NCL Wine Allowance (.. and SHHH ..smuggling question) ..

[KeithJenner]

16 minutes ago, yearsofcruising said:

Boy o Boy...just stating an experience from yrs ago before acquiring Liquor perk. At the time , it was stated " public places " and my cabin was not public...

Never made a scene or raised my voice even after speaking with the Beverage mngr. I'm old school - show me . 

Sorry to upset some..

I don't think you have upset anyone, but whenever you post your story people question it because you are just about the only person who believes that NCL once had this stated rule. Many of us have been cruising with NCL for many years and the rule has been consistent during that time.

 

That's why people always ask whether you have got it confused with another line.

 

Out of interest, how long ago did this happen?

[katybird]

When do you let them know you have wine and pay the corkage fee? 

[KeithJenner]

Just now, katybird said:

When do you let them know you have wine and pay the corkage fee? 

When you board. The exact location varies depending on ship/port.

 

Just carry the wine on with you and it should be fairly obvious who and where you need to pay.

 

The fee is actually charged to your onboard account.

[katybird]

Just now, KeithJenner said:

When you board. The exact location varies depending on ship/port.

 

Just carry the wine on with you and it should be fairly obvious who and where you need to pay.

 

The fee is actually charged to your onboard account.

Our last cruise we never saw any place to check it in and just carried it on thinking when we went to the dining room that was where we would be charged.

[KeithJenner]

Just now, katybird said:

Our last cruise we never saw any place to check it in and just carried it on thinking when we went to the dining room that was where we would be charged.

Yes, that can happen.

 

I don't take wine on these days as we have the beverage package, but when I used to I only paid about 50% of the time. On a couple of occasions I pointed the wine out to them, but they just waved me through.

[katybird]

This was NYC port. Is there a table or booth where we pay?

We will have only 2 bottles so we shall see what happens this time. 

[mjkacmom]

14 hours ago, CruiseGal999 said:

 

This isn't true ... I have been through ... as a solo cruiser ...with 2 bottles of wine and have NEVER paid a corkage fee.  I even carried it by hand in the plastic bag the liquor store gave me and put it through the scanner and at check in counter ... was told no fee needed.  this was last sept. 2018 ... so not that long ago. 

 

This past April ... me & my friend/cabinmate went through each with 2 bottles and never paid corkage fee.  We did only drink it in the cabin ..but if we had poured it into glasses and walked around with them ... that would have been fine also. 

 

You are 100% wrong on this, the majority of mainstream cruise lines allow 2 free per cabin, NCL has never allowed 2 free per cabin, at least in the past 15 years, the rule is clearly stated on their website. I will bet you a million dollars that you can’t show anything in writing backing up what you think is true.

 

A couple of times we’ve been able to board without paying for wine because no one was at the table, but most of the time we have paid the $15 per bottle fee.

[mjkacmom]

19 minutes ago, katybird said:

This was NYC port. Is there a table or booth where we pay?

We will have only 2 bottles so we shall see what happens this time. 

This happened to us one out of four cruises out of manhattan. It was fleet week, everything was a bit of a mess, I was bummed I only brought one bottle. The  other three times we were charged.

[yearsofcruising]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

I don't think you have upset anyone, but whenever you post your story people question it because you are just about the only person who believes that NCL once had this stated rule. Many of us have been cruising with NCL for many years and the rule has been consistent during that time.

 

That's why people always ask whether you have got it confused with another line.

 

Out of interest, how long ago did this happen?

Think it was the Jewel ..6/7 yrs ago..thxs K...

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, yearsofcruising said:

Think it was the Jewel ..6/7 yrs ago..thxs K...

Been cruising NCL for 15 years, policy has never changed.

[CruiseGal999]

7 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Which ship was that?

 

The Gem in Sept. 2018 and The Pearl in 2019 ... 

[Travelicious]

Back before the beverage package perk there were plenty of discussions by NCLers on rum runners and other ways to smuggle booze.

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, yearsofcruising said:

Think it was the Jewel ..6/7 yrs ago..thxs K...

 

I can't know for sure what the fine prints on the US site or in the American brochure said about corkage fee but here it has been corkage fee for every bottle since before that.    

[albycruisin]

Does the corkage fee also come with a wine opener or is this something we should pack in our suitcases?

[KeithJenner]

1 minute ago, albycruisin said:

Does the corkage fee also come with a wine opener or is this something we should pack in our suitcases?

You don't get anything like that.

 

I usually carry a corkscrew in my suitcase anyway, but if you don't have one then just take the bottle to any bar and they will open it for you. They will also give you some glasses if you need them.

 

Some people have reported being able to get a corkscrew in their room, but I've never bothered trying.

[Named-Tawny]

31 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

You don't get anything like that.

 

I usually carry a corkscrew in my suitcase anyway, but if you don't have one then just take the bottle to any bar and they will open it for you. They will also give you some glasses if you need them.

 

Some people have reported being able to get a corkscrew in their room, but I've never bothered trying.

You don't even have to take the bottle to a bar - you can drop it off with the wine steward on day one, and they'll store it for you and give you tags.

You can then give the tag to your bartender or waiter, and they'll bring the wine to you, whichever bar/restaurant you're at.

[KeithJenner]

Yes, that would be an option.

 

I assumed from the question that they would be drinking the wine in their cabin (as you wouldn't need an opener if you were given it at a bar).

 

You are correct to point out that they will store your wine for you, as lots of people don't realise that. Personally, I prefer to keep them with me, mainly to avoid having to wait for them to collect it, and to save the staff having to take the time to get it.

[Firepath]

We don't have the beverage package and like glass of wine now and then. Before I throw out the idea of flying with my wine then paying $15 corkage on each bottle, I've gotta ask, how much does any average bottle cost on the ship? It doesn't seem it would be worth the trouble to bring our own, but it sounds like a lot of people do.

[KeithJenner]

6 minutes ago, Firepath said:

We don't have the beverage package and like glass of wine now and then. Before I throw out the idea of flying with my wine then paying $15 corkage on each bottle, I've gotta ask, how much does any average bottle cost on the ship? It doesn't seem it would be worth the trouble to bring our own, but it sounds like a lot of people do.

Have a look at Viva Vino, which allows you to buy multiple bottles at a discounted rate.

 

There are some recent lists on this thread:

 

 

[Maleficent's Dad]

On July 14, we boarded the Epic in Barcelona.  We had a bottle of Cava (Spanish champagne) from Barcelona.  We weren’t ever assessed a corking fee, and no one at security said a word.  I guess we just got lucky?  I wasn’t aware of the mandatory corking fees as were not oenophiles!

[Named-Tawny]

16 minutes ago, Firepath said:

We don't have the beverage package and like glass of wine now and then. Before I throw out the idea of flying with my wine then paying $15 corkage on each bottle, I've gotta ask, how much does any average bottle cost on the ship? It doesn't seem it would be worth the trouble to bring our own, but it sounds like a lot of people do.

If you're bringing cheap wine, it's not really a money-saver.  From my experience, it's more for people who are very into their wine (eg me!) who want to bring special bottles aboard that wouldn't otherwise be available.

[don't-use-real-name]

The low ball end of the Viva Vino program is $88 for 4 bottles or $22 each

Thus if your own wine brought on board with a corkage charge of $15 costs more than $7

you be the judge if it is worth it to - haul it - lug it - carry it - portage it - whatever it onboard the ship !

 

The bottles are 750 ml

750 ml yields 4 6 ounce glasses -or- 6 4 ounce  (750 ml = 24 ounces roughly or smoothly)

 

You can take the bottles with you to your cabin or about the ship anywhere

-OR- have NCL store and fetch when you want the vino with dino

Your cabin steward can furnish the cork opener and glasses in your cabin

 

The real killing would be for NCL to allow BOX wine - small compact container with self

serving spout and the portability and price would be great.

The killing factor would be to NCL wine/spirits profit and significant gain for the guest.

Yeah I know BOX wine - how gauche - you can have your 19xx Rothchild from the esteemed

vineyards of &*#%--- I am not waiting for my wine to mature - I want my wine in time.

For the price of that Rothchild vintage I could buy a pallet of box vino.

 

Still sadly NCL does not relent in allowing BOX vino.

[mjkacmom]

41 minutes ago, Named-Tawny said:

If you're bringing cheap wine, it's not really a money-saver.  From my experience, it's more for people who are very into their wine (eg me!) who want to bring special bottles aboard that wouldn't otherwise be available.

I think it’s good for those of us who drink cheap wine. There are several Sauvignon blancs I really like under $15, and I’d rather pay $30 total than more for wine I wouldn’t enjoy nearly as much. Plus, if you want to bring some $4 bottles of 2 buck chuck, you are saving money for probably better wine. We drive to the port so it’s no hassle.

[mjkacmom]

5 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

The low ball end of the Viva Vino program is $88 for 4 bottles or $22 each

Thus if your own wine brought on board with a corkage charge of $15 costs more than $7

you be the judge if it is worth it to - haul it - lug it - carry it - portage it - whatever it onboard the ship !

 

The bottles are 750 ml

750 ml yields 4 6 ounce glasses -or- 6 4 ounce  (750 ml = 24 ounces roughly or smoothly)

 

You can take the bottles with you to your cabin or about the ship anywhere

-OR- have NCL store and fetch when you want the vino with dino

Your cabin steward can furnish the cork opener and glasses in your cabin

 

The real killing would be for NCL to allow BOX wine - small compact container with self

serving spout and the portability and price would be great.

The killing factor would be to NCL wine/spirits profit and significant gain for the guest.

Yeah I know BOX wine - how gauche - you can have your 19xx Rothchild from the esteemed

vineyards of &*#%--- I am not waiting for my wine to mature - I want my wine in time.

For the price of that Rothchild vintage I could buy a pallet of box vino.

 

Still sadly NCL does not relent in allowing BOX vino.

Well, a box of wine is essentially a bag of wine, out of the box it turns into a rum runner of wine...

[don't-use-real-name]

19 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Well, a box of wine is essentially a bag of wine, out of the box it turns into a rum runner of wine...

 

Damn I hate that when that happens - - -

Letting the wine bag out of the box - - -

Some of our best kept secrets are no longer - - -

Rats been foiled again !