Bringing liquor on board

[cajun_corgi]

We are sailing on Riveria in a few weeks and want to know what is Oceanias policy about bringing liquor and or wine on board when embarking.

Does anyone have experience with this?

[hypercafe]

I have not done it but from what I can tell you can bring all you want.

Edited February 1, 2014 by hypercafe

[Mura]

Plenty of us have done it with no problems. Just do a search and you will see many posts on this subject. It is a very common question posed by people who haven't sailed with Oceania before.

 

Technically I believe there is a limit of 3 bottles of wine -- except that others have stated that they've brought on cases of wine and beer (not a lot of cases!) without a problem.

 

Just be careful not to bring your private stock into common areas. There is a corkage fee if you want to bring your own wine to dinner.

 

Mura

[tvmovielover]

Especially if the packages offered do not suit-for us, for example, the less expensive package was not enough at the time we want a drink (ie not at lunch but before dinner is nice) and the premium package was too much. We brought 3 bottles of wine and a bottle of gin. We enjoyed a drink before dinner on our balcony (really nice in good weather) and paid the corkage fee for our dinner wine. They were very nice about serving our own wine (I did not bring any fancy wine-it was my everyday stuff) and the unfinished bottles were quickly located and served again the next night. We had as much to drink as we wanted for only $75 extra. I did get a glass of wine to drink with friends on the last night-with service it was $12 so if the amount of drink you want is not great, bringing your own really is a good alternative but as said not for public areas unless you pay corkage. Some of the people we played trivia with had the premium package and enjoyed it to the last drop so it is all good.

[hondorner]

The general response is, they have rules, but they are not enforced unless a guest grts obnoxious. Oceania treats guests like responsible adults unless proven otherwise. No one will disapprove if you bring beer, wine or spirits on board at any port. You do not have to smuggle it. We have done so many times over 13 cruises.

[ronrick1943]

We've done it in the pass without a problem. However with the drink package's it's just not worth the hassle to us. But if you want to make it easy bring along one of those grocery store 6 pak carriers--it make it easy to carry when your in port to buy what you want and bring back to the ship.

Rick

[newbie60]

We bring a case onboard from our own cellar. It is in a clearly marked "winecheck" TSA approved carrier. Put a luggage tag on it and it shows up along with all the other luggage. No problem. We take it to the specialty restaurants and pay the corkage happily. And, we always share a taste with our Sommelier who then is more than happy to see us again!

[Cruiser Jane]

No problem bringing wine on board. We do it all the time, but no more than 3 bottles each. That's about all we can drink in our cabin. When you can buy a bottle of good wine in the dining rooms for about $40, I don't see the point in bringing cheap wine on and paying $30 corkage fee per bottle.

 

Wine packages: There are 2 different types of packages. One is a fee you pay ahead of time for each day and you get wine poured with dinner. You don't get a whole bottle. When you finish your glass, the waiter brings another or fills it up for you. I don't care for this package.

 

The other package is when you purchase 3 or 6 bottles of wine when you board the ship, at a discounted price. I think you can continue to do this throughout the cruise. Someone said you get 30% discount buying it ahead of time like this. I don't remember that. I remember 10 or 15%. Also, they have wine bizarres on board usually every cruise where they take the few bottles they have left of one type of wine and sell them at a discounted price. Still I don't remember it resulting in 30% off the bottle.

 

Can anyone back me up on this? We've never bought the daily packages and am only reciting from what others who have told me. We always attend the wine sales and buy a few bottles and they hold them for your dinner or you can take them back to your stateroom. If you do this, they know their wine and you don't pay a corkage fee if you simply bring it to the dining room.

[Mura]

Buying on board gets the 30% discount with three or more bottles. Not with just one or two.

 

Mura

[jertom]

On our first Oceania cruise, we bought a wine package of 3 bottles on the first day. They advertised if you buy 3 bottles you get 30% off the single bottle price.

On one later day in the cruise, most of the same bottles were offered as single bottles for the same 30% off price.

These special wines are usually not on the wine lists, so who knows what the "single bottle price" means? Makes it hard to see if you are getting a good deal or not.

[pinotlover]

My wife and I normally take the upgrade beverage option. It's convienent and the wine selection is OK. Individual prices appear to be 3x-4x retail prices, so getting a 30% deal isn't really a deal. We do occasionally bring a really great bottle in, perhaps for Jaques or one of the other specialty restaurants and pay the corkage.

[newbie60]

When you can buy a bottle of good wine in the dining rooms for about $40, I don't see the point in bringing cheap wine on and paying $30 corkage fee per bottle.

 

 

Of course we wouldn't pay a corkage for a 'cheap' bottle, but then we wouldn't bring cheap wine all the way from our home cellar. Instead, these are bottles that would sell for $150+ on Oceania's wine list (if they had them at all, which they don't). $25 corkage is a steal since if you purchase a bottle from their list at $80, the 18% gratuity would be $14.40 so now the wine costs $95/bottle. We can often use our OBC for all the corkages so it's a win-win for us.

 

Yes, you can purchase wine onboard in a 'package' usually offered the day of sailing or perhaps the next day. If you buy 3 or more, it is indeed a 30% discount. If you attempt to purchase these same wines later in the cruise, there is no guarantee there will be any left. These are usually wines that are in short supply and no longer on their wine list.

 

And they do have wine bazaars later in the cruise, but usually on a longer cruise with lots of sea days. The discount can vary greatly at these bazaars but you can often get a really good deal.

[pinotlover]

For $40 on board, you looking at a typically $10-$12 retail priced bottle of wine. Thirty percent (30%) off a $40 bottle of wine leaves one with a $28 price tag, plus plus. So is paying $28 for a $12 bottle of wine a big savings? Most of these lower priced wines seem to be selected because they are easy to drink, unabusive, and can compliment the food. None will rock your boat but they are easily quaffable. They would all mostly be Wine Spectator 85-88 point wines.

 

If the only drinking one primarily does is during meals, then probably doing the three bottle deal is very reasonable. We meet couples on the 10+ cuises that had trouble finishing off the three bottles during the cruise. We just found the upgraded package to give us plenty of options to do as we pleased, when we pleased, especially during the days at sea.

[orchestrapal]

Most people drink what they like and are not wine snobs nor wine experts.

If the price is within our budget and we enjoy the wine we don't worry how much the cruise line nor any restaurant we eat in make on the bottle. The 30% off on some bottles from former lists is a bonus and we do take advantage of it.

Edited February 3, 2014 by orchestrapal

[tvmovielover]

In the end, as I wrote above, for our Papeete to Papeete cruise, I took my own wine, my everyday favorites, not the best of the best. It was right for our drinking on this particular cruise. On our next cruise, however, we have fellow travelers and will want to share wine at dinner. If we get the 3 bottle deal, can we share the wine? When we brought our own wine to a share table the first time, they asked if we wanted to share it so if it is not a regular or premium package deal, I assume it is okay.

Also on this cruise, I did not see anything about 3 bottle wine deals anywhere. Where would you look or do you ask at dinner?

Lastly, even though we did not have anything special, the sommelier in Toscana made it a point to taste our wine, comment on it (in a positive way), suggest the best main course for it, and say where else to drink it (in this case Polo). I appreciated a positive response to whatever the wine and felt it made the corkage fee worthwhile.

[orchestrapal]

The wine deals are usually the first or second day after boarding and at a wine bazaar on a sea day on some of the longer cruises. You can ask the head sommelier when you board.

[LHT28]

There was a list on our bed on day 1 with the wine deal for buying bottles at a discounted rate

 

A lot of people do not read all the papers left for you on the bed or desk ;)

[tvmovielover]

Thanks. I will look harder through that pile of papers in July!

[CAG]

The wine bottle special is usually set up outside the Terrace restaurant on embarkation day.

Cenia

[LHT28]

The wine bottle special is usually set up outside the Terrace restaurant on embarkation day.

Cenia

 

Yes... forgot it was there also

[tvmovielover]

Thanks again. That may be one of the reasons I did not see it. We arrived at 9 pm on embarkation day pretty tired from the long ride from the East Coast to Papeete. I expect to have better luck in the summer.

[Emperor Norton]

The general response is, they have rules, but they are not enforced unless a guest grts obnoxious. Oceania treats guests like responsible adults unless proven otherwise. No one will disapprove if you bring beer, wine or spirits on board at any port. You do not have to smuggle it. We have done so many times over 13 cruises.

 

On my cruises staff were constantly reminding passengers that any hard liquor brought on board was to be consumed in your room only. This was brought about by wee woman and her 1.75 of Bacardi on the pool deck causing some trouble.

[Mura]

Should that be a surprise? The "rules" clearly state that liquor brought on board is for in-cabin consumption.

 

People who bring their wine or hard stuff into public areas can cause Oceania to toughen up their rules and cause problems for the rest of us.

 

Bringing a mag of any liquor to the pool is just asking for trouble.

 

Mura

[ronrick1943]

No, people who bring wine/liquor anyplace other than their cabin just don't have any class and most likely a little cheap.

[LHT28]

Should that be a surprise? The "rules" clearly state that liquor brought on board is for in-cabin consumption.

Mura

 

There are always those people who do not think the rules or guidelines apply to them ;)

 

We had a man on our cruise who was constantly on his cell phone even in the dining venues

It was printed in the CURRENTS several days that cell phone should not be used in the dining venues

But day after day there he was