Bringing Wine on Board?

[PurpleHays]

I doubt it will affect which line we cruise on. I generally pick a couple of itineraries, then DH and I choose one. (I do all the research and he pays. Works for us!) We pick based more on where rather than which line.

 

Since we drink mid priced wine, we check the wine policy. I'd rather pay a corkage fee and take what we like. On NCL, we still came out ahead of their prices, and we knew what we were getting.

[capriccio]

They could start storing them to return at the end of the cruise.

 

That may work for those who drive home but for those of us who fly it would mean filling our checked luggage with bottles of wine (and paying extra for the baggage :().

[capriccio]

We were on the verge of booking that for next September and then they changed the wording of the contract. We're holding out to see what happens and will likely just end up in Napa for 4 or 5 days instead.

 

It is a great cruise and Princess made a small fortune off of us since we did their winery tours in San Francisco and Seattle (too busy to arrange my own). I can't imagine that the wineries will be very happy either if folks participate in the tastings but cut back on their purchases.

[jennifers490]

If they start enforcing the policy, it will effect us. Not sure it will drive us to another line (although I did just cancel Princess to book Oceania this week) but we will probably take more land trips rather than cruises to wine regions as all the main stream lines seem to have this childish policy.

 

i agree...it's not that i'd be upset because i'd have to buy wine on board-it's more that as part as a cruise to places like italy and spain part of the fun is to try new wines which we could always bring on board. they always still make money off cocktails and other bottles and services i buy. if they do enforce at ports i think i'd really reconsider princess.

[tarheelmjfan]

We always have a bottle of wine with dinner, along with a glass or two at other times during the day. This policy doesn't bother us at all. I don't have a problem with buying wine from the cruise line. As a matter of fact, if it provides income to prevent further cuts in food service, I'd be all for it. They really should offer more high end wines for those who don't care for the more pedestrian wines though. All that said, we're mostly Celebrity cruisers. I'm surprised Princess has allowed people to carry on unlimited wine & even carry their own to dining venues for as long as they have. It makes sense to me that they'd prefer to fill their ships with people who will run up a higher bar tab. As long as they allow it, I don't blame people for taking advantage of it though. We'll be carrying some on ourselves. It wasn't a factor, when booking this cruise & won't be when we book the next one. I guess when it comes down to it I don't have a problem with the current or the new policy.

[tarheelmjfan]

That may work for those who drive home but for those of us who fly it would mean filling our checked luggage with bottles of wine (and paying extra for the baggage :().

 

That's true! Those who fly may need to have the wine shipped from the winery or Princess could offer a wine shipping service. We've had wineries ship wine to us before. It's not cheap, but it's worth it, if it's a really good wine. It would be nice if they made allowances for those cruises & at least allowed guests to pay a corkage fee & still enjoy their wine.

[Pia1913]

Folks, I am currently on the Star; now in Honolulu. I carried on 5 bottles of wine in SFO and another two yesterday in Hilo. Getting back on the ship an hour ago i saw someone carrying a case of wine. There is no wine limit on Princess. Whether or not this may change is anyone's guess, but for now it works for us.

[pris993]

We enjoy wine along with the hard stuff. So far, I don't see that anyone has a problem. Don't stir the pot ... Princess has never enforced its' policy. Relax

[Mom33]

There have been several threads recently concerning Princess’ new wine policies. Some of the discussion concerns hard liquor and how to smuggle it on board. Other posters state that since they don’t drink wine it doesn’t bother them. As a wine lover (wine geek, wine nut, whatever) it does concern me. My question is how many wine lovers are there out there and how will the new policy affect your future bookings on Princess. If we can make enough of an impact maybe Princess will change or modify their new policy.

The wine available onboard runs from fair to good. However, most all of these wines are readily available in our local stores. We have been going to Napa and Sonoma since 1969. In the last several years we have also visited wineries in Paso Robles and the Sierra Foothills. Our cellar runs from 800 to 1000 bottle, mostly from small wineries and the wines from lots of 100 to 400 cases. We feel that they are special wines and like to enjoy them in special places. On board cruise ships is one of these special places. On past cruises we were able to bring wine onboard to have with our dinners. On a Med. Cruise last year we purchased wine at many of the Greek and Italian ports and were allowed to bring them onboard.

This new policy will affect which cruise line we book in the future. How many other cruisers will it affect?

 

If so many threads are covering this same topic, why did you start a new thread?

[eclue]

Thank you, Pia...

 

With all the postings, everyone is in a mad panic about the new wine policy....we leave next month on the Emerald for a 10 day out of Ft Lauderdale and I was trying to decide what to do.

I am taking my wine with us...

Enjoy your trip and thanks again..

 

eclue:rolleyes:

[bdjam]

I like me wines but I'm not that particular. Besides I bring enough luggage to deal with with clothes alone - if I was bringing wine and water and vodka, etc., I'd need a steamer trunk.

So I don't bring it - I buy onboard - and so the policy won't affect me. But, it's sorta like the balcony furniture controversy of earlier this year...enough noise was made and Princess seemed to listen...so maybe all of the wine threads should come together in a united front and petition Princess. Rather than being restrictive, maybe they can become the friendly wine cruise line.

Princess is very smart when it comes to business - this rule change wouldn't have come about without some business thought and metrics behind it. But a business case based on perceptions of passenger behavior isn't always viable...speak up to Princess.

[loge23]

We collect and enjoy wine - and we enjoy cruises. We enjoy Princess for several reasons including their Vines area and rather decent wine list. Yes, we have taken advantage of the lenient policy in the past, rolling on a case. We took a bottle to the MDR each night - sometimes paying the corkage, again - a lenient policy.

That the cruise line has now allegedly began to enforce their policy will not change our preference. Instead, I would direct my energy to lobbying for an even better wine program onboard.

We eat and drink well at home - the best place. We enjoy a meal out or a vacation at sea or on land for what that is. They have a reasonable wine list onboard, even if they can't get the glasses right. Enjoy your cruise, and your wine. Take your two bottles as allowed or buy from the list. It's a cruise, not a gourmet restaurant or a winery after all.

[geocruiser]

I don't drink wine or spirts. My husband will have wine or beer with meals. He buys a wine package for himself or beer to have with the meal. Once in a while he will bring one bottle on board for the cabin.

[mrspaper]

thanks Pia, enjoy the rest of your trip

[Cobra427SC]

We too, are enophiles, drinking a bottle 5-6/7 nights we're home. The liberal Princess policy has been a major calling card for the last 21/22 of our cruises, so taking it away would be a deal breaker for us, for sure. I'd be looking for another cruise line that would allow me to bring my own on board, tho' most of ours aren't particularly expensive. However, they're all a step ahead of all but the most expensive wines on the Princess list. Not much on that list I'd buy, so if they took away our privilege, I probably wouldn't buy anything anyway. To a wine lover/geek, having the wine properly served, at the right temperature and in a decent piece of stemware is just as critical as great food...no less. (That's why we bring our own glasses and have the bottle properly chilled in our 'fridge.)

 

Most people are perfectly content to drive a Chevy, but we'd prefer a Ferrari. No insult slung at anyone, just one of the things of interest to us. Neither of us could care less about expensive clothes or jewelry, but don't fool around with our wines! s

[BajaSteve]

If so many threads are covering this same topic, why did you start a new thread?

 

 

Most of the posts are about hard liguor and how to smuggle it on board. The policy change was about wine only. The other posters have highjacked the post away from wine. Lets focus on two things: (1) its about wine only and (2) Princess changed the Contract unilaterally and with no prior notification. All contracts must have approval by both sides.

[RickEk]

Most of the posts are about hard liguor and how to smuggle it on board. The policy change was about wine only. The other posters have highjacked the post away from wine. Lets focus on two things: (1) its about wine only and (2) Princess changed the Contract unilaterally and with no prior notification. All contracts must have approval by both sides.

 

Dunno... they seem to have covered themselves with legalese... to whit, from the current Passage Contract:

 

This Passage Contract constitutes the entire understanding and agreement between You and Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd., the operator of all Princess Cruises brand ships ("Carrier"), and supersedes any prior oral, implied, written or other representations or agreements between You and Carrier.

[jconeil]

It's been my experience on most cruise ships that the glassware varies from what you are given by room service or your cabin attendant to that which is in the bars and the restaurants. If you think bringing a glass of wine from your cabin to the dining room or a bar is clever, the staff will know where that glass came from. Of course, they will say nothing, but you should know you are not getting away with something.;) If you care.

That said, I would not hesitate to do it. But in reality, I order wine by the bottle almost every night and they are very nice about keeping it for me when I don't finish it. I frequently have a bottle of red, white, and a nice French rose open and ready.:D I also do not hesitate to bring wine on board whenever. I like having a bottle in the cabin. Nothing better than a glass of wine on the balcony late night watching the sea. Now if they would just keep those hot tubs open all night....

[azbirdmom]

This change in policy wouldn't bug me so much if their wine list had more local wines on it. Especially on the South America and the Med cruises, we've really enjoyed grabbing a bottle or two of wine while ashore and enjoying it on our balcony. We do buy wines from Princess at dinner, but what they have can usually be purchased from any liquor store in the US. When they have had local wines (such as Italian for the Med cruises) we've never been able to buy them as they don't stock enough for the demand.

[spingal]

Reporting in... Just boarded the Coral with a case of wine that was given to porters at pier. It arrived safely!

[5326jan]

Reporting in... Just boarded the Coral with a case of wine that was given to porters at pier. It arrived safely!

 

This is very good news! Are you going to do a "Live"? We do this route in March on the Island, so I'll be watching for your posts! Thanks!

[BajaSteve]

Today (Oct. 19th) I received a voice mail from a Princess' representative concerning bring wine on board. He stated that the policy has been one bottle per passanger for the 9 years he has worked for Princess. I had mentioned that we had brought wine onboard on our Med. cruise last year. He said that was an error by ther immigration people.

 

Has anyone brought wine onboard lately?

[jennifers490]

since it seems it's now policy that's in the contract it's just a matter of enforcement which they dont seem to be changing at the moment. may be best to just ask people to post when they haven't been able to get wine on instead of when they have---princess may decide to up the enforcement if they keep reading tons of posts of people bringing bottles cases on with no problem :)

[BajaSteve]

I would really like to get this settled before we depart on Nov. 26th. I don't want to show up at the pier with a case of wine and not be allowed to take it onboard. One of my (adult) sons will be driving us there. If he has to take it back home he may drink it before we return!! :D

[Cruisin4]

I would really like to get this settled before we depart on Nov. 26th. I don't want to show up at the pier with a case of wine and not be allowed to take it onboard. One of my (adult) sons will be driving us there. If he has to take it back home he may drink it before we return!! :D

 

 

LOL- I would worry also if that was the case...