smilealot Posted January 24, 2008 #1 Share Posted January 24, 2008 know you can bring your own wine for room consumption...any way to avoid the dining room corking fee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O2B@C Posted January 24, 2008 #2 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Hi there! Welcome to Cruise Critic. As it happens, there was just a recent discussion on this very issue, here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=696917 Hope this answers your question, but if not, of course you can ask for more info here. Enjoy your cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted January 24, 2008 #3 Share Posted January 24, 2008 You can avoid the dining room corkage fee by drinking your wine in your cabin. If you wish to drink wine, that your brought aboard with you, in the dining room you should expect to be charged a $15 corkage fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsipes Posted January 24, 2008 #4 Share Posted January 24, 2008 You could also fill to wine glasses and carry them from your room to the dining room. Quite often, if we decide to have a cocktail in the piano bar, and it is time for ginner, I always take my half-finished drink with me to dinner. No one has ever questioned it. They have bigger fish to fry, like serving 500 people an impeccable meal in one hour....I don't think anyone is waiting to pounce on you. The problem is actually created by HAL, not the passanger. HAL chargrs exhorbent fees for wine and mixed drinks, and the "corkage fee" is actually a punishment to the customer for not buying their wine which has a 700 percent mark up. If the fees were reasonable, I believe they would actually make more net profit, because more people would drink.:) And how many people travel to hotels and land tours dragging along their favorite cases of wine ???? No One does that. They only bring their own wine to cruise ships because the mark up is outrageous. If a person was really wealthy, they would be sailing on Crystal, Windstar, or one of the Luxury Ships, where drinks are free/gratis. Rich people don't drag cases of wine around....they just order what they want. Only the middle class has to deal with the "corkage fee".:) :D ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boytjie Posted January 24, 2008 #5 Share Posted January 24, 2008 HAL chargrs exhorbent fees for wine and mixed drinks, and the "corkage fee" is actually a punishment to the customer for not buying their wine which has a 700 percent mark up. If the fees were reasonable, I believe they would actually make more net profit, because more people would drink.:) What would your opinion be on a reasonable mark up? And no matter how low you may make it I bet someone else would still complain about that. IMO the wine prices are not exorbitant. And no, I am not rich. And how many people travel to hotels and land tours dragging along their favorite cases of wine ???? No One does that. I don't think hotels on average charge much less. Land tours have drinks? Restaurants' mark up is also not that much different than HALs (in New York it is actually more). If a person was really wealthy, they would be sailing on Crystal, Windstar, or one of the Luxury Ships, where drinks are free/gratis. It isn't free - it is included in the (higher) price of the cruise. There is no free lunch - or wine. Rich people don't drag cases of wine around....they just order what they want. Only the middle class has to deal with the "corkage fee".:) :D ;) I bet some rich people take their favorite wine on board and don't whine about the corkage fee. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimgev Posted January 24, 2008 #6 Share Posted January 24, 2008 HAL chargrs exhorbent fees for wine and mixed drinks, and the "corkage fee" is actually a punishment to the customer for not buying their wine which has a 700 percent mark up. If the fees were reasonable, I believe they would actually make more net profit, because more people would drink.:) And how many people travel to hotels and land tours dragging along their favorite cases of wine ???? No One does that. They only bring their own wine to cruise ships because the mark up is outrageous. If a person was really wealthy, they would be sailing on Crystal, Windstar, or one of the Luxury Ships, where drinks are free/gratis. Rich people don't drag cases of wine around....they just order what they want. Only the middle class has to deal with the "corkage fee".:) :D ;) Huh?:confused: I guess I must live on another planet. A $15 corkage fee is quite reasonable in any nice restaurant and much lower than on other cruise lines. ($25 on Celebrity and they only allow two bottles of wine per cabin) HAL's charge per drink is rather average from my experience in restaurants and hotels. I can't see how anyone can claim it is exhorbitant. PS - I am not "rich". Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCat Posted January 24, 2008 #7 Share Posted January 24, 2008 know you can bring your own wine for room consumption...any way to avoid the dining room corking fee Hello, we've always taken our own wine onboard. Sometimes for inroom consumption, some for the dining room. All I can say is, we would always tip the wine steward cash; on average we got charged for the corkage fee half of the time. If I were you I would plan on the cost of the corkage fee per bottle you plan to take to the dining room. If you happen to not be charged one night...yippee for you, spend it elsewhere. Above all else, leave everything behind & have a great cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted January 24, 2008 #8 Share Posted January 24, 2008 You could also fill to wine glasses and carry them from your room to the dining room. You could dump it into a plastic bag and hide it in your pocket, too - but that's not something we often see on a HAL cruise. Perhaps you're confusing HAL with some other line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeinsb Posted January 24, 2008 #9 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Jsipes, a 700 percent markup? Wow, so that bottle of Sutter Home White Zinfandel cost like what, more than 100 bucks? Just so you come away from all of this having learned something, cruise lines and most restaurants mark up their wine about two to three times, i.e. a $15 bottle costs about $45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaches from georgia Posted January 24, 2008 #10 Share Posted January 24, 2008 The problem is actually created by HAL, not the passanger. HAL chargrs exhorbent fees for wine and mixed drinks, and the "corkage fee" is actually a punishment to the customer for not buying their wine which has a 700 percent mark up. If the fees were reasonable, I believe they would actually make more net profit, because more people would drink.:) Interesting how some people rationalize and blame someone else for what they do instead of themselves. HAL charges a corkage fee if you wish to drink your own wine in their dining room. So be it. You don't want to pay it and instead cheat HAL out of a charge you have legitimately incurred. And I'll make you a bet- if HAL's wine was priced at what you call 'reasonable' you would still take your own glass into the dining room to avoid the charge. And you would still mix your own cocktails in your room and carry them around the ship even though HAL's bar prices are comparable to land restaurants and hardly exorbitant. Do you hide your own popcorn to sneak it into the movies also? :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6rugrats Posted January 24, 2008 #11 Share Posted January 24, 2008 If a person was really wealthy, they would be sailing on Crystal, Windstar, or one of the Luxury Ships, where drinks are free/gratis. Drinks are NOT free on Windstar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffjb Posted January 24, 2008 #12 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I have never brought my own bottle of wine to dinner on any of the many cruises I've taken on Oceania and Princess. I order a bottle evert night. However, I will bring my own bottle of wine to dinner on my upcoming HAL cruise and pay the corkage. The HAL mark up is much higher than the other cruise lines. I think 100% is reasonable. But many of HALs mark ups are 300% or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rouge Wave Posted January 24, 2008 #13 Share Posted January 24, 2008 The corkage fee goes to the wait-staff for the service they offer. If you cannot afford the corkage fee, do not bring the wine into the dining room, Perhaps you should ask yourself if you can afford to cruise in the first place. I do not find the drink or wine prices overly expensive and less then what is charged many fine hotels, bars, restaurants charge. Furthermore, some of the bottles of wine are priced LESS then what you will find it on land. On my last cruise, a bottle of a 2002 Cab which I adore was half the price of what it can be found for on land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jade13 Posted January 24, 2008 #14 Share Posted January 24, 2008 You can avoid the dining room corkage fee by drinking your wine in your cabin. If you wish to drink wine, that your brought aboard with you, in the dining room you should expect to be charged a $15 corkage fee. Celebrity charges a $25.00 corkage fee in the dining room and apparantly only allows pax to bring two bottles onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted January 24, 2008 #15 Share Posted January 24, 2008 The corkage fee goes to the wait-staff for the service they offer. No, it goes to HAL. Propagating incorrect information like this could cause someone to fail to give the wine steward a tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted January 24, 2008 #16 Share Posted January 24, 2008 No, it goes to HAL. Propagating incorrect information like this could cause someone to fail to give the wine steward a tip. Are you sure Ruth? I thought the $15 included the usual 15% bar tip... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garydm Posted January 24, 2008 #17 Share Posted January 24, 2008 A couple of comments.... Drinks and wine are not free on Crystal. Sodas and water are included in the cruise price. Wine is less expensive on Crystal than on HAL and the selection is better. HAL wines used to be about 2X the retail price and now seem to be 3-4X retail. We bring some wine onboard and buy some onboard. Rouge-please share with us the bargain Cab you found. Thanks. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rouge Wave Posted January 24, 2008 #18 Share Posted January 24, 2008 No, it goes to HAL. Propagating incorrect information like this could cause someone to fail to give the wine steward a tip. Nope, I have asked, more then once. I have also seen it posted here on CC. So one of us has bad information........ Just FYI the same goes for the extra charge in the specialty restaurants, the money goes to the servers. However, do tell, why would I tip the wine steward if I bring in my own bottle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rouge Wave Posted January 24, 2008 #19 Share Posted January 24, 2008 A couple of comments.... Drinks and wine are not free on Crystal. Sodas and water are included in the cruise price. Wine is less expensive on Crystal than on HAL and the selection is better. HAL wines used to be about 2X the retail price and now seem to be 3-4X retail. We bring some wine onboard and buy some onboard. Rouge-please share with us the bargain Cab you found. Thanks. Gary Hi Gary, For purly selfish reasons I will not post here which wine, but if you promise to not post it either, then e-mail me and I will tell you. As you may know, 2002 was a GREAT year for Calif Cabs in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted January 24, 2008 #20 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Are you sure Ruth? I thought the $15 included the usual 15% bar tip... You could be right, Dave. I don't know that the steward doesn't get the 15% out of the $15 (is that convoluted?), but that would be after HAL receives it. The steward does not get the entire $15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted January 24, 2008 #21 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Just FYI the same goes for the extra charge in the specialty restaurants, the money goes to the servers. Again, the $30 charge in the Pinncale goes entirely to HAL; none of it goes to the steward. Pinnacle stewards get a portion of the $10/day service charge added to everyone's bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted January 24, 2008 #22 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Again, the $30 charge in the Pinncale goes entirely to HAL; none of it goes to the steward. Pinnacle stewards get a portion of the $10/day service charge added to everyone's bill. That one I agree with - I've heard it directly from the Hotel Manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted January 24, 2008 #23 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Hi Gary, For purly selfish reasons I will not post here which wine, but if you promise to not post it either, then e-mail me and I will tell you. As you may know, 2002 was a GREAT year for Calif Cabs in general. I don't think the Charles Shaw 2002 is still available, though... ;) -dave "I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpslaw Posted January 24, 2008 #24 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I'm not sure who the folks are that complain about corkage fees and "mark up" but they are not well educated with respect to the same. As a person who has been in the restaurant business and still go out quite often to different restaurants from Olive Garden to Ruth Chris and up I can tell you that a) $15.00 is standard for corkage in fine restaurants and in fact is light in some restaurants that I've been to and b) most of the prices of wine at HAL are right in line with normal fine restaurant establishments. So if you folks who are unhappy with the corkage fees and the mark up on wine, I suggest you forget about HAL and cruising and rather than suffering the cost, you should consider staying home and saving your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenito799 Posted January 24, 2008 #25 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I agree with those who are saying that the $15 corkage fee is reasonable. Serving a bottle of wine incurs some costs to restaurants (washing the glassware, a percentage of which is routinely broken on the table or in the washing, etc). Anyone who brings a bottle of wine to a restaurant should also tip for the service accordingly...it takes more server time to open and serve a bottle of wine than plopping down a coke. Whether serving a $100 bottle of wine justifies a higher tip than a $30 bottle of wine is another issue (since they increase the total bill by different amounts). Despite the inconvenience of lugging my wine in, I am happy to have the option. What I pay for wine I love at discounted retail plus $15 will undoubtedly be a better deal than the standard 3 X retail markup at most restaurants. I will see what HAL's wine deals look like next week (!) and I will post my impression son CC. And I feel no shame pouring my wine in my room and carrying it around the deck if I wish--my steward will receive a tip for bringing me glasses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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