Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

First cruise that we'll be bringing two bottles of wine..question

Disneycruisers

By Disneycruisers,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

 Share

Recommended Posts

Organized Chaos

Organized Chaos

Posted
Posted
Are most bottle of wines in the US now screw tops?

People say bring a corkscrew!

I wouldn't say "most." My wife usually buys what most would probably consider cheap wine, like the kind you get in a supermarket or Walmart. Even many of those are corked. And a lot of small wineries we've been to still cork their own brands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PlanoDebbie

PlanoDebbie

Posted
Posted
Is the corkage fee charged when it's brought to the dining room, or is it upon check-in?

 

Bring your own cork screw in your luggage. Your cabin will have some glasses in it. You can always ask your room steward for different sizes, or just stop at a bar and ask for two wine glasses. You can pour your own glasses of wine and just take them to the dining room. No charge to do that. The only time you'll have a corkage fee, is if you bring an unopened bottle to the dining room and ask them to open and serve it to you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
auntieshoes

auntieshoes

Posted
Posted

We didn't bring a corkscrew last week so I called our cabin steward and asked for one. He brought a 2 piece plastic one right away, and said we could keep it.

 

Then I looked at the bottle I was planning to open and saw it was a screw top!

 

But we kept the free corkscrew and used it later, and then brought it home.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
drakes2

drakes2

Posted
Posted
We didn't bring a corkscrew last week so I called our cabin steward and asked for one. He brought a 2 piece plastic one right away, and said we could keep it.

 

Then I looked at the bottle I was planning to open and saw it was a screw top!

 

But we kept the free corkscrew and used it later, and then brought it home.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Oh that's funny.

 

Sent from my SM-P550 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bUU

bUU

Posted
Posted
Isn't that for providing the glasses & cleaning them?

Regardless of what it's called and how it works on shore, I think we can safely assume that the corkage fee aboard the ship is a fee in recognition of your opting out of purchasing alcohol from the ship, and in the context of the fact that alcohol sales is a major contributor to ship profitability. In a nutshell, their house, their rules. Onshore, we wouldn't think twice about bringing a bottle of rum and some mixers into a hotel to consume in our room. Obviously that's not permitted on most cruise ships, these days. Their house, their rules.

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
coevan

coevan

Posted
Posted
I bought a cheap $5 bottle of wine just before my Alaskan cruise. Got on the ship and that dumb bottle had a cork.

 

 

it's pretty obvious, the screw top screws off and the corked bottles are wrapped foil. It's called a corkage fees not a wash and dry fee, never been charged or questioned

Link to comment
Share on other sites
The4Cruisers

The4Cruisers

Posted
Posted

Here is the policy from the CCL website:

 

A $15 USD corkage fee, per 750 ml bottle, will be charged should guests wish to consume their wine or champagne in the main dining room, steakhouse or bar. A corkage fee is a charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle served that was not bought on the premises.

 

The way I understand it is that if you bring your own bottle of wine to the MDR, they will (may) charge you the $15 fee.

 

We've had varying results. We usually have drink a bottle of wine over dinner on 5 nights of each cruise. When we bring a bottle to the MDR and open it ourselves, we typically haven't been charged.

 

However, on our last cruise on Magic, they decided to charge us on the 3rd or 4th night. I went right to the Guest Svc's desk and contested it. The charge was removed.

 

Another way we've gone is this... We've stopped at a bar on the way to the MDR and got two wine glasses, poured a glass for each of us, and then carried the remainder of the bottle into the MDR. We didn't get charged.

 

Back in the day, if you brought a bottle of wine to the MDR, the wait team would bring out a bucket of ice to chill it, and they'd open/serve the wine to you. They'd also store the unfinished bottle of wine and have it ready at your table the next evening. I would have no problem paying a corkage fee for that service provided.

 

I find it ridiculous to charge $15 just for bringing your own bottle and their not having to do anything related to opening, serving, etc. YMMV

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Elaine5715

Elaine5715

Posted
Posted
Here is the policy from the CCL website:

 

A $15 USD corkage fee, per 750 ml bottle, will be charged should guests wish to consume their wine or champagne in the main dining room, steakhouse or bar. A corkage fee is a charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle served that was not bought on the premises.

 

The way I understand it is that if you bring your own bottle of wine to the MDR, they will (may) charge you the $15 fee.

 

We've had varying results. We usually have drink a bottle of wine over dinner on 5 nights of each cruise. When we bring a bottle to the MDR and open it ourselves, we typically haven't been charged.

 

However, on our last cruise on Magic, they decided to charge us on the 3rd or 4th night. I went right to the Guest Svc's desk and contested it. The charge was removed.

 

Another way we've gone is this... We've stopped at a bar on the way to the MDR and got two wine glasses, poured a glass for each of us, and then carried the remainder of the bottle into the MDR. We didn't get charged.

 

Back in the day, if you brought a bottle of wine to the MDR, the wait team would bring out a bucket of ice to chill it, and they'd open/serve the wine to you. They'd also store the unfinished bottle of wine and have it ready at your table the next evening. I would have no problem paying a corkage fee for that service provided.

 

I find it ridiculous to charge $15 just for bringing your own bottle and their not having to do anything related to opening, serving, etc. YMMV

On some cruise lines, it's $25.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...