Can we bring our own wine onboard?

[KathiB]

We live in the Napa Valley and enjoy good wine. We love a fine wine with dinner and have a pretty good wine cellar. We will be sailing on the Westerdam to Alaska in June and will be driving from CA to the Seattle port. We would love to pack a few bottles of fine wine to have for some of our dinners. Will we be allowed to bring our wine on board and have it served to us at dinner? When we went on a Med. cruise on RCCL we would buy wine while in each port and our waiter was happy to open our wine each evening. It really added to the dinners and was a great conversation topic.

 

If not, would you suggest we buy into the wine packages? I guess I should be aware of what wines are available in each package. We don't drink hard liquor so perhaps one of the beverage packages or cards would be good for wine and soft drinks/cofffee? Our first HAL cruise and have not purchased any kind of card or package in the past. Thank you for any advice

[mllewis48]

Yes you can, however, the first one 750ml bottle pp is exempt from the $18 corkage fee, all above that is subject to that fee regardless where you consume it onboard.

 

 

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Edited February 26, 2016 by mllewis48

[KathiB]

Thank you. I figured there would be a corkage fee. We are quite used to that here in the Napa Valley. It is very normal to bring your own wine to restaurants here. Some of our local restaurants waive the fee for locals but normally we see a $15 - $25 corkage. As long as the wine we are bringing is worth $30 - $100 I guess it is a good way to go!

 

Would it make sense to get some kind of beverage card for coffee and other drinks? Thanks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

If you take your more than you are allowed, as you go through security, they will count the numbers of bottles you have. Anything over one 750 ml bottle will get a sticker on it indicating that you have paid the $18 corkage fee -- which is charged to your shipboard account. That way you can take those stickered bottles anywhere on the ship. Assuming that you are referring to the 2 of you, if you take those "non stickered" bottles to the dining room or anywhere else on the ship other than your stateroom, then you will be charged the corkage fee.

All wine must be carried onto the ship by you -- nothing is to be packed in your checked suitcases.

I do not recommend buying a wine package until you are on the ship as there are times when some wines are not available. And sometimes they change the wines.

Buying a Beverage Card doesn't give you any discount on anything. All it does is make easier to check your bill at the end of the cruise as you will have fewer receipts.

[mllewis48]

Thank you. I figured there would be a corkage fee. We are quite used to that here in the Napa Valley. It is very normal to bring your own wine to restaurants here. Some of our local restaurants waive the fee for locals but normally we see a $15 - $25 corkage. As long as the wine we are bringing is worth $30 - $100 I guess it is a good way to go!

 

 

 

Would it make sense to get some kind of beverage card for coffee and other drinks? Thanks.

 

 

Hal does have beverage cards but at no reduced rate. They have $50 to $250 which are good for drinks, etc. the only advantage is on the final bill there is one charge. They also have soda cards, $25 which is good for I believe $50 worth of soda by the glass.

 

 

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[KathiB]

Thanks to you all for the great information. We will be traveling with our two daughters aged 25 & 29. They don't drink much wine, liquor, or sodas, but do drink lots of water, coffee drinks, and teas. What would be best for them...just a regular beverage card? Is the signature package good for the whole cruise? That might be best for them. In addition to wine at dinner all I need is a couple cups of coffee with breakfast. Thanks!

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Signature Beverage must be bought either before the cruise or on embarkation day or the next day and is good for the entire cruise.

It is not cheap and all passengers over the age of 21 staying in the same cabin must buy the package.

It is about $55 per day including the 15% gratuity. We had the cards via an Explore4 package and there was no way we could drink $55 worth of alcoholic drinks each a day.

Coffee is free at breakfast unless you want a cappuccino. Water is free unless you want bottled water. Wines included in the Signature Beverage are usually the house wine as the card only covers drinks costing $8 and under.

JMO -- but we do not feel the Signature Beverage Package is worth it for us. Others can consume a lot of alcohol and it is worth it to them.

[ithaca gal]

If your daughters are not going to drink many alcoholic drinks, the Signature Beverage Card is definitely not a good buy. The $50 Soda Card that can be purchased for $25 online is a good deal, obviously. As for specialty coffees, it would be best to just "pay as you go".

[KathiB]

Thank you all for your advice. Since will bring our own wine onboard for dinner, I think we will just pay as we go for all other beverages. So happy to have CC to get great advice from those more experienced.

[Boytjie]

Thanks to you all for the great information. We will be traveling with our two daughters aged 25 & 29. They don't drink much wine, liquor, or sodas, but do drink lots of water, coffee drinks, and teas. What would be best for them...just a regular beverage card? Is the signature package good for the whole cruise? That might be best for them. In addition to wine at dinner all I need is a couple cups of coffee with breakfast. Thanks!

 

You can bring as much bottled water as you wish onboard. I find the ship's water to be fine to drink; I am not a big bottled water person at home either.