Free wine on RCCL NOT FREE

[Tranquil Waters]

We can agree on that!

 

 

 

This is news to you?:p

 

I know - shocking isn't it? But I am such an innocent. ;)

[ninapeter]

Since I started this thread within 24 hours after getting off the EOS I am thrilled that some fellow CruiseCritics have posted thought out answers. I hope that someone from RCCL will see this thread as well as the threads that are popping up about the subtle "class" system that seems to be emerging on RCCL ships. The answers are not simple, but hopefully RCCL management will see they are pissing off their most loyal passengers. And that is not good.

[worldsbestcandles]

TAs on this thread have said that they pay a different HIGHER price if they ask to have the bottle delivered to the dining room instead of to the cabin. THEY are paying the corkage fee.

 

If your TA is *sending* you a bottle of wine in your cabin, s/he has chosen the cheaper route. That's their choice, but you should know that they COULD have paid more and had it delivered to you in the dining room.

 

RC wants the $$ one way or the other.

 

Just curious.... so if you are a new cruiser and a TA sends a bottle to the MDR, how do you even know that a bottle was sent? On our first cruise on RCCL our TA sent us a bottle to our room, but she didn't tell us she did that and I had no idea if she would do anything or not. Our waiter was completely rude and generally not helpful when it ccame to most things, what if he hadn't told us there was a bottle even sent for us? I guess, even though it is cheaper, for a TA to send a bottle to the room, at least in general they usually know the people get the gift.

[muffyn]

.

 

 

As for the champagne comment above, instead of returning it, why not just open it yourself? You don't need a bottle opener for champagne. I would've said, "Corkage fee, huh...tell me more about that," as I was twisting the wire off the cork. :)

 

 

ah.. didn't work on a princess cruise we were on. ( there you could bring a couple bottles onboard) waiter told me if it was opened at the table ( after we started to open it) they would charge us the fee.

nope, no discussion. they would hand you a bill. ( we kept it unopened & took it back to the cabin.)

[pxy cda]

We have gone out of Bayonne twice, once on Feb 08 and again in April 09. There are no hotels in Bayonne so on both occassions we stayed at the Country Inn & Suites in Elizabeth. It was OK. There is a very large outlet mall close by called Jersey Gardens. The Country Inn has, or had, a cruise package last April but we decided to park at the pier. If you love to walk DO NOT STAY at the Country Inn & Suites. The area is very industrial and does not look very safe to walk about in. The Country Inn is great for a 1 night stay and no more.

 

It took us 8 1/2 hours to drive from Toronto to Newark and it was a very enjoyable drive.

 

Hey thanks for the tips. I am still doing research for a precruise stay. We may see if there's something close by that we can drive to port on sail day. It would be nice to find somewhere historic and quaint that isnt so industrial. Too bad the port isnt nicer.

 

Thanks for the tip on the drive - I had estimated eight to nine hours so looks like I was bang on - I will be leaving from Oakville so that may cut some time as well.

[G'ma]

If some nice person or travel agency sends you a bottle of wine on any RCCL ship your must drink it in your room (pull down the shades and drink by yourself!!) OR YOU PAY to drink in the dining room. Correct, you MUST pay a $12.00 corkage fee to open your FREE wine in the dining room. CORRECT, our travel agent sent a $22.00 bottle of wine, (cost on ship) to our room, we brought it to the dining room and were told it would be $12.00 to open...no questions no argument, it is CORPORATE policy, can't be changed....go drink in your room!!! Remember, a $22.00 bottle of wine on the ship is about a 6 to 10 dollar bottle of wine (retail) marked up to cruise ship prices....so RCCL is asking you to pay 12 bucks to uncork a bottle of 6 dollar wine. OUTRAGEOUS.

 

A corkage fee is pretty standard across all cruise lines. It's not anything new.

 

A good travel agent would have paid the corkage fee for you....or explained that the wine had to be consumed in the room.

[Brad1185]

Since I started this thread within 24 hours after getting off the EOS I am thrilled that some fellow CruiseCritics have posted thought out answers. I hope that someone from RCCL will see this thread as well as the threads that are popping up about the subtle "class" system that seems to be emerging on RCCL ships. The answers are not simple, but hopefully RCCL management will see they are pissing off their most loyal passengers. And that is not good.

 

I think mgmt could give a dam if they piss off their customers. I hope just like a dog who continues to bit it's owners hand, soon it will go hungry.

 

The disdane RCI has for it's customers is mind blowing.

[Joyce From Yardley]

I think mgmt could give a dam if they piss off their customers. I hope just like a dog who continues to bite it's owners hand, soon it will go hungry.

 

The disdane RCI has for it's customers is mind blowing.

 

Hi & Happy Holiday's,

 

After 9 straight cruises with Royal we switched over to Carnival. We were NOT happy with all the current changes & lack of perks for being Loyal 2 Royal.

 

As far as the wine goes. We each carried a glass of our free wine from our TA to the dining room. No questions asked.

 

Safe Travels.

Joyce & Of Course Harvey

[robtulipe]

TW, Mark_K...........

 

Come on. Be realistic. Take off the rose-colored glasses. Acknowledge the tiny world that Cruise Critic is. And see what passes for reasonable discussion on said message board.

 

If they instituted a policy of: Bring up to two bottles of wine, pay a corkage fee of $12 per bottle at embarkation...........

 

These boards would be OVERFLOWING with threads complaining about Royal Caribbean nickel and diming them and threads explaining how to smuggle bottles of wine.

 

People here talk a good line about "I would be perfectly happy to pay $$$$ for the right to take a bottle back to my cabin that I purchased in the ship's booze store", but in fact, THEY AREN'T. They want it all. Buy the booze on board and just TAKE IT. Bring what they want on board by any means necessary. AND CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP CRUISE FARES.

 

Sorry, folks. Business-wise, that's a direct highway to bankruptcy.

 

I don't really care what these boards would be overflowing with. In fact, what these boards overflow with often provides an outlet for entertainment. Personally, though, I would like being able to bring wine onboard, however much, and pay $12/bottle for the privilege.

 

Try cruising with RC's sister cruiseline, Celebrity, on which you are allowed to bring on two containers of wine at embarkation. There is a $25 corkage fee to bring it in a dining room but if the wine is bought from X and delivered to your stateroom, you can bring it to the dining room to be opened without corkage. Info below is from our X eDocs for last month's Mercury cruise.

 

Guests are not allowed to bring beer or hard liquor onboard for

consumption or any other use. Guests wishing to bring personal

wine onboard with them at the beginning of a cruise may do so,

limited to two (2) bottles per stateroom, but when consumed in any

shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle shall be

subject to a corkage fee of $25.00. If a guest receives a bottle of

wine (in their stateroom) from a family member or friend, and that

bottle(s) was purchased from our Bon Voyage Gift selection, then no

corkage fee will apply if they wish to consume the bottle in the

dining room or any other public area. If a guest receives a bottle

from an outside vendor and/or travel agent, and the bottle was not

purchased through our Bon Voyage selection, then a $25.00 corkage

fee per bottle will apply if they wish to consume the wine in the

dining room or any other public area. The fee will be applied to the

guest's onboard account.

Same parent company, two completely different policies re wine. I know who we are going to cruise with in the future. The only reason our Feb/10 Radiance cruise was booked is because we had a cruise credit from our last Spring Radiance cruise (all of our Mex. ports were missed due to H1N1 Flu situation) and a Next Cruise Booking to use up.

[robtulipe]

Just curious.... so if you are a new cruiser and a TA sends a bottle to the MDR, how do you even know that a bottle was sent? On our first cruise on RCCL our TA sent us a bottle to our room, but she didn't tell us she did that and I had no idea if she would do anything or not. Our waiter was completely rude and generally not helpful when it came to most things, what if he hadn't told us there was a bottle even sent for us? I guess, even though it is cheaper, for a TA to send a bottle to the room, at least in general they usually know the people get the gift.

We use to book through a TA who always sent us a bottle of wine and we always went in after the cruise to show her our cruise pictures and to drop off a thank you card which was usually a postcard from one of our port stops. On one cruise we didn't receive any wine but we still went in after wards to show her our pictures. She asked if we had liked the wine she had ordered from RC for us and was very surprised to hear we hadn't received it. She was very apologetic and said RC were going to hear from her. Also after that she started adding a comment to her covering letter with the cruise documents re any such gifts.

[beachchick]

I understand the scenario. It's the same as the cruise line saying, "Please do not bring your bottle of wine in here. If you do, we will penalize you with a fee."

 

I think you're complicating the story when really it just comes down to not bringing your personal supply into the dining room. And I don't think the cruise line cares whether your friend bought it from them or a wine retailer on the mainland. It's just a rule. Don't bring in your own wine.

 

I understand your frustration. But to say your wine is no longer free is to misspeak.

 

Oh good grief! Someone could buy that bottle of wine from the cruise line for $22 onboard in the dining room and be charged $22 as stated on the wine list. They would pay no corkage fee because it is cruise line purchased wine. Someone could buy that bottle of wine from the cruise line in the wine bar onboard (some ships have them), take it to the dining room, and pay no corkage fee. Someone could have been sent that bottle of $22 wine as a gift purchased from the cruise line. If the gift of cruise line purchased wine is delivered to the dining room, then there is no corkage fee. But if the gift is sent to the cabin, but they choose to drink it in the dining room, they get charged a corkage fee. This is exactly the same as if someone ordered that bottle of wine for $22 off the wine list in the dining room and then the cruise line said, "Oh, we know you ordered that off of our already high markup wine list and we already made our profit, but we're going to charge you a $12 corkage fee on top of the wine list price." That is what RCI is doing here: The person who sent the gift already paid RCI's fully marked up price. They didn't get a discount; they didn't get it free; they didn't send non-RCI purchased wine.

 

Someone who has been sent a bottle of wine that was purchased from the cruise line is not bringing in their "own wine." They are bringing in a bottle of wine that is on the wine list at a specific cost. That amount has been paid. They aren't bringing "personal" wine. It is absolutely no different from purchasing the $22 bottle onboard either in the dining room, the wine bar, or through room service.

 

But if you want a real chuckle try this: If that $22 bottle of wine is purchased from the cruise line as a gift and sent to the dining room, the recipient can have it opened in the dining room for no corkage fee and then take the open bottle back to their cabin. So it's kind of stupid, IMO, to charge a corkage fee for "deliver wine purchased from us to the cabin if you want to drink it in the dining room" but not for "deliver wine purchased from us to the dining room, but go ahead and take it to your cabin with no fee."

 

And you do understand that the $22 bottle of wine is on the RCI wine list, right? It has nothing to do with RCI not wanting passengers to bring "cheap wine" or that they don't want it where they are offering "finer wines" for purchase. What exactly makes that bottle at $22 finer when it's offered on the dining room's wine list than when it's offered through RCI's gift service? It's the same wine, for crying out loud. (We don't consider RCI's wine list to be all that outstanding anyway. It's a laugh for me to say that the dining room offers so much "finer" wine. Please. They offer a few fine wines, many middle of the road wines, and plenty of inexpensive wines. The markup on the inexpensive wines they offer is usually quite high, 300% to 400%. Charging more doesn't make it better wine.)

 

beachchick

[Rala]

Oh good grief! Someone could buy that bottle of wine from the cruise line for $22 onboard in the dining room and be charged $22 as stated on the wine list. They would pay no corkage fee because it is cruise line purchased wine. Someone could buy that bottle of wine from the cruise line in the wine bar onboard (some ships have them), take it to the dining room, and pay no corkage fee. Someone could have been sent that bottle of $22 wine as a gift purchased from the cruise line. If the gift of cruise line purchased wine is delivered to the dining room, then there is no corkage fee. But if the gift is sent to the cabin, but they choose to drink it in the dining room, they get charged a corkage fee. This is exactly the same as if someone ordered that bottle of wine for $22 off the wine list in the dining room and then the cruise line said, "Oh, we know you ordered that off of our already high markup wine list and we already made our profit, but we're going to charge you a $12 corkage fee on top of the wine list price." That is what RCI is doing here: The person who sent the gift already paid RCI's fully marked up price. They didn't get a discount; they didn't get it free; they didn't send non-RCI purchased wine.

 

Someone who has been sent a bottle of wine that was purchased from the cruise line is not bringing in their "own wine." They are bringing in a bottle of wine that is on the wine list at a specific cost. That amount has been paid. They aren't bringing "personal" wine. It is absolutely no different from purchasing the $22 bottle onboard either in the dining room, the wine bar, or through room service.

 

But if you want a real chuckle try this: If that $22 bottle of wine is purchased from the cruise line as a gift and sent to the dining room, the recipient can have it opened in the dining room for no corkage fee and then take the open bottle back to their cabin. So it's kind of stupid, IMO, to charge a corkage fee for "deliver wine purchased from us to the cabin if you want to drink it in the dining room" but not for "deliver wine purchased from us to the dining room, but go ahead and take it to your cabin with no fee."

 

And you do understand that the $22 bottle of wine is on the RCI wine list, right? It has nothing to do with RCI not wanting passengers to bring "cheap wine" or that they don't want it where they are offering "finer wines" for purchase. What exactly makes that bottle at $22 finer when it's offered on the dining room's wine list than when it's offered through RCI's gift service? It's the same wine, for crying out loud. (We don't consider RCI's wine list to be all that outstanding anyway. It's a laugh for me to say that the dining room offers so much "finer" wine. Please. They offer a few fine wines, many middle of the road wines, and plenty of inexpensive wines. The markup on the inexpensive wines they offer is usually quite high, 300% to 400%. Charging more doesn't make it better wine.)

 

beachchick

 

Beachchick, everything you say makes perfect sense, but I'm afraid in this case you wasted your breath...er finger muscles !!!

[iamirish]

I just got off the Radiance yesterday. My brick and mortar TA sent me a bottle of wine (delivered to my cabin by RCI). I took it to the MDR and the assistant waiter (whose job now includes being the wine steward) took it; opened it; poured it; and kept it cold for me. I finished it the next night. NO FEES WERE CHARGED!!

Tom

[RetireeWannabee]

But you're stating it as though the bottle was bought and left by the waiter on their table. That's not what happened. The TA bought a bottle from one of RCL's retail outlets and it was left by the steward in the room. That's the same as your 2nd scenario. The staff inside the dining room never touched it. They had nothing to do with it. It wasn't the dining room's wine. For that matter, it wasn't RCL's wine, RCL doesn't make and bottle wine, they merely re-sell it. But once you go through the doors of the dining room it's governed by a set of policies, one of which is discouraging people bringing in their own side of beef.

But if I cook that beef on my balcony hibachi, they won't charge me a consumption fee.

[DetroitMark]

But if I cook that beef on my balcony hibachi, they won't charge me a consumption fee.

 

 

Perhaps not. And I also doubt if you come rushing into the dining room with a bucket of burning coals because you brought your own steak and its just perfect ... you're not going to get a table.

[NordicPrince]

Hey Nordic,

 

Off topic but I notice you are from Jersey. We are thinking of the EOS out of NJ in April 2010 Bermuda/Bahamas combo. Any tips on Jersey? Not sure best place to stay in port - country inn and suites? Restaurants? Thinking of driving down a couple days early staying at a park and cruise hotel (with shuttle to port) and doing a bit of NY pre-cruise. We are very good walkers and love to explore - i.e.: good with directions/local transport. We have never been to NJ or NY.

 

I am from NY/NJ my whole life and if I were a first timer this is what I would do:

 

I want you to Google Cape Liberty Cruise Port and go to their web site. Check for Hotels in Jersey City, then look for hotels in the Newport area.

This is right on the water opposite downtown Manhattan. You get great views plus you have the PATH train for a 5 minute ride ($1.75) to

New York or go to Hoboken for the WaterTaxi to get a water view. Able to take subways, taxis, tour buses etc from there.

 

You will be perfectly safe there. New mall areas. Probably pricey but you may be able to get a deal.

 

However I do not know if they have a park/ cruise package.

 

Other posters say Hilton in Newark. Very Good for transport but you MUST stay in their enclosed corridors. Do Not Go Outside as a first timer you will be very uncomfortable. Parking is unclear.

 

Posters say Bayonne Taxi and Shuttle offers service to cruise port if needed from anywhere.

 

So many good restaurants in New York , but if you must pick a NY steak place try Kean's on West 36th by Macy's (pricey but good).

 

If looking for place in Theater District try Tratoria Dopo Teatro 125 West 44 St. Stage people go here. Very reasonable and very good.

 

Enjoy New York/ New Jersey and drink your wine ahead of time to avoid the dreaded CORKAGE FEE (Oh no!!).

 

I apologize to rest of this thread to provide service to other CC poster.

[RetireeWannabee]

Perhaps not. And I also doubt if you come rushing into the dining room with a bucket of burning coals because you brought your own steak and its just perfect ... you're not going to get a table.

Oh no, I would never bring the burning coals with me - they would burn thru my dressy shorts and tshirt and possibly burn my flip-flopped toes!

 

I am having my own revenue-generating thoughts, tho, for selling Chops-quality steaks out of my cabin at a lower rate... :cool:

[alwayshappytocruise]

Shock and dismay over 4 bottles of wine ???

 

Shock and dismay is reserved for getting dismissed without cause from your job after 25 years of service to a company by a kid old enough to be your son or daughter.

 

Or finding out your best friend and business partner of 28 years has been secretly stealing from the company for years forcing the business into bankruptcy.

 

Or finding out your husband who is a role model for young kids, a spokesperson for multinational companies and who has just recently fathered your 2 young children has had a string of affairs with over 12 women in the brief time you have been married.

 

Or worst yet,coming home and finding out that your son or daughter in the miltary isn't coming home again.

 

Now that's shock and dismay.

 

In the meanwhile enjoy sitting on your balcony watching the sunset sipping on your Chardonney and get some perspective.

 

For your information, I am a nurse who works on an Air Force Base so don't lecture me about someone not coming home from deployment. I also found out last week that I will not have a job after next week as our contract wasn't extended due to the financial climate. How dare you make such assumptions and call me melodramatic. If I purchase wine via RCCL then I should be able to enjoy it with my dinner without paying a $12 corkage fee.

[Mark_K]

I just got off the Radiance yesterday. My brick and mortar TA sent me a bottle of wine (delivered to my cabin by RCI). I took it to the MDR and the assistant waiter (whose job now includes being the wine steward) took it; opened it; poured it; and kept it cold for me. I finished it the next night. NO FEES WERE CHARGED!!

 

Tom

Enforcement of the corkage fee has always been hit & miss. The wait staff doesn't like to do things that have potential to reduce their tips, so it may depend on something as simple as whether the head waiter is around at the moment.

[pxy cda]

 

I apologize to rest of this thread to provide service to other CC poster.

 

Thanks for the post (and my apologies for the hijack) Nordic, I sent you a friend request so we can take this offline - if you don't mind a couple more ??s.

 

Thanks!

:D

[NordicPrince]

For your information, I am a nurse who works on an Air Force Base so don't lecture me about someone not coming home from deployment. I also found out last week that I will not have a job after next week as our contract wasn't extended due to the financial climate. How dare you make such assumptions and call me melodramatic. If I purchase wine via RCCL then I should be able to enjoy it with my dinner without paying a $12 corkage fee.

 

I did not call you melodramatic. I just pointed out that "shock and dismay"

should be reserved for more serious events in life. As you have just found out.

 

Are you really that angry about 4 bottles of wine, especially during a cruise which should be relaxing?

 

Do I agree with you that it is a stupid rule? Absolutely. But get worked up? Not any more, life has gotten too crazy for that. Learn to work around it.

 

I hope they stop selling wine by the bottle anywhere but in the dining room. That should stop the b & moaning.

 

However, I am sorry that you had a difficult job in the military and that you will have no job after next week.

[Ripley's Lady]

If some nice person or travel agency sends you a bottle of wine on any RCCL ship your must drink it in your room (pull down the shades and drink by yourself!!) OR YOU PAY to drink in the dining room. Correct, you MUST pay a $12.00 corkage fee to open your FREE wine in the dining room. CORRECT, our travel agent sent a $22.00 bottle of wine, (cost on ship) to our room, we brought it to the dining room and were told it would be $12.00 to open...no questions no argument, it is CORPORATE policy, can't be changed....go drink in your room!!! Remember, a $22.00 bottle of wine on the ship is about a 6 to 10 dollar bottle of wine (retail) marked up to cruise ship prices....so RCCL is asking you to pay 12 bucks to uncork a bottle of 6 dollar wine. OUTRAGEOUS.

 

While it IS true there is a corkage fee to open the bottle in the dining room, people should know that any wine bottles sent to a stateroom come accompanied by a complimentary wine cork puller. A nice souvenir of the cruise - and perfect for picnic use!

 

Rather than drinking alone, invite some friends to your balcony and enjoy!

Or if you don't have a balcony - find someone with a balcony to share your bottle with. I've found Royal Carribean provides wine glasses in the rooms without charge.

 

We were recently gifted with three bottles of champagne on our last cruise.

Since they were given by the cruise staff, no charge was made to open them in the dining room.

[marci22]

If I didn't know about the corkage fee in the MDR I would probably be disappointed, but now that I do know, I would probably just pay the $12 and be done with it. (but I would say "wow!" first)

 

It's a shame they can't let someone enjoy a gift without a surcharge; it takes away the fun, doesn't it?

[Parrotheadtoo]

We just got off the Oasis and I brought 2 bottles to the dining room, this was the first time the head waiter asked where it came from and as soon as I said it was my D+ C&A gift he opened it himself. I have always brought wine that was sent by my TA our by C&A to the dining room and there has never been an issue about corkage fees, if they do ask like others have said open it in your room and bring it to the table.

Ron:)

I read about another cruise critic poster who had the bartender open their wine. The cruisers then proceeded to the dining room with their bottle..

 

[alwayshappytocruise]

I did not call you melodramatic. I just pointed out that "shock and dismay"

should be reserved for more serious events in life. As you have just found out.

 

Are you really that angry about 4 bottles of wine, especially during a cruise which should be relaxing?

 

Do I agree with you that it is a stupid rule? Absolutely. But get worked up? Not any more, life has gotten too crazy for that. Learn to work around it.

 

I hope they stop selling wine by the bottle anywhere but in the dining room. That should stop the b & moaning.

 

However, I am sorry that you had a difficult job in the military and that you will have no job after next week.

 

Hey there Prince.....I never got worked up, never said I was angry but I have the right to my opinion. If you think it's ok to have a $12 corkage fee added to wine purchased directly from the cruise line in the dining room then I respectfully disagree. Would not use this thread as an opportunity to disrespect a fellow CC'er as I feel that you did in regards to myself. I also take issue with your subject line(s), the first one titled "melodramatic" and now this one" If you quack like a duck ..."

Oh by the way, I don't need your "sorry that you had a difficult job in the military" patronization. You insulted me with your first post. Let me clue you into one other thing, my primary responsibility is to be the first point of contact for all the deceased and wounded airmen/families that are not only assigned to our base but have families in the area. Shocked and dismayed are not the words I associate with my position......shock and dismay with my favorite cruise line taking (or in this case adding) yet another up-charge are the words I choose to use about this corkage issue.

To the other posters, sorry that I went off topic. This is something I try very hard not to do. In this case I feel quite insulted and patronized and needed to respond to the "Prince".

Lynda