Have you taken cases of wine on board?

Because I have a cellar full of wine, I have been planning to take four cases on board my 89 day cruise. I figure that even though I'll have to pay the $18 corkage fee, I'll still be getting wine for far less than if I were to buy it on board.

I have been assuming that they would store the wine for me in the MDR wine storage, and deliver it to me each night. But today my TA wrote to me that Seattle had told her that I would have to keep it all in my cabin, which would obviously be problematic.

Is the a case of Seattle saying something that's not true on board? Have you ever taken cases of wine with you and had the ship store it for you?

Several years ago we did a 33 day repositioning cruise from Buenos Aires to Boston. We had spent some time in the Argentinian wine country prior to embarkation, and brought two cases of wine (12 bottles) on board with us. We paid the corkage fee, and stored the wine in our cabin. It went in the bottom of our closet. We never thought to ask if HAL would store the wine for us.

We have taken on 2 cases many moons ago but we simply stashed it in our cabin closet and pulled out what we needed. We had the beverage steward clear out our minibar to use as a chiller. I have never heard of the ship storing wine for onboard use.

We have brought a case on board but stored it in our cabin. We have used the Ze Bags that POA1 recommended. They are a nifty way to store the bottles with configuration options. You would need a lot to store all of your wine but maybe could keep one or two Ze Bags on one of your countertops. Each one holds 6 bottles. BTW . . . I like the way you think with both the 89 day cruise and four cases of wine! :D

We agree with you that it is totally worth the corkage fee to bring on wine that you will enjoy.

Don’t you also need to carry on your wine?

I like the way you think with both the 89 day cruise and four cases of wine! :D

I was concerned about what they are going to do for wine after 24 days?;p

Hmmm, that's discouraging. I assume that the cases can't fit under the bed, and even though I'm traveling solo, would there be enough closet space?

I don't know why I thought HAL would store it at a correct temperature. Maybe just wishful thinking, but I really thought I'd read that somewhere.

The carry on part is no worry since the wine is in Seattle and that's where I'm boarding.

Dropping in laws off for a HAL cruise I saw people with cases of wine, maybe 4 or 5 on a trolley.

We took two cases of wine on our Prinsendam 54 day Med and Africa Grand Adventure this year. We used a fold up hand cart to wheel it in. We also kept it in our cabin. When we needed a bottle of wine at dinner we just carried it in and gave it to our wine steward, Libay.

We bought the Royi hand cart from Amazon but they are not available at this time.

Wow, CHPURSER, I had no idea. Some of the bottles on the HAL wine list are quite pricey to be kept at sea temps, especially in warmer waters.

And Sandi, are you saying that you could not leave your two cases, like other luggage, to be delivered to your cabin when you embarked? Or did you just not want to let it out of your sight?

Wine must be brought on with your carry on luggage and processed for corkage fee when exceeding your bottle per person allowance. If can't be included with your checked luggage for delivery to your cabin.

From the 2018 Know Before You Go:

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES BROUGHT ON BOARD

Each guest 21 years and older may bring one bottle of wine or champagne (no larger than 750ml) onboard in carry-on luggage at the beginning of the voyage. This bottle will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in the stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles (no larger than 750ml) in carry-on luggage are welcome, but will incur a US$18.00 (subject to change) corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed.

We took two cases of wine on our Prinsendam 54 day Med and Africa Grand Adventure this year. We used a fold up hand cart to wheel it in. We also kept it in our cabin. When we needed a bottle of wine at dinner we just carried it in and gave it to our wine steward, Libay.

 

We bought the Royi hand cart from Amazon but they are not available at this time.

We also used a little folding hand truck cart thingie (we picked one up at some office supply place in FLL) along with a pack of strong bungies which just secured it all up. Worked like a charm.

We took two cases of wine on our Prinsendam 54 day Med and Africa Grand Adventure this year. We used a fold up hand cart to wheel it in. We also kept it in our cabin. When we needed a bottle of wine at dinner we just carried it in and gave it to our wine steward, Libay.

 

We bought the Royi hand cart from Amazon but they are not available at this time.

Aww Libay. She's so nice. She was on our cruise again too. I don't know how she remembers names from cruises past - but she does :)

OP - we took nearly two cases of wine on the Westerdam as we were having a roll call wine tasting ( we took half and our sommelier took the other half) as well as some for our own personal consumption. It was all carried on, corkage paid and we stored in staterooms.

 

OP - we took nearly two cases of wine on the Westerdam as we were having a roll call wine tasting ( we took half and our sommelier took the other half)

That is such a great idea. :hearteyes:

We carried on bottles on our last cruise this past February. We kept it in our room but would take it to the PG in the morning so they could decant and serve it that evening. Same with Tamarind. We only ate in the MDR once and just bought a bottle.

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We never schlepped even bottles of wine aboardand certainly not cases, though enjoy our wine with dinner. Easy as can be, we ordered what we wanted from our wine steward

I was concerned about what they are going to do for wine after 24 days?;p

That’s hilarious! I like the way you think.

CHPURSER - That's actually really funny, since IMHO a WA Chardonnay is probably better off Madeirized. I know a lot of people will be incensed by that remark, but even though I live in WA it's wines rarely suit my palate.

But the more sober point (sorry!) is that the wines we might buy on board are not kept under optimal conditions, not even close, a truth of which I was heretofore blissfully unaware.

So yes, I did know about the $18 corkage. What I didn't know was that I would have to get multiple cases of wine, by myself, to my cabin, and store them there. That makes it seem impossible, unless I got a folding thingie and only took two cases.

Maybe something like this would work for you. Cheers :wine-glass:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Folding-Wagon/437376731?athcpid=437376731&athpgid=athenaItemPage&athcgid=null&athznid=tic&athieid=v0&athstid=CS002&athguid=466001f5-3a316ef3-a2d6458aa0a8f575&athena=true

We recently returned from an Alaskan cruise on the Eurodam. On embarkation day I walked on with three bottles of wine in a cloth carrier (the kind from the grocery store) and my husband had another bottle in his backpack. We fully expected to pay the $18 fee for the extra bottles (HAL allows 1 bottle person to be consumed in your cabin). We saw no table for this and no one blinked an eye. We consumed the bottles in our Neptune suite. At each of our ports we also purchased several bottles of favorite wines we found (we like California Chards) and brought them onboard in our backpacks with no questions asked. Our wonderful room steward kept our ice bucket filled at all the right times. Not the same as bringing on cases of wines, but the rules about bringing on your own booze seemed pretty lax. We probably could have brought on whatever we wanted just as long as we kept it in our cabin which we didn't mind at all!

I don't think they will fit under the bed. I store stuff under the bed in file boxes that are 10.5 inches high and can slide them in and out from under the bed frame. There may be a little more head room under the bed than the actual frame, but doubt it would be enough for a 12-inch or so high case of wine. If it would fit the room stewards could lift the bed up when you needed to get another case out, but doubt if they would want to lift the bed up every time you needed one bottle.

leslie

The problem with my having to carry on the wine in any sort of gizmo is that a case of wine weighs just under 50 lbs, so my original plan involves 200 lbs to get to my cabin. And I'm sure it wouldn't fit under the bed.

I do have one of these, and have taken wine on planes with it many times. It's an awesome piece of luggage. But it does hold only a single case. I highly recommend it, though, if you're wanting to bring or ship a case. http://www.thewinecheck.com/

I'm bumping this up for anyone who may wish to take a lot of wine on board. Ship Services, in the person of two different ship's coordinators, confirm that I can in fact take multiple cases on board. They assure me that they will be stored in the MDR, and that someone will take them on board for me once I've cleared the pay-corkage station. I have it all in an email from the Beverage Manager on the Amsterdam, in case there's any question at the dock.

So it can be done!

I'm bumping this up for anyone who may wish to take a lot of wine on board. Ship Services, in the person of two different ship's coordinators, confirm that I can in fact take multiple cases on board. They assure me that they will be stored in the MDR, and that someone will take them on board for me once I've cleared the pay-corkage station. I have it all in an email from the Beverage Manager on the Amsterdam, in case there's any question at the dock.

 

So it can be done!

Good to know. Glad you were able to get a positive answer in writing. Have a wonderful cruise. The itinerary looks exciting. :)

Please let us know if it all goes that smoothly.

Enjoy your vino