RCI Listen! Wine lovers want fair options!

[Cindy]

So, if RCL said ok for $20 a bottle we will allow you to bring a bottle of wine onboard .... I bet there would be screams and hollers galore? I saw the poll on another thread that said people are not willing to spend another dime to take RCL back the way it used to be (when prices were higher and more services).

 

It is about revenue, so to replace the revenue, would folks here really be willing to pay a high fee like $20 to replace most of the lost revenue?? Many claim it is about choice and not liking the choices of what RCL offers, but if it is ONLY about choice, not about the money to pay for wine onboard, you would be willing to pay to bring that bottle onboard to me.

 

People keep cutting back on what they are willing to spend, but want RCL to further cut revenue, there has to be some give back somewhere or the services lost havent a chance of coming back.

 

I'd pay it if it was considered a corkage fee, meaning I could drink the wine in the dining room.

[Happy ks]

The money thing is easy for me to understand. If you were to bring along a $20 bottle of wine and pay $15 corkage fee, it's costing you $35. If the cruise line even had a choice such as what you could bring on your own, they would be charging $60-75 for that same bottle.

 

Just like the choices they have now, many people can only afford the wines they are asking $24-35 for, those types of wines could be purchased for well under $10 on land, some for less than $5.

 

It's not just the markup, it's the selection. We found a wine we liked on our Italy/Croatia cruise, it was $52 per bottle, plus gratuity. Our table of 7 ordered 2 bottles per night almost every single night. Thank goodness the cost was split, we took turns ordering. If we had brought our own wine, the cruise line still would have gotten $30 per night from us for cork fees, we would have saved a bundle. Not only that, it would have been lovely to try some nice Italian wines.

 

I can't say the rule is antiquated, since it was only adopted 3-4 years ago, it's just stupid. Especially when almost all other lines allow it.

[annieandbillyb]

I am on a board for a cruise on RCCL for next week and we have just been told that the line is asking if you have any liquor in your luggage and if you do, they take it away. We were told that they put a note in one person's bag stating that they took it away and they were NOT going to return it. Excuse me? Am I the only one who thinks they'll be looking at other lines for future cruising? Ann

[amybeth4]

RCI's policy is VERY annoying. They seem to be the only mass-market cruise line that says NO ALCOHOL. I just don't get it. So I spent a week last month drinking "house merlot" which was crappy, but did the trick (heehee) at $6 a glass. I guarantee you that bottle didn't even cost $8. So now I just spent a good $24-$30 on an $8 bottle of wine, over and over.

 

I'll fully admit it...it's not the selection, it's the price.

 

Unfortunately, I, like everyone else, drank a lot of wine and gave them a lot of money. Sigh. So why would they change?

 

I remember going on the Grandeur in the 90s and walking on with a small plastic shopping bag with a bottle of $125 champagne in it that four of us split as a little celebration. I even videotaped someone who checked us in telling us to enjoy our champagne.

 

Siiiigh.

[G'ma]

Dear RCI,

My husband and I enjoy wine. We very much want to bring our favorites on board to enjoy as we wish; certainly this would enhance our cruise experience. We think of wine as a food choice, rather than as an alcoholic beverage. No insult intended, but your choice of wines is....well, shall we say, limited. Please forgive my saying so, but your rules regarding "Wine and Dine", "Wine Cellar", corkage fees, etc. puzzles us greatly. We do not wish to smuggle our favorites onto your lovely ship and of course we shall not do so out of respect for your rules and our desire to avoid any chance of public humiliation. We do note however, that there are other cruise lines that invite their guests to indulge their pleasures while aboard their ships.

There is much to consider when choosing how and with whom to spend our cruise dollars, and admittedly wine is a relatively minor issue. Again a puzzlement; as this is a fairly minor issue, why is it that my dear Royal has made it so...major?

My Best,

A Puzzled Passenger

 

The crackdown on bringing your own began when irresponsible drinkers started to become a problem. Many would drink themselves into a coma and become a safety issue for other passengers.

 

Then, instead of bringing a bottle or two, folks started bringing enough to stock a small bar to enhance their drinking experience.

 

Then, there were problems with underage kids onboard drunk from drinking their parents booze.

 

Then, people started falling overboard, cruise ships started getting sued, soooooo..... here we are.

 

Actions have consequences....and the actions of a few over the years have led us to this point.

[cruisegirl1]

For us it is not a money issue. In past years we brought “pricy” wines from our cellar and gladly paid corkage to enjoy with dinner. No problem paying corkage , as we wanted to drink these special wines on the cruise. Other times during the week we purchased bar drinks or a simple glass of wine from the bar and bottels from the wine list. We generally would not bother to carry on wine just to avoid paying the ship’s bar charges. (like trying to get box wine on board) It is not about saving money it is about enjoying that special bottle or two of wine. We generally support restaurants that allow you to bring your fine wine and pay corkage.

 

Most really know that it is not about gulping wine, but savoring the experience the wine adds to the occasion or situation. That is why taking one special bottle is often enough. I’m sure there are many out there who recall a particular event, where they were and the particular vine and vintage. We used to purchase wines for our cellar with the expressed intent of enjoying on a particular sailing. Now we purchase one bottle of fine wine from the ship and fairly regular wines for the remainder of the sailing. We also purchase a bottle(s) to enjoy in the cabin

 

We would not bother with the rum runners or putting the wine is a soda bottle, as we want to be able to enjoy the wine properly. Further, I can’t imagine how it would taste after being opened longer than a week.

 

With all that said, and to answer another poster, ( I speak from experience , March, 2008) you will get the wine back at the end of the cruise. We got ours back on the last morning, just prior to leaving the ship. It was a fairly old Chateau Latour, so we were glad to get it back. It fared better after being held on the ship that it would have done had we decided it not to try to bring it on board and leave it on the car for 7 days (in the hot Florida sun).

 

Cheers to all

M

[grand isle joe]

For us it is not a money issue. In past years we brought “pricy” wines from our cellar and gladly paid corkage to enjoy with dinner. No problem paying corkage , as we wanted to drink these special wines on the cruise. Other times during the week we purchased bar drinks or a simple glass of wine from the bar and bottels from the wine list. We generally would not bother to carry on wine just to avoid paying the ship’s bar charges. (like trying to get box wine on board) It is not about saving money it is about enjoying that special bottle or two of wine. We generally support restaurants that allow you to bring your fine wine and pay corkage.

 

Most really know that it is not about gulping wine, but savoring the experience the wine adds to the occasion or situation. That is why taking one special bottle is often enough. I’m sure there are many out there who recall a particular event, where they were and the particular vine and vintage. We used to purchase wines for our cellar with the expressed intent of enjoying on a particular sailing. Now we purchase one bottle of fine wine from the ship and fairly regular wines for the remainder of the sailing. We also purchase a bottle(s) to enjoy in the cabin

 

 

Cheers to all

M

 

I'm glad to see alot of wine fans on the boards. We usually do the same thing. One item that should also be addressed is having a wine steward onboard especially in Europe. Cruising with Disney in Europe the steward selected local European wine for us to enjoy onboard. It gave a appreciation for the ports visited by enjoying local vintages. Love this posting. Salute!

[BroncosFan2010]

Add my name to the list! In fact, DH and I are looking at our next cruise options and we are making a list of the pro's and con's of going with RCCL again. So far, Celebrity is winning, but we are seriously considering Regent and HAL..... Just a thought..... Hopefully RCCL will want to keep our business and loosen it's policy. We still buy plenty of drinks on the ship, we just prefer our own wine favorites.

[DireMongoose]

There are many other reasons to cruise than to just drink your choice of wine.

 

I agree with just about everything you said.

 

Wine choice isn't even close to the most important factor in my cruise choice, but it's not meaningless, either. I typically buy about 5 bottles of wine on a 7 day cruise and still probably would if I could bring a bottle or two on board.

 

Winemaking is one of my hobbies, and even the most extensive wine list isn't going to contain selections from my own cellars. :)

[tneah]

Funny you should say "mickey of rum". Last time I checked even Disney allowed wine and spirits to be brought on board.

 

 

Yes, they do! We brought our owm wine and still purchased a few bottles and several other drinks from Disney. We ended up even taking a bottle of our own wine home.

[CP3o]

Yes, they do! We brought our owm wine and still purchased a few bottles and several other drinks from Disney. We ended up even taking a bottle of our own wine home.

 

Yeah, DCL seems classy in that way, a sort of trust for the PAX and disregard for nickel and diming. Bring all you can carry, don't pack it b/c might break and ruin others luggage or hurt room stewards back delivering bags. Their rules seem REASONABLE and the allowance generous.

 

I get the revenue angle, though, and would not expect RCL to be as casual as DCL about it. Ban beer b/c its too heavy, liquor b/c its more likely to cause pax to go "overboard" and allow 1 bottle per person for cruises under 7 nights, 2 per person for 7 nights and above. It's reasonable and doesn't allow for enough volumn to seriously affect revenues. Do it b/c wine isn't as easily stored on ship as spirits and beer, do it b/c your pax want this option and its reasonable, do it to keep wine lovers happy.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Dear RCI,

My husband and I enjoy wine. We very much want to bring our favorites on board to enjoy as we wish; certainly this would enhance our cruise experience. We think of wine as a food choice, rather than as an alcoholic beverage. No insult intended, but your choice of wines is....well, shall we say, limited. Please forgive my saying so, but your rules regarding "Wine and Dine", "Wine Cellar", corkage fees, etc. puzzles us greatly. We do not wish to smuggle our favorites onto your lovely ship and of course we shall not do so out of respect for your rules and our desire to avoid any chance of public humiliation. We do note however, that there are other cruise lines that invite their guests to indulge their pleasures while aboard their ships.

There is much to consider when choosing how and with whom to spend our cruise dollars, and admittedly wine is a relatively minor issue. Again a puzzlement; as this is a fairly minor issue, why is it that my dear Royal has made it so...major?

My Best,

A Puzzled Passenger

 

 

I agree, we would love to take a few of our favourites with us. We have bought the wine package, only because its cheaper than buying individual bottles but none on the list are ones we normally drink.

[kridak]

If they allow wine where does it stop?

 

I enjoy a nice cognac after dinner and i am picky. Should i be able to bring my own cognac seeing as you could bring your wine?

 

God i would love that..

[cruisePRN]

Dear RCI,

My husband and I enjoy wine. We very much want to bring our favorites on board to enjoy as we wish; certainly this would enhance our cruise experience. We think of wine as a food choice, rather than as an alcoholic beverage. No insult intended, but your choice of wines is....well, shall we say, limited. Please forgive my saying so, but your rules regarding "Wine and Dine", "Wine Cellar", corkage fees, etc. puzzles us greatly. We do not wish to smuggle our favorites onto your lovely ship and of course we shall not do so out of respect for your rules and our desire to avoid any chance of public humiliation. We do note however, that there are other cruise lines that invite their guests to indulge their pleasures while aboard their ships.

There is much to consider when choosing how and with whom to spend our cruise dollars, and admittedly wine is a relatively minor issue. Again a puzzlement; as this is a fairly minor issue, why is it that my dear Royal has made it so...major?

My Best,

A Puzzled Passenger

Did you send this directly to RCL? That's where it will do the most good.

[lj4543]

I tried a few years ago to get RCI to add items to their gifts catalog and didn't get very far. We're not wine drinkers but certainly would like to have a bottle of something in our cabin. I recently asked them again to add liquor packages and have not gotten any response from them whatsoever. If it's an issue of people getting drunk and disorderly do they not realize that those same people can get just as drunk and disorderly in the bar/casino? Responsible, rule abiding adults would just like to have more options at our disposal. But as it's already been pointed out, our option is another cruise line.