Don't Feel The New $25 Corkage Fee Is Reasonable? (3 threads combined)

[DaveFr]

In its continuing effort to maximize revenues (which they have the right to do) by ensuring that all alcohol consumed onboard is purchased from Celebrity, the company just modified the FAQ on corkage fees to note that, effective November 1, 2006, the corkage fee for gifts of wine brought to the dining room will be $25. With the automatic 15% gratuity added, the new corkage fee will be $28.75 per bottle. Clearly, this fee increase is designed to severely discourage bringing special bottles of wine onboard to drink in the dining room.

 

The second paragraph of the modified FAQ now reads:

 

"Gifts of wine not purchased through Celebrity's Bon Voyage Gift program, or not selected from Celebrity's onboard wine list will be subject to a corkage fee of $25 per bottle, effective November 1, 2006."

 

This fee increase coupled with the recently amended alcohol policy will certainly cause me to think long and hard about whether I want to take the Alaska cruise on Celebrity that I've booked for next September.

 

Ironically, the corkage fee increase will probably have the unintended consequence of passengers drinking more alcohol in their staterooms. The net result may be more inebriated passengers.

[Susan-M]

To me, it's not all that different than going to my favourite restaurant and not being allowed to bring my own bottle of wine. Some restaurants in our city allow it (with a corkage fee) and others don't, but I don't choose the restaurant based on that policy.

 

I enjoy wine with dinner, so it won't turn me into a cabin-drinker either pre or post dinner. It will probably mean that all of the wine that we drink at dinner will now be ordered from Celebrity's wine list.

[SusieV]

Wow. Unbelievable greed.

 

Most restaurants here allow you to bring your own wine with a REASONABLE corkage fee. $25 is not reasonable.

[CaribbeanBound]

Hey, you can always bring a box of wine in your luggage (the "Black Box" wines are actually quite decent), pour yourself a glass and take it with you to dinner.

 

I know, I know, there are a few things "wrong" with this idea (celebrity forgoes some corkage income, the wine steward forgoes some income and a chance to impress, your bottles won't break inside your luggage and make your clothes smell like wine), but it works.

[tuggers]

I personally think $15 was reasonable. $25 is a bit over the top and could be seen as a slap in the face to some of our California wino :D friends who like to bring bottles of wine from small or designer wineries. Most of these wineries don't produce in a quanity

that would ever find their product on X's list.

Bummer!

Hope they update the wine list soon!

[DaveFr]

Duh, there's no gratuity added to the corkage fee. I guess I was thinking of the automatic gratuity added to bottles of wine and other drinks. Sorry for the misinformation. :o

[Karynanne]

I personally think $15 was reasonable. $25 is a bit over the top and could be seen as a slap in the face to some of our California wino :D friends who like to bring bottles of wine from small or designer wineries. Most of these wineries don't produce in a quanity

that would ever find their product on X's list.

Bummer!

Hope they update the wine list soon!

 

I'm one of those "wino" friends...and yes we do like spending time searching for our favorites. Living close (45 min.) to the Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley does give us an opportunity to visit and taste wines, from smaller wineries. But we really do enjoy sharing them with our friends from across the country, when we cruise. Paying a $25.00 corkage is something we'll need to think over a bit.

 

Karyn

[Drew B]

Can somebody PLEASE explain what bottles of wine this would apply to? If you're not allowed to bring wine aboard, and this is not through the Bon Voyage program, how else does wine get on board for you to pay corkage on? I would think that in light of the new policy forbidding bringing wine aboard, corkage would be ELIMINATED as a very concept, not raised!

[dkjretired]

Can somebody PLEASE explain what bottles of wine this would apply to? If you're not allowed to bring wine aboard, and this is not through the Bon Voyage program, how else does wine get on board for you to pay corkage on? I would think that in light of the new policy forbidding bringing wine aboard, corkage would be ELIMINATED as a very concept, not raised!

 

I guess then they are free.....go figure...makes no sense

[DaveFr]

Drew,

 

There are outside companies that will send wine gifts to passengers. That wine could be brought to the dining room with payment of the corkage fee. More importantly (I'm guessing here) Celebrity saw that, through lax enforcement of the new rules, there were many more bottles of wine being brought to the dining room by passengers than could be accounted for by authorized wine gifts provided by outside vendors. Raising the corkage fee to what I consider an unreasonable level is a way to deal with the problem.

[Luckyladym]

Gifts of wine sent by a TA to your cabin but not purchased from X will result in a corkage fee per bottle.

 

It might be a good idea to advise your TA (if you know them well) that you would prefer to have a gift certificate put on your onboard account rather than have wine sent under these new rules.

 

What do you think?

[dileep]

Duh, there's no gratuity added to the corkage fee. I guess I was thinking of the automatic gratuity added to bottles of wine and other drinks. Sorry for the misinformation. :o

 

Part of the corkage fee (1/3??) goes to the sommelier.

[4 cruisers]

This is the worst double talk ever! You can bring NO alcohol on board, but IF you bring a bottle of wine to dinner it is $25-! Give me a break. Wine "gifts" other than Celebrity? What is the difference between that and a wine "gift" from say our parents?!....Celebrity isn't getting a cut? If this is an issue on our upcoming cruise, we will be cancelling Mercury in April. Just not worth the hassle.

[Sky Sweet]

Part of the corkage fee (1/3??) goes to the sommelier.

 

How do you tip the sommelier when you when you bring a bottle of wine to the dining room but there is no corkage fee because it was a gift?

[dileep]

How do you tip the sommelier when you when you bring a bottle of wine to the dining room but there is no corkage fee because it was a gift?

 

Our wine steward on the Millennium never charged us corkage because we gave him a taste of all our wines. On the last day we gave him an envelop with a very nice tip!

 

We had wines we brought and champagnes as part of Bon Voyage gifts!

[oceanbear]

Out of curiousity, how does Celebrity handle personal bottles of wine consumed with a meal served in a person's suite?

[Andym]

oceanbear

 

Out of curiousity, how does Celebrity handle personal bottles of wine consumed with a meal served in a person's suite?

 

They had not thought of that one, you just gave them a reason to change the rules. Someone will be sat in an office somewhere thinking 'that will give us a couple more dollars'

[uktog]

There is a further twist in this tail!

I was ordering wine from the Bon Voyage package and the lady on the phonr advised me that I could only drink this wine in my room. If I wished to drink it in the dining room I had to say now which night and there would be a charge. Actually for us it was not an issue as we order it for lunch time drinks but watch out if you are hoping to have a gift bottle in the dining room!

[m steve]

Put a cork in it!

[chasetf]

Wow. Unbelievable greed. Most restaurants here allow you to bring your own wine with a REASONABLE corkage fee. $25 is not reasonable.

Probably making up for all the "snuck in" wine they never got revenue for. ;)

[caviargal]

Apparently this is X's answer to the complaints about not being allowed to bring wine aboard.:mad: Overcharge them so excessively no one will want to = problem solved.

 

I am glad I have a letter from Mr. H himself confirming permission to bring aboard a few bottles and also stating $15.00 would be charged for my cruise with X.

 

I believe this will be my last cruise with X.

[jakenashleysmom]

I find it hard to believe that one would cancel, or not book with X at all, over something so trivial. Celebrity has quite a nice little wine list, perhaps not all of my favorites and not as extensive as I would like, but THERE IS WINE FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD! Dinner will be fabulous, the ship will be beautiful, and you'll be on VACATION!

[caviargal]

I find it hard to believe that one would cancel, or not book with X at all, over something so trivial. Celebrity has quite a nice little wine list, perhaps not all of my favorites and not as extensive as I would like, but THERE IS WINE FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD! Dinner will be fabulous, the ship will be beautiful, and you'll be on VACATION!

 

Unbelievable for you perhaps, but different strokes as they say. Really, "fabulous" is a relative term.

 

The ships are not all "beautiful", some really need work as X is not maintaining them to a good standard; beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Service on my last X cruise was most definitely not up to snuff, the dress code is randomly enforced, etc. Lots of little things eventually take their toll, not to all but to some of us who have come to expect more.

 

X is making changes that put them more in line with RCI and everyone else. Bigger ships with more pax, strict regulations that really treat passengers like children, i.e., no drinking in your cabin. Really, a cruise line is going to tell me I cannot have a glass of wine in my cabin before dinner while dressing unless it is their wine:confused:. I have never been to a hotel that has done this and don't expect I will.

 

There are many options for a vacation with cruising being just one. If all else was sublime, the wine issue might perhaps not be such a big deal. But it is not, IMHO.

[tuggers]

I have been loathe to point this out but now feel I must.

In the Jack Williams era, which was noticably more apt to care about passengers and repeaters, there was once a corkage increase to $20. After a thread on this

board asking for emails AND snail mail letters he was deluged with upwards of 200 contacts in just one day. The result of that was that they lowered the corkage to $15 which was the suggestion we made as being acceptable. At that time we were paying $8.

Just a thought. Remember, it will take all of us, whether we really care about the wine or not. It is the point that this is just the tip of the iceberg and an indication of what we have to look forward to.

[caviargal]

 

Just a thought. Remember, it will take all of us, whether we really care about the wine or not. It is the point that this is just the tip of the iceberg and an indication of what we have to look forward to.

 

And this is the real issue.