Jump to content

packing sparking wine in checked baggage for our flight to Port Canaveral


wife of Al
 Share

Recommended Posts

I would really like to take Asti Spumante or champagne with us for our 10th anniversary cruise next week Carnival Liberty 19-23 Nov. BUT I have to pack the bottle in our checked baggage for our flight to Orlando the night before our cruise.

Any advice re: packing the bubbly??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would verify that you can bring this on your Carnival Cruise by asking on the Carnival Cruise Line Board.

 

Keith

 

I have seen this poster on at least 3 threads over there asking about putting this in their packed luggage :)

 

Yes, they can carry it on the ship. Carnival's policy is 1 750ml bottle of wine per adult 21 and over. Good advice about moving the question over there, though ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've packed champagne in checked luggage several times with no problem. Wrapped it good with bubble wrap and put it into a large packing bag like a zip lock extra large or the ones that you can suction air out of. Put it in the middle of the suitcase.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On some ships it MUST be in your carry on. If it isn't they will take it p out of your suitcase and won't give it back until the last night or last morning. We drive so I can't tell you about flying wit it in your suitcase.

What ship are you going on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No problem packing it in checked luggage (for a domestic airline) unless the bottle breaks or explodes in your bag...in which case your clothes will taste good :). You would want to transfer it to your carry-on to get it aboard the ship...or your checked bag might be held in the "naughty room" on the ship. Personally, we would buy the wine in Orlando. Getting wine is easy in Florida as its sold in supermarkets, some drug stores, etc.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know about Champagne - there might be different dynamics at play - but we've packed wine into checked baggage before (Mexico and Europe) and not had a problem. Now not to say there ever could be, but we haven't had one yet.

 

Bottles travel in those wine bottle shaped cardboard shipping things (which I get from a girl at work who is always having wine shipped to her) and are then placed into heavy-duty plastic zip-lock bags (the kind you get from shipping companies to put your desktop stuff in when your company moves). The first bag is then wrapped with a full-size bath towel and the whole thing is stuffed into another heavy-duty zip-lock bag (oriented oppositely from the first one) and then placed at the bottom end of the suitcase by the wheels (where the bag is physically stiffest). Hopefully if a bottle did happen to break, the first zip-lock bag would contain the wine and, if not, the towel would soak it up and the second bag would not leak. That's the theory anyhow.

 

That said, if I was just flying to FL I would just buy my wine when I got there. A country like Sweden, where you can only buy wine at State-run shops (Systembolaget), ...an entirely different story.

Edited by bigwally
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Big Wally, unless you’re using the towel for something else could use diapers instead. Very absorbent. Almost always see some sort of open package on the clearance rack.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have packed a lot of different liquid refreshment in checked luggage.

 

Yes, I have had a couple break. One, for no reason I can tell, maybe the bottle was defective. The other was packing error, it ended up in the corner of the bag, and it seems they dropped it on the corner.

 

I just wrap in clothes, and make sure it is in the middle (top to bottom, side to side, and end to end).

 

Just flew to Europe, a few days ago, with a bottle of bubbly, in carry one, due to buying it in duty free.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Somebody asked about the "dynamics" of Champagne (versus wine) and you might want to consider that real Champagne bottles normally have 70-90 pounds, per square inch, of pressure in that bottle. At altitude, when the outside air pressure drops, the difference in pressure (from the champagne inside) increases. The bottles are designed to handle this...but not all bottle are perfect. Just ask an experienced Flight Attendant (on a line where they serve real Champagne) how often they have had bottles fail.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would really like to take Asti Spumante or champagne with us for our 10th anniversary cruise next week Carnival Liberty 19-23 Nov. BUT I have to pack the bottle in our checked baggage for our flight to Orlando the night before our cruise.

Any advice re: packing the bubbly??

 

Don't they have liquor stores and taxis in Orlando or in Port Canaveral?

 

DON

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've packed champagne (and other wines) in checked luggage on airlines a number of times without mishap. I wrap the bottle in bubble wrap, then place it inside two zip lock bags, inverting the bottle after sealing the first bag so the seal is at the bottom of the second bag. In a couple of cases the champagne was boxed and the bag-sealed bottle still fitted inside the box which gave extra protection. Place in suitcase with layers of clothing on all sides.

 

Note, you may need to remove the bottle from your suitcase before boarding and take it on to the ship as carry-on luggage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Somebody asked about the "dynamics" of Champagne (versus wine) and you might want to consider that real Champagne bottles normally have 70-90 pounds, per square inch, of pressure in that bottle. At altitude, when the outside air pressure drops, the difference in pressure (from the champagne inside) increases. The bottles are designed to handle this...but not all bottle are perfect. Just ask an experienced Flight Attendant (on a line where they serve real Champagne) how often they have had bottles fail.

 

Hank

 

However, the pressure change is a lower percentage of the starting pressure.

 

Even if you took the bottle into space, the pressure differential only increases by 14.7 psi. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've put wine and other liquor in my check bags (in disposable diapers ;)) but I would NEVER pack anything bubbly/carbonated for a flight.

 

Yes, it is such a huge problem, that the airlines do not serve any drinks with bubbles in it. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...