Corkage Fees.....????

[bdatcf1]

We will be taking the Independence on Jan 18 and we are looking at our options for wine. I have reviewed the Wine and Dine packages and the Wine Cellar option. I am a little confused, the RCCL website says that if I purchase items from the wine cellar the "the corkage fee is waived".

I read the alchohol policy and it says none is to be brought aboard, yet they talk about a corkage fee which would be appropriate if you had brought your own selections onboard. So my question to all of you well seasoned RC travelers is; can I bring wine onboard to be consumed in either 1) our cabin or 2) in the dining room, and pay a corkage fee?

I recall taking 3-4 bottles on a Carnival cruise 7 years ago and paying the corkage, and we enjoyed them in both the MDR and the cabin.

We are not wine snobs by a long shot, but we have our favorites that don't always show on the wine lists. After reviewing some of the options on the packages, and the cellar list I think we would just as soon bring our choices and pay the fee if we have that option. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can shed some light on this for us.

 

Thanks in advance!

[silentbob007]

The wording is confusing as it has been "updated" through the years ... but the official stance is that you are not allowed to bring any alcohol onboard, be it wine or hard liquor.

[bajathree]

RCCL does not allow you to bring wine on board. If you are into wine, don't fret....there is a "reserve" wine list in the dining rooms that have MUCH better wines listed. The mark-up on the reserve list believe it or not is also not that bad, MUCH better than the mark-up on the regular list and most restaurants lists. Last cruise I believe I was buying things like Caymus for ~ $80. You can also buy a bottle from the dining room to bring back to your room to drink.

[bdatcf1]

Silentbob, thanks for clearing that up.....that makes some sense of it. Well, its not what I had hoped to hear, but it is always good to know before you go.

Bajathree...I was pretty disappointed with the selections and the pricing on the packages. I will gladly pay a "premium" like I would in a restaraunt on land, but 40 bucks for a cheap bottle had me bumming. Thanks for the tip>

[wrp96]

The corkage fee is for any bottles of wine that you bring to the dining room that were sent to your room (via Gifts & Gear or sent from your TA) or that you buy outside the dining room (in a bar on the ship). Yes, they charge you a fee to open a bottle of wine that was purchased from RCCL.

[dtowncruisers]

Ok, so if I prepurchase wine from the gift shop and I want to drink it in my cabin, there is no corkage fee? Only if I want to bring it to dinner?

This is so confusing--enough to drive one to drink!

[wrp96]

Ok, so if I prepurchase wine from the gift shop and I want to drink it in my cabin, there is no corkage fee? Only if I want to bring it to dinner?

 

Correct. If you prepurchase through gifts and gear and want to drink it in your room, there is no corkage fee. If you take it to dinner in the main dining room, then there is a corkage fee.

[dtowncruisers]

Thank you! Gonna surprise my hubby with a welcoming toast then!

[cruisePRN]

I recently brought a bottle of wine to the dining room (from my personal amenity D+) and was not charged a corkage fee. I don't know if I was lucky or what :D I am not much of a drinker but was traveling with friends who were and there was nothing I really wanted from the amenity choices.

[Dadofsara]

I was on Grandeur a few weeks ago and had a bottle in my cabin bought from RCI from my TA. There was a card next to it that said if brought to the dining room there would be a $12 corkage fee. Needless to say we opened it with the cork screw that they supplied and carried a glass of wine to the dining for no fee.

[bajathree]

I was on Grandeur a few weeks ago and had a bottle in my cabin bought from RCI from my TA. There was a card next to it that said if brought to the dining room there would be a $12 corkage fee. Needless to say we opened it with the cork screw that they supplied and carried a glass of wine to the dining for no fee.

 

ooohhhhhh....congrats....you got over on RCCL:rolleyes:

[Loyal2RCCL]

I recently brought a bottle of wine to the dining room (from my personal amenity D+) and was not charged a corkage fee. I don't know if I was lucky or what :D I am not much of a drinker but was traveling with friends who were and there was nothing I really wanted from the amenity choices.

 

I've never been charged corkage fees for bottles brought to dinner on any of my past cruises. On the Brilliance we brought 1-2 bottles a night for 12 nights and were never charged... same for Grandeur and Majesty a few months ago... go figure..

[Retired LEO]

I never even thought of the corkage fee when I brought the wine to dinner that was provided by guest services. The assistant waiter was more than happy to take care of it.

[concour]

We have been given a bottle of wine by our TA many times but on our last cruise, 1-19 GOS, was the first time that we got the card telling us about the $12 corkage fee.

 

Our previous cruise was a group cruise on the Solstice and our TA had gotten a group up to go. As a gift she was going to have delivered a bottle of wine to each stateroom of the group. She was told that if the bottle of wine was delivered to the stateroom there would be a $12 corkage fee if brought to the dining room but if she ordered the same bottle of wine for each person to be served in the MDR there would be no corkage fee. She could not find out what was the difference.

[mom2NnB]

I purchased the W & D package - say I have a bottle at dinner, take it with me to a bar, but dont finish it. Can I bring it back the next night? Will I be charged a fee? How will they know if its a bottle from dinner or a bottle I bought for the room or at a bar?

[RichYak]

I purchased the W & D package - say I have a bottle at dinner, take it with me to a bar, but dont finish it. Can I bring it back the next night? Will I be charged a fee? How will they know if its a bottle from dinner or a bottle I bought for the room or at a bar?

It won't matter if it's already open.

[mom2NnB]

It won't matter if it's already open.

 

 

but the fee isn't really for the act of opening, its the ability to bring it into the diningroom. This is what I've been told.

[RichYak]

but the fee isn't really for the act of opening, its the ability to bring it into the diningroom. This is what I've been told.

I've never carried an open bottle (or any bottle for that matter) of wine into the dining room before, but if I did, and my waiter presented me with a bill, I would be pretty upset. After a conversation with your head waiter, I guess your only recourse at that point would be to consider the corkage fee as an advance payment on a portion of the dining room gratuity. Harsh? Perhaps. But if you've already paid the automatic gratuity on that bottle of wine, you'd have to consider it.

[neptune18]

I've never been charged corkage fees for bottles brought to dinner on any of my past cruises. On the Brilliance we brought 1-2 bottles a night for 12 nights and were never charged... same for Grandeur and Majesty a few months ago... go figure..

 

 

How did you bring the bottles on?

[Loyal2RCCL]

How did you bring the bottles on?

 

I didn't bring any bottles on with me.. all were pre-purchased through Gifts and Gear or sent as gifts from the Guest Relations Manager, Loyalty Ambassador and other crew friends. All the wine was delivered to our cabin and as we spend very little time there, we brought 1-2 bottles to dinner each night to share with our table.

[critterchick]

We've also brought wine to the dining room from our cabin many times. The only time anybody threatened to charge corkage was on Monarch, where I had gotten a nice bottle of Gavi from the Captain for being the most travelled passenger. I offered to send it back to her instead of paying the fee. No corkage.:)

[CRUZBUDS]

I love the offer to send the bottle back to the Captain - That was great! :D

 

I don't usually get too wrapped up in the nickle & dimeing debate, but I've never heard of a corkage charge from wine bought from or given by the cruise line. That's just tacky

[cruisegirl1]

I recently ordered wine for friends and when they returned home they told me there was a card that they would be charged corkage to take the wine to the dining room. To be honest I was embarrassed to send someone a gift that was going to cost them $12 to enjoy.

 

I had not heard of this new charge but when I sailed a few weeks later I indeed saw the card with the C&A D+ amenity wine delivered to the cabin.

 

(Imagine that, RCCL is charging me $12 to enjoy an $8 bottle of wine I received as a thank you for taking almost 40 cruises with them.

 

On our last cruise (january 09) – we have the wine sent to the dining room so we would have no charge – and it was sent to the cabin anyway. We drank it in the cabin or about the ship.

 

 

So I just ordered wine four our daughter and finace' for their honeymoon cruise next month and had the wine delivered to the dining room. At first the gifts and gear rep said there would be corkage charge. When I questioned it – after all, it is RCCL wine - the rep went to her supervisor and said it was no change unless it was from a TA. (Don’t know and did not ask the reason for that TA difference)

 

The rep tells me the best way to send wine to the dining room and be sure there is no corkage is to send an OBC with some note like ,”enjoy a bottle of wine” That way there is definitely no charge. Of course, the recipient can use the OBC for anything. Didn't really like that option. To me - it is very nice to receive wine

 

 

It is INSANE that a bottle of wine purchased from, RCCL cannot be brought ( for free) into the dining room.

 

Cheers

M

[Cindy]

I love the offer to send the bottle back to the Captain - That was great! :D

 

I don't usually get too wrapped up in the nickle & dimeing debate, but I've never heard of a corkage charge from wine bought from or given by the cruise line. That's just tacky

 

Absolutely! Kind of makes you wonder what they're going to dream up next!:rolleyes:

[RhondaC]

Wow - this is news to me! I always pre-order a bottle of wine from G&G, and bring it to the dining room. I've never been charged a corkage fee. They've always said that they know the brands that they sell, and as long as it's one of their brands, they don't charge the fee. This must be something new they've started. Figures. :(