How does the corkage work?

[Baby_Bear]

Hi, on our upcoming cruise, we are going to bring on one bottle of wine each. We are fine paying the corkage fee. My question is how it works. We like to have a glass of wine with dinner. Do we give the bottles to the MDR? And they will bring out the bottle in use at dinner? And I'm assuming the wine is appropriately chilled?

 

Thanks!

[Cruiseman38]

We bring a bottle on our cruises as well, however, we open and pour the wine into the wine glasses we request from the cabin steward in the cabin and then carry the wine to dinner, that way you can avoid the fee. We then put the wine in the mini-fridge to keep the wine cool for later or the next day.

 

Just a suggestion for you.

 

Have a great cruise!!!

[schazzy]

I think you just bring it in and inform your waiter you'll need it uncorked for you. I saw one time in the MDR last year a couple at a neighboring table had brought in a bottle of white wine with them and their waiter brought them an ice bucket and later uncorked and poured it for them.

[teknoge3k]

We take wine and keep it in our fridge in our cabin. When we go to dinner we just go to the atrium bar and grab 2 wine glasses, fill them up in our room and take them to dinner with us along with our sodas. Easy peasy.

[Micahs Grandad]

We bring a bottle on our cruises as well, however, we open and pour the wine into the wine glasses we request from the cabin steward in the cabin and then carry the wine to dinner, that way you can avoid the fee. We then put the wine in the mini-fridge to keep the wine cool for later or the next day.

 

Just a suggestion for you.

 

Have a great cruise!!!

 

This is what we do as well.

[tinman88]

To answer your specific question - bring the bottle of wine/sparkling wine with you to dinner. The waiter will take it and chill as needed, open and pour it. If you do not finish it - the bottle will be tagged with your room number and placed in the wine storage area. At your next dinner just ask for it and it will be returned to your table. You only pay one corkage fee at this time it is $15.

From Carnival's Website:

Corkage Fee

A $15 USD corkage fee, per 750 ml bottle, will be charged should guests wish to consume their wine or champagne in the main dining room, specialty restaurant or bar. A corkage fee is a charge assessed at time of service at a restaurant for every bottle served that is not bought on the premises.

[coevan]

$15 is ridiculous to open a $10 bottle of wine. You can buy a cheap TSA approved plastic corkscrew for $2

[tinman88]

If you have a special bottle of wine or an expensive bottle that you can not get aboard and want to celebrate it over dinner, $15 is a reasonable amount to pay for a corkage fee.

I have celebrated a special occasion with a special bottle over dinner and the memories are well worth the fee for me.

[Micahs Grandad]

If you have a special bottle of wine or an expensive bottle that you can not get aboard and want to celebrate it over dinner, $15 is a reasonable amount to pay for a corkage fee.

I have celebrated a special occasion with a special bottle over dinner and the memories are well worth the fee for me.

 

I would not pay that much for them to open a bottle of wine but if it works for you go for it

[princess76021]

To answer your specific question - bring the bottle of wine/sparkling wine with you to dinner. The waiter will take it and chill as needed, open and pour it. If you do not finish it - the bottle will be tagged with your room number and placed in the wine storage area. At your next dinner just ask for it and it will be returned to your table. You only pay one corkage fee at this time it is $15.

From Carnival's Website:

Corkage Fee

A $15 USD corkage fee, per 750 ml bottle, will be charged should guests wish to consume their wine or champagne in the main dining room, specialty restaurant or bar. A corkage fee is a charge assessed at time of service at a restaurant for every bottle served that is not bought on the premises.

 

they will not hold it for you! we mistakenly took a bottle of white (twist off cap) they charge us corkage and then told us they only store bottle that you buy from them!!!

[tinman88]

they will not hold it for you! we mistakenly took a bottle of white (twist off cap) they charge us corkage and then told us they only store bottle that you buy from them!!!

 

Sorry to hear that. I would be ticked off as well.

On Carnival Pride May 2018 - I had no problem getting the bottle back from storage.

[princess76021]

Sorry to hear that. I would be ticked off as well.

On Carnival Pride May 2018 - I had no problem getting the bottle back from storage.

 

did you buy it from them? we had no problem with what we bought. the problem is what we brought!!

[tinman88]

We did not buy from Carnival. We brought our own bottle and had no problems getting it stored and back the next night. My wife and I only drink a glass at dinner so we could not finish it in one night. (We are light weigths.)

[coevan]

We just take the bottle back to our cabin, would never pay a corkage charge. We always travel with a corkscrew.

[Baby_Bear]

they will not hold it for you! we mistakenly took a bottle of white (twist off cap) they charge us corkage and then told us they only store bottle that you buy from them!!!

 

Yikes! That is not great to hear! So you paid corkage and they still didn't store the wine.

 

After hearing this, I think I'll just do what others have suggested. Chill the wine in the cabin (I find the fridges ineffective so will just ask the room steward for a filled ice bucket and chill it) and as you say, fill up two glasses and take them in to dinner. We only ever drink one glass at dinner, so that won't be an inconvenience. We were just in Germany where we picked up some lovely Bavarian rieslings and are looking forward to slowly consuming them.

[princess76021]

Yikes! That is not great to hear! So you paid corkage and they still didn't store the wine.

 

After hearing this, I think I'll just do what others have suggested. Chill the wine in the cabin (I find the fridges ineffective so will just ask the room steward for a filled ice bucket and chill it) and as you say, fill up two glasses and take them in to dinner. We only ever drink one glass at dinner, so that won't be an inconvenience. We were just in Germany where we picked up some lovely Bavarian rieslings and are looking forward to slowly consuming them.

 

we learned our lesson. we now bring a corkscrew and a bottle topper. we pour our glasses and bring it to dinner with us. we too only drink one glass with dinner!!!

[BlerkOne]

The corkage fee has nothing to do with whether or not the bottle has a cork. It is amazing the extent to which some people will go to avoid paying a corkage fee, yet complain when Carnival chooses to not enforce other rules. One word that comes to mind is, Cheap!

[bury me at sea]

they will not hold it for you! we mistakenly took a bottle of white (twist off cap) they charge us corkage and then told us they only store bottle that you buy from them!!!

 

This has not been my experience on either the Magic or the Breeze. The MDR has always kept my red wines chilled and brought them back to the table each evening. This has been in the traditional early time dining setting.

[Baby_Bear]

#17: You're missing the point. The previous poster spoke about the fact that when they brought wine on board, they took it to dinner and were charged the corkage fee, but then Carnival refused to store the wine, while they had no issue storing wine purchased by them onboard. In other words, they took the fee but didn't provide the requested service. Personally, I have no issue paying the fee, but would want to make sure I got the service I was paying for.

 

Now Carnival can sometimes be pretty inconsistent, so it could be just a once off experience with bar staff who didn't know the rules.....per #18, it can be done right.

[BlerkOne]

#17: You're missing the point. The previous poster spoke about the fact that when they brought wine on board, they took it to dinner and were charged the corkage fee, but then Carnival refused to store the wine, while they had no issue storing wine purchased by them onboard. In other words, they took the fee but didn't provide the requested service. Personally, I have no issue paying the fee, but would want to make sure I got the service I was paying for.

 

Now Carnival can sometimes be pretty inconsistent, so it could be just a once off experience with bar staff who didn't know the rules.....per #18, it can be done right.

 

What you apparently missed is only one poster said Carnival wouldn't store it. I would have been asking for a supervisor at that point. Or perhaps there is more to that story than is being told.

[Baby_Bear]

Maybe but I don't think it had anything to do with being cheap.

[stargate fan]

The corkage fee that Carnival charges has nothing to do with whether a bottle of wine has a cork or a screw top or if the head waiter opens the bottle.

The corkage fee is charged for the privilege of consuming, in the main dining room, a bottle of wine that was not purchased from Carnival .

[CruiseGal999]

We bring a bottle on our cruises as well, however, we open and pour the wine into the wine glasses we request from the cabin steward in the cabin and then carry the wine to dinner, that way you can avoid the fee. We then put the wine in the mini-fridge to keep the wine cool for later or the next day.

 

Just a suggestion for you.

 

Have a great cruise!!!

 

I haven't cruised on Carnival in decades. Do they allow the same as other CL? You are allowed to bring 1 bottle each adult on board FREE (no corkage fee), but ONLY charge the $15 fee if you have it open & poured in the MDR?

 

Otherwise, the keeping it in your room and pouring it in a glass and taking that glass with you ... anywhere on board, is all on the up & up? Correct?

 

IF doing that is acceptable, that's what I would do. Actually, on a different CL, I plan on doing exactly that. And I don't consider myself cheap, at all.

[Micahs Grandad]

Yikes! That is not great to hear! So you paid corkage and they still didn't store the wine.

 

After hearing this, I think I'll just do what others have suggested. Chill the wine in the cabin (I find the fridges ineffective so will just ask the room steward for a filled ice bucket and chill it) and as you say, fill up two glasses and take them in to dinner. We only ever drink one glass at dinner, so that won't be an inconvenience. We were just in Germany where we picked up some lovely Bavarian rieslings and are looking forward to slowly consuming them.

 

Keep the wooden door in front of the fridge open at all times and it will keep stuff reasonably chilled

[Hoosierpop]

I’m confused. People open a bottle of wine for dinner and don’t finish it? Is that legal?

 

 

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