Can you bring wine??

[Susan85207]

We are sailing on May 7th on the Spirit. We have never sailed on NCL before, but it sounds great! Can't wait!!!

 

I am a bit confused...I understand that you are not allowed to bring alcohol on the ship, I have read messages about bringing wine and beer on. Since they are both alcohol, wouldn't they be confiscated?

 

I would love to bring wine, but I do not want to be imbarressed...:eek:

[immargaret]

Beer isn't allowed. If you bring on wine and they find it they will charge you a $15 corkage fee, or hold it for you until the end of the cruise.

 

There are a lot of threads/discussions about alcohol on ships you can do a search of the boards and get all the information.

[4 of Harts]

Unless it is a special bottle of wine, I would suggest ordering it for your room. By the time you pay the $15 corkage you could buy it thru them for about the same if not less. We ordered it for the room then had it delivered and chilled for our dinner at East Meets West. (NCL Sun)

 

Also, the beer can be ordered thru the bar set-up. It's nice to have beer in the room. I looked in the confiscated area and there was no beer in it. So, for sure some people got it on. But if you have any thoughts about it... pay the $4.50-5.00 / beer and have it in your fridge when you arrive. Less to carry too as well as it'll drop your bar bill as you can drink when and where you want.

 

Enjoy.

[bzbob]

Just off the Sun (April 1 cruise). Brought 6 bottles of wine (it's nice to be in the business !) packed seperately in a carry-on bag. I made no attempt to hide them, as they were immediately identified at the x-ray scanner. I was directed to a table where an NCL employee told me the corkage charge would be $15 per bottle, which I told him was fine. He then charged the appropriate amount to my account, placed a small "corkage paid" sticker on each bottle, gave me a receipt, and we then proceeded on board. Very "painless". Enjoy !!

[moom]

Just off the Sun (April 1 cruise). Brought 6 bottles of wine (it's nice to be in the business !) packed seperately in a carry-on bag. I made no attempt to hide them, as they were immediately identified at the x-ray scanner. I was directed to a table where an NCL employee told me the corkage charge would be $15 per bottle, which I told him was fine. He then charged the appropriate amount to my account, placed a small "corkage paid" sticker on each bottle, gave me a receipt, and we then proceeded on board. Very "painless". Enjoy !!

Did you take the wine with you or did they take it and deliver it to you in the dining room?

[bzbob]

After paying the corkage, we took the wine with us to our stateroom. We then would bring the bottle that we were going to drink at that particular meal with us when we went to dinner. Easy!:p

[newmexicoNita]

After paying the corkage, we took the wine with us to our stateroom. We then would bring the bottle that we were going to drink at that particular meal with us when we went to dinner. Easy!:p

Thanks BZ; it must be nice to be in the business. We intend to bring a couple of bottles of $2 Chuck. I won't try and hide it either, but boy I will admit I won't be happy if I have to pay $15 cockage fee. Oh well, I know ahead of time what might happen and will live with it. NMNIta

[Jett456]

I wonder, can I buy those really big bottles. That would last longer than 1 dinner then (maybe:) ). Do I then just bring the bottle with me to the dining room?

[calmac]

Just off the Sun (April 1 cruise). Brought 6 bottles of wine (it's nice to be in the business !) packed seperately in a carry-on bag. I made no attempt to hide them, as they were immediately identified at the x-ray scanner. I was directed to a table where an NCL employee told me the corkage charge would be $15 per bottle, which I told him was fine. He then charged the appropriate amount to my account, placed a small "corkage paid" sticker on each bottle, gave me a receipt, and we then proceeded on board. Very "painless". Enjoy !!

 

Good to hear that the "process" was simple and worked well. We are seriously considering taking some favourite wine with us this summer as we found that the wine prices had risen considerably (or they had removed the cheaper wines from the wine list) since last summer. Previously it was not worth the hassle for us plus we don't have a transatlantic flight this summer, just an internal UK flight.

[bbunch77]

Does it matter what size the bottle of wine is? I would like to bring a bottle that is the size of two bottles of wine. Is it still 15 dollars?

 

JL

[electricron]

Does it matter what size the bottle of wine is? I would like to bring a bottle that is the size of two bottles of wine. Is it still 15 dollars? JL

 

Maybe yes, and maybe no. It really depends on who finds it.

I've seen NCL charge $15 per liter, and $15 per bottle. :)

 

If they charged twice as much for a two liter bottle, will it ruin your cruise?:rolleyes:

Why sweat the small stuff?;)

[garycarla]

If you either scroll through the messages or do a search on 'wine" you will find this topic is well covered.

[little britain]

Good to hear that the "process" was simple and worked well. We are seriously considering taking some favourite wine with us this summer as we found that the wine prices had risen considerably (or they had removed the cheaper wines from the wine list) since last summer. Previously it was not worth the hassle for us plus we don't have a transatlantic flight this summer, just an internal UK flight.

calmac - just think 'wine box innards'.......don't show up on xrays...trust me!

[Marmarjudy]

calmac - just think 'wine box innards'.......don't show up on xrays...trust me!

 

So you are saying that if we only bring the "bladder" out of the box it won't be a problem? I sure would hate to pay $15 per liter for 5 liters of box wine. Plus---how can they charge a "corkage" fee with no cork? :-)

[scdreamer]

Does it matter what size the bottle of wine is? I would like to bring a bottle that is the size of two bottles of wine. Is it still 15 dollars?

 

JL

 

Just off the Wind this weekend. We brought two bottles of wine ... a "regular" sized bottle and a two-liter bottle. We were charged the same corkage fee for each - $15. We weren't allowed to bring them directly to our cabin, even after we signed for the $30 charge, but once we arrived at our cabin we called a number they gave us at embarkation when they charged us the fee, and the wine was dlivered within a half hour. We ended up keeping one bottle for consumption in our cabin, and took the other to dinner one night.

[shoreguy]

So you are saying that if we only bring the "bladder" out of the box it won't be a problem? I sure would hate to pay $15 per liter for 5 liters of box wine. Plus---how can they charge a "corkage" fee with no cork? :-)

 

If you would hate to pay it don't bring it:D

[calmac]

calmac - just think 'wine box innards'.......don't show up on xrays...trust me!

 

Now if only M&S would stock more of their Pheasant Gully wine boxes that would be great (I would even pay the corkage!).

[little britain]

I bought two 3 litre boxes in France [where wine is considerably cheaper!] which cost €9/$12 but believe me the wine is totally drinkable ! In fact NCL were selling the same producer as their house wine for $22 a bottle [go figure and work out the mark up on that one!!!]

 

Carried the bladders, well secured in zip lock bags, over to LA in our hand luggage and then put one in our hand luggage and one in our cabin luggage. Both got through their xrays and both cases delivered to our cabin - and no corkage charge. If we had got caught then I would not have bothered paying the NCL charge ...... it really was a test to see if I could beat they system!!! And I did! Cheers and good luck!

[garycarla]

Others might turn up their nose at box wine, but it really is not all that bad. And wonderful to have a drink in your room vs paying the way too high prices. Of course, you can not take the box to the dining room, but thats okay. You then buy a bottle and the cruiseline still makes some money.

 

Not sure why you have to take them (the bladder) out of the box though?

[jennajack]

I wrapped a box like a birthday present and had no problem. I doubt that mattered, but we thought it seemed festive! Also, there are some decent boxed wines around these days. Not great, but decent. Delicato and Black Box are pretty good. My husband and I bought plenty of ship wine at dinner. NCL made money off of us. We just enjoyed a glass or two during happy hour in the room from the hidden box.

[little britain]

Not sure why you have to take them (the bladder) out of the box though?

Guess we took them out of the box for ease of packing - as they are all floppy!!!! Good idea to wrap them as a pressie - will try that one next time - but ssshhhhh lets keep that one quiet eh!

Yes, we still bought a bottle of wine every night with dinner but as you say it is nice to have a drink whilst you are getting dressed for dinner, and we took a glass with us when we went to the cinema too!

 

Just academic but I started doing the calculation on the NCL markup..

the French box of 3 litres [300ml] cost €9.20 which at todays rates is $11.71.

So 1ml = 0.039cents making a normal 75ml bottle cost $2.92........and as I said NCL were selling the same stuff for $22. That is some %age when you remember that the French supermarket was making a profit on what they paid for it too!

[little britain]

Forgot to say the most important bit - if you are taking the bladders on a plane remember to drink a few glasses out of it first - to create a vacume so it doesn't go 'pop' under the pressure!

[redheddad]

i dont know if it matters but on the poam we saw some bladders confiscated, however they were all the mylar covered type. those must show up on the xray (?) as opposed to the clear bladders (i just peeked in the box in the fridge) that most brands use. i may be wrong about the mylar coating being picked up by the xray, but those are the only ones we noticed. so check to make sure they are clear i guess.

[monobrow1]

Which Brand of boxed wine is best for eluding X-ray?

[garycarla]

Which Brand of boxed wine is best for eluding X-ray?

 

From past experience I can tell you the wines that avoid the GESTAPO are those that you have already consumed!!!!