Southampton check in - Corkage payment

[Corfe Mixture]

We are experienced (Elite) UK based Princess cruisers, who are about to take our first Princess cruise out of Southampton.

 

Having done the arithmetic, and not having any weight restrictions, we have decided to pay our $150 and board with 12 bottles (two don’t attract corkage) of wine and champagne.

 

That’s the simple bit. Now for the question. What are the arrangements for paying corkage at Southampton and do you need to take the excess through in your hand baggage?

 

Also do they mark the bottles as ‘corkage paid’ so that you don’t have any problems later?

 

We leave on the opening day of the Southampton boat show and the game plan is to drop off our bags at the terminal around 09h00 and then go to the show, with just our back packs before returning to check-in at around 14h00.

 

If necessary we will wheel a bag around the show containing the twelve bottles and I also perhaps have the possibility of leaving the bag at either the BMIF office or the Press Office, but by far the easiest solution would be to either spread the bottles around in the luggage we drop off at 09h00 or wrap them

in bubble wrap and put them all in one small case.  

 

Either way it would be nice not to have to wheel the bottles around the show and I am just wondering if anyone has any experience of paying corkage on excess wine loaded by the porters?

[ollienbertsmum]

No personal experience with Princess.  I have of other lines.  The corkage payment took place after check in, at the security boarding the ship.  If you left it in the luggage taken by the porters you would be ‘called to the naughty room’ - although you would clearly not be trying to sneak it on.  

 

Bubble wrap or not, I would not want to give my bottles to the porters.  In your case I would be wheeling the bottles around and making sure that any sparkling wine was given plenty of time to settle!!  

 

Do come back and let us know how it worked out !

[Corfe Mixture]

57 minutes ago, ollienbertsmum said:

No personal experience with Princess.  I have of other lines.  The corkage payment took place after check in, at the security boarding the ship.  If you left it in the luggage taken by the porters you would be ‘called to the naughty room’ - although you would clearly not be trying to sneak it on.  

 

Bubble wrap or not, I would not want to give my bottles to the porters.  In your case I would be wheeling the bottles around and making sure that any sparkling wine was given plenty of time to settle!!  

 

Do come back and let us know how it worked out !

All sorted.

 

I googled storage and up came Bagbnb.com with a place near to the Red Funnel terminal and midway between Mayflower Park (location of Boat Show) and Ocean Terminal.

 

Doesn't open until 10h00 but that is fine as show doesn’t open until 10h00 and our taxi is dropping us off at 09h30 at Ocean Terminal.

 

Establishment is a cafe/pub.

 

Price is £5 per bag per day and, although we only want four hours, it seemed a good deal for us.

 

All booked and paid for online and I have an named contact’s email address and mobile number.

 

 

 

[john watson]

I have no experience of taking wine on board.  I thought "corkage" only applied to wine consumed in MDR etc. not in own cabin.  I am not sure you are allowed to take twelve bottles on board.  Anyway, a guy on our table brought his own wine bottle to MDR and the waiter brought out a sheet to sign, similar to when you order and pay for wine but his was just for corkage on that bottle. They then served it, I cannot remember whether he had handed it in previous day or chilled it in own cabin.

 

Regards John

[WatchHill]

We've  out of Southampton 4 times and never had anyone question the few bottles we had in our carry one luggage at the security sector. Once we got onto the  ship, there was a table set up for corkage, but nobody was there, so we simply went to lunch and enjoyed the wine in our cabin. We've never brought 12 bottles, so I can't speak to that. 

Last cruise, I had 2 bottles in a tote, picked up at Waitrose and was never stopped. Flying for the US necessitated the purchase while on our pre-cruise road trip. That was within the 2 bottles per cabin limit. However friends from Poole and Bournemouth arrived with multiple bottles each, and brought them all onto the ship without stopping at the corkage table, not realizing they were supposed to pay the fee. Since we had appetizers and wine before dinner in our cabins, taking a bottle to dinner never became an issue.... by the time we headed to dinner, none of us needed anything more than water with our meal. 

As an aside, loved Guild Hall suggestion. We took our friend from Bournemouth there for dinner. Ironically, the restaurant is a favorite of her future mother-in-law.

 

Darcy

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, Corfe Mixture said:

That’s the simple bit. Now for the question. What are the arrangements for paying corkage at Southampton and do you need to take the excess through in your hand baggage?

 

Also do they mark the bottles as ‘corkage paid’ so that you don’t have any problems later?

Glad you found a solution that works for you in terms of feeling no stress about the condition and safety of the wine.

 

Generally, it is expected or easier for all concerned if you bring the wine into the terminal as carry-on.  If it is processed with luggage and in a case, it should be well-packed and taped.  Ship personnel will end up contacting you to collect and will be charged then with corkage (from all reports and I don't do it this way).  If just a couple or so bottles, many will pack in a suitcase with some padding.

 

At the security check when entering terminal, the way it should work is security personnel notice or realize you have wine and direct you to the wine table which is manned by ship's personnel.  They do a bottle count and write up a chit for the corkage fee.  You sign like signing a bar tab and the $15/bottle fee is charged to your stateroom account.  They provide a sticker for each bottle you were assessed and you decide which bottles to put the stickers on.  This indicates to DR and bar staff around the ship that you have already been assessed the corkage fee.

 

If arriving early to the terminal (among the first to check in), you may find that the table is not yet manned.  So, you just carry on ahead.  If waiting to board the ship - being there so early - you can always return to the wine table later and see if manned.  Otherwise, you will be assessed as each bottle is brought to the DR.  I have even bypassed the wine table once, letting the guys know I will be back once I finish check in (due to the way wine and bags were stacked and wanting to get processed and settled first).  That was a non-issue in my case. 

 

I also do not want to open a sealed up box if it will lose structural integrity so I just tell them how many bottles.  I did this once when I had two cases.  Obviously they trusted me that I didn't have a case of rum or whatever.  Princess is very good about wine.

 

There is no set limit on the excess you can have (the most I have taken on for any voyage is two cases for a 60-night voyage).  Two cases is the max I would want to deal with in terms of managing the beast along with computer bag or whatever other carry-ons we have.

 

[Corfe Mixture]

3 hours ago, john watson said:

I have no experience of taking wine on board.  I thought "corkage" only applied to wine consumed in MDR etc. not in own cabin.  I am not sure you are allowed to take twelve bottles on board.  Anyway, a guy on our table brought his own wine bottle to MDR and the waiter brought out a sheet to sign, similar to when you order and pay for wine but his was just for corkage on that bottle. They then served it, I cannot remember whether he had handed it in previous day or chilled it in own cabin.

 

Regards John

Don’t understand this answer at all.

You are allowed to take on one bottle each without paying corkage.

 

Anything above that you have to pay corkage irrespective of where you drink it. And you pay it on boarding.

 

Tou can try to cheat but if you are successful you must drink it in your stateroom as will get caught if you try to take it to the MDR.

 

Not sure what they do now, but what they used to do was to stamp  the label to show that corkage has been paid.

 

Not sure what the bit about the waiter requiring him to sign something was but suspect it was only being done because there was a need to check that corkage had been paid.

[john watson]

On this cruise we embarked in Dover and the guy with the wine did so too.  He came from New Zealand but I do not know how he got the bottle on board initially. From the foregoing information it might be that he had not had the label stamped and was then rumbled. The signing was for a corkage amount I believe.

 

Regards John

Edited August 17, 2019 by john watson

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Corfe Mixture said:

Don’t understand this answer at all.

You are allowed to take on one bottle each without paying corkage.

 

Anything above that you have to pay corkage irrespective of where you drink it. And you pay it on boarding.

 

Tou can try to cheat but if you are successful you must drink it in your stateroom as will get caught if you try to take it to the MDR.

 

Not sure what they do now, but what they used to do was to stamp  the label to show that corkage has been paid.

 

Not sure what the bit about the waiter requiring him to sign something was but suspect it was only being done because there was a need to check that corkage had been paid.

As that poster stated, he has no experience taking wine on board (so one might question why try and respond???).  Anyway, they use stickers for some time now, not a stamp.  Whether you encounter the crew members at the wine table in the terminal, or later on board in a DR, they have you sign a chit, or they can scan a Medallion, depending on location.

Edited August 17, 2019 by steelers36

[john watson]

51 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

As that poster stated, he has no experience taking wine on board (so one might question why try and respond???).  

 

When I said I had no experience of taking wine on board, I have had personal experience of witnessing a guy who had done so in the UK and what happened to him and his wine within the MDR.  In fact he refused to pay the corkage fee and refused to sign at the table, the waiter got the Maitre'D over and passenger became a bit aggressive.  Why it worked out like this I do not know.  The system might be different in the UK as I know different rules are often encountered on Princess when embarking in different countries worldwide particularly relating to alcohol.  You can consume alcohol on a round trip cruise in the UK from 18 years of age for example.

 

Regards John

[Steelers36]

5 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

When I said I had no experience of taking wine on board, I have had personal experience of witnessing a guy who had done so in the UK and what happened to him and his wine within the MDR.  In fact he refused to pay the corkage fee and refused to sign at the table, the waiter got the Maitre'D over and passenger became a bit aggressive.  Why it worked out like this I do not know.  The system might be different in the UK as I know different rules are often encountered on Princess when embarking in different countries worldwide particularly relating to alcohol.  You can consume alcohol on a round trip cruise in the UK from 18 years of age for example.

 

Regards John

Interesting story.  Perhaps he thought it was one of his two "free" ones and did not consider what happens when take to a DR other ship location. 

 

We had the same experiences in regards to wine on a Baltic cruise and a NZ cruise this year as we have had sailing from Florida. 

Edited August 17, 2019 by steelers36

[philwill]

On 8/17/2019 at 8:00 AM, Corfe Mixture said:

Having done the arithmetic, and not having any weight restrictions, we have decided to pay our $150 and board with 12 bottles (two don’t attract corkage) of wine and champagne.

Hi CM; 

Philwill here from off the same cruise as yourself.

I see we are thinking along the same lines on wine🍾, and I also was wondering how best to get the bottles of wine on board.

I am clear that there is a table to pay corkage at, at some point on entering the ship. This therefore suggests that you have it with you on entering. 

But if you are taking a couple of cases or so and it is not with you as you enter ship my understanding is that it is held at security point until you collect it and pay the corkage. 

My dilemma is, which is the best way to get the cases on board;

carry on yourself, how to package?

or

check in with main Luggage. How to package?

 

[ohnonotmeagain]

We took 8 bottles on our Sapphire Princess cruise in May,this year. 2"free" ones and 6 to pay corkage on.Two were in bubble wrap and 6 in a wine box, all in wheeled hand luggage. On  boarding there was no person or table to declare the wine, so just took it on board. The free ones are allowed to be drunk in the cabin, no corkage but that's payable if you take it to the MDR.We choose to drink it in the cabin. 

The others we took to the MDR or a speciality restaurant, sometimes we were charged and sometimes not!! We just had to sign and it came up on the main bill at the end of the cruise. Hope this helps 

We were charged corkage for 3 only

Edited August 18, 2019 by ohnonotmeagain
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