Has The Wine Allowance At Embarkation in USA Changed

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

It my thinking that this is actually a saving to X for those with beverage packages.  We always have a premium package and bring on the allowed 2 bottles per person.  At 4 glasses per bottle this is 16 glasses of wine we aren’t ordering on our package. 

And I’m thinking that X saw a drop in alcohol or beverage plan purchases after changing the policy to 2 bottles per person. Thus the reversal. 

[jelayne]

16 minutes ago, RichYak said:

And I’m thinking that X saw a drop in alcohol or beverage plan purchases after changing the policy to 2 bottles per person. Thus the reversal. 

That’s possible.  I also think the increase in price of the packages to $100 + played a role in reducing package sales  or AI bookings.  Which would explain  the big sale on beverage packages over Memorial Day.  Currently our cruise planner has the packages at 20% off even with gratuity keeping it under $100 pp pd.

[neverlaysup]

On 6/17/2023 at 9:08 PM, helen haywood said:

Long time Celebrity cruiser.  I know they used to allow only two bottles of wine at embarkation in the US per cabin.  Then recently they changed the policy to be two bottles per person.  Now I’m being told by a TA that they’ve reversed the policy back to only two bottles per cabin.  Anyone have any definitive information?

It's 1 bottle per person for cruises departing NON-US ports from what I read in the changes from a couple of months ago. In the states, it's still 2 bottles per person of legal drinking age.

 

UPDATE- I just read the FAQ's and it does now say 1 bottle per person. My E Docs still say 2 so I will be going with that when I board. I guess it's time to actually print and highlight that section in case I am challenged. If this change is true, it's a bit upsetting to me since the selection of wine on the Classic and Premium package is traditionally wine I would never purchase or drink at home. We enjoyed bringing 4 great bottles from home to enjoy with our nice meals.

Edited June 20, 2023 by neverlaysup

[goofysmom99]

I haven't bought wine pre-embarkation in Italy in quite awhile, years actually.  Has anyone recently shopped for wine precruise in Italy?  Wondering if I'll be able to buy anything with screw caps.  I know their use has been hotly debated there. Prefer them on cruises - easily opened/reclosed, no corkscrew/assistance/stopper needed.  

[jelayne]

14 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

I haven't bought wine pre-embarkation in Italy in quite awhile, years actually.  Has anyone recently shopped for wine precruise in Italy?  Wondering if I'll be able to buy anything with screw caps.  I know their use has been hotly debated there. Prefer them on cruises - easily opened/reclosed, no corkscrew/assistance/stopper needed.  

Corkage fee has nothing to do with the actual opening of the wine.  If you bring a bottle into a restaurant or dining room then there is a corkage fee, it is an offset to the wine they would have sold you. 

[goofysmom99]

40 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Corkage fee has nothing to do with the actual opening of the wine.  If you bring a bottle into a restaurant or dining room then there is a corkage fee, it is an offset to the wine they would have sold you. 

No corkage concern.  I'd like to be able to open a bottle by myself for use in my cabin without needing a corkscrew (lousy hand strength these days).   I never finish a bottle in one sitting and a screwcap makes closing easy.  Italy officially doesn't like screwcaps but some vintners are using them anyway.  For a change this year, I'm arriving early enough to shop so I hope screwtops bottles won't be difficult to find.  Hoping someone reading this has bought wine in Italy this year.

[goofysmom99]

30 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

No corkage concern.  I'd like to be able to open a bottle by myself for use in my cabin without needing a corkscrew (lousy hand strength these days).   I never finish a bottle in one sitting and a screwcap makes closing easy.  Italy officially doesn't like screwcaps but some vintners are using them anyway.  For a change this year, I'm arriving early enough to shop so I hope screwtops bottles won't be difficult to find.  Hoping someone reading this has bought wine in Italy this year.

Note to self....why not ask this on the Italy board?  🤔  (Duh, because I totally forgot about it!)

[NMTraveller]

5 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

Note to self....why not ask this on the Italy board?  🤔  (Duh, because I totally forgot about it!)

Perhaps half bottles with screw tops...

[gfkcruiser]

11 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

It's 1 bottle per person for cruises departing NON-US ports from what I read in the changes from a couple of months ago. In the states, it's still 2 bottles per person of legal drinking age.

 

UPDATE- I just read the FAQ's and it does now say 1 bottle per person. My E Docs still say 2 so I will be going with that when I board. I guess it's time to actually print and highlight that section in case I am challenged. If this change is true, it's a bit upsetting to me since the selection of wine on the Classic and Premium package is traditionally wine I would never purchase or drink at home. We enjoyed bringing 4 great bottles from home to enjoy with our nice meals.

Just read the one per person in the FAQ section.  Was 2 per person in February.  

[SSFrance69]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:40 PM, phoenix_dream said:

We will just need to agree to disagree as to who's being petty.  I think expecting them to let you bring on whatever amount of wine you like is unreasonable, as well as naive.  So enjoy Oceania.   Hope they cater to you as much as you want.  I wonder if you've sailed on them recently.  People have said they are experiencing cutbacks as well, as is every other cruise line sailing.

I sailed on them for the first time in March 2023 and it was wonderful. I don't know what they have cut back on, because I don't have a prior experience with them to compare to. I can say that they are worlds above X in terms of quality of food. The cut backs people have complained about are less time in port. That doesn't bother me. Also please don't put words in my mouth. I never said I want to bring whatever amount of wine I want. I simply want to bring the two 750ml bottles that have been policy for a long time now. Oceania allows you to bring 6 bottles. I brought 3, so I'm not trying to milk anything. It's the principle of how Celebrity keeps taking things away from their loyal customers. So I agree to disagree with you, and my loyalty is no longer with Celebrity. I found a better brand.

[RobertoF]

On 6/19/2023 at 11:48 PM, goofysmom99 said:

No corkage concern.  I'd like to be able to open a bottle by myself for use in my cabin without needing a corkscrew (lousy hand strength these days).   I never finish a bottle in one sitting and a screwcap makes closing easy.  Italy officially doesn't like screwcaps but some vintners are using them anyway.  For a change this year, I'm arriving early enough to shop so I hope screwtops bottles won't be difficult to find.  Hoping someone reading this has bought wine in Italy this year.

Got back a couple of weeks ago from Italy (Edge from Rome to Barcelona). You are right that screwtops are hard to find in Italy. I found a few cheap "house" brands with screw tops but that was about it. I brought a corkscrew so I could open bottles, but you can find screwcaps if you are willing to limit yourself to the lower end stuff.

[gfkcruiser]

On 6/20/2023 at 12:53 PM, SSFrance69 said:

I sailed on them for the first time in March 2023 and it was wonderful. I don't know what they have cut back on, because I don't have a prior experience with them to compare to. I can say that they are worlds above X in terms of quality of food. The cut backs people have complained about are less time in port. That doesn't bother me. Also please don't put words in my mouth. I never said I want to bring whatever amount of wine I want. I simply want to bring the two 750ml bottles that have been policy for a long time now. Oceania allows you to bring 6 bottles. I brought 3, so I'm not trying to milk anything. It's the principle of how Celebrity keeps taking things away from their loyal customers. So I agree to disagree with you, and my loyalty is no longer with Celebrity. I found a better brand.

Did you have a drink package on Oceania?  

[SSFrance69]

18 minutes ago, gfkcruiser said:

Did you have a drink package on Oceania?  

Yes we had the basic package that came with the booking (wine and beer with lunch and dinner) and we upgraded to the premium package, anything anytime. It was great! Lovely selection of wine by the glass, as well as anything we wanted cocktail-wise. Top shelf.

[NMTraveller]

On 6/19/2023 at 9:23 PM, goofysmom99 said:

Note to self....why not ask this on the Italy board?  🤔  (Duh, because I totally forgot about it!)

They do have the battery powered corkscrews now.  Rather nice.  I bring one along on my trips.

[SSFrance69]

17 hours ago, gfkcruiser said:

Did you have a drink package on Oceania?  

Yes. The basic package that includes wine and beer with lunch and dinner. I upgraded to the premium package, so I could get whatever whenever. It was really nice and they had a really nice selection of wine by the glass. Edit. I forgot I already answered this the other day and saw my duplicate answer post. Sorry for the redundancy. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by SSFrance69

[drakes2]

17 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

They do have the battery powered corkscrews now.  Rather nice.  I bring one along on my trips.

I bring a wine stopper in case the cork breaks also my Vinturi travel aerator. Enjoy sitting on my balcony prior to dinner with a glass of wine.  

[Tudy]

Interesting to note. My cruise contract to my cruise leaving July 28th now says that 1 bottle of wine is allowed per person.

 

I rechecked my contract for my cruise leaving July 13th and it still says 2 bottles per person.

[bigAWL]

For what it's worth...

 

Both of the following paragraphs appear in my Cruise Docs (Guest Ticket Booklet) that just became available to view today for Eclipse from Vancouver to Alaska on Aug 13.

 

"Guests are not allowed to bring beer or hard liquor onboard for consumption or any other use. Guests wishing to bring personal wine onboard with them on embarkation day may do so, limited to one (1) bottle per guest, but when consumed in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle shall be subject to a corkage fee of $25.00. A corkage fee does not apply to guests with a Classic Beverage Package or Premium Beverage Package."

 

"**Two bottles of wine per guest (of legal drinking age) are allowed on embarkation day, subject to corkage fees. A corkage fee does not apply to guests with the Classic Drink Package or Premium Drink Package."

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 minutes ago, bigAWL said:

For what it's worth...

 

Both of the following paragraphs appear in my Cruise Docs (Guest Ticket Booklet) that just became available to view today for Eclipse from Vancouver to Alaska on Aug 13.

 

"Guests are not allowed to bring beer or hard liquor onboard for consumption or any other use. Guests wishing to bring personal wine onboard with them on embarkation day may do so, limited to one (1) bottle per guest, but when consumed in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle shall be subject to a corkage fee of $25.00. A corkage fee does not apply to guests with a Classic Beverage Package or Premium Beverage Package."

 

"**Two bottles of wine per guest (of legal drinking age) are allowed on embarkation day, subject to corkage fees. A corkage fee does not apply to guests with the Classic Drink Package or Premium Drink Package."

Clear as mud...

[jbcallender]

My cruise docs for my 8/4 cruise say "1 Bottle per passenger", of age of course.

[bigAWL]

2 hours ago, jbcallender said:

My cruise docs for my 8/4 cruise say "1 Bottle per passenger", of age of course.

What does it say under "Before you Board"... "What not to pack?"

[George C]

The two bottles per was nice while it lasted . 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I'm still having mine that I printed in June that say 2 with me.

 

(Also, for fun, I looked at the Cape Liberty website and IT says 2 per person!)

[Pilotmom]

Hi all!  Here is my recent experience with wine.  I sailed on the Summit out of Cape Liberty on 7/16/23.  My cruise documents said 2 bottles per person. There were multiple signs saying one bottle per person prior to going through security.  Security did stop me and told me the new policy of one bottle per person started July 1st.  It did not matter that my cruise documents (which I printed 3 days prior) said 2 bottles per person.  There were 3 of us travelling and they did take 3 bottles of wine from me.  The wine was delivered to my room later in the cruise. 

 

Does anyone have suggestions on how to get wine glasses onboard?  I wanted to take a glass back to my cabin to drink my wine, but it was difficult to get glasses from several of the bars.  I was not charged a corkage fee, but they did ask for my room number and a $0 charge was put on my account.  

[jelayne]

Your cabin attendant will get wine glasses for the cabin.