corkage issue

[LabGuy64]

I was reading the alcohol policy and it said that other than the two bottles of wine allowed for room consumption any others ar subject to 15.00 corkage fee no matter where the intended consumption.

So..we can bring additional bottles on..(for a fee)..can we use them for dinner service? And if so...do we just bring them ourselves when we go to Dinner? Sorry, I have not done this before and wanted to know how it works

[LARGIN]

Yes to all of your questions. If you do not finish the bottle your waiter can take it and deliver to your table the next night.

[IECalCruiser]

I was reading the alcohol policy and it said that other than the two bottles of wine allowed for room consumption any others ar subject to 15.00 corkage fee no matter where the intended consumption.

So..we can bring additional bottles on..(for a fee)..can we use them for dinner service? And if so...do we just bring them ourselves when we go to Dinner? Sorry, I have not done this before and wanted to know how it works

Depending upon the ship/embarkation port, the bottles that have had corkage paid will be stamped or you will be given stickers to place on the bottles. When you take those bottles to the DR or other venue, staff will know that corkage has been paid. The bottles will be opened and there will be no additional fee.

 

As LARGIN posted, it you don't finish a bottle one night it will be stored for you if you wish. You don't need to got to the same DR the next evening as the staff in any dining venue can retrieve your bottle.

Edited March 29, 2015 by IECalCruiser

[cb at sea]

I can't imagine paying $15 corkage on ANY wine!

[timetravler]

I can't imagine paying $15 corkage on ANY wine!

If a good bottle of wine costs $50 to $100, then a $15 corkage fee is nothing. But if the wine you buy costs less then $20 a bottle, then yes $15 corkage fee is a lot. It's all about perspective.

Edited March 30, 2015 by timetravler

[elliair]

I can't imagine paying $15 corkage on ANY wine!

 

I agree with you! We know people who brought a case of wine on board, paid the corkage fee and when they delivered the wine to their cabin, 2 bottles were missing. They were down at customer service everyday asking where the bottles were and to refund them their corkage fee. We've never paid a corkage fee and won't ever. We bring wine back on board when in ports and nothing has been said to us. Once we were told to go to the alcohol table, but we picked up our stuff after scanning and walked right past the table.

[elliair]

If a good bottle of wine costs $50 to $100, then a $15 corkage fee is nothing. But if the wine you buy costs less then $20 a bottle, then yes $15 corkage fee is a lot. It's all about perspective.

 

That's true. A bottle of Noblio on board Princess is IIRC $27.00. The same wine is on sale at Costco for $4.99 a bottle after the rebate. I plan to bring at least 4 bottles on board, if they confiscate 2 of them, they'll deliver them to our room before debarkation. Isn't worth it to us to pay the $15, and we won't, nor will be buy any wine on board.

[LabGuy64]

Why not?....assuming a halfway decent glass would cost $9.00 4 glasses would be 36.00....you could bring a 15.00 bottle + corkage = 30.00.....plus the wine form a 15.00 bottle woulf be better than what you spent 9.00/glass on.....and if you like better wines you save more as a 30.00 bottle of wine will probably cost you 90.00 on the ship but with corkage ..45.00...that's if they have the wine you want

 

 

I can't imagine paying $15 corkage on ANY wine!

[LabGuy64]

I bet they won't hold them for you...just dispose of them.

 

 

That's true. A bottle of Noblio on board Princess is IIRC $27.00. The same wine is on sale at Costco for $4.99 a bottle after the rebate. I plan to bring at least 4 bottles on board, if they confiscate 2 of them, they'll deliver them to our room before debarkation. Isn't worth it to us to pay the $15, and we won't, nor will be buy any wine on board.

[snrlnd]

Once we were told to go to the alcohol table, but we picked up our stuff after scanning and walked right past the table.

 

Cheater :D

[LabGuy64]

good for you.......lol ;)

 

Cheater :D

[Av8tor]

That's true. A bottle of Noblio on board Princess is IIRC $27.00. The same wine is on sale at Costco for $4.99 a bottle after the rebate. I plan to bring at least 4 bottles on board, if they confiscate 2 of them, they'll deliver them to our room before debarkation. Isn't worth it to us to pay the $15, and we won't, nor will be buy any wine on board.

 

Who says they'll return the two bottles to you later? You'd be violating their stated alcohol policy and they'd be under no obligation to store them for the duration of the cruise and then return them...

 

FWIW

[gerryl12]

We buy low cost wine from Walmart (I like it) and if you add on the 15 dollars a bottle it is still a lot cheaper than the overpriced wine from the ship.

[IECalCruiser]

Who says they'll return the two bottles to you later? You'd be violating their stated alcohol policy and they'd be under no obligation to store them for the duration of the cruise and then return them...

 

 

 

FWIW

I agree with you. The Passage Contract states that at embarkation, alcohol outside of policy will be destroyed, not retained. According to the Passage Contract, only alcohol brought on at ports will be retained until the end of the cruise. If wine in excess of the one bottle per person of drinking age is identified, assume that your choices are pay the corkage or lose it.

[Thrak]

We often buy wine from the local monestary - Abbey of New Clairvaux - for around $20 per bottle. Adding the $15 corkage fee gives us a $35 bottle of wine that we'd have to pay maybe $60 - $80 per bottle for if it was available onboard. Possibly it would be more than that.

 

We actually tend to prefer our wine in our cabin rather than at dinner and Princess doesn't seem to mind if you bring wine onboard at a port stop. It seems to be only at embarkation that they are picky about bringing wine aboard.

[msmoger]

We buy low cost wine from Walmart (I like it) and if you add on the 15 dollars a bottle it is still a lot cheaper than the overpriced wine from the ship.

 

If you're comparing Princess wine prices to land based liquor store wine prices I can understand your sticker shock.

 

However, as someone that is accustom to purchasing wine in land based restaurants I don't think it's accurate to say their prices are out of line. In fact, I feel they on average are priced a bit lower than most restaurants.

 

Whether or not the Princess wine selection meets your particular needs is a personal decision. That's why it's great that they give you the option to bring it on board. The corkage is a fair compromise and less than other cruise lines I've been told. They are there to turn a profit after all. :)

[sherryf]

I can't imagine paying $15 corkage on ANY wine!

 

I can't imagine paying Princess prices on wine that I don't like! I'd much rather pay corkage on wine I like, and it's still cheaper than Princess prices.

[elliair]

I bet they won't hold them for you...just dispose of them.

 

Nope, you get them back at the end of the cruise. Edited to add:

 

Do the wine tour in Ensenada. The LA Cetto winery gives each person a free bottle of wine. Princess was not stopping anyone from bringing their wine to their cabin. I purchased 2 additional bottles at the winery as well.

Edited March 30, 2015 by elliair

[TomCruises]

I can't imagine paying $15 corkage on ANY wine!

 

It sucks! You purchase your 2 bottles average $20.each prior to embarkation and then you have to pay $15.00 to drink it in the MDR, or N/C in stateroom. Think I'll bring a couple BB wines in luggage for $20. each and take my chances then off to the MDR with a large wine glass full of wine. Oh how I love Kettle One out of a Dasani water bottle!

Best thing to do is enjoy a non alcoholic/wine/beer vacation and invest all the money into activities and fun things to do during holiday!

[pris993]

I can't imagine paying $15 corkage on ANY wine!

 

For those of us, who like wine, which I am among them, I much prefer paying a $15 corking fee on a wine I like and know, to purchasing a cheap on board, for 3 times price, that is not worth drinking.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Nope, you get them back at the end of the cruise. Edited to add:

 

Do the wine tour in Ensenada. The LA Cetto winery gives each person a free bottle of wine. Princess was not stopping anyone from bringing their wine to their cabin. I purchased 2 additional bottles at the winery as well.

 

That was the same for us. We walked back on the ship with 2-3 bottles each (there were 4 of us). We weren't stopped, carried them out in the open and walked right past security. I think it was due to the fact that it was the last night of the cruise. Was it your last night of the cruise too?

[MicCanberra]

If a good bottle of wine costs $50 to $100, then a $15 corkage fee is nothing. But if the wine you buy costs less then $20 a bottle, then yes $15 corkage fee is a lot. It's all about perspective.

 

Agreed, if your favourite wine sells for around $20 in your local, then chances are it will cost $45-60 on the ship. If your wine is more like $40-60 then the ship may charge more like $100, so perspective is needed to see if the $15 corkage is worth the hassle of bringing your favourite wine.:D

[elliair]

That was the same for us. We walked back on the ship with 2-3 bottles each (there were 4 of us). We weren't stopped, carried them out in the open and walked right past security. I think it was due to the fact that it was the last night of the cruise. Was it your last night of the cruise too?

 

No, we were headed to San Francisco, a couple of more nights. So far, we haven't found Princess to be so stinky about wine coming on board like we have with Carnival. Even in Hawaii, we brought wine on board with no problem. We do buy our fair share of wine on board.

[IECalCruiser]

Depending upon the port, Princess is typically more liberal regarding the wine policy than at Embarkation. Of course, if you bring any of those bottles to the DR you will be charged corkage.

[LabGuy64]

Bringing a wine you really enjoy rather than take chances on one onboard has a value too...so buying a 20.00 bottle (plus 15.00 corkage) that would cost a min of 45.00 still saves you 10.00/bottle and you gain the benefit of having wine you enjoy.

Which is worth more than the 10.00 savings itself

 

Agreed, if your favourite wine sells for around $20 in your local, then chances are it will cost $45-60 on the ship. If your wine is more like $40-60 then the ship may charge more like $100, so perspective is needed to see if the $15 corkage is worth the hassle of bringing your favourite wine.:D

Edited March 31, 2015 by LabGuy64