Is $15 corkage fee always/actually charged?

[sail7seas]

On HAL, you would get a slip to sign each night.

 

[brucory]

If the corkage fee is charged, when do you find out? Is it required to be listed on your account each day or could you not know until the end of the cruise if you've been charged it all along?

 

You sign each night...

 

You will know immediately if you are paying the surcharge or not...

 

:D :D :D

[PEPALR]

We brought 6 bottles aboard for our last cruise. 5 were brought to the dining room. We were charged a corkage fee for everyone of them. The one we opened in our room we were not charged for - even when we brought the 1/2 empty bottle to the DR to finish it off. They ask for your card and bring you the slip at the end of the meal with the charge on it. The $15 includes the 'mandatory' tip.

 

The corkage fee is to 'replace' lost funds that they would have made if you did not bring your own wine. If you didn't bring wine, then the assumption is that you would have purchased it from them. That is lost revenue. So they charge the corkage to make up for that -regardless if it has a cork, a box or a screw closure.

 

And the standard markup at a restaurant is 300% the cost of the wine. Believe me, I know. I sell wine for a living :D. Some restaurants want to be known as wine destinations so they charge slightly less (maybe 200-250%) but it is rare to see less of a markup than that. HAL is just like a normal high-end restaurant.

[vcdarty]

on the Veendam last February. Tipped the wine stewardess in advance, hoping . . . . Nope. Fifteen bucks per night, and she was the least professional staffperson of our cruise. She did her best, I guess, but she was woefully inexperienced. Couldn't open, couldn't pour. Spills and embarrassment. Poor dear. But we'll for sure bring our own again in December.

[CroneWynd]

Please tell me people don't actually bring boxed wine to the dining room...:eek:

It wasn't on HAL, but I have seen the smaller boxed wines (the ones with the tuxedo styling) in the dining room. The waiter just filled the glasses from it "as normal"...

 

We've carried our own filled glasses in, and also have bought the house wine... great service, either way!

[VampyAmber]

It wasn't on HAL, but I have seen the smaller boxed wines (the ones with the tuxedo styling) in the dining room. The waiter just filled the glasses from it "as normal"...

 

We've carried our own filled glasses in, and also have bought the house wine... great service, either way!

 

 

I was wondering about bringing my own glass into the dining room from my cabin. I like to have a glass of wine at dinner and my husband doesn't drink at all, so $15.00 a night is kind of steep for only one person drinking. Is HAL okay with that?

[cf_chuck]

I was wondering about bringing my own glass into the dining room from my cabin. I like to have a glass of wine at dinner and my husband doesn't drink at all, so $15.00 a night is kind of steep for only one person drinking. Is HAL okay with that?

 

You can get wine at the table for less than $15 per glass. You can also bring your own bottle and have it uncorked at the table and be charged the $15 fee once. If you like, they will store the wine for you for the next night. Where did the $15 / night come from?

["Wandering Wino's&quo]

You can get wine at the table for less than $15 per glass. You can also bring your own bottle and have it uncorked at the table and be charged the $15 fee once. If you like, they will store the wine for you for the next night. Where did the $15 / night come from?

 

Let this wino put her nose into this question.

It's not $15.00 per night, it's $15.00 corkage per bottle.

 

[bookworm0911]

Any wine you bring onboard is not supposed to be taken anywhere on the ship by the glass. It is for in-cabin consumption or taken to the dining room buy the bottle w/ the $15 corkage fee. That is understandable. They will save it for you for another night. The $15 is only charged one time. Or just buy a glass in the dining room which is what I do.

[VampyAmber]

You can get wine at the table for less than $15 per glass. You can also bring your own bottle and have it uncorked at the table and be charged the $15 fee once. If you like, they will store the wine for you for the next night. Where did the $15 / night come from?

 

Thanks for the clarification! When I was on the Norwegian Pearl last year I would just buy a bottle every 2 or 3 nights and they would bring it to whatever restaurant we were eating in. Since I am planning on bringing my own this time, I just assumed the $15.00 was charged per meal, not per bottle. That's great since each bottle usually lasts me 2-3 meals.

[Sundagger]

Duplicate - the boards are slow today.

[Sundagger]

Does anyone know, for certain, if the corkage fee goes to the wine steward? Entirely or partly? If I pay the corkage fee and it goes to the steward, I wouldn't tip in addition to that.

[taxmantoo]

The corkage fee goes to the cruise line. They supply the glasses, the service, the clean-up, and on and on...

The wine steward is part of the pool sharing in the distribution of the 15% service charge added to the corkage fee.

[cf_chuck]

The corkage fee goes to the cruise line. They supply the glasses, the service, the clean-up, and on and on...

The wine steward is part of the pool sharing in the distribution of the 15% service charge added to the corkage fee.

 

I don't remember a service charge added to the corkage fee. I think part of the fee goes to the bar pool.

[MightyQuinn]

Does anyone know, for certain, if the corkage fee goes to the wine steward? Entirely or partly?

I can tell you, based on actual recent chits, that the $15 charge breaks out as follows: Corkage Fee $13.04 and Service Charge $1.96. Nice profit for HAL but lousy tip for the wine steward.

[cf_chuck]

I can tell you, based on actual recent chits, that the $15 charge breaks out as follows: Corkage Fee $13.04 and Service Charge $1.96. Nice profit for HAL but lousy tip for the wine steward.

 

Thanks. I agree it's piddling for the steward.

[rarescrambler]

Confirming it's acceptable to bring your own bottle of wine to the PG. If bottle is unfinished, will they take it to the DR for the next night?

[cf_chuck]

Confirming it's acceptable to bring your own bottle of wine to the PG. If bottle is unfinished, will they take it to the DR for the next night?

 

You canl eave it in the DR and they will serve it the next night.

[Q.E.D.]

You canl eave it in the DR and they will serve it the next night.

I think the question was" "If you leave it in the Pinnacle Grill, will they physically transport it to the main DR the following night"

[GeezLouise1]

I think the question was" "If you leave it in the Pinnacle Grill, will they physically transport it to the main DR the following night"

They might try!! We had a delicious bottle of wine in the Pinnacle Grill on the Zaandam. We drank it all. My husband asked if a bottle of that particular wine was available in the dining room, the next evening. The steward disappeared for quite some time, then returned to report that he'd looked high and low and couldn't find our bottle. Poor guy thought we wanted to finish off a bottle we'd already started. He certainly tried for us! Upshot was that particular bottle wasn't available in the main dining room - so we drank another:p:D! The staff is very willing to be helpful. Regarding corkage, we only ever brought one bottle to the diningroom. It was a special bottle that we had been saving for the last night and decided to share it with our table. The steward did not charge us corkage. Although we had AYWD we managed to end up in the same section most evenings so we had the same steward for most of the trip. He was a wonderful steward and deserved the tip we left at the end of the voyage.

[RJ2002]

Any wine you bring onboard is not supposed to be taken anywhere on the ship by the glass. It is for in-cabin consumption or taken to the dining room buy the bottle w/ the $15 corkage fee. That is understandable. They will save it for you for another night. The $15 is only charged one time. Or just buy a glass in the dining room which is what I do.

 

Do not let this poster's comments dissuade anyone from venturing outside your cabin before dinner with a glass of wine, or a drink for that matter.

[Q.E.D.]

Do not let this poster's comments dissuade anyone from venturing outside your cabin before dinner with a glass of wine, or a drink for that matter.

What exactly IS HAL's policy on "venturing outside your cabin with a glass of wine"?

[Boytjie]

What exactly IS HAL's policy on "venturing outside your cabin with a glass of wine"?

 

My policy is that it is tacky. ;)

[RJ2002]

My policy is that it is tacky. ;)

 

So let's imagine this... we have a couple with an inside cabin. They bring a bottle of their favorite wine onboard. They want to walk up on deck and enjoy a glass of wine on the way to dinner, perhaps while watching the sunset.

 

That's 'tacky'? Come on.

 

Would you think it was tacky to walk into the dining room with a glass of wine or drink that you just purchased from the ship's bar?

[photomikey]

Since when did a bottle only have four glasses in it? Your pourings must be huge!

A bottle of wine is typically five glasses at a bar/restaurant.

 

With two people splitting a bottle, one would find it more polite to top off the second glass to end up with an even amount.

 

How many glasses of wine do you get out of a bottle? Apparently far more than four?