Checking case of wine with luggage

[satxdiver]

Back in the "old days" before they cracked down on wine, I would buy a case of wine, put a luggage tag on it and check it at the curb with our other luggage. Not a problem back then.

 

Last spring my DW forgot she had put two bottles of wine in her checked luggage (we arrived via airplane) and gave the luggage to the porter at the curb. I of course checked my bag as the same time. My bag appeared in our stateroom a few hours later per normal while DW's bag did not show up until after we had sailed and had dinner (early TD). Inside they had put a note about not checking wine and indeed they had opened the luggage and inspected what was in there. Luckily they let it go without charging the corking fee. I had carried on our 6 bottle carrying case and had paid for 4 of the bottles. I have read reports of pax having to go to the "naughty room" to open their luggage for inspection before retrieving it.

 

Incidentally there is no gratuity added to the $15 corking fee no matter where or when it is collected. We simply call room service and ask for two wine glasses and maybe an ice bucket (white wine). They are usually very responsive and ask if we need a cork screw (we bring our own).

[Steelers36]

I was properly assessed (on shipboard account) for 18 bottles x $15 when we boarded ISLAND with two cases (6 free bottles for three segments).

 

The new stickers were something like Avery labels that had been typed on in a computer printer and not what I had last time I brought wine on (Princess logo stickies as I recall). The new labels were a problem if dunked in ice water, or when I took bottle out of fridge to allow it to warm up before going to dinner and bottle "sweated". Nonetheless, never had an issue with our waiter once a bottle was opened. I mostly opened them myself in the cabin and then stuck my own stoppers in.

 

TIP: We usually don't finish a sparkling wine bottle in one serving, so I also brought my spring-stopper for those bottles and that worked great to preserve the left over. No way to get one of those corks back in the bottle opening.