Has anybody ever brought their own wine onto a cruise ship prior to departing (not at the ports)? If so, how did it work out for you?

I have one booked for December with Princess, and it would be great to bring a case of my own stuff.

Yes. FKG probably can give the full rundown. On Seabourne we had no problem. No corkage period. As they do not charge for wine or booze period unless ordered of the reserve list this was no surprise.

We have brought on other lines. Many have a fee. I don't recall if we were ever charged

I think you are allowed one bottle per person. I can't remember the corkage, but I don't think its bad (say 15$-25$). But that was for Carnival and Norwegian. Not sure about Princess.

About 10 years ago I took some on a Disney Cruise. I think they charged a minimal corkage.

Just got back from a Royal Caribbean Cruise last week. Limit of bringing on two bottles per stateroom. Corkage of $25 was enforced.

Norwegian

10$/btl unlimited bottles as long as it's not on the list.

I can say that one of our fellow board members went on the queen mary 2 and brought aboard the likes of DRC, Old bordeauxs, Pol Roger Churchills and the bev director basically gave them a free pass

Our Holland America cruise allowed passengers to bring a case at no charge. You had to let them know ahead of time and carry it on board yourself. They deliver the luggage to your room, but not the wine. I saw some couples with husband and wife each carrying a case.

This site was updated as of 1/10/13. For Princess, one bottle per person with a $15 corkage.

http://cruiseline.com/article/...alcohol-on-my-cruise

This message has been edited. Last edited by: vinole,

Saweet! Thanks for the link vinole. I've been looking at Viking River Cruises. Bring as many as you want, and no corkage!

quote:

Originally posted by vinole:
This site was updated as of 1/10/13. For Princess, one bottle per person with a $15 corkage.

http://cruiseline.com/article/...alcohol-on-my-cruise

Thanks to everybody for all of the input.

If Princess's current policy is "1 per guest during embarkation," that's kind of a bummer.

We brought several wines on a cruise and there was no corkage...sorry forgot the cruise line.

Corkage policy varies drastically for each cruise line, from no bottles allowed to free corkage. Some of the cruise lines don't publish their policy, but you can usually find the information on CruiseCritic boards (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?s=dc13729c4aaa4f0eb5117d4bb9941a43)
My parents just took a 17-day Princess cruise in New Zealand and never paid corkage when they brought an opened bottle to dinner,(although they did buy several bottles from the list during the cruise as well). They also had no problem bringing more than 1 bottle per person on the cruise... just put 1 bottle in each suitcase as they are X-rayed separately :-)
I'm hoping for the same on my Caribbean cruise in 2 months.

We've been on many cruises including Princess. Last time we sailed Princess, the rules were as Vinole stated. That being said, there are a couple of ways to deal with this. If you can manage to get the wine aboard in your luggage, which is how we usually do it, you can always select the dining option that puts you at different restaurants on the ship. You will have different waiters, so they have no idea you have opened bottles before. We have gone to meet the wine steward every time there is one on the ship. We usually ply him with a bottle not on his list (which is available ahead of time from the Princess HQ in California), or offer to share our wines with him if he wants to come over when we are dining. Of the 25 or so cruises we've gone on, we have probably paid corkage fee on fewer than half a dozen bottles. The maximum bottle rule has never been enforced with us.

My brother-in-law managed to get six bottles on to a Carnival ship in '08. I think we only got charged corkage on one night (and it was reasonable). No one ever said anything about having more bottles than our allotment, but most of the employees are worried more about sending money back to the Phillipines or where ever than counting wine bottles.

quote:

Originally posted by Shane T.:

quote:

Originally posted by vinole:
This site was updated as of 1/10/13. For Princess, one bottle per person with a $15 corkage.

http://cruiseline.com/article/...alcohol-on-my-cruise

Thanks to everybody for all of the input.

If Princess's current policy is "1 per guest during embarkation," that's kind of a bummer.

That is a bummer, which is why we've never sailed with Princess. The cruise line's policy on this is a deal breaker for us if we can't bring our own wine.

its been a few years, but i packed an entire carry-on size suitcase full of wine and took it onboard a Princess ship, no questions asked... i don't think their wine policy has changed since that time as well.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by kumazam:
its been a few years, but i packed an entire carry-on size suitcase full of wine and took it onboard a Princess ship, no questions asked... /QUOTE]

Same for me but it was quite a while go.

Tip your waiter and the corkage fee with disappear