Wine Question

[gfsf]

I know I am allowed to bring on one bottle at no charge and additional bottles by paying a $15 per bottle corkage fee up front. My question is will I have to pay an additional $15 corkage fee if I bring those bottles that I've already paid the initial corkage fee to the dining room? I get conflicting answers when I called Princess.

[JimmyVWine]

I know I am allowed to bring on one bottle at no charge and additional bottles by paying a $15 per bottle corkage fee up front. My question is will I have to pay an additional $15 corkage fee if I bring those bottles that I've already paid the initial corkage fee to the dining room? I get conflicting answers when I called Princess.

 

No. You only pay once. The conflicting answers are probably the result of the inconsistent approach taken toward collecting the corkage fee upon boarding. If the fee is not collected then, it will be collected at the dining room. If the fee is collected upon boarding, a stamp or sticker is put on the paid-for bottles showing that the fee has been paid, and you are free to do what you wish with those bottles. The bottle(s) without stamps or stickers are the ones that you brought on for free. If you bring those to the dining room, you would be assessed the corkage fee at that time. If you drink them in your cabin, you pay nothing.

Edited November 21, 2013 by JimmyVWine

[sminfiddle]

In other words, when you pay corkage, you get a receipt. :)

 

Also, an unfinished, corkage-paid bottle will be held for you so you can pick up where you left off (you get a receipt for that too).

 

 

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[Hlitner]

There is an absurdity to this entire issue. A "corkage" fee is designed to compensate a restaurant for pulling the "cork," pouring the wine, and providing the glasses. But when you take a bottle of wine to your cabin, pull your own cork, and use the regular glasses provided in your cabin....this is not a corkage fee. What it is a greedy grab of cruisers money :( We suspect that the next step will be to put a meter on the cabin since faucet (and shower faucet) and charge a "corkage" fee for use of water.

 

Hank

Edited November 22, 2013 by Hlitner

[Avalon35]

There is an absurdity to this entire issue. A "corkage" fee is designed to compensate a restaurant for pulling the "cork," pouring the wine, and providing the glasses. But when you take a bottle of wine to your cabin, pull your own cork, and use the regular glasses provided in your cabin....this is not a corkage fee. What it is a greedy grab of cruisers money :( We suspect that the next step will be to put a meter on the cabin since faucet (and shower faucet) and charge a "corkage" fee for use of water.

 

Hank

 

We pay for water and then the wastewater at home...:D I am glad they aren't charging for water. Don't give them any ideas. Just pay the fee...and enjoy!

[ssantow]

It is just a way to discourage you from bringing your own wine.

Just a thought but I wonder if "fortified" or desert wines (alcohol content 18%) are included in this program.

 

 

[Astro Flyer]

I prefer bringing onboard as much of my preferred wine as desired & to pay corkage.

 

On RCI earlier this year they allowed only 1 bottle per person & a $25 corkage fee to drink it in the MDR. To me it's no contest...the Princess system is much better than on RCI & other cruise lines. And if we're not charged corkage & we drink it in our cabin that's an additional bonus for me.

 

To me the corkage fee was implemented to offset lost income by those bringing too much wine onboard & to discourage bringing so many bottles of wine.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Astro Flyer

[JimmyVWine]

A "corkage" fee is designed to compensate a restaurant for pulling the "cork," pouring the wine, and providing the glasses.

Hank

No it's not, and it never has been. A corkage fee is designed to capture lost revenue from a lost sales opportunity. At any restaurant I have ever been to, if you open the wine at home and decant it, bring it to the restaurant in the decanter, and bring your own Riedels from home, you still pay the corkage fee. The opening of the bottle and pouring for the table is accounted for through the gratuity. The server keeps none of the corkage fee, the management does. So the corkage fee is not a proxy for pulling the cork and pouring. It is a proxy for profit. Princess is doing nothing unusual here. A bottle consumed in your cabin is one less bottle bought at Vines or ordered through room service. So they have every reason and every right to charge you to capture that lost revenue.

Edited November 23, 2013 by JimmyVWine

[JimmyVWine]

On RCI earlier this year they allowed only 1 bottle per person & a $25 corkage fee to drink it in the MDR. To me it's no contest...the Princess system is much better than on RCI & other cruise lines.

 

Amazing how many people don't get this.

[Astro Flyer]

No it's not, and it never has been. A corkage fee is designed to capture lost revenue from a lost sales opportunity. At any restaurant I have ever been to, if you open the wine at home and decant it, bring it to the restaurant in the decanter, and bring your own Riedels from home, you still pay the corkage fee. The opening of the bottle and pouring for the table is accounted for through the gratuity. The server keeps none of the corkage fee, the management does. So the corkage fee is not a proxy for pulling the cork and pouring. It is a proxy for profit. Princess is doing nothing unusual here. A bottle consumed in your cabin is one less bottle bought at Vines or ordered through room service. So they have every reason and every right to charge you to capture that lost revenue.

 

Amazing how many people don't get this.

I agree with you about the reasons for corkage fees & confused about why some don't realize that it could be worse. Even when Princess charges corkage it's still better than most other cruise lines & we can enjoy our favorite wines.

[caribill]

So the corkage fee is not a proxy for pulling the cork and pouring. It is a proxy for profit. Princess is doing nothing unusual here. A bottle consumed in your cabin is one less bottle bought at Vines or ordered through room service. So they have every reason and every right to charge you to capture that lost revenue.

 

Princess is missing an opportunity here, not charging me extra to wear clothing I brought from home instead of clothing purchased in an onboard shop.

[JimmyVWine]

Princess is missing an opportunity here, not charging me extra to wear clothing I brought from home instead of clothing purchased in an onboard shop.

 

Yeah. Right. And I suppose that if you bring your own pillow and blanket and agree to sleep on a lounge chair on the Lido Deck, they should let you sail for free. :rolleyes: The business model depends on them being able to sell room, board, drinks and certain entertainment such as bingo and casino play. If you cut into any of these, they will recoup the lost revenue. The business model does not include selling you socks and underwear. So you don't get charged for bringing your own. Sometimes cynicism clouds logical reasoning.

[satxdiver]

To the OP. You pay the corkage fee one time and they will mark the bottles that had the fee paid. You can take those to the MDR or any specialty restaurant without paying any more. They will keep the bottle if you have not finished it and so desire or you can take it with you when you leave. The corkage free bottle of wine if taken to the MDR, etc, will not be marked and they will charge you a corkage fee. At least Princess allows you to bring on more than one bottle of wine so we are ahead in that area.

 

You can call a corkage fee anything you want and ponder why it is charged. There are many explanations by posters here. It exists and they sometimes enforce it (last cruise the first of this month they did not).

[wineforhealth]

A "corkage" fee is designed to compensate a restaurant for pulling the "cork," pouring the wine, and providing the glasses.

 

Hank

 

I have to agree with you and is the way I understood ,doing a search you come up with the same answer.

 

If it were a fee for lost revenue then type of wine being uncorked would be different for each varietal, as Pinot Noir profit margins are much higher than say a Sauv Blanc.

[gfsf]

Thanks for all the replies. I love the fact that I can bring on additional bottles of vino for $15 per bottle. Just wanted to make sure I didn't have to pay again in the dining room. Thanks for clearing this up and CHEERS!

[Hlitner]

I think something is being lost here. So let me pose a question. Would anyone be willing to pay a $15 per bottle fee to take a bottle wine into a hotel for drinking in your room? We suspect not....and know of any hotel that assesses a charge for bringing wine into a hotel or resort. A cruise ship is essentially a floating resort hotel so not sure cruisers should be so accepting of this type of policy.

 

Hank

[sminfiddle]

Would anyone be willing to pay a $15 per bottle fee to take a bottle wine into a hotel for drinking in your room? We suspect not....

No but I expect a HIGHER charge at a restaurant, including the hotel's restaurant. No "first one's free" as on Princess.

And I expect to be searched when onboarding at a stadium or concert.

 

 

 

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[caribill]

No but I expect a HIGHER charge at a restaurant, including the hotel's restaurant. No "first one's free" as on Princess.

 

First one is not free on Princess if you bring it to the restaurant. It is only free of corkage fee if you use it in your cabin.

[iancal]

We are taking our first Princess cruise in several years. We are following this because we prefer wines from Chile and Argentina...and we are going on doing a SA cruise.

 

We have no issue whatsoever in paying a corkage fee if we take wine to the dining room. We have lived in a number of cities where is was common practice to do just this at local restaurants.

 

But, like others, we really resent a corkage fee for wine consumed in our our cabin. I would be satisfied if Princess, and other cruise lines, just increased the amount of permissible carry to a reasonable amount based on length of cruise, and or permitted cruisers to bring about a specified amount of wine at port stops that happed to be in wine regions without the levy of that unreasonable fee. The fee does not break the bank as it were, it just becomes an aggravation that we tend to remember.

[chrysalis]

We are taking our first Princess cruise in several years. We are following this because we prefer wines from Chile and Argentina...and we are going on doing a SA cruise.

 

We have no issue whatsoever in paying a corkage fee if we take wine to the dining room. We have lived in a number of cities where is was common practice to do just this at local restaurants.

 

But, like others, we really resent a corkage fee for wine consumed in our our cabin. I would be satisfied if Princess, and other cruise lines, just increased the amount of permissible carry to a reasonable amount based on length of cruise, and or permitted cruisers to bring about a specified amount of wine at port stops that happed to be in wine regions without the levy of that unreasonable fee. The fee does not break the bank as it were, it just becomes an aggravation that we tend to remember.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1946165&page=3

[sminfiddle]

First one is not free on Princess if you bring it to the restaurant. It is only free of corkage fee if you use it in your cabin.

 

As to that. March 2013 on the Crown (After Policy), I was not charged in the MDR for a bottle of champagne (oops, Prosecco to be exactly precise). I was charged corkage for a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Crown Grill (the waiter was almost apologetic). A later night I brought Champagne to dinner in the MDR and the headwaiter iced it down for us, did not levy a fee.

Your. Mileage. May. Vary.

(New Princess slogan? :D)

 

 

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[Astro Flyer]

We are taking our first Princess cruise in several years. We are following this because we prefer wines from Chile and Argentina...and we are going on doing a SA cruise.

 

We have no issue whatsoever in paying a corkage fee if we take wine to the dining room. We have lived in a number of cities where is was common practice to do just this at local restaurants.

 

But, like others, we really resent a corkage fee for wine consumed in our our cabin. I would be satisfied if Princess, and other cruise lines, just increased the amount of permissible carry to a reasonable amount based on length of cruise, and or permitted cruisers to bring about a specified amount of wine at port stops that happed to be in wine regions without the levy of that unreasonable fee. The fee does not break the bank as it were, it just becomes an aggravation that we tend to remember.

Princess has always had one of the most liberal wine policies & the newer more restrictive policy was likely the result of things such as wine by the case. I'd like to enjoy wine in my cabin without a corkage fee but also understand their desire to replace lost profits from onboard wine purchases.

 

RCI has finally allowed 1 bottle with a $25 corkage outside the cabin. I prefer the Princess policy which allows me to bring my wine with the possibility of being charged a corkage fee. Princess does allow as much wine as we desire (embarkation or ports) which may have the fee added or they'll hold it if we want to take it home.

 

It would be good if the number of bottles not eligible for corkage in our cabins be based on the length of the cruise...1 bottle whether on a 1 day or a month long cruise doesn't seem equitable to me.

Edited November 24, 2013 by Astro Flyer

[sminfiddle]

 

It would be good if the number of bottles not eligible for corkage be based on the length of the cruise...1 bottle whether on a 1 day or a month long cruise doesn't seem equitable to me.

 

^^ Totally agree with this. ^^

 

 

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[Astro Flyer]

^^ Totally agree with this. ^^

 

 

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Sounds like a rallying point most would agree would be more equitable...is it time to 'campaign' for such a change? ;)

[JimmyVWine]

A cruise ship is essentially a floating resort hotel so not sure cruisers should be so accepting of this type of policy.

 

Hank

 

Not really. It is more akin to an "all-inclusive" type of resort and not a hotel. On a ship, you are a captive audience. At a hotel, you are not. There are plenty of cruise lines that allow unlimited wine consumption in your cabin or elsewhere. But try to find one of those at the prices Princess charges. You seem to want Crystal (or Disney) wine policy at Princess prices. It can't be done.