Corkage Fee - Has it returned?

[sky0000547]

Unless you are bringing $3 a gallon wine on board the $15 corkage fee is still better than the typical RCCL per bottle markup and much better than the per glass price.

 

 

Isn't free better than $15. Don't forget people have already paid for their bottle of wine.

[elleluv]

This actually turns out to be a change that costs RCCL revenue with some passengers...

 

I don't care for the drink offerings in the lounge, so since they stopped charging the corkage fee I've been bringing along two bottles of wine to bring to dinner. Those two bottles along with the amenity bottles provided to me by Crown and Anchor are typically enough for me during the cruise.

 

Now that they are back to charging a corkage fee, I'll likely make due with the wine in the lounge to supplement the C&A amenities.

[bUU]

This actually turns out to be a change that costs RCCL revenue with some passengers...

What percentage of passengers? More importantly, precisely how much revenue is lost versus how much revenue is gained?

 

 

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[critterchick]

Anyone placing bets on them eliminating any wine being brought on? I give it a year.... Extra money to be made, and many cruisers won't care..

 

But the people who do will vote with their feet. Princess, Celebrity, HAL, Carnival, NCL all allow some amount of wine to be brought onboard. RCI only started allowing it a few years ago, and I have to think it was in response to the competition doing so.

 

it is an easy fix.

 

in Monterey, where wineries and fine restaurants abound with similar corkage fees( actually, not.. they can reach as high as $40 in some places) you mark the bottle.

 

there is a tasting room on Cannery Row that has an agreement with 4 or 5 local eateries. anything purchased from them is not charged the corkage fee. to that end, they have a sticker on the bottle that indicates that it is from the tasting room.

 

I have also seen wineries marking the bottle or table with marker/pen.

 

Or you bring the card that accompanies the gifted wine to the dining room. The only problem I foresee when the card and the wine don't match, which happens to us on almost every sailing. If the wine is incorrect (usually the case), we get it fixed, but then the bottle and the card won't match.

 

To the poster who claimed that a few ruined it for all, I disagree (and would like to see your evidence to the contrary). RCI simply cannot track which of the 6-7 bottles we get on a cruise (two of our own, three amenity bottles and often a gift or two on the more generous ships) are consumed in our stateroom or in a public place.

 

On the last couple of days we start bringing the bottles everywhere - none of them is in excess of what we are allowed to bring and most of them are from the ship. So we've had mimosas at breakfast and good wine in the CL. Sometimes even at dinner.

 

 

I think that RCI looked at their lost revenue from corkage, maybe looked at the competition (such as Princess, which lets you bring two bottles on for free but will charge corkage if you consume it in a public facility) and decided to reinstate it. They are scrounging for spare change in the sofa cushions these days, and the corkage fees are in line with the competition, so threatening to leave RCI over this reinstated fee alone is kind of silly, since there's no escaping it unless one wants to pay to sail on Azamara, Regent or some other really pricy luxury line that's all or mostly inclusive.

Edited June 4, 2017 by critterchick

[Paulette3028]

Someone mentioned the lack of outrage on the boards.... that's the thing. Many people don't bring wine onboard, and it's only two bottles per cabin. It's an easy way to nudge your "loyal" base into buying a package...it was actually the first think we talked about. But we just don't drink that much; it's a waste of money for us. I wish they would have made more of an announcement; if I had been cruising this week it would have irritated me not to know ahead of time.

 

 

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There does appear to be plenty of outrage on the boards. As I write this reply this post has 6 pages....and it will continue to grow.

 

In those 6 pages what has not been mentioned is what can cruisers do about it....really. Well, cruisers will alter their own behavior on a ship for sure. But that isn't going to change Royals opinion. So maybe the suggestion needs to be made to send an email to Michael Bayley, Royal's president.

 

Some of you will say, he won't care because he doesn't read his own emails that go to his 'public email address'. I can tell you that if he doesn't someone does and filling that email account with complaints about the same issue will be bothersome. Make your point to the person who has influence on the matter.

[critterchick]

Unless you are bringing $3 a gallon wine on board the $15 corkage fee is still better than the typical RCCL per bottle markup and much better than the per glass price.

 

This is true. And you can buy a really nice wine to boot. I've found that most of the bars, even Vintages, have very limited and mediocre selection of wines. And at Vintages, there are few red wines that fall within beverage package limits.

 

This actually turns out to be a change that costs RCCL revenue with some passengers...

 

I don't care for the drink offerings in the lounge, so since they stopped charging the corkage fee I've been bringing along two bottles of wine to bring to dinner. Those two bottles along with the amenity bottles provided to me by Crown and Anchor are typically enough for me during the cruise.

 

Now that they are back to charging a corkage fee, I'll likely make due with the wine in the lounge to supplement the C&A amenities.

 

Sometimes Vintages or the Champagne Bar will have wines in addition to what's on the CL list. On Radiance they had wines left over from the Australia/New Zealand season that were very drinkable. So we made good use of our three coupons.

 

And since you're bringing a glass of wine with you, you may as well pop into your stateroom and pour a glass of the good stuff before you go to dinner.

[Cauzneffct]

Not going to disagree here.

 

 

 

Royal seems very happy to not deliver the products they advertise to get you to pay for a cruise. Bait and switch.

 

 

The problem is that, if your goal is to effect change in the policy and not just recoup your loss, for this to be an effective protest, you have to tell the server the basis for you removing the grat. They then have to believe that's the reason (and not assume you're just thrifty) and then pass that up the chain, each person believing your basis. I'm guessing someone in the chain thinks you're just looking for an excuse and no change is made.

 

 

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[KKMurphy2]

 

 

To the poster who claimed that a few ruined it for all, I disagree (and would like to see your evidence to the contrary). RCI simply cannot track which of the 6-7 bottles we get on a cruise (two of our own, three amenity bottles and often a gift or two on the more generous ships) are consumed in our stateroom or in a public place.

 

 

 

How do you get three amenity bottles? We are Diamond Plus and receive one per cabin. Just curious. :D

[little britain]

I questioned the "lack of outrage" and I'm still waiting for the ..."I'm currently on XX and when I took my bottle of plonk to dinner I was charged $15"....... or for someone to post the printed notification of this change in the Compass. Or to take a photo if the sign outside the dining room.....

So far, nothing.

 

 

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[CP3o]

No outrage here, it's $30 more on top of the cruise cost. It's more fustrating how quickly things change. Not a big deal but this use to be one of the things I'd praise RCCL about.

 

"Drink package and DL wine not very good but RCCL is nice about letting you bring wine onboard and drink anywhere."

[ColoradoGurl]

What???!!!! That sucks. I'm not a big drinker. I brought 2 bottles last time and didn't end up finishing them, but it was nice to have the option at dinner.

 

It was also one of the benefits I gave to a new cruising friend of RC policy being more customer friendly than NCL (NCL does charge the corkage fee, and I believe, but correct me if I'm wrong, that they charge it to your account when you board, and they only allow 1 bottle per room). NCL also doesn't look the other way like RC does when you bring on cases of water and soda. However NCL does give the beverage packages for "free" (you still pay the $100 service charge), at least right now.

 

Unless RC charges your account as you board the ship, then the super easy way around this is to just buy a $3 hand cranked wine opener and open it yourself.

 

As for them knowing if you've already paid the corkage fee at another venue or not, I'm sure there are notes in your account that can easily be checked, but I highly doubt any of the staff wants to be that confrontational with a guest who claims they've already paid the fee.

 

Let's just hope they don't charge when you board. If they do, I for one will just do what I normally do on a cruise, which is drink water (but I realize this is not a fun idea for most people, haha).

 

 

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[OTownNick]

I don't believe that. I think it is very much about revenue, and it hinges on the same thing that so many other things we see cruise lines, hotels, restaurants, and all other kinds of service provider rely on: that most customers won't try to evade such fees in "creative" ways. In other words, there is a strong reliance on voluntary compliance, that such things do "move the needle" on the balance sheets, and only the small minority of evasion doesn't "move the needle".

 

This is SUCH a minuscule amount it won't touch the top line. And I'm not even sure if it' gong to recorded as revenue or gratuity...

[bUU]

I don't believe that.

 

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[LMaxwell]

This is SUCH a minuscule amount it won't touch the top line. And I'm not even sure if it' gong to recorded as revenue or gratuity...

 

If it were so small as to amount to basically nothing, then why bother with it at all? (Answer, because it is not "miniscule")

 

Nickles and dimes add up to big revenue, don't kid yourself otherwise.

 

And why would a "fee" be recorded as anything but revenue? Certainly not as a gratuity. You want us to believe you have data to base your statements on, and I've yet to read any. You are just certain this is not a revenue grab and amounts to nothing, which is nonsense.

[elleluv]

 

 

 

How do you get three amenity bottles? We are Diamond Plus and receive one per cabin. Just curious. :D

 

 

If I recall correctly... second bottle at 350 points and third bottle at 525 points.

[elleluv]

 

Sometimes Vintages or the Champagne Bar will have wines in addition to what's on the CL list. On Radiance they had wines left over from the Australia/New Zealand season that were very drinkable. So we made good use of our three coupons.

 

I'll have to make a point of checking out the CL wine selection at those two venues. Our taste in wine is pretty similar, so if you found something you like there I would expect to as well.

 

 

I had 5 bottles of wine on my recent Radiance cruise, so that was plenty... I'd just grab a bottle from my cabin and bring it along with me.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed your Solstice sailing, we missed you over on Radiance.

[gooch47]

Don't know how RCI will do it, but Princess puts a sticker on the bottle when a corkage fee is paid.

[Merion_Mom]

Everyone just needs to be bringing in two full glasses of wine to the restaurants.

 

We call that "two-fisting" it. :D

[Merion_Mom]

 

That's surely part of the calculation: How much are passengers willing to pay the corkage fee to avoid looking tacky?

 

Have you BEEN on a cruise lately?

 

Looking tacky does not seem to be much of a problem for a heck of a lot of people. :halo:

[legaljen1969]

I wonder what the response would have been if RCI simple lowered the corkage fee from the previous $25 to the current $15 wihtout the free period in between.

 

Great point! I have to say I enjoyed bringing on some wines they did not offer when the "no corkage" fee was in place. I won't stop bringing them though, and I will just pay the corkage fee if I have to do so. Usually my wine consumption is on my balcony before or after dinner so I shouldn't really have to worry about this too much.

[Big_G]

Have you BEEN on a cruise lately?

 

Looking tacky does not seem to be much of a problem for a heck of a lot of people. :halo:

 

Thanks! I almost spit my Captain & Coke on the keyboard. That would've been a tragedy. :');p:D

[legaljen1969]

With the reinstatement of the corkage fee and a charge for all room service, instead of buying a RCCL cruise, it might be better to buy RCCL stock.

No kidding. LOL

[legaljen1969]

Thanks! I almost spit my Captain & Coke on the keyboard. That would've been a tragedy. :');p:D

 

I am with you on that one. People have no problem looking tacky. I have been on some cruises where I think the majority of the passengers are extras on a "What Not to Wear" episode. I keep wondering when the hosts are going to show up and put the fashion mistakes on the big movie screen by the pool. Now THAT would be entertainment- the "fashion don't" of the day. Although, why encourage people.

[BEENSAILING]

I'll have to make a point of checking out the CL wine selection at those two venues. Our taste in wine is pretty similar, so if you found something you like there I would expect to as well.

 

 

I had 5 bottles of wine on my recent Radiance cruise, so that was plenty... I'd just grab a bottle from my cabin and bring it along with me.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed your Solstice sailing, we missed you over on Radiance.

 

The wines in the CL on our Jewel med cruise in May were disappointing. One I have had on other cruises - a Sav. Blanc - was no longer available in CL (but still was an option on the in room or in dininging room C and A list.) The options were reduced in the CL. I think this is fleet-wide. A while ago we stopped bringing wines with on cruises but as I prefer (good) wine in the evening and with dinner we will need to start bringing again - and start our drinking in our stateroom. We have great wines at home and we will need to make room for them when we pack.

[Merion_Mom]

People bringing onboard more than 2 bottles of wine per stateroom. The group of people sitting in Schooner bar with 3-4 bottles of wine camped out there drinking their own wine, making a party of it. Maybe the $15 corkage fee will deter the instances of this happening.

 

I have never seen this.