Vidal Ice Wine

[cruise*enthusiast]

Does anyone know if Princess carries Vidal Ice Wine?  I like the one made by Inniskillin Winery, but any brand would suffice.

[XBGuy]

The fact that there has been no response to your query does not bode well, @cruise*enthusiast.

 

As a wine buff have regularly studied the Princess wine lists, and I can't say that I recall ever seeing Ice Wine (or if you would like to go "Old World." Eiswein) being offered.  The only dessert wines that I can recall are the Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc and Rieussec Sauternes.  I saw a picture posted recently of the Errazuriz being offered at the Chef;s Table.  So, it looks like that one is still offered.  I really am not sure if Rieussec is still available.

[cruise*enthusiast]

15 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

The fact that there has been no response to your query does not bode well, @cruise*enthusiast.

 

As a wine buff have regularly studied the Princess wine lists, and I can't say that I recall ever seeing Ice Wine (or if you would like to go "Old World." Eiswein) being offered.  The only dessert wines that I can recall are the Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc and Rieussec Sauternes.  I saw a picture posted recently of the Errazuriz being offered at the Chef;s Table.  So, it looks like that one is still offered.  I really am not sure if Rieussec is still available.

Thank you very much for the info.  Not really a fan of SB or Sauternses.  Do you happen to recall any Moscato or Banfi Rosa Regale?

[Barry H]

We are also fans of ice wine. It is available in 375 or 200 ml bottles. We bring our own bottle of ice wine with us and enjoy it in our cabin. We pack a couple of small wine glasses that are available at the dollar store. Cost will be a fraction of what Princess would charge.

[XBGuy]

4 hours ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

Thank you very much for the info.  Not really a fan of SB or Sauternses.  Do you happen to recall any Moscato or Banfi Rosa Regale?

 

I can't say that I do.

 

@Barry H beat me to it.  I would suggest that you buy your own bottle and bring it onboard.  Personally, I don't think it is necessary to bring your own glasses.  We have always asked our room steward to bring us some wine glasses when he introduces himself on embarkation day.  Also, I have walked up to Vines and asked for a couple glasses.

[cruisingthomas]

We live in Niagara-on-the-Lake (not far from Inniskillin). We have never found a Canadian Ice Wine on Princess. We have found a couple Late Harvest Wines (but not Canadian)

[KreinKrunker]

5 hours ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

  Do you happen to recall any Moscato or Banfi Rosa Regale?

I have seen Moscato.

[cruise*enthusiast]

12 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

I can't say that I do.

 

@Barry H beat me to it.  I would suggest that you buy your own bottle and bring it onboard.  Personally, I don't think it is necessary to bring your own glasses.  We have always asked our room steward to bring us some wine glasses when he introduces himself on embarkation day.  Also, I have walked up to Vines and asked for a couple glasses.

Is there a corkage fee when you bring your own bottle?

[XBGuy]

4 hours ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

Is there a corkage fee when you bring your own bottle?

 

It depends.  So, bear with me.

 

Princess allows each adult passenger to carry on a single 750ml bottle of wine to enjoy in their cabin.  Taking that bottle to a dining room or restaurant will incur a $20 corkage fee.

 

Multiple posters here on Cruise Critic have stated that they have poured a glass of wine in their cabin, carried that glass of wine to a dining room and enjoyed it with dinner without being charged any fees.

 

The rule pretty clearly states that the wine be carried on.  I see that you live in New Hampshire and, presumably, in order to get to an embarkation port, you will have to fly.  If you are aware of a location in the port city where you can pick up a bottle of wine, you will be fine, but if you plan to buy it at your home location you will then have to work around TSA regulations.  You will not be allowed to carry a bottle of wine onto your aircraft.  So, you will have to pack it in checked baggage,  In my case I have retrieved wine in my checked baggage at the airport after reclaiming my baggage so that I could carry it onto the ship.  It's a pain, but it works.

 

When you check in, more than likely one of the agents at the X-Ray scanning station will notice the wine, but since you are brining on only one bottle per adult, you will be allowed to board with your wine.

 

The rule also specifies a 750ml bottle.  Dessert wines are often sold in 375ml bottles.  I have seen a few posts here on Cruise Critic indicating that smaller bottles have been allowed. That seems reasonable to me.  So, if you want to bring a smaller bottle, I think you will be OK.  On the other hand if you get an agent at the pier who is starting his first day on the job and his instructions say "750ml bottle," he may very well have the bottle seized.  These seized bottles are returned on the last day of the cruise. 

 

If my explanations have been confusing, please ask for clarification and I'll try again.

 

Also, Princess does allow passengers to bring more that one bottle per adult onboard.  If that is of interest to you, I can explain how that works.  As you might expect, that will involve corkage fees.

[cruise*enthusiast]

7 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

It depends.  So, bear with me.

 

Princess allows each adult passenger to carry on a single 750ml bottle of wine to enjoy in their cabin.  Taking that bottle to a dining room or restaurant will incur a $20 corkage fee.

 

Multiple posters here on Cruise Critic have stated that they have poured a glass of wine in their cabin, carried that glass of wine to a dining room and enjoyed it with dinner without being charged any fees.

 

The rule pretty clearly states that the wine be carried on.  I see that you live in New Hampshire and, presumably, in order to get to an embarkation port, you will have to fly.  If you are aware of a location in the port city where you can pick up a bottle of wine, you will be fine, but if you plan to buy it at your home location you will then have to work around TSA regulations.  You will not be allowed to carry a bottle of wine onto your aircraft.  So, you will have to pack it in checked baggage,  In my case I have retrieved wine in my checked baggage at the airport after reclaiming my baggage so that I could carry it onto the ship.  It's a pain, but it works.

 

When you check in, more than likely one of the agents at the X-Ray scanning station will notice the wine, but since you are brining on only one bottle per adult, you will be allowed to board with your wine.

 

The rule also specifies a 750ml bottle.  Dessert wines are often sold in 375ml bottles.  I have seen a few posts here on Cruise Critic indicating that smaller bottles have been allowed. That seems reasonable to me.  So, if you want to bring a smaller bottle, I think you will be OK.  On the other hand if you get an agent at the pier who is starting his first day on the job and his instructions say "750ml bottle," he may very well have the bottle seized.  These seized bottles are returned on the last day of the cruise. 

 

If my explanations have been confusing, please ask for clarification and I'll try again.

 

Also, Princess does allow passengers to bring more that one bottle per adult onboard.  If that is of interest to you, I can explain how that works.  As you might expect, that will involve corkage fees.

Thank you so much for all of the details. I guess I’ll either wait and see if I can get anything close to a dessert wine like Ice Wine, or just stick with mixed drinks.