Bringing wine on HAL ship?

[5MNtravelbugs]

Is this an option? If so how much can you bring on? Do you declare it as you board?

[canadarocks]

Is this an option? If so how much can you bring on? Do you declare it as you board?

 

Yes you can bring on as much as you want! and no need to declare it and you can purchase as you go to ports as well! :D

[5MNtravelbugs]

Wow! Have been on a few other cruise lines and never heard of that before! That is good news!:D Maybe some other cruise lines will follow suit! Does anyone know WHY Hal does this?

[RuthC]

You're welcome to drink your wine in your cabin. Just ask your steward for glasses (if they're not already there), and a corkscrew.

If you want to take your wine to the dining room, or any lounge, you may do so, but there's a $18 corkage fee. No fee in the cabin since HAL isn't doing anything for you.

[CaliforniaAC]

I have only disembarked from Ft Lauderdale and San Diego, and we have never had any problems bring wine on board. The longest we have ever cruised with HAL is 14 days, and including dessert wines & bubbly, we probably brought 10 to 12 bottles on board with us.

 

Never bought wine in port, and have always had to check any liquor bought in the ports we visited.

 

You can drink it in your stateroom, but if you take your bottle with you to the dining room, the corkage fee is about $15.00.

[oregongirl2009]

Hello! I have been reading the boards for a while, but this is my first post and will only be my second cruise (the first when I was 16!) My husband and I will be celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary on the Westerdam in July and are very much looking forward to it.

 

Thanks to all who have replied about bringing wine aboard. My question is, what is the best way to pack it to keep it from breaking (ie, carry on luggage, just pack it and pray...etc.)? Just want some tips for the experts!

 

Thanks all!

:D

[cdnguy]

what is the best way to pack it to keep it from breaking

No problem. We just put it in our carry on. Remember your the one looking after it there.:)

 

Wow! Have been on a few other cruise lines and never heard of that before!

We do it all the time on Princess. In fact we usually buy a bag of wine in a box for longer cruises, usually the 3 litre size.

[5MNtravelbugs]

Will HAL in Alaska have the same rules? Should they be brought on in the carryon?

Thanks to all the knowledgable people! Many questions have been answered on CC!!:)

[Boytjie]

Hello! I have been reading the boards for a while, but this is my first post and will only be my second cruise (the first when I was 16!) My husband and I will be celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary on the Westerdam in July and are very much looking forward to it.

 

Thanks to all who have replied about bringing wine aboard. My question is, what is the best way to pack it to keep it from breaking (ie, carry on luggage, just pack it and pray...etc.)? Just want some tips for the experts!

 

Thanks all!

:D

 

I'd say carry it on. We gave them a case of wine on the last cruise and a bottle had broken by the time we received it in out cabin.

 

 

 

Will HAL in Alaska have the same rules? Should they be brought on in the carryon?

Thanks to all the knowledgable people! Many questions have been answered on CC!!

 

It's a company policy, valid everywhere.

[DaisyL]

Carnival allowed one bottle per person, which we carried on for last year's cruise... no breakage.

[cdkempton]

For those going to Alaska out of Vancouver, remember that you have Canada customs to deal with there. You are only allowed (I believe) 40 oz of liquor upon entering Canada. If you will be staying in Vancouver prior to your cruise, there is a Government Liquor Store in the airport as well as in town where you can purchase more wine. Go to bcliquorstores dot com and you can do a search for the stores there as well as get all kinds of good info on products they carry. Enjoy!

[pipedreams62]

[Boytjie]

Carnival allowed one bottle per person

 

So did Princess, if I remember correctly.

[brucory]

We always take a presentable wine carry bag with us so it doesn't look so obvious when we "take our own" to the dining room. It also keeps the snoops wondering!!!

 

:D:D:D

[dandro]

What if you can't put the wine in your carry on because of flying to the port city? How do you pack it in your suitcase?

[GeriatricNurse]

What if you can't put the wine in your carry on because of flying to the port city? How do you pack it in your suitcase?

 

 

 

Wrap the bottles in "bubble wrap" and then place inside a garbage bag and secure!

[jimgev]

What if you can't put the wine in your carry on because of flying to the port city? How do you pack it in your suitcase?

We have given up on packing wine in our suitcases. Bottles are heavy. That weight adds up quickly and can eaisily cause an extra charge on the airlines. Additionally, there is the potential for breakage.

We plan ahead to visit a wine store at the port of departure. Bottles can be then packed as a carry on.

[CaliforniaAC]

When we fly in to Ft Lauderdale, we buy the wine there, and carry it on ourselves.

 

We take "stuff" (books, sweater, etc) out of our carry ons (small roll around suitcases) that we brought for the plane ride and put them into our luggage. The rest is packed into one carry on, and the other carry on is used for wine, bubbly, soda and water.

 

It gets really heavy fast. Then you need to put it through the x-ray machine, and HAL may ask to look through it. Make sure you can lift it okay, and if it has to be moved, you will have to do that yourself. Make sure your roll around is sturdy enough for the load.

 

Have a great cruise!

[innlady1]

What if you can't put the wine in your carry on because of flying to the port city? How do you pack it in your suitcase?

 

We flew into FFL three days early...plenty of time to make a stop at the wonderful Total Wine store! If you're flying out of a port in Florida, there are Total Wine stores everywhere. I've found that most folks fly in at least a day early...therefore, allowing time for errands like this. I bought a cardboard wine carrier from them in which they packed the wine. Six bottles per carrier. We did a 20 day b2b, so I bought a case.

[dulcetto]

Can you please tell me the best place to buy wine in either Anchorage or Seward we finish our land tour in Seward and board the ship there.

 

Thanks very much

[CaliforniaAC]

We flew into FFL three days early...plenty of time to make a stop at the wonderful Total Wine store! If you're flying out of a port in Florida, there are Total Wine stores everywhere. I've found that most folks fly in at least a day early...therefore, allowing time for errands like this. I bought a cardboard wine carrier from them in which they packed the wine. Six bottles per carrier. We did a 20 day b2b, so I bought a case.

 

 

Yeppers! We do the Total Wine thing too:). You can go on their website www dot totalwine dot com and check out their selection ahead. We have done that twice, then faxed them our order. They had it packed and ready to go for us when we got there.

 

We just got a Total Wine store in Tustin, which is up the freeway from us, but we go that way on a regular basis. This summer before our November trip we are planning on trying a few bottles of different wines from Total in Tustin, and ordering them to be ready for us in Ft Lauderdale if we like them.

 

With a little planning on my part, I can expand my pre-cruise excitement to last about 6 months:D.

[RKD]

We leave June 5 on the Ryndam to Alaska. We were told by our TA that we could each bring ONE bottle of wine or Champagne when we board.:confused:

So can we bring more than that or can't we?:confused:

[NetwrkEng]

You can bring all the wine, champagne, and soda you want on HAL. I believe X has a one bottle rule.

[RKD]

You can bring all the wine, champagne, and soda you want on HAL. I believe X has a one bottle rule.

 

:DGreat news!:D We thought we might have to try and sneak some on board!;):o

[Cruisechristi]

I am familiar with brining on wine in US ports but we fly into Rome on the morning of our cruise departure (Nordaam on June 28th). How and where do we purchase our wine to bring on board? As we arrive on a Sunday, is there a prohibition to purchase wine? And if not, do where do you suggest we go?