Corkage Fee

[zitsky]

36 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

That "class" doesn't travel on Celebrity.

I’ve met people on Celebrity who wouldn’t care.  $42 is more than I usually spend on a bottle of wine.  $80 is my limit.  I’ve spent more but I’m usually not impressed.  Plus, it’s really hard to find $200 wine from Lodi.

[sanger727]

1 hour ago, Kordy said:

there is a small class of rich people who won’t care about paying $42 for corkage and would not even notice such a charge.  

 

Those people wouldn't bother stopping and getting wine on the way to the ship.  They would just purchase the overprice bottles available onboard. 

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, sanger727 said:

 

Those people wouldn't bother stopping and getting wine on the way to the ship.  They would just purchase the overprice bottles available onboard. 

Ding ding ding!  🙂

[markeb]

3 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

Those people wouldn't bother stopping and getting wine on the way to the ship.  They would just purchase the overprice bottles available onboard. 

They wouldn’t stop for a bottle on the way to the ship, but they might bring a 15 year old Bordeaux from home if they’re driving. I don’t think there’s a venue onboard that would be worthy of that bottle, but $42 to have it served properly wouldn’t cause them to blink. 

[zitsky]

7 minutes ago, markeb said:

They wouldn’t stop for a bottle on the way to the ship, but they might bring a 15 year old Bordeaux from home if they’re driving. I don’t think there’s a venue onboard that would be worthy of that bottle, but $42 to have it served properly wouldn’t cause them to blink. 

I was going to take some good wine on a cruise to Indonesia but the import limit is 1 bottle per person.  So we’ll bring two bottles as gifts and buy on board.

[sanger727]

19 minutes ago, markeb said:

They wouldn’t stop for a bottle on the way to the ship, but they might bring a 15 year old Bordeaux from home if they’re driving. I don’t think there’s a venue onboard that would be worthy of that bottle, but $42 to have it served properly wouldn’t cause them to blink. 

 

Maybe that's just too different a mindset than me.  I would never take an expensive bottle of wine when traveling.  Of course, I feel the same way about jewelry. There's absolutely no reason to risk breakage, lost, or stolen.

[kirtihk]

54 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’ve met people on Celebrity who wouldn’t care.  $42 is more than I usually spend on a bottle of wine.  $80 is my limit.  I’ve spent more but I’m usually not impressed.  Plus, it’s really hard to find $200 wine from Lodi.

Those are a different "class" vs the "class" notated about in the post # 123..

[drakes2]

27 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

Maybe that's just too different a mindset than me.  I would never take an expensive bottle of wine when traveling.  Of course, I feel the same way about jewelry. There's absolutely no reason to risk breakage, lost, or stolen.

The way luggage is handled at the airport I wouldn't risk bringing an expensive bottle of wine either.  I bring my jewelry with me in my carry on.  This past spring when I got to my hotel pre cruise I opened my case and there was a note that airport security had done a random check of my case. All I had was my cruise clothing in it

Nothing of value. Theft does happen even at that level. 

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

I’ve met people on Celebrity who wouldn’t care.  $42 is more than I usually spend on a bottle of wine.  $80 is my limit.  I’ve spent more but I’m usually not impressed.  Plus, it’s really hard to find $200 wine from Lodi.

I sometimes will spend $100 on a bottle of a great cab but its always been marked down 20 or 25% due to overstock or they need to move them to make room for new stock.  

[zitsky]

53 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

Those are a different "class" vs the "class" notated about in the post # 123..

Maybe it’s you who is not reading carefully enough?

[kirtihk]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

Maybe it’s you who is not reading carefully enough?

Perhaps.  My observation is there are people who (due to money "issue") prefer Regent/Ponant/Seabourn/Silversea/Crystal/Scenic/Ritz-Carlton or a private yacht, and then there are individuals who just don't care of the way they spend, and that's why I wrote my reply to you.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, kirtihk said:

Perhaps.  My observation is there are people who (due to money "issue") prefer Regent/Ponant/Seabourn/Silversea/Crystal/Scenic/Ritz-Carlton or a private yacht, and then there are individuals who just don't care of the way they spend, and that's why I wrote my reply to you.

 
There are all kinds of people on Celebrity.

[kirtihk]

33 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 
There are all kinds of people on Celebrity.

It’s good, isn’t it?  We have a variety…

[zitsky]

14 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

It’s good, isn’t it?  We have a variety…

Yes.  Now please get out of my way while I board the tender to my private yacht.  🙂

[kirtihk]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

Yes.  Now please get out of my way while I board the tender to my private yacht.  🙂

At this point of our communication (on multiple occasions), I actually expected an invitation from you to test what is all this fuss about private yachting and such.  Or, … perhaps, at least, see you on December 1 (on Regent Voyager from Cape Town to Dubai).

 

By the way, I wonder why starting yesterday, I don’t get an email notification from Cruise Critic anymore regarding people replying to my posts.

Edited Wednesday at 11:18 PM by kirtihk

[NMTraveller]

So what do they charge if you uncork the bottle of wine yourself in the dining room?  Do they still charge you the ridiculous fee? 🤣

[markeb]

32 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

So what do they charge if you uncork the bottle of wine yourself in the dining room?  Do they still charge you the ridiculous fee? 🤣

Corkage has little to nothing to do with opening the bottle. As I’m sure you know. 

[kirtihk]

41 minutes ago, markeb said:

Corkage has little to nothing to do with opening the bottle. As I’m sure you know. 

Aesop language

[Iamcruzin]

10 hours ago, Kordy said:

there is a small class of rich people who won’t care about paying $42 for corkage and would not even notice such a charge.  

The rich people wouldn't even waste the energy it takes to bring on wine. They will most likely be in a suite with drinks included or just pay for the wine in the MDR.

[DaKahuna]

On 9/23/2024 at 6:27 PM, canderson said:

You do know that this is where the British expression "I'm off to 'spend a penny'" comes from, yes?

 

 

 Sorry I do not recall ever hearing that expression.  In my years in the Navy I have heard a number of terms and most of them are suitable for publication. 

 

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

So what do they charge if you uncork the bottle of wine yourself in the dining room?  Do they still charge you the ridiculous fee? 🤣

 

Why would you even want to do that.  If you are going to open it yourself, open it in your room, pour a glass full and bring it with you and avoid the situation all together. 

 

 

 

[DaKahuna]

5 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

The rich people wouldn't even waste the energy it takes to bring on wine. They will most likely be in a suite with drinks included or just pay for the wine in the MDR.

 

Not only rich people sail in suites with the included drink packages.  Some of us common folk choose to do that as well. 

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

Just now, DaKahuna said:

 

Not only rich people sail in suites with the included drink packages.  Some of us common folk choose to do that as well. 

That's not the point. Kordy commented that rich people would pay the corkage. My answer to that was they would probably be booked in a suite and have the drink package. You proved my point by saying common folk book suites as well. If a rich person doesn't want to foot the bill to book a suite you can bet that they won't pay a $42 corkage fee either.  Common folk also book standard rooms AI or buy the drink package. So I don't know who will be paying this fee and I hope they disclose the outrageous amount before they open the bottle. It would be cheaper to just buy the wine at that price point.

[NMTraveller]

42 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

Why would you even want to do that.  

 

 

 

To hear the simultaneous popping of corks in the dining room ...

[markeb]

2 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

That's not the point. Kordy commented that rich people would pay the corkage. My answer to that was they would probably be booked in a suite and have the drink package. You proved my point by saying common folk book suites as well. If a rich person doesn't want to foot the bill to book a suite you can bet that they won't pay a $42 corkage fee either.  Common folk also book standard rooms AI or buy the drink package. So I don't know who will be paying this fee and I hope they disclose the outrageous amount before they open the bottle. It would be cheaper to just buy the wine at that price point.

 

No one is going to pay a $42 corkage fee for a $42 bottle of wine. (BTW, has anyone confirmed there is in fact a gratuity on that? The FAQs simply say $35 corkage fee. Did they add a gratuity on the $25 corkage fee?) They will pay a corkage for opening a good bottle of their own wine not available on the ship. Or a vintage that's appropriately aged for the wine as opposed to the current releases sold on the ship. Unless you drive to the port it's logistically challenging to get a good bottle to the ship, but that's who would pay a corkage. You want a good bottle, possibly decanted, and served properly with a nice meal. This isn't a wine you open in your stateroom and carry around the ship to avoid paying corkage or to avoid a drink package. And it definitely would not be cheaper to just buy the wine on the ship. The wines I'd consider bringing would absolutely NOT be available on the ship, and I know plenty of people with much more and much more expensive wine than I have.

 

That corkage is now moderately high compared to high cost areas. Most of their pricing is more New York or San Francisco already. A quick Google search of corkage fees for higher end restaurants in Manhattan averages around $30, with Jean Georges and the Polo Bar coming in at $85 and $100 respectively. Again, those are places people aren't bringing Two-Buck Chuck to!

 

And frankly many people that would bring on a bottle worthy of a higher corkage likely have a drink package anyway and wouldn't be paying the corkage to begin with. They probably will tip something close to the corkage because they are going to ask for the wine to be decanted and served in real glasses. Probably not an MDR wine but more likely a specialty.