No longer allowed to bring wine on board without a corkage fee -

[Ms3050]

In the past you were allowed to bring one bottle of wine per person of 21 years of age on board without paying a corkage fee. It looks like that has changed.

 

Revised Policy effective June 1st, 2021

 

Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages on board for consumption or any other use except as follows:

 

Guests 21 years and older may bring Wine and Champagne onboard, however a corkage fee of USD $20.00 (which is subject to change without notice) will be applied to each bottle (max 750 ml in volume or less). Limitations apply. Wine brought in quantities deemed to be excessive by the vessel or security will be refused.

 

Wine purchased during company-sponsored shore excursions that visit local wineries are exempt from the on-board corkage fee (offer limited to one bottle of wine per person).

[DaveOKC]

This is a new one on me!  When did this happen?

[SightCRR]

No more bringing sodas and water?

[Ms3050]

The website said the policy was revised June 1st, 2021, but I would swear I was reading the FAQs 2 weeks ago and it wasn't there. I feel that they are prevaricating about when they changed the policy.

Link provided here:

Frequently Asked Questions | Holland America

 

 

[iminit4fun]

Does anyone have more information on this.  We leave in 3 days and planned on brining my 12 pack of Diet Pepsi,,,, I hate diet coke.  And my husband purchased two nice bottles of wine to take.  I know that in August I had reviewed the policy and it did not say anything about this.  Very frustrating.  This is our first Holland America and already I am sorry we have chosen them.  Been very frustrating on the lack of info on port changes.  Every cruise line we have every been on allows small amounts of pop and 1 bottle of wine each.  

How are they charging you for this $20 per bottle cork fee.  At the port they are going to stop everything while going thru the xray machine and charge you??

[nimiq]

31 minutes ago, iminit4fun said:

Does anyone have more information on this.  We leave in 3 days and planned on brining my 12 pack of Diet Pepsi,,,, I hate diet coke.  And my husband purchased two nice bottles of wine to take.  I know that in August I had reviewed the policy and it did not say anything about this.  Very frustrating.  This is our first Holland America and already I am sorry we have chosen them.  Been very frustrating on the lack of info on port changes.  Every cruise line we have every been on allows small amounts of pop and 1 bottle of wine each.  

How are they charging you for this $20 per bottle cork fee.  At the port they are going to stop everything while going thru the xray machine and charge you??

Yikes if your already frustrated this might not be the time for you to travel. 
 

Sorry and don’t want to be rude but first you should be happy for being able to travel at this moment as more than you think can’t. 

Second  if you are traveling now and think everything will be perfect then maybe you should postponed your vacation because from what I’ve been reading it’s very different now. 

‘Examples : Testing, social distancing, masks, last minute port changes, delays and much more.

 

If you aren’t able to adapt yourself rapidly right now this is not the time for traveling. 
 

If you really want that wine then bring it and pay that $20 extra because if that’s  going to ruin your cruise then don’t let it get to you. 
 

Cruising will be different for some time so let’s make the best out of it until normalcy come back. 
 

Have a nice trip

Sea Ya

Eric  

[Laminator]

I would have sworn this has been discussed several times in here over the last few months.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Laminator

[ski ww]

As far as I know there was always a corkage fee when you brought own on board although I see it has gone up. 

[msmayor]

14 minutes ago, ski ww said:

As far as I know there was always a corkage fee when you brought own on board although I see it has gone up. 

 

The corkage was charged if you carried your wine into the dining room. 

 

My husband and I have always carried two bottles of wine on board every one of our HAL cruises for in-cabin consumption and never been charged a fee.

 

Truthfully though - I'd pay it anyway and still carry the wine on board.  We like having a couple of bottles in the stateroom for an afternoon happy hour on our balcony, and even paying the corkage it is likely to be less than ordering a bottle onboard.

[kazu]

5 hours ago, Laminator said:

I would have sworn this has been discussed several times in here over the last few months.

 

It has been - back in August at least - 

 

[kazu]

7 hours ago, iminit4fun said:

Does anyone have more information on this.  We leave in 3 days and planned on brining my 12 pack of Diet Pepsi,,,, I hate diet coke.  And my husband purchased two nice bottles of wine to take.  I know that in August I had reviewed the policy and it did not say anything about this.  Very frustrating.  This is our first Holland America and already I am sorry we have chosen them.  Been very frustrating on the lack of info on port changes.  Every cruise line we have every been on allows small amounts of pop and 1 bottle of wine each.  

How are they charging you for this $20 per bottle cork fee.  At the port they are going to stop everything while going thru the xray machine and charge you??

 

The policy is on the HAL site - and has been for some time.

 

You can bring your diet pepsi on board - one 12 pack (that’s the limit) but it must be in cams or cartons - no plastics.

 

You can bring on wine (a reasonable amount) subject to a $20 corkage fee.  At the port you will be directed to the “wine” table where they will count your bottles and charge the corkage fee to your on board account.

[kazu]

10 hours ago, Ms3050 said:

The website said the policy was revised June 1st, 2021, but I would swear I was reading the FAQs 2 weeks ago and it wasn't there. I feel that they are prevaricating about when they changed the policy.

Link provided here:

Frequently Asked Questions | Holland America

 

 

 

It was revised some time ago.  They are not prefabricating when they changed the policy.  It has been discussed on the boards before.  It’s definitely not new.

[NCTribeFan]

I was counting on carrying on a bottle in November, based on the July thread where it still said, In some places, that it was allowed.  It even said 2 bottles per cabin so as a solo, I thought I'd carry on two. 

 

Downloaded my boarding docs yesterday and it has the new language.  But it doesn't say you can't bring on wine AT ALL.

 

But I do read it as not allowing any other drinks except water in cans/cartons.

 

Items such as sodas, energy drinks or other non-alcoholic items are not allowed on board in any form. Plastic water bottles are not allowed. However, an allowance of six liters, twelve (12) cans or cartons (500 ml in volume or less) or six (6) cans or cartons (1 liter in volume or less) of water are allowed per stateroom. 

 

Emphasis added. 

 

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

I was counting on carrying on a bottle in November, based on the July thread where it still said, In some places, that it was allowed.  It even said 2 bottles per cabin so as a solo, I thought I'd carry on two. 

 

Downloaded my boarding docs yesterday and it has the new language.  But it doesn't say you can't bring on wine AT ALL

 

You can definitely bring on wine but I believe it will be subject to the $20 corkage fee.  I think the free bottles disappeared after the initial sailings.

 

 

[aliaschief]

In August we carried a bottle of wine with us when we embarked and no one questioned it or did there appear anyone around to collect a corkage fee.

 

Plus we brought that very good bottle to dinner with us in the Pinnacle Grill and there was no corkage fee. In fact the acting Cellar Master came buy and sampled the wine.

 

We definitely were not sneaking the bottle on or about. Just saying it was never discussed. We would have happily paid a corkage fee.

 

It was a very good bottle that was delivered to the hotel by the wine connoisseur we were going to go on a wine tasting tour with,  upon our return to Seattle.

[KirkNC]

Ah yes, the good old days when you could bring unlimited wine and sodas.  I remember one lady on a world cruise showed up with a pallet of assorted beverages.

[KirkNC]

I bring this up periodically but not sure it resonates.  CCL took on tremendous debt, around 17 billion dollars at high interest rates plus issued around 80 million additional shares of stock to survive the pandemic.  Guess who has to pay that back?  Us, the consumers.  I believe you will see more and more changes.

Edited September 29, 2021 by KirkNC

[OVgirl]

Check your boarding pass. Previously it would state what sort of beverages you would be allowed to bring onboard.

[Cajuntraveler]

On our August Alaska cruise, I brought a bottle of wine in my carry on and was not questioned nor charged a corkage fee. The contract for our October cruise states that we are allowed to bring two bottles per stateroom.  (I know this does not agree with the "Know Before You go") I'm attaching the section from the contract. Hope this helps.

 

uests agree not to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages on board for consumption or for any other use except as follows:

• For Guests of legal drinking age, an allowance of two (2) bottles of wine or champagne (750 mL in volume or less) per stateroom may be presented to security during embarkation.
• For world cruises, or cruises with consecutive voyages, this allowance can be multiplied by the number of segments that comprise the complete sailing. Items for future segments/voyages will be held by the vessel and delivered on the first day of each segment. Guests should present their documentation for any consecutive sailings to security on boarding day.
• A US $20.00 corkage fee (which is subject to change without notice) will apply to each additional bottle (750 ml in volume or less) beyond the two (2) bottle allowance. Limitations apply. Wine brought in quantities deemed to be excessive by the vessel or security will be refused.
• Guests are also prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages on board that are packaged in bottles. A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, juice, milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought on board on embarkation day, only if carried on in Guests’ hand luggage (not in checked luggage). A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person. Guests will be asked to discard open beverages in plastic containers prior to boarding.

[OVgirl]

@Cajuntraveler, I checked the cruise contract on our booking and it states the same thing.

 

[AKJonesy]

On our recent HAL cruise to Alaska (September 2021) we did not have time to pre-purchase soda or wine.  However, in Ketchikan, I wanted some Coca Cola.  When I disembarked in Ketchikan I asked at security if I could bring on soda and the answer was yes, but only in cans.  I found a vending machine after finding that the nearby stores only had plastic, which could not be brought on board.  I know this does not answer your question entirely.  But yes, soda in cans is allowed.  However, I only purchased 2 cans.  No problem. 

 

[VMax1700]

We are boarding on 6th October and our boarding passes state on page 9/10.

Alcohol Policy
Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages
on board for consumption with the exception of limited wine and
champagne (corkage fees are applicable) and limitd amounts of water.
Plastic water bottles are not allowed. Please refer to our complete
Alcohol Policy online at hollandamerica.com or in the online Know
Before You Go section.

 

So, my understanding of this is NO SODA at all and no water unless in glass bottle or tetra pak. Limited wine is ok but $20 corkage from and including bottle #1.

[OVgirl]

17 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

We are boarding on 6th October and our boarding passes state on page 9/10.

Alcohol Policy
Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages
on board for consumption with the exception of limited wine and
champagne (corkage fees are applicable) and limitd amounts of water.
Plastic water bottles are not allowed. Please refer to our complete
Alcohol Policy online at hollandamerica.com or in the online Know
Before You Go section.

 

So, my understanding of this is NO SODA at all and no water unless in glass bottle or tetra pak. Limited wine is ok but $20 corkage from and including bottle #1.

Go back to your check in pages and read the Cruise Contract. It contradicts that. Indicates that you are allowed 2 bottles of wine, corkage free.

[VMax1700]

34 minutes ago, OVgirl said:

Go back to your check in pages and read the Cruise Contract. It contradicts that. Indicates that you are allowed 2 bottles of wine, corkage free.

The contract says 1 per person, the FAQ says 1 per person, the boarding pass says 0 per person.

Anyway, I am not going to lose any sleep over it as I don't drink in the stateroom and I don't sleep in the bar 😉

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

The contract says 1 per person, the FAQ says 1 per person, the boarding pass says 0 per person.

Anyway, I am not going to lose any sleep over it as I don't drink in the stateroom and I don't sleep in the bar 😉

 

It’s all so contradictory with different things in different places.  Hope you do take a bottle on board and let us know how you make out.  It will be good to know for our wine tasting for next year 😉 (although the rules will probably change again between now and then 🤣)