Bringing wine and soda onboard?

[nepacruisers]

It's been a few years since we last sailed. We booked a last minute cruise for this weekend. Are we still allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine and a 6 pack of soda? I tried to find this on NCL website, but didn't succeed. Thanks in advance.

[trivimp]

Wine: yes, with a corkage fee.  ($15.00/750ml bottle, $30.00/magnum) 

Soda: no, not since 2016.  

Edited August 31, 2022 by trivimp

[schmoopie17]

7 minutes ago, trivimp said:

Wine: yes, with a corkage fee.  ($15.00/750ml bottle, $30.00/magnum) 

Soda: no, not since 2016.  

No corkage fee if they have a Beverage Package.

 

Wine & Champagne Policy 

Guests may bring bottles of wine and champagne on board. When bottles are brought on board and served or consumed in any restaurant, public room area or in their stateroom, a corkage fee will be charged according to bottle sizes noted below.

750 ml Bottle: $15.00 USD

1,500 ml Magnum: $30.00 USD

Wine or champagne sent directly to the ship by travel agents, friends, family, etc. or from another retail source, are subject to the same fees. Box wines are not allowed on board.

Corkage Fee is not applicable to guest with beverage package.

Edited August 31, 2022 by schmoopie17

[nepacruisers]

Thank you both for the responses.

[trivimp]

5 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

No corkage fee if they have a Beverage Package.

True.  The complete FAQ page:  https://www.ncl.com/faq#can-i-bring-water-or-soda-board 

 

ugh, this board is breaking the link, but you can search for it on the NCL faqs under "can I bring water" 

Edited August 31, 2022 by trivimp

[phillygwm]

24 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Corkage Fee is not applicable to guest with beverage package.

Interesting.  I wasn't aware of that, though I would never bring my own wine onboard.  I'm not that picky 🙂

 

When do they assess the corkage fee?  That might be a reason to purchase the package up front versus on the ship.  

[KeithJenner]

2 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

Interesting.  I wasn't aware of that, though I would never bring my own wine onboard.  I'm not that picky 🙂

 

When do they assess the corkage fee?  That might be a reason to purchase the package up front versus on the ship.  

Corkage is paid when you board, so it would make a difference if you were planning to purchase the package onboard.

[KeithJenner]

36 minutes ago, nepacruisers said:

It's been a few years since we last sailed. We booked a last minute cruise for this weekend. Are we still allowed to bring 2 bottles of wine and a 6 pack of soda? I tried to find this on NCL website, but didn't succeed. Thanks in advance.

You have your answer, but just to clarify that there isn't (and never has been) any 2 bottle limit. You can bring on as much wine as you want.

[mjkacmom]

24 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

Interesting.  I wasn't aware of that, though I would never bring my own wine onboard.  I'm not that picky 🙂

 

When do they assess the corkage fee?  That might be a reason to purchase the package up front versus on the ship.  

I think most people get the UBP as a perk, it’s crazy expensive to purchase.

[CarlaMasterson]

30 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

Interesting.  I wasn't aware of that, though I would never bring my own wine onboard.  I'm not that picky 🙂

 

When do they assess the corkage fee?  That might be a reason to purchase the package up front versus on the ship.  

In all my years of cruising on various lines, I have never once been charged a corking fee for wine I have brought on board.

 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, CarlaMasterson said:

In all my years of cruising on various lines, I have never once been charged a corking fee for wine I have brought on board.

 

Welcome to NCL!! Hehe

 

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

Interesting.  I wasn't aware of that, though I would never bring my own wine onboard.  I'm not that picky 🙂

 

When do they assess the corkage fee?  That might be a reason to purchase the package up front versus on the ship.  

Yea, if it's booze...I'm gonna drink it! Well, not so much on my upcoming cruise as we refused the Free at Sea drink package. I'm still pretty conflicted about that. 

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, CarlaMasterson said:

In all my years of cruising on various lines, I have never once been charged a corking fee for wine I have brought on board.

 

I’ve cruised on NCL 4 times and paid each time.

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

Interesting.  I wasn't aware of that...

 

it's a relatively recent change... instituted in the past two months or so.

[phillygwm]

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I think most people get the UBP as a perk, it’s crazy expensive to purchase.

Right.  But this is the Premium Plus package.  If you got the former UBP,  now Premium, you WOULD be charged corkage.  If you upgraded to Premium Plus, it's waived. 

[mjkacmom]

27 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

Right.  But this is the Premium Plus package.  If you got the former UBP,  now Premium, you WOULD be charged corkage.  If you upgraded to Premium Plus, it's waived. 

I was under the impression that wine is now permitted without corkage with the regular beverage package.

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

I was under the impression that wine is now permitted without corkage with the regular beverage package.

 

it is. see post #3.

 

"corkage fee is not applicable to guest with beverage package."

 

[Sailing12Away]

5 hours ago, phillygwm said:

Interesting.  I wasn't aware of that, though I would never bring my own wine onboard.  I'm not that picky 🙂

 

When do they assess the corkage fee?  That might be a reason to purchase the package up front versus on the ship.  

We're not picky in terms of vineyard or year, but styles of wine. Some grape varieties are a bit limited (if present at all) on some ships. This will be our first trip trying out that perk since we're leaving from NY and don't have to worry about putting wine on a plane, so we're planning on brining some dessert wine, champagne, and 'sugar water wine' - what we refer to as excessively sweet stuff that you can gulp down in a hot minute without batting an eye. 

 

Fancy expensive wine is for sipping with dinner... the cheap sugary stuff is for pre-gaming and just enjoying as is.

5 hours ago, CarlaMasterson said:

In all my years of cruising on various lines, I have never once been charged a corking fee for wine I have brought on board.

 

It's not just NCL. I know that Princess also charges corkage fees too.

 

When we sailed in May we were not charged corkage fees nor was our wine confiscated when we brought back bottles on the ship after our stop in Bordeaux. We had the regular free at sea drink package, so you don't need the upgraded package to qualify.

[jwinrich]

Got off the Pearl August 19. We had the drink package, so I brought a bottle of wine to have in my cabin. This is my experience:

 

1) DH Luggage arrived quickly, but mind was very late. In my luggage was a note in place of the bottle of wine saying that I must pay a corkage fee before I can have the wine back. 

2) I went to guest services the next morning with the note and asked why I had to pay the corkage fee if I have the beverage package. He agreed that I did not and called the Beverage manager to retrieve my wine.

3) The beverage manager came to guest services and asked me to describe my wine. He told me that he would give it to my room steward and have it delivered to my cabin.

4) About 2 hours later, the wine was delivered to my cabin.

 

Now, I was happy with the final result. But it seems to me that they could have saved a lot of trouble if they had just checked to see if I had the beverage package. 

[geovet]

Can you bring it in your carry on bag.

 

[Sailing12Away]

We're bringing it in our carry-on bag to avoid such issues. 

[casofilia]

Here is the actual wording of NCL's statement (notice there is NO limit)

 

Wine & Champagne Policy 

Guests may bring bottles of wine and champagne on board. When bottles are brought on board and served or consumed in any restaurant, public room area or in their stateroom, a corkage fee will be charged according to bottle sizes noted below.

750 ml Bottle: $15.00 USD

1,500 ml Magnum: $30.00 USD

Wine or champagne sent directly to the ship by travel agents, friends, family, etc. or from another retail source, are subject to the same fees. Box wines are not allowed on board.

Corkage Fee is not applicable to guest with beverage package.

 

 

Looking at it logically it is logical for NCL to allow people with a package to take wine on board.   People are able to drink their own "paid for" wine rather than the "free" stuff available with the package.   You have, of course already paid for the free stuff in your cruise fare.

[KeithJenner]

10 hours ago, phillygwm said:

Right.  But this is the Premium Plus package.  If you got the former UBP,  now Premium, you WOULD be charged corkage.  If you upgraded to Premium Plus, it's waived. 

You only need the standard beverage package to avoid paying corkage.

[phillygwm]

3 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

You only need the standard beverage package to avoid paying corkage.

I misread and stand corrected.

[uneamie]

12 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

We're bringing it in our carry-on bag to avoid such issues. 

Hmm...they will discover it when they scan your carry on bags during check in. They will either remove it or make you pay the cork fee. 

[jwinrich]

12 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

We're bringing it in our carry-on bag to avoid such issues. 

I had planned on doing that, but NCL booked our flights and the arrival time was cutting it close. Our flights were delayed and we were very rushed getting off the plane, to the shuttle, and to the port. They were practically herding us. No time for rearranging.