Carrying Wine on board

[Jagggg]

Princess allows each passenger to bring 1 bottle of wine on board without a corkage fee. My question: What do people carry the wine bottle in so the bottle does not get broken? I don't own a wine tote and if I buy a wine tote plus the wine before boarding, seems like it would be cheaper to just buy the wine on board.

[paul929207]

We put it in our carry on bag and protect it with the stuff in the bag(s)

[LARGIN]

I use Wine Diapers..

 

http://www.amazon.com/Diaper-Reusable-Absorbent-Eco-Friendly-Accessory/dp/B00308FONW

[geoherb]

Place it in your carry-on bag, backpack, large purse, or just carry it in a sturdy shopping bag. Whatever it's in goes through the security X-ray machine. Then they'll see it and direct you to a table. In our experience, if you only have one bottle per adult, they write down your cabin number and let you go on your way. If you have more bottles, they write down the number of bottles and stamp the ones you want to pay the corkage fee on--the ones you may want to take to the dining room. When your waiters see the stamp on the bottle, they know not to charge you the corkage fee again.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Princess allows each passenger to bring 1 bottle of wine on board without a corkage fee. My question: What do people carry the wine bottle in so the bottle does not get broken? I don't own a wine tote and if I buy a wine tote plus the wine before boarding, seems like it would be cheaper to just buy the wine on board.

 

There's no such thing a wine being cheaper on board. ;)

[sherryf]

I always take 6 bottles and pay the corkage if necessary. I used to use a 6-bottle tote from Trader Joe's. You could get one like this and bring it empty in your luggage, then buy wine in port and carry it on with you. Or just buy your wine and tote from Trader Joe's if your port has one. They have great wine, and the tote is $0.99.

 

 

The problem is that it gets heavy if you have to stand in line for a long time. This year I got a wheeled tote. I live near port, so I don't have to fly with it, just bring it from home. It's also great for bringing home any breakable souvenirs, like mugs or glasses.

[Jagggg]

Thanks for all the great ideas. Keep them coming. Wine Diaper, too funny.

[IrishLassie]

I put our 2 bottles in my beach bag & wrap them in my own beach towels that I always take, and we carry it on with no problems. :)

[DannyMac]

We usually take a case of wine, just put it in a cardboard wine shipper, tie it up and label it, send it in with the luggage. No problems.

[Working 2 Cruise]

We usually take a case of wine, just put it in a cardboard wine shipper, tie it up and label it, send it in with the luggage. No problems.

 

I don't think you'd get away with that anymore and recommending this is beyond reckless. I assume you haven't sailed with Princess in a while? Otherwise, you'd know that your wine would either be disregarded or all bottles charged to your account.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Working 2 Cruise

[grandmaa]

I wrap each wine bottle in bubble wrap and put in our carry on luggage. I then save the bubble wrap for anything that we purchase in ports that are fragile or breakable to take home.

[JimmyVWine]

http://www.winecruzer.com

Ballistic case. Goes in the belly of the plane. Very well insulated. Bottles that go in at 55 degrees are still under 70 degrees after picking them up in baggage claim even when flying to Florida. Some versions have handles and wheels. If you do even a moderate amount of traveling with wine, these are worth the investment.

[DannyMac]

I don't think you'd get away with that anymore and recommending this is beyond reckless. I assume you haven't sailed with Princess in a while? Otherwise, you'd know that your wine would either be disregarded or all bottles charged to your account.

 

Have 6 cruise with Princess, last one was April 2014. Sent in a wine shipper with luggage, no problem. Don't mind paying the corkage fee, most of the time our waiter does not charge the fee so he gets it as an extra tip.

 

No problem at the Houston cruise terminal or the Galveston terminal.

Edited October 30, 2014 by DannyMac

[shredie]

I wrap each wine bottle in bubble wrap and put in our carry on luggage. I then save the bubble wrap for anything that we purchase in ports that are fragile or breakable to take home.

 

Excellent idea.

[satxdiver]

Have 6 cruise with Princess, last one was April 2014. Sent in a wine shipper with luggage, no problem. Don't mind paying the corkage fee, most of the time our waiter does not charge the fee so he gets it as an extra tip.

 

No problem at the Houston cruise terminal or the Galveston terminal.

 

Last March we carried our wine aboard at Bayport and were charged for the extra bottles. I will have to try checking in the wine next March.

 

We have a 3 bottle and 6 bottle padded pouches with shoulder straps to carry our wine aboard. The advantage to this is that they can be folded flat and put in our suitcases when leaving the ship. We always do the self assist walkoff these days. The wine carriers pointed out below look interesting for shipping wine aboard the aircraft however and would work as well on the ship. The only drawback is when leaving the ship with an empty carrier.

[PtownGirlz-NH]

Does anyone know if a bottle of champagne would count as a bottle of wine? All We want is one bottle for sail away. Can we bring it with us instead of a bottle of wine?

[vickie_bernie]

We usually take a case of wine, just put it in a cardboard wine shipper, tie it up and label it, send it in with the luggage. No problems.

 

We have done this twice in the past year, first time they held the box and we went to claim and paid the corkage fee. Second time they just delivered it to the cabin with nothing. But since we bring bottles of wine to dinner most dinners we paid the corkage there. Ironically on that second sailing friends did the same and they tagged their box and they had to go down to claim.

 

So seems to be no rhyme or reason even on the same voyage.

 

i think the key thing for me is we like to bring our own wine/champagne and we are just happy they allow us to do this. We don't mind paying the corkage. And drinking lots of wine.

 

Vickie

[Wehwalt]

On my last trip out of FLL, I had one bottle of wine in my backpack, one bottle (clothes are adequate protection) in my checked baggage, and two half-liter boxes in the pockets of my backpack. I had to sign in the one bottle in my backpack. No questions were asked about the other wine, and that is Princess's privilege.

 

I don't drink pricey wine. I go to the supermarkets or Total Wine near the port and buy a bottle with a screw top. I don't want to have to deal with corkscrews either. I am not much of a drinker (too much interferes with my prescription, but a glass or two of wine is fine). Being Elite and having the wine tasting each cruise has made me a little more aware of wine ... but not enough to pay Princess prices.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Does anyone know if a bottle of champagne would count as a bottle of wine? All We want is one bottle for sail away. Can we bring it with us instead of a bottle of wine?

 

No problem as far as being considered you free bottle...as long as it's 750ml.

 

On my last trip out of FLL, I had one bottle of wine in my backpack, one bottle (clothes are adequate protection) in my checked baggage, and two half-liter boxes in the pockets of my backpack. I had to sign in the one bottle in my backpack. No questions were asked about the other wine, and that is Princess's privilege.

 

I don't drink pricey wine. I go to the supermarkets or Total Wine near the port and buy a bottle with a screw top. I don't want to have to deal with corkscrews either. I am not much of a drinker (too much interferes with my prescription, but a glass or two of wine is fine). Being Elite and having the wine tasting each cruise has made me a little more aware of wine ... but not enough to pay Princess prices.

 

Same here. I would never consider paying the prices that they ask either. If we bring wine at all it's just an inexpensive selection that Princess wouldn't consider stocking. ;)

[dr__dawggy]

No problem as far as being considered you free bottle...as long as it's 750ml.

 

 

 

Same here. I would never consider paying the prices that they ask either. If we bring wine at all it's just an inexpensive selection that Princess wouldn't consider stocking. [/FONT];)

 

And if they did, it would not be inexpensive. :rolleyes:

[timetravler]

Before the new Princess policy we would pack our wine in bubble wrap and put it in our checked luggage. Many bottles have arrived in perfect condition on cruise ships this way. But now that you must have your wine in a carry-on bag, we still wrap each bottle in bubble wrap with no problem. I don't mind paying for corkage either as most restaurants do the same thing. Also we only bring wine that we can not get onboard, the uncommon kind. It does help that we live in the Napa Valley too.

[PunkiC]

DH just ties up a case with rope, which also serves as a handle, puts a label on the case and checks it. We also add a note to the top of the case that says, "Please do not cut or discard this rope".

 

The wine has always arrived in our cabin undamaged. We have done this three times since the new rules went into effect. Twice the case was opened, and we were charged corkage on ten of the bottles, which they stamped, and the rope was nicely curled inside the case. Once they just delivered the case unopened so we paid the corkage fee when we took it to the dining room instead of upfront.

 

It's six of one and half a dozen of the other.

 

I don't know where people get the idea that wine has to go in your carry-on luggage. We have never found that to be the case, although, in addition to our case that we check, we also do put a couple of bottles in our carry-ons, in the event our case isn't delivered before dinner. We have never had that happen, but it could. :D

Edited November 1, 2014 by PunkiC

[Trekker954]

wow, I've never sailed princess before (will be on Thursday), but I would think this would slow down the embarkation process big time. To actually stop every person carrying wine to stamp it or note how many you have. Its almost punishing those that are just carrying their allotted one bottle each.

 

So its better to carry none, so you don't have to stop in another line. Is this really happening in Fort Lauderdale. We've sailed on quite a few other lines and have never had this process before out of Port Everglades.

[JimmyVWine]

So its better to carry none, so you don't have to stop in another line.

???

There is no calculus whereby expending 5 extra minutes in the boarding process to pay corkage on the wines I pull from my wine cellar is less beneficial than carrying on no bottles and buying from Princess' corporate, run-of-the-mill list.

[Working 2 Cruise]

wow, I've never sailed princess before (will be on Thursday), but I would think this would slow down the embarkation process big time. To actually stop every person carrying wine to stamp it or note how many you have. Its almost punishing those that are just carrying their allotted one bottle each.

 

So its better to carry none, so you don't have to stop in another line. Is this really happening in Fort Lauderdale. We've sailed on quite a few other lines and have never had this process before out of Port Everglades.

 

This is happening everywhere with every cruise line...