Zuiderdam-Allowed Wine/Champ:Carry on or careful pack for porters??

[Seamo]

Hello All,

 

If one has Wine and Champagne for consumption in your cabin ..... ( I am of the understanding that 'this' is "allowed" on HAL ), do you recommend bringing 'it' aboard with your person ... or ... with extremely prudent and careful packing ... allow the port service to do the strong arm work :) __ [no, we are not bringing THAT much]. ... but we have used the porter luggage on previous voyages .... packed well with additional 'baggie(s)' to safe guard; no problems and much less effort.

 

I had called HAL about bottled water and was told it is "ok" if

... "you carry it on and not us" .... ??? Does this mean you must lug the water with you at boarding and is it the same for the wine/champagne?

 

Many thanks for any help here..... I want to ...

 

SEAMO

[Krazy Kruizers]

Many of the water bottles that are out on the market are extremely thin -- they can be smashed very easily.

 

We have the water on the ships much better than what we get at home.

 

As for taking wine/champagne on board -- we don't do that.

 

But if you have only a few bottles to take on board -- do it yourself -- less chance of them being broken.

[CowPrincess]

We buy the wine at the port city, and are usually able to find a cloth bag that has sections in it -- 6 -- which then holds our 6 bottles of purchased wine. We just schlep it with us, as there isn't enough to fuss around with a box and checking it, and there's too much to fit into our carry-on.

 

We add a few larger bottles of bottled water to a bag on the other shoulder, and we're ready to board. Of course, we look like we might be going camping, but it is only for a few minutes :D

[Koshlong]

When I think about the amount of baggage that gets hauled around, I feel safer carrying the wine myself. We have one of those 6 section bags, too, from the LCBO, and it works very well. (I think I used too many commas, but I can't figure where to cut.)

[CowPrincess]

>snip< (I think I used too many commas, but I can't figure where to cut.)

 

I don't think there is a limit on commas. Here, have a few I don't need :D

 

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[Koshlong]

Aw, com'on, Cow Princess! Where's your comma sense?:cool:

[CowPrincess]

Aw, com'on, Cow Princess! Where's your comma sense?:cool:

 

That deserves a prize of some sort :D :D :D Hilarious, you made me laugh out loud. And that's not very "comma", either!

[Koshlong]

Dang! I can't think up a good reply. I guess it's a ? of having a quiet . of , reflection.

[DaveOKC]

Thought on carrying on wine and other drinks. We often just bring a small amount on-board at our departure port and then purchase more at the first couple of ports we hit. That way we have alot less to carry-on the first day. Of course you need to do some forward planning with this approach, knowing where to get your drinks at the ports and when you will be there.

 

Works well for us.

 

DaveOKC

[bettacanuck]

Just got back from the Westerdam. First time cruising and we brought a small suitcase and bubble wrap:) Filled it up in Fort Lauderdale with 13 bottles of wine all individually wrapped.

 

Didn't take it on ourselves and it arrived with nothing broken, just 13 beautiful bottles ready to be consumed;)

[suse]

Since I don't want to wear wine-colored clothing, all matching, on my cruise, I put 2 bottles in my carry on. I guess if I had a long cruise, it might be more complex. Have you seen how the porters throw the suitcases around? It's not exactly a sweet, gentle pat on your luggage. They wait till they have your tip, you've walked away and literally throw your bag on top of a dozen others. It's very alarming.

[FoxyTerrier]

We purchased 9 bottles of wine from Total Wine in FLL. We wrapped each bottle in a t-shirt or something software and placed them in a smaller roller suit case they used as carry on for the plane ride. We brought wine to take to the dining room too.

 

We then just wheeled it on to the ship and by 1:30 it was in our stateroom. No questions asked - you gotta love HAL for allowing wine to be brought on board.

[PirateShark]

Between being the normal family "sommelier" and cruising on HAL, I have on very good authority that Santa is brining me this year one of those telescoping handle, 6 compartment wine travel cases on wheels....sweet! Just tuck a few personal items in the bag also and viola! I'm set for embarkation :)

[rockelec]

We had terrible trouble with customs in Sydney last year. They kept saying we had duty free wine but we didn't. All the other cruise ships don't allow you to bring wine on board so they were beside themselves. They didn't have a clue amd made us fill out all these forms.This year I'm going to print out the alcohol policy from HAL and show it to them. Of course once we got past that hurdle, HAL were wonderful and very welcoming.

[kazu]

We always carry ours on board, however, last cruise as we were getting off, I saw several people with cases of wine having them loaded by the porters.

 

Spoke to one person while we were waiting who also told me that he does this everytime and has never had an issue. They are braver than me.:):)