Bringing your wine to the dining room...

[dadecitycruiser]

I know you are allowed a bottle each in the boarding process but lets say a few more bottles just happened to find their way into your bags. Has anyone here brought a new bottle to dinner EVERY NIGHT? Has anyone said anything to you? Do you uncork it first so it looks like left over from the day before? What exactly is the protocol for dealing with carry-on wine for the dining room.

 

Thanks in advance;

 

GS

[gracie65]

Not sure how much it is, but they do charge a corkage fee if you take the bottle to the dining room. I always take a 3 liter box of wine on board. It goes in the checked luggage & being in a box I don't have to worry about it busting. It also fits in the fridge. I usually have a glass or two while I'm getting ready then I pour a fresh one just before I go out the door.

If we're close enough to go back I'll fill up, but if I'm not I just purchase in a bar something else.

[kelz66]

I know you are allowed a bottle each in the boarding process but lets say a few more bottles just happened to find their way into your bags. Has anyone here brought a new bottle to dinner EVERY NIGHT? Has anyone said anything to you? Do you uncork it first so it looks like left over from the day before? What exactly is the protocol for dealing with carry-on wine for the dining room.

 

Thanks in advance;

 

GS

 

No one has ever said a word. Sometimes they charge you the 10.00 corkage fee and sometimes they do not.

 

I always let them open it.

 

:cool:

[Julia Goolia]

I know you are allowed a bottle each in the boarding process but lets say a few more bottles just happened to find their way into your bags. Has anyone here brought a new bottle to dinner EVERY NIGHT? Has anyone said anything to you? Do you uncork it first so it looks like left over from the day before? What exactly is the protocol for dealing with carry-on wine for the dining room.

 

Thanks in advance;

 

GS

 

I haven't done so before, but I am planning to take a different/new bottle to dinner every night when we cruise in two weeks. We have open seating so I think that it will be less obvious, but even if we end up requesting the same server every night, I don't think anyone will say anything. I am thinking that like the room stewards turn a blind eye to any excess wine/liquor that you have in your room, the servers in the DR aren't really going to care and would most likely be fearful that if they say anything, they would be risking their tips.

 

Also, no one knows that you don't have more people in your party who might have carried the wine on for you and just aren't dining with you. I fully believe that once you get them on the ship, no one is going to say/do anything.

 

My concern is just getting that many bottles on the ship. How many do I dare put in each bag? Do I really want to carry one each on or just out put them all in the checked baggage? And how heavy is it going to make our bags? I'll figure it out and get all 7-8 bottles on with me. I'll be upset if I get caught and lose any of my wine since it's all really good (and somewhat rare) wine, but I'm willing to take the risk because Carnival's wine list is seriously lacking and overpriced for the few good wines that they offer. (Don't get me wrong, I know the prices are comparable to restaurants, but I often take my own wine to restaurants too.) I just hope that if I get caught, they let me choose which two bottles I get to keep since I'm bringing a couple of bottles that are better/more expensive than the others I'll have with me.

 

When do you sail? I'll be back on the 8th so if it's not before then, I'll be happy to come back and let you know how it goes.

[gracie65]

Julia, I have friends that put a huge bottle of Grey Goose in their checked luggage. They wrapped it up very, very well in bubble wrap & put it in the center of their luggage. They didn't buy it from home & take it on the plane but waited till they got to the port so it was only in the checked luggage dropped off at the pier.

I also carry bottles of champagne on board, or should I say sparkling wine. I get the Andre brand because the cork will go back in & keep it fresher longer. You can carry on a bottle each so carry on however many you have people then just wrap up the rest in lots of bubble wrap.

You can also have your cabin steward bring you a wine opener. If we take bottles on we just open it in our room & carry it with us to the dining room. Most people don't know if you bought it there or brought it & if they do who cares, you won't see them again!!!LOL

[dadecitycruiser]

Thanks for all of the input. Looks like there is nothing to be concerned with.

 

GS

[cks]

I wish I had known about the option of opening it yourself before you got to the dining room. We brought 2 bottles to the dining room and were charged corkage fees both times. Bummer. Of course, I don't care, because they tell you you'll be charged a corkage fee. But I was hoping to be one of the lucky ones who got one or both waived.

 

Good luck to OP taking on multiple bottles. Let us know how you fare.

[Ladyvdr]

On our last cruise we were prepared to pay the corkage fee in the dining room, but we were never charged. I guess that sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't charge it.

[AnnieB925]

We've never been charged a corkage fee in the dining room. The wine steward and your waiter will take care of you and will take the wine, open it, save it, do whatever you want with it for you. They want to make you happy (an extra tip at the end is a good idea.)

 

I'm just wondering how you think you'll get that many bottles on board. We just came back from a cruise where we took 2 bottles. On the first night we bought a 5 bottle wine package.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Thanks for all of the input. Looks like there is nothing to be concerned with.

 

GS

[liciaheart]

On the last 2 cruises that we went on we have taken about 14 bottles each cruise and taken them all to dinner. They have never said anything but did charge us a fee of $10 each bottle they had to open but some nights we would open a couple of bottles and drink a glass out of it and they never charged us for those bottles. I think it just depends on the wait staff about the fee but I wouldnt worry about them saying anything about how many bottles you bring.

[aggieastrosfan]

I take a bottle for each night, plus an extra bottle or two to drink while getting ready (depending on the length of the cruise). I wrap each bottle in bubble wrap, and I put two bottles of wine in one 2.5 gallon ziploc bag. I pack them in the middle of my clothes, and so far, so good.

 

As for corkage, I do have my favorite bottles, but I haven't found a bottle yet that I think is really horrible, so I usually buy labels they sell on the ship and bring those with me (obtained online via Bon Voyage). They have no way of knowing whether it was a Bon Voyage purchase or not, so I'm never charged for the corkage. I get my wine, save money, and our wait team makes more money, everybody's happy. ;)

[blyle]

If the wine is a gift delivered to your room just bring the gift card and there is no corkage fee. Send yourself a bottle!