2serendip

Hampshireland's prices are still the same as of last week 11/9/09. That's what we paid. We also were able to buy local wines that were drinkable for 5 to 8 euros, believe it or not. (Even one very good one in Corsica for 3 euros!) We could drink in our cabin or bring a glass to the lounge or pay the $15 corkage to bring the bottle to the dining rooms.

You certainly ask great questions, lkakers! I'd be very interested in the package prices, too. I see on the menu that you can buy a package of vodka martinis, but I don't see any for gin ones (which is what I like.) But actually, the cocktail prices seem fairly reasonable compared to the inflated prices for sodas and bottled water.

Thanks, 6rugrats and Hampshireland -- I'm so glad to hear that they're going to allow us to bring wines we buy onshore on deck for a sampling each evening. I think that's one of the really fun parts of the cruise, sitting on that glorious deck as we sail away, sipping a local wine. I'll risk being shot and hanged for that experience.

I'm certainly glad to see this thread -- we'll be on Windstar in a few weeks, and we've been wondering about the liquor policies. When we first sailed on Windstar about 8 years ago, we were able to buy wine in ports and then drink it on deck -- it was lots of fun as other pax did this, too, and we had a wine-tasting party pretty much every night. On our next cruise a couple of years later, Windstar had changed the open policy, and we weren't able to bring our bottles on deck without a corkage fee.

From what I understand, we cannot bring bottles on deck at all now, corkage fee or not. Is that true?

Are we able to buy wine or other liquor in the ports and just bring it onboard to drink in our own room? Or must we smuggle it onboard?

If we have it in our room, can we pour a glass and bring it on deck?

Thank you sooo much for sharing your travel experiences with us. We are going to be visiting a lot of these ports in July on Crystal Serenity. You've given me some great ideas about what we can do on our own. Do you happen to know if there is any public transportation that will take us from the dock to Taormina -- or perhaps taxis? I'd like to avoid the $91 per person excursion fee for what looks like just a busride and short walking tour. Thanks.