Taking Wine on Board

[beemer66]

I'm very confused. NCL policy strictly forbids the taking of wine on board, yet several people talk about carrying on liters or boxes of wine. We just want to be able to have a drink on our balcony, and to be able to bring our choice of wine on board for that. (We don't mind buying a bottle with dinner in the dining room.) How does one explain this? Does one "tip" someone when boarding? Thanks.

[KeystoneCruiser]

NCL allows you to pay a "corkage fee" of $15 per bottle when you board for your own wine. All you have to do is tell the security person at the carry on screening location at boarding that you have wine that you wish to declare. They will have you step to the side, pay the fee for the # of bottles that you have, place stickers on the bottles and away you go onto the ship. You can then take those bottles of wine with you to the dining rooms or enjoy it in your cabin.

 

Some will suggest that you become a rule breaker and attempt to sneak it onboard. NCL is very strict and observant in this area. If you try to sneak it in your checked luggage and their scanners find it, your luggage will be removed and sent to the "naughty room" onboard. You will receive a note to come and claim your luggage there. Once there you will have to open your luggage and show that you don't have wine (or other alcohol.). If you do have wine, then you will pay the corkage then. Any other alcohol will be confiscated until the end of your cruise.

 

So much better and more honest just to declare it upfront.

[newmexicoNita]

many have put the boxes in their luggage and gotten away with it, but if you are spotted or better your luggage XRayed and spotted you will have report to the naughty room. The wine will be kept until the last day of the cruise.If you choose to do this, don't come back whining cause you got caught. We have found it just better to either purchase a wine package prior to cruiseing or pay the $15 cockage fee. NMnita

[beachchick]

But you can bring it onboard legally and pay the $15 per bottle "corkage" fee (which applies no matter where you plan to drink it onboard, even if it's for your cabin consumption only). So, if you try to sneak it onboard and get called to the naughty room, you have the choice of having them hold it until the last night or ponying up the $15 per bottle fee and taking it to your cabin.

 

beachchick

[shark&minnow]

What do you know about bringing beer on board? I know that they don't want hard liquor brought on, and I know about the $15 on the wine....but I don't know how they treat beer. Thank you

[shoreguy]

What do you know about bringing beer on board? I know that they don't want hard liquor brought on, and I know about the $15 on the wine....but I don't know how they treat beer. Thank you

 

They keep it until the last day :eek:

[beemer66]

Thanks so much, all of you, for clarifying that. I appreciate it.

[joseph123]

That sounds very odd to me. I have sailed on Princess, Celebrity, and RCCL and have never had any problems bringing anything on board discretely. They all have the same policies but I have never had any bags confiscated or been sent to a "naughty room". Is this strict policy only enforced NCL? I will be sailing on the Spirit in Sept and was hoping to bring a few bottles on board to enjoy in the stateroom. Quite honestly most wines that I purchase do not even cost $15.00, so the corkage fee would not make sense.

[richkinkade]

NCL is much stricter than other lines. Having said that, I once brought one bottle of Champagne on an NCL cruise and the luggage was sent to the naughty luggage room. Although I was willing to pay the corkage fee, the guy said since it was only one bottle and we were going to drink it in our cabin, forget about it.

[Tucker in Texas]

Quite honestly most wines that I purchase do not even cost $15.00, so the corkage fee would not make sense.

 

That same bottle will cost you $40 plus $6 tip on the ship. A glass will be $7 and will be half full if you are lucky.

 

Here is a ploy that may or may not work. A friend of mine tried to sneak a coke bottle full of bourbon in one suit case and a sprite bottle full of Vodka in another suitcase along with a bottle of bloody mary mix on NCL. Both suitcases were sent to the "naughty" room. When confronted with the coke bottle and asked if it had coke in it, they did not lie, and said it didn't. They took it up. Opening the other suitcase, they held up the bloody mary mix and asked if it was alcohol. They said "no." The guy put it back in the suitcase and let them go, never went further. So, what you might do is have some plain old sodas near the top of the suitcase. If they call you down, they may ask you if they are cokes (or inspect them closely to see if the seal is broken which they did on the Dr. Pepper's in my carry-on) and "call it a day." In other words, the right hand might not know what the left hand saw on the x-ray machine. My friend said there was a big pile of Listerine bottles, coke bottles, etc. containing liquor they had taken up.

 

I just completed a 19 day trans-Atlantic cruise (from Houston) which is a long time to be at the mercy of inflated booze/soda prices. I packed a box of wine in a larger box padded with clothes (so it wasn't the obvious "square") and gift wrapped it and also 24 bottles of soda. I vacuum packed them. I was embarking from the same port my friend was. I fully expected to be called down to examine my suitcase because of the sodas. I also did not board until 4:00 p.m. so the "masses" had already gone through and if they were "sloppy" with all the influx of luggage then, they would have plenty of time to look at mine. I was not called down, in fact, my luggage just about beat me to my cabin. So it is the luck of the draw on whether they have the x-ray machines going or not. However, on the last day, I saw a lonely crew member sitting in the lounge with piles of liquor around him for people to pick up. Some of it had been bought in port or on the ship to be sure, but a lot of it you could see were bottles they had taken up. Either I was lucky or they came out of carry-on bags.

 

Tucker in Texas

[beachchick]

That sounds very odd to me. I have sailed on Princess, Celebrity, and RCCL and have never had any problems bringing anything on board discretely. They all have the same policies but I have never had any bags confiscated or been sent to a "naughty room". Is this strict policy only enforced NCL? I will be sailing on the Spirit in Sept and was hoping to bring a few bottles on board to enjoy in the stateroom. Quite honestly most wines that I purchase do not even cost $15.00, so the corkage fee would not make sense.

 

The question isn't so much how much you normally pay for the wine, but how much the cruise line charges for it (or the equivalent) onboard. I'll pay the $15 fee NCL charges because I don't hide wine I'm bringing onboard. There were many, many people who had to go to the naughty room on PoH.

 

The corkage fee makes sense to me because ships, like bars and restaurants, have a hefty markup. I think that NCL should call it a "consumption" fee because they charge it no matter where you're going to drink it onboard. Frankly, I think the markup on most ships for the lower to mid-level wines is absurd. It's often 300% to 400%. So, if I bring a wine I like which I bought on sale for $6 and pay the $15, I'm still well ahead of the $35 or more NCL charges for that same wine. (I should mention that we live in one of CA's premier wine region and have friends who are vintners. When the wineries want to "off load" extra stock, it usually goes to our local stores, who sell it for a song. One year, I procured several mixed cases of wine that was on sale for $3 a bottle here, but that normally retails for $14-$18. That $6 bottle of wine I bring onboard might normally retail for $12-$14, so I do understand our situation is not typical. When my sister was in Minnesota, she saw a bottle of wine we get here for $9 regular price that was $20 there.)

 

beachchick

[KeystoneCruiser]

Why can't people just simply FOLLOW THE RULES!! Why try to sneak it on. The rules are there for all, not just for those who find them conveinent.

 

To me those who sneak alcohol or other contraband on are simply common crimminals!!

[joseph123]

The rules do vary from line to line and I would hardly call someone trying to bring an innocent bottle of wine on board a "common criminal". Princess is considered a more upscale line by many in comparison to NCL, and they practically encouraged this at the port in San Juan. They had a duty free liquor store right at the gangway entrance and did not question anyone bringing anything on board. It seems as if your cruise experience is limited to NCL so I thought you should know that there are differences out there.:)

[shoreguy]

The rules do vary from line to line and I would hardly call someone trying to bring an innocent bottle of wine on board a "common criminal". Princess is considered a more upscale line by many in comparison to NCL, and they practically encouraged this at the port in San Juan. They had a duty free liquor store right at the gangway entrance and did not question anyone bringing anything on board. It seems as if your cruise experience is limited to NCL so I thought you should know that there are differences out there.:)

 

and RCI won't let you bring anything anymore. Every line has it rules. As you said not a crime but a good thing to understand before you head to the ship with a cooler full of beverages :D

[cdcard]

Is there a limit on the size of the bottle?

Bob

[shoreguy]

Is there a limit on the size of the bottle?

Bob

 

Non published - but don't be surprise if you are asked to pay double corkage on a 1.5 liter bottle. It has happened but not often.

[Kittykath]

They don't always check the carry-on bags... I believe some people "luck out" and get their bottles onboard !! Meanwhile, I agree that in some cases a $15 corkage fee is almost nominal compared to what NCL charges for a bottle of wine/champagne... A bottle of champagne on sale for $17 with a corkage fee of $15 is certainly cheaper than $57... same with wine--some of our favorite wines go on sale for as low as $6 (we're "cheap dates"!!!)... next time we cruise we'll bring at least 7 bottles on board, pay the corkage fees, and I'm sure we'll save $$ ... sure wish the cruise ships would go all inclusive... or at least offer beer and soda for FREE !! Wouldn't that be a win-win??

[nythorn]

I have always taken a bottle of Absolut on board in my carry-on and never had any issues. 7 cruises later I plan on taking one on my eighth in August.

 

No criminal here as stated above. Merely a hard working middle class guy who works hard for his money.

 

You can bet too the we give the bar a fair amount of business as well. Nobody is losing out on anything by me having a couple of cocktails in my cabin.

[beachchick]

They don't always check the carry-on bags... I believe some people "luck out" and get their bottles onboard !! Meanwhile, I agree that in some cases a $15 corkage fee is almost nominal compared to what NCL charges for a bottle of wine/champagne... A bottle of champagne on sale for $17 with a corkage fee of $15 is certainly cheaper than $57... same with wine--some of our favorite wines go on sale for as low as $6 (we're "cheap dates"!!!)... next time we cruise we'll bring at least 7 bottles on board, pay the corkage fees, and I'm sure we'll save $$ ... sure wish the cruise ships would go all inclusive... or at least offer beer and soda for FREE !! Wouldn't that be a win-win??

 

IMO, no. Not unless they did it without raising cruise fares one penny. I'm glad that alcohol in particular is not included because including it would certainly raise cruise fares significantly. My DH doesn't drink at all. I don't want him to have to subsidize anyone's alcohol consumption except mine. I don't drink beer, so including it wouldn't benefit me in the least. Plus, I honestly believe that making alcohol inclusive would encourage some people to drink as much as possible in order to "get their money's worth" as so many pax do with the food. If someone overeats onboard, they're unlikely to affect the cruise experiences of others (except the obvious, um, gaseous eruptions that might occur); if someone feels they have to drink, drink, drink to get the most out of the money they paid, they're likely going to affect the cruise experience for others because alcohol affects behavior and often the effects are negative. (I say this as someone who does drink in moderation, and a little bit more on vacation.)

 

IMO, it's not like including food because we all have to eat; we don't have to drink alcohol or soda. And even for food there is included food and optional, extra $ food. So it is with beverages. That works for me.

 

beachchick

[newmexicoNita]

That sounds very odd to me. I have sailed on Princess, Celebrity, and RCCL and have never had any problems bringing anything on board discretely. They all have the same policies but I have never had any bags confiscated or been sent to a "naughty room". Is this strict policy only enforced NCL? I will be sailing on the Spirit in Sept and was hoping to bring a few bottles on board to enjoy in the stateroom. Quite honestly most wines that I purchase do not even cost $15.00, so the corkage fee would not make sense.

First of all, RCCL and Celebrity are starting to crack down as well and won't even allow wine, much less anything else to be brought on. Princess, let's face it, this is just a matter of time. And what has created all this? Too many people trying to bring an entire bar to their cabin.

 

As for most bottles not costing $15, I hear ya. We paid the corkage fee on 2 buck Chuck so it became Seventeen buck Chuck. Look at it this way, if you have a $10 bottle of wine, pay $15 corkage fee you are at $25 but that same bottle on the ship would be $32.00. Just an example. None of us like the policy and yet we have no choice anymore. It is just going to get worse. Carnival has talked about limiting or not allowing soda to be brought on. So far they haven't made it a policy. Nita

[kgm0612]

I sailed the Pearl June 10-17th. I carried on 2 large bottles of Beringer White Zin. I told the young lady checking us in that the wine would be consumed in our cabin. She did NOT charge a $15 per bottle corking fee.

 

Everything you carry on goes through the screeners after you are checked in. Not one person asked about the wine or asked if I had been charged a corking fee.

 

Karen

[newmexicoNita]

The rules do vary from line to line and I would hardly call someone trying to bring an innocent bottle of wine on board a "common criminal". Princess is considered a more upscale line by many in comparison to NCL, and they practically encouraged this at the port in San Juan. They had a duty free liquor store right at the gangway entrance and did not question anyone bringing anything on board. It seems as if your cruise experience is limited to NCL so I thought you should know that there are differences out there.:)

 

yes, they have the duty free liquor in San Juan and maybe you were lucky. On Celebrtiy they had someone waiting for all of us. Our liquor was convescated and returned the last night. I certainly put Celebrity in the upscale catagory, but not Princess.

 

As for Princess and other lines: all other lines now have a bar set up purchase you can reserve prior to sailing, not Princess. They do allow one boy voyage gift: a .375 liter (which is nothing) of vodka or gin and a couple of cans of tonic. That is all they are allowing anymore. No wonder people smuggle. I also agree with Keystone, why can't people just follow the rules? Do we like them no, but it is company policy so get over it. Nita

[ZoneHPH]

that whole bit about "it's for consumption in our room". i guess that could work for the boxed wines, right? i mean...who would actually bring a box of Franzia to the dining rooms. i mean...that would be pretty lame, right?

 

i too am not looking to break the rules. i'll pay the corkage. but when you are in your stateroom...it's just nice to have a drink. i rarely drink anything non-alcoholic when cruising....so you know what my weekly bill ends up being...and i think i'm on the low end.

[kootz]

I sailed the Pearl June 10-17th. I carried on 2 large bottles of Beringer White Zin. I told the young lady checking us in that the wine would be consumed in our cabin. She did NOT charge a $15 per bottle corking fee.

 

Everything you carry on goes through the screeners after you are checked in. Not one person asked about the wine or asked if I had been charged a corking fee.

 

Karen

 

So are you saying and thinking that it is better to carry one the wine rather than in the checked luggage? I wanted to bring a box wine on board the Pearl in August and was going to wrap it in birthday paper. My sister is really coming with us and this is really her birthday present. I guess it might be better as you say to carry it on...

[Kittykath]

IMO, no. Not unless they did it without raising cruise fares one penny. I'm glad that alcohol in particular is not included because including it would certainly raise cruise fares significantly. My DH doesn't drink at all. I don't want him to have to subsidize anyone's alcohol consumption except mine. I don't drink beer, so including it wouldn't benefit me in the least. Plus, I honestly believe that making alcohol inclusive would encourage some people to drink as much as possible in order to "get their money's worth" as so many pax do with the food. If someone overeats onboard, they're unlikely to affect the cruise experiences of others (except the obvious, um, gaseous eruptions that might occur); if someone feels they have to drink, drink, drink to get the most out of the money they paid, they're likely going to affect the cruise experience for others because alcohol affects behavior and often the effects are negative. (I say this as someone who does drink in moderation, and a little bit more on vacation.)

 

IMO, it's not like including food because we all have to eat; we don't have to drink alcohol or soda. And even for food there is included food and optional, extra $ food. So it is with beverages. That works for me.

 

beachchick

 

Have to admit you're right on this... in fact, my DH said the SAME exact thing this a.m. when I told him about my all inclusive beer and soda idea.. IMAGINE the beer (and the passengers!!!) that would get drunk if that were the case!!! Oh, well... hey, it's not going to stop us from cruising again - just have to step up my savings to pay for those cosmos and chardonnays!! Like you, we both drink in moderation and a little more on vacation since we can't have a Corona at lunch in reality!!!