wine - one or two per person permitted?

[tbmrt]

I read conflicting posts. Does Celebrity permit you to bring one or two bottles PER PERSON in your carryon?

 

Is the $25 corkage fee charged on the Solstice?

[JanineM]

Two bottles per cabin, in your carryon.

[hylasgirl]

Ok... I have a question on this... If you do not check in at the same time, or go through security at the exact same time, would they really know if one person in the room had two bottles and then you had two bottles as well?? I say NO... When my husband and I checked in on the Century, this was never addressed as to whom had the 2 bottles of wine. Anyone have any thoughts on this?? I don't want to try to sneak on a bunch of wine or anything... but there are 3 women in a cabin, and I think that 2 of us would have an easy time taking 2 bottles each.

 

Thanks.

[mari10]

We had two cabins on the Solstice. While in Fort Lauderdale we bought 4 bottles of wine, two for each cabin. To fit in our carry on, I had three bottles and my son had one. i was never questioned about having three bottles.

We were charged $25 per bottle corkage fee in the main dining room, and a $20 per bottle at Silk Harvest.

Mari

[fancymeetingyouhere]

Ok... I have a question on this... If you do not check in at the same time, or go through security at the exact same time, would they really know if one person in the room had two bottles and then you had two bottles as well?? I say NO... When my husband and I checked in on the Century, this was never addressed as to whom had the 2 bottles of wine. Anyone have any thoughts on this?? I don't want to try to sneak on a bunch of wine or anything... but there are 3 women in a cabin, and I think that 2 of us would have an easy time taking 2 bottles each.

 

Thanks.

 

 

OMG I'm glad you asked this question first because I didn't want to come across as a lush LOL. Again S I will let you know as DH and I are going to try to walk in seperately with 2 bottles each. I want a bottle of Champaign for Sail away and I want my Red wine to sip while I'm getting ready each night(and I assume DH will want some too).

I know one thing for sure if I was going away with 2 of my BFF's like you are we would probably want to bring a case. ;)

[hylasgirl]

OMG I'm glad you asked this question first because I didn't want to come across as a lush LOL. Again S I will let you know as DH and I are going to try to walk in seperately with 2 bottles each. I want a bottle of Champaign for Sail away and I want my Red wine to sip while I'm getting ready each night(and I assume DH will want some too).

I know one thing for sure if I was going away with 2 of my BFF's like you are we would probably want to bring a case. ;)

 

 

Hee hee... I can't wait to hear EVERYTHING about your trip (wink wink). Yes, let me know if they even know the difference of who's who in the cabin. I don't think they will... when we boarded the Century, no one knew who was who. I walked on with my BFF and the boys were lagging behind... It would have been totally fine if we both brought 2 bottles. Dangit! Yeah, I am not a lush either (at least not completely) but do like to enjoy a glass in the room before heading out and buying wine on board.

 

This is one thing I love about HAL... you can bring as much as you want to carry. We are taking a case next week. :D (that totally makes me sound like a lush). Happy hour parties are in our room every night. It should be a blast.

[tg1]

You decide whether it's a mini x 2 or magnum x 2:confused:.

[Lsimon]

Ok... I have a question on this... If you do not check in at the same time, or go through security at the exact same time, would they really know if one person in the room had two bottles and then you had two bottles as well?? I say NO... When my husband and I checked in on the Century, this was never addressed as to whom had the 2 bottles of wine. Anyone have any thoughts on this?? I don't want to try to sneak on a bunch of wine or anything... but there are 3 women in a cabin, and I think that 2 of us would have an easy time taking 2 bottles each.

 

Thanks.

 

Well - the original question on this thread is what does Celebrity permit which I took to mean what is their policy. The policy is 2 bottles per cabin. If the next question is can you cheat and break the rules without being caught? Probably. But then you never know if and when they'll have more stringent enforcement and catch you. So be prepared and don't complain if they do.

[hylasgirl]

Well - the original question on this thread is what does Celebrity permit which I took to mean what is their policy. The policy is 2 bottles per cabin. If the next question is can you cheat and break the rules without being caught? Probably. But then you never know if and when they'll have more stringent enforcement and catch you. So be prepared and don't complain if they do.

 

 

Oh, I don't complain... I always bring a local bottle back from port and figure if they take it, they take it... I spend plenty of money in their bars, and I don't even try to hide the wine. I was just thinking that it would be hard for them to know who is with who going through security. But, yeah... I cheat :) I didn't boarding the ship, but we did bring back bottles every day while in port.

[JanineM]

Oh, I don't complain... I always bring a local bottle back from port and figure if they take it, they take it... I spend plenty of money in their bars, and I don't even try to hide the wine. I was just thinking that it would be hard for them to know who is with who going through security. But, yeah... I cheat :) I didn't boarding the ship, but we did bring back bottles every day while in port.

 

I've gotta say that your honesty is a breath of fresh air. There are those who try to defend themselves, "I can't afford the prices they charge for drinks!", and those who are angry, "the cruiseline is RIPPING US OFF with the price they charge for beer!". Nothing to add, I just thought your post was refreshing :)

[hylasgirl]

I've gotta say that your honesty is a breath of fresh air. There are those who try to defend themselves, "I can't afford the prices they charge for drinks!", and those who are angry, "the cruiseline is RIPPING US OFF with the price they charge for beer!". Nothing to add, I just thought your post was refreshing :)

 

Thanks:) For me, I love finding a local wine... another is that I am a white wine person, and I don't like Chardonnay, so their choices for white wines are horrible. But they still deliver our bar bill by messenger...:D

[Karynanne]

In the good ole days...a few years ago...we would bring a case of wine onboard in our carry-on luggage. Those days are gone, and now we bring on 2 btls. each. But as Larry pointed out, be prepared to "possibly" be confronted by a crew member, at a particular port, who may confiscate your bottles.

[2irisheyes]

We took two bottles each in carry on bags and walked on separately. They didn't even check or scan bags at embarcation but they did when returning from ports of call. If they'd checked who was with whom I was going to disown my husband all for two bottles of wine. Cheers.

[Lsimon]

Thanks:) For me, I love finding a local wine... another is that I am a white wine person, and I don't like Chardonnay, so their choices for white wines are horrible. But they still deliver our bar bill by messenger...:D

 

They do have a few good white wines on board other than Chardonnay. My wife doesn't like Chardonnay and can't drink red wines (migraine headache trigger) and we've found several that we like - although some of them come and go off the list frequently. We're big Cakebread fans. While their Sauvignon Blanc is a bit pricey it is a relatively good value on Celebrity's wine list. We also enjoy the Roero Arneis (Italian) they serve and a few others. Every now and then we'll see some real bargains on their wine list - for example for a while they had a great California champagne (Le Reve) at a lower cost than we'd ever seen it at any wine store - even the big discount ones.

 

I also wanted to mention that in my post above I'm not really knocking those that bring wine aboard (beyond the two bottles) but we should all be aware of the policy and ramifications. We've brought a little extra wine on board too from time to time. In some European ports we've also bought wine to take home after the cruise which was not held at security.

 

Also worth mentioning, is that years ago before either the limits or the huge increase in dining room corkage fees we used to bring lots of wine (8 to 10 bottles for a 7 day cruise) on board - a practice we started on other lines where we found the list lacking. We stopped doing this after our first Celebrity cruise as they actually had a lot of wines on their wine list that we liked and in any event we discovered we really enjoyed doing most of our drinking in the ship's lounges, especially the martini bar, where we could enjoy the company of fellow cruisers. The last time we brought a lot of wine on board with us we ended up taking a fair amount home unused and unopened - of course that was before the prohibition on taking fluids on flights in your carry-on.

[brenderlou]

I have a question about the corkage fee? I was thinking of bringing a bottle of wine on board when we sail on the Century in Feb. I was just going to leave in our room for a pre-dinner glass while getting ready for dinner.

Is it ok to bring our own wine opener and not have to incure the corkage fee as long as we keep the bottle in the cabin?

[eandj]

I have a question about the corkage fee? I was thinking of bringing a bottle of wine on board when we sail on the Century in Feb. I was just going to leave in our room for a pre-dinner glass while getting ready for dinner.

Is it ok to bring our own wine opener and not have to incure the corkage fee as long as we keep the bottle in the cabin?

 

The room steward can give you a wine opener. Don't need to pack one and don't be afraid to ask for one. They'll give you the wine glasses too! We had 2 clean glasses every day once the steward noticed our open bottle on the desk.

 

And yes, the only time you will pay a corkage fee is while in the dining room.

[Lsimon]

I have a question about the corkage fee? I was thinking of bringing a bottle of wine on board when we sail on the Century in Feb. I was just going to leave in our room for a pre-dinner glass while getting ready for dinner.

Is it ok to bring our own wine opener and not have to incure the corkage fee as long as we keep the bottle in the cabin?

 

The bad news is you save nothing by opening it yourself, but the good news is there is no fee for drinking it in your cabin.

 

The term "corkage" really doesn't relate to the actual opening of the bottle. Rather it is a fee for the privilege of consuming the wine in the dining room and designed purely to compensate the cruise line for lost profits on wine otherwise served in the dining room. This is also a common practice at land based restaurants in places where it is legal for patrons to bring their own wine into the restaurant. Celebrity, and most other lines, only charge such a fee for wine brought into the dining room (and maybe bars as well although I've not seen that done). They do not charge any fee for consuming your wine in your stateroom. There is generally a cheap plastic corkscrew in your cabin as well as wine glasses. If not your cabin steward will help you out - they'll also bring additional glasses and chill your wine for you in an ice bucket - but do give them a little notice as they tend to get very busy close to dinner time.

[ocbeachbums]

We always carry a corkscrew in our checked luggage. You don't have to pay the corkage fee unless you take the wine to dinner at one of the restaurants. We have always brought wine with us to have a little before dinner in our cabin. And they are also not losing money on us - we always hit the Martini bar before dinner and usually drink wine with the meal. And.... no where does it say what size bottles the two bottles of wine have to be. So, we buy the biggest bottles we can of what we like--- and NO, I don't think they'll let you get away with carrying a BOX of wine on board!!!

:)Ann

[cruiseyguy]

A fine restaurant which charges a corkage fee will often provide high-quality glassware & full wine steward service. I'm not sure if Celebrity does the same.

[Lsimon]

A fine restaurant which charges a corkage fee will often provide high-quality glassware & full wine steward service. I'm not sure if Celebrity does the same.

 

I was going to write that I've not seen this done when charging a corkage fee - but as I was writing it occurred to me I've not seen anyone pay the corkage since it was increased to $25. So I'm not sure if they would or not. I'd think few would pay the corkage fee these days unless they have a very special bottle of wine - where it didn't use to be so uncommon. I have seen them do it with better, more expenive, wines purchased on board. For some nice red wine I've seen the wine steward bring out a Riedel decanter and stemware and do it proper.

[hylasgirl]

We took two bottles each in carry on bags and walked on separately. They didn't even check or scan bags at embarcation but they did when returning from ports of call. If they'd checked who was with whom I was going to disown my husband all for two bottles of wine. Cheers.

 

 

hee hee:D That's funny!

 

Celebrity's Century never took a bottle from us after a port of call. I would carry on two bottles in my purse... put it in the scanner, and off we'd go. We figured if they took them, we would consume them at the hotel after the cruise. We always spend a night after a cruise, so this works for us.

[aamiee]

Can i just pack the wine and check in my luggage or only have to be carry on?

[Lsimon]

Can i just pack the wine and check in my luggage or only have to be carry on?

 

When we bring on board we usually do put it in our luggage that is checked. Our carry-on is heavy enough without the wine!

When taking some home it is the only way since we can't carry it on the flight home.

 

Of course when you put it in your luggage you always run the risk of a bottle breaking and soaking the contents of your suitcase. Never happened to us as we're careful how we pack, but we're usually a little worried about it.

[CRUZBUDS]

We had an excellent wine steward last month on the Mercury (Marlon). We brought two bottles of a decent wine aboard. It cost around $20 retail. They were left over from a company party, so I figured the $25 corkage was not a bad deal. We sail from our home port so no problem packing.

 

Marlon was apologetic about the fee and served it just like the wines I had purchased. He brought the remainder back the next evening.

 

The whole 16 days I never touched a wine bottle - Marlon was always on the spot pouring as needed and cheerfully stored the left over wine for the next evening.

 

The corkage bills read $20 for corkage and $5 tip. We gave Marlon an additional cash tip at the end for his excellent service.

 

I wouldn't have bothered bringing it if the wine hadn't been free ;)

[BrendaJ]

It would be great if the glassware reflected the type of wine being served in the dining room. I was certainly a skeptic about different wine glasses very much changing the taste of a wine. We tried it at home, using cheap wine glasses and Reidel Merlot glasses. What a difference! Decanting wine (particularly red) also makes a difference, particularly with older wines which may have sediment.

 

I must admit, on Celebrity, we tend to stick to the cheaper range of wines, and as our palates are not that refined, it works out just fine for us. However, if I were bringing aboard or puchasing on board a very special bottle of wine, I would certainly like it decanted and served in a proper glass.