Wine

[Fisherwoman]

If you purchase a bottle of wine in the dining room, drink half, can you take the rest of the bottle to your room or does Princess have to store it until the next meal?

 

May want a night cap.

[Astro Flyer]

If you purchase a bottle of wine in the dining room, drink half, can you take the rest of the bottle to your room or does Princess have to store it until the next meal?

 

May want a night cap.

You’ve paid the corkage fee so you can drink it anywhere onboard including your cabin.

 

Or they can store it for another night even if in a different dining room. If you provide the information from the previous dinner they can locate your bottle faster.

 

Or you could store the bottle for another dinner & purchase another full bottle to drink in your cabin.

[mllewis48]

You’ve paid the corkage fee so you can drink it anywhere onboard including your cabin.

 

Or they can store it for another night even if in a different dining room. If you provide the information from the previous dinner they can locate your bottle faster.

 

Or you could store the bottle for another dinner & purchase another full bottle to drink in your cabin.

 

 

 

If purchased in the DR there is no corkage fee involved.

 

 

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[TheRabbit]

If purchased in the DR there is no corkage fee involved.

 

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I think this is just semantics. If you buy a bottle on the ship anywhere, the corkage is included. A bottle is brought on board and you pay corkage for the bottle (you get the sticker), it is handle exactly the same as if was bought on board.

[Astro Flyer]

If purchased in the DR there is no corkage fee involved.

 

I think this is just semantics. If you buy a bottle on the ship anywhere, the corkage is included. A bottle is brought on board and you pay corkage for the bottle (you get the sticker), it is handle exactly the same as if was bought on board.

That’s true & John provided a better explanation about corkage fees which are incorporated into the price of bottles purchased onboard.

 

To be completely accurate they also add a 15% tip to the price for all drinks including bottles of wine.

[rkacruiser]

The simple answer to your question is : YES!

[wineglass]

Any bottle of wine bought on board includes corkage, tip. That's why a $4.95 bottle of Berringer Zinfandel costs $27 on board. Just like a restaurant. It's all part of eating out. You are on vacation, just enjoy!

[JimmyVWine]

To avoid confusion, let's get the terminology straight. "Corkage" is a term of art that applies to the fee assessed when an establishment allows a patron to bring their own wine into said establishment. On the other hand, the difference in price between retail and purchase price on a bottle purchased from the establishment is "markup". When you buy a bottle off of the wine list or at Vines or from room service, you are paying markup. Either way, whether pay corkage or markup, you can drink your wine wherever you wish. You can take leftovers with you to your cabin or to a lounge. Or you can have the waitstaff hold it for a future meal.

[Fisherwoman]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

[NSWP]

Any bottle of wine bought on board includes corkage, tip. That's why a $4.95 bottle of Berringer Zinfandel costs $27 on board. Just like a restaurant. It's all part of eating out. You are on vacation, just enjoy!

 

More like the 22 dollar mark up is profit to Princess !!! Not tip to server, they just get 15%.:halo:

[OzKiwiJJ]

More like the 22 dollar mark up is profit to Princess !!! Not tip to server, they just get 15%.:halo:

 

No, not all is profit, just like the mark-up on wine in restaurants isn't all profit.

 

They buy the wine, which means that money has already been spent no matter how long it takes to recoup the cost by selling it to the customer.

They have to pay for the wine to be transported to the ship.

They have to store the wine, in suitable conditions so that it doesn't deteriorate.

They provide glassware for the wine, and glassware breaks occasionally and has to be replaced.

The wine is served to you, not just plonked on the table.

And, on a ship, they store unfinished bottles at the correct temperature between meals.

 

That's why is it unfair to compare the ship's price for a bottle of wine to the bottle store price. You should compare it to a restaurant price.

[Wehwalt]

No, not all is profit, just like the mark-up on wine in restaurants isn't all profit.

 

They buy the wine, which means that money has already been spent no matter how long it takes to recoup the cost by selling it to the customer.

They have to pay for the wine to be transported to the ship.

They have to store the wine, in suitable conditions so that it doesn't deteriorate.

They provide glassware for the wine, and glassware breaks occasionally and has to be replaced.

The wine is served to you, not just plonked on the table.

And, on a ship, they store unfinished bottles at the correct temperature between meals.

 

That's why is it unfair to compare the ship's price for a bottle of wine to the bottle store price. You should compare it to a restaurant price.

 

Except ...

 

They do not pay duty or any taxes on the wine.

 

The cost of storing wine under proper conditions is a fixed cost. It costs nothing more to store an additional bottle of wine in there.

 

Princess has been in business long enough to know which wines sell. I doubt they have a big problem with unmovable stock. They can always serve any wine they have too much of at, let us say, the Most Travelled luncheon, or to the officers.

 

So I compare the cost of the wine to the store.

[Shaver John]

If you purchase wine in a none embarkation port and take it on board what happens to the wine? are you able to just pay the $15.00 a bottle and take it with you or do they keep it until the end of the cruise? We have about 7 ports we are stopping at on the TA in September and just curious if we can purchase wine at any of the ports we are just stopping at. I am not talking about a case, just a bottle or two at each port.

[Cobra427SC]

since when did Princess start serving wine at the "proper temperature"? That's one reason why i like to bring my own, virtually all wines taste better are "cellar temperature", which is 55° F. s

[Wehwalt]

If you purchase wine in a none embarkation port and take it on board what happens to the wine? are you able to just pay the $15.00 a bottle and take it with you or do they keep it until the end of the cruise? We have about 7 ports we are stopping at on the TA in September and just curious if we can purchase wine at any of the ports we are just stopping at. I am not talking about a case, just a bottle or two at each port.

 

They will either ignore it or you will be called upon to go to the wine table and check it in. You will be given a claim check and the bottle will be delivered to your cabin on the last day. I imagine the person at the table has the means of letting you pay corkage (a form, and a stamp, perhaps) , after which you would take it with you.

[voljeep]

since when did Princess start serving wine at the "proper temperature"? That's one reason why i like to bring my own, virtually all wines taste better are "cellar temperature", which is 55° F. s

 

so you bring your own cellar to store your own wine - NICE !!...;p

[TheRabbit]

If you purchase wine in a none embarkation port and take it on board what happens to the wine? are you able to just pay the $15.00 a bottle and take it with you or do they keep it until the end of the cruise? We have about 7 ports we are stopping at on the TA in September and just curious if we can purchase wine at any of the ports we are just stopping at. I am not talking about a case, just a bottle or two at each port.

It has been my experience (and I think policy) you can bring one bottle of wine onboard for use in your cabin. If you take it to the MDR, you will be charged the corkage (though not always).

This is where I am not 100 percent sure, the balance of the bottles you bring back on will be stored for you until Disembarkation (this I know) or you can pay the corkage and get a sticker that allows you to take them to the MDR (this is where I am not 100 percent sure as I have not kept more than one for the room). The above is per person. There is a written policy you can find on line, or someone can post here.

[JimmyVWine]

It has been my experience (and I think policy) you can bring one bottle of wine onboard for use in your cabin. If you take it to the MDR, you will be charged the corkage (though not always).

Like most issues related to wine, experiences are anecdotal and not always replicated. My experience has been:

• At the port of embarkation, I have had no problems bringing on as much wine as I want, and have always gone to the wine table to pay the corkage on my "extra" bottles.
  
• At ports of call, I have never brought on board more than one bottle per port and have never had it confiscated, nor have I ever had it assessed a fee right then and there even as others were having their bottles of rum, gin, ouzo, etc. collected and tagged. If/when that bottle has gone to the MDR, I was assessed the fee at that time.
  

[Cobra427SC]

sorta sounds like I do bring my own cellar, and we do bring our own glasses...getting the "good" (probably Reidel) glasses has been a hit or miss proposition, and since it matters to us, we have some nice, tho' Costco bought, Bordeaux glasses. We just plunk the bottle of the night in the 'fridge about half hour before dinner and by the time we're ready to eat, we're pretty much on schedule. It may sound "snobby" but what others think matters much less to me than a nice bottle of wine, properly chilled and served (not filling the glass to the tippy top, etc.). It does irritate me that for the $15 corkage fee I pay per bottle, Princess gives you dreck stemware. Still, having a nice bottle with every dinner is worth the freight. s

[JimmyVWine]

sorta sounds like I do bring my own cellar, and we do bring our own glasses...getting the "good" (probably Reidel) glasses has been a hit or miss proposition, and since it matters to us, we have some nice, tho' Costco bought, Bordeaux glasses. We just plunk the bottle of the night in the 'fridge about half hour before dinner and by the time we're ready to eat, we're pretty much on schedule. It may sound "snobby" but what others think matters much less to me than a nice bottle of wine, properly chilled and served (not filling the glass to the tippy top, etc.). It does irritate me that for the $15 corkage fee I pay per bottle, Princess gives you dreck stemware. Still, having a nice bottle with every dinner is worth the freight. s

We always bring on our own stems for all the same reasons. I usually hunt out a Bed, Bath and Beyond or Home Goods before heading to the port and picking up some odd-lot stems. Usually costs me about $5 each and I leave them at Vines when the cruise is over. From a recent cruise...

 

[happy cruzer]

Yes, having your favorite wine with a reasonable corkage fee is Priceless :). We probably will carry on and pay corkage for a few bottles even though we will have the Prem Bev Package. Love the picture with glasses, we like good glasses too.

[ladylyn915]

We always bring on our own stems for all the same reasons. I usually hunt out a Bed, Bath and Beyond or Home Goods before heading to the port and picking up some odd-lot stems. Usually costs me about $5 each and I leave them at Vines when the cruise is over. From a recent cruise...

 

Forget the glasses, that is an excellent bottle of Cab.....

[TheRabbit]

Thought I would bring this post over to add additional info and maybe find someone to answer the last open issue. (See the Red text).

 

Here is a summary of what cruisers have posted here.

 

1) Wine can be checked as luggage. Put copies of the luggage tags for princess on each box.

2) Pack wine in six pack packages that have the Styrofoam protectors. They can also just go in in the very sturdy 12 bottle cases.

3) You will more than likely get a call to go down to the wine processing table. (We all call this by names similar to the naughty corner, Jail, the "sin" room, etc.)

4) After wine corkage is paid and bottles tagged, wine will be delivered to the room. Not sure yet if we have to be there to receive it, if they leave it outside the door, or if security places it in the room.

5) The wine can be then be brought to dinner, and waiter will serve it at your table and store for the next night.

 

If you see anything incorrect in my summary please let me know. Also if you know what method is used for leaving the wine at the cabin, I would like to update this area.

 

Thanks to everyone who helped out, and thank you to everyone else for not coming in and snarking!:eek:

[TheRabbit]

Does anyone have the answer to the open issue I mentioned in the post about 8 back.

[LarryL]

Does anyone have the answer to the open issue I mentioned in the post about 8 back.

 

While I can only share our experience I think it worked out just fine. While in Honolulu we purchased some of our favorite wines, which were much cheaper than on the mainland, and when re-boarding the ship the staff said to just carry them on as there was no-one available to charge the corkage fee. We understood we would be charged the fee if we took the bottles to the MDR, which was our intent. From that point, they charged the fee each time we brought in a fresh bottle. Had the correct staff been there upon our return in Honolulu, they would have charged us for all the bottles right then, which is what we had anticipated.

 

On our next TA cruise, we will "stock up" on wine in Gibraltar for the crossing with the expectation of paying the fee on re-boarding.