 days of drinking, that is "only" about 8 glasses each per day.