Wine question

[DallasBiskit]

Will Pinnacle and MDR decant wine that I bring onboard, upon request?

[freestyling]

Yes they will. You will have paid a $17 corkage fee for any 750ml bottles that you consume in public places. You are allowed 1 - 750ml bottle per passenger per stateroom that are over 21 that will be consumed in your stateroom.

[DallasBiskit]

Yes they will. You will have paid a $17 corkage fee for any 750ml bottles that you consume in public places. You are allowed 1 - 750ml bottle per passenger per stateroom that are over 21 that will be consumed in your stateroom.

 

Yes, I'm clear on the corkage fee. I was asking whether the restaurants would decant the wine for me.

[taxmantoo]

Yes, I'm clear on the corkage fee. I was asking whether the restaurants would decant the wine for me.

Are you talking about decanting when you go for dinner or dropping your wine off a few hours early and asking them to decant ahead of time?

 

If you just decant at dinner time, both the MDR and Pinnacle Grill will do it without a problem.

 

We have never tried in the MDR but have dropped off wine at lunch time in the Pinnacle Grill several times with instructions to decant at a certain time before dinner.

[DallasBiskit]

Are you talking about decanting when you go for dinner or dropping your wine off a few hours early and asking them to decant ahead of time?

 

If you just decant at dinner time, both the MDR and Pinnacle Grill will do it without a problem.

 

We have never tried in the MDR but have dropped off wine at lunch time in the Pinnacle Grill with instructions to decant at a certain time before dinner.

 

Yes, I meant to decant ahead of time. That's great, thanks for your response!

[Crew News]

I posed your question to my Zaandam MDR Wine Steward just two hours ago and was assured that the MDR will indeed decant your wine if they are holding it for you and you request the evening before.

[DallasBiskit]

I posed your question to my Zaandam MDR Wine Steward just two hours ago and was assured that the MDR will indeed decant your wine if they are holding it for you and you request the evening before.

 

Wow, that was really nice of you to ask for me--thank you!

[cvpends]

This, and the wine stewards in general, are one of the best aspects of HAL. Happy cruising!

[MtnClimber1101]

Yes they will. You will have paid a $17 corkage fee for any 750ml bottles that you consume in public places. You are allowed 1 - 750ml bottle per passenger per stateroom that are over 21 that will be consumed in your stateroom.

 

I didn't think there was a corkage fee for the first two bottles of wine brought on board. Will I pay a fee if I have the PG hold one of our bottles until we have our dinner there?

[kazu]

I didn't think there was a corkage fee for the first two bottles of wine brought on board. Will I pay a fee if I have the PG hold one of our bottles until we have our dinner there?

 

There is no corkage fee for the first two bottles (one bottle per person) IF you drink it in your room.

 

If you take it to a public place (like the PG) the corkage fee applies.

[DallasBiskit]

One more question:

 

I am bringing a case of wine onboard for an 18-day cruise (yes, I know that each bottle is subject to an $18 corkage fee). My question is, everything I am seeing indicates that all wine needs to be in my carry-on luggage. Is this really the case? I can't slap a luggage tag on the case of wine and have it sent to my cabin along with the rest of the luggage?

 

If that's what it is, fine; I'll just need to plan my carry-on accordingly. Thanks!

[taxmantoo]

One more question:

 

I am bringing a case of wine onboard for an 18-day cruise (yes, I know that each bottle is subject to an $18 corkage fee). My question is, everything I am seeing indicates that all wine needs to be in my carry-on luggage. Is this really the case? I can't slap a luggage tag on the case of wine and have it sent to my cabin along with the rest of the luggage?

 

If that's what it is, fine; I'll just need to plan my carry-on accordingly. Thanks!

You cannot give it to the porters anymore. It has to be brought onboard with your carry-on luggage. Twelve bottles can fit nicely into a regular carry-on bag (assuming it is sturdy enough to handle the weight) ;p

[DallasBiskit]

You cannot give it to the porters anymore. It has to be brought onboard with your carry-on luggage. Twelve bottles can fit nicely into a regular carry-on bag (assuming it is sturdy enough to handle the weight) ;p

 

Understood, thank you. And yes, I have the reinforced carry-on just for this purpose! #priorities

[just_cruising_along]

We have brought 12 bottles of wine onboard in a two wine tote bags that we carried along in addition to our carry-on luggage. No problems getting it onboard the ship.

 

Of course we did not fly with these bottles, we picked them up in the embarkation cities.

Have a great cruise.

[bigwally]

We have never tried in the MDR but have dropped off wine at lunch time in the Pinnacle Grill several times with instructions to decant at a certain time before dinner.

 

Had trouble dropping off wine in the MDR on Volendam during the time of day between lunch and dinner - not only was help a bit scant, "key not available to the storage area" was the response I got from the one waiter I was able to find. Had to take our special wedding anniversary/DW birthday champagne to the MDR as close as I could get to chilled by the cabin ice bucket in the intervening 2-3 hours.

 

I also had trouble getting corkage bottles onto the ship due to a lack of corkage table at embarkation AND a contracted security team that was clueless as to the process - all they were apparently told was to stop people with more than one bottle PP and confiscate the extras.

[taxmantoo]

Had trouble dropping off wine in the MDR on Volendam during the time of day between lunch and dinner - not only was help a bit scant, "key not available to the storage area" was the response I got from the one waiter I was able to find. Had to take our special wedding anniversary/DW birthday champagne to the MDR as close as I could get to chilled by the cabin ice bucket in the intervening 2-3 hours.

 

I also had trouble getting corkage bottles onto the ship due to a lack of corkage table at embarkation AND a contracted security team that was clueless as to the process - all they were apparently told was to stop people with more than one bottle PP and confiscate the extras.

 

Just a clarification ... I did not drop it off "during the time of day between lunch and dinner". I dropped it off during opening lunch hours when the PG wine steward was present.

 

We have on a few occasions encountered unknowledgeable security personnel unaware of HAL's policies. I have always stood my ground, explained to them the policies, and as a last resort, refused to move until they called a HAL supervisor. I don't mind boarding without paying the corkage fee if no wine steward is present at embarkation as you can just pay it as you go once onboard.

[bigwally]

Just a clarification ... I did not drop it off "during the time of day between lunch and dinner". I dropped it off during opening lunch hours when the PG wine steward was present.

 

I don't think your clarification was necessary. I was just pointing out that at other times of day and/or not at PG you might get an entirely different outcome.

[tv24]

Useful info. Thanks.