Odd B2B ?? Bringing wine on in Barcelona

[Jldevlin]

We are off to Europe in April on what we consider a back to back. We love to have a glass of wine in our cabin so even tho we have the drink package we will still be bringing on a few bottles on embarkation in Fort Lauderdale. And we are staying on the ship when it gets to Barcelona and cruising for one more week.

When we first booked it we were told it was one cruise .. not a b2b ... if we wanted it to be a b2b we would have to change cabins... now we have done a few of these and that did not make sense to us ... we have never changed cabins for a b2b before. But we really did not care what they called it .... until we thought .... would we be able to buy some nice wines in Barcelona to have in our cabin when we docked there for the first time???

 

We want to buy some to bring home as well but we would like to get 2 bottles at what we consider our finish to our first leg. Not an earth shattering problem by any means lol ... but if we cant drink them in our cabin and have to take them home we want to make sure they are better wines !!!!

 

Thanks ...

[Vict0riann]

We brought a few wines on on our 42-day cruise - when we boarded in FLL we had 6 bottles in an open shopping bag with us. We expected to pay corkage on 4, as only one per person is allowed on free, but no one was checking as we boarded, so they all got on scott free! When we took bottles to the Pinnacle we paid the $18 corkage at that time.

 

We also brought on individual bottles at various ports in the Med. We paid corkage as we boarded with them, and were able to take them to dinner with no additional charge.

 

Enjoy your cruise!:)

[sail7seas]

You are permitted to bring wine aboard in ports but will be charged corkage fee for any brought on after your embarkation day. However, as posted above, there might be times when they are busy doing something and some of those bottles are permitted aboard without corkage paid. Plan on paying it and you'll be fine.

[Vict0riann]

I forgot to say, if you really want to take the wine home, it will be stored for you and returned the night before you disembark. Then I don't think you have to pay the corkage fee. We didn't want to have to fly home with bottles in our suitcases.

[POA1]

Do you have more than one booking number? If so, it's considered two cruises and the corkage free bottle allowance should 'reset'. If you have wine you like, I would just plan on paying the corkage.

[Jldevlin]

Do you have more than one booking number? If so, it's considered two cruises and the corkage free bottle allowance should 'reset'. If you have wine you like, I would just plan on paying the corkage.

 

No it is just the one ... we know we can pay the corkage if we buy in ports .. but to us Barcelona should be the next leg .. not a big deal but we were wondering if anyone else has had this with HAL ... we thought it should reset as well.

[kazu]

No it is just the one ... we know we can pay the corkage if we buy in ports .. but to us Barcelona should be the next leg .. not a big deal but we were wondering if anyone else has had this with HAL ... we thought it should reset as well.

 

One booking number means it is a collectors' cruise (one cruise even though there are different segments), so the wine allowance doesn't 'reset'.

 

We have been on collectors' cruises and you do indeed pay corkage at the "next leg" or you can have the wine stored with no corkage fee required.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Even in Ft Lauderdale people have reported that on their Collector Cruises, when they went shopping for more wine on In Transit day, they were charged the corkage fee when they got back to the ship.

[Mtn2Sea]

In October, we boarded our ship in Athens for a 36 day cruise with our carryons, had lunch, got settled into the cabin, and then returned to the terminal building about an hour before the last boarding time to buy two bottles of wine at the duty free shop. I was expecting to have to explain these were our first two bottles, but no one gave us a second look. In a previous cruise at one of the port stops, the person at the scanner directed us over to the designated security person who dealt with bottles, but in Athens no one seemed to care. I wonder whether this was a fluke?

[kazu]

In October, we boarded our ship in Athens for a 36 day cruise with our carryons, had lunch, got settled into the cabin, and then returned to the terminal building about an hour before the last boarding time to buy two bottles of wine at the duty free shop. I was expecting to have to explain these were our first two bottles, but no one gave us a second look. In a previous cruise at one of the port stops, the person at the scanner directed us over to the designated security person who dealt with bottles, but in Athens no one seemed to care. I wonder whether this was a fluke?

 

pretty much. It can happen but it is very sporadic. On our 30 day cruise in the Med and Black Sea, people were directed to the security person in every port that I saw. The collection of bottles was pretty evident;)

[Jldevlin]

One booking number means it is a collectors' cruise (one cruise even though there are different segments), so the wine allowance doesn't 'reset'.

 

We have been on collectors' cruises and you do indeed pay corkage at the "next leg" or you can have the wine stored with no corkage fee required.

 

Lol .. I have heard the term Collectors cruise many times and had no idea what it meant .. learn something new everyday !!!! Well now I know for sure so we will be a little more picky about what we bring on and have them hold for the trip home .... thanks for all your help everyone ...

[sail7seas]

No it is just the one ... we know we can pay the corkage if we buy in ports .. but to us Barcelona should be the next leg .. not a big deal but we were wondering if anyone else has had this with HAL ... we thought it should reset as well.

 

We have booked b-to-b's and at a later date, HAL turned them into Collector's cruise. They combined the two cruises with two confirmation numbers into one cruise and one number. We got a small discount when they did that. If you booked as a b-to-b and it was converted, you likely got a small saving and that would make up for paying corkage fee you seem to be puzzled about. One cruise permits one corkage free bottle per adult guest.

 

[crystalspin]

@ JLDevlin

 

Before you write off bringing wine on in Barcelona -- BTW I believe we're on your same cruise! -- consider my experience on the Zaandam in November/December. We got to Chile delighted that there was a booth from a local vineyard right there in the Passenger Terminal! So we bought three bottles (one per adult) of very nice wine (a Carmenere, a Malbec, and some white wine my DH picked) for $15 apiece. Even got a souvenir map for buying $45-worth! Like you we enjoyed these bottles before dinner, with only my DH and I drinking wine, my mom's bottle was a benefit to us! (We gave her the map, :D)

 

We never considered taking on more than our one free bottle apiece. Because of this, when those were gone -- we wound up buying a $44 (plus 15% is about $50) bottle of truly forgettable "table wine" chosen because it was the Sommelier's recommendation for our meal choice at dinner! $15 + $18 being of course $33 and a savings of $11/bottle!

 

We will be taking at least six bottles (I have a carrier!) on board at FLL, and probably a bottle per port that we do not dine ashore after making landfall.

 

P.S. Just re-read your first post. If we were to have a "drinks package", that might change the need for wine in the cabin. But we never get one because of having to buy it for all days...

Edited January 30, 2015 by crystalspin

[Jldevlin]

@ JLDevlin

 

Before you write off bringing wine on in Barcelona -- BTW I believe we're on your same cruise! -- consider my experience on the Zaandam in November/December. We got to Chile delighted that there was a booth from a local vineyard right there in the Passenger Terminal! So we bought three bottles (one per adult) of very nice wine (a Carmenere, a Malbec, and some white wine my DH picked) for $15 apiece. Even got a souvenir map for buying $45-worth! Like you we enjoyed these bottles before dinner, with only my DH and I drinking wine, my mom's bottle was a benefit to us! (We gave her the map, :D)

 

We never considered taking on more than our one free bottle apiece. Because of this, when those were gone -- we wound up buying a $44 (plus 15% is about $50) bottle of truly forgettable "table wine" chosen because it was the Sommelier's recommendation for our meal choice at dinner! $15 + $18 being of course $33 and a savings of $11/bottle!

 

We will be taking at least six bottles (I have a carrier!) on board at FLL, and probably a bottle per port that we do not dine ashore after making landfall.

 

P.S. Just re-read your first post. If we were to have a "drinks package", that might change the need for wine in the cabin. But we never get one because of having to buy it for all days...

 

Lol ...we now think the wine we buy will be thought out a little better and come home with us ... and if they let us take it to the room we will drink it and get more at another port ... taking a wild guess that there will be no shortage of wine in Italy and Spain. We have a wine tour booked somewhere ...cant remember at this time of night lol